As if to prove it, he leaned in and brushed his lips against hers.
“You’re not married yet,” Michael called out from the crowd. “How about we make it official, huh?”
Jack smirked at him before turning back to Ivy. “I wrote vows fifty times and they were never good enough. I guess that’s why I decided to speak from the heart.
“You’re not just the thing I love most in this world, honey, you’re the thing I’m going to love best for the rest of my life. You’re it for me. You’re the one. You’re ... my everything.” He let out a pent-up breath. “I pledge to love you, honor you, spend every moment trying to make you happy, and I’ll even eat those stupid mushrooms despite the fact that they taste like feet. That’s how much I love you.”
Ivy’s eyes glistened with tears. She assumed it was her turn to start speaking, but he cut her off.
“I’m not quite done.” He gripped her hands tighter. “Everything you are has been a surprise to me because I didn’t know it was possible to love like this. I’m not afraid of what’s going to come because I know we’re going to be together for all of it.
“You are my anchor, the thing that keeps me tethered, and there will never be a moment when I don’t need you. I’m here for you to lean on. I’m also here to give you space when you need to stand on your own.
“We’re going to fight,” he continued, earning an appreciative chuckle from the crowd. “We’re also going to make up, and the love we feel right now will only grow. It’s never going to dissipate.
“This may seem like the biggest moment of our lives to date,” he said, wrapping up. “It’s only the beginning, though. What’s to come will be even better ... and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Ivy stood there, mute, for an extended beat as she worked to collect herself. When she finally spoke, her voice cracked and belied her tears. “I kind of wish I would’ve gone first because now I’m going to cry.”
The crowd laughed again.
“You touch every part of me, Jack,” she started. “You grabbed onto my heart practically that first day and you’ve never let go. Now I can’t imagine a time when my heart wasn’t connected to your heart.
“I don’t know if I ever believed in soulmates before you,” she continued. “I think I wanted to, but I could never connect with people the way I figured was necessary. I just assumed that this sort of happiness wasn’t meant for me. I was wrong, though.
“It’s weird to think about another person being created just for you. It seems somehow ... entitled. I don’t care, though. I believe you were created for me. Someone up there — or out there — knew you were exactly what I needed and sent you to me.”
“The same thing happened for me, honey,” Jack supplied. “It’s like we fit together.”
Ivy’s smile was serene. “It’s my turn. You had your turn.”
The admonishment earned another laugh from those assembled.
“Then gush all over me,” Jack urged. “I’m ready to hear how wonderful I am.”
“You are wonderful,” Ivy agreed. “You are giving ... and loving ... and you always ask about my day. Even when you’ve had a terrible shift, you make sure to see how I am before unloading your misery. You always put me first.
“We tend to get fired up, and you were right about the fights,” she continued. “We’re going to argue, but half the fun is making up.”
Max and Michael groaned in unison, but Ivy ignored them.
“We have a bond that can never be broken because the love we share is stronger than anything we ever imagined. You aren’t just my husband, you’re the other part of me, and I can’t wait to see where this adventure takes us.”
Before the pastor could take control of the ceremony, Jack swooped in to kiss her, pulling her tight.
“Oh, just declare them husband and wife,” Max groused. “We’re never going to get out of here if you don’t rein them in, and I need a beer.”
“Me, too,” Denise intoned.
Jack pulled back far enough to study Ivy’s face. “Declare us man and wife,” he instructed. “I want to kiss my wife.”
The pastor smiled and shook his head. “And I now pronounce you husband and wife. I would encourage you to kiss your wife but ... yup, there you go.”
Applause broke out. Hearty pats hit Jack’s back. He didn’t pull away from Ivy, though. Now that he had everything he’d ever wanted he wouldn’t let it go.
It was the beginning of a new chapter, and Jack and Ivy had forever at their fingertips. Things weren’t the same as when they met — magic and mayhem courting them at every turn — but it didn’t matter. They had each other, and that’s all they would ever need.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
AMANDA M. LEE AND LILY HARPER HART
I want to thank everyone who takes the time to read my novels. I have a particular brand of humor that isn’t for everyone – and I know that.
If you liked the book, please take a few minutes and leave a review. An independent author does it all on their own, and the reviews are helpful. I understand that my characters aren’t for everyone, though. There’s a lot of snark and sarcasm in my world – and I know some people don’t like that.
Special thanks go out to Heidi Bitsoli and Phil VanHulle for correcting the (numerous) errors that creep into a work of fiction.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
For more information:
author@amandamlee.net
BOOKS BY LILY HARPER HART
A Maddie Graves Mystery
Grave Homecoming
Grave Insight
Grave Delight
Grave Misgivings
Grave Concerns
Grave Discovery
Grave Decisions
Grave Seasons
Grave Holiday
Grave Haunting
Grave Paths
Grave Danger
Grave Missteps
Grave Demands
Grave Wedding
An Ivy Morgan Mystery
Wicked Days
Wicked Dreams
Wicked Times
Wicked Places
Wicked Warning
Wicked Fog
Wicked Season
Wicked Winter
Wicked Hearts
Wicked Wishes
Wicked Whimsy
Wicked Haunts
Wicked Delight
Wicked Respite
Wicked Decisions
Wicked Reunion
Wicked Games
A Harper Harlow Mystery
Ghostly Interests
Ghostly Issues
Ghostly Deceits
Ghostly Worries
Ghostly Images
Ghostly Wrecks
Ghostly Asylum
Ghostly Tricks
Ghostly Distress
Ghostly Despair
Ghostly Holiday
Ghostly Ordeal
Ghostly Fears
Ghostly Charms
Ghostly Business
Ghostly Camping
A Rowan Gray Mystery
Welcoming Seas
Murky Seas
Stormy Seas
Sunken Seas
Choppy Seas
Churning Seas
Dangerous Seas
Perilous Seas
Raging Seas
A Hannah Hickock Witchy Cozy Mystery
The Dirty Coven
A Fistful of Demons
Boot Sco
otin’ Boogeyman
The Monstrous Seven
Dances With Witches
A Supernatural Speakeasy Cozy Mystery
The Hexorcist
Witch Confidential
Curse A Brew Streak
Crossovers
Wicked Ghosts
Wicked Seas
Ghostly Seas
Grave Seas
Hardy Brothers Security
Deadly Intentions
Deadly Intuition
Deadly Illusions
Deadly Proposal
Deadly Prospects
Deadly Ever After
Deadly Honeymoon
Deadly Questions
Deadly Addition
Deadly Vacation
Deadly Secrets
Deadly Storm
Deadly Dealings
Deadly Christmas
Deadly Desperados
Deadly Arrival
Deadly Rivalry
Deadly Memories
Deadly Adventure
Deadly Reunion
Deadly Conflicts
Deadly Payback
Deadly Waves
Deadly Forever
BOOKS BY AMANDA M. LEE
An Avery Shaw Mystery
Who, What, Where, When, Die
If it Bleeds, it Leads
Buried Leads
Shot Off The Presses
The Preditorial Page
Misquoted & Demoted
Headlines & Deadlines
Misprints & Mistakes
Bylines & Skylines
Off the Record
Unwritten & Underwater
Extra! Extra! Dead All About It
On Deadline & Under Fire
Above the Fold & Below the Belt
Oracles & Obituaries
New Media & Old Grudges
Mayhem & Mistletoe
A Wicked Witches of the Midwest Mystery
Any Witch Way You Can
Every Witch Way But Wicked
Witching You Were Here
Witching on a Star
Something to Witch About
Witch Me Luck
Life’s a Witch
Charms & Witchdemeanors
The Trouble With Witches
Murder Most Witchy
A Witch Before Dying
A Breath of Witchy Air
Witch, Interrupted
Flip the Witch Switch
Witchin’ Around the Clock
To Love a Witch
A Wicked Witches of the Midwest Short
Careful What You Witch For
Wicked Brew
On a Witch and a Prayer
You Only Witch Once
The Christmas Witch
Bewitched
A Solstice Celebration
Witchdependence Day
Happy Witchgiving
Merry Witchmas
Four-Leaf Clover
Thistle While You Work
Landon Calling
I Dream of Twila
How Aunt Tillie Stole Christmas
A Wicked Witches of the Midwest Fantasy
Witchy Tales
A Witch In Time
Make A Witch
A Witchmas Carol
All My Witches
Close Encounters of the Witchy Kind
An Aisling Grimlock Mystery
Grim Tidings
Grim Offerings
Grim Discovery
Grim Reunion
Grim Expectations
Grim Holiday
Grim Rising
Grim Tempest
Grim Vows
Grimlock Family Shorts
Grim Like Me
Grim & The City
Now & Grim
Grim & Bear It
Grim & The Dead
Death Gate Grim Reapers
Only the Lonely
Only the Quiet
Only the Lost
Only the Devout
A Mystic Caravan Mystery
Freaky Days
Freaky Lies
Freaky Hearts
Freaky Games
Freaky Places
Freaky Rites
Freaky Witches
Freaky Reapers
Freaky Fangs
Freaky Seas
A Charlie Rhodes Cozy Mystery
The Bigfoot Blunder
The Werewolf Whoops
The Megalodon Mix-Up
The Undead Uproar
The Incubus Impasse
The Killer Clown Calamity
A Moonstone Bay Cozy Mystery
Witchin’ USA
Witch Out of Water
Freaky Deaky Tiki
To Spell With It
Hex Type Thing
Brewing Up a Storm
A Spell’s Angels Cozy Mystery
Bad to the Crone
No Crones About It
No Crone Unturned
Cut to the Crone
A Two Broomsticks Gas & Grill Cozy Mystery
Sinfully Delicious
Covenant College
Awakening
Whispering
Conjuring
Waxing & Waning
Graduating
Living Covenant Trilogy
Rising Covenant
Dark Covenant
Eternal Covenant
Dying Covenant Trilogy
Haunted Covenant
Desperate Covenant
Everlasting Covenant
2019 Shorts
Wolf on the Job
Luke on the Loose
Cupid in Crisis
Millie on a Mission
Jerry Takes Charge
Elemental Witches of Eternal Springs
Bat Out Of Spell
Spell on Earth
Hotter Than Spell
Spell or High Water
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Contents
1. One
2. Two
3. Three
4. Four
5. Five
6. Six
7. Seven
8. Eight
9. Nine
10. Ten
11. Eleven
12. Twelve
13. Thirteen
14. Fourteen
15. Fifteen
16. Sixteen
17. Seventeen
18. Eighteen
19. Nineteen
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About the Author
Books by Lily Harper Hart
Books by Amanda M. Lee