I shook his hand and thanked him for doing this on short notice, but before I could say more, there was a knock on the door. Eva gasped when it opened, and her mother walked inside, followed by her father and my parents.
Blair rushed over to Eva, and I had to fight the urge to drag her into my arms to make sure no one tried to take her away. I focused my energy on my dad instead, who held up his hands and stepped back. “It was Kendra, I swear.”
My mom stomped up to me and went up to the very tip of her toes to smack the side of my head. “Ouch,” I grumbled, rubbing the sting away.
“You deserve a whole lot more, Tucker Carrington,” she snapped. “Not inviting me to your wedding? Why wouldn’t you want me here?” Her eyes filled with tears, and I suddenly felt two inches tall. Shit. I hated it when my mom cried. I looked at my dad for help, but he just glared at me, silently ordering me to fix it.
I wrapped my mom up in a bear hug and kissed her cheek. “Of course, I wanted you here, Mom. I was just...we were in a hurry and—”
Eva scoffed, and I threw her a pleading glance, mouthing that I loved her. After a minute, she sighed and saved my ass. “I’m sorry. Mom, Penny, I swear we didn’t do this to shut you out.” Eva’s eyes met mine, and she gave me a tiny smirk, her eyes dancing with wicked mirth. I had a feeling I’d been wrong; Eva wasn’t saving me, she was throwing me to the wolves...without getting me arrested for kidnapping. “I’m pregnant, and we didn’t want to have the baby out of wedlock.”
Son of a bitch. She’d handed my ass over to her dad on a silver platter. I didn’t know what it said about me that it made her even sexier. Her intelligence and strength were as hot as her delectable body. She winked at me, clearly following the path of my thoughts and wiggled her ass a little more than necessary when she turned around and walked over to a small sitting area and took a seat. She had definitely earned herself a thorough spanking when we got home.
“You’re what?” Blair gasped at the same time that Justice shouted, “What the fuck?”
My dad groaned and dropped into the nearest chair, shaking his head, mumbling something about me being too much like my old man. If I hadn’t been so angry and frustrated by the whole situation, I might have laughed because it was true. I didn’t see that as a bad thing, however.
Unlike everyone else, my mom was ecstatic, and she clapped while bouncing on the balls of her feet excitedly. “A baby!”
The cacophony of sound was giving me a headache, and I was about out of patience in regard to my wedding.
“Quiet!” I shouted. Then I addressed all the parents as a group. “First of all, Eva and I are adults. We don’t have to ask permission to get married or have a baby, or anything else we decide to do as a couple. We are getting married. This isn’t up for discussion.” I held up my hand when Justice started to speak and was a little astonished when he backed off for the moment. “That being said, we love and respect you all, and I know I speak for Eva when I tell you that we are truly sorry for not telling you about this and are very happy that you’re here now.”
Eva stood and ran over to throw herself into my arms, almost bowling me over. “I love you,” she exclaimed as she hugged me tight. Everyone but her faded away, and I bent low to brush my lips over hers.
“I love you too, Eva-bear. How’s about we get hitched?”
She laughed and kissed me a little harder before stepping back and lifting her chin stubbornly. Then she pivoted on her heel to face her parents. “I love Tucker. We’re getting married. I’m so happy you’re here, but if you have a problem with it, now’s the time to leave.”
Justice grumbled, but I spotted the pride in his eyes as he gazed at his daughter. Blair started crying, but she had a big smile on her face. “Oh, honey,” she sniffled. “You’re all grown up. And now my baby is having a baby…”
“Tucker,” Justice’s voice was a low growl, and a lesser man would probably have shriveled up and died under his dark glare. “You knocked up my daughter before marrying her?”
Eva looked up at me guiltily, but I just shook my head, silently telling her to let me handle this.
“Sir, you know I had every intention of marrying your daughter. I could understand your anger if I hadn’t already asked for her hand. But I respect you, and Trevor, too much to have ever married Eva without doing so. And since I did come to you, and received your blessing, I fail to see how it matters when Eva and I choose to have children. That is a decision we make as a couple. And Blair, Mom...I promise, you can throw Eva the wedding of her dreams later, but we’re getting married now.”
Eva sighed, and when I glanced down to check on her, I was captivated by the love shining from her eyes and turned on by the way she was looking dreamily at me, like I was her hero. But now wasn’t the time, so I turned my focus back to Eva’s parents. I was relieved to see a touch of admiration in their expressions. Though Justice still didn’t look all that happy about the situation.
Blair’s eyes were teary as she stared at Eva, and she smiled softly when she said, “Honey, you look so beautiful. And...really happy.”
“I am, Mom,” Eva answered, and I could’ve sworn that I actually heard her smile in her voice. “Tucker loves me the way Dad loves you. And the way Jonah loves Penny.”
If we’d been alone, I would have stripped Eva bare and worshipped every inch of her body. She’d just given me the highest compliment I could ever receive. My patience officially ran out at that moment. I turned to the judge, who’d been quietly sitting at his desk the whole time, clearly enjoying the drama. “We’re getting married now,” I demanded in more of a statement than a request. He grinned and jumped to his feet.
Our parents came to stand at our sides, and I was grateful they were there. But the only thing I would remember from that ceremony was how fucking gorgeous my bride was and the feeling of utter bliss when she said, “I do.”
I walked into the restoration room at the Met and frowned as I prowled toward the table where my wife was bent over her latest project. A young guy was hovering near her, standing a little too close for my liking. As I approached, I could hear what he was saying, and the way his eyes were glued to her chest had fury building inside me.
“You’re so talented, Eva. Maybe we could go to lunch sometime, and you can tell me about—” he broke off and his head whipped in my direction when I growled.
“Did you miss the fucking giant diamond on her hand?” I snarled.
He backed away a few steps and shook his head. “I didn’t mean—I thought maybe Eva—”
He took another step back, and I glared as I jerked my head toward the room’s exit. “I suggest you run along, boy. Mrs. Carrington”—I emphasized her name through gritted teeth—“is going to lunch with her man.” The kid swallowed hard before nodding and hotfooting it out of my sight.
When I turned to my wife, she was looking up at me and rolled her eyes. “He was harmless, you crazy caveman.”
I narrowed my eyes and cupped her elbow to help her to her feet so I could wrap her up in my embrace. “He was hitting on another man’s wife.” I blew out a harsh breath and raised my eyes to the ceiling. “I figured once I had my ring on your finger, I’d be done scaring off assholes who’re sniffing around you.”