“Yes, you can, and you will, but I need to carry my new wife over the threshold to her home for the first time. I love this tradition, but I love you being in my arms even more.”
Aaron and I decorated the cabin after he returned from the city earlier. I wonder what she’ll think. I turn the doorknob and push open the door with my shoulder, my gaze glued to hers as I carry her in.
“Is that a trail of rose petals on the floor?” she asks.
“It is, it leads to our bedroom. I wanted to make this as special as I could, given how quickly we had to get married.”
“No kidding. Shotgun wedding sans shotgun. Does this mean my husband is romantic?” She kisses my cheek.
I’m thrilled she doesn’t struggle to get down, not that I’d let her unless she used her safe word. We’re following the trail of petals to my room—our room. It’s the only room with blackout drapes, though I rarely close them. Today I did, and the LED candles I set around the room cast a soft glow in the room, and over the bed, which is also covered in petals.
As I push open the bedroom door, I can’t wait to see her reaction if she already thought I was being romantic. “I am.” Then I carry her inside.
When she raises her face to mine, tears shine in her eyes. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I’m so glad I found you.”
“It’s fate, baby. You’re my other half, and I’m yours—our missing pieces finding their way home. I love you.”
Stopping beside the bed, I slide her soft body over mine as I help her stand. There’s no way she can’t feel my rock-hard cock straining to escape from my pants. I haven’t come since my shower last night, and I’m dying to fill her full and paint her insides with my claim.
twelve
Jaclyn
My knees shake when Andrew releases his hold on my waist and takes a step back to give me some space. Except, I mourn the loss instantly. Missing his heat, the security of his arms around me. It’s like he’s taken away something precious I desperately need—a piece of me.
“You are the prettiest bride I’ve ever seen,” he says with a sigh.
“Have you seen many?” I ask, trying to find my equilibrium. I swear I’ve been off balance since I stepped onto Gallant Mountain, and getting married doesn’t help. Not that I regret any of it—I don’t. Cheri is the one who believes in love at first sight, not me. Or I didn’t, rather. Kind of hard to stick to that argument when I’m standing in front of my husband with his rings on my finger after I’ve known him for less than twenty-four hours. Something tells me I’m going to end up in one of Cheri’s books, if she hasn’t already started writing it.
“Three of my brothers and a few friends from college. My brothers’ weddings were similar to ours, but my friends had elaborate affairs, hundreds of guests, and way too much liquor. Even if we’d waited, I would have preferred what we had to some overblown monstrosity.” As he speaks, he loosens his tie. Ironically, it’s baby blue. I wonder if one of my new sisters-in-law told him the color of my dress. Not that it matters, no one took any photos.
Shit. Cheri’s going to kill me. I totally blanked about the video call with her. I’d meant to ask Emma before we left for the courthouse, but everything moved so fast. Even if I had remembered prior to the ceremony, as soon as I saw Andrew in his black bespoke suit, whatever brain cells I still had ceased to function. His ocean-blue eyes fixed on me as soon as I walked into the room, seeming to note every detail of my appearance.
I did the same, and for a second, I couldn’t breathe. I was marrying the man I’d been crushing on for years, who was most likely the reason I decided to work for JNG. But back then it seemed like a dream or maybe a fantasy—one never coming true. Except there he was, standing with who I assumed was the judge, looking like he should be on the cover of a magazine.
He’d pulled his hair back, which only drew my attention to his chiseled cheekbones, how his cropped beard hugged his jaw, and those lips just begging to be kissed.
“What’s wrong, Sweetpea?” he asks gently, reaching for me, but keeping his distance, even though I can see how he wants to touch me. He’s watching me closely. Maybe he’s worried I’ll run for it, but why would I?
“I just remembered we were supposed to call Cheri so she could be part of the wedding. She’s going to be upset with me…” I say, and my hand starts to slide through my hair, but I stop when I remember it’s pinned up with a zillion bobby pins and white flowers that will probably take me an hour to remove.
“You can call her later. Did the girls take a photo of you before you left for the wedding?”
They did! I’d totally forgotten. Emma took a couple of photos on my phone before we headed to the courthouse. “Yes! I’ll send her one. Hopefully, she doesn’t kick my ass when she sees me next. Especially since Cheri packed this dress for me. You need to thank her. She’s the reason I look like this today.”
Sending a photo isn’t the best option, but it should appease her a little—fingers crossed. Two days ago, my life wasn’t so fucking complicated.
“How about we take one together, before I undress you?” Andrew asks, reaching into his suit jacket for his phone.
“Really? You’d do that?” Holy shit. I sound like an excited teenager being asked on her first date. My sass must be epic when Andrew’s eyebrows rise into his hairline.
“Did you just roll your eyes at me, little bit?”
“Nope,” I answer quickly. He’s mentioned repercussions I can only imagine, and I’m not quite ready to test those waters yet.
“Sure looked like it to me,” he replies, his voice in full-on Daddy mode.
“It was at myself for getting so excited about a photo. I was acting childish. Being ridiculous, especially at my age.”
