“Breathe, mate, or you’ll collapse before he makes it up here,” Mercy murmured, amusement heavy in his gruff voice.
I exhaled, not realizing how long I’d held it in because once it was gone, I wasn’t so faint. “Fuck.”
Mercy made a sound that was awfully close to a laugh and stepped back as Finn reached me. I held out my hand, and he smiled, and the world stopped in time around us. The only thing that mattered in this park right now was me and him. Together. We were more than two separate human beings haunting this lonely existence by ourselves. Now, we were about to join in more ways than just body. It didn’t matter how many times I’d claimed he was mine, it wasn’t quite reality until this point in time, when I was going to make him my husband. My lifetime partner.
“You complete me,” I whispered to him.
His smile shocked me back to reality. “I love you, too.”
The celebrant grinned at us, shoving his glasses up his thin nose, and then opened his arms. “Shall we?” He was a middle-aged man with graying brown hair, rectangular spectacles, and he spoke with an Irish accent, something we didn’t know when we’d first sought him out. Killough would like that he was Irish, at least.
“Fuck yeah. I gotta make him my husband as soon as possible,” I breathed out, and the crowd laughed.
After too much talk and not enough action, the words I’d wanted to hear for the last twenty minutes finally came.
“I now pronounce you husbands. You may kiss your groom.”
Every inch of me buzzed with excitement as I cupped Finn’s face between my hands—gentle when I wanted nothing more than to manhandle him—then tugged him closer. My mouth met his in a hard kiss as cheers echoed through the park. I thought I heard Fallon yell out the loudest, but I was too focused on the feel of Finn’s sweet lips against mine to care. He melted against me, and I curled my arm around his slim waist, dragging him in closer. Everything evaporated around us, and for a small moment of peace, there was only me and him in this world, and we were all that mattered.
Dream moments like this couldn’t last, though, and much to my disappointment, I forced myself to break the kiss and smile down at him. His lashes fluttered and he gave me the sweetest look in his arsenal, and I didn’t care about what was right or wrong. All that mattered was me and him—together.
“Shall we?” I slid my hand into his, and he leaned his face against my arm as we turned toward our guests, who were on their feet, clapping furiously.
I led Finn down the aisle, the celebratory hooting from our friends and family following us as we made our way toward the closest road. Finn turned and waved at people, laughing joyfully. He was so happy that he was nearly skipping as I escorted him toward the old 1968 Holden Monaro GTS HK—my father’s car, the same one he’d seen in the garage. I’d told him I didn’t want to use it until I was ready and that time was now. This was the most important event in my life, and I wanted everything to be perfect, and that meant using a car that was so special to me, it would be a crime not to include it as the vehicle we were going to drive to our reception in.
A familiar SUV caught my eye to my right, and I snorted, pausing long enough to lean in to Finn. “Follow me.”
Finn didn’t argue as I led him over to the black SUV with tinted windows. It’d been sitting there since before the beginning of the wedding, and I’d been around the block long enough to know who they were and what they were doing.
I knocked on the front passenger window, and a moment later the glass slid down, revealing a couple of men I’d never met. One of them was a young man with sandy blond hair, a button nose, and pouty lips, and I was almost tempted to yell over my shoulderhey Danger, I found a bloke for you to fuckbecause he was exactly my brother’s type. I didn’t, though. Pushing these guys’ buttons on my wedding day in a way that could get me arrested wasn’t on my to-do list. I had other plans that involved getting Finn on my cock and fucking him in that pretty wedding dress.
“Detectives, right?” I grinned at them when the one behind the wheel—an older man with graying brown hair and a mean scowl—made an ugly snarling sound in answer. I leaned my arms across the window. Checking into the back of the SUV, I noted another two guys, looking unhappy they’d been caught. “Did you enjoy my wedding? You should come to the reception. We’ve got beer and we’re having a barbie. Nothin’ better than a snag on bread with some tomato sauce, right? You the kind to add onion? I’m not much of an onion bloke myself.”
The blond man’s mouth twitched, and I didn’t know if he wanted to laugh or scoff at me.
“Lolly, come meet the detectives.” I shifted slightly so Finn could get beside me at the window, and he peered inside.
He offered them a wide smile. “Hello. What do you think of the dress? I was worried at first about the chiffon, but it turned out well.” He stepped back and did a twirl, making the skirt spiral out from his long legs and move with him.
My mouth watered. “Fucking hell, mates. I’m a lucky bloke.” I glanced at them again and shrugged. “Makes me wonder if I sold my soul to the devil for perfection like that, you know?”
The driver straightened in his seat. “Listen, Sweeney, you know why we’re here. Don’t play dumb,” he hissed, clearly miserable about the entire situation. “I’d rather be home in Brissy than this shithole, but no, you had to go and get into a shootout with some Italian fuckers.”
“Did I?” I gave him an innocent stare. “First I’ve heard of that. When did this happen? I’ll check my schedule and see where I was at the time.”
The blond detective let out a chuckle but quickly stopped when the driver glared at him and slammed his palm against the steering wheel.
The driver pointed his finger accusingly at me. “We’re onto you.”
Finn sidled in beside me again and hooked his arm through my elbow. “Don’t watch him too hard. He’smyhusband now and I don’t share.”
I kissed him right there in front of the detectives, and Finn moaned into my mouth, cupping his hand at the back of my neck. The slight chill from the new ring on his finger was a shock to my skin, but it was also perfect, a reminder of what we just did together.
“Move it, Sweeney,” the driver barked, hitting the ignition of the vehicle. The SUV roared to life, and I broke the kiss with Finn to grin at him again.
“Thanks for coming. Remember, wedoaccept wedding gifts. Did you get the list of what Finn would like to receive?” I asked.
Finn waved his hand. “If you didn’t get it, let me know your email and I’ll send it to you. But I will warn you, I don’t accept cheap presents. Only the best.”
