How I thought I could ever survive a world without Vi is beyond me. Kissing her is like breathing. Necessary and rudiment for survival. In the short time I’ve known her, she’s brought so much out in me and I hate myself for not seeing it all sooner.
Leslie comes bustling over in her huge gown, her happy eyes widening as she takes in my pained expression. “What happened?” she asks as she slides into a chair beside me.
“I love her, Leslie. I love, love her,” my voice croaks as I exhale a painful sigh over the fear that it might not be enough. “But I think I’ve ruined it.”
“Nonsense,” she says, yanking my hands away from my head. “You didn’t ruin anything. Hayden, do you have any idea how much it took for me to fall for your brother? He chased me all through London because my outlook on love was terrible. My past saw to that. But look at me right now…Do you see anything in me besides one hundred percent certainty in my feelings for Theo?”
I shake my head incredulously. “You guys make it look easy.”
“Love is never easy, but when it’s right it’s number one…above everything.” She touches my wrist gently and my brows crumple in silent pain. “If she’s the one, Hayden, you have to show her that you will put her first…above your past.”
“I’ve spent years wishing away my past,” I reply, staring down at her hand cupping my wrist, my eyes flashing nervously to the time on my watch.
“Then start there. Prove it to her somehow. Hell, make a splash, Hayden!” she exclaims and grabs the wireless mic from the table.
I stare at it in horror. “No. Not here. Not now.”
“There’s no better time, baby bro. I don’t know if you noticed, but Theo and I are kind of on your side and stuff.” She winks playfully and offers me a saccharinely sweet smile. “And we want Marisa to have a cousin sooner rather than later.”
I roll my eyes, but the corner of my mouth lifts. I glance down at my watch again, only a few minutes to go. Out of the corner of my eyes, I see Vi striding back to her table. Gareth stands and she gestures to her jacket. He looks confused, but hands it to her.
No! She can’t leave. Before I even make a conscious decision to do what I’m about to do, my fingers wrap around the mic. “Just remember you fucking asked for this.”
Leslie giggles with excitement. “Oh my God, this is going to be awesome. Do it to it!”
“I’m doing it,” I growl as I flick the mic on halfway through my sentence. A loud crack and hiss of feedback halts everyone’s conversations. “Uh, sorry. Hiya. Um.” I suck in my cheeks and bite down to stop myself from cursing an expletive. “I’m Hayden Clarke, Theo’s brother.”
“And mine,” Leslie chirps quietly from beside me. The crowd all looks up at me excitedly. Except Vi.
“I know speeches happened already, but there’s one more speech I need to make.” The background music suddenly cuts off and I see Jaci no K press through the frozen couples on the dance floor. She is staring at me in horror over messing with her perfectly mapped itinerary. My nerves roll in like a dust storm as I add, “And I’m sorry, but it has nothing to do with the bride and groom.”
I tear my watchful eyes from a furious Jaci and glance pointedly at Vi. Her jaw hangs open as she remains unmoving by the table. She looks so fucking gorgeous, even with her gobsmacked mouth.
“Vi,” I start, looking down awkwardly, “you told me once that I don’t get to keep forever to myself. And I’d like to repeat those words back to you right now.”
A few gasps echo in the room and I look up to see her bring a hand to her mouth in shock. “Your forever is mine, Vi. Your forever belongs to me…whether you’re ready to accept it or not.
“I was afraid that there was too much time could not erase for me.” I peek down at my watch and see there’s still two minutes to go. “But when I hold you in my arms, time doesn’t even exist anymore. I feel brand new. I feel happy and healthy. I was so determined to get there on my own that I couldn’t accept all that you were giving me. You listened to every horrid moment of my life and not one of them scared you away.”
My head drops. That feeling in my chest that started as a trickle the first moment I saw her and turned into a steady flow the more I got to know her, now bursts inside of me like a broken, gushing pipe.
“Vi Harris…falling for you has been a series of single, solitary important moments. That moment I first saw your tears as we sat together in the dog park. That moment Bruce knocked you over on your porch and you just giggled. God that giggle.” I close my eyes against the tears. “That moment when I watched you holding my niece,” I croak and then open my eyes to meet her glossy gaze again. “That moment you kissed my scars.
“Vi, you’re afraid that you’re unlovable? Bunny, I fell in love with you the day we ran in the rain outside your flat. There was a moment when you looked at me and saw into my soul. Christ, Vi, I love you. I’ve never felt more alive than right this moment…loving you.”