But thankfully, other than the wedding guests, no one else is privy to seeing that.
It’s an intimate gathering of Kai and Miller’s closest people. There’s got to be fewer than fifty of us in attendance. The team is here, as are a couple of other athletes who play for Chicago—two hockey players and a basketball player. And a couple of other friends as well.
The wedding location is secluded and private. We’re a couple of hours outside of the city, but it feels as if we’re in the middle of nowhere in the best possible way. It’s all greenery and nature here. Oak trees envelop us, adding to the privacy factor. Twolong tables and a makeshift dance floor are set up under string lights for the reception.
And just on the other side of the tables, yurt-style tents are scattered around the property for all the guests to stay the night after the party. The camping vibe works for the two of them. After all, Miller used to travel the country living out of her van before she landed in Chicago.
“It’s kind of annoying how happy we are, huh?” my daughter asks from the seat next to me.
I wrap an arm around the back of her chair. “Yeah, the smile on my face is a bit painful. I could go for less of it.”
She drops her head to my shoulder as we keep our eyes on the dance floor.
Isaiah stole Reese for a dance and Kai took Kennedy. Max is passed out asleep in his mom’s lap, exhausted from the party, so I stayed behind too.
“She’s a good addition,” Miller states, nodding toward the dance floor.
My attention finds Reese, laughing at whatever it is Isaiah is saying to her.
I smile that same smile I’ve worn all day. “Yeah. She is.”
“What are you two going to do about work? You can’t keep your relationship a secret forever.”
“I don’t know, Millie. It’s either her name gets dragged through the mud for dating her employee, and we both know that’s going to stain her reputation forever, or I quit my job. I’m only okay with one of those options.”
“But you love your job.”
“Yeah, but I lo—” I stop myself.
“Oh shit.” She smacks me in the chest with the back of her hand. “You’re in love with her! Of course you are.”
There’s no use denying it, but I don’t confirm either. I should probably tell Reese before I tell anyone else.
“Have you told her?”
“Not yet.”
“Wow.” Miller drops her head back onto my arm. “She really is going to be my new mommy, isn’t she?”
“Let’s not scare her off with that weird shit, please. It’s her first time around the whole family like this, us being together, and I’ve already got Isaiah saying God knows what to her out there.”
But I can’t stop the smile from stretching my lips as I watch those four on the dance floor. Reese is holding her own just fine with Isaiah, saying something that causes his head to tip back in laughter. And Kai is joking about something with his sister-in-law as they finish their dance together.
The music fades out as the song comes to a close.
The reception has almost come to a close as well. A handful of the guests have already made it back to their tents for the night. But then you have the guys from the team who I have a feeling will be up partying until the sun rises.
That’s the benefit of Kai and Miller getting married on a random summer Monday, I suppose. We don’t start our next series until Wednesday, so everyone can recover tomorrow.
The four of them make their way back to our end of the table. Isaiah takes a seat, and Kennedy slips onto his lap. Kai presses a kiss to the top of Miller’s hair before lifting their sleeping son into his arms to give her a break. And Reese stands behind my chair, sliding her hands over my shoulders and crossing them at my chest.
I had convinced myself I didn’t care that I was the only one in my family without someone. But now that Reese is here, I know I was fooling myself before. This feels right. The seven, soon-to-be eight of us, feels right. Unconventional little family that we may be.
I reach up and hook a hand around Reese’s wrist, holding her to me.
On the way to the bar, Cody and Travis stop by our end of the table.
Cody looks up at Reese then down to me, repeating that pattern a couple more times. “I don’t know if any of the other guys on the team are going to tell you, so I’ll be the one to say it. You two are hot together.”
