Chapter Twenty
“Look at you,” my grandmother cries, her rings clicking together as she reaches up and enthusiastically squeezes both of my cheeks. “You have grown up so much, Daniella!”
“Thanks, Grandma,” I murmur, a breathless laugh escaping me as she finally let go.
Her soft eyes harden with a flash of sharp, ancestral disapproval as she glances over her shoulder. “I better go have a serious word with that daughter of mine. It was an absolute scum move of her to go and steal your boyfriend.”
“Honestly, I’m fine now, Grandma,” I assure her gently, a small smile playing on my lips. “I’m actually seeing someone else anyway.”
She pats my arm approvingly. “Well, I just hope he’s a hell of a lot better than that Jason character.”
I giggle, the image of a certain massive, grumpy man flashing in my mind. “Oh, definitely. Night and day.”
“Found our table,” Dad’s booming voice announces as he steps up to join us. He catches sight of my grandmother and smiles warmly. “Hey, Charlotte.”
“Nicholas!” Grandma yelps in delight. She immediately marches over to my dad, throwing her arms around him and planting loud, affectionate kisses all over his face. “Oh, look at you. You are still so incredibly handsome.”
Dad let out a hearty laugh, entirely leaning into the affection. “Are you flirting with me, Charlotte?”
“Of course I am,” Grandma chuckles wickedly, tapping his chest. “But speaking of handsome men, that reminds me—I better go find Harold before he gets lost near the bar.”
With a quick wave, she scurries off to find my grandfather. Left to our own devices, Dad and I navigate through the beautifully decorated reception hall toward our designated table.
My heart instantly sank right into my shoes the exact second I realize who we were sitting with. Lillian and Jason.
Lillian lets out a heavy, defensive sigh from across the white tablecloth, nervously adjusting her silverware. “Look, Lydia said she tried everything but she absolutely couldn’t change the seating arrangement. But it’s totally fine, right? Since we’re all adults and we all talk now.”
I let out a harsh, bitter scoff, crossing my arms defensively over my chest. “Yeah, right. In your wildest dreams, Lillian.”
Jason clears his throat, adjusting his tie and eyeing me with a smug, condescending look. “Are you still seeing that asshole?”
Before the words could even fully leave his mouth, Dad steps up, his entire frame freezing into pure steel as he leans over the table. “Did I give you permission to speak to my daughter?” he growls, his voice dropping into a lethal, low register.
Yeah. I slide into my seat, grabbing my water glass with a shaking hand. This is going to be an excruciatingly long reception.
Fortunately, the tension was temporarily shattered as the venue’s speakers crackles to life, and the DJ’s energetic voice booms over the crowd. “Ladies and gentlemen, for the very first time as husband and wife, please put your hands together for Mr. and Mrs. Madden!”
The entire room erupts into cheers and wild applause as Aunt Lydia and Uncle Greg made their grand entrance, beaming from ear to ear as they strut toward the head table up front.
“Dinner will be served shortly,” the DJ announces over the microphone, a mischievous smirk in his voice. “But for right now... let’s party!”
The opening, heavy bassline of Low by Flo Rida instantly starts pumping through the speakers. I barely had time to react before Aunt Lydia came sprinting across the room, her white train bunched up in her hands as she grabs my wrist. “Come on, Danny! You’re getting out there with me!”
“Okay, okay!” I laugh, the heavy weight in my chest instantly lifting. I eagerly jump out of my seat, letting her drag me straight onto the crowded dance floor. We immediately start dancing and grinding to the music, laughing hysterically as Greg’s groomsmen promptly began whistling at us from the sidelines. Those boys literally loved to whistle at anything.
Once the track finally fades out, Aunt Lydia threw her arms around my neck, hugging me tightly. “I am so, so incredibly sorry about the whole table situation, sweetie,” she apologizes quickly into my ear. “I swear I tried to get the coordinators to change it, but they told me the floor plan was locked in and—”
“Aunt Lydia, please stop panicking,” I interrupt softly, pulling back to look at her radiant face. “Tonight is entirely your night. I wouldn’t have missed this for anything in the world.”
Her eyes soften with emotion. “You are officially the greatest niece on the planet.”
“You say that now,” I tease, wagging a finger at her. “But you better promise to name your firstborn child after me.”
“No promises,” she chuckles, swatting my arm before heading back to her husband.
I walk back to the table and slip into my seat beside my dad, who was still actively glaring a hole straight through his ex. Dinner was served shortly after, and it was eaten in absolute, profoundly awkward silence. Nobody breathed, let alone spoke. After the best man and maid of honor delivered their heartfelt speeches, the DJ announced it was time for Lydia and Greg to cut the wedding cake—which my grandmother had personally baked, given that she owned the best bakery in town.
Suddenly, Lillian let out a sharp, audible gasp from across the table. “Oh, my goodness... who on earth is that?”
Curious, I turn my head toward the grand entrance of the reception hall. The second my eyes lock onto the figure standing there, a massive, uninhibited smile completely erupted across my face.
Bear.
And holy shit, the man looked absolutely magnificent. His dark hair was perfectly styled and slicked back, and he was wearing a tailored black-and-white suit with a crisp tie that accentuated his massive, broad shoulders. In true Bear fashion, he had already rolled the sleeves up to his elbows, exposing the intricate, dark ink of his tattoos against the formal fabric.
He was walking a bit awkwardly through the crowd, clearly looking like a man completely out of his comfort zone. But the second he finally reaches our table; I didn’t care who was watching. I practically threw myself into his arms and kiss him thoroughly.
“You actually came,” I whisper against his lips as I finally pull away, my heart pounding.
“Your dad told me I had to,” he murmurs, his deep voice a comforting rumble above the noise of the crowd. He glances down at his outfit with a slight scowl. “And then the man literally proceeded to chuck a tailored suit at my head.”
I let out a breathless laugh. “Yeah... that honestly sounds exactly like him.”
“Glad to see you actually made it, Bear,” Dad chimes in, stepping up and clapping a heavy, approving hand onto Bear’s shoulder. “Now it’s officially your turn to watch Jason. I have a very lovely bridesmaid to go entertain.”
I instantly scrunch up my nose in pure horror. “Oh my god. Ew, Dad. Please stop.”
“Sorry, not sorry, kiddo,” he shrugs carelessly, giving us a wicked wink before turning on his heel and marching straight toward Aunt Lydia’s stunning maid of honor.
“Well, hello there, sweetie,” Lillian’s voice suddenly purrs from across the table. She shifts in her seat, deliberately leaning forward in a pathetic attempt to flash her heavy cleavage directly at Bear. “Are you going to be a good girl and introduce me to your friend?”
A fierce scowl twists my features, but before I could even open my mouth to snap at her, Bear let out a low, menacing growl that practically vibrated the glassware on the table.
“I think I’ve already seen enough of you,” Bear hisses, his emerald eyes flashing with absolute disgust.
Lillian gasps, her face flushing crimson as she sat up fast. “That is absolutely no way to treat your elders! Or the mother of your girlfriend, for that matter!”
“You are no mother,” Bear spat, stepping forward until he was towering over the table, his presence terrifyingly massive. “You were nothing but a cheap slut that Nicholas made the mistake of inseminating.”
Oh, sweet Jesus. My jaw hit the floor.
“How dare you speak to her that way!” Jason roars, violently shoving his chair back and standing up to face Bear.
Bear didn’t even flinch. He just leans in close, his posture rigid with a terrifying, lethal promise. “I wouldn’t tell me what the fuck to do if I were you, asshole. You already hurt Danny once.”
“He did what?” Dad’s voice suddenly barks from behind us. He had abandoned his pursuit of the bridesmaid the second he heard the shouting, marching back to the table with his fists clenched.
“It’s fine, Dad, seriously,” I murmur quickly, trying to de-escalate the situation as the surrounding tables started turning to look at us. “Bear was already there to protect me when it happened.”
Jason let out a loud, mocking scoff, looking between Bear and me with pure malice in his eyes. “Oh, please. I bet you’re already fucking him, aren’t you, Danny? You wouldn’t even get down on your knees for me, but you’ll happily do it for some convict—”
SMACK.
A collective, echoing gasp ripples through the entire reception hall as my fist made violent, solid contact directly with the bridge of Jason’s nose.
“Fuck!” I instantly yell, dropping to my knees as a sharp, white-hot pain exploded through my knuckles. I clutch my throbbing right hand against my chest, tears of pain stinging my eyes.
Jason stumbles backward into his chair, clutching his bloody nose in absolute shock.
Uncle Greg and Aunt Lydia immediately march over to our table, their expressions completely grim. Greg looks directly at my mother and Jason, his voice leaving absolutely no room for negotiation. “I think the two of you need to leave. Right now.”
“Are you serious, Greg!?” Lillian hisses, pulling a napkin to tend to Jason’s bleeding face. “He and his white-trash girlfriend are the ones who caused this entire scene!”
My mother ladies and gentlemen. Calling her own daughter white trash.
“Lillian, she is not the one who spent the last hour flashing her tits at guests,” Lydia snaps viciously, her bridal glow completely replaced by pure protective rage. “Get the hell out of my wedding.”
“Fine! We’re leaving!” Lillian snaps. She grabs her purse, and she and a groaning, bloody Jason storming out of the reception hall, entirely humiliated.
Once the doors slams shut behind them, I look up at my aunt, my eyes welling with tears. “I am so, so incredibly sorry for ruining your reception, Lydia,” I whisper.
Lydia just let out a soft laugh, shaking her head as she reaches down to pat my shoulder. “Oh, sweetie, don’t worry about it. Honestly? We are even now.”
I let out a wet chuckle, shaking my head in disbelief.
“Did you want some ice for that hand?” Greg asks, looking down at my rapidly swelling knuckles.
I glance at my right hand, which was already turning a nasty shade of purple. “Yeah... probably.”
“I’ll go get it,” Bear mutters. His tough exterior had completely melted back into quiet concern as he turns and disappears straight into the venue’s kitchen.
Lydia watches him go, a knowing smile gracing her lips. “He’s nice, Danny. I can tell he is fiercely protective of you.”
“He really is,” I whisper, cradling my hand.
Lydia leans in closer, her eyes glittering. “You love him.”
I didn’t even hesitate. “I do.”
“You are also so much happier with him than you ever were with the other guy,” Lydia states softly, giving my arm a gentle squeeze. “Keep him.”
Before I could answer, she disappears back into the crowd with her husband. A moment later, Bear returns from the kitchen, holding a neatly wrapped ice pack. He guides me over to a quiet, empty table nearby, sliding into the seat next to me and gently pressing the ice against my throbbing knuckles.
I hiss at the sudden, freezing contact, wincing. “How do you do this all the time?” I ask, looking at him through my eyelashes.
A rare, teasing smirk plays on his lips. “Well, for starters, I actually learned how to form a proper fist before punching someone. Either way you do it, though, it’s always going to hurt.”
“I am definitely never doing that again,” I groan, leaning my head against his shoulder.
“Don’t worry. I’ll just do it for you next time,” he says softly, a genuine smile breaking across his handsome face.
“I—”
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the DJ’s voice interrupts smoothly over the PA system. “If you’ll please turn your attention to the center of the dance floor, Lydia and Greg will now be having their very first dance as a married couple.”
The lights in the hall dimmed into a romantic, soft golden hue as Lydia and Greg made their way to the center of the floor. Greg wraps his massive arms securely around her waist, and she loops hers around his neck, the two of them swaying softly as the opening chords of Far Away by Nickelback began to echo through the room.
“Any other couples in the room, please feel free to join them on the floor,” the DJ adds warmly.
Without a word, Bear stands up from his chair and held out his hand to me. A massive smile broke across my face despite the pain in my knuckles. I take his hand, letting him lead me out onto the polished wood.
He wraps his large, strong arms securely around my waist, pulling me flush against his chest and leaning down to press a soft kiss to my shoulder. I loop my good arm around his neck, my fingers gently running through the soft hairs at the back of his head.
The intimacy of the moment made my chest tighten, and the secret I had been carrying all morning suddenly felt impossible to keep.
“Darren told me what you did for him, Mitchell,” I whisper softly against his ear.
Bear’s entire body instantly stiffens on the dance floor. He pulls back from my shoulder, his brows furrowing into a dark, guarded frown. “What?”
“He told me that you took the entire blame for the car thefts,” I say, my voice cracking slightly with emotion as I look into his emerald eyes. “You went to prison for three years just so he wouldn’t have to miss the birth of Natasha.”
Bear stares down at me for a long, heavy beat, his jaw clenching before he finally looks away. “I couldn’t let him miss that, Danny,” he whispers roughly. “Besides... I desperately needed to get clean back then, and I knew a regular rehab facility wouldn’t do shit for me.”
I blink, completely caught off guard. “Rehab?”
He swallows hard, a raw vulnerability bleeding into his eyes that completely broke my heart. “I was heavily addicted to cocaine,” he confesses in a quiet whisper. “Darren was the only person who actually knew how bad it had gotten.”
I look up at him, my heart swelling with so much profound love and understanding I thought it might burst. “You got a second chance, Mitchell. That is the only thing that matters now.”
Bear stares down at me, the dark shadows in his eyes completely melting away as he looks at my face. He leans down, his lips brushing against mine in a soft, incredibly reverent kiss.
“I love you so much, Daniella.”
My vision completely blurs with thick, happy tears at the sound of his confession. “I love you too, Mitchell.”
The second the words left my mouth, Bear’s hand flew to my face, his fingers gripping my jaw as he smashes his lips against mine in a fierce, bruising, utterly consuming kiss that completely erases the rest of the room.
He broke the kiss for a fraction of a second, his breath hot against my mouth, his green eyes burning with a sudden, intense hunger. “We need to get the fuck out of here. Right now.”
I nod frantically, my heart racing. “Yes. Let’s go.”