Page 7 of Killer Honeymoon
“This is us,” Killian said behind him and gave his shoulder another hearty slap.
Sawyer took a deep breath and stepped forward, timing his strides to the music as they’d done the previous night so that both he and Royce would reach the altar simultaneously. Sawyer was aware of their guests seated in the rows of white chairs, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Royce’s smile. Tears of joy filled Sawyer’s eyes again, and his chest swelled until it physically ached. They both exhaled shaky breaths when they joined hands.
The reverend greeted them both with a nod and a kind smile before addressing the crowd. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join these two men in holy matrimony.”
With hands joined and eyes locked, Sawyer and Royce exchanged vows and rings, committing their lives to one another.
“I now pronounce you husbands,” Reverend Harrison said. “Gentlemen, you may—”
Neither Sawyer nor Royce waited for him to finish, moving together in unison as they did nearly everything. The warm press of Royce’s lips sent a shiver of awareness humming through Sawyer’s body.His husband. God, it felt like he’d waited forever for the moment to arrive, though he never wavered in his conviction the day would come. Sawyer’s faith in his man, his husband, was absolute. Royce had rescued his abandoned dreams and helped him forge new ones. This moment, this feeling, precious and wondrous, was only the beginning for them.
Royce pulled back on a shaky exhale and smiled at him. “I have the sexiest husband on the planet.”
“Nope,” Sawyer said. “That honor is all mine.”
Royce chuckled. “Will this be our first fight as newlyweds?”
Sawyer’s mouth tilted into a wry smile. “Maybe when there isn’t an audience waiting to celebrate with us.”
They grinned at one another and turned to face their friends and family. Royce lifted their joined hands like a referee announcing the winner of a boxing match. There were only victors here, no losers. They smiled as they strolled hand in hand down the center aisle, then waited in the rear to greet their guests. After the last handshake, hug, or kissed cheek, the guys joined their families for photos while the guests moved on to the reception at the Hummingbird Café. Whitney moved them effortlessly through a series of poses that alternated between sweet and humorous, so the process never felt tedious.
Once they finished the wedding pictures, everyone headed for their vehicles, giving Royce and Sawyer their first private moment of the day. Royce backed Sawyer up against the side of the SUV and slid a hand under his jacket, growling low in his throat when his fingers encountered the laces crisscrossing Sawyer’s back.
Royce’s jaw tightened. “I want to see it. Now.”
“We’ll be late to our reception,” Sawyer teased.
Royce hooked a finger around a lace and tugged Sawyer toward him, putting a gap between his body and the vehicle. “It’sourreception. Show me, baby. Otherwise my mind will torment me all night long.”
Sawyer smirked and turned to face the SUV before easing the jacket off his shoulders. Royce hissed an appreciative breath, then traced his fingers over the laces from top to bottom. When he finished, Royce stepped up behind Sawyer, pressed his lips to Sawyer’s ear, and said, “You make strings look damn good.”
Sawyer turned and cupped his face. “I remember the first time you said those words to me.”
Royce leaned into his touch. “I’d decided to stop running from you and turned toward you instead, a decision I’ve congratulated myself on every day since. Do you remember what I said afterward?”
Sawyer nodded. “You insisted I teach you how to be the man I deserved.”
“And you have,” Royce said. “Now teach me to be the man who deserves to keep you.”
Sawyer smiled and kissed his lips. “A promise we should both make to each other.”
“Deal.” Royce extended his hand, pinky outstretched.
“A pinky promise?” Sawyer asked with a quirked brow.
“The most sacred of all vows,” Royce replied.
Sawyer hooked his pinky around Royce’s and borrowed his husband’s catchphrase. “Challenge received and accepted.”
Rita, the proud proprietress, greeted them with a warm hug when they arrived at the Hummingbird Café. “Everyone is here and waiting for the guests of honor.” She smiled wryly. “Some of them are getting a little restless and eyeing the buffet.”
Royce tilted his head back and sniffed appreciatively. “Can’t say I blame them.”
Rita giggled. “Are you guys ready?”
Sawyer reached over and linked their fingers.
“Yes,” they said together.