Bronagh Chapter 16
The reception was well underway. I’d changed out of my wedding dress not because I disliked it, but because I didn’t want to chance ruining it.
I changed into another outfit that Presley had chosen when she picked up my clothes.
It was a dress that was nice enough to dress down for casual chic, or dress up for a wedding reception or a cocktail party.
And yes, it happened to be another that I’d designed.
I got lots of compliments on how I looked and on the dress.
When the ladies were told it was one of my mid-range designs, they wanted to see more, so I told them where to find the rest. The ladies included Presley and another female bodyguard, Claudia, who mainly protected Kynedi and Cassius. And there was Carmen, Karizma’s mom.
The only others from outside the commune besides my dad and his guys were Carmen and her boyfriend, Bax, Gianna’s dad and brothers, and Martin, Miranda’s dad.
I was totally shocked to discover he was St. Augustine’s chief of police.
I was entertained by how that happened and by the O’Sheeran family turning Martin from a die-hard enemy into a family member.
He wasn’t unaware that they weren’t entirely innocent of wrongdoing, but he seemed to be able to separate his private life from his professional one.
After the photos, we’d mingled and then sat down to an incredibly delicious dinner.
There were ahi tuna tartare and prosciutto-wrapped avocado as appetizers.
The salad course was burrata cheese and heirloom tomatoes with a blackberry reduction.
It was a deconstructed caprese salad. The main course was a mouthwatering filet mignon and butter-poached lobster tail served with truffled potato puree, charred asparagus, and a cabernet demi-glace.
For dessert, they served vanilla bean panna cotta and the wedding cake.
The cake was four large tiers and resembled a high-end bakery’s creation.
The cake was white fondant. The top layer was white with a lavender band at the base.
Tier two was covered with white edible lace.
The third layer had purple edible lace, and the fourth was covered in silver leaf, and the bottom of every tier was edged with Swiss dots.
And to round it off, she’d created and piped edible flowers that duplicated those in my bouquet.
It was stunning, and the flavors were even better.
There was a salted-caramel and almond layer, a lemon-blueberry layer, a strawberry-champagne layer, and, finally, a rich chocolate and ganache with a thin raspberry layer to balance the richness.
When we cut the cake, Cathal didn’t shove a piece in my face. He lightly smeared icing on my lips, then kissed and licked it away.—the best way to eat wedding cake, in my opinion.
After the food, toasts, and cake, there was even dancing.
Yes, it was music that had to be played by a stereo, but it did the job.
We had the father-daughter dance, the mother-son dance, and, of course, the bridal couple dance.
After that, I was swept away to dance with my new father-in-law, brothers-in-law, and then cousins-in-law.
Each had made me feel welcome, loved, and happy.
The night went on, and though we stayed outside, those tall outdoor heaters kept away any chill.
It was close to eleven o’clock, and some people were still going hard.
The DeSantis family, Martin, Carmen, and Bax had left, and so had several of the guards.
They’d taken turns enjoying the reception.
They'd kept people on duty at all times, though.
The nannies had put the children to bed a couple of hours earlier.
I was talking with Alexis, Karizma, and Ashlynn when I noticed a commotion.
A man I didn’t recognize came running up to Alistair.
Whatever he said, he said it fast and urgently.
I saw Alistair’s happy expression disappear, then he took out his phone.
Tapped on it a few times, then a siren-like sound started to go off.
Everyone began to jog toward the main house.
Ashlynn snagged my arm. I tried to find Cathal.
“Come with us. Cathal will be headed to where we are,” she explained.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“We’ll explain inside,” was all she said.
I rushed along with them. Inside the house, I noticed people splitting up.
I ended up in the family room. And that’s when I realized there were things I didn’t know about the commune, like the fact that there was a hidden entrance in the family room that led to a biometrically secured door.
Behind it were stairs and an elevator. We went down the elevator.
When we stopped and the door opened, I stared in disbelief.
We were underground in a tunnel, a massive one, the size that you could drive a truck through.
I hurried along, trying to look and not get left behind.
Suddenly, we were in a large central area.
There were computers and long counters lined with office chairs.
And in some of the chairs were people I hadn’t seen before.
The next thing I knew, Alistair was dropping into one of those chairs.
The people who had been separated from us inside the house streamed into the central hub from other tunnels.
I was about to ask what the hell this place was and what that sound was. But I was stopped by my new husband, who ran up to me. He appeared panicked until he checked me over. He had his arms open. I stared hard at him and crossed my arms.
“Would you like to tell me what the hell is going on here, husband?” I asked, a bite in my tone. Cathal gave me a contrite look.
“Mo ghrá, I’ll explain, but first, let’s wait and see what Alistair has to say. I’m not totally sure what’s happening,” he replied.
“Where’s my dad and his people?” I asked, scared.
“Don’t worry, they were brought in, too. I saw them when I was looking for you.”
I wanted to grill him, but Alistair’s voice came over a PA system. He held a microphone to his mouth. Cathal’s arm snaked around my shoulders.