On the bed, in my spot, I’d left two boxes of fun underduds for Noah to pick from—one sweet and one extra spicy—with a note that he was to pick what he wanted to wear under his suit for the wedding. Part of me wished I could make him walk down the aisle naked except for the lingerie so everyone could see what they couldn’t have: my sweet, shy little mouse all gussied up and on display.
And I couldn’t wait to see which one he’d picked. I bet he’d gone with the innocent white. But what if he hadn’t? I tapped the toes of my boots on the ground and smiled.
“Ah, you look like a man in love.”
Startled, I glanced up and squinted at the sparkle of sunshine reflecting off a pair of glasses. A short plump man with styled blond hair and a friendly smile held out his hand to me. If I had to guess, he was in his forties, and he was cute. I shook his hand, and he chuckled.
“Thank you for choosing the UU to officiate your wedding. I’m so glad I had the weekend free, Mr. Bouchard.” He beamed with such sincere goodwill that my damned guilt kicked up again, but I quashed it quickly.
“Happy to oblige, sir.” I noted the rainbow pin on his collar and some of my tension eased. I’d have never picked the hippie-dippie religious people at the UU for my wedding in Texas, but here... it seemed okay. I wanted to kick myself. I felt like I was trying to have a midlife crisis or some shit, and now was not the time to grow a conscience. I’d never worried about being a heartless bastard. Maybe I hadn’t realized how seriously I looked at marriage before people were filling the seats. I ran my fingers through my hair, and the preacher put his hand on my wrist to stop me from doing it a second time.
“My name is Clover DuLaney, and I have been a wedding officiant for over fifteen years. Don’t be nervous. I’ve seen pictures of your fiancé in the announcement in the paper. I’m sure he’ll be here. He looked very sweet.” Clover smiled, and my gut dropped.
“You did? I didn’t make an announcement.”
“The Divines did. It’s one of those things people do for their children. The groom doesn’t do it.” He smiled cheerfully and talked about the passages he wanted to read, cleared that I was fine if he used one from the Bible, and my mind blanked for a second. I turned and glared when I found Edison Divine in the front seat off to my left, thankfully far enough away I couldn’t hear what he was whispering to his wife. The bastard didn’t look at me, but what was he playing at? How did he even get an announcement in the paper for today?
It didn’t matter. I tried to tell myself I couldn’t be angry with them for doing what any family would do for their son, but I was. Edison hadn’t cared enough to put up more of a fight. He could’ve taken it on the chin himself, done a million different things, but no. He’d given me Noah, just like I knew the slimy bastard would.
And now I was starting to get mad about winning.Fuck, what’s wrong with me?
I shook my head at myself, and a hand landed on my shoulder.
“Everyone gets jitters.”
I snorted. “Thanks, preacher man. Uh, Clover.”
He chuckled and glanced down at the book in his hand, as if reminding himself of where he wanted to start, then stepped back to open it and skim the page.
My mind drifted to Noah last night, naked in the shower. He was so beautiful, and while I’d wanted to fuck him right then and there, it had also been interesting to allow him to set a boundary with me. It was nice to tease myself and him with a little wait. It had been a while since I held off on taking something I wanted.
Once in a while, waiting could make things sweeter.
And I was chomping at the bit to sink into Noah’s tight hole later. His asscheeks were so round and pretty, and I knew his body would be bliss. If he screwed like he kissed, he’d be pliant underneath me until he got caught up in the moment, and then he’d fuck like a whirlwind.
Russ hustled around discreetly, checking on the patio warmers that had been strategically placed around the outside of the space in order to keep everyone at a perfect temperature, even if mother nature decided she hated us. He sent me a thumbs-up when I caught his eye, then strolled around the outside of the crowd until he was past the chairs. With a jolt, it hit me that every seat was full of people waiting to watch my nuptials.
Fuck, what was I thinking doing this?
Sweat trickled down my spine.
“Your fiancé is on the move,” Russ said with a smile as he came to stand near me, looking great in a lavender suit I never would’ve thought anyone could pull off. “He’ll arrive in about five minutes.”
Letting out a long breath that turned into a groan, I nodded.
He laughed and slapped my back. “This was a hurricane to put together, but it’s fun doing the work when money is no option. You should get married again sometime.” He winked at me to show he didn’t mean any harm, but my gut churned with more guilt.
“Oh, you know how these things go. I’m sure you’ll get another crack at this. You’ve been with me. I’ll drive him off eventually.”
He smiled, but it soured. I’d let too much of my real self out into the open. No one wanted that. “You got him to agree to marry you, so I’m sure you’ll be fine. I was joking.”
“I know,” I said and cleared my throat. Why was it so hard to swallow? I stared down the center aisle lined with white carpet trimmed in gold, but there was a row of greenish-blue pine trees blocking the parking lot from this area. What if he didn’t show? What if he decided to fuck over his family, and he wasn’t going to do this? I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened, because he’d grown up rich, and one thing that seemed universal was that children of people with money were self-centered.
I’d almost worked myself up into believing my own bullshit when he strolled through an opening in the trees, head down and shoulders slumped like he was off to die. My gut twisted tighter, but I wasn’t sure why. I knew he wasn’t going to look up and smile at me. This wasn’t a happy occasion for him—or me either, for that matter—except it put me one step closer to a good piece of revenge.
He glanced up and my heart almost stopped. Russ and I had agreed there wouldn’t be any music for him to walk to because this wasn’t romantic—not that I’d said that to Russ. I almost regretted the decision as he strode toward me. He moved in a graceful way that would’ve been good with musical accompaniment.
His white suit brought out his eyes and made his dark hair almost shocking, and he wore a pink tie exactly like mine. I finally understood what Antoine had said about my clothes matching Noah’s. He was mouthwatering. The suit fit him so well I wanted to rip it off him as he came to a stop in front of me. There was a smattering of applause as I reached out and took his hand, and I wasn’t entirely surprised to find it was damp with sweat.
