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“If we must, Mrs. Cutter.” Her eyes glowed at the sound of her new name. “The sooner we get the reception over, the sooner I can take you away and have you all to myself for two full weeks.”
“Wherever that is, it sounds like paradise to me, babe.”
--
A huge team of florists had come in the night before and decorated the entire club in sweet-smelling flowers. Lucy had overseen the whole thing with Kin, so when we walked into First Bass two hours after the wedding, I was seeing it for the first time.
It didn’t even look like the same place it had Saturday night. Instead of five hundred people walking around drinking and dancing, there were barely a hundred and thirty, all of them drinking sparkling cider or champagne. White and purple streamers hung from the ceiling, with roses in the same shades decorating every surface. Waitresses who worked for me carried around the trays of drinks, while those that worked for the caterer passed by with tasty hors d’oeuvres.
A table with the wedding cake was getting attention from everyone admiring the cake the baker had set up personally that morning under Barb’s watchful eye. The cake was even more amazing than what I had imagined, and I could tell Lucy was just as happy with it as I was.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the DJ said into the microphone as we waited in the shadows. Every eye turned to look at the man. “Please welcome for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Harris and Lucy Cutter.”
“I guess that’s us,” she laughed.
“Fuck, I love your giggle.” I lifted her into my arms and carried her out into the middle of the crowd, swinging her around and around until all anyone could hear was my favorite sound on the planet.
The lights around us dimmed, leaving only a single spotlight on us. We heard a shifting on stage where the Blonde Bombshells’ instruments had been set up to welcome any of the rockers in attendance to perform if they chose. A guitar began to play, and suddenly the club was filled with a voice I hadn’t been expecting.
A slightly husky, perfectly smooth female voice sang the opening lyrics of “When You Say Nothing at All.”
“Kin?” I asked Lucy, who shrugged with a mischievous smile on her lips as we began to sway together to the music.
“She said it was our wedding present, so we’re not to expect her to do it often after this. Writing songs is her gig, not performing them.”
I pressed my lips to Lucy’s forehead. “She
’s a good friend.”
“I definitely agree,” she murmured.
I closed my eyes and pulled her closer, letting the music fill my senses just as much as Lucy did. She clung to me as we got lost in the words, letting them wash over us like then anthem to our love it was. With her, I never needed words. When she wanted me to, all it took was a look, a touch, and I knew exactly what she was thinking.
We were still swaying together long after the first song ended and the next began. Around us, people were joining in on the dancing, but we couldn’t be bothered to care what they did. We were lost in each other, in the realness of being married, of finding out our family was already growing. This day, this moment we were stealing in the great vastness of time, was perfection.
After another song, we were pulled apart so Jesse could dance with Lucy. I grabbed a glass of champagne as I stood with Dad to watch them. Everyone else who had been dancing stepped away, giving the floor solely to them. As I watched Jesse with his daughter, I could see the love they had for each other almost like a physical presence flowing around them. Their closeness was unrivaled by any father-daughter relationship I’d ever witnessed, and I wanted that with my daughter one day.
I wanted to be my little girl’s hero, her favorite person on the planet. The man she thought of first and would always run to when she needed anything, no matter how big or small.
Tears sparkled in Jesse’s eyes, making their changing colors almost hypnotic as he laughed softly with Lucy. She said something that made the big, bald man throw his head back and laugh, causing everyone who was watching to smile. Jesse Thornton was a scary-ass motherfucker, but right then, we could all see that, when it came to his daughter, he was nothing more than a teddy bear.
After the song was over, Jesse led her over to where I was standing with Dad. “You two pulled off one hell of a wedding today. I liked seeing the results of you two working as a team.”
“Thanks, Daddy. It was a lot of fun to plan with Harris helping me.”
“Here you two,” Layla appeared with two glasses of cider that she handed over to her husband and daughter.
“Thanks, baby.” He kissed her lips before taking a sip of his drink.
“Anyone thirsty?” Nat asked as she pushed a fresh glass into Dad’s hands.
“I’m good,” I assured her and reached for Lucy.
Jesse’s hand on her shoulder kept her in place, however. “Actually, we’d like to talk to you two,” he told me, his face turning serious. “You got a minute to spare for your parents?”
I glanced at Lucy, who seemed just as surprised as I was, and shrugged. “Sure. Do we need to take this somewhere more private?”
“Nah, son. I think we can talk about it here. Everyone in this room is family.” Dad pulled an envelope out of his suit jacket pocket and handed it over to me.
