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I switched my gaze back to the priest as he once more began to speak. It wasn’t long later that the part arrived where he appealed for anyone who objected to the wedding to speak up. I tensed, not trusting thatsomeonewouldn’t saysomething.
I heard slight mutterings coming from Ollie quickly followed by my mother hiss-whispering, “Feel how you want to feel, but hold your fucking peace.”
I bit back a smile and looked at Dax to see a glitter of humor in his eyes. Yeah, he’d heard.
Once the time to exchange rings rolled around, I carefully handed my bouquet to a waiting Sabrina, who beamed at me. She looked stunning in her gold satin gown—it was similar to those worn by my three bridesmaids.
Dax’s best man, Caelan, doubled as our ring bearer. He handed over the white gold wedding bands. Dax and I slid them on each other’s fingers, spouted more ceremonial words, and were soon after pronounced man and wife.
My pulse kicked into high gear when Dax dipped his head and lowered his lips to mine. Warm and soft, they brushed over my mouth … and then claimed it. I felt only the barest flick of his tongue against the tip of mine, but it didn’t matter—that lingering, shallow, slow-motion kiss was woven with such a deep sensuality that my body lit up and I almost did a head-to-toe shiver.
Yes, he wasthatgood.
He pulled back, a gleam of carnal promise in his eyes. And then it was done. Over. I was officially Addison Mercier—a thought that was somewhat surreal.
All that happened next went by in a blur. Paperwork was signed, pictures were taken, confetti was thrown, more pictures were taken. Before I knew it, everyone had poured into the larger room where the reception would take place. Guests found their tables easily and quickly due to the seating chart.
As I took my seat at the head table, Dax put his mouth to my ear and said, “Part of me doubted you’d go through with this.”
Affronted, I frowned as I laid down my bouquet. “I gave you my word,” I said, my voice low.
“And I was certain you intended to stick to it. I simply wasn’t sure if, when the day arrived, you’d find that you couldn’t.”
I sniffed, placing my clutch beneath the table. “Well, you were wrong.”
Leaning forward a little, I glanced past him to check on Sabrina. She sat at the end of the table, gabbing away to Blake—most likely about me, since she’d told me in advance that she meant to “big me up” to my father-in-law so he’d come round to the idea of the marriage.
In between him and Dax sat Kensey, who was gently stroking the white roses woven into the table garland, likely trying to determine if they were real or artificial. They were actually synthetic, as was the rest of the floral décor, but they looked astonishingly real.
Turning my head to check out the other side of the table, I noticed that my parents were having a whispered argument—I made out the word “speech,” so I was guessing Dane was again complaining that I’d wiped the speech-part of the events from the reception. He’d no doubt intended to publicly threaten Dax with bodily harm if he hurt me.
At the far end of the table, Caelan was mouthing something to his younger brother, who sat at the table closest to this. Drey merely stared at him, his expression one of blank incomprehension.
I did a quick scan of the room, noticing that people were casually chatting—some sipping at the champagne that was currently being served. I threw Dax a sideways glance and asked, “When do you want to do the introductions?” I hadn’t before met many of his guests, and vice versa. We’d agreed we’d do it at some point on the wedding day.
He leaned into me. “Some time after we cut the cake.”
So—after we’d downed our meal, had our first dance, performed the parents-dances, cut the cake, and then officially kicked off the party—that was what we did.
Together, we went from table to table where we said our hellos, thanked people for coming, and each introduced the other to unfamiliar guests. Everybody was polite and friendly, even Ollie—though not until Marleigh dug her fingers into his thigh hard enough to make him wince.
Dax and I then separated as I joined my family and friends on the dancefloor. He wasn’t much for dancing. I soon learned his father was like him in that respect. Not his mom, however. Kensey spent a fair amount of time on the dancefloor with Vienna, Hanna, and also Jag’s mom Sarah as the hours went on.
I occasionally attempted to chat with members of my team, but they scampered fast when they saw me coming—likely not trusting that I wouldn’t try to take over.
At a later point, as I exited the restrooms with Harri and Raven, I asked them, “Are you having a good time?”
Blowing out a breath, her eyes lit with a smile, Harri nodded hard. “Yes. Your husband is a dish. Really.”
Raven chuckled. “I could say the same about your brother—I’m kind of bummed that he’s taken.”
If he hadn’t been taken, he would have for sure looked twice at Raven. The girl was so beautiful she could stop traffic. Tall and willowy, she had the same mismatched eyes and dark hair as her mom and oldest brother.
I gave Harri a playful nudge. “You seem to be getting along well with Drey.” I’d noticed them talking often. Not flirting, but jabbering away like old friends.
“I thought I’d be nervous talking to him, but he’s so easy to chat to,” said my sister.
“Kind of like you, then.” Harri made everyone feel immediately comfortable with her.
