Nora

"I now pronounce you husband and wife." The priest said, making me shriek out loud. "You may now kiss the bride."

I jumped up and down as Cameron smiled at my best friend, cupping her face and pressing his lips down on hers. Lydia looked absolutely stunning. Her wedding gown was a dazzling white, hair falling down her waist in curls, pinned by shining diamond studs. Her face was bright and vibrant, joyous, pulled up in a huge smile. She was the most beautiful bride I'd ever seen.

I couldn't stop my grin when everyone around us stood up and clapped, her eyes meeting mine and I saw an excitement in them. She gave me a wink, blowing me a kiss and I pretended to catch it. Cameron narrowed his eyes at me, sticking his tongue out.

Everyone walked over to congratulate them. As I made my way to the aisle, Lydia wasn't satisfied with my pace because she held her wedding gown in one of her hands, then ran to me. I chuckled when she clasped her arms around me, choking my breath. "I'm married!" She screamed. "I'm fucking married!"

"Lyds," I said with quiet amusement. "You are."

"I can't believe it. Did that really happen? Tell me it did. I'm a wife? And I have a husband? Do I-"

"Babe, deep breaths." I cupped her face, not being able to help but chuckle. "You gonna walk over there? People are looking at me like I've stolen you."

"Come with me?" 

"Always." I smiled as I twined our arms, walking with her. Cameron smiled at her when their eyes met, and a silent agreement passed between us as I handed her over to him. He was deeply and hopelessly in love with her and I could see it in his eyes. I loved that they had each other.

Their parents looked so happy I couldn't handle it. They'd always supported their relationship every step they'd taken, and I knew they were proud of how far they'd come today. Lydia's mother looked at me, and just like her daughter, her eyes shone with panic and a heated excitement. I grinned as I walked to her and she pulled me down in a hug. "Congratulations, Kayla."

"I'd known it would happen sometime but now that it has, I can't believe it." She said. "She looks so beautiful."

"She is." I hugged her husband, clasping Cameron's parents' hands and smiling at their expressions. Lydia's bridesmaids called out to me for a picture, and I rushed over to them.

Half an hour later, when we'd given almost a thousand poses to the photographer, I felt an arm snake around my waist and turn me around. My eyes met dark green ones as they looked down at me. "You ready for our dance?"

I chuckled. "Sadly, I'm not really good at ballroom dancing."

"Aw, that sucks." Cole rolled his eyes. "But you're Nora. You're good at everything."

"I'm flattered. Is it really necessary to-"

"Duh. This is their first wedding. We're giving them the experience of everything, which includes the best man and maid of honour dancing together."

"How many weddings do you suppose they're gonna have?" I shook my head in amusement.

I felt a pair of eyes on me. The shiver that ran down my body conveyed to me who it was, and I didn't need to look back. I couldn't even see him, but his gaze made me hot. I knew what his eyes might be looking like, dark and dangerous, taking in even the simplest of movements I made. They would be wild with possessiveness, along with a hint of raw adoration.

"Reid wants to kill me." Cole murmured in my ear. "Is he scared I'll steal you away from him? Because I won't. It's not like I can't. But you're just not my type. I don't mean that in an offending way. You're just too bold for me. Fuck, he really wants to kill me, Nora."

I sensed him behind me, his big and protective figure towering over me. An arm snaked around my waist and pulled me away from Cole as I was surrounded with an overwhelmingly delicious scent always associated with him.

"Hello, girlfriend." Nicolas murmured in my ear. His tone was chill and calm, almost above a whisper. Cole couldn't have heard him, but his stance was enough to scream power, enough to scare people away.

I shivered when his breath hit me. "Hi."

"Well, seems like you've got better company." Cole said sarcastically. "I'll go over and win someone else's heart. I will see you at the reception, Nora." His eyes held mine until I nodded, then he went off.

Nicolas turned me around, his arms tight around my waist, but never once did they hurt. His eyes were just like I'd imagined, but along with adoration and possessiveness, there was desire. Not the desire for sex, but desire for me. My body, my soul, my heart, my mind. Sex between us had become more than just exploring each other a very long time ago. "You are so beautiful it hurts, Nora." He growled in my ear. "So fucking beautiful."

"You look delicious, boyfriend." I said to him. He was wearing a black coloured tux, his inky black hair messy and scattered. I'd never taken him to be a bow tie person, and he proved me right by wearing my favourite blue coloured neck tie, which brought out the blue of his eyes. 

 "I want to lock you in my room so that no one but me can see you. And at the same time I want every single person on this planet to look at you and know that you're mine."

"We'll have to stick with option two, baby. Because no way in hell can you lock me up anywhere." I smiled at him mockingly.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you." He purred, his eyes flickering down to my dress and he let out a small grunt. "Fuck, Nora."

"I do look good, don't I? I know I do."

"You look like a birthday present, so beautiful and so tempting, waiting to be unwrapped." He grabbed my ass in the lightest of grips, taking an inhale from my neck. 

"You do know my parents are here, right?"

"They love me. Your Mom's gonna be ecstatic at our PDA. Your father, not so much. But I'm sure he'll handle it. Oh that reminds me, I've gotta have a conversation with him."

"About what?"

He shrugged, almost too nonchalantly. "Just wanted to invite them over for dinner."

Nicolas had gotten pretty close to my parents in the last month. I'd never been this happier in my life. He was the first guy I'd introduced to my parents and they loved him, even though Dad tried to show he didn't, I knew he did and was delighted for me. Nico had told me he wasn't good with families, but he very good with mine. Everyone loved him. It was hard not to.

"Nicolas!" I turned around to see Lydia glaring at him. Lyds and Nico had also grown closer than before. She'd overcome her shock, and didn't get dazzled by him anymore. They'd understood both of them were important to me, and I was grateful they were getting along. "Stop seducing my best friend and come to congratulate me."

Nicolas softly groaned in my neck. "Save me?"

"Always. But that's Lydia. I can't save you from her, baby." I snorted, pushing at his chest. "Go or she'll kill you."

"I'm coming for you later." He said, looking in my eyes. "You better be there when I do."

"Of course I'll be there. I will make you cum." I laughed at his expression as he shook his head and turned around, interlacing our fingers as we walked to the aisle.

The married couple was being teased by their families and it was honestly a very heart whelming scene. My mother, being her emotional self, could barely control her tears. Lydia had hugged her to calm her down, but she couldn't. In the end she'd just clasped Dad's hand and looked at the scenario with shining eyes.

At the back of my head, I couldn't wait for the day I'd be the one she cried for. I couldn't wait for my day.

~~

"See, this isn't so bad." Cole exclaimed, twirling me around. It was meant to be graceful, but it turned out to be weird. Our foreheads bumped into each other and we both hissed at the same time. "Okay I take that back."

"Ow, you just stepped on my foot, idiot!" I snapped. "You can't dance for shit."

"Yeah and you can?" He retorted.

"Let's just not do any of that." I said when he made a move to twirl me again. "Just- just move softly. Like, barely move, okay? This shall pass."

Lydia laughed when she saw us and I glared at her. Cameron spun her around, catching her in his arms and pressing a kiss to her mouth just as gingerly. While Cole and I struggled to get our footing right, they did it like a pro. Eventually others started coming to the dance floor as well, and people started paying less and less attention to us. 

I looked past Cole, my eyes meeting the one person I'd hoped to see for so long. Kyle was smiling, his eyes crinkling as he took a sip from his glass. He looked so much better than I'd last seen him, and it made me happy. I'd blamed myself for his arrest for years, and now that he was finally living his life like a free man, I finally thought I could move on. He grinned when he saw me, and walked towards us. 

Cole pressed a kiss to my cheek, then Kyle was spinning me around in a circle much more gracefully. "Hey."

"Hey, you." I murmured. "How are you? Are you okay? Do you need some-"

"Nora," He chuckled slightly. "Just because I spent five years in a jail doesn't mean I became a baby. In fact, since jail is all about survival, it evolves you. So I'd say I'm more mature than you right now."

"Of course you're not."

"Yeah yeah."

I bit back a smile. I'd always thought he would blame me for his arrest. But he didn't. And that helped reduce the guilt. Charlie and Nathan, both were in jail. Nathan's sentence was much more than Charlie, but I honestly blamed him more than Nathan. Kyle was his brother, his flesh and blood. The way he'd completely disregarded his family for money was hard to digest.

"My turn." I heard from behind me. The deliciousness of his voice stunned me to my entire core. Nicolas knew what effect he had on me, and he always took advantage of it.

Kyle grinned at me. He'd seemed to be very amused when he'd found out I was dating, and hugely shocked when he'd found out who. But he'd gotten over it, and they both were getting along. Nico had offered him a job three days after he was released, and even though I knew he'd mostly done it for me, I was still grateful.

Nicolas didn't wait a second to wrap his arms around my waist when Kyle left and tug me to his chest. He rested his chin on my head, slowly dancing to the song. His movements were luscious and sensuous, rich. Never once did he stumble, not did he let me. No words were spoken as he gently moved both of us to the beats, entirely supporting my weight.

"You're happy." He said after a while. "I like that."

I smiled at him. "My best friend got married. She hasn't ever looked so happy."

"But you'll be more happy at your wedding." He stated, then raised an eyebrow in question.

"Yes, probably. I hadn't really though about marriage until today, you know. It really wasn't important to me. But I saw how she looked, how she couldn't control her excitement, and I remember thinking I wanted to feel that way as well."

His blue orbs shone with an intensity so powerful, pulling me in like gravity. His hand came up to cup my cheek, his thumb stroking my cheekbone gently, yet so deep. "You will, I promise you."

My breath hitched. He'd implied something I didn't want to read too much in, but couldn't help doing that. He promised to make me feel that way, for him?

"I didn't love my life before, but I do now." His gaze was so protective that I wanted to lock my arms around him and never let go. "Because you are my life, Nora. You don't even know what deep, dark pits you've gotten me out from. And I can never tell you how grateful I am, because there aren't words to describe what I feel for you. You own me. All of me. Everything is yours. Always."

"Nico," I said softly. "I love you so much."

He tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. "And you're going to keep telling me that for the rest of our lives."

*

No, I'm not ready for it to end. Not one bit. I'm crying because even though I'm not, deep down I know this is it.

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