I cut her off with a hard kiss. She tightly wrapped her arm around my neck once more. We broke away several minutes later, panting.
“Ours is a love people write stories about.”
“And our story is a fairy tale.” Sherry smiled as she said it, and I didn’t think I’d ever loved her more.
“I love you.”
“C’mon,” she whispered, untangling herself until only our hands were touching. With a tug, she began pulling me down the hall toward the bedroom.
She didn’t need to pull me—I’d follow her anywhere.
We were lying in bed, her leg thrown over mine and my arm wrapped under her, our breaths now calm and steady.
“Was it true?” I asked.
“Hmmm?”
“About your birthday? The holidays?”
She froze, just slightly and just for a moment, but I felt it. I exhaled heavily and tightened my arm around her. “You loved the holidays, Sherry.”
“I still do… it was just… it was harder without anyone around. No one would understand the traditions, and all of the decorations burned up in the fire. It seemed pointless. There was no more sentimental and goofy gifts. It was painful,” she whispered.
Nodding, I kissed her forehead, and we dropped the subject.
“Did you have fun tonight?” she asked.
“Yeah, I did. Your friends are great.”
“They are. And they’ll feel like family soon enough.” Her fingers drew hearts on my chest as she spoke. “I don’t really know Sam or Ellie all that well, and I just met Grayson, but tonight, with all of us here, it felt right. Didn’t it?” She looked up at me and smiled.
“Yeah. It did. You’re constantly giving me a family.”
“I can’t wait to make our own,” she whispered. I froze, and she quickly scrambled. “Was that too soon? I didn’t mean—”
I cut her off with my lips on hers, pushing her on her back and settling over her. We both moaned when I rubbed my dick against her warm, slick flesh. Sherry whimpered as the tip of my cock slipped inside her. I pulled back and stared down at her heated expression.
“I want nothing more, Sherry. You’d make such a cute little mama,” I whispered as I skimmed her flat stomach.
“Shut up,” she muttered, her protest was halfhearted. Sherry tried to lift her hips and bring more of me inside her. “I can’t imagine having a kid while in med school. That’d be the death of me.”
We both laughed, but the sounds quickly turned to groans when I plunged inside her.
“Hunter!” she screamed, her hands flying to my biceps and her nails digging in.
“Don’t worry.” My voice was low and hoarse. “For now, we’ll just practice.” Sherry clenched around my dick and I growled in response.
“Lots and lots of practice…”
Three years later…
MY BIRTHDAY HAD SEEN some of the best and worst days of my life.
Fifteen years ago, I’d seen the love of my life for the first time.
Nine years ago, he’d kissed me, and whether he’d known it or not, I felt the promise of forever when our lips met.
Seven years ago, I’d lost him, and everyone else I loved, and spent the next four birthdays pretending that day didn’t exist.
Three years ago, we found our way back to each other.
One year ago, he proposed, with our sixth-month-old daughter clinging to my side.
Today, on my twenty-fifth birthday, I was marrying him. I was saying I do to an entire life with my best friend.
Hunter and I knew it would seem strange to marry on my birthday, and yeah, it kind of was. But it also felt too special not to. Our entire relationship seemed to exist because of my birthday.
It would always be a day we treasured. So while strange, we still picked it as our wedding day.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile so big, Sher.”
Laughing, I turned around to face my maids of honor. They were both smiling as Naomi handed me a glass of champagne.
“Mama,” Elizabeth babbled while she walked—and I used that term liberally—forward. Her hands were outstretched and covered in chocolate. A wide smile was on her face as her chubby limbs brought her closer.
“Oh, no, no, no,” Alara said as she swooped down just in time, stopping Elizabeth from making contact with my dress.
“Mama!” my daughter wailed, louder this time, throwing in some tears for added measure. She wasn’t even two and she already had her daddy wrapped around her tiny, pudgy finger with that little trick. I smiled when I thought about Hunter cradling her to his chest in the hospital, tears in his eyes as he sang and gently rocked her to sleep.
“Oh my God,” Naomi exclaimed, lightly slapping my arm, while Alara cleaned my daughter's hands. “Two smiles? What the hell is going on?” She turned toward Alara and my still blubbering toddler.
“Did you do that?” Naomi asked Elizabeth while pointing my way. “Are you magic, baby Lizbiz?” Alara laughed as Naomi stalked forward and began tickling Elizabeth’s stomach. “You are, aren’t you?” Naomi gasped, eliciting a grin from my daughter, her tears instantly vanishing.
“Knock, knock,” a voice called the second before the door opened. Derek stepped through, already decked out in his black tux.
“I came to see the most beautiful girl in the world,” Derek said as he closed the door. Alara, Naomi, and I all raised our brows.
“Oh yeah?” Naomi smirked. “And which one of us would that be?” One hand was on her hip while the other was occupied by Elizabeth’s eager fingers.
“Lizzy, of course.” Derek grinned as he looked at his goddaughter with complete joy.
“How’s your gorgeous fiancée doing?” I asked Derek when he came forward and dropped a kiss on my cheek.
“She’s wonderful.” He beamed. “She’s in the restroom.”
“Okay, okay, okay!” a chipper voice yelled. My wedding planner, Becky, appeared a moment later. “It’s almost time. Shoo, shoo.” Her hands waved Alara and Naomi toward the door. They filed out, Naomi now carrying a wiggling Elizabeth. Naomi paused next to me, letting me kiss and tickle my daughter. She was whimpering when the door shut, the four of them on the other side of it.
Derek’s gaze met mine. “She’s perfect,” he said softly.
“She didn’t feel that way a couple nights ago when she woke us up at three in the morning, but, yeah, she really is. I can’t believe I’ve gotten this lucky,” I finished wistfully.
Tears were shimmering in his eyes as he gave me a hug. “You deserve this, Sherry.”
Derek held on tightly for a few minutes, and when he stepped back, his eyes were clear and his lips were tipped up into a blinding grin. “You ready to do this?”
My answering smile was equally bright. “Since I was ten.”
“You have one minute,” Becky hollered before slamming the door.
I took a deep breath as I looked myself up and down in the mirror.
My family should be here.
The thought was swift and brought tears to my eyes. My mom should be fluffing my veil and telling me how beautiful I looked while my dad waited outside to walk me down the aisle. They should be smiling and holding their granddaughter in the front row as Hunter and I pledged to love each other for the rest of our lives. My older brother should be a groomsman, scolding Hunter about how he’d better treat me well.
But life didn’t care about shoulds.
It only cared about what was.
So, yes, they should’ve been here, but I was still happy. I could still be happy. I could remember and miss them, all with a smile on my face. I at least had a family who cared, which was more than Hunter could say. And I had best friends who’d just fluffed my veil, while Derek was waiting outside to walk me down the aisle.
Another inhale, and my tears receded.
I’m ready.
I looked around the room, a room that was in the same exact spot as my old bedroom.
Oh, yeah, that was on
e other thing that might seem strange. We were getting married in the backyard of my old house. After it had burned down, a house was rebuilt and a new, young family moved in—a mom, dad, a seven-year-old boy, and a three-year-old girl. It was exactly the same configuration my family had been. Hunter held me as I cried the night we found out.
At first they weren’t quite sure what to make of our request. I mean how often did two random people show up and ask to get married in another person’s backyard? But luckily, once our lengthy and complicated story had been told, they were more than happy to help. The mother even cried when I got to the part about us finding each other again.
We were still living in Arizona, along with all our friends, so we were more than grateful that they all rearranged their schedules to fly out here. It certainly wasn’t a fun destination wedding, but it was the perfect one for Hunter and me.
“Sherry?” Derek called out. “You almost ready? Becky is glaring at me and tapping her wrist. And I’m not too proud to admit she scares the shit out of me.”
I laughed and gave myself one last look before turning toward the door.
“Ready,” I said as I shut it behind me. “Thank you for doing this.”
“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.” He held out his arm to me.
I accepted it and we both pivoted toward the doors that would lead me to my future husband.
Everyone was looking at me when I finally emerged from the kitchen; I could even feel Derek’s smiling face turned my way. And I was grateful. Because the look Hunter was giving me, I wanted it to be solely mine. At first, he was squinting, like he was trying to figure out if I was real. Then his expression blew apart, as if he’d just figured out I was going to be his forever. I saw his knees quaking, and it looked like he was about to fall down. But what killed me were his eyes; they were shimmering and filled with so much love that I nearly fell down.
I wanted to tell all the little girls who were imagining their weddings not to fantasize about the flowers or the dress. They didn’t matter. I could have been wearing a burlap sack and holding a bundle of weeds, and this would be perfect. It was the look that Hunter was giving me, that was what little girls should wish for.
No matter how long it took, or what obstacles we were forced to overcome, there was a fairy tale waiting for us. It was all right there in his eyes, and I hoped he could see the same in mine.
Her wedding dress looked perfect, starting out white at the top and fading to a light, dusty pink on the bottom. It was the same color as her dress on the day our story began, fifteen years ago.
Stories were funny that way. Sometimes you didn’t even know they were starting. When I left my house all those years ago and cut across her backyard, I had no idea I’d be meeting the love of my life.
I zoned out on everything; my gaze was just on her. Suddenly, she smirked and whispered, “Hunter…”
“Yeah?” I leaned forward slightly, my eyes trained on her lips now. She chuckled and pulled back, and this time I heard the minister clear his throat.
“You may exchange your vows,” he said. I turned away from Sherry for the first time; seeing his patient expression, he must have already said it a few times.
I felt no embarrassment. Everyone else had eyes—surely they saw what I did.
“Right.” Nodding, I turned toward her and squeezed her fingers, which were already interlaced with mine.
“I always said that our love was something people write stories about,” I began. My soon-to-be-wife laughed, and it settled into a smile as she squeezed my hands back. “At first it was a cheesy joke; just something to make you laugh. But the more I said it, the more right it felt, the more it felt like the truth. Our story wasn’t always easy. It wasn’t always pretty or well written. In fact, it flat-out sucked sometimes, and I wanted to punch one of the characters in the face. I wanted to know what the hell the author was thinking.” Some people in the crowd laughed, but Sherry and I didn’t. And I saw her glance at the three empty chairs in the front row, spots left for her father, mother, and brother. When she looked back at me, there were tears in her eyes. She gave me a small nod to continue.
“There are a lot of things I wish were different. A lot of plot lines I wish were erased, but that’s not how life works. You don’t get drafts or rewrites. You don’t get to publish another version and fix all the mistakes.
“At one point, we lost our place. We were apart, living in different parts of our story and floundering amongst the pages, looking for our place again. You were living in the past, while I was trying to figure out how we’d have a future.”
You could hear a pin drop, the atmosphere was so somber.
“Eventually we found our place again, together, and it was incredible. I’d never known that kind of happiness, well, not since I was ten years old.” I smiled and was relieved when soft laughter wafted over me.
“We lost four years, Sherry, which sucked. But how many people can say they’ve known their soul mate since they were ten?”
“At least two,” she responded cheekily, earning more laughs from the audience.
“Sherry.” My somber tone sobered everyone as she stared back at me. “Ours is a love people write stories about. But it will never show me falling in love with you, because I never fell. I woke up on the ground, staring up at a beautiful girl in pigtails and a pink dress. I never had a choice in loving you. I was born to love you. All I’ve ever had to do was find you.”
I heard a few sniffles as silent tears streamed down Sherry’s face.
“MAMA!” Elizabeth suddenly shrieked. We both looked over at our distressed little girl, wiggling in Derek’s lap. He looked panicked as he tried to calm her down.
Sherry let go of my hands and quickly stepped off the platform to lift her up and into her arms. She calmed instantly, even though there were wrinkles between her eyebrows as she patted her mother’s face.
Sherry grabbed our daughter’s hand and blew a raspberry into her palm, causing Lizzy to giggle. Sherry looked back and forth between her empty spot next to me and Derek before deciding to bring our daughter back up with her. Derek looked relieved.
I tickled her stomach when they stepped back up.
Sherry took a deep breath. “Not many people know this, but I loved fairy tales as a kid,” she started. “I used to think that fairy tales were about the happy ending, and as we grew up together, I couldn’t wait to get to ours. In those first weeks after the fire…” Her eyes clouded over as she remembered that painful time. I reached out and ran a finger down her cheek. “I came to believe that fairy tales were a horrible thing to teach children. But as time went on and my hope dwindled, I came to realize that fairy tales aren’t about the prince who rides in on a horse, the princess who needs saving, the dragon who needs slaying, or even the happily ever after. They’re only about love, and how worth it it is. Fairy tales don’t teach us that love is easy, they teach us that love is worth it.”
I felt tears sting my eyes for the hundredth time today.
“For four years I thought my entire family was gone. Everyone I grew up with, everyone I loved. All gone. And then you came back to me. I got a family again. But even if we hadn’t found each other again, even if our story had ended that awful night seven years ago, I never would have regretted a single moment. I love you, and no amount of pain took that away.
“Our story wasn’t perfect. But with every happy moment that you give me: like our beautiful daughter”—she paused and tweeted Lizzy’s nose, and Lizzy giggled in response before playing with Sherry’s earring—“and asking if I’d marry you, I’ve come to realize that the story doesn’t have to be perfect in order for it to be worthwhile.
“So even though people say fairy tales don’t exist, and I thought that for a while, too, every single day you remind me they do. Every day, you give me a fairy tale. I love you, and I can’t wait for the rest of our story.”
We gave each other watery smiles before turning to the minister.
I was kissing her before the word “bride” even left his mouth. I heard chuckles from the audience as we broke from our quick kiss when Elizabeth started slapping our faces, giggling and squirming against us, bereft at being left out.
We gave each other secret smiles before we leaned in and planted kisses on our daughter’s cheeks.
Then the three of us turned toward the audience, and my eyes immediately found Derek’s. He had become my best friend. When we got pregnant with Lizzy, despite our nerves, we were thrilled. And when it came to naming a godfather, Derek was the only person Sherry and I wanted, and during that first year, he earned it. He was there for us through everything.
I had been able to get a photography job at a local magazine, but I still had to travel a couple times a year, and without fail Derek would step in and take care of my girls whenever I was away.
“Excuse us,” I announced, handing a more than willing Lizzy off to Derek before grabbing Sherry’s hand. Ducking into the house, we weaved around the staff until I dragged her into one of the rooms.
I immediately pulled her into a hug, one she gladly returned. “I needed a minute alone with you.”
“Me too,” she whispered.
A few minutes later, I pulled away. “Are you doing okay?”
“Yeah, you?”
“I just married my best friend as she held our daughter; okay doesn’t even come close. I don’t think there’s a word for how I feel right now.” Her eyes filled with tears. “And this is only the beginning.”
“The beginning of what?” she asked with a grin.
Unveiling Ghosts Page 25
