I glance around as we go; Jayden got us the perfect place at the park—we wanted it, of course, and even asked for it, but Ididn’t actually think you couldget married at the park, and I figured we’d have to negotiate somewhere else that was at least close to what we wanted. There are a bunch of white tents set up; two are for the grooms, one is an extremely large one, where the reception will take place, and there’s a smaller, already-open one where Grady and I will sign our certificates and sort out the legal bits and pieces. I can only see part of it, close to where the aisle has been set up, and all our guests are mingling, a light chatter floating on the air.
Flowers have been set up around the entrances to all of the tents and stepping-stone pathways. How did they get all this done? It’s magic.
Grady left before me, taking Riley with him, so I haven’t seen him since this morning. I can’t wait to see him in his suit, look at him, touch him. A few hours is too long; I have no idea how I survived weeks. It was so much harder than I thought it would be.
“Did you see the duck setup?” Not only had Jayden and Eli created this insane mystical landscape for our wedding, but they actually set up a feeding station. Withgoodstuff, not bread, which is bad for ducks. I checked it out; there’s peas, and corn, and fucking grapes that have been halved so they don’t choke. Even mealworms. The attention to detail is mind-boggling. They deserve a bonus. Like, a really big one.
“I saw the duck setup,” Avery says, like he’s talking to a toddler that he wants to move along. He stops me in front of Grady’s tent. “You have three minutes. If you are not out in three minutes, I’m coming in to get you, whether you have clothes on or not. You want to walk down the aisle naked? Be my guest.”
“You’re rude.”
He kisses me on the cheek and turns me towards the closed door. “Three minutes.”
Grady, Quinn, and—surprisingly—Sebastian are turned away when I enter, looking into a mirror while Grady deals with his cuff links. At the sound of the fabric shifting, they all turn to look at me, and I get my first look at Grady and his suit.
Grady looks fucking, insanely good. Like mouthwatering, “drag him into the nearest room and bend over to show him my ass” good. The suit is a navy blue that’s so perfect for him, and there’s some kind of navy-blue matching silk pattern on his lapel and tie. A fancy tie clip. Shining shoes that match the suit—I didn’t even know they came in anything but black. His hair has been swept to the side and styled; I bet that was Sebastian because he always has impeccably styled hair, even after it’s been raining, which I think means he’s favoured by the gods, whichever ones. All of them? His beard is trimmed and neat, and I want to rub my lips on it, feel all its soft goodness.
He’s still wearing his wedding ring. We decided not to take them off and already spoke to Rachel, the celebrant, about it. We’re getting married “officially” now, but I’ll always consider our first wedding, in the hallway of a pub with Sebastian as our celebrant, as our real marriage ceremony.
“I want to kiss whoever picked out that suit for you,” I blurt, unable to take my eyes off him.
Sebastian starts to step forwards, and Grady flings out a hand, stopping him by pushing on his stomach. “Don’t even think about it.”
“He said—”
“I don’t care what he said. Take one more step and you’re going to have a black eye for the rest of the day; it’ll look great in photos.”
“You look amazing,” I breathe out. He’s mesmerising. Everyone will be jealous that I have this man on my arm, mine forever.
Grady’s eyes sweep over me. “How long do we have before the ceremony?” he asks, voice husky.
“Avery said we have three minutes.”
“I can work with that.”
“No,” Quinn and Sebastian say in unison.
Spoilsports. Why can’t two grooms have a little quickie together before the ceremony? We’d make sure not to get anything on our outfits. I’d try, at least. Okay, I can see why they don’t want us to. Everyone would know what the white stains mean. Though… if I use my mouth. No, I like to take my time when I do that.
“Later,” I mouth to Grady, who grins in response.
“We’ll let everyone know you’re on your way,” Quinn says, taking Sebastian’s hand and dragging him out. “Because youareon your way and leaving right now, aren’t you?”
“Yes, Dad,” Grady says sarcastically, rolling his eyes.
The only reason I know they’ve left is the silence surrounding us. I can’t look away from Grady. He really does look so damn good. I want him to fuck me while he’s still wearing it.
“I know you’re thinking something dirty,” Grady says, the corner of his mouth curving up.
“How?”
“The look on your face. And I know you.”
He does know me. He loves me, protects me, is my other half in everything. My partner in crime. My best friend. My everything.
I crook my finger, and he comes to me like a puppet being pulled on a string. He carefully cradles my face as he kisses me, taking small, bite-sized tastes. I don’t know where to touch him; I don’t want to wrinkle anything. They’llknow. Quinn is very good at that disapproving-dad look. I bet he practices, like Avery and the tie.
“They’re waiting for us,” I whisper.
