Chapter 37
. . .
Vesper
“Of course you were going to do something like this, William.”
From behind, I can just picture Drew’s eye roll as she walks—very cautiously—down the rope bridge toward Will, one arm looped through her dad’s.
Marley’s shoulders shake with laughter as Drew turns around and hands her sister a simple bouquet of purple freesias, tied with light-pink ribbon.
Fighting back tears of joy and amusement, I watch as Will steps forward and takes his fiancée’s hands in his, nothing but awe on his face.
It feels like he’s been waiting for this moment for a very long time.
That boy fell first and hard, and when he set his eyes on my Drew, there was only ever going to be one outcome—today.
Jensen, Will’s dad, looks on from directly behind his son, and further back, all of Will’s teammates look equally emotional. Aside from Tristan, who, for some reason, won’t look straight ahead.
“Could he be any more disinterested?” June whispers beneath her breath as she stands next to me, looking like a princess.
I assume she’s referring to Tristan since he’s the only person not fighting back tears.
“Honestly, I’m not even sure why Will bothered inviting him. They haven’t seen eye to eye since Will joined the Rogues.”
As the officiant begins the ceremony, June clicks her tongue, narrowing her eyes at Tristan when he does glance our way.
And then it all makes sense. Will isn’t the only twin he dislikes, and I get a hunch that Tristan’s annoyance isn’t only down to an interview that went wrong. I think there’s more to his issues with my friend.
“Ugh.” June flicks her hair to one side.
“If he’s still sore over that interview I refused to post, then he needs to get a life.
The idea is to gain subscribers, not scare them away with his boring answers.
He even yawned once during it! Anyway …” She resets herself, pulling pinched fingers across her lips like it’s time to stop talking.
Five minutes later, I’m not sure whether it’s the pregnancy hormones or the sweetest vows I’ve ever heard that have tears rolling down my cheeks.
June takes my bouquet as Will and Drew exchange rings, and I pull a tissue from my purse, looped around my wrist.
“It’ll be you next!” June hisses, adding a wink for good measure.
Butterflies swirl in my stomach when I look up to find Silas smiling at me. He hasn’t taken his eyes from me the entire time we’ve been standing here.
I take back my bouquet from June and rest a palm over my stomach. I’ve never felt like a sexy person, but there’s something about pregnancy or maybe the way my boyfriend appreciates everything about me that just makes me want to drag him into the nearest tree house bedroom and have my way with him.
“You know when they talk about that feeling of knowing someone your whole life?” Will’s voice breaks me from my thoughts, and I watch him push a platinum wedding band onto his wife’s finger. “Well, I guess in our case, we really have known each other forever.”
A few muted chuckles fill the surrounding air as Will palms the back of Drew’s head. She’s wearing her hair down and in loose waves, and she looks absolutely priceless.
From beside Marley, Mia wipes under her eyes for the hundredth time.
“The thing is though, Baby”—Will’s hand moves from Drew’s head to her hip as he pulls her into his body—“I only got to know the real you when you started bossing me around, wearing hot-as-fuck pencil skirts.”
“William, language!” From beside Jensen, Kate clears her throat.
I think she’s the only woman who can pull off black at a wedding and scold the groom during his nuptials.
Will rolls his eyes and carries on speaking. “And now that I’m your husband, I get my whole life to discover every nuance you have. I want to memorize every line on your face as we grow older and every stretch mark on your body when we hopefully have babies.”
My eyes dart back to Silas, and sure enough, he’s watching me.
I love you, he mouths.
Years of working in packed bars have trained me to be very good at lip-reading, and every extremity tingles in anticipation of tonight and, hell, the rest of our lives.
There is no other man I want to grow old with.
“You’ve got some moves on you, Knockout,” Silas whispers softly as we turn in a slow circle in the middle of the dance floor to Etta James’s “At Last.”
Will and Drew just finished up their first dance to “All of Me” by John Legend, and now I’m trying not to laugh at June and Tristan as they ignore each other and pretend like they aren’t the only two guests not dancing.
“Thanks,” I say as Silas spins me once, my hand nestled in his.
I focus my attention back on Tristan, and Silas follows my line of vision.
“I don’t think those two would acknowledge each other if they were neighbors.”
“Well, they definitely wouldn’t accept packages for each other—that’s for sure.”
Silas chuckles, resting his hand on my lower back and then his forehead against mine. He sighs heavily as the song finishes, and another starts playing.
I have to hand it to Will; he picked the most beautiful venue. I didn’t even think there were this many string lights in existence, and they’re all sparkling in the trees surrounding the huge transparent dome where the after-party is being held.
“What’s going through your mind?” I ask, transfixed by the deep hues of blue in my boyfriend’s eyes.
He looks at peace tonight, and I feel the same. We finally have the opportunity to build a life together.
Silas presses a gentle kiss to my lips. “So many thoughts, Ves.”
“Good ones?”
“Mainly, yeah.”
I loop my arms around his neck, rising onto my tiptoes. “Break them down for me.”
He rests a flat palm over my stomach. “You and our baby always dominate my mind, but my teammate is ranking pretty high in my thoughts.”
“Will?”
Silas shakes his head. “Mason. I spoke to him before the ceremony. He signed the divorce paperwork.”
I pull back, shocked that he actually went through with it. When Silas told me that Eloise wanted a divorce, I was sure Mason was going to fight her on it.
“I don’t understand. That man is head over heels in love with that woman. I’ve never even witnessed them together, and even I can see that.”
Spinning me round again, Silas cups the back of my head with his palm. “Oh, yeah? And how can you tell?”
His voice carries a teasing inflection, and my toes tingle at thoughts of spending the night with him in the most glamorous-looking tree house with a panoramic ceiling.
“Don’t look at me in that way,” I pathetically plead, completely bypassing his previous question.
His eyes darken with burning desire. “Like what, Ves?”
I swallow thickly. “Like if I wasn’t already pregnant, then I likely would be by tomorrow morning.”
He tips his head back, laughing quietly. It’s the most beautiful sight I’ve seen in a long-ass time.
“Where is he now?” I bring the conversation back to Mason. “I haven’t seen him since we finished eating.”
Silas shrugs. “I think he called it a night, and I don’t blame him. He’s a mess, and a wedding is probably the last place he wanted to be today, despite him insisting that he was okay with being here.”
I hum my agreement right as the dance floor clears behind Silas, followed by a crash of furniture and a gasp.
It all happens so fast that I barely register hitting the floor or Silas as he lands on top of me.
“Holy shit, someone help Vesper. Now!” June’s demand cuts through the confusion before Silas is scrambling off me, frantically checking that I’m okay.
But with his back to the rest of the dance floor, he can’t see what—or who—I can, and an icy shiver slithers down my spine.
Standing only a few feet from us, Tristan has Kane secured in a headlock as he writhes around, struggling to break free.
I don’t know where to look first.
Is this really happening, or is the wedding already over, and my amazing dream randomly morphed into a nightmare?
“Are you okay, Ves?” Silas holds my face in his hands. “I tried to break my fall, but the baby …” His eyes drop down my body. “Are you in any pain?”
“No,” I answer shakily.
“Silas!”
Eyes wide with rage, Silas doesn’t need to turn around to recognize the voice that just screamed his name.
Keeping his back to Kane, my boyfriend slowly gets to his feet and helps me stand, ensuring I’ve got my balance before he casually spins on his heel and tucks both hands into the pockets of his black dress pants.
There have to be at least forty guests still here, and most are open-mouthed, aside from Will, who looks like he’s ready to decapitate my ex. And then there’s Tristan, who’s wearing the smuggest smile as Kane continues his futile efforts to break free.
My eyes settle on the wedding planner, Chloe, who is frantically talking on the phone, likely with security.
Silas takes a couple of steps toward his brother, leaning down so they’re face-to-face. “Why are you here, Kane?”
He just scowls at Silas, spitting once on the floor before he smiles at me. His eyes drop to my stomach, and Silas grabs him by the throat.
“Let go of him, Tris. I got it from here.”
Releasing his grip, Tristan takes a pace backward and stands next to June, who says something to him behind one hand.
“Why are you here?” Silas repeats, enunciating each word this time.
“I had to see it for myself,” Kane sputters out and then glances at Will. “Your guests should really be careful what they post on social media. One story featuring the venue in the background and that shit sure gets around the internet fast.”
Silas ignores Kane’s comment about how he found us. He wants to know why he’s here. “See what, Kane?” he growls.
Kane points at me. Even with a hand constricting his windpipe, the fucker still manages to smirk. “Vesper and you, together. I had to see it with my own two eyes. The betrayal.”
Silas releases Kane, and he pulls a deep breath into his lungs.
“No one has betrayed you, Kane. You did that to yourself.”
Kane takes a single stride in my direction, and Silas’s hand is back around his throat.
“I don’t know how you made it past security, and I don’t much care. Right now though, I’d be thanking my lucky stars that you didn’t hurt my girl when you took a cheap shot at me from behind.”
“Fuck you,” Kane spits again. “Fuck you, Silas.”
His eyes burn red, and I’m not sure if it’s with fury or through lack of oxygen.
That’s when I see it—the pocketknife peeking out of the waistband of Kane’s suit pants.
“Silas!” I yell, already on my way to him before Kane can grab it and do the unthinkable.
“No. Fuck you!” Out of nowhere and with a hit that knocks him clean out, Mason drives his fist straight into Kane’s face, bones crunching beneath the force of his punch.
Silas releases his grip on Kane, my ex’s body flopping to the floor.
Chests heaving, both hockey players stare straight at each other before Mason flexes the fingers on his right hand.
“I heard a commotion, and my capacity for assholes is at an all-time low. Damn, that felt good.”
Kane groans something inaudible, and Silas crouches beside his crumpled body. I can’t tell what he’s saying, but I’m guessing it isn’t friendly.
Grabbing my purse from the table next to me, I stalk toward my ex, unzipping my bag and pulling out my wallet.
I can tell Silas wants me as far away from this man as possible, but I hold up a hand, asking him to give me this moment.
Kane rolls onto his back, blood splattered across his face and down the white shirt he’s wearing. His nose is definitely broken.
Shame.
“Vesper.” He breathes my name so softly that I can barely hear it.
He smiles up at me warmly. Classic manipulation tactics I’ve fallen for way too many times.
I open my wallet and pull out a fifty-dollar bill, letting it gently fall onto his chest.
He looks down at it and then back up at me. Confused.
I lean down, pluck the pocketknife from his waistband, and hand it to Silas.
“There’s the tip I owed you for the pizza that time.
I figured I’d be generous since, you know, I’m dating a super-wealthy hockey player and you’re likely not going to find another job again for a while. Don’t spend it all at once in custody.”