Chapter 17
SEVENTEEN
“You actually look like a girl, Roxy,” Kasey murmured on a sardonic drawl.
The vivacious redhead did a small curtsy in her floor length black gown and batted her eyelashes up at him, at the same time flipping him off. He laughed out loud as she said with false sweetness, “It’s known to happen on occasion.”
Kasey fidgeted with the knot of his tie at his throat, pulling at it with his index finger hooked into it. Damn uncomfortable things.
“Stop fidgeting,” Roxy muttered, eyeing him shrewdly.
The groom’s party had arrived at the main lodge of the resort, and Levi had insisted they make a stop at the bar, to which Freeman had agreed.
Levi had downed his whisky before thumping Free on the back, squeezing his shoulder once, and then he disappeared out of the bar, surely to head upstairs to the bridal suite to find his daughter.
The bartender was passing out drinks to the group of them just as Roxy had walked up to them.
Kasey raised his glass to his lips, grinning when Tristan elbowed his cousin Tanner hard in the ribs, the teenagers’ eyes nearly popping out of their skulls as they stared at Roxy.
“You’re going to make those kids have coronaries,” Kasey chuckled, leaning down closer to Roxy.
She shrugged, grinning. Her dress was simple in design; a strapless top that was fitted snugly to her chest and torso but flared out and flowed around her legs from the waist down.
A high slit let a leg peak out when she walked or turned, and Tristan and Tanner hadn’t missed it.
Heels adorned her feet and her red hair had been pulled into a loose updo at the back of her neck.
Teardrop crystal earrings hung from her ears and a thin crystal choker was around her throat.
A simple bouquet of white florals was clasped in her hand.
Tugging at his tie again, he glanced around the bar. Always perceptive, Roxy noticed and grinned, then whispered, “She’s not down here. They’re still up in the suite.”
Kasey grunted, turning his eyes back to the bar. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Mmhmm,” Roxy drawled knowingly, grinning up at him. “You’re not looking for a tall brunette bombshell?”
He raised his glass to his lips again, choosing not to respond.
“If I was a lesbian, it would be for her for sure. Just wait til you see her,” Roxy continued, sliding her arm through the crook of his elbow as she leaned closer.
She opened her mouth just as the wedding planner found them, telling them that they were needed.
As they made their way toward the door, Kasey admitted they made a handsome looking group.
The black-on-black tuxes that Jodi and Free had picked out were striking.
Black slacks, black dress shirts, black vests, black jackets, and black neckties made a luxurious and chic statement.
The bridesmaids had all been dressed in black as well, from what Roxy had said.
Kasey could feel the swish of Roxy’s dress around their feet as they exited the bar, making their way to the private ceremony space.
The double doors were propped open, and inside at the end of the aisle he could see out the floor-to-ceiling windows, the sun beginning its decline over the snow-covered mountain beyond.
The sunset was painting the sky in golden yellow, brilliant orange, and crimson red with just a hint of fuchsia pink at the edges.
A crystal chandelier had been strung directly above where Jodi and Free would stand.
The room was lit dimly, with candles in tall hurricane jars lining the wide aisle on either side.
Soft, romantic instrumental music drifted out of the doors.
Spencer, Micah, and his own father, Adam, were acting as ushers for the small guest list, and as family and friends from either side began to arrive, the three men took turns leading them to their seats.
Once everyone had arrived, the blonde wedding planner came around the corner, stopping in front of Freeman to adjust his boutonniere of a single white rose before saying gently, “She’s waiting just around the corner. We’ll start whenever you’re ready.”
Kasey clasped his cousin on the shoulder as Free nodded, taking a deep breath in before releasing it slowly.
Serenity came around the corner wearing a floor length, glittering gold gown, a brilliant smile on her face, though admittedly looking a little misty eyed.
As she reached Free, she held her arms out, stepping into a tight embrace.
Kasey saw the older woman’s lips moving against Free’s ear, too soft for anyone else to hear, and Free’s arms tightened around Jodi and Shaun’s mother as he smiled.
His eyes got suspiciously wet looking before she pulled away and squeezed his hand, putting her arm through Spencer’s as he led her down the aisle to her seat.
Tablet in hand, the wedding coordinator cued the music to start with one quick touch to the screen.
At a nod from her, the officiant started his walk down the aisle to stand directly beneath the glittering chandelier hanging over the raised dais.
The coordinator touched Free’s sleeve, and he started his walk down the aisle as well; Kasey, Roxy, Warren, and Tristan followed behind.
Stepping to Freeman’s left, they lined up beside him.
The double doors at the entrance had been closed after the men had made their march down the aisle, but they opened now as Fallon stepped through them in a much more modest black, floor length dress than Roxy had chosen, a bouquet of white florals in her hands.
Kit followed, then Tessa, both in floor length black gowns in different silhouettes that fit their bodies and personalities.
Kasey swallowed hard, his mouth going uncomfortably dry as Shaun stepped around the edge of the door.
Gliding toward him on sky high heels—he hadn’t expected anything less from her—she was breathtaking in her black evening gown.
Thin straps over her shoulders that cut down into triangles covered her breasts, and the neckline plunged between them nearly to her navel.
He had the insane urge to run his tongue down that groove between her breasts—
He made an effort to steel his expression, worried his eyes just may bug out of his skull, much the way Tristan and Tanner’s had when they’d seen Roxy earlier.
The bodice was fitted snug to her torso, but large swaths of skin were bare under her arms down her ribcage, and from her waist to her knees the dress was form fitted to that intoxicating hourglass figure he’d fantasized about for over a year.
From her knees to the floor the chiffon material flowed around her legs, and a mouthwateringly high slit nearly up to her hip left the majority of her right leg bare with each step she took.
Her long, curly hair was fashioned into a loose waterfall braid over one shoulder, curls left to frame her face.
The low lighting made the dozens of crystals hidden in the curls glitter.
Sparkly, crystal earrings dangled from her ears and a wide crystal bracelet was strapped around one wrist.
Those full lips he couldn’t wait to taste were painted a deep red and looked velvety. He wondered hazily if they would feel as soft as they looked.
As she stepped up the two steps onto the dais to the spot designated to her, that right thigh was bare clear up to her hip and he thought he may just black out from the eroticism of it.
He wanted to run his hands, his fingers—fuck, his tongue—along every exposed inch of smooth skin showcased.
That slender foot encased in a sky-high black heel that had a thin strap wrapped around her ankle was sexy as hell.
He wanted to remove them with his teeth.
She turned to face him, the folds of her dress billowing around her legs and feet as she moved. Her fingers were clasped loosely around the same style of white floral bouquet as the other bridesmaids, and then her eyes raised to meet his.
Those dark sapphire eyes… Fuck.
He was grateful when those blue eyes cut away from him back down the aisle, as the music changed into an instrumental version of Elvis Presley’s ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’. The double doors opened once more, and Free’s bride stepped through them on her father’s arm.
He glanced at Free, who had his head tilted down slightly, staring at a spot between his polished black cowboy boots, his hands clasped tightly together in front of him.
Free raised his head and Kasey reached out his hand to clasp his cousin’s shoulder in a tight squeeze as Free caught sight of his bride for the first time.
As she glided toward them in a white gown that glittered like starlight in the candlelit room, a brilliant smile on her face as she stared at Freeman, Kasey felt Free’s chest heave, and his shoulders shook with emotion.
His own nose tingled at the raw emotion and undiluted love and joy he could sense between the two of them.
His eyes cut over to Shaun again and his lips tilted up in a grin when he saw the wide, adoring smile on her face as she watched her sister come down the aisle toward them. Damn was she gorgeous.
Jodi and Levi stopped at the bottom of the steps to the dais and Free stepped down them to shake Levi’s hand. Kasey’s nose tingled suspiciously when the older man’s eyes watered, too, as he gave Jodi’s arm to Freeman to take.
Free guided Jodi up the two steps until they stood beneath the chandelier above them, and once they were in their places, the officiant began his welcome.
Kasey let his mind drift, back to when he’d thought he’d found the person he’d spend his life with.
He’d proposed, enamored with the drop-dead gorgeous model.
Little did he know, she’d only been after his money, recognizing that he was up-and-coming on the circuit and wanted to cash in on all that she could.
When Kasey’s parents had insisted on a prenup, Savannah had found herself a rich doctor instead, leaving him just months before they were supposed to be married.
His attention was brought back to the beautiful brunette that stood across from him when she stepped forward to take Jodi’s bouquet from her, bending slightly to straighten the train of Jodi’s gown.
Kasey barely stopped himself from groaning out loud at the expanse of cleavage she unintentionally showed off, his eyes cutting away quickly, only to get caught on another pair of intense blue eyes that were glaring daggers at him.
Levi hadn’t missed his reaction to his daughter, and Kasey swallowed hard before returning his gaze to the back of Free’s head, clasping his hands tightly in front of his crotch to hide the fact that he was in fact growing hard from the sight of Shaun.
“Jodi and Freeman have chosen to write their own vows, and I’ll ask them to state those now,” the officiant said, and Kasey watched as Free pulled a small black booklet out of his pocket, opened it, then stuffed it back into his pocket, taking both of Jodi’s hands in his tightly.
When he spoke, his voice was steady, but fraught with emotion.
“Jodi Leigh, I vow to be your rock, your safe haven, and your home, no matter where life takes us. I promise to always be your biggest fan, to celebrate your accomplishments, and to comfort you in your defeats. I will always be your partner in creating the life we want, together. I vow to love you unconditionally, without end, and cherish you for all of eternity.”
Jodi tugged one hand from Freeman’s, taking out a lace edged handkerchief and dabbing at her eyes, before turning to Shaun, who held out a small white booklet.
Turning back to face Free, she said, “Freeman Jon, I vow to you my deepest love, my fullest devotion, and my tenderest care through the pressures of the present and the uncertainties of the future. It is clear to me now that everything in life has led me to you. I vow to always give you the best of me without condition. In a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I would find you, and I’d choose you. For this forever and the next.”
Well damn, Kasey thought, blinking the tears out of his own eyes. He didn’t know how Freeman was still standing.
The officiant asked for the rings, and as Free turned toward him, Kasey dug in his pocket for the sparkling diamond and band he’d been entrusted with earlier.
Placing them in his cousin’s hand, they smiled at each other before Free turned back to his bride to place them on her finger and allow her to slide a simple gold band on his own.
“It is truly an honor to stand here and pronounce you husband and wife. Freeman, you may kiss your bride,” the officiant said warmly, and a heartbeat later Freeman had pulled Jodi into his arms and lowered his mouth to hers in an ardent kiss.
The small crowd erupted in loud applause, several wolf-whistles ringing in his ears.
When the newlyweds finally came up for air, Jodi laughed breathlessly, before Free took one of her hands in his as Shaun reached out to hand Jodi her bouquet once again. The officiant then called across the room, “I am honored to present to you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Thorp!”
Free guided Jodi down the steps, the two of them heading back up the aisle to the double doors.
Kasey looked over at Shaun as he stepped forward, offering her his hand to assist her down the stairs, his heart thudding triple time as she stepped toward him, that smooth expanse of thigh making its appearance and stealing his breath.
When her hand slipped into his, the heat of her touch scorched him, igniting something fierce inside of him.
When those blue eyes lifted to his ever so briefly, his heart fell into his stomach at the flash of sadness he saw in them.
Glancing around, he realized then that he hadn’t seen Tommy Chandler in the small gathering of guests, and in that moment, he’d never hated someone as fiercely as he hated the man that hadn’t shown up for the woman whose hand was clasped within his.