Page 83 of Deserving Ryleigh
The room was so silent, you could hear a pin drop…until Brick’s mom sobbed. That was followed by several sniffs around the room.
But Alaska wasn’t crying. She was smiling at her almost-husband with a look of such love on her face, it made Ry truly believe in soul mates for the first time in her life.
“Wow,” she whispered when Brick was done. “I totally should’ve gone first.”
Her words broke the heavy emotion in the room, and everyone laughed.
“Get it, girl!”
Ry wasn’t sure who said it, but it made her laugh harder.
Alaska took a deep breath before speaking. “Drake, I love you. I’ve always loved you. From that first bus ride when you sat next to me and asked if I wanted to play war with you. And yes, I remember that conversation, just like I remember all of them. You befriended me when I needed a friend the most.
“I was yours before I even knew what that meant. And when I needed you, you came. Without question. Without hesitation. I don’t think you truly understand what that meant to me. How completely unusual that was. And then you continued to be there for me. Whatever I needed, you gave to me. But the only thing Itrulywanted was you.
“I never thought it would happen. I would’ve been content with a lifelong friendship. But then somehow, someway, you decided that you liked me as much as I liked you. I felt like I was that little girl on the school bus all over again. I felt giddy, and excited, and scared to death.Terrified I’d do something to mess it up. To make you not want me anymore.
“But…I’ve realized something since I’ve been here. We’re not perfect. None of us are. And you know what? I’m glad. Because being perfect would be exhausting. You let me be grumpy, eat the last Pop-Tart, be selfish and sleep in when you’re just as tired as me. You deal with the toughest customers so I don’t have to, and you don’t flinch when I wear my ugliest fat pants and huge T-shirts around the house, because you know that’s what makes me most comfortable. You don’t judge me, don’t want me to be anyone other than who I am.
“And I feel the same about you. I never want you to change who you are because you think it’s who I want you to be. You’re Drake Vandine, ex-SEAL Brick, Refuge owner. And I love you so much it hurts sometimes. I’m totally rambling now and I have no idea what else I wanted to say, so I’ll add one more thing then shut up so we can get on with this party…with our friends.
“You know what? I never reallyhadfriends. Ever. Except for you. I’d convinced myself that I was an outcast.” Alaska looked around the room as she spoke. “But you all accepted me. Embraced me. Made me feel as if I was truly a part of something for the first time in my life. You came to me when you needed help, had questions, or simply wanted to talk. You’ll never know how much that meant,means, to me.”
Everyone was crying now, and Ry was no exception. It was as if Alaska had looked into her brain and pulled out exactly how she felt. She’d been that same person, the one without friends, who never thought she’d fit in anywhere. And now she was surrounded by men and women she’d feltas if she’d known her entire life. And Ry would gladly protect each and every person standing in this room. No matter what it took, no matter how many laws she had to break. She’d keep them safe from whoever or whatever tried to take them down.
As far as she was concerned, this was her family.
“Right, now we’re all crying. Sorry,” Alaska said with a small sniff. Then she looked up at Brick. “I take you, Drake, for my own. I’ll love you if we win the lottery—which we don’t play—and have a hundred million dollars in the bank, or if we’re down to our last dollar. I’ll love you when you’re sick with a man cold and complaining that you’re dying, and when we’re completely healthy. When times are good, like now, and when the shit hits the fan, I’ll stand by your side and love you. There will never be anyone else for me. Ever. You’re it. And as far as you deserving me, or me deserving you…I think we deserve each other. We’ve been through hell, and we’re each other’s reward.”
To Ry’s surprise, a tear rolled down Brick’s cheek. It wasn’t as if she didn’t think men cried, but seeing how moved Brick was by Alaska’s vows was as heartwarming as anything she’d ever seen.
Alaska reached up with the tissue in her hand and dabbed Brick’s face as she smiled.
“Right, now that Alaska made usallteary eyed,” Owl said with a huge smile, “let’s get this done so we can party. Before these witnesses, you have pledged to be joined in marriage. You have sealed this pledge with your vows and the rings you wear on your fingers. By the power vested in me by the state of New Mexico, I pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride—but don’t forget that you’rein the presence of minors and we’re all ready to dance and have a beer or two, so don’t take all day.”
Once again, everyone laughed, lightening the mood. Ry smiled as she watched Brick take Alaska’s head in his hands and tip her chin up. Then he leaned in and kissed her. It was a sweet kiss. Beautiful. Until he wrapped an arm around her waist, put another behind her head, tilted her backward and kissed her long, hard, and deep.Thatdefinitely wasn’t a chaste, innocent kiss. It was a claiming. And it curled Ry’s toes simply by watching. She could only imagine what Alaska was feeling.
“You want that?” Tiny asked in her ear.
His warm breath wafted over her skin, making her shiver in delight. “Want what? Brick to kiss me? No.”
“Smartass. No,” Tiny said. “As if I’d let him get his lips anywhere near yours. You want a ceremony like this? With friends and family? A party? Because I’ll give it to you. I’ll give you whatever you want. Just say the word.”
Ry turned in Tiny’s arms and shook her head. “No. I’ve never dreamed of a big wedding. Honestly, I never thought I’d ever get married. I want what you said, a small civil ceremony. I have everything I’ve ever dreamed about already. You, everyone here at The Refuge. I don’t need or want something big like this.”
“You think this is big?” Tiny said with a grin.
“It is,” Ry insisted.
“You’re adorable,” he told her. “Fine. No big wedding shindig. But I’m gonna want a honeymoon. I want to take you somewhere. Warm, cold, doesn’t matter to me. Somewhere you’ve always wanted to go.”
“Hawaii,” Ry said without hesitation. “I want to go to Hawaii, eat malasadas, climb Diamond Head, go to theNorth Shore, eat snow cones…which aren’t called snow cones over there, but I forget at the moment what they’re called. I want to buy a hula girl and put it on the dashboard of our car, go to a luau, and have a room with a balcony that looks out onto the ocean. I want to make love with the ocean breeze coming in through the door of that balcony and revel in the knowledge that I’ve got the handsomest, bravest, most Jake Ryan-est husband in the whole world.”
Tiny’s pupils dilated as she talked about making love, but he chuckled at her last remarks. “I love you,” he told her.
“And I love you back,” she said without hesitation. The truth was, she didn’t need to go to Hawaii, didn’t even need to leave their cabin. Wherever Tiny was, she was happy.
“Every day that goes by, you get more and more beautiful,” he whispered before his head lowered. He kissed her sweetly, with only a hint of tongue, but Ry could still feel the passion in his touch. In the way his hands held her, the way he breathed unsteadily when he lifted his lips, the way he stared at her as if she was literally the only woman in the world.
