When my eyes travel up, I see it’s one of the Marx crew. I can only tell because of the cufflinks that have the same M symbol that Griffin wears, so maybe he’s one of the brothers.
It’s hard to tell, since his hair colour is a little lighter than the other Marx men I’ve met, but this one seems nice as he smiles, flashing a playful grin down at me.
“Finally, we meet. I’m Liam Marx. The best brother.” He beams, and Ringo scoffs.
“Get your eyes off my wife’s tits, arsehole.”
My lips drop open, and I look down, realising that in the scuffle, my dress has shifted so much that my breasts are nearly spilling out.
“My bad. Didn’t mean it.” Liam grins, and I giggle quietly as they start talking shop, and a horde of other men walk in, assessing the situation, and shutting down the restaurant.
Riggs eventually turns up, and people are paid off to keep quiet while they clean up, and right now, I’m thankful Ringo has an alliance with the Marx family. They have helped us out so many times through all of this. We truly are indebted to them.
By the time Ringo leads me out of the bathroom, the restaurant is empty, the lights are mostly shut off, and it’s like no one has been here all day.
“Angel.” Ringo’s gentle voice drags my attention from our surroundings to find him scanning my injuries.
“I’ll heal. Stop stressing,” I try to say playfully, but his concern never wavers.
“Dessert can wait,” he mutters. “Let’s get you back home so I can take care of you properly.”
I can’t even argue with that, because home, close to Bobbi and Tahli with Ringo’s arms wrapped around me, is the only place I want to be.
Now, and forever.
38
“These little things slip out of my mouth…”
I can’t wipe the smile off my face as I step down off the porch, taking the same path I did twenty months ago, watching Ringo’s face as he recognises the same song I played when I was being a brat.
One Direction’sLittle Things.
But hey, I didn’t like being forced into marriage back then, even if I did secretly like the idea of being his wife.
My eyes drop down to my little angel, her blonde curls bouncing as she skips ahead of me in her lemon coloured princess dress, tossing flower petals up in the air with a“weeeee,”each time.
The crowd laughs at Bobbi’s playful nature, and I look up to see Tahli hurrying to take her hand, wearing her own lemon princess dress, as my other flower girl.
“I like your style, cuz.” Rhys snickers next to me as she links her arm with mine, and I grin at the cousin I never knew I had until the ugly truth came out. “I’m totally going to walk down the aisle to Paramore when I get married.”
“And who exactly will you be marrying?” I ask as we start walking towards the deck by the pond, and Rhys shrugs.
“Hopefully, all of them at once. I just have to figure out a way to make that happen.” She wags her brows at me. “Can you imaginethathoneymoon? Talk about a good spit roasting.”
I choke out a raspy laugh, and she beams, her lips not painted black or purple today, even though I told her she could wear whatever colour she likes.
She blows a kiss in the direction of her five boyfriends as we pass them, and I turn my focus to the end of the path by the pond where my husband awaits on the same deck we were married on the first time.
That day was a business transaction even though Ringo and I cared for each other, but today, we are doing it again, with all the people I hold dear in attendance too, under circumstances we both agreed on.
I told Ringo we didn’t have to do this, but he was insistent that I have the wedding I’ve always dreamed of.
The funny thing is, the only thing I wanted to change from the first time was who I wanted here to witness it.
We are renewing our vows in the same place, with Ace officiating again. I’m wearing the same dress because when I went gown shopping for a new one, all I could think about was the ivory satin I wore the first time.
And of course, much to Ringo’s disgust, I am walking down the aisle to One Direction.
