Full Circle (58 page)

And then she was there, and Mark could hardly
breathe.

“My God . . .” he
whispered.

“You okay?” Rob said.

He couldn’t take his eyes off her as she
began the long, agonizingly slow walk toward him. “I’m perfect,” he
whispered.

Beneath the veil, she smiled shyly, and he
knew she was blushing. He smiled back, their gazes locked one to
the other. It was as if those in attendance disappeared. This was
their day. His and Karma’s.

Finally, her dad led her up the shallow steps
and stopped in front of him. Karma’s mom joined him, as did his
parents, all standing a step behind.

Mark exchanged a glance of understanding with
her dad. He was assuming responsibility for Karma’s life today. The
passing of the guard was about to take place. From this point
forward, he would be responsible for Karma’s happiness, her health,
her everything. It wasn’t a fact he took lightly.

The music stopped, and he gazed in awe at the
woman who was about to become his wife. Almost a decade ago, he’d
stood at the head of another church, waiting for another woman to
join him. Only, that woman hadn’t been meant for him. The one
standing before him now had always been the one he’d been made for.
It had taken meeting Karma to bring him full circle, right back to
the very place that had sent him on a journey of despair. This
time, he’d chosen right. This time, he’d found happily ever
after.

Lisa took Karma’s bouquet then stepped back
into place alongside the other bridesmaids.

The minister stepped forward and addressed
the room, welcoming the guests, but Mark hardly heard a word he
said. All he could do was stare at the beauty in front of him as
the minister asked her if she took him to be her husband, to love,
comfort, honor, and keep, forsaking all others, and to be faithful
to him for the rest of their lives.

“I will,” she said.

“Mark,” the minister said, turning toward
him, “will you have this woman to be your wife, to live together
with her in the covenant of marriage? Will you love her, comfort
her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, and, forsaking
all others, be faithful unto her as long as you both shall
live?”

He gazed into her pale-green eyes, moist with
tears, and said, “I will.”

Then the minister glanced toward their
parents. “Who blesses this union?”

“We do,” all four parents said in unison.

“And who presents this woman to be married to
this man?”

“I do.” Her dad stepped forward and placed
Karma’s hand in his. Then he lowered his voice and said, “Take care
of her.” His eyes glistened as if he were on the verge of
tears.

“I will,” Mark whispered back.

Karma’s hands trembled inside his. Or maybe
it was his hands that were trembling. He wasn’t sure. He was just
so unbelievably happy.

“Repeat after me,” the minister said to
Mark.

Gladly, he did as he was told. “I, Mark
Strong, take you, Karma Mason, to be my wife, to have and to hold
from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for
poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until
death do us part. This is my solemn vow.”

His mom sobbed quietly behind him.

Then it was Karma’s turn to repeat the same
vow he’d just given, her voice gentle yet firm. “I, Karma Mason,
take you, Mark Strong, to be my husband . . .” His
heart swelled at the word. “To have and to hold from this day
forward, for better, for worse . . .” Her grin
widened as if she knew they’d already been through the worst. “For
richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to
cherish, until death do us part. This is my solemn vow.”

Rob stepped forward with the rings, handing
them to the minister.

Mark took Karma’s left hand with his and held
the ring in front of her finger. “I give you this ring as a symbol
of my love, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor
you, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” He
slid it on her trembling finger.

Then she did the same to him, repeating the
vow as she slid on his ring. He had never had the chance to wear
his first wedding band, but he would never take this one off.

The minister’s voice rose confidently as he
addressed the congregation. “Now that Karma Mason and Mark Strong
have given themselves to each other by solemn vows, with the
joining of hands and the giving and receiving of rings, I pronounce
that they are now husband and wife, in the name of the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit.” He looked at Mark. “You may now kiss
your bride.”

With a deep breath, he lifted her veil and
tenderly folded it back.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

And then he kissed her. He kissed his wife
for the first time.

And his heart sang.

Chapter 44

Never marry the one you can live with. Marry the one
you can’t live without.

-James Dobson

Karma had never seen Mark so happy. Throughout the
ceremony, he never stopped smiling. His hands had shaken a tiny bit
when he took hers and slipped on her wedding band, but he’d kept
himself together. When he kissed her to seal their vows, he’d done
so with pride and without hesitation.

After another hour of wedding photographs,
she stood arm-in-arm with him outside the reception hall as the
bridal party began filtering in ahead of them.

“Have I told you how beautiful you are
tonight?” he said.

She smiled up at him. “Only about a hundred
times.”

He beamed as his gaze swept over her face and
down to her dress again. “Well, let me say it again. You’re
unbelievably beautiful. And this dress is truly breathtaking.”

“And I’ll tell
you
again that you’re
incredibly handsome. We need to go to more events where you have to
wear a tux with tails.”

“I’ll start working on that right after we
get back from our honeymoon.”

“You still haven’t told me where we’re
going.”

He grinned mischievously. “It’s a
secret.”

“At least give me a hint.”

“Nope. No hints. You’ll just have to be
patient. Now, ssshhh. They’re about to announce us, and I’ve been
waiting for this my whole life.”

She fought back a giggle at the way he
straightened and lifted his chin as he placed his hand over hers,
which was wrapped around the crook of his elbow. Who would have
thought that the man who’d cowered at the idea of setting a wedding
date barely three months ago would now hold himself with more
regency than the King of England at the moment they were to be
officially presented as husband and wife.

The doors opened, and he led her into a
glittering, awe-inspiring ballroom. The round tables were dressed
with blush-colored tablecloths, adorned with elaborate flower
arrangements of peach, cream, and pale pink. Matching arrangements
and satin ribbons draped the head table, as well as what Daniel had
proudly called the confection table, where an array of treats
tempted the guests. As Mark paraded her through the center of the
room like they were royalty, even the wait-staff stopped filling
water glasses to watch them.

Then she spotted the vase of chocolate roses
in the center of the head table.

“Did you . . . ?” She looked
up at him.

He grinned. “I couldn’t sleep last night, so
I made you a dozen chocolate covered strawberries.” They passed the
parents’ table. Tears glistened in her mom’s and Giada’s eyes, and
her dad and Adler smiled proudly at them.

She smiled back and tucked herself closer
into Mark’s side. “And since chocolate has been so pivotal to our
entire relationship, they’re more than fitting, aren’t they?”

“And they go with our colors. Chocolate on
the outside, blush-pink inside.”

“You do think of everything, don’t you?”

“You know I do.” With a wink, he led her
around the table to their seats and faced the room. The regal
couple meeting the public for the first time.

Once seated, the guests immediately began
clanging their silverware against their glasses. He leaned over and
kissed her, making everyone cheer.

“Get used to that,” he said.

“What? Kissing you?” She rolled her eyes and
smirked. “I hope I never get used to that.”

He grinned against her mouth. “Well, when you
put it that way” He kissed her again.

Dinner was served, and the evening pressed
on, sprinkled with more kisses and a never-ending stream of
congratulations and laughter.

When Rob stood to make his toast, Mark
wrapped his hand around hers and leaned into her, his expression
both expectant and anxious.

“I have a feeling he’s going to zing me,” he
whispered.

She angled her head toward his. “Why?”

“Because . . . that’s how he
is.” He shrugged. “And I got him pretty good at his wedding,
so . . .”

“Payback.”

Mark’s gaze locked on hers. “Precisely.”

Rob took a moment as the room quieted. “When
I got married last year”—he looked down at Holly—“Mark said he
could only hope that someday he would know the happiness I was
feeling that night.” He smiled and met Mark’s gaze. “Well, tonight
I’m sure he knows exactly how I felt.”

Mark exchanged meaningful glances with her
then nodded back at Rob. “And you would be right.”

Rob grinned and lifted his champagne glass a
little higher. “Mark and I have been friends forever. I’ve seen him
hit his highest highs and his lowest lows, sometimes at the same
time.” Laughter rang out from the guests. “Mark has always been
stubborn, willful, and intensely focused. So much so there were
times he couldn’t see his nose to spite his face.” More laughter.
Karma glanced toward Mark’s mom, who was nodding slowly, in total
agreement.

Mark chuckled. “Are you toasting me or
roasting me, Rob?”

Rob opened his fingers, indicating for Mark
to hang tight. “I’m getting there, buddy. Just give me my moment in
the sun. You haven’t made this easy for me.”

Karma snuggled against Mark’s arm as he
squeezed her hand and laughed. He knew he’d brought this on
himself.

Rob swept his gaze around the room. “One of
the things you have to know about Mark is that he gets in his own
way.
A lot.
”

The laughter grew louder, and Mark bowed his
head, his cheeks coloring pink as he met her gaze out of the
corners of his eyes. She almost laughed at his expression, which
was somewhere between
shoot me
and
I told you he was
going to zing me
.

Rob continued, growing more serious. “The
night he met Karma, I knew something was different this time. There
was a spark in his eyes. I didn’t tell him that at the time, but I
noticed it.” Rob met Karma’s gaze. “You affected him that night
more than he was willing to admit.”

She curled her arm more tightly around
Mark’s.

Rob faced the room again. “Over the months,
as he and Karma spent more time with one another, Mark continued to
change. He was usually so put together . . . so sure
of himself. When he met Karma, I saw the cracks form in his façade.
He’d grown so used to putting on a front to the world, only letting
people see the person he wanted them to see. But Karma chipped away
at the veneer until the real Mark came back to us.” He paused, and
all the unspoken moments of their long friendship passed between
them. “I’ve never seen Mark so happy as he is tonight.” Rob
hesitated, obviously keeping his emotions in check. Then he lifted
his glass and cleared his throat. “I love you, my friend. You
deserve to be happy.” To Karma he said, “And thank you for bringing
happiness back to my best friend. Here’s to both of you and a long
life together.”

“Here, here.” The guests all voiced their
agreement, raising their glasses of champagne.

Mark leaned in and kissed her, holding his
lips to hers for the duration as the room cheered.

Then he pushed back his chair, grabbed one of
the chocolate roses from the vase, and stood.

Once the room quieted again, he cleared his
throat and glanced down at her. In that moment, it looked like all
the love in his heart shone through his eyes.

“Thank you for that
colorful
toast,
Rob.”

A few chuckles rose from the guests.

Rob saluted with his champagne glass. Then
Mark faced the room again.

“Rob’s right, though. The night I met
Karma . . .” He looked at her again. “Everything
changed for me. The moment I laid eyes on her, something inside me
woke up. Something that had been dead for long, long time.
Suddenly, I felt alive again.” He grinned and turned back toward
the room and lifted the rose. “She was like this treat. It looks
like a chocolate rose.” He set it on a small white plate and cut it
in half with his dinner knife, revealing the strawberry inside.
“But once you see inside, you realize it’s so much more than just
chocolate.

“That’s how I felt the first time I met
Karma. She was in Chicago, and she was wearing this incredible red
dress and looked like a movie star. Even then, I knew there was so
much more to her than what I saw on the outside. I could tell she
was special.” They exchanged intimate smiles. “And then I met her
again here in Indianapolis, and that was it for me. I was hooked.
And the more I learned about her, the more layers she revealed. I
couldn’t get enough, and even though we’ve known each other for
almost two years, she still surprises me, and I’ve become
unexpectedly addicted to the anticipation of what she’ll surprise
me with next.” An amused yet appreciative murmur rose from their
friends and family as he turned adoring eyes on her. “It was all
those layers and the knowledge of what she held on the inside that
captured my heart. I couldn’t stop thinking about her, even when I
returned to Chicago. I was lost without her, and the only way to
find myself again was to come back and win her heart as she’d won
mine.”