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I didn’t mean to raise my voice. At least ten people turn and stare.
Matilda is among them. Her expression turns suspicious, her eyes narrowed. She knows my father. He doesn’t like her. I glare back at Matilda until she breaks eye contact.
Conner, who finds everything funny, finds this funny too. He chuckles and then gestures to turn my attention elsewhere.
“Gifts can go on the big table along the wall. Unless you plan to keep clutching it all day long, which might look kind of weird on our march down the aisle.”
He’s still talking as I move to the table and set down the box with a collection of other gaily wrapped presents and colorful envelopes. Then his last statement finally sinks in.
“What do you meanourmarch down the aisle?”
He’s ready for this question and immediately hooks his arm through mine before I can object. “We had to make a change.”
“What change?”
“Charlotte ditched me to walk with her new friend Elijah. Which means we’re stuck with each other.”
Conner keeps my arm trapped as he hauls me away, presumably in the direction of the tulip courtyard. He’s very strong.
And I’ve suddenly grown very weak.
The wink he flashes my way is full of triumph.
A man who has successfully gotten under my skin and knows it.
“It’s you and me today, angry girl. So let’s practice being friends.”
Chapter4
Haven
Whatever frustration I feel about being hijacked by Conner dissolves when I spot Tess smiling radiantly in her wedding dress
The so-called ‘tulip courtyard’ looks like a page from a storybook. Rainbows of bright buds surround a massive, tiered fountain that rises at least ten feet high. Tess is fixing Micah’s collar while Micah holds baby Dash in his arms.
Micah, always a head turner with his powerful muscles and his chaotic patterns of ink, is no less striking in a tux. His face splits into a rare smile when Tess fixes his bowtie. I’m a harsh judge of men and I doubt there’s another woman on the planet who could have tamed the hot-tempered Micah Lyonne. He stares down at his bride with adoration while shifting the baby to his shoulder. Someone who didn’t know him wouldn’t be able to guess that his glove-covered right hand isn’t real.
I guess it’s now been over a year since that night. The night he was attacked by a squad of brutes after a high profile MMA fight on the east side.
It was a hit and it was personal, financed by men who are no longer breathing.
But because the location was smack in the middle of our territory and because my uncle had a stake in the venue, the incident immediately became a family matter.
And we sure as hell took care of it. No one else has been foolish enough to spill blood without permission since then.
I’m genuinely sorry for what happened to Micah. And not just because I care about Tess. Micah’s a good guy. Sometimes he used to work security for me at the club. With all his rough, unapologetic edges, he knew how to knock down the fuckers that really needed to be knocked down and yet he always treated women like human beings. Experience has taught me there’s no shortage of shitty people in the world. Makes you really appreciate the decent ones.
Tess notices my entrance and waves happily. Dani, who stands under the canopy of Gage’s strong arm, is more reluctant to offer a greeting. We just stare at one another for a few seconds until the photographer rises from his crouch and gestures with impatience.
“Do we finally have the wedding party all in one place? I have already explained to Matilda that I will NOT Photoshop any missing links.”
Micah exhales loudly. “Nobody needs more pictures of us posing like idiots in front of a shitty fountain.”
“But Matilda said-”
“Yeah, I don’t fucking care what my mother said.”
Tess lays a calming hand on Micah’s chest and tries to soothe the pouting photographer. “We’re all here now, Kurt. Let’s just take a couple of quick shots before we move to the ballroom.”
