Colt continued to glare daggers at Travis’s back. “Why do I feel like he’s going to flirt with my sister all evening?”
Dax nudged Colt toward the chairs. “You’re all here for three more days. Might not just be for the evening.”
Colt shook his fist as Ryan laughed. Dax started to walk backward. “Take your seats, gentlemen. I’m about to get married.”
Ryan slapped him on the back for luck and then joined Lily, who had already taken a seat.
Colt grinned deviously as he started to walk away. “You’re a dead man when you come home from your honeymoon. Beware. You have no idea what I’ll do to you when you step into the office.”
Dax shrugged and grinned wickedly, then turned around. He wasn’t too worried. No matter how many pranks they played on each other at work, their friendship never wavered. He couldn’t wait to see what crazy thing Colt came up with. The look on his face had been worth it.
Travis wasn’t that bad of a guy. After taking three months to get to know him, he was starting to get used to him. At first, it annoyed him that Travis wanted to be around Sarafina so much. It didn’t take long to realize that Travis was a friend to her and she wanted only him. Nobody but him.
At times, it amazed him that he got so lucky. Maybe it hadn’t been long since they met, but he knew getting married so soon was the right decision. He couldn’t let her get away. She was the best thing he ever ran into.
“So, is this how we’re starting the ceremony?” a sweet voice whispered.
He looked into the eyes of the most beautiful woman that was about to become his wife. “It wouldn’t be right to start the day without running into you at least once. That’s how we met.” He kissed her sweetly on the lips. “Travis didn’t believe me that you wanted to get married here. You do, right?”
She nodded. “And I want to walk down the aisle with you. That was one of my favorite parts at Lily’s wedding. I was safe in your arms. I almost fell flat on my face. I don’t want a fairytale ending like everyone else. I want my own kind of fairytale.”
“Not gonna happen on my watch.”
He argued with her at first about walking her down the aisle. It should be her father who had that honor. But Sarafina assured him she knew what she wanted and that her father didn’t mind. She wanted him to walk her down the aisle. So, he quit arguing. What Sarafina wanted for her special day, she got.
He took a step back and took in her entire dress.
Gorgeous. A pure hidden gem that he couldn’t believe he found.
The top of her dress, heart-shaped and strapless, was white with glittering beads that brightened the room. The bottom half was sewn together with many different colors. Thirteen to be exact. The precise number of times she had been a bridesmaid. Her mother had taken all her bridesmaid’s dresses and made the bottom portion of her dress with them. Layered in blues, greens, yellows, reds, pinks, gold, and one color that she told him was chartreuse. He had never heard of it. A weird looking yellow-greenish color that no matter how strange it looked or sounded, it looked absolutely stunning on her.
So beautiful. So colorful. So original. Exactly the way she wanted it. She didn’t want a typical wedding with a white dress and a bridal party. It was her turn to get married and she informed him right away she wanted everything different. She wanted it to be something she would remember forever. He had nodded and then kissed her senseless. He didn’t care about the details as long as she became his wife.
Talking was overrated, anyway. She was still working with him on that. But unlike Bridget, she was okay when he didn’t talk. Kisses were a much better form of communication.
“I have no words. This…you’re exquisite.” He grabbed her hands and twirled her once. The dress swirled like a beautiful rainbow in a kaleidoscope, the colors blending and bouncing off each other.
“I don’t look silly?” Sarafina ran a hand down the dress as she laughed.
“Never.”
She cupped his face and planted a scorching kiss on his lips. “And you think you don’t have a way with words. I love you.”
Oh, how he wished the honeymoon was about to start. He grasped her waist and pulled her closer. “I love you. How about we walk down the aisle and then run to our hotel room? I’m dying to see what’s underneath this dress. Perhaps like the last wedding we attended. A white lacy thong?”
She extracted herself from his embrace and looped an arm through his. “Let’s take that walk.”
They started walking toward the red carpet that announced the start of the blissful walk he’d been waiting to take for the last three months. He nodded at a woman with a crazy looking fedora hat with a feather sticking out of the side sitting on the piano bench and waited for the music to start.
Everyone turned to look at them and stood up. His friends, who were more like family than anything else. Her family and friends. The people who mattered the most. That’s all they wanted for their special day.
The music drifted toward them.
“You’re sure your father was okay letting me walk down the aisle with you?” Dax whispered before he took one step.
“Yep. This is what I want. Just you and me. Bride and groom.”
He kissed her neck, his lips lingering and aching to trail downward. “You never did answer my question.”
She took the first step toward the altar, requiring him to follow her movement. “I didn’t think it’d be wise to tell you I have nothing on underneath the dress. We might’ve never made the walk down the aisle, then.”
Stumbling in his steps, she kept him from falling flat on his face. “Sarafina…”
“I saved you this time.”
He stopped at the altar, held a finger up to the man standing in front of them in a white jacket and pants, and pulled her closer. “You can save me anytime. But you’re so in for it when we’re done here. I love you so damn much.”
“No bra either. Did I mention that?” she winked and turned toward the man. “We’re ready.”
He pulled her into his side and squeezed. Definitely not ready. He wanted to find the nearest closet and have his wicked way with her. Instead, he focused on the words before him and followed the motions. The sooner they finished this, the sooner he could get her deliriously naked.
And just like that, she went from a beautiful bride to his enchanting wife.
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THE END
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Thanks for reading my book and I hope you enjoyed it. You can check out my other series full of romance and suspense on my website HERE. I love writing romantic suspense, although I have a few contemporary series as well. You can also stay connected with me if you’d like by subscribing to my newsletter. Stay safe and stay healthy!
♥ Much love,
Amanda Siegrist
OPERATION GIRL NEXT DOOR
CASEY HAGEN
Copyright © 2019 by Casey Hagen
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