The ceremony was perfect, right down to the deep rose dress that Ty and Marcus’s mother had brought along to wear. The elder McCarthy’s were a charming couple and embraced their new daughter-in-law lovingly. All the ladies in attendance were sitting gingerly except Susan, who ironically had been the only one to escape unscathed last night.
They had a hell of a fight, with Marcus putting her in the shower fully dressed to wash the smell of whiskey and men’s cologne off her. He was so angry he decided he couldn’t spank her and he went to bed alone. Today he’d been so busy with Ty and his parents he’d never gotten around to it, which suited her just fine.
Susan wore a vintage tea length black chiffon dress that hugged her waist and accented her pale skin and flaming hair. As she walked down the aisle ahead of Kelsey she saw Marcus staring at her suspiciously as though she’d worn black to signal her disapproval of the wedding, but she pointedly ignored him. She’d already asked Kelsey’s opinion on the dress and her friend thought it was perfect, so screw him. The brothers were very easy to tell apart, now that she knew them so well, and she oftenwondered how their differences could have escaped her when they’d first met.
Marcus was clearly a much more complicated man, and it was totally obvious as he waited at the altar in his black, perfectly tailored Italian suit. He looked far more dangerous than Ty, or maybe that was because she was looking at a serious spanking in her near future.
Standing as tall as possible in her designer stilettos, she ignored Marcus and flashed Ty a brilliant smile and wink as she took her place at the altar.
All eyes turned to the bride as the music swelled and if Sue didn’t know better she’d think she’d been transported to some kind of fairyland. Kelsey was easily the most beautiful bride any of them had ever seen. She glowed, sending shafts of light with each step she took and as she got closer to Ty it was clear that her crystal blue eyes were shining with tears of happiness.
Ty was speechless and absolutely awed by her loveliness. As delicate as a breeze she glided to him and took his hand.
The ceremony itself was relatively short and they spoke their vows, Kelsey in a voice that sounded almost musical and Ty in a deep, emotional baritone. As he slipped the wedding band on her finger, the minister pronounced them husband and wife and Ty kissed her with a passion that affected everyone in the room. It took several not very discrete coughs before he released her and Susan helped her straighten her veil as the guests erupted in laughter.
All too soon the guests were off to the hotel leaving Susan and Marcus with Kelsey and Ty to sign the official documents. As soon as Ty had the papers in his hand, he picked Kelsey up and swung her in a circle as she hugged him tight.
“Well Mrs. McCarthy, let go celebrate,” he crowed joyously. “Come on you guys,” he called to Marcus and Susan as he carried his bride to the waiting limo.
Marcus took Susan arm and quietly helped her into the car. He was silent for most of the ride, but neither of the newlyweds noticed. About three blocks from the hotel he touched the intercom and told the driver to pull over.
“What's wrong?” Ty asked, eying Susan suspiciously, thinking he’d missed something that had upset his brother.
“Nothing, I feel the need of a little fresh air,” Marcus replied smiling. “I’m sure spending a few minutes alone with your bride won’t be a hardship.”
“No, as long as everything’s all right,” Ty replied. “The ceremony was quicker than I expected so we have some time to kill. Maybe we’ll take a little ride,” he grinned, wiggling his eyebrows at Kelsey as she blushed.
“That’s a good idea,” Marcus agreed smoothly. “Susan and I will walk the last few blocks to the hotel. We’ll see you in the private dining room at eight,” he added helping a surprised Susan from the vehicle.
“What’s going on Marcus?” she asked, although she was pretty sure she already knew the answer to that. She could smell a dump a mile away. They had only made love once the entire time they’d been in Vegas and Marcus went to bed alone last night. Yup, here it comes, she thought as she stood beside him. She was surrounded by the glitz and glitter, yet it was all fake, as fake as her relationship with Marcus. It consisted of a piece of paper and it didn’t have nearly the meaning of the one in Ty’s pocket.
Pulling her thin wrap around her shoulders in the cooling desert air, Marcus tucked her arm through his and matched his pace to hers in those ridiculous shoes.
“Susan, are you happy?” he asked.
“No,” she answered.There, how do you like that?
“Why do you suppose that is?”
“I don’t know. Who is happy, I mean really happy? It’s fleeting at best, in my opinion.”
“Ty and Kelsey are happy,” he replied, “And Sam and Jo seem happy. Elena was so excited at the wedding she could hardly sit still.”
“Yeah, most likely because she got her butt roasted last night,” Sue replied dryly.
Marcus smiled. “You’re probably right. Jeff certainly would never let that kind of behavior go. You may be the only one who got out of it, although it’s only a temporary reprieve of course.”
“Of course,” she drawled sarcastically.
“So what would make you happy, Red?” he asked as they reached the intersection, his arm around her waist as he hurried her across.
“I don’t know,” she replied honestly. “I thought money would do it, but I guess not. I’m not unhappy either, Marcus,” she said, stopping him and resting her hand on his chest. “You’ve done everything you said you would, and I mean everything,” she continued with a grimace that had him laughing. Sue jabbed him with her elbow as they continued walking.
“Mike and Brandy make a good pair, don’t you think? They seem happy,” he continued.
“What’s with all this ‘happy’ shit?” she demanded.
“I’m just a little concerned with where this relationship is headed, that’s all,” he replied calmly.
