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Mikah clamped his hand over her fingers, stilling them. Would have been a lovely gesture if motivated by passion, like he’d been moved by the flowers, red ribbons, and religious sentiment. He was simply controlling her twitching.
Still, he had her back. She’d cut him some slack over the whole bar episode. Piper turned up her palm and laced their fingers together.
Mikah squeezed her hand.
A lovely feeling flowed from their joined hands throughout her body. She could do this, hold his hand when things got difficult, for the rest of their lives. Yikes, the wedding sentiment was getting to her. Still, she was loving her hand in his.
“And now, before the bridal march, we will have a reading from Ephesians 5:28-30.” The preacher stepped back.
A woman with long, wavy red hair in a fitted red dress took his place.
Kiernan elbowed her other side. “Is that the Little Mermaid?”
Holy crap, she was. Piper nodded and twitched. She gripped Mikah’s hand tighter.
Super odd to have seen the woman sinning the night before, and now see her the morning after facing the preacher with a moral expression.
The mermaid began her scripture, “That’s how husbands ought to love their wives—in the same way as they do their own bodies.”
Everyone watched the reader.
Everyone but the groom. Warren’s gaze was to the heavens.
Mrs. Applebaum rose and looked from her son to the reader and back.
Uh oh.
Piper placed her other hand over the top of Mikah’s for extra courage and shoved against the curve of the hard wooden backrest. Who’d carved this sucker? The pew wasn’t comfortable and didn’t allow hiding. Was that on purpose? The church didn’t allow evasion? People needed to hide when the hand of God was ready to smack them.
“Anyone who loves his wife loves himself.” The mermaid continued her scripture.
Mrs. Applebaum walked forward, moved by the spirit. She climbed the carpeted steps and stopped before the lectern.
Parents gave readings, that happened. That was what was going on here. Piper scrunched down.
Mikah freed his hand and put his arm around her. She leaned against him.
“You’re okay,” Mikah said, his gaze on the front.
“No one ever hates his own body,” the mermaid continued despite her new, up-close audience.
Mrs. Applebaum took the mermaid’s hand and smashed her palm flat against the Bible from which she’d read. “Piper says you’re sleeping with my son.”
CHAPTER 8
Holy shit. Piper jerked. Mrs. Applebaum had freaking just called her out. The woman might not have intended for her voice to carry throughout the chapel, but the lectern’s microphone caught every syllable and projected the harsh accusation through the speakers.
Piper could not look away.
This was not happening. Anyway, she’d been mistaken, the mermaid’s ride had just looked like Warren, right?
Warren stared at the ceiling.
The mermaid’s scarlet lips opened and closed without making a sound.
Mrs. Applebaum did not relent. “Do I need to remind you where your hand lies? On the almighty word.”
The fact that Mrs. Applebaum’s own fingers didn’t catch fire was a wonder in itself.
