Page 72 of Their Diamond Ring Ruse

The officiant said something she could not parse because she was still spellbound by Julian. And in a few minutes he would be her husband.

He had once told her he couldn’t make her happy, but he’d been so wrong. Every day was happier than the last, and they were only just starting their fairy-tale.

It had only been a year, but so much had happened in that time. Lily had opened a dessert bar, to rave reviews, she and Devan had completely repaired their relationship, and her mother had moved back to San Francisco. Things weren’t perfect there, but they were working on it. She’d even rekindled the friendships that she’d been certain she had lost. Her friends had welcomed her back with more than a few tears. And those same friends now sat amongst the small crowd sharing this day with them.

And Julian... He had worked every single day to show her how much he loved her. He had finally stopped blaming himself for his mother’s death and accepted that he was nothing like his stepfather. While he was still supremely disciplined, he had started to relax. Let go a little. There was still a long way to go, but she planned to hold his hand throughout it all.

‘Julian and Lily have prepared their own vows,’ the officiant said now, and turned to Julian.

‘Lily, I promise to always protect you. To support you in all that you do. To listen to you.’

He smiled broadly, dimples appearing in his cheeks, and her heart stuttered.

‘To be your best friend and closest ally, just as you are mine, and I promise to give myself to you wholly in every way.’

He already had. Julian kept nothing from her. Let her see his bad days and nightmares and she loved him all the more for it. She thought back to the surprise that awaited him at the house. The pregnancy test she had taken the night before and couldn’t wait to tell him about.

‘Julian...’ Her voice was thick with tears. ‘I promise to always choose you. To support you in all that you do. To listen to you. To be your best friend and closest ally, just as you are mine, and I promise to give myself to you wholly in every way.’

* * *

Julian couldn’t stop looking at Lily. At her curled hair with the pretty flowers braided through it, at the beaded, toga-like dress, white against her golden skin, with the sun shining through the long drapes of fabric. At her night-sky eyes, glistening with tears. She was a goddess and she was his. Though not his alone.

Julian knew about the pregnancy test, but he would wait for her to tell him the way she wanted to. They were going to have a baby which would be perfect in every way, because it would be a part of her. He couldn’t wait for its arrival—which, judging by how flat Lily’s stomach was, would be a long way away.

‘I love you, Sunshine...always,’ he said, sealing his promise by sliding on to her finger a diamond wedding band that perfectly matched the engagement ring that had started them on this journey.

‘I love you, Julian...unconditionally and for ever.’

A tear slipped down her cheek and he brushed it away with his thumb. He would never tire of hearing those words. He offered her his hand, and she slipped a simple titanium band on his finger. The weight was satisfying. Calming. Like a piece of him clicking into place.

‘Titanium,’ she had said. ‘Because it doesn’t break easily. It’s strong...just as you are.’

He’d had no words for her then, and he wondered if he would wake up every day just as pleasantly surprised that he got to spend his life with Lily—his wife.

He took her face in his hands as her fingers curled around the lapels of his jacket and he kissed her. Softly, sweetly, gently. With all the love he held in his heart.

For the rest of their days their life would be perfect, he knew. Because right now he vowed to make sure of it.

* * *