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Finally, I manage to extricate my arm from Conner’s grip. “I can walk to the fountain without your help.”
The look he gives me is pure innocence. “That’s too bad. I enjoy servicing you, Haven.”
He thinks he’s being cute with his innuendo, leaving me with no answer unless I want to attract attention.
Already too late.
Dani has noticed and nudges Gage, who openly stares. Micah smirks. Tess smiles. Baby Dash blows spit bubbles.
Even Elijah, biding his time on a stone bench, looks interested in what might happen next.
Only Charlotte seems oblivious as she sticks her arm in the cascading fountain and splashes with a shriek of laughter.
I won’t win a verbal battle with Conner. For whatever reason, he’s turning this into a game. I don’t play games.
Tess’s bridesmaids line up on her side while the guys all fan out beside Micah. It’s slightly awkward when I wind up standing beside Dani. I have a long history of being a raging asshole to her for no good reason. Sometimes I just really suck at being a person.
Dani, however, is far better when it comes to social graces. She hands me a small bouquet of yellow and white daisies. “I’ve been holding these for you.”
“Thanks,” I mutter.
She examines me more carefully. “You look beautiful, Haven.”
“So do you, Dani.” I try to smile.
Sometimes I wonder what goes through the minds of Lita’s friends when they see me. Anyone with an interest in human psychology would probably have a field day sorting through all the complex reasons why I take pains to alter my appearance, bearing only a passing resemblance to the girl I used to be.
The girl who looked exactly like her identical twin sister.
Kurt shouts at us to say the words ‘Wedding Day’. He’s barely begun snapping photos before Matilda shows up in a state of high energy. She waves her arms around like a symphony director.
“Charlotte, I will besodisappointed if you’ve misplaced your crown again. And is that water splashed on the front of your dress? Really, you are not a toddler. Micah, the baby still has that cowlick in the back. It’ll be obvious in the pictures. Absolutely needs to be fixed before the ceremony.”
She keeps spewing out words without the slightest awareness that no one appears to be listening to anything she says. Micah mutters something to Tess that sends her into a fit of laughter. Tess catches her breath and hisses at him to behave.
My face is starting to hurt from holding a smile. I’m glad when the photo session ends and we need to move along to the ballroom for the actual wedding part of the wedding. I’m less enthusiastic when Conner takes custody of my arm once more but I can’t shove him off without making a big deal.
“Don’t worry,” he says as we follow the others to the ballroom, “I’ll set the rhythm.”
“You mean the pace?”
He nods. “Yeah, both.”
I roll my eyes so hard my head hurts. Kurt records the moment for posterity with his camera lens.
The ceremony itself is short and lovely. Tess said Matilda invited over two hundred guests, mostly business contacts and minions from her socialite circle. Tess doesn’t really have any family left and most of Micah’s family is in the wedding party. The two of them wrote their own vows. I never would have thought of Micah as the romantic type but there’s a catch in his deep voice when he gazes down at the woman he loves while their son yawns in his arms.
He doesn’t wait for permission to kiss the bride. After handing Dash off to Gage, Micah’s big hand cups the back of Tess’s neck and he claims her mouth. Their kiss is hot and prolonged. Tess’s petite body melts against his powerful chest and they lose themselves in each other with such fiery abandon that the moment almost feels like something the rest of us aren’t supposed to be looking at.
Dani playfully hides Charlotte’s eyes from the scene. Matilda clears her throat over in the front row. Dash drools on Gage’s tuxedo.
During the ceremony, I avoided looking at Conner but now I slide my eyes in his direction. He appears to be swiping a tear from his cheek. He does this quickly, like he doesn’t want anyone to see. His gaze veers before I have time to react. He’s caught me watching him.
Conner winks. Then, slowly and intensely, his blue eyes coast the length of my body before returning to my face. I can’t squash the sudden tug of desire between my thighs. However, I can damn well ignore it. I look away first.
Conner becomes more difficult to ignore when he glues himself to my side again as we follow the newlyweds down the hall to the reception.
“Just stick with me,” he says as he waves his free hand to people who don’t bother to be discreet about snapping photos of him. “I know exactly where our table is.”
