“You were about to say something sentimental and ruin my makeup work.”
“I was gonna say she looks grand, is all,” Celt said.
Grace came to give him a hug. Like always, she was wearing both her wedding band and his property cut.
I stood up from the vanity chair and turned to look at him. “Thank you, Celt. That’s nice of you to say.”
He cleared his throat and said, “Right. Are we ready then?”
“Give me one more minute,” Rosie said, giving me a final once-over.
Grace told us, “The prospects finished the bike rows ten minutes ago. We should go.”
Celt offered me his arm at the door. “Are you ready, lassie?”
I took one last look in the mirror. I looked like an entirely different person. Not even a year ago, I was standing on the auction block. I thought my life was over until one man stepped up to save me. Now, I’m living my best life.
Turning to Celt, I smiled at him because I remembered how they had to hold him back at that auction. Like Fuse, he wanted to beat the shit out of Viper for trafficking me. I didn’t see what a kind and decent man he was at the time—he and the rest of the Dark Slayers. But now I see it, more distinctly than ever. I slid my arm through his and said, “Yes, let’s get this show on the road so my husband-to-be can stop being anxious.”
He grinned at me. “You’re good people, Miss Winter. Fuse lucked out ending up with you.”
We started walking. “I’m the lucky one. Not only did I end up with the man of my dreams, but I got a found family with the Dark Slayers.”
Celt was beaming by the time we came down the back steps, and we stopped in the doorway. Outside, two rows of motorcycles stretched from the edge of the porch all the way out to the old oak tree. Each one was polished until it gleamedand the headlights were on to light our way. All the vintage cuts belonging to former members had been pulled out of the glass cases and draped over the handlebars. I came to a staggering stop as I tried to take it all in. This was just one more in a long line of amazing displays of biker culture. Many of the brothers grew up in the club and were good at finding ways to honor their MC heritage.
Celt noticed that I stopped and glanced over at me. “Are you alright, lassie?”
“Yeah, everything is so breathtakingly beautiful,” I whispered. “I need a second to commit it all to memory.”
Celt chuckled. “Don’t worry, lassie. Fuse hired some bloke with a camera to take pictures of everything for ya, and one of the Savage Legion brothers has a drone up in the sky capturing everything, too.”
Smiling, I stepped out to embrace my future with Fuse. At the far end of the path they had created with motorcycles, there was an oak tree. That’s where Fuse and his club brothers had set up a canopy, underneath chairs had been arranged, and strings of lights twined in the branches of the tree.
Storm stood at a podium, he didn’t look like your typical wedding officiant, but then again, he didn’t have to because he was simply a person licensed to perform marriage rites in California. No religion needed, not for this wedding anyway.
Out of all the spectacular sights, it was Fuse that caught a hundred percent of my attention. He was at their makeshift altar, waiting for me. We’d decided to simplify the wedding by not having bridesmaids or groomsmen. So he was standing there, tall and proud, all by himself.
He was the most handsome brother in the club to my eyes. Today he was wearing black leather pants and his black leather cut over a white shirt. He was looking down the aisle towards the house and his expression changed when he caughtsight of me. The intensity of his gaze made me feel adored and that’s something I hadn’t had much of before meeting him. The closer I got, the wider his smile got.
Meanwhile his brothers made thumping noises and shouted compliments. I guessed this was their way because I’d never been to a wedding where people shouted at the bride while she walked down the aisle. Normally the guests were quiet as little mice.
Someone from Sons of Rage shouted, “I’ll arm wrestle you for her.”
The woman sitting beside him slapped him on the back of the head like he was nothing more than a naughty little boy. Low laughter ran through the nearest row of brothers. I had to press my lips together to keep from laughing myself. If these men had a party-oriented super skill it was surely knowing how to have a good time. They sure didn’t stand on ceremony, and I liked that more than I probably should.
Celt walked me all the way to Fuse and stepped back politely.
Storm looked from me to Fuse. His expression was serious. I could see that he had a little speech handwritten on a sheet of paper. It was lying on the podium and he was pinning it down with one hand to keep it from blowing away.
“Alright,” he said, raising his voice to be heard. “I’ll keep this short because I know Fuse and his old lady didn’t sign up for a bunch of elaborate bullshit on their wedding day.”
Chuckles were heard from several brothers. And Fuse couldn’t seem to keep the smile off his face for anything.
“I want to address the brothers first. You all joined this club because you wanted to be part of something bigger than yourselves. You wanted to socialize with like-minded men with a love for ridin’ the open road and you maybe wanted the kind of safety that an MC can offer for your families.”
There were sounds of agreement from the brothers and no one contested his words.
“Your old ladies were never drawn to the club. They were drawn to you and accepted the club because it’s not only important to us but the center of most of our lives.”
