When she glanced up at him, he winked at her, and she couldn’t help grinning at the glimmer of his cocky side rearing its head. She took his ring from Casey and slipped it on his finger and repeated the words.
They then turned to the minister who smiled. “By the power vested in me by God almighty and the fine state of Georgia, I now pronounce you husband and wife.” He gave Aidan a pointed look. “You may now kiss your bride.”
“About time,” Aidan replied before bringing his hands to cup her face. His lips met hers in a chaste, yet passionate kiss. Thunderous applause echoed around them as Aidan pulled away.
Linking her arm through his, they started down the aisle and down the hill to the barn to celebrate.
***
As Dave and her cousins’ band perfectly harmonized the lyrics to her first dance song, Emma swayed in Aidan’s arms. Glancing up at the canopy of twinkling lights, she couldn’t believe how Marie and her team had transformed the barn into a winter wonderland. It was utterly breathtaking, and she couldn’t help sighing with contentment at how perfect everything had turned out.
Working on their tight schedule hadn’t been easy, but Grammy, along with her aunts and cousins, had whipped up a meal better than any catering company. Just the thought of the delicious BBQ she had consumed sent a small burp escaping from her lips.
With his blue eyes twinkling with amusement, Aidan gazed down at her. “Excuse me,” she peeped.
“Eat a little too much?”
“Maybe.”
“Damn, it was good.”
“It was, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. Everything has been good. Well, this song could be a little better.” Aidan wrinkled his nose. “How in the hell did I let you talk me into John Denver for our first dance as man and wife?”
“For You is a beautiful song. Did you even bother listening to the lyrics? It’s about how the rest of my life is for you and you alone!”
Aidan grinned at her outrage. “You’re right. It is a beautiful song. And Dave is knocking it out of the park. But still…”
“And just what would you have preferred?” Emma asked as the last chords of the song finished.
Before she could press him again, Dave interrupted her thoughts. “Our next song was especially picked out by Aidan. He wanted Emma to know how much the lyrics mean to him and their relationship. So Em, here’s You Save Me.”
Emma gasped as she jerked her gaze from Dave to Aidan. His signature cocky smirk curved on his lips. “You really did that?” she asked as Dave began singing the Kenny Chesney classic.
“Yes, I did.”
As she stilled in his arms, she let the familiar lyrics echo through her mind. She felt Aidan’s breath warming her cheek. “And it’s the truth, Em. You do save me. I would still be lost if you hadn’t come into my life, and I thank God everyday that you gave me another chance to show you how much my soul cries out for you. There will never be anyone else for me in the world.”
Tears welled in her eyes as he tilted her chin to look at him. His jaw was hard-set with determination. “I mean it, Em.”
“You saved me too,” she whispered.
He kissed her tenderly before pressing his face to her cheek. “If you would have told me this time last year I would be a married man with a kid on the way, I would’ve laughed my ass off and called you crazy,” he mused. When she tensed, he pulled away and smiled. “Boy, I was a crazy bastard then.”
She returned his smile. “I would have done the same thing if someone had told me I would not only be married but carrying the child of the creep who hit on me at the Christmas Party.”
Aidan laughed. “Fate has a funny way of working things out, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, it does.”
He tightened his arms around her as the song came to a close. “So why don’t we hurry up and cut the cake, so we can get the hell out of here and start our honeymoon?”
Emma rolled her eyes. “Are you really that impatient?”
He grunted. “You cut me off ten days ago. I’m going to explode.”
“I wanted our first night as man and wife to be special,” she countered.
A smirk twitched on his lips. “Then let’s make it special sooner.”
“Patience is a virtue, Mr. Fitzgerald. I’m not going to miss out on dancing the night away with you because of your libido. Besides, I want to dance with Granddaddy and your father, and I want you to dance with Grammy. We’re only going to have a wedding reception once.”
“Okay, okay,” he grumbled.
Leaning in, she whispered in his ear, “I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”
Aidan chuckled. “You don’t have to promise me anything, babe. I’m so crazy in love with you I’ll do anything you ask—including waiting to get laid.”
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she said, “Oh, who needs poetry when I have you to say romantic lines like that?”
He grinned. “You know I’m one hell of man, babe!”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
As sparklers lit the way through the dark, Emma and Aidan ran to their car while being pelted with birdseed. Emma only gave the shaving cream covered and condom decorated Mercedes a fleeting glance before throwing open the door and collapsing onto the seat. She swiped off the pieces of birdseed stuck to her hair and dress.
Aidan grinned as he cranked up the car. “Sure hope we don’t get attacked by a flock of militant birds with all this shit on us.”
Emma laughed. “So how far is it to your buddy’s cabin?”
“About twenty minutes from here in Blue Ridge.”
With Emma in her last trimester, Aidan had put his foot down about them flying anywhere for their honeymoon. He had been able to get a week at a secluded cabin that belonged to one of his work buddies.
“I’m sorry it’s not somewhere exotic like the Caribbean or romantic like Venice,” Aidan said as they pulled onto the highway.
“After Noah is born, I’m holding you to that Italy promise.”
“It’s a deal. And since I know you won’t get on a plane without him, we’ll make the Little Man an international traveler before he’s a year old.”
“Aw, I love it.” Reaching over, Emma took Aidan’s hand in hers. “It doesn’t matter where we go as long as I’m with you.”
He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “I feel the same way babe.”