29. Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Mac
“We should get married here.” Em inhaled the briny ocean air with her eyes shut.
“We can’t.”
Her eyes snapped open, and we both looked at Bash.
“Why not?” I asked.
“I looked into it and there’s a waiting period for licenses. It wouldn’t go through until we were about to leave—”
Em scowled, and I wrapped my arms around her from behind. She shimmied her ass against me and I slid my hand up her shirt, loving that she was braless and wearing the flimsiest bathing suit cover as a dress.
“How bad is it if we forget all about what’s going on at home, shut our phones off, and—” Em bit her lower lip and cupped my cock.
I moaned and pressed harder against her. “Not only is it perfectly acceptable, it’s literally all I want to do.”
Bash watched us, his eyes dark and hungry.
I reached for him and he came over to me in long, measured steps. Like a panther stalking its prey.
“You checked into the license even though you won’t be on it?” I asked cautiously.
If Bash and Em were the ones legally marrying, I would feel left out. I would get over it eventually, but Bash was handling it really well.
Bash shrugged. “Why wouldn’t I?”
Em kissed his hand and looked up at him, her blue eyes twisting my heart. “I would be a wreck if you and Mac were the ones signing the marriage certificate—”
I sighed and rubbed her belly. “Me too.” It felt good to admit. And if Bash was harboring any resentment, I wanted to know right away.
“Guys.” He cocked his brow. “It’s really not bothering me, okay?”
I was about to say something, but stopped.
I actually believed him.
Even if it would have killed me to be in his shoes, he was telling the truth. He was okay with it, but knowing he wouldn’t be on there still left a tearing ache in my chest. Sure, it was a piece of paper, but it was a weighted document that really meant something.
“Now that the wedding’s canceled, why don’t we regroup and figure out exactly how we want to do things?” I looked at them nervously.
It wasn’t as if the original plans weren’t what we wanted, but they got out of control. Big tents, a towering cake, food we didn’t even like, a venue that held zero meaning to us. Out of control.
Bash nodded thoughtfully. “Great idea. I wanted things to be perfect for the two of you—”
“Marrying you is what makes it perfect,” Em said, her mouth twisting up into the happiest smile.
A grin split my face. “Exactly. Let’s brainstorm while we’re here, okay?”
Em stretched up, the high hem on her bathing suit cover revealing she wasn’t wearing bottoms either.
“But first—” I slipped the useless cover over her head and tossed it to Bash.
He caught it and threw it in the corner of the room. “My thoughts, exactly, Savage.”
“Harriet just sent me a message—” Bash, and I tensed, but Em laughed. “No. It’s good news this time.”
Bash threw his head back and raised his arms up to the cloudless sky as we walked along the beach. “Finally.”
“She said everyone’s been notified about the cancellation and we don’t have to worry about a thing.” Em sighed wistfully. “Her last official job as our wedding planner.”
“What a fucking relief.” I sighed and watched the waves tumble over each other.
We had one more day left in Florida and so far, all we had done was eat, make love to each other, and walk along the beach. So, basically the perfect un-honeymoon.
Em sighed and wrapped her arms around herself. It wasn’t even close to cold, so I paused. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m relieved—”
“But?”
“Isn’t that horrible? I was so excited about our wedding and then it became this hassle and I was dreading it.” Her face fell, and Bash and I instantly circled her, pulling her against us.
“There’s nothing horrible about that. We got wrapped up in it and lost sight of things.”
Bash nodded, his chin rubbing against her hair. “Exactly. We each wanted it to be perfect for the other two, not realizing we were just making it worse.”
“Saying yes to things we didn’t actually want. I mean, canopies? I’m sure they would’ve looked great, but I can’t picture myself happily sipping on rosé in a white tent.”
Em snorted. “I can’t picture that either. Bash, I can picture.”
“Hey!” His eyes widened, and he lifted her up. “What does that mean?”
“Nothing bad. I promise,” she insisted, wrapping her legs around him. “You’re fancier than Mac and me.”
He threw his head back, laughing as his dark hair fell away from his face. My heart caught in my throat. He was beautiful. His stormy, deep blue eyes, his deep laugh, his arms—and the beard that had grown on me. It suited him.
He lowered Em back onto the sand, and she frowned. “We already have our outfits and so many decorations. What do we do with those?”
“It’s not like we’re never getting married. We can either use them or donate them if we go a different direction.” Bash said all this like it was obvious to him.
“And that’s why we need you.” I poked his chest and tried to contain how aroused touching him made me.
“Why?” He quirked his brow.
“You’re like an adult. A real one. I would’ve just burned everything—”
“Why would we do that?”
I shrugged, changing my stance so I could run as soon as he realized what I was saying. “You always know better. All that old man wisdom and stuff—”
I laughed and took off, my heart racing as his foot falls stamped the sand right behind me. I was all talk. Sebastian Bardot was only three years older and almost in as good of shape as me.
It was risky business pissing him off, but oh so worth it when he tackled me into the sand.
Claiming he wanted to watch a movie alone, Bash went back to the hotel room, leaving Em and me to watch the sunset on our own.
“He’s going to watch like five minutes and fall asleep,” I mused as his retreating figure disappeared down the beach.
“He was exhausted after chasing you.” Em laughed and laced her fingers through mine.
“He really was.” I grinned and pulled her into my arms. We hadn’t been alone in a while and I wasn’t going to waste a second of it. “You’re going to be my wife.” I meant to say it with some oomph, but my voice cracked and more than just the sand burned my eyes.
She leaned into me and sighed softly. “I wish I could get married to both of you.”
“I do, too. In my heart, he’s my husband.” A bolt of desire and anticipation tore through me. My husband . It felt so right I was so committed to that man. And to this woman. I ran my fingers through Em’s wild curls and kissed the top of her head. “Bash is handling the whole thing so calmly, but if it was me—” I gritted my teeth, wishing this world was set up differently. Why was our love any less valid than the next person’s?
“He’s being so cool about it.” She stared out at the water and dug her toe into the white sand. “I wasn’t kidding. If it was me, I would be so jealous and needy.”
“Me too.” I chuckled and slid her arms around my waist. Her curls were wild out in the salty air, making her look like the goddess she was. I couldn’t believe I would get to marry her—if we ever made it down the aisle.
“I don’t want him to feel left out—”
“Pink, I never plan on letting that man feel left out of anything. You and I both know he’s solidly in our hearts and our lives forever. We don’t need a piece of paper to prove it to ourselves.”
“Still—” She worried her bottom lip between her teeth. “I wish we could do something.”
An idea came to me and I grinned. “There is something.”
Em perked up, scooting closer to me. “Tell me.”
“It’ll take a little of work, but we can start the process as soon as we get home.”