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"How much later?" I asked.
"Whenever you want, Sunshine," he replied. "We've got the rest of our lives."
My heart thudded rapidly against the inside of my ribcage. "Promise?"
He leaned down and brushed a soft kiss against my lips as Lizzie made it to the end of the aisle and moved to stand on one side of the altar. "I'll give you a hundred promises," Marv said against the skin of my lips. "And I'll keep every single one of them."
The returning smile I offered him was something I didn't know I was even capable of. Two and a half years ago, if anyone had asked me where I would be now, I wouldn't have even considered in my wildest fantasies. But the thing about fantasies was that they belonged in dreams and reality was so much better.
* * *
The wedding was far more than I had ever anticipated. The flowers. The dress. The grooms. Almost as soon as the vows were said and Knix's lips were pressed to mine, I was whisked away into a limo—where Bellamy, Marv, Grayson, and Texas joined us. Texas went straight for the bottle of champagne waiting in a small container of ice. I laughed and screamed as he aimed it at Bellamy's head and popped the cork. The small stopper flew somewhere else, though, landing innocently on one of the empty cushions as Grayson grinned and stole the bottle away, he and Marv filling glasses and passing them around.
"I thought we should have our own little toast," Knix said with a smile, "before we get to the reception venue and have to act appropriately again."
"Acting appropriately is for the fishes," Texas claimed wisely.
I smiled, leaning over and pressing a kiss to his cheek, which he then took advantage of, grabbing me closer with one hand and turning his head as he slid his tongue inside my mouth. I gasped and nearly dropped my glass of champagne, but he quickly drew back with a rueful grin.
"You're terrible," I complained without heat.
"I know, Spider-Monkey." He turned back to the rest of the group and raised his glass. "To what then?" he asked Knix. "I think we've got everything we could've ever hoped for." He squeezed me closer as if to demonstrate his point.
Knix nodded in agreement, but it was Bellamy that spoke up. "To the most unconventional family we could've ever hoped for," he said, lifting his glass.
The rest of us raised our flutes as well and sipped as the limo traversed the streets of Charleston. A warm glow resided in my chest, spreading outward, crawling across even the most minuscule of cold spots and burning them away.
The only thing that disrupted it was Knix's next words as he turned apologetically to me. "Harlow, do you mind if we put off the honeymoon for another week or so?"
"Why?" I asked. "What's wrong?" He flicked a glance at Grayson and then Marv. "I don't mind." I continued. "But if it's something I can help with..." I let the offer trail off, raising my brows at them meaningfully.
He sighed and then nodded. "Alex asked us for a favor and he knows how important this is to us, so—"
"—for him to ask it must be a big deal," I finished.
Knix's lips pressed into a hard line before a twitching smile appeared. "You're far too smart for us," he said.
I shrugged. "That never stopped any of you before."
Texas barked a laugh and tightened his hold as he downed the rest of his drink and handed the empty flute to Bellamy. "She's right," he said.
"Tell me what's going on," I demanded. "And does it have anything to do with the business card you were carrying around in your wallet?" I asked, turning the question to Grayson.
He blinked as if surprised before he nodded mutely. "How did you—" He stopped and shook his head. "Never mind, it doesn't matter, but yes. Clarissa's niece, Jenna, is working for a law firm in Sydney—”
“Sydney?” I repeated, confused.
He nodded. “Australia,” he answered, “and I ran into her boss at the business convention Marv and I went to last weekend. It’s his card.”
“What was he doing there?” I asked.
“Well, he was actually there because the law firm’s original headquarters is stationed in Houston, Texas. The firm in Sydney is a branch. He was visiting and he and a few of the executives were having lunch in the same hotel as the convention.”
“Okay…” I eyed them. “What does this have to do with Clarissa’s niece?”
Shifting on the seat, he handed his drink off to Marv after barely having more than just a sip. Sitting forward, Grayson rested his forearms on the tops of his thighs as he regarded me seriously. “It appears Jenna has been helping her bosses on a new case that involves corporate embezzlement. She was flown to Sydney a few weeks ago to assist the lawyers in charge of the prosecution. We spoke with Clarissa and she mentioned that the man accused was threatening her niece because she had apparently been the one to find some solid evidence that may very well lead to his imprisonment. Clarissa knew we’d be in town the same time as her boss and she asked us to meet with him on behalf of her niece.”
"How would he know it's her?" I asked, confused. To my knowledge, that kind of information was kept confidential.
