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27
Cyn
“You look beautiful,” Christy says, as she looks over my shoulder and into the mirror before us. “This dress is stunning.”
“Thank you. I’m still so surprised that Arden organised all of this,” I reply, studying my reflection. “I had no idea.”
The dressisstunning. Made of chiffon and silk in a pale yellow that compliments my skin tone, it has embroidered wildflowers climbing up from the bottom of the skirt. I recognise all of them, the tiny pink-white flowers of the valerian, the nodding, pale blue bell-shaped harebells, the spotted throats of the pink foxgloves, yellow buttercups and violet periwinkles to name a few. The skirt swirls around my legs as I walk, drifting over the floor in soft caress, yet the top half is as fitted as the skirt is loose. The corset is the same pale yellow silk with a plunging neckline, hugging the curve of my breasts beautifully.
“Sexy yet demure. He’s completely nailed it. This dress is so you, Cyn,” Christy admires, grinning.
“He did good,” I reply, chewing on a smile as I look at myself, really look at myself.
I’ve never felt truly beautiful. As a child without a voice I’d faded into the background. I was barely seen and definitely not heard. But now? Now I feel like the centre of their universe. I feel seen, heard, and understood in a way that I never was before.
“Arden was incredibly detailed about what he wanted,” Grim adds, pushing off from the wall as she strides towards me. “From the softness of the fabric to the wildflowers he chose to be embroidered on the skirt. He said those flowers blossomed in the fields near their childhood home, and now that you’re their home, he wanted you to feel like you were walking through the memories they cherished as much as they cherish you.”
“He said that?” I whisper, my fingers touching the delicate flowers that rise all the way up to my waist.
“He’s a lot more romantic than I ever thought he could be,” Grim says with a wry smile. “I’ve got to hand it to him, I’m impressed.”
“I can’t believe he’s planned this whole thing. When he said he wanted to invite my family and friends to the island for the weekend, I thought it was because he wanted to appease the O’Briens, not that he was planning a wedding, albeit an unusual one.”
“Hey, a marriage is a marriage. It doesn’t matter who officiates it,” Grim says.
“I know that,” I say with a warm smile that spreads out from my middle and wraps me up in its joyous embrace. “It’s real to us, that’s all that matters.”
“Did Carrick and Lorcan know?” Christy asks me.
“Not until yesterday when we…” My voice trails off and my skin heats at the memory of what happened in the office between us. God, I was loud. My cheeks heat to unbearable levels. “About that–”
Grim and Christy exchange looks and laugh.
“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Grim says, waving away my concerns. “We’ve all been there. I’ve had loads of people walking in on Beast and me shagging over the years, the most memorable was when Cleveland walked in on me spread across my office desk with Beast’s head between my legs.”
I gasp, covering the laugh bursting out of my mouth. “Who’s Cleveland?”
“A member of my security detail,” Grim replies, adding a little blush to her cheeks. Not that she needs any makeup, she’s naturally beautiful just like her sister Christy.
“Oh my God. What did you do?”
“I told him to get the fuck out.”
Christy bursts out laughing, and I follow suit. That warmth I feel inside growing in the presence of these women. It feels good to be happy. To have friends like this. People I can trust.
“What about Tom and Connall? Not sure they’d be as okay with it as the rest of you.”
Christy giggles. “Connall was already half-cut and Tom kept his fingers in his ears for the most part.”
“The Masks, however, had a smirk on their faces the whole time. I’m pretty sure it’s the first time I’ve seen them actually crack a smile,” Grim adds, teasing Christy.
“They smile all the time,” she retorts with a roll of her eyes.
Grim snorts. “Yeah when they’re balls deep in your–”
“Whoa!” Christy shouts, holding up her hands and waving them at her sister. “That’s enough of that talk, thank you very much.”
“The point is,” Grim continues as she glides on some deep red lipstick to finish her look, “Is that we’re all adults. We all fuck, and we enjoy it, loudly. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
