10. Asher

CHAPTER 10

ASHER

T he diner is transformed, the usual retro decor replaced with twinkling fairy lights and delicate floral arrangements. The air is thick with the scent of roses and vanilla, with the hum of conversation and the clink of champagne flutes.

I stand in the center of it all, my heart so full it feels like it might burst out of my chest. Everywhere I look, I see the faces of the people I love, the family Liam and I have built out of broken pieces and sheer, stubborn will.

Mia, resplendent in a shimmering gold dress, her eyes bright with happy tears as she raises her glass in a silent toast. The waitstaff, the cooks, the regulars who've become like a second family, all of them beaming with pride and joy.

And Liam. My Liam, my husband , standing tall and proud at my side, his hand warm and solid in mine.

He looks incredible, his dark hair slicked back, his green eyes glowing with an inner light that takes my breath. The suit he wears, a deep, rich black that makes his olive skin and chiseled features stand out in stark relief, fits him like a second skin, hugging every line and plane of his powerful body.

But it's the look on his face, the raw, unbridled happiness shining out of every pore, that makes my heart skip and stutter in my chest. I've never seen him like this, so open and unguarded, so free of the shadows that have haunted him for so long.

He's breathtaking. He's everything , and he's mine, now and forever.

The reality of it, the sheer, staggering wonder of it, hits me like a tidal wave, stealing my breath and blurring my vision with sudden tears. A small, choked sound escapes me, and Liam turns, his brow furrowing with concern.

"Asher?" he murmurs, his free hand coming up to cup my cheek, his thumb brushing away the moisture gathering on my lashes. "Sunshine, what is it? What's wrong?"

I shake my head, a watery laugh bubbling up in my throat. "Nothing," I whisper, turning my face into his palm, pressing a fierce kiss to the center. "Not a single fucking thing, Liam. I just... I can't believe we're here. That this is real, that you're really mine."

His expression softens, his eyes going molten and tender. "Believe it, sunshine," he rumbles, pulling me closer, his forehead coming to rest against mine. "I'm yours, body and soul, for the rest of our lives. And you're mine, my beautiful, brave husband. My fucking everything ."

I surge up on my toes, capturing his mouth in a kiss that sears and consumes, that pours every ounce of my love, my devotion, my boundless, reckless joy into the press of my lips, the slide of my tongue. Liam groans, his arms coming around me, crushing me to the solid heat of his chest.

We lose ourselves in each other, the rest of the world falling away until there's nothing but this, the perfect, soul-deep connection between us. I pour everything into that kiss, every hope and dream and secret yearning, every promise of forever.

And when we finally break apart, breathless and flushed and grinning like fools, I know, with a bone-deep certainty, that this is just the beginning. That we have a lifetime of moments like this ahead of us, a future full of love and laughter and unshakable, unbreakable faith.

"I love you," I murmur, my fingers tangling in the silky hair at his nape, my heart so full it feels like it might shatter. "God, Liam, I love you so much it hurts."

"I love you too," he rasps, his eyes bright with emotion, his hands clutching at my hips like he's afraid I'll disappear if he lets go. "More than my own life, Asher. More than anything in this fucked-up, beautiful world."

We sway together, lost in our own little bubble of happiness, until the sound of a throat clearing breaks the spell. We turn, finding Mia standing beside us, her eyes suspiciously shiny and her smile wide enough to crack her face.

"Not to interrupt," she says, her voice thick with affection, "but I believe it's time for the grooms' first dance. And if you think I'm letting you get away without shaking those fine asses on the dance floor, you've got another think coming."

Liam barks out a laugh, the sound rich and warm as aged whiskey. "Far be it from me to deny the lady," he says, giving me a playful bow before offering his hand. "Shall we, husband mine?"

My heart skips and stutters, a giddy thrill racing through me at the word, at the sheer, unbridled rightness of it. "Lead the way, husband," I grin, sliding my palm against his, reveling in the perfect fit, the way our fingers lace together like they were made for this, for each other.

Liam leads me out onto the makeshift dance floor, the crowd parting before us like the sea before Moses. The opening strains of "Can't Help Falling In Love" fill the air, the melody sweet and achingly familiar, and I can't help but laugh, my eyes filling with fresh tears.

"You sap," I accuse, looping my arms around his neck as his hands find my waist, pulling me close. "I can't believe you remembered."

Liam smiles, soft and secret, his eyes never leaving mine as we begin to sway. "Of course I remembered," he murmurs, his breath warm against my ear. "It was playing the first time I kissed you, the first time I held you in my arms. The first time I realized that this, us ... it was forever. That you were forever, for me."

I bury my face in the crook of his neck, breathing him in, letting the scent of his skin, the steady thrum of his pulse ground me in this perfect, shining moment. "You're my forever too," I whisper, my lips brushing the tender skin above his collar. "My always, my everything. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life showing you just how much you mean to me."

Liam's arms tighten around me, a shudder rippling through his big frame. "Fuck, sunshine," he rasps, his voice low and rough with emotion. "You can't say shit like that when we're in public. Makes me want to drag you off to the nearest dark corner and have my wicked way with you."

Heat curls through me, molten and heavy, pooling deep in my groin. "Who says you can't?" I tease, nipping at his earlobe, relishing the hitch in his breath, the flex of his fingers on my hips. "It's our wedding day, husband. We can do whatever the fuck we want."

A growl rumbles through Liam's chest, his grip turning bruising, possessive. "Careful what you wish for, baby," he purrs, his lips finding the sensitive spot behind my ear, making me shiver. "Keep teasing me like that, and I might just bend you over the nearest table and make you scream my name for all our friends and family to hear."

"Promises, promises," I grin, pulling back to meet his gaze, seeing my own desire, my own wild, reckless happiness reflected back at me. "Guess you'll just have to wait until tonight to make good on that particular threat. When you've got me all to yourself, with no interruptions and no need for clothes."

Liam's eyes blaze, turning molten and dark with want. "Tonight," he agrees, the word a vow, an oath, a dark and delicious promise. "I'm going to worship every fucking inch of you, sunshine. Going to make you come so hard and so often you forget your own goddamn name. And then I'm going to do it all over again, until you're too fucked-out and blissed-out to move, let alone think."

"Jesus," I breathe, my blood turning to liquid fire in my veins, my cock thickening in my slacks. "I'm going to hold you to that, you know. Every filthy word."

Liam smiles, slow and wicked, his hands sliding down to cup my ass, squeezing hard. "Oh, you can hold me to a hell of a lot more than that, sunshine. This bod y's all yours now, to do with as you please. And I can't fucking wait to spend the rest of our lives exploring every single possibility."

I surge up and kiss him again, hard and hot and hungry, not caring that we're in the middle of the dance floor, that our friends and family are watching with indulgent smiles and knowing looks. All that matters is this, the press of Liam's lips against mine, the slide of his tongue, the perfect, soul-deep fit of our bodies and hearts.

When we finally break apart, breathless and flushed and grinning like lovesick fools, the song has changed, the tempo picking up into something fast and joyful. The dance floor fills around us, bodies moving and swaying, laughter and chatter mingling with the music.

But Liam and I stay as we are, wrapped up in each other, swaying to our own private rhythm. I rest my head on his chest, listening to the steady thump of his heart, marveling at the sheer, unshakable rightness of this moment, of every moment to come.

"I love you," I murmur, the words muffled against his shirt, but I know he hears me, feels the truth of them in the very marrow of his bones. "Forever and always, Liam. No matter what."

"No matter what," he echoes, pressing a kiss to the top of my head, his arms tightening around me like he'll never let go. "I love you too, sunshine. More than life, more than breath. You're my fucking world, Asher O'Connor. My heart and soul and every beat in between."

Tears sting my eyes, joy and wonder and a love so fierce it steals my breath. I tilt my head back, meeting his gaze, seeing the same emotions shining back at me, bright and pure as starlight.

"Asher O'Connor," I whisper, testing the shape of it on my tongue, the weight of it in my heart. "I like the sound of that."

Liam grins, his eyes crinkling at the corners, his whole face alight with happiness. "Get used to it, sunshine," he teases, brushing a kiss across my forehead, my cheekbone, the corner of my upturned mouth. "Because you're stuck with it now, for better or worse. No take-backs, no returns."

"No returns," I agree, my heart so full it feels like it might burst out of my chest. "I'm keeping you, Liam O'Connor. For the rest of our lives and whatever waits beyond. You're mine, and I'm yours. Always."

"Always," he echoes, the word a vow, a promise, an unbreakable bond. "My sun, my moon, my whole fucking universe. I'm going to spend every day of forever making you happy, Asher. Making all your dreams come true."

"You already have," I whisper, cupping his face in my hands, pouring every ounce of my love, my gratitude, my boundless, reckless joy into my gaze, my touch. "Just by being here, by loving me, you've given me everything I've ever wanted, ever dreamed of. You're my dream come true, Liam. My once-in-a-lifetime love."

He kisses me again, soft and sweet and lingering, a seal on all the promises we've made, all the promises yet to come. And as we lose ourselves in each other, in the perfect rightness of this moment, I feel a sense of peace, of belonging, settle deep in my bones.

This is where I'm meant to be. Where we're meant to be, now and always.

Together, hand in hand and heart to heart.

Ready to face whatever the future brings.

Ready to build a life, a home, a forever... one day at a time.

And as the music plays on, as the laughter and love of our friends and family wash over us like a warm, soothing tide, I know, with a bone-deep certainty, that there's nowhere else I'd rather be.

Nowhere else I could ever belong, but here, in the arms of the man I love.

My husband. My soulmate.

My Liam.

Forever and always, no matter what.

Till death do us part... and whatever waits beyond.