Page 57 of Pucking Tangled
Three months later…
Mia
Mia never imagined her ‘wedding’ would look like this.
There was no aisle, no veil, no tuxedos, no string quartet playing soft and forgettable music. Just a courthouse with flickering fluorescent lights, a stack of paperwork, and Waylon’s rough, warm hand wrapped around hers.
The legal ceremony was quick and impersonal. But it’s what they all agreed needed to be done. “I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the officiant said, her tone flat, like she was reading off a lunch order.
They sealed the moment with a kiss and signed a single piece of paper before the officiant disappeared, giving them a moment alone.
Waylon’s gaze moved to the other guys before returning to Mia. His voice was quiet but certain as unshed tears lingered in his eyes. “We all agreed I’d be the one to sign the marriage license. But this doesn’t mean I love her more. ”
Owen stepped forward, the corners of his mouth lifting in that steady way that always anchored her. “This doesn’t change a thing between any of us.”
Except that it did—just not in the way people might think.
Waylon was now legally on the path to U.S. citizenship. He wouldn’t have to worry about expiring visas or team contracts tying him to paperwork that could be ripped away with a single phone call saying, “You’ve been traded.”
And Mia? She didn’t feel like a wife. Not in the one-dimensional, name-on-a-license kind of way.
Still, the gravity of it tugged at her chest. This wasn’t the wedding she’d once pictured, but it was so much more than a signature.
It was a vow. Spoken and shared.
They didn’t linger afterward. There were no photos, rice or confetti.
They climbed into Waylon’s truck and drove back to their house.
Brooke met them at the front door and whisked Mia away to the guest bedroom to change her clothes and redo her hair and makeup. And when Brooke was done, Mia’s dad was there, waiting outside the door to escort her to her men.
Dressed in a white dress, because it was what her men dreamed of, she walked across the backyard to where all four of them were waiting for her beneath the big oak tree that’d been wrapped in string lights.
This was the real ceremony.
The one that mattered.
No officiant. No signatures.
Just her. Her men.
And their families who supported them.
Casey stepped forward first and took her hand.
“Mia, I always knew that I couldn’t do life without you.
I just never imagined that our life would look like this.
Thank you for taking the biggest chance on all of us.
” He slipped a tiny diamond-crusted band on her finger, just above Waylon’s.
“I promise to love, honor, cherish and respect you for all of my days.”
Mia slipped the custom five-stone band onto Casey’s hand. “Casey. Let’s be honest, you’re the first man I ever loved. You’ve always been there for me and then, without even knowing it, you gave me a gift that none of us expected. I’m yours. Theirs. Forever.”
They sealed their commitment to each other with a kiss before Casey stepped back and Luca took her hand.
“I never thought I’d be brave enough to want something like this,” he admitted, slipping the band he picked out for her onto her left ring finger.
“But you made it easy to hope. You made me want things that scare the hell out of me. And I’d walk through every fear again as long as it meant I always got to come home to you. ”
Mia’s hands shook as she placed Luca’s matching band on his ring finger.
“Luca, your trust in me is what makes me want to be a better woman. Every moment. Every day. Your love is passionate, pure and innocent all in one. I’m forever thankful that you gave me your heart, and you’ve let our love multiply.
” She nodded in Waylon’s direction. A silent affirmation of what the two men also shared.
Luca cupped her face and kissed her with the promises of a thousand sons.
Then Owen came forward, his hand finding hers. “You make me believe in things I stopped hoping for a long time ago,” he said. His thumb brushed over her knuckles as he placed his simple band onto her finger. “And I’ll spend the rest of my life making sure you never stop believing, too.”
“You’re our anchor in every storm,” Mia said, sliding his ring on. “The steady presence and voice of reason when we need it. Owen, you’ve created a safe space that I never want to leave. I’ll spend all of my days cherishing that.” She kissed him to seal her vow.
Then Waylon, rarely quiet, stepped forward.
“I’m not good at pretty words,” he said. “But I know what peace feels like now. And it’s you. Always.”
Mia placed her palm on his cheek. “Waylon, everyday is an adventure with you around. You make me smile and laugh. And you let me see parts of you that no one else has. You’ve let me in and held me tight without ever clipping my wings.”
He slipped her five-stone engagement ring back on her hand and kissed her.
Casey, Owen and Luca joined hands with them. Together they vowed, “Today, I choose you—without conditions, without questions or doubts. For now, forever, and every moment in between. Together our love cannot be divided.”
Their families clapped and cheered.
Casey’s mom cried when she hugged Mia. His dad toasted with a beer and made a joke about “getting three more sons and a daughter for the price of one.”
Tessa and Tyson snapped selfies with the happy…newlyweds, and congratulated their brother on finding his happily ever after.
Dean and Celia Blackford handed out glasses of Keller Vineyard wine and blessed them with a heartfelt toast .
Mia’s parents couldn’t stop smiling and hugging their daughter.
“I’m just so happy for you,” her mom kept repeating.
Then the music started and, one by one, friends and teammates arrived.
Long tables lined the lawn, topped with mismatched candles and jars of wildflowers that Casey had thrown together last-minute with help from Brooke and Tessa. The food was casual—barbecue, street tacos, and Mia’s mom’s lemon cake, which had already been cut into before dinner even started.
They didn’t call it a wedding.
But everyone who came knew.
Of course, not everyone had been invited. Only the ones who mattered. The ones who saw them— really saw them—and didn’t flinch.
Most of the Barn Raisers hadn’t batted an eye. In fact, the ones here tonight had offered to show up early and help set up but the guys declined, wanting to keep the ceremony private.
Now Luca was arm-wrestling a defenseman on the deck.
Owen manned the grill with his usual quiet focus.
Casey danced barefoot in the grass with Tessa, their laughter loud and unfiltered.
Waylon leaned against the fence, sipping something dark and probably too strong, looking so at peace it made Mia’s heart ache.
Troy Hart—a Barn Raisers’ veteran defenseman, stood near the drink table, nursing a beer and watching Brooke with a look that Mia recognized all too well.
She noticed their flirtation and the way Brooke’s head tipped back whenever Troy made her laugh. Brooke would deny it, of course—swear up and down she didn’t mix business with... anything. But the way they watched each other, always just a second too long?
Something was brewing, and Mia was certain it would be epic.
She pulled her gaze back to the crowd as a slow song played through the speakers. Without a word, Casey appeared at her side, offering his hand with a smile.
“Mrs. Ryan?” he teased. “Care to dance?”
She laughed, letting him lead her to the grass. “Only if you promise not to dip me into the flower beds again. And stop calling me that. Unless we’re all changing our names to Ryan, then I’m still just Mia.”
“No promises, on any accounts,” Casey winked.
The others joined them one by one. Waylon took her from Casey, resting his forehead against hers for a beat too long. Then Owen. Then Luca.
They each moved with her— together .
Hands brushing. Fingers trailing. Heartbeats syncing like they’d been doing this their entire lives.
The rest of the party faded, blurred into soft laughter and flickering candlelight.
“Husbands,” Mia whispered. “How long do we have to entertain our guests? That big bed of ours is calling.”
Because she was theirs.
They were hers.
And the story they were writing had only just begun.