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“I’m good.” Snuggling deeper into his arms, I laid my head on his chest. “And no, I don’t have to wear the soft cast during the ceremony or for pictures, but that’s the only exception.” It sucked that I would be spending my honeymoon in a cast, but I wasn’t going to pout about it—much. I’d known there might be consequences when I’d punched the photographer the day before, and I’d accepted them even as my fist had connected with his face.
Kissing my hand, Jagger tucked it against his chest. “I’m glad that won’t throw off the wedding for you.”
Lifting my head, I frowned at him. “It’s our wedding, Jags. Not just mine.”
“It’s the bride’s day,” he argued.
I grasped his face in my uninjured hand. “Our day.” He opened his mouth to argue, but I covered his mouth with my fingers. “Our. Day. Understand?”
He hesitated, but then he nodded.
“Good.” Kissing him one more time, I jumped to my feet. “Now, you two boys have a nice afternoon with Love Bug. Violet and I are going to go get our hair done.”
Violet hopped up behind me, and I pointed a finger at Luca. “He spends the rest of the day relaxing.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he agreed.
“And if my stupid brother shows up, don’t let them pull any sh—” I cut myself off when Luca’s eyes narrowed. “Crap. Don’t let them pull any crap. Fun is fine. Trouble, not so much.”
“Got it.” With the baby still in his arms, he crossed to Violet. Bending his knees, he kissed her forehead. “Have fun. Love you, Vi.”
Her hand touched the baby’s back, but her gaze stayed on Luca’s. “I love you too.”
Chapter 4
Jagger
“Second thoughts?”
I gritted my teeth as I glanced at Cannon before turning my gaze back to the others gathered around my parents’ living room. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. People were laughing in small groups, drinking sparkling grape juice or cider, playing with the kids, or just reminiscing. I should have been having the time of my life right along with them, but all I could feel was the ever-growing knot of anxiety in the pit of my stomach. “No.”
“Then why do you look like you’re about to make a run for it?” My ex-best friend, soon-to-be brother-in-law, and now kinda my best friend again, asked. He was going to be my best man at the wedding the next day, so I had to admit he was still one of my favorite people—even if I wanted to murder him at times. There was a tone in his voice that I recognized, a mixture of humor and seriousness that set my teeth on edge because he wasn’t one hundred percent wrong.
I was thinking of making a run for it, but not in the way he assumed. I wanted to grab Shaw, yell at Luca to get Vi, and make the five-hour drive to Vegas. Just be done with the whole farce of a wedding—because that was what the fucking press was turning it into. The world didn’t need to know every detail of our ceremony and reception. There was no reason for the press to be stalking Shaw like she held the secrets to some holy grail that didn’t exist.
That they had ambushed her again outside the salon that afternoon had only ratcheted up my anxiety over the wedding. In my gut, I knew someone would find a way to spill the beans on where we were going the next day. It wouldn’t surprise me if they were waiting for us when the planes landed on the private Hawaiian island. There was a leak somewhere within the few people who knew the details, and I needed them found before they ruined what should be the best day of my bride’s life.
Without consciously realizing what I was doing, my eyes sought out Shaw. She was standing in a group of our honorary cousins, holding a champagne glass full of sparkling white grape juice since we never had any actual alcohol at family functions out of respect for Uncle Drake. Not that anyone drank much to begin with. His kids all steered clear of anything remotely alcoholic, and the rest of us rarely indulged as well. The few times I’d gotten drunk, I’d lived to regret it.
Shaw didn’t seem the least bit concerned about the events of the day, but I’d had a red haze around my vision since she’d called to let me know that not only had the paps been waiting on her and Violet at the salon, but one had actually been inside. They’d pretended to be a customer and had used their cell to get most of the pictures. It wasn’t until Shaw began to get hashtag notifications of her trending on Twitter that she’d realized what was going on.
The salon manager had kicked out the pap and apologized profusely. Shaw hadn’t sounded too upset about the incident, but I’d been unable to contain my anger ever since.
Once the wedding was over, we’d be yesterday’s news. I understood that.
What I didn’t understand was why they targeted Shaw every time she so much as left the apartment, yet I hadn’t been bothered once. Anytime she was out without me, they harassed her endlessly, but if I happened to be with her, they never showed their faces. That meant someone was purposely targeting her, trying to ruin the pre-wedding rituals for her. Which meant they would try their damnedest to ruin the ceremony as well.
Ma already knew my suspicions, and she’d asked Barrick to look into it. But there wasn’t anyone on her small team whom she didn’t trust one hundred percent. She was very careful who she allowed within her inner sanctum, and she wouldn’t permit just anyone to assist with something as important as one of her children’s weddings. Not to mention, everyone who worked for her signed NDAs that prohibited them from speaking a single word about the inner workings of her personal and professional life.
Shaw threw back her head, causing her glossy blond hair to cascade over her shoulders like a waterfall of pure sunshine. Her dimples were on full display, and all I could do was watch while she drained her glass then threw her arm around Violet’s shoulders as the two of them began dancing to the quietly playing music.
All eyes turned to the two of them, everyone amused by the best friends as they played around like we were back in high school again rather than adults with families of our own. Shaw and Violet were like sisters. From the moment Vi could walk, they’d been inseparable. They were each other’s biggest cheerleader. All their lives, where one went, the other followed, both of them leaving a trail of destruction behind them.
Seeing them together always soothed something in me. Where Vi was concerned, it was because watching her laugh and dance told me she was okay mentally. With Shaw, just seeing her dimples flash gave me a kind of peace no one else had ever been able to produce for me—not even Ma.
Cannon laughed at his sister’s antics, but his eyes remained glued to Violet, his blue gaze full of torment. I elbowed him in the side. “Kill the misery, man. Luca sees you looking at Vi like that, and you’re gonna end up in the emergency room again. Not so sure it will be a simple concussion this time.”
With a grunt, he shifted his gaze to where Luca was standing with his twin. Both men held a baby in their arms. Lyric was holding his son, Ian. His set of twins wasn’t identical like he and Luca, but I couldn’t honestly tell the little demons apart. Like their dad and Luca, the two were already hellions. Like his father, the other twin, Isaac, was much more laid-back. He didn’t care who held him. He had a smile and a hug ready for everyone. Whereas Ian was so much like his uncle Luca, it was a bit scary. He was sullen, only allowed a select few people close, and the spark of trouble glimmered in his ever-changing brown eyes.
