“I accept you, Kai Robert MacTavish, as my lawful wedded husband for life…” I choke on that part and Ms. Baird waits for me to recover. “To the exclusion of all others.”
He slides a plain platinum wedding band on top of my “engagement” ring.
“I accept you, Luna…” Now the corner of his mouth curls up a bit. “I’m sorry, little fox. Do ya have a middle name?”
“No,” I babble, “Mom told me that we couldn’t afford a middle name. It’s funnier the way she said it though.”
They all politely wait for me to finish losing my mind (and my dignity) before Kai continues to the last part of his vows and Logan hands me a thick onyx band to slide onto Kai’s ring finger.
“By the power vested in me, I now pronounce ya husband and wife,” Ms. Baird finishes triumphantly, as if she wasn’t sure we’d get to the finish line.
To be honest, neither was I.
“You may now kiss the bride.”
Kai’s hands come up to cup my face, his thumb idly stroking over my cheekbone.
“Hold up,” I whisper.
He raises one elegant eyebrow.
“I want another lesson for this kiss.”
“What lesson,” he whispers back.
“I want to learn how to drive a boat.”
“You mean, pilot a boat?” he says, no longer bothering to whisper.
“Yes. That.” I nod firmly.
“As you wish,” he murmurs, then closes in on a kiss far too intense to be witnessed by his brother and a civil servant. A kiss that feels like it’s sucking my soul out of my body. His firm lips and minty-tasting tongue play with me until I crack, just a bit, just one tiny whimper, but it’s enough. He growls like the animal I know he is and his arm comes around my waist, lifting me off my feet and kissing me and kissing me again and the only thing I hear is the clatter of those Louboutins dropping off my suddenly limp feet.
***
Author’s note:The Aristocratsis the most appalling, genuinely offensive joke in the history of jokes. I will not tell it to you, but you can look it up on YouTube and you will understand why Lachlan, the most extra of the MacTavishes, came up with it.
Chapter Twenty
In which Luna teaches the Atlantic Ocean a lesson it’ll not soon forget.
Kai…
It’s clear my lovely bride is in shock as I guide her to the SUV after putting her shoes back on her feet.
“Like Cinderella and the handsome prince,” she cackles.
“Aye, except for I am theextraordinarilyhandsome prince,” I correct her, pulling her seatbelt across her and fastening it as she stares at her ring. Not covetously, or happily. More like a barnacle has grown on her left hand and she’s not sure if she can scrape it off.
“Go ride in one of the other cars,” I tell Logan, who chuckles heartlessly.
“I dinna think she’s gonna jump your bones right there in the back seat, but aye.”
It takes her a few minutes to realize that we’re not going back to the house. “Are you already regretting this decision?” she asks. “Are you going to dump my body in a ditch somewhere?”
“Not today,” I smile, enjoying her sudden surge of humor. It means she’s not in shock anymore, so that seems like a promising development. “We’re going to have your next lesson.”
Forty minutes later, we pull into a pretty seaside town, filled with colorful little houses clustered together and a sandy beach.
