Cuddling into him, I ran my hand over his back, unable to keep still. “I don’t know. It feels weird not to go to the restaurant.”
We’d been so busy, our time together mostly consisting of stolen moments at the restaurant, I felt a little at a loss right now. We’d been collapsing into bed every night, making love before falling into a deep sleep.
Spending all day with Liam without distractions seemed like a dream.
“You want to go for a walk at the wharf? Play tourist and take a boat out?”
Tilting my head up, I grinned at him. “That sounds perfect.”
And we spent the day exploring San Francisco, simply enjoying being together without any distractions.
EPILOGUE
GABRIEL
Fuck Liamfor doing this to me. He was supposed to be standing in front of three hundred people right now, waiting for his future wife to show up. Not me. I was supposed to be in the bridal party, watching from the sidelines.
Tugging at my collar, I ignored the priest, who was trying to get my attention. Not sure what was so important that he had to discuss it now.
And what was that music? I hated violins. They sounded like dying cats.
My hand slid to my belt, coming up empty. Mom wouldn’t even let me bring my gun.
At least they weren’t making me go on a honeymoon. Lying on a beach would have just about killed me. I didn’t do well staying still.
And where was my fucking bride? Did she think making me wait would heighten the anticipation? Because all it did was irritate me and make me wish I’d never agreed to this farce.
But the gasps in the room when I’d suggested we get a justice of the peace and sign the papers could still be heard weeks later.Mom nearly fainted when I brought it up. And Dad gave me an hour-long lecture on how we had to keep up appearances.
My fingers itched to take out the flask stored in my inside pocket. But having a drink in front of all our esteemed guests definitely wouldn’t go down well. I wasn’t much for rules, but even I knew that was taking things too far.
The sickly scent of flowers tickled my nose, and I held back the urge to sneeze. There were white and pink flowers on every available surface, the church looking like a grow house.
We better not have paid for this shit. Damn Aleksándr for being so old-fashioned. I was sure he could have found some other poor schmuck to marry his daughter off to. Which made me think that maybe she was ugly.
I’d been unable to get photos of her. Apparently she hadn’t left the house in years. Which also made me think there was something wrong with her.
The doors at the end of the church finally opened, and the bridesmaids entered. There were ten of them, and I’d been forced to have ten groomsmen to match.
Tugging on my collar again, I looked at Jude, who stood next to me as my best man. I would have chosen Liam, but he was the one who was responsible for my current predicament, so the fucker didn’t deserve the title. He was standing next to Jude, looking smug and disgustingly happy despite his demotion.
His eyes were glued to Quinn, who sat in the front row next to my mother, smiling at my brother, her face awash with happiness. Gross.
After what felt like an hour, all the bridesmaids were finally lined up in the front of the church. Not sparing them another glance, my gaze went back to the still open door.
Damn violins were still playing, now something I vaguely recognized.
Aleksándr appeared, almost dragging a slip of a girl next to him. Her face was covered with a veil, her figure-hugging white dress showing off gentle curves, piquing my interest.
Depositing my future wife in front of me, Aleksándr shook my hand, clapping me on the back. “Good luck. Make sure she doesn’t make a run for it before you say your vows.”
He ignored my narrowed eyes, sitting down in the front row as if he hadn’t just told me his daughter was a flight risk. And wasn’t he the one who said she was quiet and accommodating?
I took her small hand, and we turned to the priest, who began the long sermon. My thoughts drifted off, and I was thinking of the red-headed stripper I’d become acquainted with at my bachelor party last night.
A sharp pain brought me back to the church. The little minx had dug her nails into my hand, drawing blood.
“This is the part where you need to say something,” she bit out from under her breath.
