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As soon as Talia steps into the glow of the setting sun, setting her golden dress ablaze like some angelic creature descending from heaven, I think my heart stops altogether. When her eyes meet mine, I stop breathing.
The music fades into the background of the crashing waves as Talia walks down the aisle, clutching one of the pink-flowered bouquets. She keeps her eyes locked with mine the whole journey to the archway. For a moment, it feels like it’s only us here; that this is our day, and somehow this woman might feel for me the way I’ve ended up feeling for her. Even as she takes her spot beside Gia, only briefly looking away to smile shyly at her feet, the hard exterior crumbling right before my eyes, I think I might just fall apart, too.
The guests stand, and Nyla arrives, demanding all our attention in a stunning white and gold lace dress, the skirts pooling at her feet. Only with her entrance does the sound of the music return, the melody picking up as she approaches Kieran, who I swear has tears brimming in his eyes.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen my brother cry before.
Their vows are beautiful. Nyla’s are far more eloquent than Kieran’s, but I bet it’s from all of those romance books she reads. By the end of the ceremony, we’re all crying.
I think maybe this is what it feels like to have a family. That this is what it feels like to love and be loved.
Chapter Twenty-Two: Talia
The ceremony ends in a beautiful shower of pink flower petals, tossed in the air by guests and close friends, their applause adding to the slow tune the guitarist plays in a way that makes the whole scene feel too romantically surreal to be true. With the setting sun behind us casting the wedding party in its orange glow as Kieran dips a giggling Nyla for a deep kiss, I think we could be in a movie.
Especially with how Kay’s making me feel by the way he looks at me, like I could catch fire on the spot. A mixture of admiration and desire burns in his ocean blue eyes, set ablaze by the setting sun. He’s looking dangerous in a new way tonight; dangerously handsome in his tux, and like I’m about to make terrible decisions tonight.
When the ceremony ends, the guests file back up to the patio, where drinks are already being poured. Kieran and Nyla take off toward the water for a private moment, and no one would dare interrupt their day with needing their attention. But as I watch Kieran scoop up a still giggling Nyla, a hand wraps around my waist.
Kay pulls me into him, his lips brushing my ear. “Do you want to have a private moment of our own?”
The words set a course of warmth in places I missed him touching dearly. I don’t need to utter a word. All I need to do is turn to look at him for him to guide me away.
Taking me back up the beach and toward the side of Midnights, we walk until the chatter of the guests dulls and he’s pressing me up against the wall. My heart flutters as he places his hands on either side of my head.
“I can’t do this with an audience.”
Just as he leans in, I quip, “How mature of you, stealing me away like a high schooler at a football game. Tucked off in a dark corner.”
He gives me a half smile, his head still dipped toward me, close enough that all it would take is me pressing up on my tiptoes to kiss him. “You like dark corners if I’m involved.”
I shrug, a challenging tease. “Maybe.”
“Do I have to remind you of the restaurant?”
“How could I forget?” I drag a finger down the lapel of his jacket, undressing him with my eyes.
His voice softens, dangerously smooth. “I’d still be happy to give you a reminder.” Starting from my collarbone, he slides a hand down, over the side of my breast, to my waist, where he squeezes me, pulling me flush against his body. “Or we can always make new memories.”
“New memories are always good,” I breathe, our eyes locked, which almost makes me stop breathing. When he reaches down, swiftly lifting me up off my feet and hitching my legs around his waist, Idostop breathing. The ease with which he moves me around never ceases to make everything inside me twist into a delicious knot of pleasure.
He kisses my throat. I toss my arms over his shoulders, running my fingers through his hair as he starts a trail from below my ear, across my jaw, leaving behind a line of heat that stirs inside me.
“Come home with me tonight,” he breathes against my already sensitive skin.
“Convince me,” I breathe back, eyes closing as my head falls back, lost in the intoxication of his touch.
“I’d beg you, if that’s what it took, Talia.” His lips travel to the corner of my mouth, and I open my eyes to find him staring at me with a burning intensity that could make my panties melt on the spot.
We both know what his words mean. They’re how this whole thing started, what brought up all our differences. Despite all of those struggles, I still find two words edging on the precipice of my tongue; two words that will change the course of this evening and will lead to what I’ve wanted most from him.
“Then beg.”
He smiles, a beautiful, dangerous thing as he glances down at my lips. Closing the space between them, he just barely teases me with a kiss. “Please,” he whispers against them, and then kisses me gently. He pulls away, a hand finding the side of my neck, his thumb caressing the front of my throat as he begs again. “Please come home with me, Talia.” He kisses me again, more fervent than before, our lips dancing together with a heated passion just as suggestive as his words.
“Beg harder,” I say, but it comes out nearly a gasp, unconvincing of my self-control.
But he’s humoring me, and I love every moment of it.
