Page 34 of Silver Sanctuary (The Silver Springs #3)

“I am. I really am. But, do you think…” Embrie’s eyes went wide as she tried to get out the words and Lacy’s mind went into overdrive.

Was she actually worried about everything changing?

Was she feeling weird about being around Nash now that he would be Lacy’s husband? Was everything overwhelming her?

“Do I think what, honey?”

“Do you think… maybe one day… would it be okay for me to call Nash ‘Dad’? I’ve never had a dad, and he seems like he’ll be a really good one.” Tears flooded Embrie’s eyes, and Lacy pulled her beautiful, smart, incredibly-wise-beyond-her-years daughter into her arms.

“I have a sneaking suspicion,” Lacy whispered through her own tears, “that Nash would love for you to call him ‘dad,’ if and when you are ready for that.”

“Okay,” she cried, her body leaning into Lacy’s. “I’m excited for you to marry him, Mama. I want you to be happy.”

“I am, sweet girl. I’ve always been happy with you by my side.”

“Well, damn.” Lacy looked up to see Mae and Lily both wiping at their eyes, Lily’s arms banded tightly around Sage. “There goes all Lily’s hard work with our makeup.”

“It’s fine! I made sure everything was waterproof.” Lily laughed through her tears. “Come on, I’m sure Nash is ready to see you both. Give us a second to scoot on by, then count to ten and walk in! We’ll make sure he’s ready.”

Lacy nodded, those damn nervous butterflies dancing in her belly like the wedding had already started.

“You really ready for this?” Hawk patted Nash on the back.

“Yeah—more than ready. You know I would have dragged her down to the courthouse the day she moved into my apartment. I was just waiting for her to be ready.”

“You think she is?” Gunner grunted as he worked on buttoning up his shirt.

“I think a part of her is. I think there’s another part telling her I don’t really mean it—that I won’t really stay.”

“She’ll get there, Wings. Just keep showing that she can count on you to be there.”

“I plan on doing just that.”

“All right, well… couldn’t let today pass by without a toast. To the first of our crew to get married in Texas with all of us in attendance.

” Sebastian smiled, his hand going around the back of Gunner’s neck and squeezing.

They all loved Lily like she was their sister, but finding out Gunner had married her while he was back home in Connecticut saying goodbye to his dying mother had been a shock, to say the least. And then he’d shown up in Texas with Lily on one arm, and cradling a newborn Sage in the other. It was an adjustment for their group.

“Yeah, yeah. Lily and I are gonna do it right one of these days. Don’t make me start giving you shit about Emma and the five-year-long engagement.”

Cap laughed, handing out glasses of whiskey from his family’s distillery.

“This is one of the first bottles my brothers ever distilled. It’s meant for times of celebration—when family comes together and blessings are witnessed.

And that’s what today is. Because we aren’t just seeing a friend enter a sacred union with the woman he loves, we’re witnessing our brother gaining his own family—a wife, and a daughter—to love and protect.

To laugh and cry with. To share even the secrets we don’t know about with.

Nash, it may have felt like your new life began the day you left the Navy, and in a way, it did.

But I believe it was all to bring you right to this moment.

The moment where your true forever begins.

We’re happy for you, brother—truly happy.

May you and Lacy have a beautiful, happy, healthy, lifelong union. ”

“Here, here!” Hawk shouted before a sea of “Cheers!” went up from his best friends.

“Oh, here we go!” Gunner picked his phone up off the table. “Looks like it’s time, Wings. Lily said Lacy and Embrie are on their way down. You ready?”

Nash straightened his back, adjusting the way his uniform sat on his shoulders. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Go get ‘em, man. Congratulations.” Gage smiled as Nash turned, walking from the conference room to the reception area of Montgomery Defense. He didn’t have to wait long before the elevator chimed. His heart skipped a beat as movement caught his eye.

“Sorry, handsome.” Mae giggled. “I’m sure you were expecting your girls; they’re right behind us.”

“Thanks for being there for them this morning,” he whispered as they walked by.

And then, Lacy came into view.

Her wedding dress was simple—sleek silk that draped over every curve like it was made out of liquid.

“My god.”

She smiled, walking hand in hand with Embrie by her side. He forced himself to blink, the lump of emotion in his throat growing with each step they took toward him.

They both looked so beautiful. His girls. His. They were about to become his family.

Forever.

“What?” He chuckled as her eyes grew even wider as she closed in on him .

“You look so handsome.” Lacy’s hand came to rest on his chest. “You took my breath away.”

He couldn’t hold back. His head dipped so his lips were right against hers. “I think you stole my line, wife .”

“I’m not your wife yet.”

“Technicalities I don’t really care about.” Nash’s lips pressed against hers, noting how soft they felt with the rose-petal-colored lipstick sliding between them.

“I didn’t realize you’d be wearing your dress whites. It feels so…”

“Weird? Formal?”

“No. Like a fairy tale.”

“Lacy.” The officiant looked over at her.

God, her whole body was shaking with nerves.

Why the hell had she let Nash talk her into saying something for her vows other than the scripted lines?

He was going to say something beautiful, and make everyone in the room cry, and she was going to look ungrateful.

Like she didn’t understand everything he was giving up, everything he was risking, by becoming her husband.

“We’re ready for you to say your vows now, and to exchange rings. ”

Lacy knew her face must have shown her panic because Nash just chuckled and winked, holding his hand out toward Hawk. Two solid gold bands were placed in his palm and she let out a sigh of relief. Of course he had that covered.

“Breathe, Lace. Whatever you say will be perfect,” Nash whispered.

She nodded, tears already gathering in the corner of her eyes as she took the bigger of the two bands and warmed the metal in her hand.

“There was this moment, the first time you came into Petals, where the air stopped moving. You were standing there, listening to a customer—someone from my past—say truly awful things about me. And instead of turning around, instead of walking out the door, you came to my rescue. You knew nothing about me, and yet, you chose to stand up for me—to protect me. To make sure I was safe, and okay. That’s the kind of man you are, Nash Caldwell.

And from the second that air went still, and my heart hitched in my chest, I prayed for this moment. ”

She laughed, but it was messy and soggy, and she really wished she had a tissue because surely the tears were about to come. As if reading her mind, Lily popped up and handed her one, before making her way back to her seat.

“Do you remember giving me your business card?” she asked.

He nodded.

“I threw it away.” The guys chuckled, but she kept going. “I threw it away, because before you, there was never a single person I could count on in my life. Not a single person who ever genuinely wanted to help me. Not a friend, or family member, or parent—” Her voice caught. “Who loved me.”

The first tear fell, and Lacy feared it was just the beginning.

“But you do. And I know that without you ever having to say the words. Because it’s in the way your hand rests on the small of my back whenever you’re standing beside me.

The way you look behind us, and keep an eye on the path in front of us to make sure we’re safe.

The way you play with and tease Embrie—the way you teach her.

It’s in the way you never make a fuss about your needs, but will burn the world down to make sure mine are taken care of.

You are the most genuinely good human I know, and I’m going to work every day to be worthy of the love that you pour into me?—”

“You are worthy,” he interrupted. “Just as you are. Yesterday, today, tomorrow. You don’t have to do anything to earn my love. It’s yours.”

Her hands shook as she pushed the ring onto his finger before reaching up, soggy tissue still clamped in one, to cup his face. “My heart belongs to you, Nash. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

He moved so quickly she didn’t have a chance to remind him that they were in the middle of their vows. The kiss was everything she needed. Every doubt or fear washed away in the heat of their connection. Whistles and cheers rang out around them.

The officiant cleared his throat. “I think that part is for after Mr. Caldwell says his vows.”

Lacy’s face was surely a mess. Nash took her hands in his and a sudden rush of excitement washed over her as she waited for him to start his vows.

“I know what so many of our friends here want to say—what you might even be thinking, too. That this is fast. That we’ve only been engaged for a few weeks.

That this marriage is for so many things beyond love.

But from where I’m standing, it hasn’t felt fast. I’ve felt every single one of the one hundred and fifty-eight thousand, four hundred and…

” He paused to look at his watch, smiling up at Lacy when he saw the time.

“Twenty-two minutes since I first laid eyes on you. I’ve spent nearly all of that time waiting for this moment.

A moment that will start the rest of forever for us, Lacy. ”