Alex had floated in and out of my life, with no rhyme or reason. He had encouraged my hair-brained ideas, calling them cute. I had thought, for the first time, I had finally had someone who saw me. I had been dying for a chance to be free, not realizing that he dismissed everything until I fit the perfect mold for him.
It wasn’t fair to compare the two men, but I often thought about the differences. Alex had told me so many lies that towards the end of our relationship, he couldn’t keep them straight anymore. Thunder had never hidden information from me. If he thought I should know, he told me, even if it wasn’t delicate. He’d never given me reason to question his motives. I wouldn’t start now.
“Friends don’t get married and then run off to hotels for the night,” Meredith deadpanned.
Nothing’s going to happen.Thunder thought we should take a few days away from the club. A vacation, nothing more, but Meredith couldn’t get past that fact, no matter how many times everyone told her.
“If you want to run off to a hotel for the night, go for it. It’ll cost you more in damages, but at least then you’ll stop talking about it.” Grace rolled her eyes, and it was the first time I’d felt like smiling today.
“Damages?” Meredith squeaked, leaning over to see past me to Grace.
“How many times have you flooded the ensuite in Grizz’s room?”
“Good point.” I thought that would be the end, but Meredith shifted to stare at me. “Still, why are you doing this, Auntie? I mean, Dad fucked up, but Emily said they can’t enforce an arranged marriage.”
“Don’t want...alone.” I’d be an awful friend if I constantly took from him, but as his wife, I could easily offer my loyalty for his kindness. He’d never want for anything again.
“You have us.” I turned my head to look at Meredith. Her brown eyes, so similar to her mother’s, blazed with renewed strength, and I only had Grizz to thank for that. I wouldn’t have held it against him if he’d walked away, but he’d never let my niece get swallowed up in the darkness. I unfortunately knew what that experience felt like.
“Not the same.” I rubbed my finger down her nose, bopping the end, as I had done since she was a kid.
Grace sighed. “Do you have to get married, though?”
“Do you have to marry Sabre? You’re already knocked up.” I’d never doubted Meredith was on my side. She had to process the idea on her own time. “I wish Dad hadn’t agreed, but why is this any different for Auntie?” I squeezed her hand, and when I felt the tug on mine, I knew I wouldn’t get any more fight from her.
There was a knock on my door, and when Grace answered it, Sabre was standing on the other side.
Thunder and I had planned on a courthouse marriage, but when someone had leaked it to my nieces, they’d put together an actual wedding inthe club’s backyard. I’d let them run amok, enjoying their quick-witted arguments as they worked together.
Sabre wore a suit, complete with a sports coat, and it made me wonder who had pushed the men to remove their club cuts, at least for the ceremony. Sabre’s arm reached around Grace’s middle, pulling her against him as he kissed her temple. “You don’t look happy,” he said to her.
“Thunder promised her a divorce whenever she wanted it. If she ever asks, A) I expect him to give it to her with no complications, and B) I expect you to make sure it goes as smoothly as possible.”
“Mama, you know I don’t get involved in family matters.” He kissed her temple again. “You look beautiful.”
She instantly moved to curl up against him, and it only made me resolute in my decision. “Is everything going to be alright?” she asked him.
“You know I don’t make you promises I can’t keep, but you’re going to have to accept that this might be the right path, and if it isn’t, that’s between Thunder and Aunt E.” He looked past her to where Meredith and I sat. “It’s time.”
I’d asked Sabre to walk me down the aisle. My father was long gone, and Gerry wasn’t an invited guest. Sabre hadn’t hesitated when he’d said yes, and it was just one more thing in a long list of traits that made me like him more.
Meredith placed her hands on my knees and crouched in front of me. “If you want to run, we can. I know this great bar.”
She smiled, and I couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled to the surface.
“I bet…you do.”
She stood, leaning over to hug me. “I approve.”
I patted her arm, letting her know I appreciated it, even though I was an adult and she didn’t have any say in the matter. She walked over to the bedroom door, shooting Grace a look to get it together.
Grace left the shelter of Sabre’s arms and did the same thing. She crouched in front of me, and I instantly tried to grab her arms to stabilize her. “In a fewmore months, I won’t be able to do this.” A dry chuckle escaped. “I approve, only because I trust you.”
“Fair. It will…be all right,” I whispered to her, patting her cheek.
Sabre ushered them out the door and down the hallway.
“Is this what you want?” he asked me when we could no longer hear them. “If you say no, I’ll put a stop to this right now.”
