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Chapter Forty Two

Have you ever had the dream where you’re walking on air and no matter how far you walk you never seem to get to the end? That’s exactly how I would describe my walk down the beach. As I emerged from around the rock and paused as I had been instructed to, I gazed at the sea of guests. I caught Sam’s eye; he gave me a thumbs up. I saw Andrea wiping tears from her eyes. My old boss from the library, Lily, was in the last row, closest to where I stood. A soft smile played upon her lips. And way off in the distance was Nick.

He looked more amazing than I could have ever imagined. I had seen him dressed up several times, but every time paled in comparison to this moment. The instance that our eyes met, I began my journey up to the arch. It seemed as if I would never reach him. He was just a mirage; a gorgeous specimen of love and kindness and absolute man who I would never get to touch again.

If I had it my way, I would have tossed down my bouquet of flowers and sprinted towards him. I was oblivious to the people I passed as I walked. The closer I got to Nick, the more his facial features were outlined. My hands began to shake; BJ had been right.

Nick was crying.

Kevin had taken over best man duties from Brian. His strong arm was on Nick’s shoulder and I could see him whispering in his ear. Howie handed over his dress handkerchief. Nick wiped the tears from his eyes and waved the cloth away.

And finally, finally, I was there. We were a hairsbreadth apart. I could see the minutely rapid rise and fall of his chest. He held out his hand for me and with still shaking fingertips I reached for the safety of his touch.

“Liv,” he whispered as we stood for just one quiet moment. It was as if everyone else ceased to exist. “You look…” he choked up. “breathtaking.”

“You too,” I whispered, startled to hear the unevenness of my voice.

For the first few minutes of the ceremony, the only thing I remember is Nick’s eyes staring right into me like windows that had been thrown wide open after a rough storm. In the depths of his eyes I saw right into his soul. There was nothing but love radiating through him, from his fingertips, right into my hands. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him.

Finally, the minister’s voice broke through my thoughts. He was reciting Corinthians, Chapter 13. It was my favorite passage in the Bible.

"Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect; but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away.

When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood.

So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love."


It didn’t matter how many times I heard it. The moment the minister said ‘the greatest of these is love,’ I shivered. The passage had never sounded so true as it did today. The minister turned to Nick.

“Nickolas, do you take Olivia to be your lawful wedded wife; to have and behold from this day on, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?”

Our fingers entwined even more. Nick turned to me. I had never seen him look more serious in his life.

“I do,” he said strongly.

The minister turned to me.

“Olivia, do you take Nickolas to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and behold from this day on, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?”

It’s funny, but I had a split second montage play through my mind. I saw me with my hair stuck in the tub jet, Nick’s broken hand, my blue hair, Nick’s sore throat and bloody rubber-banded nose. I smiled.

“I do.”

The minister smiled and paused for one moment. The sound of the surf was gentle, making for the perfect background ambience.

“The wedding ring symbolizes unity, a circle unbroken, without beginning or end. And today Nick and Olivia exchange these rings as confirmation of their vows to join their lives, to work at all times to create a life that is complete and unbroken, and to love each other without end. May the Lord bless these rings which you give to each other as the symbol of your love and fidelity.

I saw the minister reach down and take a ring from the pillow Baylee held onto steadfastly. I turned and passed my bouquet to Angel.

“Nick, take this ring and place it on her finger, and state your pledge to her, repeating after me,” the minister instructed.

Nick took the ring with shaking fingers. For one split second, I had the vision of the ring falling into the sand never to be seen again. Luckily, he took hold of my hand and gently slid it onto my finger. His voice was barely a whisper as he repeated the words:

"With this ring I thee wed.

I offer you my hand, and my heart as I know they will be safe with you.

All that I am I give to you and all that I have I share with you."


I felt a tear roll down my face. Nick’s eyes were filling up rapidly.

“Olivia, take this ring and place it on Nick’s finger, and state your pledge to him, repeating after me,” the minister instructed.

I took Nick’s wedding band from the minister and held his hand in mine. It was a hand I knew so intimately, but as I slid the ring on his finger, I realized the enormity of the circular band. Praying that I wouldn’t start blubbering like a baby, I slowly repeated the vow to Nick. He squeezed my hand and smiled. When I was done we both turned towards the minister.

“Olivia and Nick, you have given and pledged your promises to each other, and have declared your everlasting love by exchanging the rings. Your vows may have been spoken in minutes, but your promises to each other will last until your last breath. As have pledged themselves to meet sorrow and happiness as one family before God and this community of friends, I now pronounce them husband and wife,” the minister said with a smile. My heart began a happy little jumping dance. I knew the next part very well.

“You may kiss your bride!”

My hand dropped from Nick’s. His arms wrapped around me and before I knew it he had me in a dip, kissing me as if he had kept that one kiss bottled up inside him for all his life. My arms wrapped around his neck. I could feel the perspiration that had gathered there. By the time that he brought me completely back to a standing position, my lip gloss had been completely devoured. I couldn’t help it; I laughed.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Nick Carter!”

Loud applause and wolf whistles exploded in my ears as we ran down the beach. We stopped by the rock. Our intent was for the guests to head to the reception while we did pictures. Nick looked at me and exploded into a full out grin.

“We’re married,” he said breathlessly.

“I know!”

“We did it,” he added.

“I know!”

“And nothing exploded.”

“Except Leighanne, but that’s for a good cause,” I said.

We laughed.

Our alone time lasted exactly two minutes. My mom was the first one to reach us with hugs and kisses. The rest of the bridal party and Nick’s dad followed suit. Valeria came rushing over.

“Okay, we need to get our pictures and then head to the reception for more pictures. The guests will have appetizers while they wait and then we’ll assemble you into the receiving line. After the receiving line then we’ll seat for dinner. Then there’s the speeches---“

Nick held up his hand. Valeria’s mouth was hanging open, mid-thought.

“Chill,” Nick said simply. Her mouth snapped closed. I leaned into him with a smile.

For my first wedding, the pictures had been the worst part. Hunter complained about everything. Half the pictures that were taken had him sneering into the lens.

Nick, on the other hand, made photo shoots fun. At one point I was wrapped in his arms underneath the arch. He tilted his face directly to mine. I prepared for the kiss.

“This will only sting a little,” he whispered. He nibbled the bottom of my lip before going in for the kill. I wished it could sting me for the rest of my life.

It also helped that all of the guys were photogenic. My heart panged a little that Brian couldn’t be here, especially when the guys sat in the decorated guest chairs, reminiscent of the As Long as You Love Me video. Of course, from a different point of view, it was also sweet that the lovebirds that met during that shoot were currently off bringing a new life into this world.

After a few shots of Nick and I holding Brooklyn and a picture with my mom and Bob, the photographer gazed out at the ocean.

“Alright, bride and groom, let’s get you in the water,” he said as the guys stood back up. Howie did a little flick of his chair. It collapsed and he twirled around with it under his arm. Leigh laughed. He pulled her to him and kissed her passionately.

Something told me he liked the new short hair.

I lifted my dress and made my way over to the water’s edge. I looked at the photographer uncertainly.

“I really don’t want to get my dress wet,” I said. I still had a long night to wear it. Nick was peeling off his shoes and socks and rolling the bottom of his pants.

“Don’t worry,” the photographer said with a smile. “Nick’s going to do the dirty work.”

As I stood there watching the waves lap closer to my bare feet, I didn’t notice Nick sneak up behind me. I let out a surprised snort as Nick scooped me into his arms.

“I love it when you do that,” he said with a laugh. He splashed into the water.

“Alright you two; look this way,” the photographer said, crouching right at the water’s edge. “Liv, put your arms around his neck.”

I looped my arms around Nick’s neck. My head rested against him as we looked at the camera. I had never felt so pretty in my life.

“Beautiful,” the photographer said. He turned his back as Nick walked back up to the beach. Nick set my feet down gently on the sand.

“All this work is making me hungry,” he told me. I laughed until I felt his hands on the sides of my breasts.

“For food, right?” I murmured.

“Not really,” he answered back. “I really like this dress.”

His lips grazed my bare back. When he got to the thin strips, I felt his teeth nip at them and my skin.

“A-hem.”

I looked up into AJ’s face. He was grinning.

“Keep it PG around here Carters. If I had to behave during my wedding, so do you.”

I felt Nick’s warm breath on my shoulder blade.

“I never told you to behave during your wedding.”

“Listen, I’m still mad at you for breaking my ass.”

“I didn’t break your ass. You’re walking fine today.”

Nick’s arm slid around my waist and we began to walk to the limos with AJ. The guys continued to bicker good naturedly about the velocity of the paintball. Before Nick and I got into our limo, AJ stopped and lowered his voice.

“You know Nick, there’s still one of us left to catch the garter.”

Nick’s eyes flickered over to Kevin. He had Abby in his arms and she was smiling up at him lovingly. Nick smiled.

“I’ll do my best.”

They high-fived and AJ walked over to Rochelle He did a little courtesy and opened the door for her. Nick and I slid into our private limo. He eyed the champagne. I turned his face towards mine.

“Don’t even think about it.”

He smiled and kissed me again. His lips tasted ten thousand times better than any champagne.

“Yes, dear. I want to remember everything about this evening.”

His hand slipped into the back of my dress. My breath caught. He paused when he got to the Spanx.

“What the hell are you wearing?”

I couldn’t help it; I began to laugh.

There are some things that I don’t think a man would ever understand.

Spanx was one of them.