Moment in the Sun

27. Husband

Charlie POV

"Charlie? Charlie, can you hear me?" I blink and my vision comes back into focus, seeing my sister's hand about two inches from my face.

"Yeah, I can. Now can you move your hand?"

"Sorry, you spaced out and weren't answering me. Are you okay?" I look around to see that Tao and Elle are also looking at me with concerned faces.

"I'm fine. Just a little nervous." I admit, chewing on my lower lip.

"It's a big day and you haven't seen Nick since last night. Can you make it another hour?" Tao asked me. I glanced back to the mirror I was sitting in front of, seeing Elle playing with my hair to try and get it to sit nicely.

I nod, "Yeah, I'll be fine. I get to spend the rest of my life with him so another hour won't hurt."

I start to think about Nick, wondering what he's thinking right now. Is he just as nervous as I am? Is he having second thoughts about marrying me? I shake my head at that. There's no way he's having second thoughts, not if the way he pouted when I left him last night is anything to go by. He'd really pulled out the whole Golden Retriever thing when I left, practically begging me to stay but I insisted on doing the whole not seeing each other before the wedding thing. So, he kept kissing me as long as possible until Tao practically had to rip me away and take me back to his and Elle's flat where I stayed the night and I'm now getting ready to marry the love of my life.

"You need a drink to relax, Charlie." Tao insisted now, shoving a glass of champagne into my hands.

"Not too much. I want to be able to walk down that aisle and say my vows." I reply, sipping at the drink anyway. Elle is done with my hair now and spins the chair I'm sitting on around.

"Voilà!" She announces and I smile at her.

"Thanks, Elle." I stand up and dust off my pants. I'm pretty much dressed and ready, just need to put on my jacket when we leave for the venue in 15 minutes.

The four of us sit around talking, about random things in their lives, anything to distract me from the big life event that I'm about to have. The conversation continues in the car and before I know it, we're pulling up to the venue. It's a gorgeous farmhouse with fields as far as the eye can see. Our ceremony is in the barn, decorated with thousands of fairy lights and flowers. I can't see it from where the car is currently stopped but I can see the last few guests heading over and my heart starts to beat faster. This is it, I'm about to get married to Nick. Who is probably already in the barn, waiting for me.

We wait for a few minutes to let the lat few people in and then the car moves closer so that we don't have to trek through the muddy fields in our nice outfits. Tori hugs me once more, wishing me luck before hurrying inside to sit by our parents and then Tao and Elle stand in front of me.

"You good?" Elle asks and I nod. I'm feeling more confident than I have all day.

"Yeah. I'm ready to do this." They both hug me and we hear the acoustic cover of You Are The Reason by Calum Scott start to play, our cue to go in.

Tao and Elle take each others hands, giving me one last encouraging look before they go through the doors. There's a shuffling sound as people stand. I wait until the music gets to the right point and follow behind, my eyes immediately going to Nick. He's stood at the other end of the aisle with Tara beside him while Tao and Elle are just getting to their spots. A huge grin spreads across his face and I can't help but grin back. I have to stop myself from sprinting to him, instead slowly walking down the aisle. I can feel everyone staring at me but I only care about Nick's gaze.

I finally reach him and he takes my hands in his.

"Hi." He whispers

"Hi." I whisper back, loving the smile he gives me. I don't know why I was so nervous about all this. Of course this is going to be okay. We're Nick and Charlie. We're always okay when we're together.

"Welcome, friends and family to this joyful occasion. We are here to witness the union of Nick and Charlie..." Our celebrant is speaking but I don't really hear her, jut gazing up at Nick. He's looking back at me with so much love in his eyes, more than I think I've ever seen. "Nick and Charlie have written their vows, Nick, would you like to start?"

"Mon cher Charlie, from the moment I saw you walk into that classroom I think my heart knew before my head, that you were going to be someone special. You've made me the happiest man in the world and I can't imagine a life without you. I promise to spend everyday loving you and caring for you, no matter the circumstances. I promise to always be there for you, for cuddles on cold nights, or a shoulder to cry on, whatever you need, I will be that for you. Je promets de t'aimer pour toujours et un jour. I love you, so much Charlie and I can't wait to see what we become together."

Nick's words have put tears in my eyes and I blink to clear them but one escapes, falling down my cheek. He uses a thumb to wipe it away and smiles at me.

"Charlie, what is your promise to Nick?" The celebrant asks and I let out a little laugh. How am I supposed to follow after that speech?

"Nick, you are the most amazing person I've ever met. You have given me so much already, just by being you. Our relationship has been the best thing that could have ever happened to me and I can't wait to see where we go from here. I promise to always love you, to take care of you when you're hurt or sick. I promise to always listen to your thoughts and be a voice of reason to help you out. But most of all, I promise to be by your side through everything, no matter what life throws at us. It's you and me against the world."

Nick's eyes are shining with tears now and he squeezes my hand a little tighter.

"Nick and Charlie, you have both promised to love and care for each other, to be a support for the other person in the hardest of times. I now ask for the rings..." Tao leaned in to pass the wedding rings to Nick and I as the celebrant spoke again. "Nick, place the ring on Charlie's hand as a symbol of the love you have for him and your promise to love him forever."

Nick takes my left hand and carefully slides the ring onto my finger. It feels surreal, nothing like when we got engaged. This is permanent. This ring will be on my finger until the day I die.

"And Charlie, place the ring on Nick's hand as a symbol of the love you have for him and your promise to love him forever." I copy Nick's actions, sliding the shiny gold ring onto his left hand and looking back up at him. "Now that you have shared your promises and the rings, I can now pronounce you husband and husband, Nick and Charlie, you may kiss..."

I don't hear the end of what she says. I'm too busy kissing my husband.