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We continue to sway to the music together and other guests eventually join us, the dance floor filling with people.
When the song ends, I stop moving. “Keep dancing. I’ll be back soon.”
“Please don’t murder your mother at our wedding.” There’s a hint of humour in her voice.
“I’m not promising anything.”
I leave her with her sister and some of her family before walking through the hall to find my brothers.
I find Zeke sitting with Bailey and my sister.
Aurelia stands as I approach and throws her arms around my neck. She’s one of the few people who would get away with such a display of affection. I wrap my arms around her back, pulling her close to me. I love my sister and would do anything to ensure her happiness.
“You looked so handsome today,” she says as she pulls back from my embrace.
“You looked beautiful yourself.” She is wearing a pretty red dress that shows too much skin for my liking.
I notice Nathan Ford, my bodyguard, is standing at the edge of the room with Ryan Malone and Nick Winters—Zeke and Luke’s guards. We have a new man on Aurelia, one of our trusted soldiers, but I’m still on edge considering her last bodyguard betrayed us to our enemies.
“How is the bride?”
“She’s fine. Why don’t you go and dance with her? I need to talk to Zeke.”
Bailey stands. “That’s our cue to get gone,” she says, taking Aurelia’s hand. “I hope you and Elena will have a happy marriage, Kane.”
I wait for them to head towards the dance floor before I sink down next to Zeke.
“What happened between you and the she-devil before?”
“Charlotte threatened to kill Elena’s family if she takes birth control.”
Zeke’s eyes flare. “I’d say I’m surprised, but nothing that woman does surprises me anymore.”
“Does she interfere this much in your marriage?”
Zeke leans back in his seat. “She doesn’t give a shit about Luke and me. We’re not going to raise the next generation of Fraser bosses.”
That’s true, but it pisses me off too. My parents should see the worth of their other children. “I don’t want her meddling. It… upset Elena.”
My brother grabs his drink and takes a sip of it. “I can imagine it would. You want to keep her out of your shit, you got to lay down the rules from the start. Don’t give her a fucking inch. This is your relationship, not hers. As much as she likes to think she has control over everything, she can only have it if you give it.”
He’s right, but Charlotte can be overbearing. Sometimes she takes over before I’m even aware of what she’s doing. “I don’t want that cunt anywhere near my wife.”
Zeke smirks. “You fucking like her.”
“I don’t know her,” I counter. Is he right? Do I like Elena?
“No, but you have the rest of your lives to figure shit out. Try to make it work. You’ll both be happier for it.”
I sit in silence, watching across the room as Elena dances with her sister and brother, Dex. She throws her hands in the air as she belts out the lyrics to some generic pop song I vaguely recognise. My brothers dance with their women and Aurelia.
There is an easiness about Elena that I find appealing. She doesn’t seem like she’s going to ask things of me that I can’t deliver. She’ll need all that understanding because I am not the easiest man to live with. I recognise my faults, and there are many. People think I’m cold. Unfeeling. The truth is I used to feel too much, and to protect myself from my parents, I shut those feelings down. If that makes me cold, so be it.
It’s better than letting them fuck with my head.
As the night draws to a close, I see her demeanour start to change. We will leave this room together. Sleep in the same bed. Start our married life together.
I understand her apprehension because I feel it too.
