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When the wedding march began, the bride held her father’s arm as he walked her down the aisle. She was a petite beauty with long, blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He remembered her as a little girl and had only seen her a few times in the past few years. She’d gone away to college, and as happens, life had been busy for them both. She reached her future husband, who shook hands with her father and then held his arm out to her to walk the final three steps to the altar.
He sat there in church watching his uncle’s granddaughter get married, and he was restless. He wanted to be up there with Sam. He knew he wanted to marry her—he was sure of that fact. It was cemented in his mind after the whole Downtown Harmony Lake fiasco. While she was gone, all he could think about was how he wanted her to be his wife. He looked down at her now, admiring this beautiful woman he loved. She was amazing to be around. His family loved her, and she loved them. Her kids were great, and he enjoyed spending time with them. She glanced up at him and smiled.
“What?” she whispered.
He shook his head, whispering back, “Nothing. I love looking at you.”
She chuckled lightly.
He leaned down and whispered in her ear. “Sam, I want that to be us. I want to stand up in church in front of our family and friends and make you my wife. I want them to listen to me say my vows to you and watch me slide my ring on your finger. I want them to see you wear my mark. I want to marry you, Sam.”
She whispered, “You don’t think it’s too soon? What are you saying, you mean now? Soon?”
He looked at her for a long time. “Yes, I want to get married. Soon!”
Their whispered conversation was interrupted when everyone stood up to pray.
After the wedding, they walked across the street to the wedding hall. His part of the family walked together and ordered drinks at the bar, as the other wedding guests began to arrive. Relatives were excited to hear how Harry was doing and to meet Gray’s girl. His hand seldom left her back. Usually, his thumb traced small circles over her skin. But mostly he wanted to stay close, so she knew how important she was to him.
Dinner was announced, and they walked in to find seats. They sat at the back of the hall, letting the more immediate family members sit closer to the head table. It appeared that the other side of the family wasn’t as close as the Kinkaides were. After dinner, everyone got up to go to the bar and wait for the tables to be removed to allow dancing. And there she was! Suzanne walked toward them. Truth or dare time!
As soon as she joined their group, she greeted her children first, giving each of them tiny little hugs and air kisses so she wouldn’t ruin her makeup. She nodded at Mary, Jamie, Dani and Nick and all the kids, and then she looked right at Gray.
“Hello, darling. How are you doing?”
Darling? He simply nodded.
“You remember Sam, don’t you Suzanne?” His jaw tightened as he reminded Suzanne that Sam was here.
Suzanne gave Sam the once-over.
“Yes, of course. Sam, I thought you would wear the same dress you wore to the Downtown Harmony Lake event. After all, you didn’t wear it very long.”
Sam simply smiled at her.
“Oh well, too bad you had to leave early that night. We had a great time, didn’t we, Gray?”
He huffed out a breath. “As I recall, I had a miserable time. It didn’t get great until I left.”
He tightened his arm around Sam.
“Hmm, well I guess you can remember it any way you wish. Anyway, I came over here because Janice was asking about you and I wanted you to come over and say hello to her. She broke her leg and isn’t getting around very well.”
Suzanne took a step forward to grab his other arm, but he stepped back. “Suzanne, I’m not here to spend any time with you. I’m with my family, which you are no longer a part of.IfSam and I get around to where Janice is sitting, we’ll say hi.”
Nicely done! He spoke to Sam, “Should we go visit with Uncle Frank, baby? I promised him I would bring you over. He’s very excited to meet you.”
Suzanne snorted. “Baby? What on earth kind of moniker is baby? Seriously, Gray, aren’t you pouring it on a little thick?”
He looked Suzanne right in the eye. “Suzanne, what I call anyone is none of your business. My life is none of your business. But mostly, my life with Sam is none of your fucking business. Your little attempt here to once again try and manipulate me is over. Now, you’ll need to excuse us. Uncle Frank is dying to meet Sam, and I’m dying to introduce them.”
They turned and walked away to talk to Uncle Frank. His hand never left Sam’s back, and he felt marvelous. That was positively liberating!
After chatting for some time, Sam stood on her toes to speak in his ear. “Are you okay?” she whispered.
He turned to her, put both arms around her and kissed her. “I’ve never felt better in my entire life. I mean that. You were right; that felt wonderful!”
She hugged him tightly. “I’m so happy for you, Gray. And, thank you so much for fighting for us.” She winked, and his mind instantly went to undressing her, but then again, he thought that often.
