Page 151 of Icebound Hearts
“Yeah, it really is. It’ll be hard to top this with ours, but I’m gonna try my best,” Sawyer promises as he reaches for my hand. “Come on, let’s go make the rounds.”
Noah and Margo aren’t around, but that’s no surprise. They’re probably behind closed doors making the final preparations for their big reveals before the ceremony, but the rest of the Aces are here. We join Theo, Reese, Callie, and Becca, who are already chatting with Grant, Maxim, and Cameron.
As we approach, I pick up the tail end of their conversation—something about a new rookie who’s just been signed to the team, an unknown from California who apparently really impressed Coach Dunaway in a showcase he saw.
“Hey, I’m all for some new blood,” Theo says, his arm wrapped around Becca as she leans into him casually. “It keeps us all on our toes.”
“You talking about the new guy?” Sawyer asks as the circle opens up to let us in.
“Yeah.” Reese nods. “I’m looking forward to meeting him when we start training camp.”
“What’s his name?” I ask curiously.
“Declan something.” Maxim scrunches up his face. “Uh, Murray, I think.”
I listen with interest as the guys discuss the incoming rookie, making predictions about the upcoming season and already declaring that they’re in a great position for another Cup win. They’re all still riding high from their playoffs victory at the end of this past season, especially after having come so close to winning the season before that and not quite pulling it off.
After a few more minutes of hockey talk, the conversation turns to the reason we’re all here today.
“I can’t believe it’s the big day,” Theo says. “I thought Noah was gonna go out of his mind waiting for it to get here. I’m almost surprised he didn’t just whisk Margo off in the dead of night one evening to elope with her. He’s been calling her ‘my future wife’ for months.”
“Marriage seems to be in the air lately,” Reese teases, his eyes settling on the sparkling diamond on my finger.
“Which begs the question, when is our favorite grump going to find someone to propose to?” Theo asks and claps Grant on the shoulder.
Grant glares at him, and everyone laughs.
“See, I think he’s just going to end up marrying a hockey net since he spends so much time hanging out with them,” Reese says, and Grant punches his arm playfully.
“Alright, alright. Leave the poor guy alone. We’d better get seated before all the pomp and circumstance starts,” Sawyer says, and Grant flashes him a grateful look as we all file toward the pews. Sawyer and I sit with Jake between us in the second row with a perfect view of the altar.
“Where’s Uncle Noah and Aunt Margo? Isn’t this their wedding?” Jake asks, and I laugh.
“They’ll be out soon. They aren’t supposed to see each other before the ceremony starts. It’s a surprise.”
Jake scrunches his face at me. “What kind of surprise is that? They already know what the other one looks like.”
Sawyer snorts and brings a finger to his mouth to quiet Jake down. “It’s what they’re wearing that’s the surprise, buddy,” he whispers as a piano starts playing from somewhere behind us.
Everyone turns their heads at once to look, and Noah stands at the end of the long stone walkway leading to the altar in a crisp, form-fitting navy suit. He strides toward the altar confidently, beaming, and waits there with the officiant for Margo to appear.
When she does, there are audible gasps from the small audience gathered. She’s wearing a beautiful white gown with lace accents and a train that’s so long an attendant trails behind her to make sure she doesn’t trip on it or snag it on anything. A man I assume is her father walks her down the aisle to give her away, and it’s hard not to tear up with the rest of the people watching—not least of all because I know I’m going to be doing something similar soon.
Sawyer and I link hands behind Jake’s back, and he squeezes me affectionately. I’ve already been humming with excitement about my own wedding, but watching Margo and Noah tie the knot like this makes it feel so much more real. Sawyer must be feeling it too because his eyes are a little misty.
“She looks so beautiful,” Jake whispers when Margo walks past us. “Mommy, are you gonna have a gown like that too?”
“She’ll have one even more amazing than that, I promise,” Sawyer whispers back.
Everyone falls silent when Margo reaches Noah, until he lifts her veil and sees her face for the first time since the wedding started. She looks radiant, and the happy tears pooling in the corners of her eyes only add to her beauty.
The officiant launches into the ceremony, and before I know it, Noah’s starting his vows, telling Margo how much he loves her and how much she means to him. It’s so touching, but all I can think about is what Sawyer’s going to say to me when it’s our turn—and wondering if I’ll be able to do as good of a job as Margo is at keeping it together.
Then it’s Margo’s turn to promise her life to Noah. I try to focus on what she’s saying, but my mind wanders to my own eventual vows. I never really thought about it before because I’d written off getting married, but now that I’m engaged, I don’t know how I’m supposed to condense all the feelings I have for Sawyer into a few words. It feels impossible.
Sawyer squeezes my hand again, pulling me back to the ceremony where the officiant is already asking the big questions: do you take each other, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, now and forever? A fresh round of tears wells in my eyes because I already know the answer to every one of those questions is an enthusiastic yes, so I clutch Sawyer’s hand and glance over at him, hoping my feelings are coming across.
Margo and Noah agree to take each other and exchange their rings.