A few hours and one cleaned kitchen later, I made my way to the wedding venue, where us guys were getting together. Wyatt, Reid, Wes, and Charlie were already there when I walked in, along with Maeve’s brother, Jackson. Black suits, neat hair, and wide smiles greeted me, a glass of whiskey thrust into my hand before the door closed behind me.
“Hey, man. Congrats on the big day.” I clapped Wyatt on the shoulder, bringing him in for a one-armed hug.
“Thanks, brother. Should have done it a year ago, but with Veda on the way, Maeve wanted to wait.”
I hid my bristle at the “brother” comment. That was just how we talked. And these guys were like brothers to me, even if Luke still hadn’t talked to me for the past two weeks. But I wasn’t sure how the rest of the Wilders were going to feel about their “brother” dating their sister.
I was just about to say something about it, try to gauge if Luke had said anything to them, when the man himself walked in.
“Hey, guys. You’re looking good, Wy. You excited?” He clamped a hand on Wyatt’s shoulder, jostling him a bit. Wyatt didn’t care. He beamed a shit-eating grin at his brother.
“Fuck yeah, I am. I was just telling Seb, I should have done this ages ago. I’m just happy to finally make her my wife.”
Luke shot his gaze over to me, quickly looking back at the rest of the group.
“How’s Scarlett feeling?” Charlie asked. “Any better?”
I looked at Luke. Was Scarlett not feeling well? This close to the end of her pregnancy? Was that something to beconcerned about, or was it just part of the whole growing-a-human-inside-of-your-body thing?
My chest constricted. I hated that I didn’t know what was going on. That he hadn’t answered my calls since the day he stormed out of my shop.
“Yeah. She’s good. Doctor said there was nothing to be worried about,” he told his father. “I can’t believe I’m going to have a son in a couple of weeks,” he laughed.
Charlie’s smile took up his entire face. “That is one lucky little boy. You’re going to be a great dad, Luke.” He looked around the room at all of us. “You know, you boys all put me through hell for a long while. But look at you now. Getting married to an amazing woman, two beautiful little girls,” he said to Wyatt. “Finding your way to Scarlett after what you went through with Juliet, a baby on the way,” he added to Luke. Turning to Reid, he continued. “Letting yourself love again and managing to snag Claire in the process,” he laughed. “You boys have turned out okay, I think. Your mother would be so proud to see you now.” Mist clouded his eyes, and he certainly wasn’t the only one.
“Now we just need to see Lydia settle down,” he chuckled.
The air in the room charged. It was the perfect opening for me to say something. But I froze. The moment passed, and before I could figure out how I wanted to broach the subject of me dating their daughter/sister, Wes piped up.
“A toast to the groom. May you keep your head of your ass and always remember that you’re punching above your weight with Maeve. Don’t fuck it up again.”
He raised his glass of whiskey, the rest of us following in a round of cheers.
Jackson threw his drink back, his cheeks red as he fidgetedwith his suit jacket. “I just want to say, boss, thanks for sticking around. Mae’s really lucky to have you. I’m glad we’re going to be, like, officially family.” His face was bright red now, and he looked like he wanted to crawl under a rock. At twenty-one, he was the youngest one of the bunch, and from what I knew, he didn’t grow up with any sort of male role model in his life, until Wyatt.
Wyatt grinned. “Kid, we’ve been a family since the day Jane showed up in our lives. Nothing has changed except now I can call Maeve my wife. And trust me, I am well aware that I’m the lucky one.”
A knock sounded at the door. The photographer wanted to spend some time with the guys before the ceremony. Everyone was relaxed, the jovial spirit of the day permeating the air around us.
As long as Luke and I didn’t make eye contact.
Two weeks, and he still wouldn’t even look at me.
I knew he was pissed. He didn’t want his sister to end up with a struggling tattoo artist with a history like mine. I got it. Like Wyatt, I was well aware that Lydia was too damn good for me. But if she was willing to look past my endless string of one-night stands and casual flings, my financial troubles at the shop, my poor decisions when I was younger than Jackson was now, then what business was it of his to interject?
Thirty minutes later, a woman came to tell us that it was go time. Wyatt was going to wait for Maeve at the altar with his best man. After all the sibling arguing, Wyatt had selected Wes to stand beside him on the big day. Luke and Scarlett would go down the aisle first, followed by Reid and Claire, and lastly Lydia and me. Maeve, having not had a father growing up, asked Jackson if he would give her away. The kidalmost cried on the spot. How he didn’t was beyond me—I was pretty sure the rest of us all had tears in our eyes when she asked him.
The men all got in our positions to wait for our partners. Laughter and giggles spilled into the foyer as soon as the door to the women’s room opened. Standing in the doorway was the most beautiful goddess I had ever seen. Lydia’s sage-green dress hit the floor. A long slit snaked up her leg, all the way to her upper thigh. The fabric fell around her like water. My gaze traveled higher up her torso to where the dress hugged her tits in a deep-V neckline. A long pendant necklace fell between her breasts, drawing my attention. But her face. Holy fuck. My heart stopped beating for a solid three seconds, my throat thick with emotion as she smiled a sultry smile, making her way over to me.
“You look gorgeous,” I whispered in her ear, a low growl in my voice.
“So do you. I think a suit might be my new favorite look.”
“I think this dress is my new favorite look,” I countered.
“If you think it looks good now, you should see it on your floor,” she smirked, wrapping her hand in the crook of my arm as we got in line for the procession.
That sounded damn good to me.
