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He hands the phone to me, and Gigi repeats into my ear. “Kat. Seriously. Take a nap. Everything is under control.”
“See?” Connor smirks.
I flip him off and hand the phone back to him.
When he has made sure that I’m comfortable and gotten my repeated assurances that I will not get out of bed until I’ve slept for at least an hour, Connor leans down and places a soft kiss on my belly. “Hey, sweetheart,” he croons at it. “Tomorrow you’re gonna go to your first wedding. Your folks are tying the knot.”
“Now that we know she’s a girl, we need to start thinking about names,” I say as I close my eyes.
“We’ve got time, darlin’. Now hush.”
I hear the click of the door as it shuts behind him. And that’s the last thing I remember as sleep overtakes me.
* * *
“Kat, are you ready?”
Gigi, my maid of honor, bites her lip in excitement and looks at me expectantly.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I say, taking a deep breath.
She peeks out toward the assembled crowd and makes a signal with her hand.
Seconds later, an acoustic guitar begins to play softly.
“You look so beautiful,” she says, her eyes glistening. Then, turning to Mack, Gigi shoots him a sour look. “Okay, let’s go,” she mutters to the best man. “Try not to step on me feet.”
Mack looks back at me with a snort. “She’s just a ray of damn sunshine, isn’t she?”
Gigi points down the aisle. “Shut up and walk, loser.”
The two of them step through the archway made of vines and flowers in time to the music and start walking down the aisle. Next to me, Choppa sticks out his arm. “You really do look pretty as a picture, girl. You’re gonna do Fury proud.”
“Thank you.” I beam up at him. “And thank you for walking me down the aisle.”
“It’s an honor, darlin’. Truly. I think of Fury as my son, and so you’re my daughter now.”
We proceed through the arch and down the aisle of Choppa and Reenie’s beautiful backyard. Reenie’s master gardening skills have made it into an almost magical place. Even though I saw it all decorated and done up this morning, my breath still catches in my throat as I see it now, filled with friends who are all looking at me with smiles on their faces.
And then, at the end of the aisle, is the love of my life.
Connor.Fury.Brother. Club member. Friend. He’s so many things to so many people.
And today, he becomes my husband.
Magnus does the honors. He officiates solemnly, like a man who takes the responsibility seriously. There’s a quiet undercurrent of joy and reverence all during the ceremony. But Connor keeps looking at me and trying to make me smile or laugh, which does the trick of calming all my nerves. By the time we get to the “I do’s” I’m giggling. And by the time Magnus gets to the “You may kiss the bride, Connor announces, “Finally!” and sweeps me off my feet with a kiss that leaves me breathless and blushing.
From the back of the garden, a whoop erupts, and then everyone is shouting, clapping, and laughing. Rice and streamers are tossed at us. Christy and the other guests from the hospital take out little bottles of bubbles and start blowing them. Country and Reed, the two guitarists, play an acoustic version of “Speechless” by Dan + Shay as Connor takes my hand and we walk into the crowd for the first time as husband and wife.
The rest of the day is a blur of music, laughter, food, and love. And family. Throughout the reception, which goes on long into the night, Royal Bastards dance, drink, and even sing. At one point, I even see Black take Christy’s hand and lead her out onto the dance floor. She shoots me a look that reads somewhere betweenI can’t believe I’m doing thisandHelp?
I just laugh, grab the hand of my own biker, and head into the fray.
Not everyone is here, of course. Quad is still in jail, and probably will be for some time. I don’t know if I can ever forgive him for what he put me through. For now, I’m just going to hope that he’ll be okay on the inside. Maybe when he gets out, there will be a path forward for us to reconcile as brother and sister. It’s a long shot, for sure. But lately, I’ve been learning to appreciate the possibilities of long shots.
Carla, Quad’s baby mama, isn’t here today, either. I did send her an invitation, but she declined it, saying weddings weren’t her thing. She is coming over to our house for dinner next week, though. And she’s bringing little Kelly with her.
When Quad went to jail, I reached out to Carla again, offering to help with Kelly as much as she’d let me. Amazingly, she broke down crying, saying that if I was serious, she could really use someone in her corner. I’ve been babysitting for her about once a week since then, to give her a break if she needs to go grocery shopping or just have a little time to herself. Recently, little Kelly has started calling me Auntie Kat. Every time she does it, I get a little teary. I finally got to be an aunt, after all. And now, my daughter will have a cousin.
At that happy thought, I rest my hand on my still-small baby bump, a smile coming to my face as I daydream about the future. As though Connor can read my thoughts, he comes up behind me and wraps his arms around me. We sway to the beat of the music together, as we watch the guests dance and laugh.
“How you doin’, Mrs. Mattson?” he murmurs into my hair. “Having a good time?”
“Thebesttime,” I sigh dreamily. “With the best husband.”
Not to mention, the best people around us. All of them here today, helping us celebrate Connor “Fury” Mattson and me, and the fact that we finally made our way back to each other. These are the people who will be making memories with us for the rest of our lives. They’re the ones who love us. The ones who will always be there for us. They’re our family.
The family we choose.
***
