Her Obsession (by Sheridan Hartin) novel Chapter 156

The First Dance.

Conner

It happens in slow motion for me. First, the soft music carried on the evening wind. Then the sound of chairs creaking as everyone turns at once to look at her. Sage. Standing at the end of the aisle, sunlight spilling through her hair like gold. For a heartbeat, I forget how to breathe. The rest of the world fades – until there’s just her, in white and sunlight, her hand clasped in Diego’s. She looks… out the laughter, the music, even the damn heartbeat in my ears undone, not by fear, but by something gentler. Wonder, maybe. Disbelief. The kind of expression I’ve seen her wear only in the rarest moments, when she lets the walls drop and the ghosts step back. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything more beautiful.

Diego walks her down the aisle, small hand gripping hers tight, the music swelling around them. I can feel every step of hers in my chest, carrying the weight of everything we’ve been through to get here. And when she finally says those two fecking perfect words, “I do, I don’t hesitate. I pull her close, my hands cupping her face, and kiss her like the world’s ending around us, slow, deep, desperate in all the best ways. Her fingers curl in my shirt, her breath catching against my mouth, and I swear I feel the earth tilt beneath us. Cheers erupt. Naomi whoops loud enough to wake the dead, Liam’s clapping like an idiot, and Ma’s sobbing into Pa’s shoulder, laughing through it.

Diego yells, “She said yes!” and takes off running in little circles like the happiest kid alive.

I laugh against Sage’s mouth and, before I can stop myself, scoop her into my arms and spin her around. She squeals, half laughing, half crying, and the whole field bursts into applause again.

When I set her down, she’s breathless, eyes shining, smile trembling at the edges. “You’re ridiculous,” she whispers, but her voice is full of love.

“Yeah,” I murmur, brushing my thumb over her cheek. “But I’m your ridiculous now.”

Ma claps her hands. “Alright, that’s enough kissing, you two! Time to celebrate!”

The crowd moves toward the barn, or what used to be the barn. It’s unrecognisable now. Fairy lights stretch from beam to beam, soft gold against the old wood. Long tables line the walls, covered in wildflowers, bread, and bottles of whiskey. The air smells like fresh pie, hay, and the faint sweetness of apples. Someone’s brought the old speakers out, and music hums low under the chatter. The entire space feels alive, a little rough around the edges, but perfectly imperfect. Sage’s hand finds mine as we step inside, and I can feel the tremor in her fingers. Not from fear, just that overwhelming kind of happiness that comes from not knowing how to hold it all.

Pa’s already standing near the small cleared space in the centre, a glass raised. “Ladies and gentlemen!” he calls, voice booming over the music. “If I could have your attention for a moment!”

The talking quiets, laughter fading to a hum.

He grins, looking straight at us. “It is my honour – and my great pleasure

–

–

to introduce to you all, for the first time, Mr and Mrs O’Neill!”

The room erupts. Cheers, whistles, clapping. Someone pounds on a table. Naomi yells, “About damn time!” and Ma swats her upside the head, which just makes everyone laugh harder.

Sage looks up at me through the noise, cheeks flushed, eyes bright. I can’t help it, I pull her close again.

Pa nods toward the open space. “Now, if the happy couple wouldn’t mind… It’s time for your first dance.”

The music changes to something old and beautiful, the kind of song that drags time down to a crawl. I rest one hand on her waist, the other on the small of her back, and she slides her arms around my neck. The world blurs around us into a halo of light, laughter, and family.

“You know,” she murmurs, eyes locked on mine, “for someone who said he didn’t ever want a wedding, you’re doing a damn good job.”

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The First Dance.

I chuckle softly. “Couldn’t help myself. You deserve this.”

“I didn’t think I deserved anything,” she says quietly.

I tilt my forehead against hers. “You do. Every bit of it.”

She exhales, and I feel het start to relax, melting into the rhythm. I spin her once, slow, her dress catching the light like smoke, She laughs, the sound soft and free, and I think I might remember this sound on my deathbed. For a moment, it’s just us. No ghosts, no blood, no pasts clawing at our heels. Just her heartbeat against mine and the way her smile makes the whole damn barn glow brighter. And then I see Diego, sitting on the edge of a hay bale, watching us with that same wide–eyed wonder he wore walking her down the aisle. His legs swing, his dinosaur toy clutched in one hand, his grin soft and full of something I don’t even have a word for.

1 catch his eye and hold out a hand. “Come here, little man.”

He hesitates, looking to Sage first, and when she nods, he breaks into a run. I scoop him up easily, settling him against my hip.

“Alright, buddy,” I say, smiling down at him. “You ready to dance with your Sissy?”

He grins so wide it nearly breaks me. “Yeah!”

Sage’s eyes glisten again as I pull her close, one arm around her waist, Diego between us, his little hands clutching her dress. The music slows, the crowd

softens, and the three of us move together awkward, uncoordinated and perfect.

–

Diego giggles into Sage’s shoulder. “We’re all dancing,” he whispers, as if he can’t quite believe it.

“Yeah, we are,” I murmur, voice thick. “That’s what families do.”

Sage looks up at me, eyes shimmering with the reflection of fairy lights. “You finally said it.”

“Yeah,” I whisper. “Because it’s true.”

The song fades, but we don’t stop moving, we continue swaying, laughing and breathing together. The barn hums with life around us. The ghosts are gone, the night is soft, and the woman in my arms is finally, officially mine. I don’t want to be anywhere else but right here, with my family.

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R Visitor

Is this the end of the book? I really love this story

1 days ago

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