Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 65671 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 328(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 219(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65671 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 328(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 219(@300wpm)
And I would make sure she stayed that way.
Some of my Marine Corps buddies had flown in from all over the country. I had only told one guy. A single-line text and suddenly, they were all here. Every guy I’d served with except for Pulson. But he was in Japan.
He was pretty pissed off at me for not giving him enough time to get here.
Apparently, they all thought hell was freezing over and they wanted front-row seats.
I wasn’t used to people paying attention to me, other than a show of respect or biker groupies throwing themselves at me. The whole experience was foreign to me. It was so against my nature to draw focus to myself.
My mom had fussed over me, of course. Before she got sick. I said a silent hello to her in Heaven. I didn’t believe in much, but I could feel my mom with me sometimes. All those years after she’d passed, when I’d been alone, I hadn’t truly felt that way. And now, I truly wasn’t alone.
I never would be again.
SO the next time Mason slapped my back, I just smiled.
And slapped the fuck out of his back in return.
Hunter cleared his throat and nodded to me.
“It’s time.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Kelly
“Are you absolutely sure you want to go through with this?”
I rolled my eyes, my white dress billowing out around me. It was off the rack, but a little nip and tuck and it looked like it was made for me. Just like everything else about this wedding, it was unexpected.
Unexpected and perfect.
Well, except for my pig-headed brother.
“Connor! The ceremony is about to start, for Goodness’ sake!”
He scowled, looking like a cranky Captain America.
“You can still back out.”
“I love him, you big oaf!”
“You really do? It’s not just his . . .”
“His what?”
I crossed my arms, nearly forgetting the bouquet in my hand. I uncrossed them just as quickly, not wanting to crush my flowers. They were so pretty. Tropical whites and blues. I didn’t even know what most of them were, but I wanted to ask the hotel staff who had provided them. They really had thought of everything. So had Cain.
“Sex appeal?” Connor ventured, looking uncertain and uncomfortable. We’d never talked about sex before. He probably wanted to pretend I never had any, which was fine with me.
I burst out laughing. My brother was ridiculous. I was the one who’d caught him tying up Cass in bed, long before they were married! Now he was the one being a prude!
“No, though thank you for noticing how sexy he is.”
“I didn’t! I have just noticed other women noticing.”
“Who?” I demanded, instantly on wifey alert. “What women?”
“All of them?”
I started laughing again. It was true. My soon-to-be husband was sexy as hell. He turned heads wherever we went. But who knew that Connor worried about such things?
“Listen to me, Big Brother.” I took Connor’s hand and faced him. “Yes, Cain is a big, sexy biker, but he is so much more than that. Cain makes me feel safe. That’s not surprising. What really surprised me is how I am my best self around him.”
Connor’s forehead was still furrowed.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, like you know how I love cooking shows?”
“Yes.”
“But I never cook?”
“Right.” He gave me a lopsided smile. “Because you’re lazy.”
“No, Con!” I smacked his arm. “Because I never thought I’d be good at it! Mom always did all that stuff for me. Cain encouraged me to try for myself. He gave me free reign in the kitchen. He even ate everything I made!”
The brow was slightly less forward.
“And he never pressured me for anything, sexually, I mean. I was the one begging him on our first real date!”
Connor covered his ears.
“No! No, no, no, do not tell me that. La-la-la-la.”
I smacked him and kept talking. He needed to hear this. Maybe he would ease up once we were married, but I couldn’t be sure.
“He was so gentle my first time, Con. He treats me like I’m strong but also shows that he values me. He respects me. Even if he is the bossiest man alive.”
Con was smiling faintly, pretending to be offended.
“I thought I was the bossiest man alive!”
“Second-place. Sorry.”
He shook his head and sighed. He was giving in, I could tell. He looked at the sky and back at me.
“Well, you do seem like you love him. And he is obviously stuck on you. I guess that has to be good enough for me.”
I leaned up and pressed a kiss on his cheek.
“Thank you for your blessing.”
The music started at that exact moment. Con offered me his arm. I placed my hand on it. We walked out of the hotel and down the steps to the beach.
Tears filled my eyes when I saw the small crowd gathered below.
Everyone we loved was there. Every single person. It wasn’t a big wedding, but everyone I needed to be here was.