Page 105 of Torment
Karson huffs a quiet laugh.
“Your punctuality continues to impress me.”
Rolling my eyes, I step into him.
“You’re marrying me anyway.”
His smirk returns, softer this time.
“Yeah,” he says quietly, his fingers tracing the bare skin on my shoulders. “I am.”
A woman in a black robe steps out of a door to our right and clears her throat.
“Whenever the bride is ready,” she says with a welcoming smile.
“I’m ready,” I rush out and look up at Karson. “I’m ready.” It’s softer the second time, and he smiles softly at me.
The four of us enter the room behind her, and I place my purse and coffee cup on a chair next to the door. The officiant takes her place at the front of the room.
“Gentlemen, if you could stand right here.” She gestures to her left, then to her right. “Ladies on this side please.”
Everyone takes their designated places, and Karson wraps his large, warm hands around mine.
The officiant smiles politely before opening the folder in front of her.
“Before we begin,” she says, glancing between us, “do either of you have vows you’d like to share?”
Karson looks down at me first, his thumbs brushing softly over my knuckles.
“I do.”
The room goes quiet and I take a deep, steadying breath.
“For most of my life,” I begin softly, “I didn’t get to choose anything. Where I lived. Who I belonged to. What my future looked like.”
My fingers tighten around his.
“But this?”
I lift my chin.
“This is my choice.”
His storm-gray eyes never leave mine.
“I choose you, Karson. Today, tomorrow, and every day after. I belong to you.”
Parker sniffles behind me, and a small smile pulls at the corners of his lips.
“My turn?”
I nod, and swallow past the lump that’s forming in my throat.
Karson shifts a little closer, his voice low and steady.
“The world has tried to take you from me more than once,” he says softly, “but it didn’t.”
His thumb brushes over my hand.
