Chapter 428

Olivia

I couldn’t help but laugh as I stumbled back into the banquet hall, my friends close behind, all of us out of breath from our impromptu snowball fight.

The snowflakes clung to our clothes, and my cheeks felt rosy from the cold. Even though my dress got a little damp from the snow, I was no worse for wear. It seemed as though the night really had taken a magical turn, and I couldn’t have asked for a better wedding.

As we entered the banquet hall, the sight that greeted us was a bit unexpected. Many of the guests had already departed, leaving behind a few stragglers who were still enjoying the remnants of the celebration.

I didn’t blame them, though; it was late, after all. Layla’s son and our twins were nestled peacefully in their strollers, fast asleep. I turned to Nathan, offering him a smile.

“I think we should get Aurora and Elliot home to their cribs,” I said. “Otherwise we’re going to have a very rough morning tomorrow.”

Nathan nodded, and I could see that he was stifling a yawn himself. “Good call,” he said.

I turned to my friends next, who all looked just as exhausted as I felt. “I really can’t thank you all enough for doing all of this,” I said. “I know it was last minute and a bit insane, but it was just so perfect.”

Angela, who had been leaning on Levi, shot me a warm but tired smile. “You two deserve the best,” she said, then smirked. “And besides, you can make up for it when you help us with our upcoming weddings. Layla and Cade are next, after all.”

“In the spring,” Cade said as he scooped his son up out of the stroller and held him close. “This little guy still takes up too much of our time, I think.”

With that said, the six of us said our goodbyes. I hugged my friends tightly, grateful as ever for all of their help tonight, and waved as they filed out to head home for the night.

But Levi, for some reason, shot Nathan a wink before he left. I furrowed my brow as I watched Nathan return the wink, and once we were alone, I turned to face my now-husband.

“What was all that about?” I asked. “That wink.”

“Oh, you’re about to find out,” Nathan replied cryptically as he began to push the stroller toward the door. “Follow me.”

My curiosity piqued, I followed Nathan outside, where the cold night air greeted us. I was about to ask him where we were headed when I saw it—a horse-drawn wagon, the very same hay ride wagon from the festival, waiting for us just outside the Council building.

My eyes widened as I stopped in my tracks. “Nathan, is this…?”

He nodded, a proud smile on his face. “I wanted to take you home in style,” he said. “I can’t bring my blushing bride home on foot, now can I?”

I was elated. We carefully placed the stroller with our sleeping twins on the wagon and climbed inside. The clip-clop of the horse’s hooves on the soft snow echoed in the crisp night air, and the sweet scent of straw enveloped us as the driver guided the wagon along the scenic route around town.

“Come here.”

Nathan pulled me close, and we gazed out at our quiet little town blanketed in snow. The twins, who were covered in a blanket now, slept peacefully in their stroller. I smiled as I looked down at them and pulled my white fur stole a little closer around my shoulders, lifting my gaze to watch as the town passed by.

“You’re sure you got everything you wanted tonight?” Nathan whispered, his lips brushing my cheek as he spoke.

I nodded vehemently. “It was perfect. Really. I wish we could do it all over again.”

Nathan grinned. As the wagon carried us home, he leaned in and kissed me with a passion that sent shivers down my spine. His hand traced the delicate fabric of my wedding dress, and his cool fingers worked their way under my stole and traced my collar bones. The sensation of his touch sent a rush of desire coursing through me, and I couldn’t wait to get home.

When we finally arrived back at our villa, we carefully lifted our sleeping twins from the wagon. But just as we were about to enter the house, Nathan stopped me and whispered, “Wait here.”

I furrowed my brow in confusion as I watched him push the stroller inside. A few moments later, he returned, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. Without a word, he scooped me up into his arms and kicked the door open.

I giggled as he carried me over the threshold, a tradition that felt all the more special on our wedding night. He gently placed me down, and our eyes locked.

“Welcome home, Mrs. Ford,” he murmured, his voice low and husky.

Our lips met, soft and sweet and faintly tasting of cupcakes from earlier. I tugged on his suit jacket to pull him a little closer, and he pressed his palm into the wall above my head, deepening the kiss.

But we weren’t like that for long before the twins started to fuss in their stroller, uncomfortable and craving their cribs. Nathan took Aurora and I took Elliot, and we made our way to the nursery. We had gotten so used to the routine that we worked like a well-oiled machine now, carefully undressing the twins, getting them cozy in their onesies, and putting them to bed.

“They’re gonna sleep for days after all this,” Nathan whispered as we tucked the twins in. “This was quite the event for them.

I chuckled. “It sure was,” I said. “But they acted like angels all night. I couldn’t be more proud.”

As I spoke, then, something came to mind; a moment earlier that I had completely forgotten in the midst of all of the excitement. “Nathan,” I said in a hushed voice, whipping around to face him, “Aurora said her first word earlier.”

Nathan’s eyes widened. “Seriously?” he asked. “What did she say?”

I smirked. “Mama.”

For a moment, Nathan just stared at me in shock, but then his expression turned into one of mischief. “I guess I’ll have to make sure Elliot’s first word is ‘dada’,” he teased. “Us boys have to stick together, after all.”

With the twins comfortably sleeping in their cribs, we returned to the living room, still in our wedding attire. Nathan’s eyes held a hint of longing, and he confessed, “I’m not ready for tonight to be over.”

I smiled, feeling the same way. Without a word, he walked over to the vintage record player we had set up recently. He carefully placed a record on the turntable, and the soft melody of an old love song filled the room.

Nathan extended his hand towards me, and I took it, allowing him to lead me into a slow dance. As we swayed together in the middle of our living room, the world faded away, and it was just the two of us, our bodies tired but our minds still racing with the excitement of the day.

His lips found mine once more, and this time, the kiss was filled with a fiery passion that had been building up throughout the day. His hand trailed down the length of my dress, and he slowly began to slip the sleeves down, revealing my bare shoulders to him.

Neither of us spoke as we slowly sank down onto the couch, our lips still locked in a passionate kiss.

The sensation of his cool fingers trailing across my skin made me shiver with excitement, and before I knew it, the soft amber glow of the lamp illuminated both of our bodies, with nothing but the sound of a love song and our soft moans filling the silence.