Unbroken (44 page)

He holds a small box out, and I take it, but not before kissing him on the cheek. Once he’s gone, I lift the lid off the box and I find a note resting inside.

Dove,

I thought you could use something new…

I love you.

I move the slip of paper and find a tiny, white gold feather glistening on a small chain. I lift it out of the box and examine it closely, trying not to cry. It’s lovely. Aside from the absence of the birds, it looks almost exactly like the feather on my shoulder, which was airbrushed away by Aunt Ness earlier. I hand it to Bianca, who is careful to put it around my neck without catching the chain in my hair.

Nickayla steps forward, holding out a pair of diamond studs. “I got them for my fifteenth birthday. I figured they could be your something old, and something borrowed. Do you have anything blue?”

I nod, but I don’t elaborate. That’s for Brody to see. My garter is off-white to match my dress, but it has yellow and pale blue ribbon lacing through it.

I place the studs in my ears and take one last glance in the mirror before Bianca, my maid of honor, hands me my bouquet. I hold it in front of me, watching as all my bridesmaids take theirs. Mom is outside, where the ceremony is taking place. Mila was my flower girl, and from what I’ve heard, she did a spectacular job.

Starting with Grace, and ending with Nickayla, my girls file outside one by one, as the classical piece that was playing finishes.

When I hear Arabella’s voice ring out loud and clear with the notes of the song I’ve chosen for this moment, I take a deep breath and step out of the back doors of the lake house. The minute the doors are open, Daddy extends his hand for me. I allow him to lace his arm through mine as he guides me down the stairs and toward my future.

Make You Feel My Love
by Bob Dylan has always been one of my favorites. But it holds a different importance to me now. It’s the song I played for him and sang at his bedside while he was unconscious. It’s the song I believe brought him back to me.

And now it’s the song that’s being sung as my daddy walks me down the aisle to give me away to the man I’m about to marry.

When we round the corner and the small ceremony my mother has set up comes into view, I am in awe of what that woman has been able to put together in a week. Rustic white chairs sit on either side of the aisle, and yellow bows are tied around each one of them. White rose petals are strewn in the center of the backyard, guiding us on a path toward a small stage, where my husband-to-be stands, the biggest, goofiest, lopsided grin resting on his face.

The minute our gazes meet, my eyes mist over, and I all but sprint down the aisle and into his arms. But instead, I hold on to Daddy, who steadies me and guides me as Arabella continues to sing.

Finally, I am here, I am in front of him, and I am ready to be his wife. He steps down, and my father nods at him.

“Who gives this woman to this man?” our minister asks, staring down at the three of us.

“I do,” Daddy says. He takes my hand, kissing it, and he gives me a sadsmile. “I love you.”

“I love you,” I whisper back.

Gingerly, he places my hand into Brody’s. Once our hands touch, I am not at all surprised to find that the fire between us is still ever-present. If anything, it has only ignited further as our love for each other continues to grow. I stare at him, eating him up with my gaze. The swelling from last week’s ordeal is completely nonexistent, and the bruises that once littered his face are either completely gone or covered up with makeup, courtesy of Ness. He is incredibly handsome. From his new haircut—which is absolutely to
die
for—to the scruff on his face to the way this tux fits him to a T, I know I’m not going to be able to follow the doctor’s orders tonight. I want him, every inch of him, right now.

But I can settle for tonight.

We decided to recite our own vows, rather than repeat the ones the minister has rehearsed. I smile up at Brody, anxious to hear the words he has written for me. His gray-blue gaze never leaves my face, and I watch as he inhales deeply before speaking.

“Sabrina, it’s been said that there’s only one word that can free us from the weight and pain that life brings. I’ve heard that that word is love. Before you, I didn’t believe it. Before you, I didn’t believe that love existed. My favorite phrase was always that happy every after isn’t in the cards for me.” He shakes his head. “Before you, I struggled to find my place. Where the people around me found love and hope and happiness, I was wandering aimlessly. Now, I know why. I was searching for you. Maybe I didn’t know it, maybe my brain didn’t know it. But my heart always did. My heart was always yours to have. You deserve so much, my sweet girl. You deserve nothing less than all of me. That’s what I will strive to give you, day in and day out. I will honor you and cherish you and adore you for years to come. And more than that, I will love you, every second of every minute of every hour of every day. This I promise you today and always.”

Oh, Jesus. Tears spring forth and I can’t stop them from flowing freely at the words that have just come out of his mouth. I can’t hold my emotions back, not now. His words are everything to me, and I will hold them in my heart forever.

His hand comes up to cradle my face, and his thumb wipes a tear from my eye. I give him the best smile I can muster under the circumstances, and I take a deep breath before I begin.

“Brody, I am a believer in fate. I believe that everything happens for a reason. There is a reason that we found each other not once, not twice, but over and over again. It’s because our souls are attuned. I was always yours, from the minute I took my first breath. Every moment with you has been a retelling of stories past, a recollection of those that have been lost, a remembrance of memories we never knew we had. When I first saw you, it was never a question of, ‘where have you been all my life?’ The minute I saw you, my soul was alight, and when we touched, my soul said to yours, ‘Oh, there you are. I’ve been looking for you for what seems like forever.’ I am in love with you, to the very depths of my soul. In every story, in every lifetime, my soul will find you and choose you, because there is no other for me. You are my other half.” More tears threaten to fall, and it’s all I can do to contain them. “I was always yours to have. I always will be. I will love you in this lifetime, and in every single lifetime after. This I vow today.”

Hand in hand, we face the minister as he blesses our marriage. When he asks if we have rings for each other, I turn to Bianca, taking Brody’s wedding band from her. He does the same, taking my band from Colin.

Turning back to face me, he takes my left hand in his. He repeats the words the minister has asked him to, and, slowly, he slips the band on my finger.

“Do you, Brody Michael Durham, take Sabrina Yarida Matteo to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

Voice thick with emotion, Brody says, loud and clear, “I do.”

My heart races, and I grasp his left hand in mine. Repeating after the minister, I place the wedding band on Brody’s ring finger.

“Do you, Sabrina Yarida Matteo, take Brody Michael Durham to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

There is no question, no hesitation when I say, “I do.”

Everything around us disappears, and it is only Brody and I, standing before each other, waiting for those magic words to be spoken to the two of us.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”

Cheers erupt around us, but I barely hear them. People are standing to clap, but I don’t see them. I only have eyes for my husband, who pulls me toward him. He cradles my head in his hand, and mine comes up to twine in his hair. His lips devour mine in an instant, his other arm draping around my waist and holding me close as we seal our union with a kiss. Pulling away from me, he grins that crooked grin I love so much, and he places his hand at the small of my back.

“I love you,” he whispers, his forehead resting against mine.

“I love you more,” I whisper back.

He grins, but I am so close that I can see the tears glistening in his eyes. “If you say so.”

…

WE ARE MARRIED.

We sit in the limousine my mother got for us, hand in hand, kissing and touching and wanting and needing like there is no tomorrow, on our way back to the lake house after taking pictures. I can’t get enough of this man. And if his hand beneath the hem of my dress, roaming up my bare skin is any indication, he can’t get enough of me either.

“God, I wish we didn’t have to go back to this reception. I want to be alone with you, sweet girl,” he says, trying and failing at being quiet. “I want to make love to my wife.”

Sweet baby
Jesus.

I realize we are married, and I am no longer just his girl, or his fiancee, or even just the mother of his child. I am his
wife
. We are tied together in holy matrimony. Hearing those words come out of his mouth does something to me, and I’m afraid if I don’t get him out of the limo right this instant, we are never going to make it to our reception, and we are going to skip straight to our honeymoon.

“I want to make love to my husband,” I counter, being completely honest. “But his health comes first. Are you in pain, baby?”

He shakes his head. “No. In fact, I’ve never felt lighter. I don’t even realize the pain is there anymore.”

I smile, loving his answer. I don’t want him to overexert himself.

The limo pulls to a stop, and within seconds, the driver comes round to open the door for us. Brody gets out first, then extends his hands to help me out behind him. He wraps his arm around my waist and leads me to the back of the lake house, where our guests are waiting for our arrival. I can hear music playing, and I recognize the opening notes immediately.

I glance up at him, a wide smile spreading across my face.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” the DJ announces as we make our way toward the party. “For the first time ever, I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Brody and Sabrina Durham!”

I grin widely as our guests clap, welcoming us back. I can’t even hold my excitement at bay, can’t deny all the happiness coursing through me right now. Brody keeps his arms around me as we make our way through the crowd, and to the center of the dance floor. The people here part right down the middle to make a way for us, and once we’re dead center, a spotlight shines down on us.

Our song played as we entered, but it’s been changed to a completely different one the minute we start to dance. I know this one very well. It’s called
We Both Know
by Gavin DeGraw and Colbie Caillat. I lean into him, wrapping my arms around him and crying into his shoulder as I let the words hit me full force. I know what he did, and why he did it. Our song is important, but he wanted something to capture our entire essence, our entire relationship, not just a single moment, but all of it as a whole.

He half-whispers, half-sings the words into my ear, swaying with me to the beat of the song.

I cannot get enough of him. I cannot get enough of this moment.

Everything this song says is true.

We’ve been through Hell and back, fought our demons and won, fought each other and came together, proving our strength as a couple and our love for each other. The time we spent searching for each other only helped us to have a stronger bond once we found each other again. I can’t imagine being apart from him, can’t fathom the thought of what things would have been like if he never drunkenly stumbled his way back into my life. Or if I never stubbornly threw water in his face, and threw myself headfirst into his life.

“I don’t think I told you how beautiful you look, Dove,” he whispers, halfway through the song. “I always think you’re stunning, but today, you look absolutely phenomenal. You are so beautiful from the inside out. I love you so much, Sabrina.”

I smile, feeling the heat rise to my cheeks.

“You look great yourself, babe. I love the hair, by the way,” I tell him. “I bet it was Hell convincing Mom and Ness to let you keep the goatee.”

He shakes his head, and I almost don’t want to believe him. My mom loves clean cut men, and feels the grungy look is for the bedroom, so I know she had plenty to say about his facial hair. But when he continues to object, I have to know how he convinced her to let him keep it.

“I just told them this is how my girl likes me. It didn’t take much convincing. They, like me, would do whatever it takes to make you happy.”

And I am.

I’m happier than I ever could have dreamed of being. Things like this don’t happen to people like me every day. My life has been anything but a fairy tale, and up until I met Brody, I didn’t think there was such a thing as a happy ending. But he’s proved me wrong, every single step of the way. He has brought love and light and joy into my life.

“I love you so much, Mr. Durham,” I say against his chest, letting the tears of joy finally fall from my eyes, unafraid of anyone seeing, or what anyone will say.

“I love you so much, Mrs. Durham,” he replies, kissing the top of my head.

I am here, and I am looking at him, my new husband, the father of my child, and I have never been more in love with anyone than I am with him right now. I will cherish this moment, this man, this life we’ve created for ourselves until the very end of time. We were two seemingly broken beings before we found each other. And through a series of mishaps, fighting, love, and lust, we molded all our broken pieces together, until we had no choice but to fit, like we were always meant to.