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She wasn’t just beautiful, she was a work of art.
“By the authority of the state of Illinois, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss to seal your commitment,” the judge proclaimed.
Seb and Kennedy both clapped as Knox cupped Laura’s face and kissed her deeply. Beside him, he heard a sniff and turned to see Kennedy wiping beneath her eyes. He grabbed his handkerchief from his back pocket and handed it to her.
She appeared surprised for a beat before she took it and dabbed it beneath her eyes. “Thank you.”
Watching her use the piece of cloth he’d handed her did something to him. It gave him an unearned sense of pride and possession. An overwhelming sense that she was his and he wanted, noneeded, to take care of her washed over him.
He’d never been a possessive man. With his career, he’d traveled a lot. He’d had a handful of serious girlfriends over the years, one of which he found out cheated on him. When he learned that Bianca slept with someone else, the news had felt more academic than anything else. People made mistakes, he hadn’t held it against her, and they ended things on friendly terms. The only thing that had actually bothered him about the situation was that she’d lied. If she’d been honest from the start, he might not have even felt the need to break up with her.
In more than one of his relationships his non-jealousy had actually been a point of contention, which was something that had never made sense to him. He’d never quite understood any emotion that made someone feel like they had ownership over someone else…until now.
Standing next to Kennedy, he felt like she was his. Which made zero sense and was actually starting to freak Seb out a bit.
Was this a strange side effect of his depression from the accident?
Was he so used to being numb to everyone and everything that any feelings he had felt bigger than they actually were?
He didn’t know the answers to those questions, but he did know it wasn’t healthy.
When his brother finally came up for air, Kennedy and Laura hugged. Knox and Seb did the handshake/hug.
“Congratulations, man.” Seb patted him on his back.
“Thanks!”
As soon as Laura and Kennedy’s hug ended, Knox was all over his wife once again.Wife. That was such a strange word to associate with him. Knox had a wife.
His middle brother had been a notorious ladies' man. His nieces had even joked about how many women he’d dated saying that they had to use first initials of last names elementary school style just to keep them straight. Off the top of Seb’s head, he remembered Knox dating Jenny H., Jenny S., Jenny V., Kim R., Kim T., Sara B., Sara P., Sara W., Sara N.
Knox had been a serial monogamist, but he’d gone through women faster than Seb went through a roll of toilet paper. Honestly, Seb had never expected him to settle down. But seeing him and Laura together, he had no doubts in his mind that this was the woman for Knox. This was his ‘bunny.’ Just like Seb was sure that Chrissy was Ford’s ‘bunny.’
Why was he thinking about the ‘bunny’ thing again?
“Okay and if the witnesses can please sign and date here.” The officiant used his pen to indicate the lines on which he and Kennedy were supposed to sign.
Seb motioned for Kennedy to sign first and when she bent down, her golden blonde hair fell over her shoulder. The light, floral scent he’d smelled when she’d fallen into his arms in the hallway drifted up into the air and, once again, he felt like it wrapped around him like a warm blanket on a cold day.
Being near her felt safe, it felt familiar, it felt like…home. That concept was foreign to Seb which was why he hadn’t pinpointed it right away. Since he was sixteen, he’d lived a nomadic lifestyle. He went where the wind blew. Last year alone, he’d visited fourteen countries. Over his life, he’d had ten passports because they got full so fast. So home was more of an abstract concept than a substantial one. But that is how he felt around Kennedy.
He watched the delicate curve of her wrist as she wrote out her signature and he heard a melody play along with her movements. When she stood and handed him the pen, their fingers touched and a surge of something passed between them. His eyes lifted to hers to see if she felt it, too. She licked her lips as a flush filled her cheeks, and he knew that she had.
For a split second, he forgot where he was or what he was doing. The only thing that existed in the world was Kennedy and her iridescent eyes. It wasn’t until Knox cleared his throat that he remembered there were other people in the room. He blinked and looked back down at the paper.
When he put the pen to it, he realized it wasn’t just his location and activity that had slipped his mind, he couldn’t remember what he was supposed to write. Then he saw the small print beneath the line that said ‘witness’ and he realized it was his name. He scribbled his John Hancock and stood back up.
Kennedy and Seb followed Knox and Laura out into the hall. Knox stepped to the side and made a call checking on the reservation he’d made at his new wife’s favorite restaurant because they were running late.
While he was on the phone, Laura pulled Seb and Kennedy into a three-way hug.
“Thank you both so much for doing this.” When she leaned back, she pointed her finger at them both. “Remember, don’t say anything.”
“We won’t,” Kennedy and Seb chorused their agreement.
Knox got off the phone and said the table was being held for them. As the four left the county clerk’s office Seb found himself walking beside Kennedy and for the first time in a long time, he felt a spark of something. Hope. Maybe it was because he’d just been a witness to true love. Or maybe it was the person he’d witnessed it with.
* * *
