RAE
âLetâs do this.â
Not the three words I thought would kick off my wedding, but when have Logan and I ever done anything conventionally?
âSick.â Brady clears his throat. âWelcome, loved ones and Court. We are gathered here today to join Logan Quincy and Rae Olson in holy matrimony. You have chosen to write your own vows. Ladies first.â
Wow, he really cuts to the chase.
âUhâ¦â I assumed Logan was going first. Marriage is still very patriarchal, so I figured the man would get the prime spot. âGive me a second.â
Thank God Autumnâs too young to know whatâs going on. Her parents are a mess.
I squint at the paper Court hands me, cursing my tiny handwriting. This lack of sleep is really ruining my eyes.
With a deep breath, I begin my vows. âLogan, I knew you were the man I wanted to be with for the rest of my life when you let me ramble about photography on our hike.
Honestly, I think the biggest sign that you were the one was that I went ~hiking~ just to spend time with you. Since that day, weâve had a connection that words canât describe.
When Iâm around you, Iâm the version of myself thatâs been trying to break through my exterior for twenty-four years. Iâm whole when weâre together.
âI love you with every piece of me, and I promise to continue loving you for the rest of time. I vow to bring all that I am to our relationship, through dark days and sleepless nights.
âI vow to push you to achieve your dreams, and I vow to keep trying to learn about business so I know what youâre talking about. I vow to always be honest, patient, loyal, and accepting.
âI promise to be the best mother for Autumn I can be, and I promise to be the wife you deserve. I love you, Logan. Forever.â
I meet Loganâs eyes. Theyâre watering.
âShit, Rae,â he laughs, brushing aside stray tears. âI should have gone first.â
âYouâre up, Quincy,â Brady interjects. I think he might be on Zoeâs level with the whole I-hate-romance thing.
I guess that means getting ordained is a testament to how much he loves and cares about Logan. Maybe we should have let him be Autumnâs godfather.
Whatever. Next kid, maybe. That is, if thereâs a next kid. I already know Autumnâs going to be a handful on her own.
âRae, from the moment I met you, youâve never strayed from my thoughts. As you know, Iâve never believed in fate, but when I saw you in that conference room at the office, I knew the universe wanted us to be together.
âMarrying you, even sleep-deprived, wearing sweats in our living room, is the greatest honor of my life.
âI promise that I will always put forth all my effort to be the man you deserve. I vow to cook you dinner every night.
âI promise to be by your side through the ups and downs, through sickness and through health. I vow to spend every day for the rest of time working tirelessly to make you happy. I love you, Rae.â
Tears run down my face, and I donât bother wiping them away. My cheeks are going to be soaked for a while. Thereâs no chance I stop crying any time soon.
âCool. Court, you got the rings?â
A sniffling Court hands her brother two white gold bands, and Brady asks me to place the ring on Loganâs finger and repeat after him.
I sort of do. I stumble through the words a couple of times, but so does Logan, so I decide to blame exhaustion, not anxiety.
âBy the power vested in me by the internet and the state of Utah, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.â
Logan pulls me close, and I melt into his arms while our lips dance.
Sparks ignite between us, and as Iâm wrapped in my husbandâs embrace, I donât care that Iâm in our slightly messy living room. I donât care that weâre wearing sweatpants.
I donât care that my hair is defying gravity or that Iâm looking a little chunky because baby weight doesnât disappear in a month, contrary to what fitness influencers want the world to believe.
All I care about is my little family and the people who love us, the people who bring out the Rae I want to be, the Rae I am deep inside.
When Zoe groans, prompting us to pull apart, Iâm Mrs. Rachel Jean Quincy.
I love it.