Total pages in book: 197
Estimated words: 199143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 996(@200wpm)___ 797(@250wpm)___ 664(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 199143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 996(@200wpm)___ 797(@250wpm)___ 664(@300wpm)
But she wasn’t that girl anymore.
She was this woman.
Catherine turned then and lifted her head to find her father standing there. He might have been embarrassed to have to catch him staring, but he couldn’t even bother to feel that at all. She’d asked him earlier when she revealed her dress to Cross whether or not he was sad about this day.
He’d not really been sure if his answer was honest, then.
He knew, now, though.
No, he wasn’t sad at all.
“Ready to get me married, Daddy?” Catherine asked.
Dante nodded. “Yeah, time to get you married, vita mia.”
*
Cross POV
Zeke’s hand landed firmly on Cross’s shoulder as the music changed again. His friend’s silent show of support. He knew what that song meant—he and Catherine had gone around and around and around in way too many conversations to count over which song should be the one she walked down the aisle to. Something more traditional, or something altogether different.
All this time ...
He’d waited all this time.
And in just a few moments, all the time he waited would mean absolutely nothing. Moments of his past that would feel like they hadn’t really been the struggle he thought they were because this moment right here meant it was all worth it, anyway. Every moment spent waiting for Catherine, and this day, would be worth it.
That was surreal.
Not once since he woke up that morning had he really stopped to appreciate how unreal this entire day was. Maybe because a part of him had still believed it couldn’t possibly be real even though he knew without a doubt that it was very much real.
The doors at the back of the church opened at all once, and Cross’s head snapped up instantly. There were so many familiar faces in the crowd, honestly. People he’d known his whole life. Friends he’d known for decades. People he loved beyond words. And yet, the only thing he really wanted to see was standing at the back of the church with her hand tucked around her father’s arm.
Cross smiled, then.
Catherine, all the way at the end of the aisle, smiled back under the blush color of her veil.
He’d seen her dress already—the damn woman knew what he needed without even needing him to tell her a single thing about it either way—and yet, it still kind of struck him to see her standing there again with it. His heart felt the same way it had back at the hotel—like it was about to beat right out of his chest, like he couldn’t control it at all. His lungs still ached with every single breath he took. And yeah, his gaze still blurred a bit with the threat of tears, but he blinked them back. He didn’t want to miss this, not for anything.
He’d waited all this time, after all.
He was not going to miss her walking to him now.
There was no way in hell he was going to miss this woman walking to him—this beautiful, amazing woman who belonged entirely to him. There was no other person on this earth who was made for him. Not like Catherine. He belonged to her, too.
That’s kind of how love worked, he supposed.
Cross wasn’t entirely sure how long it took for Catherine and her father to come down the aisle. It kind of felt like he was in a daze, like his vision tunneled, and the only thing he could really see was her soft smile getting closer and closer with every passing second. Each step she took had his heard thundering impossibly louder.
And then there she was ...
Right in front of him.
Dante handed her hand over with a nod and a smile before taking his leave to sit beside his wife. All things that seemed to happen in the background of Cross’s mind, really. He was still focusing on Catherine.
And her soft smile.
He found his fingers trembled a bit when he reached up to pull her veil back like he was supposed to do. Never once did her gaze leave his, though.
And there she was again ...
God.
“I love you, Catherine.”
It wasn’t like she needed told again. God knew he told her all the fucking time anyway. He couldn’t say it enough, really. She still liked him to say it, and he still needed to tell her. It was his thing.
And she exactly what to say back.
Forever.
Catherine’s smile widened a bit. “Promise?”
Cross grinned. “Always, babe.”
After the Wedding
Catherine POV
Laughter came from the people surrounding them, and hands hit the tables repeatedly. Makeshift drums, maybe, but all Catherine could do was shake her head at the sight of Cross grinning in that arrogant way of his. All the while, he had a piece of cake lifted in his hand for her to get a good look at. Not a big piece, mind you, but it was big enough for him to make a whole mess across her face like she had done to his just a second before.