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There were plenty others around me that counted. My baby, for one. Ethan’s dad and my aunt Marie would be the grandparents my mom and dad never would be. Hannah, Freddy, Gaby, Ivan, Ben, Neil and Elaina would be the aunts and uncles. Jordan and Colin and Zara would be the cousins. So much love surrounding me.
Strong arms wrapped around me from behind and familiar whiskers brushed at my neck. “Mrs. Blackstone, are you hiding in the garden at your own wedding party?”
“Pretty much,” I said leaning back into him in deep contentment.
“Awww, Christ in heaven! Not my mum too!” Ben growled at the dance floor where Simon was now doing a very lewd rumba with Mrs. Clarkson for a cheering crowd.
“Go get ’em, Ben.” Ethan and I laughed at Ben’s retreating back as he went off to rescue his mother from Simon’s undulating hips.
“As insane as Simon looks right now, that crazy boy can dance,” I said, still laughing. “I am not quite over the fact that you hired him to do our photos.”
Ethan snuggled into me a little deeper. “Don’t remind me, please. He blackmailed me, you know. Said he would forgive the whole mess if he could secure the wedding photos for us. I figured that wou
ld be okay, so I agreed. Then he sent me the contract. Trust me when I say that your friend Simon has been well compensated for his services today. He even sent me the bill for a fucking bespoke suit made in Milan!”
I nearly choked from laughing. “Oh my God!” I pointed at Simon slithering behind Ben’s mom in his shiny green silk. “There you go, baby. Money well spent, I say. Simon looks soooo happy.” I laughed some more.
“They’d better be fucking museum-quality photographs,” Ethan muttered.
“I saw you dancing with the local beauty with the penchant for ice cream a little while ago,” I said, hoping to divert attention to something more pleasant.
Ethan’s whole face changed immediately. “She’s so amazing. I hope our little peach is just like her if we have a girl.” He put his hands over my belly. “I can feel peaches now. Your belly is hard, and it wasn’t before.”
“Yep. Peaches is in there, all right.” I put my hands over his.
“I love your dress. It’s perfect. You’re perfect.”
“You’re pretty hot yourself in that tux. You got a purple vest just for me. I love it. We are very matchy-matchy, Mr. Blackstone.” And we were indeed. My cream lace dress had a purple belt that tied in the back, and I wore the amethyst and pearl heart pendant around my neck. Ethan had his violet striped vest and a deep purple lily on his jacket. My veil was long and simple, but I loved it because of the pictures I had taken wearing it. Pictures only for Ethan’s eyes. I wanted him to see. “I have a gift for you,” I said.
“That sounds very nice,” he said with another nuzzle against my neck, “but everything about you is my gift.” He held my face with both of his hands as I loved him to do. “How does Mrs. Blackstone feel about leaving here and getting started on the wedding night?”
One second later . . .
?“Mrs. Blackstone is so onboard with that plan.”
He held out his arm for me. “My lady, shall we?”
“Did I ever tell you how much I enjoy your gentlemanly manners? Such a contrast with that filthy mouth you’ve got, but man, it really works for me.”
Ethan got a very pleased look in his eyes. “Well, that’s really good to know, baby. I think I can walk that line for you.” His eyes hooded, he drew my hand up to his lips. “I’ll make sure of it tonight.”
Thank sweet baby Jesus. “I have to run upstairs to our room and get my gift for you, okay? I’ll just be a moment.”
He kissed my hand and swirled his tongue in a circle, just above where my ring sat next to the wedding band he’d slipped on my finger during our vows, before letting me go. “I’ll be waiting for you at the bottom of the stairs when you come down. I just have to tell Hannah that we’re escaping,” he purred at me.
“God, I love you so much,” I said to him.
He gave me a rare Ethan smile and said, “I love you more.”
“Highly doubtful,” I called over my shoulder, “but I’ll take it!”
I hurried to get the package from our bedroom and was coming back down when I sensed a warmth of feeling. It touched me, wrapping around my body like a cloak in a comforting way. I stopped on the landing where the magnificent Mallerton of Sir Jeremy and Georgina hung on the wall. I loved looking at this painting, and it wasn’t just the subject matter or the execution, which was stunning, it was the emotion expressed in it. There was great love in this family. Sir Jeremy with his blue eyes and sandy hair looked to his lovely, fair Georgina with an expression that just exuded his deep love for her. I don’t know how Tristan Mallerton managed to get it down in paint, but he most certainly had captured the moment between these lovers from so long ago. And it just took my breath away in its pureness.
And then there were the children—an older boy and a younger girl. The little girl sat on her mother’s lap, but she had eyes only for her father. I imagined how he must have entertained her during the long hours of sittings for such a portrait as this. My art training gave me an understanding of the time involved to create a painting of this scale; it would have been immense. A child didn’t look like that unless she felt it. This little girl had loved her daddy, and been loved very much by him in return. Just like me.
I love you so much, Daddy . . .
As I turned away from the painting to go down the rest of the way, I could see Ethan waiting for me at the bottom of the staircase. Just waiting patiently as if he understood I was having a moment and needed my privacy. Ethan seemed to recognize my moods at times like this. And if I really thought about it, Ethan had been the greatest gift my dad had ever given to me.
