Chapter 77
REGGIE
Song- Church, Chase Atlantic
Rowan heads off to meet Conan at the gym, leaving me with too much quiet and too many thoughts.
By the time I pull into the driveway, my pulse has settled into that steady rhythm that only one person can disrupt.
When I open the door, I expect the smell of cookies or burning. With Bella, it’s always a gamble.
But there’s neither. Just stillness.
“Bella?” I call out as I step into the kitchen. The counter’s a mess. Flour everywhere, butter softening, a bowl half-mixed like she abandoned it mid-chaos.
Footsteps sound from the stairs. She appears, flustered and breathless, trying too hard to look casual.
“What have you been up to?” I ask, closing the distance between us.
“Just reorganizing my clothes.” She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes.
I tilt my head. “You sure about that?”
Her throat works, her pulse skipping beneath the skin. Lying. I know it.
But I let it slide—for now.
“My wedding dress is in there,” she says quietly.
Nodding, I press my lips to hers. “I can’t wait to see you in it.”
I don’t tell her I’ve already imagined it a hundred different ways. Her walking toward me, soft light on her skin, the sound of her laugh echoing through marble and stained glass.
“Now, are you ready?”
She nods, sliding her hand into mine. “Always.”
The drive is quiet. But there’s tension running underneath it, the kind that hums like a live wire between us.
When I park outside the church, she raises a brow. “Are you making me confess all my naughty sins? Or are we playing out a priest kink?”
I grin. “No and no.”
She pouts. “So, why are we at church… on a Wednesday?”
God, I love how her mind jumps from curiosity to chaos in three seconds flat.
“Oh, have you got a mask, and you’re going to chase me through the graveyard when it gets dark?”
I can’t stop the smirk. “No. But we can add that to a list for another day.”
She grins. “I gotta get you to read some of my books, Irish. You’ll learn some new tricks.”
I trail a finger along her thigh, just enough to make her shiver. “Maybe we can go book shopping tomorrow. Put my muscles to good use?”
“Tomorrow morning? I’m going out with Lily in the afternoon.”
“It’s a date.” I wink.
She laughs, but her eyes are curious now, following me as I step out of the car and gesture for her to join me.
“Alright, Irish. What’s going on?”
“Come on, Princess. You’ll see.”
Inside, the church smells like old wood and candle wax. Bella’s eyes sweep over the pews, the altar, the colored light streaming through stained glass. I entwine my fingers through hers.
“If you start chanting in Latin, I’m leaving,” she warns.
I smirk. “Relax. I only know the inappropriate bits.”
Her laugh breaks through the silence, and something in my chest eases. I live for that sound.
She crosses her arms. “You gonna tell me why we’re here, or am I supposed to guess?”
I take her hand, leading her toward the front pew.
“Because this is where it’s going to happen.”
She blinks. “What’s going to happen?”
“Our wedding.”
Her mouth drops open. “You’re joking.”
I shake my head. “Dead serious. I’ve had this place picked out since the day I met you.”
She tilts her head, that teasing glint in her eyes. “Since the day you met me? When I was getting it on with another woman?”
“Exactly,” I say with a grin. “Romantic beginnings.”
God. That was hot.
She laughs, shaking her head. “You’re unbelievable.”
“Come on,” I murmur, guiding her toward the aisle. “Picture it. The doors open. You’re standing there, looking like sin disguised as salvation. Everyone turns, but I only see you.”
She bites her lip, pretending to roll her eyes, but her smile gives her away.
“What song?” she asks, softly now.
“Can’t Help Falling in Love.”
Her breath catches. “You’re serious.”
“Yeah. You told me once it was your mom’s favorite. Figured she should be here too.”
The joke fades from her face, replaced by something fragile and real. She doesn’t speak about her parents much, just odd bits of information, the same I don’t talk about mine either.
For a second, the world narrows to just us, the girl who never thought she’d get this kind of love, and the man who can’t believe he found her.
“Reggie…” she whispers.
I cup her face. “Don’t look at me like that, Princess. You’ll have me proposing all over again.”
She laughs, watery but bright. “You already did? Without me, apparently.”
“Minor details.”
“Minor?”
“I handled the venue, the music, and the cake. I’m trying to redeem myself here.”
She snorts. “What kind of cake?”
“Chocolate, obviously. I’m not a monster.”
Her laughter fills the church.
“You’re ridiculous.”
“Yeah, but I’m your kind of ridiculous. And I promise, if I’m the one who gets to marry you, you’ll have the proposal. The rings. Whatever your heart desires.”
She shakes her head. “You’re really tempting fate here, doing all this in a church.”
“Maybe I like the challenge.”
“You don’t do holy, Irish.”
“Guess there’s a first time for everything.”
I lean down, meaning to kiss her, just the once, but she catches my collar first, dragging me closer. Her lips brush mine, slow at first, then deeper, hungrier.
And that’s when I stop pretending I have any control.
I press her back against the pew, her laughter muffled against my mouth. The sunlight catches in her hair, and for one wild second, heaven feels like it’s watching us misbehave.
With my fingers digging into her ass, my tongue down her throat, and her desire being all that I can smell, it’s taking all the restraint I possess not to bend her over and claim her here.
We’re still tangled up when a throat clears behind us.
We freeze.
I turn, already knowing I’m doomed.
Father Byrne stands in the aisle, arms folded, expression cold.
“Mr. Murphy,” he says slowly, “this is not what I meant when I said practice your vows.”
Bella goes crimson. I cough, straightening like that’ll somehow make me innocent. I step behind Bella to hide my hard-on.
“Father,” I say, managing a polite tone, “we were testing acoustics.”
Bella chokes on a laugh. “Yeah, reverb. It’s… powerful.”
Father Byrne sighs like a man reconsidering his calling. “One of you should probably light a candle before you go.”
“Yes, Father,” Bella squeaks.
As soon as he disappears into the back hall, she loses it, laughing so hard she has to lean on the pew for support.
I grin. “Well, Princess, at least he didn’t exorcise us.”
“Reggie!” she gasps, clutching my arm. “We just got caught making out in a church!”
“Yeah. But you smiled doing it.”
“Because you’re insane.”
“Insanely in love,” I correct.
She shakes her head, still laughing, and I can’t help but kiss her again, just quick this time. She makes me lose my mind. A spark in my life.
“I’ll need a way better love declaration, too.”
I smile, brushing her cheek. “Hand delivering my heart to you?”
“No. Silly. I’m not banging you as a ghost.”
“Jesus, Bella.”
“Think we’re going to hell for that?” she whispers.
“Probably,” I say, gliding my thumb over her bottom lip. “But at least we’ll have good company.”
Before we leave, I push her up against the wooden door.
“This might not have been the fairytale you dreamt of. But I still wanted it to be special for you.”
Her eyes glisten.
“You’re sweet, Irish. Deep down, that heart is golden.”
I take her hand and place it on my chest so she can feel how it beats for her.
“Just for you, Princess,” I whisper.