I’ve seen him as the doting uncle and the father to grown adults, but this tugs at my heartstrings much more dramatically.
I love him so much. This is the vision of a life I was told could never happen once I became an assassin, and witnessing it now only enhances the craving. And the fear that it will be stripped away.
It’s not just Axel either, though he’s never been sexier or more chivalrous. He rules the underworld and zerberts bellies. I’m not sure how to reconcile that. But the rest of the family only magnifies it.
With the help of Maddox and Cash, Remy is playing music and flaunting card tricks to the little ones in Rena’s family. The rest of the guys are drinking, the ladies are gabbing, Bernard (the dog) is running wild, and Bernard (the man) is beaming at the ruckus.
It’s chaos. And beauty. Family.
Pressing my palms against my chest, I try to quell the erratic thump of my heart. “It doesn’t feel real. And yet Axel is the most real thing I’ve ever had. But all of them together …”
“Love in action,” Tessa whispers beside me, a far more sentimental perspective than she traditionally offers.
Mercy pulls me snug against her. “And all yours now. You belong with us. This is your home.”
The tears start flowing again—happy, worried, and guilty ones.
“Okay, back you go,” Rena orders, corralling us in the direction of her old bedroom again. “C’mon, girls. Looks like we’re gonna have to get her liquored up.”
Home is the bullet you never see coming.
I didn’t get liquored up, but I did have a glass of cherry champagne to take the edge off. Ivy, Celeste, and Leigh—the women from Rena’s family—joined us, and a roomful of ladies reapplying my makeup, fussing over my hair, and sharing some hilarious and explicit tales had us all hysterical.
Soon, my only focus was the perfect ring on my finger (atoi et moiring, which meansyou and me, and has two stones—one black diamond and one white on a band of thorns), the collar on my neck (my favorite possession ever), and the man who has turned my world upside down because he invites me to stand beside him, but adores me when I’m on my knees.
The ceremony was brief but marvelous—quaint with just the two families and a handful of employees. Before it began, Rykerpulled me aside and told me he knew Axel was a goner the day I’d arrived.
“He has the sharpest instincts and impeccable taste. High fucking standards for everything. And the glimmer in his eye when he looked at you was …” He trailed off, too overcome to provide a description, but he didn’t need to. His love for Axel was the real treasure, and that was a neon sign.
“There is no one more deserving of happiness than the man you’re marrying,” he continued once he collected himself. “My father only left the resort to Axel. There was nothing left to the rest of us. I didn’t know that for a while because the first thing Axel did was split up the entire empire evenly. The second thing he did was assume ninety-nine percent of the responsibility. He is truly a king, and the way you’ve challenged him and made him forget the burden of it all tells me you are his perfect queen. Not everything about this union will be easy, but we’re yours now. It’s a package deal. If you ever need anything—anything—you can come to any of us. We’re your family now.”
I tried to keep it together when I hugged him, but when I released him, my eyes brimmed with glossy appreciation for everything these men were to each other and to me. Panic coasted through his gaze. He said Mercy, Tessa, and Rena would kill him if he messed up my makeup. That made me laugh. I could hardly blame them. My face really had been through it already.
Cash swooped in for the rescue and escorted me down the aisle, which he found to be hilarious. He credited himself with being our matchmaker. A stretch. But I let him have it. Axel glared at him, though it was all in jest. And when his gaze swung to me, he got so choked up that he had to look away and clear his throat. I knew right then that no matter what the future held, I had already lived a magical life because in his eyes, I was the whole universe.
Remy was the cutest ring bearer there ever was. Jax played Beethoven’sMoonlight Sonataon a banjo. It was impressive and oddly fitting. Maddox was our officiator. He referred to me as Slugger and told everyone that Papa Axe had fallen in love with me because I kicked his ass. That was a proud moment until he humbled me by adding that he was grateful to have me as his stepmom, though he thought I was a little young for the job. Charming.
We’re celebrating now. Some of the decor boasts of our love for literature, with books open to quotes we’ve exchanged as table centerpieces, an arch composed of beloved novels, and various other details that make it feel like Axel and me. Even the aisle for the ceremony looked like an unrolled scroll.
Other than that, the theme is similar to the Prohibition Ball because Rena wasn’t able to attend, and that was the party at which Axel announced me to his members, so it seemed fitting to replicate its essence for our reception. All the opulence that colored that as an event to remember is boasted here, on a smaller scale. But it’s perfect.
The scents of Chanel No. 5 and cognac permeate the air. And I feel like a princess in my strapless satin gown and Louboutin heels, inside a 1920s-inspired castle—or resort—complete with champagne and secret passageways, swing music and a dance floor that demands attention.
It’s been four days since the ball, and my feet still ache. We danced for several hours straight and didn’t go to sleep until the sun was high over the Mississippi River.
Earlier that afternoon, I’d told Mercy and Tessa that I was planning to intercept Axel before the party. Mercy gushed because she and Ryker had succumbed to twenty years of foreplay at a Prohibition Ball that apparently ended in a champagne baptism—I was intrigued, but didn’t probe forfurther details. With hope for what could transpire for Axel and me, she taught me the Charleston.
I wasn’t great at it, but that night, I had the most fun of my life as Axel swung me around, the fringe on my dress flying out to pronounce the grandness of each twirl. And I was in awe, watching all of them.
It seems there’s nothing they don’t excel at.
Tonight, all my brothers-in-law take turns spinning me around the dance floor, each with their own distinct flair and welcome. I even get to twirl with my little Music Man—Remy might be the most gallant of them all. I’ve been feeding him song trivia to wow Maddox with whenever I see him. No one suspects that it’s me yet, so we’ve been having a blast with it. He kisses me on the cheek, and my heart melts.
If that wasn’t enough to turn my insides into goo, my gaze latches to Axel, who jitterbugs with Rena. She glows with the joy of a daughter. He adores her with the pride of a father. And my chest tightens for this man who means everything to so many.
Even when the dance is over and Ty swaggers toward them to steal his wife, there is an exchange of veneration and camaraderie that is astounding, considering how Rena said she and Ty married without her brothers’ knowledge. No animosity remains. Axel pulls him in for a hug, issues what I’m guessing is a thank-you, and swallows down a lump of gratitude.
I mingle with two of the other couples for a while. Liam and Celeste have a Hollywood-elite vibe. Glamorous and witty. Gage and Leigh are formidable and would likely terrify most ordinary citizens. He even calls her Wicked, though she’s evasive about her background, which is something I relate to. Gage has the markings of an enforcer, but Porter is his last name, and that doesn’t ring any bells. The brief conversation I have with him is enlightening. A thread of solidarity weaves through all of them.
