Chapter 12
Speechless – what happens when you watch the woman you’re trying to resist walk down the aisle toward you in a wedding dress
Lucas
“Y ou sure about this?” Weston asks.
“A little late to ask now.” I motion to the people gathered in front of us waiting for the wedding ceremony to begin.
We’re on a private beach at the Hideaway Haven Resort. Rows of chairs are set up in front of where we stand under an arch draped with tulle and decorated with white roses. Along the aisle are lanterns fashioned out of old moonshine bottles. The white chairs are wrapped in pink tulle with images of mermaids on them.
I’m a man but even I can tell this is romantic as hell. I wouldn’t have expected this set up to be Chloe’s choice but when I told her I wanted to have an actual wedding, this is what she came up with.
I gave in. Of course, I did. Chloe’s marrying me to protect my daughter. I’ll give her whatever she wants.
“You do realize you’re stuck with wild child Chloe now.”
I scowl at him. “Chloe’s not a wild child.”
He barks out a laugh. “She’s got you fooled.”
Is he serious? Is Chloe not who I think she is? My glance falls on Natalia who’s hopping from foot to foot at the end of the aisle waiting for the ceremony to begin.
Weston’s wrong. Chloe is a complete sweetheart to my daughter. And when she found out my ex is trying to steal Natalia from me, she switched on Mama Bear mode. She was ready to hunt down Holly and throw her into the ocean.
Chloe’s the woman I want around my daughter. Not her own mother. Although, referring to Holly as a mother is a disservice to mothers everywhere.
“Hi, Mom,” Weston greets as his mother joins us at the front of the gathering.
“Mrs. Milton.”
“It’s Lily. You’re a member of the family now.”
Another unexpected request from Chloe. She wants to be married by her best friend’s mom who happens to be my partner’s mom. Chloe is full of surprises. I bet she’ll surprise me every day of my life.
“Are you ready?” Lily asks.
My pulse increases until my heart is beating against my chest in excitement.
“Yep,” I croak. Weston laughs next to me and I kick him, which causes him to laugh harder. Why did I ask him to be my best man again?
I clear my throat. “Yes, I’m ready.”
Lily nods to the violinist who begins to play. The violinist was not a request from Chloe. She actually wanted the rock band Cash & the Sinners to perform but the owner of the resort, Hudson, nixed the idea.
Natalia begins walking down the aisle. She’s the flower girl but instead of throwing rose petals in the air, she blows bubbles.
She reaches me and I haul her into my arms. “Good job, cupcake.”
“Love you, Daddy.”
I hug her tighter. She doesn’t call me daddy very often. These moments are precious. These moments are worth the world. These moments are why Holly will never get her hands on my daughter.
She squirms in my arms, and I let her go.
Weston elbows me. “Here comes the bride.”
I turn to watch Chloe walk down the aisle. Holy shit. She’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.
She’s wearing a form-fitting dress made entirely of lace. It hugs her body from the neckline all the way down to the knees where it flares out slightly in a mermaid style. In case the tight fit isn’t sexy enough, the neckline plunges in a deep V in a tantalizing tease.
“You’re drooling,” Weston whispers.
“Don’t be jealous my wife is hot as fuck.” Chloe isn’t my wife yet but I enjoy the way the words roll off my tongue. My wife.
She smiles as she walks toward me and my heart thumps in my chest. I want to pull her into my arms and meld my lips to hers. I want to peel her wedding gown off to reveal her naked body beneath. I’ve imagined dozens of ways to explore her body while naked in my shower with my cock in my hand.
My cock hardens and lengthens. Shit. I’m wearing dress pants. There’s no hiding a hard-on in these.
I force my thoughts away from what I want to do with Chloe to why I’m here. My gaze falls on Natalia who’s jumping up and down in excitement. She’s why I’m here. She’s the reason for this.
Natalia rushes to Chloe. Chloe leans down and whispers something in Natalia’s ear before taking her hand. Together they walk toward me.
This is what I want. What I crave. A woman who will stand by my daughter and me when we need it. And it doesn’t hurt how sexy Chloe is.
They reach me and I kiss Chloe’s cheek.
“Hi, hubby to be.”
“Are you sure about this?” I don’t want to make a mistake. Not again.
“As sure as I am that mermaids are real.”
“But mermaids aren’t real.”
She giggles. “I’m sure. And mermaids are real.”
“Are you two ready?” Lily asks.
Chloe nods to Natalia. “I think you mean three.”
“We’re ready,” Natalia says.
“Welcome smugglers, bootleggers, rumrunners, and mermaids. We are gathered here today to join Lucas and Chloe in matrimony.”
Natalia clears her throat.
“And their daughter, Natalia,” Lily adds. “Please face each other and join hands.”
Natalia shuffles to the side and Chloe faces me with a big smile on her face. She’s beautiful on an average day but when she smiles at me? She’s beyond beautiful. It’s indescribable.
She wiggles her hands at me. “Hold my hands, ya big goof.”
I was so busy staring at her, I forgot what we were doing.
“Have you prepared vows?” Lily asks.
I clear my throat. “Chloe, I promise to cherish you always, to honor and sustain you, in sickness and in health, in poverty and in wealth, and to be true to you in all things until death alone shall part us.”
“Thanks, big guy.”
“You’re supposed to say your vows to me now.”
“It seemed rude not to thank you for wanting to cherish me forever.”
I shake my head.
She squeezes my hands. “Okay, here goes. Lucas, I promise to cherish you always unless you forget to put the toilet seat down, to honor and sustain you as long as you don’t complain about my cooking, in sickness and in health but you’re on your own with puking because gross, in poverty and in wealth although I have my own money so no need to worry about the poverty thing, and to be true to you in all things until death alone shall part us assuming you die first of course.”
“You forgot to say you won’t hit him too hard if he snores!” Nova yells.
“Because I’m smacking him if he snores too loud!”
I lean close to whisper in her ear. “I don’t snore.”
She shivers and I smirk. I love how easily she’s affected by me. I bet I could get her to come within minutes of stripping off her clothes. Or maybe with her clothes on?
“Ahem. We’re not finished yet,” Lily says. “The rings.”
“I have them.” Natalia digs around in her pockets. “I swear I have them, Dad.”
I kneel down in front of her. “It’s okay. Take your time. First your right pocket.” Her lip trembles when she comes up empty. “Now, your left pocket.” A tear escapes her eye when the pocket is empty.
“I’m ruining your wedding!” she wails.
Chloe kneels next to me. “You’re not ruining anything. You are perfect in every way. But did you maybe forget you put the rings in the little bag with the bubbles?”
“Yes!” Natalia rushes to the bag on the chair she abandoned. She pulls out two rings. “Here, they are!”
She lays the rings in my hand and I kiss her hair. “Thank you, cupcake.”
Chloe holds out her hand and I place her ring on the tip of her finger.
“With this ring, I, Lucas, take you, Chloe, to be no other than yourself. Loving what I know of you and trusting what I do not yet know. I will respect your integrity and have faith in your abiding love for me, through all our years, and in all that life may bring us.”
I slide the ring on her finger. Chloe stares down at it.
“Is it okay?” I whisper. The rings are the one thing Chloe didn’t help decide on before the wedding. I went to the mainland by myself to buy them.
“It’s perfect.” Her bottom lip wobbles and I fear she’s going to cry. But not my Chloe. She inhales a deep breath. “Thank you.”
I lower my voice. No one on the island has to know this wedding isn’t real. “You’re the one I should be thanking.”
She holds out her hand. “Your ring, please.”
I give it to her and she places it on my finger.
“With this ring I, Chloe, take you, Lucas, to be no other than yourself. Loving what I know of you, and trusting what I do not yet know, I will respect your integrity and have faith in your abiding love for me, through all our years, and in all that life may bring us.”
I’m surprised she doesn’t make any jokes the way she did with the vows but she appears dead serious as she slides the ring on my finger.
“By the power vested in me by the island of Smuggler’s Hideaway, I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may kiss the bride.”
I touch my lips to Chloe’s. My intention is a quick kiss but the second I feel her soft lips, I moan. I press my tongue against her seam and demand entrance. She doesn’t deny me. She opens her mouth on a soft sigh and I thrust inside.
She tastes of the ocean with a hint of the untamed. I growl as I sink deeper into the kiss. Her hands dig into my shoulders and I haul her close until her chest presses against mine.
I want more. I want her naked pressing against me. I want her begging for my touch. I want her. Period.
A whistle breaks through the haze and I force myself to end the kiss.
Chloe stares up at me with swollen lips. Shit. I wasn’t supposed to kiss her. This marriage isn’t real.
I don’t know how I’m going to resist her now I’ve tasted her sweet lips. I am in deep trouble.