Chapter Twenty
Ava
“He did what?” I exclaim, looking from Reese to Nina and then to Leon. The turn of events has me feeling like I’m on a tilt-o-whirl and I’m unable to get off. In fact, this whole day seems to be going like this, and now we’re standing outside of a chapel. Reese’s mom is tipsy, Leon is vowing his love and devotion, and we’re supposed to what? Jump for joy? I want to be happy for Reese’s mom, but still, there’s a bit of apprehension running through my veins.
“Leon signed over the battery company.” Reese hands me the document full of legal jargon. I land on the line where he’s giving it over to Aurora, and finally, the knot in my stomach unravels. What I’m confused by now is why we’re at a chapel and if this is a good idea after Nina has had a few too many drinks.
“He is and we’re getting married!” Nina says with excitement. She doesn’t seem too horribly tipsy or drunk, so maybe it’ll be okay after all.
“Wow.” What can I say? Words are hard to come by, and the ones I want to say wouldn’t do a bit of good. Reese must realize it’s on the tip of my tongue to question everything when he squeezes my hip.
“I guess this means you mean to marry my mother today?” Reese guesses with laughter in his tone as if she didn’t say those words moments ago. I lift my gaze to Reese’s; if he’s okay with what’s happening here, then there’s no reason for me to hold a grudge. Though, Leon could have potentially ruined Aurora and Reese in the long run. I take a deep breath and allow my shoulders to relax.
Reese looks at Leon and his mother, who is staring at her future husband the same way I look at my new husband. She’s completely and utterly in love with this man. The heart wants what the heart wants—good, bad, or indifferent.
“I intend to, with your approval, of course,” Leon states, holding Nina’s hand, fingers entwined with one another, and that’s when I take notice.
“Holy shit, that’s…” I’m at a loss for words yet again. “That’s beautiful, huge, and did I mention beautiful?” I disengage from Reese and head straight for Nina and Leon. Luckily, she lifts her hand as I’m reaching for it. The emerald-cut has to be at least five carats, and it’s clear as day Leon didn’t spare any expense on the engagement ring. I’m talking, the ring is big and probably expensive enough to buy a brand-new car or put a huge down payment on a house. I can’t imagine what the wedding band will look like, but it will probably be a ring of diamonds, too. Nina herself is dressed for the occasion, like maybe she knew Leon was going to sweep her off her feet all along. The dress she’s wearing is cream in color, A-line style, with capped sleeves, and stops at her knees. On her feet are a pair of heels any woman would die for, soft Tiffany blue, satin in fabric, and a heel I’d probably fall flat on my face if I so much as tried to walk on the red brick walkway leading up to the chapel.
“Leon really outdid himself,” Nina says softly.
“You have my approval, Leon. As long as you promise to love and care for my mom, that’s all I need to know. Plus, with this, I think we can put everything behind us.” Reese holds up the contract before folding the papers into thirds and putting them inside of the breast pocket of his suit jacket.
“I guess this means you two are getting married.” I smile, and now that the dust has settled, it’s time to get to the celebrating part of the day.
“We’re getting married!” Nina turns into Leon. His arm slides to her lower back and he lays one on her, hot and heavy. I look away, my eyes going back to Reese, who’s got two fingers pinching the bridge of his nose and his head is tipped to the sky.
“Reese, honey.” I tug on the end of his jacket, trying to get his attention while keeping my own gaze averted from Nina and Leon. I’m pretty sure the kiss should come after the wedding vows, except it’s obvious they’re in a world far away from where there are onlookers.
“Yes, sweetheart?” I move my hand to his shirt, pulling him down further so he can be on my level. Maybe I should carry around a step stool; our height difference really does get annoying in certain instances, like now.
“We might need to move this along. The faster your mom and Leon are married, the faster we can get back to the hotel.” I lick my lips, and Reese’s eyes zero in on the action. His green eyes darken with desire, so I take the conversation up a notch and add, “You know what they say? Practice makes perfect.” A low growl rumbles through him. My hand slides up his sternum, the noise vibrating through my palm, and I don’t stop moving until the tips of my fingers play with the tendrils of dark hair at the nape of his neck.
“Fuck me, but I love your way of thinking.” He drops a quick kiss to my lips, pulls my hand down, locks our fingers together, and then interrupts the two love birds. “You ready to get this show on the road?” Reese asks his mom and her future husband. They’re still in a tight clench, and I hope one day when we’re older like they are, we still have that same spark. The place won’t matter; when the mood hits, the mood will hit, especially seeing as how I’m already addicted to my husband and the feeling is entirely mutual. I’m sure, whenever we get the notion, we’ll have a full-fledged make-out session on a busy street.
“Yes,” Leon states, pulling away from Nina. Her lipstick is still in place, and I marvel that the beauty of all-day makeup is the best invention ever. Nina’s hair, on the other hand, well, it could use a brush or some finger combing. My hand not in Reese’s goes to my own hair, silently telling her it needs some work.
We walk into the chapel, Leon holding the door open, and then Reese takes over after Nina walks through. Clearly, these men are having to share some of their dominant alpha tendencies. I cross my fingers, hoping they can table it for the time being.
“Whoa,” Reese says once we’re inside.
“Whoa is right,” I reply. Leon and Nina are up ahead talking to the wedding coordinator. Every square inch except for the ceiling is covered in pink and red roses. The look is very lush, and if I didn’t think the cost would be exuberant to change them out weekly, I’d have thought they were real. On the ceiling is a painted mural of the sky in vivid blues, with white puffy clouds and cupids galore. The lighting is even pink.
“I wonder who’s officiating the wedding, Elvis or Liberace.” I stifle my laugh from Reese’s question. Whoever marries the two in matrimony, surely they’ll be an impersonator of some kind. There’s no way a regular officiant will do with the way this place is done up.
“We’re almost ready!” Nina says excitedly. She’s got a bouquet of flowers in her hand and a smile plastered on her face. “Leon is wrapping up the bill and then we’re next in line. Now, the bad news is, Elvis isn’t in the building, but the good news is, Darth Vader is here today in his place.”
“And you thought we had it bad,” Reese murmurs beneath his breath. Nina is so busy talking about what else is going to happen that she doesn’t notice we’re having a side conversation without her.
“Would you mind walking your mom down the aisle?” Leon asks, coming up beside Nina.
“I’d love nothing more,” Reese agrees, recovering quickly.
Leon turns his eyes on me rather quickly. “If you wouldn’t mind standing up for Nina as a witness and during the ceremony along with Reese, we’d love to have you both with us.”
“Of course, we’d be honored,” I answer for Reese and myself.
“Very well, then you and I shall take our places, and we’ll see you two at the other end.” Leon holds his arm for me to take, my hand holds his bicep, and we make our way down the aisle. Reese’s arm bands around my stomach before I’m able to take another step.
“Love you, Mrs. Donovan,” he whispers in my ear.
“I love you, Mr. Donovan,” I reply, wishing we had a moment to sneak away to the coat closet and have a quickie for ourselves. It seems like forever since I’ve had him inside me, when realistically, I woke up earlier this morning with Reese’s head buried between my legs, licking me awake with an orgasm that was out of this world. Of course, it was only fair to return the favor with my mouth. Reese allowed me to play for all of two minutes and then he was done. He did allow me to get on top and ride him. Though, there he was firm on telling me exactly how he wanted me to work my body—slow and deep, a swivel of my hips, and when to arch my back. Needless to say, the second orgasm of the day had a different feel to it. Prolonged in time, there was a build-up of sorts, and when the moment came, it consumed both of us.
Exhaustion took hold again, and I fell on him completely, my front plastered to his sweat-slicked skin, as heavy breathing came from both of us. I’m not sure who fell asleep first, but I did know a small nap was a necessity if we were going to get through the day. I also woke up clean; the mess between my thighs was gone, meaning Reese took care of me like he always does. I’m pretty sure the only reason either of us woke up was because of our stomachs, well Reese’s seeing as how it let out a loud growl. I, on the other hand, was dying of thirst. Multiple orgasms will make you parched in the worst of ways. The rest of the day, well, it’s been a whirlwind to say the least.
“Thank you,” I tell Leon once he’s escorted me to my place.
“You’re welcome.” He goes to the opposite side of the aisle, and “The Imperial March” plays through the speakers. I look where we just came from to see Reese and Nina at the entrance. My husband is hotter than hot, and watching him put his differences aside for his mom makes him even hotter. He gives me a wink and a small tip of his lips when they start walking. The squeaking noise of plastic has my attention turning for a moment. I’m not sure why I’m surprised. Nina said Darth Vadar would be marrying them, and he is; in true fashion, he’s wearing the suit, armor, gloves, helmet, the whole shebang.
Leon lets out a little chuckle and I look at him. This has Nina written all over it, and the poor guy went along with it. That’s real true love. I’m not sure even I could sway Reese into something like this.
The mother-son duo stops to wait for Darth Vadar to tell them what happens next. He takes Nina’s hand from Reese, nods to Leon, and Reese must understand the silence Darth is portraying because he takes his place beside his mom’s soon-to-be husband.
The ceremony begins and I’m pulled away from looking at my husband to the officiant. In true Darth Vadar form, he speaks in Sith, guttural sounds, nodding his head to and from. This is a sight to behold. A big, bad mobster of a guy is marrying an eccentric, over-the-top Nina, with the officiant a character in at theme-style wedding chapel. How anyone isn’t laughing their ass off is a shock to me, myself included.
“I do,” Nina says.
“I do,” Leon returns the same sentiment, sliding on the wedding band, which somehow manages to mesh perfectly with the emerald solitaire. And, exactly as I suspected, it’s an infinity of diamonds. His ring is impressive, too; his thick gold band holds one deeply-inset diamond. It’s very dapper of a mafia-style lifestyle and will complement Nina’s rings beautifully.
I look up just as Reese mouths the word ‘forever’ and I say ‘always’. Out of the corner of my eyes, Leon and Nina are in another clench. Somehow, Darth Vadar was able to get his point across for ending the ceremony on a kiss. My husband clearly can’t handle the public display of affection his mom and Leon have been doling out recently. Which is why I skirt around them. They’re currently in a wedded state of bliss, party of two and only two. The second I’m in reaching distance, Reese has me in his arms, my hands are on his shoulders, and I once again need a step stool even when he bends his knees. A soft kiss to the forehead is all we get to when we’re interrupted.
“Will you be joining us for dinner?” Nina asks once the ceremony is over.
I go to speak but Reese beats me to it. “Nope, I love you and I’m happy for you, but if you want grandchildren in the near future, we’re going to leave you be.”
“Reese!” There are some things others don’t need to know, our sex life being one of them.
“Are you trying?” She looks at me. Leon has a tight hold on his wife, probably afraid she’ll run off and he’ll have to chase after her.
“We could be,” I roll my eyes with his response.
“Nina, Leon, congratulations. We’ll meet up for dinner another time. You two love birds enjoy your honeymoon.” Reese clues in that I’m trying to squash the conversation. We both give them hugs, and then my crazy husband does what I least expect. I’m tossed over his shoulder, fireman style, and he’s marching out the chapel doors, muttering, “About time that’s over. You said something about practicing. I think we’ll start in the limo.”