Like me and Matt, this would be a process. Mom wanted to mend fences, and I wanted to forgive her and have a relationship with her again, but we’d have to work through a lot of things.

  But just like I had when Matt had hugged me before I’d even had a chance to apologize, I had hope. I could face whatever long and difficult process was ahead if it meant we could get back to something better. Matt and I had gotten there. We’d had a lot of incredibly uncomfortable conversations, but now I had my best friend back.

  And today, with just minutes to go before I married the love of my life, I also had hope of getting my mom back.

  There was yet another knock, and this time it was Matt. “Hey, you ready? Everyone’s ready to start if—” He gave my mom a puzzled look.

  I cleared my throat. “Um. Matt? This is my mom.”

  “Your—” He blinked. “No shit?” Instantly, he clapped a hand over his mouth. “Uh. Sorry.”

  Mom laughed. “Oh, sweetheart. I was raised around cowboys and football players. You’re not going to offend me.”

  “Still. Uh…”

  “You want to show my mom to a seat?” I asked. “I’ll be right behind you.”

  “Yeah, sure. Sure.” Matt offered my mom his elbow. “The place is packed, but I’m pretty sure we can make some room in the front.”

  “Thank you, honey.” My mom flashed me a quick smile, then followed Matt out of the room.

  Alone again, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

  My mom was at my wedding. She’d chosen me over my dad and his toxic bullshit. It was going to take us a lot of time to rebuild, but we’d get there. I was going to have my mom back.

  But first, there was an incredible man waiting to marry me, and I wasn’t about to keep him waiting any longer than I already had.

  So I headed out, and behind a pair of closed doors leading to the banquet hall, I found Hunter fussing with his tux sleeves. Holy hell, he looked amazing. We’d both opted for black tuxes since they just looked cooler, and though he’d worn one to some charity events with me, he looked even better this time.

  Because you’re not here as my date.

  You’re here so I can be your husband.

  Wow.

  I cleared my throat for the umpteenth time—I was going to cry before I even made it to the front, wasn’t I?—and said, “You look amazing.”

  He met my gaze, and his smile almost knocked me off my feet. He gave me a little down-up. “Have I mentioned lately that you’re sexy as hell in a tux?”

  Sliding my arm around his waist, I kissed him softly. “Pretty sure that’s why I had to have one of the seams fixed after that last party.”

  He blushed. “Sorry.”

  “Uh-huh. Sure you are.”

  He laughed, then glanced at the doors. “So, you ready?”

  “Are you?”

  “Definitely. The sooner we do this, the sooner we get to the food.”

  I rolled my eyes and chuckled. “Of course.”

  We stole one more kiss, then gave the double doors a quiet knock to let the ushers know we were ready. On the other side, music started playing. Voices hushed, and the sounds of people standing up and chairs scraping made my heart pound.

  I took a deep breath. So did Hunter.

  As the door handles turned, I laced my fingers between Hunter’s.

  Then the doors opened, and we started walking.

  And…

  Wow.

  Just fucking wow.

  As we walked up the aisle, I looked around at the packed house, and I could barely breathe. The sheer number of people crowding into the country club blew my mind. For years, I’d been terrified of coming out because it would cost me my family. Because I’d be alone.

  But I wasn’t alone. I was getting married to the sweetest man I’d ever met. I was gaining a stepdaughter. The chairs in the country club were packed in to make room for everyone. My teammates were here with their families. Guys I’d played hockey with back in college were here. Hunter’s friends and family, including his ex-wife and her husband. Daryl, Cathy, five of their kids and spouses, and several grandkids. My sister. My cousin and his boyfriend. Even, against all odds, my mom.

  So. Many. People.

  I’d always been terrified of coming out and being alone, but in reality, I’d been alone for all those years. Yes, I’d lost people when I’d come out, but I’d gained so many more. Now there were at least two hundred people jammed into this room to celebrate my wedding, and we’d received a ton of cards and well wishes from people who couldn’t make it.

  I thought I’d lose everyone, but now my wedding was just barely under what the fire marshal allowed. This enormous place was full of people who loved us.

  I’m not alone. I’m less alone than I’ve ever been in my life.

  And yep, I was already crying. The guys were going to rib me until the end of time for that, but I didn’t care, because that was what they did for all of our teammates who cried at their weddings. Kramer. Vasiliev. Ethan. And now me. Granted, they’d all made it to the altar before the waterworks started, but whatever. We all gave them shit, and they would all give me shit, because I was just one of the guys. I was a teammate marrying the love of his life, and they were here—all of them—to celebrate.

  At the altar, Hunter and I faced each other, both hands joined.

  He blew out a breath, and we both laughed. Okay. We’d made it this far. That was the hard part. Right?

  Then the officiant started the ceremony, and Hunter mouthed, “I love you,” and this was real? Oh my God.

  I’d never been the type to get this emotional, but something had cracked open in me on the day Matt had slammed me face first against the mirror I’d been avoiding my whole life. Then I’d met Hunter, and I’d made amends with people, and by the grace of God, I was standing here in front of people who loved me, marrying the sweet, beautiful man who’d refused to let me let him go. I was trying to hold on to all my newly realized emotions while I waited for the officiant to ask me to say the two words I’d been dying to say since I’d proposed at Warner and Diego’s last Christmas.

  In the months leading up to this, Hunter and I had floated the idea of writing our own vows, and it occurred to me now that it was a damn good thing we’d decided to stick with the traditional script. I could repeat everything the officiant told me to repeat, but if I actually tried to say out loud everything that would have gone into my personalized vows, I’d never have made it through the whole thing. He deserved to hear everything I wanted to say to him right now, but dear God, my composure wouldn’t have lasted beyond the first sentence.

  There’s no way in hell I’ll ever be able to tell you how much you mean to me.

  I gave his hands a gentle squeeze.

  But you better believe I’ll spend the rest of my life showing you.

  “Hunter,” the officiant said, pulling my focus to her. “Do you take Scott…” I didn’t even hear the rest over the pounding of my heart as Hunter’s smile grew with every word.

  Then he took a deep breath, looked right in my eyes, and said, “I do.”

  I actually had to let go of his hand to swipe at my eyes. The chorus of “Aww” from my teammates made me laugh—no, I was never hearing the end of this.

  Hunter exhaled hard, still smiling.

  Then the officiant turned to me, and did I take Hunter?

  Despite the emotions, my voice came out clear and sure: “I do.”

  It was Hunter’s turn to wipe his eyes, and I couldn’t resist—I pulled him close and wrapped him up in my arms. I didn’t kiss him yet—we’d get there—but I just needed to hold him for a second, and the way everyone awwed and applauded had us both laughing.

  “You okay?” he asked in my ear.

  “Yeah.” I kissed his cheek. “I’m good.”

  We let each other go, and yeah, Mom was right—my eyes were going to be red as hell in all our photos. So were Hunter’s. I was okay with that.

  Now that we were collected, we moved on to the rings. Hunter took mine from Rachel, who was his best “man.” I took his from Matt, pausing to exchange smiles with him as he pressed the ring into my hand.

  Then Hunter and I faced each other again, and with some clumsiness thanks to sweaty and unsteady hands, not to mention some chuckling, we managed to get the rings on.

  There was still one more step before we sealed the deal. A small table had been set up beside the altar, and on it was an empty vase and two bottles, one filled with gold sand, the other with black (the Breakers’ colors had been Hunter’s idea, I swear). As we walked over to the table and picked up our respective bottles, the officiant explained that the mixing of the colored sand was symbolic of our union.

  At the table, Hunter and I exchanged grins. Then I leaned down behind it and pulled a third bottle from beneath the tablecloth.

  As I did, the officiant said, “But Hunter and Scott aren’t just coming together as new husbands. Their commitment to each other is their commitment as a family, which is a family of three.”

  I held up the white sand. “Ginny?”

  My new stepdaughter straightened, her lips parting.

  “Come on, kiddo.” Hunter smiled. “We’re going to do this together.”

  Ginny got up, glancing at her other stepdad, then at her mom. They both nodded, and she came up to us. In a voice so tiny only we could hear her, she asked, “Really?”

  “Yeah.” I held out the third bottle. “You’re part of this too.”

  She stared at me in disbelief for a moment, and I was afraid for a couple of seconds that she might balk. Instead, she gently took the bottle from my hand, and then she hugged me.

  I glanced at Hunter, and he looked closer to falling apart than he had since the ceremony had started. When Ginny hugged him, he had to wipe his eyes with a shaky hand. Yeah, everyone in this photo album was going to have red eyes. Oh well.

  Ginny let Hunter go, and the three of us carefully tilted the bottles over the lip of the jar. The sand fell in cool irregular patterns, and in no time, all three bottles were empty. The jar was filled to the brim, and Hunter and Ginny screwed on the lid.

  After one more hug for each of us, she returned to her seat, and Hunter and I took our places at the altar again. The officiant had a few more words, most of which I barely heard, before she finally closed her book and smiled at both of us.

  “By the power vested in me by God and the State of Washington,” she said brightly, “I now pronounce you husbands. I’m pretty sure you can take it from here.”

  Oh. Yeah. I definitely could.

  I cupped Hunter’s face, and as he wrapped his arms around my neck, we came together in a soft, perfect kiss.

  Our lips had barely touched before the room erupted in the kind of roof-shaking cheers that could only come from a pack of hockey players, and we both grinned for a second before we went right back to what we’d been doing.

  There’d been a time when I’d have sneered at two men kissing in broad daylight. When I’d never have accepted an invite to a gay wedding, as if anyone ever would have invited me to begin with. When fear and self-loathing were the only companions I could count on never leaving.

  Today more than ever, that time was behind me.

  My future was with a family I’d never imagined—a husband. A stepdaughter and a cousin who I loved like they were my own kids. The sister who’d fiercely supported me when our parents didn’t. Now even my mom. The people I’d wronged had forgiven me. The world knew who I was, and the people who hated me for it were in the minority, drowned out by my family, my friends, and my teammates. The people I’d lost were outnumbered by those I’d gained. Those who’d rallied around me when they’d had every right to tell me to kick rocks.

  It had been a long and miserable ride to get here.

  But I made it, and not a moment too soon.

  And I had the rest of my life to make up for lost time.

  The Gentlemen of the Emerald City Series

  Luca

  Cole

  Bryce

  Marco

  Andre

  Hunter

  For more books by L.A. Witt, please visit

  http://www.gallagherwitt.com

  Romance * Suspense

  Contemporary * Historical * Sports * Military

  Titles Include

  * * *

  Rookie Mistake (written with Anna Zabo)

  Scoreless Game (written with Anna Zabo)

  The Hitman vs. Hitman Series (written with Cari Z)

  The Bad Behavior Series (written with Cari Z)

  The Anchor Point Series

  The Husband Gambit

  Name From a Hat Trick

  After December

  Brick Walls

  The Venetian and the Rum Runner

  If The Seas Catch Fire

  …and many, many more!

  About the Author

  L.A. Witt is a romance and suspense author who has at last given up the exciting nomadic lifestyle of the military spouse (read: her husband finally retired). She now resides in Pittsburgh, where the potholes are determined to eat her car and her cats are endlessly taunted by a disrespectful squirrel named Moose. In her spare time, she can be found painting in her art room or destroying her voice at a Pittsburgh Penguins game.

  * * *

  Website: www.gallagherwitt.com

  Email: gallagherwitt@gmail.com

  Twitter: @GallagherWitt

 

 

  L.A. Witt, Hunter

 

 

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