When Jared turns, catching my eye and sending me that wonderful crinkle-eyed grin, my stomach flutters.
It’s been six months since the accident, and he’s doing great. His heart is strong, and there are no ill effects from the crash at all, apart from a few scars. But even those I like; they’re part of him, a reminder that life is fragile. Jared is as strong as an ox and is even entered for another half-marathon next month. Only this time, instead of the money he raises just being for the dementia charity, he’s splitting it, donating half to the hospital that saved his life.
The way he’s looking so lustfully at me makes a blush creep onto my cheeks, and I drop my eyes to the floor, trying not to think dirty thoughts. As I pass my mum and nanna, they grin at me widely, and Nanna sends me a dorky wave, which I return.
When I finally get to the front, I see Jared’s teeth are sunken into his bottom lip as his eyes rake over me in my dress. I giggle at the lust I see there and step to my left, away from him. My eyes slip from Jared to Tim, seeing him fidgeting nervously with his hands. He looks a little pale.
I grin and turn to the back of the church, watching as Heather and her dad step around the corner. She looks exquisite in her white princess ballgown, and I feel pride swell in my chest. My best friend is getting married to my other best friend today. I couldn’t be happier even if it were my own wedding day.
Tim and Heather decided two years was long enough to be engaged, and after Jared’s accident, we all made a pact not to take things for granted or put off things. They booked their wedding a couple of days after he was released from the hospital. That crash scared and touched all of us in different ways.
I turn back to watch Tim as he watches Heather. The look on his face makes my heart clench. His nerves are gone now; it’s just sheer love that I see shining from his eyes. I hold in a little squeal and shuffle on the spot in jubilation.
When I look back at Jared, I see he’s still looking at me. He grins and raises his hands, telling me he loves me, using sign language. My heart melts a little more. This is the new language he has been learning in his spare time. At work, his proposals to the board have been funded, his department has expanded, and more people have been recruited for the specialised division he’s spearheading. His most recent hire is a partially deaf graphic designer. He uses sign language as well as lipreading to communicate, so Jared decided this was his new project. He is always trying to better himself, always striving to be the best person he can be. He awes me. Every. Single. Day. I’ve been learning it too. I’m not a fast learner like he is, but he is a patient teacher. I love you was one of the first things I could sign.
As Heather gets to the top of the aisle, she hands me her flowers, and I give her a nod and a wink of encouragement before she turns back to Tim.
The wedding ceremony is beautiful, just as I imagined it would be. They have their own vows they prepared. Tim’s makes everyone laugh; Heather’s makes me cry happy tears. The rings are exchanged, and the kiss has the perfect, respectable amount of tongue for church. They’ve pretty much nailed it all.
As they turn and walk down the aisle, arm in arm, I grin and step to the side, letting the other bridesmaid, Heather’s cousin Hailey, walk behind them with the best man, Tim’s childhood best friend. When it’s my turn, I step to Jared’s side. Along with another friend of Tim’s, Jared has acted as an usher for the day. As my arm links through his, I smile up at him and sigh contentedly.
Outside the church, we throw rice paper and rose petals as the camera clicks, catching the confetti explosion and the newlyweds’ ecstatic faces.
The crowd thins, and people start making their way to their cars, so they can make the short trip to the wedding reception. The party is being held in a marquee, set up in the breathtaking grounds of the hotel we stayed at last night. I went down to the marquee this morning to make sure everything was in place, and it looked magnificent. Heather is going to love it.
As I follow behind the rest of the wedding party, meaning to get in one of the posh cars they hired for the bridesmaids, Jared’s hand tightens in mine, and he pulls me to a stop.
I turn and look up at him, seeing him looking down at me with that look. My insides clench at the unadulterated lust I see in his eyes as he steps closer to me, his arm snaking around my back and pulling me flush against him.
He looks like he wants to eat me, and my whole body is begging for it too.
“You look absolutely stunning.” His voice is hoarse with arousal as his hand slides down to my bum, squeezing gently. “I can’t wait to get you home later. Have you got some sexy underwear on under this?”
A heavy ache settles between my legs at the promise in his voice. I wince, knowing I’m wearing an ugly flesh-coloured pair of Spanx again. “I hate to tell you, but I’m wearing those ridiculously massive hold-me-in knickers again.”
He chuckles and leans down, putting his forehead to mine. “Even better.”
I squeal and kiss him. I now can’t wait to get home either.
Jared and I have been living together for the last three months. Things have been moving fast between us, but when you know, you know. And we definitely know. We now have a lovely little two-bedroom flat with his and hers sinks in the bathroom and a cute little balcony that we often watch the sunset from. It is nothing like Jared’s old wraparound grand balcony, but this one is even better because it is ours. When we decided to move in together, it quickly became apparent that negotiation and compromise were in order. My flat was too small, and his flat was too posh and clinical, so we settled on somewhere new. We now reside in a recently renovated, second-floor flat in a gorgeous building not far from where I work. Jared had the final say on which flat we picked, and I got final say on the decoration inside. Give and take. Perfect.
Us taking the next step and deciding to live together meant that Theo had to find somewhere else to live—no longer able to freeload off his twin. He now shares a flat that’s not too far from ours with one of their other friends. He’s doing well, still trudging along through life as if it were a comedy show, and generally being his awesome self. We see him often, and I’m pleased to say, the little mistaken identity blip hasn’t soured their relationship in the slightest.
As Jared’s tongue slips into my mouth and I get my first taste of him for the day, I grip his waist and press myself closer to him as the lust builds inside me. We’ve been together almost eight months now, and I still can’t get enough of him.
A throat clearing from behind me makes me pull away, a little bit dazed as I realise where I am. Jared smiles sheepishly over my shoulder as his arms loosen on me, his hands sliding up from my bum to the small of my back. I blink, coming back to reality as I turn and spot my mum and nanna standing there, watching us.
Nanna is grinning at us like we’re the cutest thing ever, and Mum rolls her eyes, already knowing what we’re like. She couldn’t be happier that Jared and I are on track. She adores him like the son she never had and admitted after the events that she secretly hoped I would make this choice. Nanna adores him too—though she still looks at him like he is a three-course meal. I can’t even blame her.
“Are we heading to the hotel together?” Mum asks. “Or are you two going to continue to stand there, making out on sacred ground?”