Twelve
W hile I hadn’t seen any of the doves Edison had been muttering about last week, I was eyeballing the pair of swans that were currently waddling through the garden in front of me.
“When did he have time to get swans?” I muttered to Rhodes who was standing next to me dressed in a smart-looking tuxedo.
I’d so rarely seen him out of his usual uniform of dark pants, dark shirt, and the soft brown leather jacket that he wore like a second skin, that it was taking some time to get used to.
It clearly also made him uncomfortable because he was fidgeting with the bowtie like it was strangling him and when he pulled his hand away it was horribly crooked.
Without thinking, I shoved my oversized bouquet of lavender into his hands and reached up to fix it.
Rhodes’ dark eyes swelled with some kind of emotion as he stared down at me, letting me fiddle with the fabric until I was pleased with it. “I have no idea where he got them. The man has connections everywhere.”
My eyebrows shot up. “The big scary mobster has a swan guy?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he did.” There was a hint of a smile on his face but it was gone before I could truly relish in it. “You don’t really think he’s scary do you?”
I shrugged, the motion pulling at the chiffon material of my wedding dress. “Not to me, but it would be naive to say that he isn’t scary at all.”
Yesterday had been eye-opening when it came to just how dangerous my husband-to-be actually was. After we returned from the engagement party I caught Oona and the maids whispering about it—though their tone had been one of dry resignation. They didn’t seem afraid of Edison. No, they just seemed to understand why he’d done what he did.
“Smart girl.” Rhodes handed me back my bouquet, his eyes leaving my face for something behind me. “Ah, and it looks like your surprise actually made it!”
I frowned at him and turned, my mouth dropping open when I found my little brother standing a few feet away with his hands planted firmly in his pockets.
It was the same suit that he’d worn only a few short weeks ago when he attended my first wedding, but this time instead of a stormy expression, Romey just looked happy to see me.
“Rom!” I squealed, throwing myself into his arms and not caring if it crushed my flowers. “You’re here!”
Romey’s grip was crushing as he hugged me. “I was invited by Mr. Scary back there, so I came.”
Whirling around to Rhodes, I found him smiling the first truly genuine smile I’d ever seen from the alpha.
“Why did you invite him?” I asked, curious. Neither Edison nor Rhodes held any love for the Chandler family—even if seemingly they’d accepted me amongst their ranks.
“I overheard you talking to Oona about missing him, so I called.” Rhodes’ eyes shifted away from mine as if he was a little bit embarrassed to have displayed so much human emotion all at once. He was definitely going to reach his quota for the year if he kept it up.
“Dad’s still convinced you’re going to come back and marry the Italians,” Romey whispered in my ear. “So he doesn’t know I’m here.”
I didn’t care what my father thought, I was just happy to have my little brother at the wedding I actually chose. “Will you walk me down the aisle?”
Originally, I was going to walk alone down the long white path down to the large artificial lake that sat on the Keane property. It was normally hidden by a copse of trees which had since been trimmed back to reveal the pretty little lawn where all of the guests were waiting for me. But now that Romey was standing in front of me I couldn’t help but ask him to go with me—just like I’d wanted him to during my first wedding.
Romey’s gray eyes, the same as my own, swelled with pride as he puffed out his chest and nodded before holding his elbow up for me to grab onto.
Placing my hand on his arm, I turned back to Rhodes.
‘Thank you,’ I mouthed to him, my eyes drinking in the softness of his expression as he nodded.
“You like that bodyguard?” Romey asked as we started on the path, and unlike the last time I’d walked down an aisle, I was filled with anticipation as we neared the floral arch that would lead to my groom.
I slanted a glance at my brother. Leave it to him to cut right to the chase, even after not seeing me for weeks. “Rhodes isn’t a bodyguard, he’s Edison’s second-in-command.”
“That may be, but you still haven’t answered my question.”
I frowned at him, wondering why he couldn’t just let it go. “What if I do like him?”
Romey’s lips twisted together as he scrunched his freckled nose. “It’s not a good idea, Per, the Keanes are famous for their leader not having a pack. No matter how much their wives like the help.”
Calling Rhodes the help sent a thread of irritation through me and I forced myself to breathe through my anger. I didn’t have a lot of time with my little brother and I didn’t want to spend it arguing.
Romey meant well, but our parents’ snobby influence seemed to have rubbed off on him more than it had me. That was, at least, one benefit of spending years in and out of the hospital.
“I don’t like him,” I half-lied. I wasn’t sure what I thought of Rhodes McCreary or what I could think about him. There was clearly something deeper going on between him and Edison. They went so well together that my instincts were even having a hard time separating them.
It reminded me of the time when I was little and was at a friend’s birthday party and one of the moms asked me if I wanted a vanilla or chocolate cupcake and I’d answered with full confidence that I wanted both.
She’d then chastised me for being selfish when everyone hadn’t gotten their share yet and that I should be a good girl and just pick one.
If that wasn’t the most apt metaphor for the conundrum I currently found myself in, then I didn’t know what was.
“Am I supposed to believe that when you gave the man those gross googly eyes of yours? He’s almost twenty years older than you, Perrie. They both are. Can’t you see how insane that is?”
I hadn’t woken up this morning thinking that I’d be getting scolded by my baby brother. Especially not on my wedding day.
Shooting him a withering look, I gave the inside of his elbow a hard pinch and watched as he struggled not to yelp. “Edison and Rhodes are both only fifteen years older than me and I’m marrying Edison of my own free will.”
Romey snorted like I’d just told a funny joke. “And being carried off from one wedding to another is your own free will?”
“Did Father send you to try and convince me to back out of this wedding?”
“What?” Romey’s brows drew together in confusion. “No, why would I listen to him? I’m just worried about you, Perrie.”
We reached the edge of the archway and through it I could see Edison at the end of the aisle chatting with the priest until the music changed, signaling that it was my turn to enter.
His gold eyes were vivid underneath the early afternoon sun, taking in my outfit with a hunger that was just barely covered by the wide grin on his face.
I gaped at him for a moment before reminding myself that we were supposed to look like we were madly in love. My lips, painted with a sheer pink gloss, pulled up into a smile that matched his.
“You don’t need to worry about me, Rom,” I whispered as we slowly followed the cadence of the wedding march up the aisle.
Several faces that I recognized from last nights’ rehearsal dinner turned to eye me, including the pale face of the woman who’d stared at Edison with a look that made every omega instinct that I possessed itch to scratch her eyes out.
Yulia, I remembered, looked as if she’d spent the morning crying. Her bright blue eyes were rimmed with red as she pushed the fat hand of her husband off of her knee.
Her expression was passive, but her eyes were filled with anger as I passed her by. I didn’t know what the history was with her, but Edison pretended like she didn’t exist, so I would do the same.
“Look,” I whispered as we neared the end of the aisle and my future husband. “Edison gave me a choice to marry him. I’m not being forced.”
At least not in that sense of the word. In the back of my mind I had to wonder if I asked him to leave instead of getting married if he would have let me.
“I just wish you didn’t have to do this at all.” Romey’s voice was glum even if his expression was bright. “I wanted you to live your life now that you’ve got it back.”
My heart swelled with love for my little brother. It had always been me and him against the world, but now it seemed as if our worlds were splitting down the middle with us on either side of a vast chasm. I would be the wife of a mobster and he would, if our father had anything to do with it, step into the political ring.
“I am living it. I even get to go to school starting next week.”
I could feel Romey stiffen with surprise, but my attention was away from him now and onto my groom-to-be who was holding a hand out for me.
His fingers were warm and soft as he led me up the stone steps to where the priest was standing.
Shooting one last look at Romey over my shoulder, I found my brother standing at the bottom of the steps looking a little bit forlorn until Oona swooped in and led him to his seat.
“My bride seems to be looking at everyone else but me today,” came Edison’s rumble from behind me as he gave my hand a gentle squeeze until I faced him fully again.
Normally, the alpha was dressed in neat, dark suits that cut an imposing figure on him, but today he was dressed in a white tuxedo that seemed to soften the patriarch of the Keane clan.
His black hair had been scraped out of his eyes and styled immaculately, his golden eyes had an almost unearthly quality to them as the light from above hit the both of us and I found myself staring at him far longer than was appropriate for our current situation.
“You look handsome.” The words spilled from my lips before I could catch them and I felt my face warm as Edison’s grin turned into something more genuine than before.
He didn’t get the chance to reply to my compliment, though, because the priest was cheerfully beginning the ceremony in a thick Irish lilt.
We moved through the motions together and I only half-listened to the words as Edison’s thumb ran smooth circles on the side of my hand.
About midway through the ceremony, I leaned over to Edison and whispered into his ear. “Where on Earth did you find swans on such short notice?”
The birds in question were making their way through the crowd, hissing at anyone who dared to try and reach out to touch them.
The corners of Edison’s mouth pulled up into a wry smile. “I know a guy.”
It was exactly as Rhodes had said, but I still couldn’t wrap my mind around the idea of meeting with someone to rent swans for the day.
“You know a swan guy?” I asked, a little too loudly.
The priest’s words stuttered as he continued his prayer over us, but he managed to keep going with a sharp look in my direction.
Chastised, I lowered my voice.
“You know a swan guy?” I repeated much quieter than before.
“He’s not just a swan guy. He also raises pigeons and other birds. He just so happened to also have a pair of swans.”
Edison was clearly having a good time watching my incredulous expression because a chuckle rumbled out of the alpha, making the priest falter in the middle of his words again.
“You’re distracting him,” I whispered, my body flushing with heat when he gave my hand a squeeze in response.
Realistically, it shouldn’t have done anything to me. It was just holding hands in front of a priest and all of the people in the audience. It should have been the most innocent of contact, but something about the way his thumb traced the lines on my palm was making every dirty little thought I’d had about the handsome alpha over the past few weeks rise straight to the forefront of my mind.
It’s a contract, I reminded myself as the priest gestured for us to come in closer. Just a contract .
“Now we will exchange the rings as a sign of commitment that these two individuals hold together,” the priest announced as he held up a plush tray with rings on it.
I hadn’t seen what would become my wedding ring before, but I was surprised to find how much I liked it. It was a silver ring with a gray, oval stone surrounded by clear ones that sparkled in the sunlight. With it came two silver bands that fit so snugly on my fingers that they must have measured for them while I was asleep because no one had asked my ring size.
Edison’s ring was a darker silver, and as I slid it on his finger, I realized that his hands were bare of his usual set of rings, making it stand out for all to see. He wasn’t even wearing the signet ring that had become synonymous with what I thought of when I thought of Edison Keane.
When we were going over the wedding details, Edison had explained that this wedding would be a more informal Catholic ceremony than the Roman Catholic one that I had to spend the weeks leading up to it learning.
It’s Catholic light, just like me , he’d joked one evening while we sat around the dinner table.
So it didn’t surprise me when, after only maybe a half-hour of listening to the priest, he finally declared that, in front of the eyes of God and the congregation, that we were now husband and wife.
The next part I thought I’d rehearsed in my mind enough that it wouldn’t surprise me, but when Edison’s lips descended on mine I found that my brain was short circuiting.
He told me that I had to make the kiss look real. To act like I wanted it more than anything.
And, honestly?
With the intensity with which his lips were moving against mine, I was pretty sure that we were doing an Oscar-worthy job of it.
I’d never kissed anyone before—well no one besides Tommy Peters in the first grade—but I wasn’t counting that.
The hoots and hollers from the crowd cheering us on were utterly drowned out by him. From the way his overwhelming vanilla scent, mixed in with just a hair of chocolate, or the way his lips moved against mine, testing to see how far I would let him go in front of all of these people.
I barely even registered that my feet were no longer on the ground until he was spinning us around, much to the delight of the onlookers.
“Good job, pet,” he whispered in close to my ear, his fingers tracing the line of goosebumps that were racing down my bare back from his attention.
For just a moment I was worried that I was the only one so affected by our kiss. That it truly was only a farce to please the audience in front of us.
Then I searched his face, my eyes meeting his and finding that his pupils were completely blown, nearly blocking out the gold of his irises.
Not only that, he was also breathing heavily, his lips red and swollen under the sheen of the shimmery lip gloss the makeup artist had put on me this morning.
No, Edison wasn’t just playing a part, and for some reason, that made butterflies erupt in my belly as I reached up to gently brush the gloss from his lips with my thumb.
“Thank you,” he rumbled, his fingers dimpling the flesh of my back as we turned to face the crowd who were also playing their part as Edison’s family, happily cheering on our nuptials.
“For what?” I asked as we descended the platform, hand-in-hand, and started to make our way back up the aisle, grinning for everyone to see.
Edison shook his head as he waved smugly to some of the older members of the Keane family as we passed. Their smiles didn’t quite reach their eyes as they watched us go, clearly unhappy with the wedding they’d just witnessed.
“For going through with it—the wedding I mean.”
I slanted a glance in his direction. “Well, Edison, it isn’t like you gave me much of a choice. You did have Rhodes carry me like a sack of potatoes out of my last wedding.”
The words were meant to be a joke—he’d let me negotiate far more than I ever would have been able to with the Italians, after all—but I watched as his expression fell a bit. Once we stepped through the archway and away from the crowd, Edison turned to face me completely. “I am sorry for that, Perrie, but I needed you to make all of this work.”
His use of my first name instead of the silly nickname he’d given me made me straighten and look at him more closely. He seemed almost remorseful now that the ring was on my finger.
Truthfully, I wasn’t sure what value a previously sickly omega with a traitorous rat for a father could hold for him. The Keane family was powerful, even when it came to the other four families that ruled the dark underbelly of the city. But he’d chosen me for a reason. Whether it be for political power, or a way to control the older members of the Keane clan, I didn’t know, but somehow I was suddenly feeling grateful for it.
Absentmindedly reaching up, I straightened his bow tie the same way I’d done for Rhodes’ earlier.
“I’ve made my peace with it, Edison, I figured you knew that by now. If I hadn’t I would have tied a bunch of bedsheets together and climbed out of my ivory tower already.” This time my words brought a half-smile to Edison’s face, and much to my surprise, his lips dropped down to mine and we were kissing again.
This one wasn’t as over the top as the one we shared before, but it still filled me with warmth, like all of the butterflies from earlier were catching on fire and filling my veins with heat.
Edison’s tongue also made an appearance for the first time, slipping along my lower lip in a silent ask for entry.
If the kiss earlier had been the triumphant finale of a romantic drama—this was a scene cut out because it was too risqué for general audiences.
My back bowed as I tried to catch a breath of air, but Edison’s mouth chased mine, his fingers almost bruisingly tight on my waists as a muffled growl leaked from in between our joined lips.
Dazedly, it reminded me of all of the spicy romance novels that I’d had to put down whenever a nurse walked into the room and it especially reminded me of my guilty pleasure of reading mafia romance.
I’d always written them off as unrealistic. That there was no way that romance or attraction could flourish in a system that had ruled my home city for as long as anyone could remember.
But now I was the wife of a mobster, and despite my best efforts, I actually liked my new husband.
And I’d probably end up liking him even more if he kept kissing me the way he was. It was like he wanted to consume me entirely and I was practically melting under his touch, our scents intermingling like the most mouthwatering of desserts.
“One of these days,” I whispered when he finally set me free, “You’ll have to tell me about all of those mastermind plans that are rattling around inside of your head.”
The golden irises of Edison’s eyes were slowly returning as he pulled back and the carefully crafted mask that he usually wore returned again. “Maybe one day I will.”
It wasn’t quite a promise, but I would take what I could get.
Someone cleared their throat and we both turned to find Rhodes approaching us. I wasn’t sure where he was during the wedding itself, but his clothing was now all askew like he’d been in a fight.
Edison noticed it quickly too because he pulled me in Rhodes’ direction, with a worried frown. “What the hell happened to you?”
Rhodes’ dark eyes moved from our swollen lips to our joined hands and there was a shift in his expression so fast that I almost missed it.
“The Italians tried to kick up a fuss. Those Ricci assholes are downstairs in holding right now because they tried to pull an us and crash the wedding. Dumbasses thought that just because the Amantes fucked up security that we would too.”
I blinked, surprised that Elio and his pack would go that far. I figured they would be happy that I was no longer going to be forced to be their omega.
Edison’s grip on my hand tightened as he heaved a sigh. “Apparently, pet, when it comes to your wedding luck you’re now two-for-two.”
Leaning down he pressed a quick kiss to my forehead that, despite the two kisses we’d already shared, seemed far more intimate. “Go with Oona and change into your reception dress. Rhodes, you’re with me.”
Edison’s hand slid out of mine and I found myself reluctant to let him go, but then Oona seemed to materialize out of thin air and gently linked her arm through mine. “Come now, love, let the men handle this while I make you pretty enough to put all these other hussies to shame.”
With one last look over my shoulder at Edison and Rhodes’ retreating forms, I let Oona pull me back towards the house, all of my curiosity about the appearance of Pack Ricci unanswered as I tried to focus on the rest of my wedding day.