“I was just telling River how much of a sweetheart Alex is.” Mom took a sip of her drink. “River’s father always talked about how he loved what a good influence you were, Alex. It would make him happy to know you two still have such a bond.”
I clasped his soft hand and gave it a tight squeeze, admiring how fine he looked in a fitted dress shirt and slacks. He returned the squeeze and stroked the back of my hand, watching me with his soft eyes that I could stare at for hours.
With him, maybe things could be okay.
Chapter Twenty-Three
ALEX
I’d only ever been to one wedding. My cousin got married when I was around ten, so I was a child and couldn’t enjoy all the benefits.
Never having had the chance to go to another before, I was more than willing to when Eli brought up the opportunity. Free food, alcohol, and dressing up for once? It was everyone’s dream.
I did not know Eli’s sister personally, and if I was being honest, I had heard some pretty bad things about her. Still, I came anyway. Nobody seemed to care that she was marrying a guy she’d known for only four months, at just twenty years old. Who were we to judge? Maybe it truly was love at first sight.
River was thrilled about the event. He, like me, wanted to enjoy the free catering. He was also excited to match with me.
My boyfriend’s hands worked on my chest to adjust my blue button-down, his teeth biting into his lip. “Sexy.”
His words were sudden, so my head tilted. “Who, you?”
River grabbed my shirt and tugged me to him, our chests bumping. “Of course, but I was actually talking about my boyfriend.”
I didn’t get the chance to speak before his lips touched mine. Our lips collided, and he gripped and squeezed my hair as if we had been deprived of our lifeline and only just recovered it.
I was drowning in River’s lips, all of me completely consumed and engulfed by him. It was how every kiss felt—bewildering. Unapologetically right. It remained that way until our tongues collided, and I flinched as his eyes grew wide.
Hands on each of my shoulders, River frowned. “It still hurts?”
“I bit it pretty hard,” I chuckled weakly.
The wound on my tongue was a prolonged gift of the seizure I had a couple of days ago. It was a constant reminder that this problem would take more than a couple of sessions to go away. Though, I also liked to think of it as a last gift from my parents. Their way of getting back at me for screwing up their plans about my future.
He eyed me. “You feel okay enough to go?”
“I feel fine, and I need this change of scenery,” I assured him softly. “And if not, you’ll be there.”
“Damn right,” he smirked.
River and I scrambled to finish getting ready for the wedding, already running late. He justhadto spray us with his favorite cologne before we left; it was nonnegotiable. I wanted to complain, but I realized it was the one I always smelled on him when I buried my face into him. It smelled like…
Home.
The venue was absolutely stunning with its high ceilings, large skylight, and a gorgeous wedding garter decorated with vines and flowers. Some guests had already seated themselves in the spruced white chairs arranged along the aisle, eager for the ceremony to start.
I searched the area for Eli and Javier, but instead of them, my eyes landed on their lookalikes. Gabriela and Easton bickered beside the assortment of food like an old married couple. I thought of asking them if they had seen either of their siblings, but I was not about to get in the middle of whatever that was.
What piqued my curiosity was the child beside them. She had a ruffled green dress on, and her back faced me as she stuffed her face with what I assumed were cupcakes. River nudged me in the shoulder, also noticing the child that looked oddly like…
“Millie?” I called, now behind the child.
Millie spun around, chocolate frosting coating her hands as her smile grew. “My uncles!”
Uncles. Plural. Huh, she never spoke like that with Killian. “What are you doing here?”
“Eating the free sweets!” she chirped. “Mommy didn’t say you were coming.”
In her black catering attire, my sister was on the other side of the room. She held a platter of food in her right hand, in her left was a pitcher of lemonade, and balancing between both was a full container. My sister weaved through the guests with ease to transport the food onto the tables.
