Kat fought back a yawn as she said her goodbyes to the wedding guests. She’d heard others claim there were no dull moments during certain events; turns out that was a real thing. In truth, Kat had been consumed by a magnified blend of hope, anticipation, and fear since she woke up that day.
Thank heavens she and her new groom were about to get shipped off to their surprise honeymoon destination, a gift from the executives of Married at First Meet. Kat could hardly wait to get to know the man she’d married just three hours ago.
“You are so lucky,” Charlotte said as she hugged her goodbye. Her friend pulled back to meet her gaze, the intensity in her eyes nearly comical. Strong fingers curled around her upper arms, locking her in place.
“You just married my number one dream guy. Not an image of who that man is—but the actual man himself—Duke. Freaking. Benton.”
A thrill shot through Kat at the words. “I know. I can’t believe it.”
“I’m the one who can’t believe it,” Charlotte assured. “I mean, you saw how many pictures of him I had saved on my phone, right?”
A bystander may assume Charlotte was being hostile. But Char was simply intense. Especially when it came to her celebrity crushes. “If I were you,” her friend added in a whisper, “I’d ask him to grow out the man bun again. It’s so sexy. I can’t believe he chopped it off for the wedding.”
“Okay, guys,” Randall hollered, that sharp edge on his voice. “We need everyone but the bride and groom to head to the front of the church. Say your last goodbyes, grab a bag of confetti, and hurry toward the exit. Go, go, go.”
“I can’t believe Zander didn’t show,” Charlotte grumbled while walking away. She aimed an arresting gaze over her shoulder. “Promise you’ll set me up with him.”
Char got whisked off before Kat could respond. Yet as she said her final goodbyes to the other guests, thoughts of Zander prodded at her mind.
As dumb as it might seem, Kat had to fight off the impression that Duke’s twin had missed the wedding on purpose. That he’d somehow magically found out that the bride was her and decided not to show.
That couldn’t possibly be the case though. Kat wished she could get the idea out of her head and move on. Besides, he was family now. They’d have to let go of their differences.
“Bye, Ms. Katrina,” a familiar voice came. She spun around to see Ellis pull his hands from his pockets and extend them in an offered hug. Ellis, as usual, had kept hidden in the outskirts most of the time, probably licking his wounds.
“Thanks for coming,” she said, patting his back.
“I really hope this works for you.” He locked his green eyes on hers. “But if it doesn’t, just know that I’ll be here. Waiting.”
“Waiting?” came a voice from behind.
Kat’s eyes went wide as her groom joined them. He rested a large hand along her back and extended the other toward Ellis. “That’s a nice offer, man, but she won’t need it.”
Ellis’s face went red. “You can’t be so sure. You just met.”
“Careful there,” he warned him. “You’re not hoping this fails, are you? Kat sacrificed a lot to make this happen, hoping that she’d find Mr. Right. I assume that, if he were already in her life…” He gave Ellis a pointed look, “that wouldn’t have been necessary.”
Ellis nodded before looking at Kat. “I guess you’re right.” And with that, he walked off.
An odd mixture of pity and relief swept in as Kat peeled her eyes off Ellis and turned back to her groom. Eyes narrowed, jaw clenched as he glared in Ellis’ direction.
“Who is that guy?” he asked.
“A coworker.”
“Huh. I don’t like him.”
Kat never imagined a man like Duke would ever be threatened by a guy like Ellis. But it seemed he was, and for whatever reason, Kat kind of liked that. “He’s innocent enough.”
“Well,” he said, nodding to where the crowd waited just outside the chapel. The buzz of anticipation seeped through the double doors. “You ready?”
A grin came over her face. “Yes.” She took one step forward, but paused as he stopped short.
“Wait,” he said in a hush. “You said something about a honeymoon… I can’t exactly remember, but are we heading to a hotel for the night, and then leaving for the honeymoon?”
Kat shook her head. “Nope. There’s a limo waiting for us out there, and it’s taking us straight to the airport. It’s a private flight.”
His face changed. Nostrils flaring slightly, brow furrowing in a way that made her think of Zander and his office once again. She’d have to get used to this identical twin thing.
