“I hate to ruin the moment,” I say, “but two thousand guests are waiting to watch you dance and shove cake in each other’s faces.”
“Tell them the bride and groom are a little indisposed,” Leigh shoots back as a grin slowly spreads across her face.
Wilder laughs, but I’m not letting them off that easily. Ultimately, it’s their decision whether to stay or go, but I want them to make an informed choice.
“Fine, go ahead and jump-start the honeymoon, but I won’t be the one to break the news to your mother and grandmother, Leigh. Jorina has been looking forward to this day since you were born, so go ahead and risk breaking her fragile heart.”
Leigh glares at me. “You’re evil.”
“You love it,” I reply.
“What do you want to do, Leigh?” Wilder asks.
Leigh looks back at him and smiles. “One dance, then we do as Gianna says and jump-start that honeymoon?—”
“What about cutting the cake?” I exclaim, then reconsider. “You know what, forget it. Do you, or each other. I don’t care.” I grab Meg’s hand, turning to go. I don’t get far before I turn around again. “Oh, and one more thing, I won’t be at breakfast tomorrow. Meg and I are leaving after the reception for a camping trip to Lua to see the Northern Lights.” I finally stalk off, dragging Meg with me, but I do catch Leigh and Wilder’s shocked whispers.
“Did she say camping?” Wilder asks.
“So that wasn’t a hallucination?” Leigh answers.
I smile.
“Northern Lights, huh?” Meg asks.
I stop walking, and so does she. “You know how you asked me about what I want?”
She nods, and I lower my eyes to the ornate carpet. No one has ever asked me that question before, except for my counselors at rehab for my VT addiction. If I’m honest, I want to make my own decisions. I’m tired of feeling indebted to others. I thought I had to shed my need to please people after I turneddown Ry’s proposal, but it turns out that was just the tip of the iceberg. I still genuinely want love—something to nurture rather than trade or run away from. Even if it brings me pain, I want something real. I want Meg.
“I know what I don’t want. I never want to feel the kind of loss I experienced when I thought Leigh had died this morning,” I murmur, struggling to meet Meg’s gaze. But then I remind myself that I’m done hiding. That’s why I moved to Aurora two years ago. I’m no longer ashamed of who I am.
“That’s good,” she teases. “What else?”
“I want to be with you. I want to enjoy each moment together as it comes.”
She tilts her head, looking at me from under those enviable lashes. “And you know I want you, right?” I nod, blushing. “Good. Anything else? Don’t hold back. Lay it on me.”
“I want to kiss you,” I admit in a whisper, my voice curling into the space between us.
She arches an eyebrow. “Just a kiss?”
I step close enough to feel the heat rolling off her skin. My pulse stutters in her presence, and I can barely catch my breath. “For now,” I say, and it’s a promise. “I’m not an exhibitionist like those two.”
“Me neither.”
I tilt my chin up. “I’m waiting.”
Meg lowers her face to mine, her hands coming up to cradle my jaw. “Blessed relief.”
Her lips meet mine—soft as a petal, lush and deliberate. The kiss starts sweet, tentative, but there’s no mistaking the craving coiled beneath her lips and their movement. My hands grip her waist, fingers shaking as I pull myself against her solid form.
I refuse to move a muscle, fearing the moment will end before it even truly begins.
Wilder spinsLeigh around the dance floor while the crowd surrounding them claps and cheers. Leigh’s mother cries openly while Queen Jorina sways in her seat with regal composure. But I hardly notice any of it. I desperately scan the room, searching every foreign face for one familiar one. Where is Soter?
All the Blades were invited to the ceremony and reception in recognition of our work, so he should be here. I crane my neck.
Jaxson bumps my shoulder, grinning. He’s already drunk. “Looking for someone?”
