A few months of planning and a few weeks of worrying later, they were getting married. Today. Right now.
It wasn’t Hawaii, but it was a nice venue, with high windows and interesting architecture and a whole bunch of other things Ethan hadn’t really paid attention to. The decorations and the flowers and everything else didn’t matter to him—all he cared about was that this meant he’d get to keep Caleb, forever.
That was all he wanted. He’d been afraid of losing him, really losing him, once in his life. That was enough for him. Now he’d never have to be afraid again.
Whatever life threw at them, he’d have someone to get through it with. That was what marriage was about.
Ethan smiled as Caleb came to stand beside him. He’d expected to be nervous, but he’d never been calmer in his life. He knew this was the right thing for both of them, and they’d come a long way to get here.
He could hear people still filing into their seats behind them, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Caleb. He was glowing with happiness in a way Ethan rarely saw.
“Hey,” Ethan murmured as the crowd behind them started to settle down. “Can I hold your hand?”
“Scared I’ll run away?” Caleb asked.
“No.” Ethan reached out and curled his fingers around Caleb’s, squeezing gently and feeling the last of the tension in his body fade away. “I just wanna hold your hand.”
Caleb chuckled softly, squeezing back. “You sure you’re ready for this?”
“I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life,” Ethan said. He turned to face the celebrant as she cleared her throat, unable to stop himself from grinning.
The words of the ceremony washed over him. While he managed to respond in all the right places, Ethan couldn’t tear his mind away from the way Caleb’s hand felt in his. He couldn’t remember ever feeling this at-peace with anything before.
When the moment came to kiss Caleb, Ethan still couldn’t stop smiling. It made the kiss awkward, but no less perfect.
“Still wanna hold my hand?” Caleb murmured as they broke away from each other to the sound of clapping and cheering from behind them. Ethan blushed.
“Always,” he whispered. “Forever.”
“Forever sounds good.” Caleb grinned, tugging on Ethan’s hand to lead him away. Ethan followed.
He’d always follow, wherever Caleb lead him.
Epilogue
Three years later...
Caleb waved to Adriana as Olivia walked her down the hall, away from his and Ethan’s apartment. They wouldn’t be here much longer, and Caleb suspected that Adriana would miss the view, but hopefully the yard they’d have in the new place would make up for it. She was old enough now to run around and play.
He was glad to see Olivia so happy these days. She was dating again—a guy called Mike who seemed perfect, and obviously loved Adriana—and seemed to have her life back on track, doing what she wanted to. With a little help from their parents, which Caleb had stopped being surprised by. They’d changed. It was nice to finally feel as though they supported both him and Olivia, even when they weren’t living the perfect lives they were meant to be.
Once Olivia and Adriana were out of sight, he headed back into the kitchen, where Ethan was getting started on dinner. Unable to resist, he wrapped his arms around Ethan’s waist from behind, resting his forehead against Ethan’s shoulder.
“What have I done to deserve a hug?” Ethan asked, stirring a pot on the stove.
“You always deserve a hug,” Caleb said. “I dunno. You’re so sweet with Adriana, and I just… love you. A lot.”
“Love you, too,” Ethan murmured. “Actually, you wanna stir this for me? I have something I want to show you.”
Caleb took the offered wooden spoon and switched places with Ethan, regretting giving up his position, but excited to see what Ethan had in store.
Ethan kissed his temple as he walked away, leaving Caleb in charge of dinner. When they’d first gotten together, that had been asking for trouble, but Caleb’s culinary skills were improving under Ethan’s patient guidance.
At least, he could handle stirring a sauce until Ethan got back.
He heard Ethan return and put something on the table. Caleb wasn’t game to turn around and look, so he kept stirring until Ethan took the spoon from him again, nudging him out of the way with his hips.
“Go check out the stuff on the table,” Ethan said. “I’ll take care of this.”
Caleb giggled excitedly, heading over to look at what turned out to be a stack of papers. He was confused for a second, but then he took in the logo at the top of the page, and the title of the first form.
He flicked through them in silence, a sense of awe filling up his chest. By the time he was sure of what he was seeing, there were tears in his eyes.
“These are…”
“Just preliminary papers,” Ethan said. “I figured it was time, since we’re about to live in a real house and all.”
Adoption papers. Or, well, not adoption papers, but papers that would start the process of being considered as adoptive parents off. Caleb bit his lip, barely containing the flood of emotions threatening to make him burst into tears in the kitchen.
“You’re serious about this?” he asked. Ethan wouldn’t have given him the papers if he wasn’t, but it was all too much to take in.
“Never been more serious about anything in my life. I want a family with you.” Ethan said. He turned the heat off on the stove and came to stand behind Caleb where he was sitting at the table, putting his hands on Caleb’s shoulders and squeezing gently.
“I want a family with you, too,” Caleb managed eventually, swallowing past the lump in his throat. “This is… this means so much to me.”
“Means a lot to me, too,” Ethan said. “I figure it’s the next step.”
“It is.” Caleb tilted his head back to look at Ethan. “Thank you.”
Ethan grinned down at him. “No problem.”
He leaned in to kiss Caleb upside-down, and Caleb’s heart skipped the way it always did when they made contact. They’d been together almost five years, now, and every touch, every kiss still felt special. He smiled at the thought as Ethan broke off.
“I need to finish dinner. You start filling in forms,” Ethan instructed.
“Yes, boss.” Caleb grinned, sheer joy welling up in his chest. Their little family was about to expand, and he couldn’t wait to get started.
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The Wedding Date Page 14
