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Swallowing down the lump in my throat, I forced myself to stand. “Right.”
“You look beautiful, Claire-Bear.”
“Thanks.”
“Fuck,” he groaned, noticing the tear I had attempted to discreetly wipe off my cheek. “Come on, baby, don’t cry.” Closing the space between us, he cupped my cheek and pulled me flush against him. “I don’t want to fight tonight.”
Shivering, I leaned into his touch. “Neither do I.”
“Then let’s just put it on the back burner until tomorrow,” he said hoarsely. It being Dee. “Let’s have a good night, okay?” His thumb traced over my cheek as he spoke. “You and me, and we can deal with everything else in the morning, okay?”
“Okay.” I bit back a sob and steadied my breathing before whispering, “I thought you weren’t coming.”
“And leave my baby hanging?” His tone was gentle and coaxing. “Not in this lifetime, sweetheart.” Taking my hand in his, he placed the corsage on my wrist. “You really do look beautiful.”
“So do you,” I squeezed out, feeling incredibly emotional as I entwined my fingers with his and looked up at his beautiful face. “I love you.”
His eyes burned with warmth in response. “I love you, too.”
“Aww, would you look at them, Sinead. Aren’t they only adorable,” I heard Sadhbh gush from the doorway moments before a bright flash almost blinded me.
“Oh, don’t mind us,” Mam cooed as she clicked furiously on her camera. “Just pretend like we’re not watching and act natural.”
“Bubba, put the corsage on Claire’s hand again for us, will you?” Sadhbh asked her son. “I want a photo of that for the wall.”
“Oh, good thinking, Sadhbh,” Mam chimed in, still clicking away like a demon. “It would look smashing on the mantelpiece.”
_______________
Thirty minutes later, we were sprawled out in the back of a limousine with our friends, having been subjected to a million different poses at the hands of our amateur photographer mothers.
“You know what, Claire-Bear, I’m sure your mam had her finger over the lens the entire time.” Gerard chuckled as he leaned across the seats to clink champagne glasses with Shannon before returning to my side. “She’s going to be pissed as hell in the morning.”
“Oh god, let’s hope not!” I laughed, taking the glass of champagne Johnny poured for me. “Otherwise, she’ll make us dress up and do it again tomorrow.”
“You look so beautiful,” Shannon gushed for the dozenth time as she admired my hair. “I can’t believe it’s this long when it’s straightened.”
“Claire, you look very beautiful,” Johnny acknowledged with a friendly smile before sinking down on the seat next to his girlfriend. “Now, where’s my queen?” he purred, draping his big arm around her slim shoulders. “Every time, Shannon like the river,” he purred, kissing her neck. “Every time, baby.” He pulled back to look at her and released a masculine growl of approval. “You take the breath clean out of me.”
“Is everybody good to go?” the driver asked, lowering the divider.
“Yeah,” Johnny replied before quickly backpedaling. “Wait, does everyone have their tickets?”
“I have ours,” Shannon chimed in, fishing two tickets out of her purse.
“I didn’t even know we needed tickets.” I looked at my friends. “We need tickets?”
“I have tickets,” Gerard confirmed, reaching into his tux and then frowning. “Let me rephrase that to I have tickets on my nightstand.”
“You’re a bleeding train wreck, Gibs,” Johnny groaned. “I swear you’d lose your head if it wasn’t screwed on.”
“I’ll get them,” I announced, moving for the door. “I need to pee anyway.”
“Make it snappy, please,” the driver called out.
“I beg your fucking pardon, good sir,” I heard Gerard tell the driver when I climbed out of the limo. “Please refrain from telling my girlfriend to be snappy about anything.”
Biting back a snicker, I made a beeline for his front door, kicking off my heels as I went. Bolting upstairs to the bathroom, I managed to relieve myself and wash up in record time before going in search of our tickets—something I was so not impressed about.
