Page 15 of Black Wedding

“I’m Kellan, and this little beauty is Hallie. If he ever puts her down, you can have a cuddle, but it’s unlikely,” Kellan jokes, and Bree sits on my side of the couch. There’s not much room between me and the arm of the sofa, so she is pretty much plastered to my side, but I don’t care. She is looking at Hallie like she is the most precious thing ever, and she just won me over even more.

I finally pull my eyes from the cute little girl in my arms and look over at the beauty sitting next to me. She has changed into a long dark green summer dress with tiny straps on her shoulders. The top of the dress curves like a heart, emphasising the generous swell of her natural tits. Before she sat down, I tried not to focus on how the dress flowed down her body, catching on the beautiful curves that make her look even sexier. Her fiery red hair has slight curls in them, and she is so close I can smell the strawberry body lotion that she uses on her skin.

“Oh, she is so adorable. How old is she?” Bree asks, and Kellan is quick to reply.

“Eight weeks. I can probably tell you the exact number of days because it’s the same amount since I last slept,” he says with a groan. I know the statement to be true because I could see the bags under his eyes, and the exhaustion seemed to cause his body to sag.

“Yeah, I hear babies tend to not be aware of the difference between day and night. It’s so cool of you to help Hallie’s mum with night stuff. I bet she is very grateful.” Bree smiles, and I see the scowl appear on Kellan’s face. It wasn’t Bree’s fault. I didn’t have time to prepare her and tell her Kellan’s story. I need to diffuse this situation quickly because when Kellan gets going on this story he gets angry. I don’t blame him, but I also hate seeing him relive it.

“Bree, Kellan is a single dad. Hallie’s pathetic excuse of a birth mother walked out on them both when Hallie was just five hours old. She posted some papers a week later abdicating all parental rights, and that’s the last we have heard from her. So Kellan has been doing everything himself. That’s why I said he could stay here so I can help out tonight. Then I’m babysitting this little doll for a couple of hours tomorrow while Kellan does a job for me,” I explain. Bree’s eyes go through a rollercoaster of emotions, but mostly she looks sad.

Turning to Kellan, she morphs her face into one of determination and a slight smile. He looks confused for a second before she speaks. “You can stay here until we find you a nanny that you trust. I honestly don’t mind; I would love to help if I can. But it looks to me like Liam already has everything taken care of.” She smiles, and once again, I am in awe of the beautiful heart this girl has. I struggle to combine this version of her with the hard-ass bitch who can torture people with her knife and not care.

“Thank you, you have no idea how much that means to me. But before I say yes, I have to know…what the hell is going on between you two?” Kellan asks, and now it’s my turn to groan.

Idon’t know if I should be offended that he hasn’t told his best friend about us and our arrangement, but then again, it isn’t something that you can talk about over the phone or via text. I can tell how much Kellan means to Liam and don’t even get me started on the tiny little girl wrapped in Liam’s arms. It’s so clear she means the world to both of these guys.

When I first walked into the room and got a chance to watch them for a bit, I was in awe at the way such a tiny girl who can barely hold her own head up yet has the power to bring these two big, strong men to their knees. Hearing Liam do baby talk and lay her across his chest, fuck it nearly killed me. I legit thought my ovaries were going to explode. So when I heard that she didn’t have a mum, and Kellan was going through so much shit, I genuinely meant it when I said we have to help him. He needs to know he has people who are there for him. He already knows that about Liam, but I know I have to win Kellan over if I am to stand any chance of having a lasting partnership with Liam. But how the fuck do you win over someone who has been burnt so badly by women? Honesty is all I have.

“So, to cut a long story short, Liam kidnapped me, and my family refused to pay the ransom. After we talked, I realised this was the opportunity I had been waiting for. I had been looking for someone to partner with, and Liam seems like the perfect choice. Basically, my Family only allows males to run the company. Still, I’m the only heir, so it was agreed that my portion of the firm would transfer to whoever I marry. But I actually want to rule. So, I needed to find someone who would stand by my side when needed but otherwise, let me rule. Liam has agreed to be that guy. To give my Gramps peace of mind, we agreed to spend two months getting to know each other since this is going to be a lifelong partnership,” I explain, deliberately trying to avoid using the term marriage. It’s hard enough to explain without labels.

“What the actual fuck? You have no idea how many fucked up things are wrong with what you just said. You!” he shouts, pointing towards Liam. “You kidnapped her when we agreed that was a fucked up plan. What the hell were you thinking?”

I shy away from the anger in his voice, pleased it’s not aimed at me. But, oops, I spoke too soon. His piercing blue eyes are now firmly boring into me, his accusing finger now pointing in my direction.

“And you, I don’t know if you are crazier than him. Did you seriously propose to the guy who kidnapped you?” The fury in his voice is evident. His shouting causes his stronger Irish lilt to become more pronounced. I wait as I’m not sure he wants an answer. Then, luckily, Liam steps in.

“Look, Kel, the reason I didn’t tell you about this is that I knew you would think it was crazy. But you know me better than anyone in the world. In the entire time you have known me, have you ever seen me make a rash decision?” he asks, and his friend visibly sags. The rigid, angry posture he adopted to yell at us soon falls away, and what remains is two beautifully brutal-looking boys having a heart to heart. Despite it being about me, I wanted to leave them to it.

“No, but at the same time, you have never acted so irrationally before. You have spent your entire life trying to distance yourself from the life your father threw you into. You hated the person he made you into. So why would you risk almost a decade’s worth of work?” I can see Liam’s face scrunch up in displeasure, and the cocky smirk is swiftly replaced by a sneer.

“I had no idea you didn’t want to work in this industry full-time or be part of this world?” I whisper, worried he might realise this is not what he wants. But, instead, he takes hold of my hand and gives it a subtle squeeze. The smile I love is back, and his eyes bore into mine like he is ensuring that I understand and take in everything he is trying to convey.

“We agreed not to talk about business. But listen to me when I say this, both of you. Yes, I hated being raised in this world. The things my father put me through nearly broke me, so I do the work I want. I only take on the clients I want to work with. Despite not knowing much about you, Bree, I already know that working with you will be nothing like my father. Yes, you have what it takes to be ruthless when needed, but you are not sadistically cruel. Kellan, I genuinely believe that this woman right here has what it takes to not only rule our world but to do a fucking great job in it. I know I was initially in it for the money, but now it’s about giving her the protection she needs. She is going to have a fair few enemies, people who will never accept a woman at the helm,” he says firmly, and my heart starts to soar.

Liam was looking at me with a fierceness that I’ve never seen before. Where our palms are connected, our fingers interlocked, I feel the heat creep up my skin. Like I am drawing warmth and strength from him and the belief he has in me. My heart starts to race, and I can feel my stomach doing little butterflies. Fuck, I really like this guy. I can feel myself subtly leaning forward. It’s like he has a magnetic pull dragging me towards him without me even trying. The whole world drops away, and in that moment, it feels like we are alone, and you can cut the tension with a knife.

I notice Liam not only subtly leans closer to me, but his sexy, seductive eyes pierce mine. Looks like we are finally going to take this further without any alcohol influencing us. He licks his tongue over his lower lip, and fuck, that’s me done for. He may as well have turned on a tap directly to my pussy, that’s how I feel.

“No. Stop that right now. There is a baby in the room. You will not do anything sexual with Hallie in the room, let alone in your arms, Liam!” Kellan shouts, reaching to grab Hallie from Liam. He playfully kicks his leg at Kellan to stop him from getting Hallie.

“Fuck off, you know I wouldn’t have sex with you in the room, let alone with Hallie in my arms. I’m not a perve,” Liam jokes, but he doesn’t exactly decline that he wasn’t thinking about us fucking.

“Seriously though, you made this sound like it was a business decision, but what I just saw between you is anything but business. Are you in a real relationship or just taking advantage of the benefits of your business agreements?” Kellan asks, and we both groan together. We have deliberately avoided asking each other questions like these.

“Kel, we are still getting to know each other. We are not in a position to talk about labels yet. But for your information, we are not fucking. The business is the most important part for Bree. It means a lot to her, so we have to make sure the foundations we build will last. I don’t think a quick fuck will build a lasting relationship, do you?” Liam chastises his best friend and Hallie coos in his arms.

I look over, and the little girl is so freaking cute. She has those chubby arms and thighs with all the rolls that make little babies look so darn adorable. But it’s the way her wide, bright blue eyes that are fixed on Liam that really wins me over. She is looking up at him, just listening to him talk, gripping onto the hand that is not holding mine. She looks like he hung the moon, and she would be pretty content to lay in his arms forever. Girl, I can relate so severely. How the hell am I jealous of a baby? I mentally chastise myself and realise I have completely zoned out, looking at Hallie.

Liam and Kellan are debating whether we should sleep together just to get it out of our system, then we can cut the sexual tension out and focus on the business part of things. Liam isn’t exactly telling him it’s a bad idea. Instead, he points out we are more focused on building a friendship. However, I did notice that he didn’t exactly say no to the sex idea.

Watching the casual banter between Kellan and Liam is so funny. If I didn’t know any better, I would say they were real brothers. They are so alike, but yet so different too. It’s obvious Kellan is the joker of their little duo. Obviously, only recently choosing to settle down with Hallie. The idea of that little girl’s mother abandoning her boils my blood. She is so fucking cute. How can anyone want to abandon her?

The more I focus, the more I realise how exhausted Kellan really looks. He looks so drained, constantly yawning in between arguing with Liam. And don’t even get me started on the massive bags under his eyes. So I decide to break up what I’m sure will be never-ending banter.

“Kellan, I know you were saying how exhausted you are. Why don’t you go for a sleep? Liam and I can watch this little cutie for you if you’d like?” I ask politely. He visibly sags at my words. At first, I wonder if I’ve offended him, until he turns the biggest megawatt smile my way.

“I could fucking kiss you right now. Well, I would if I didn’t think my bro here would throw down over it,” he jokes, looking pointedly at Liam. “Are you sure?” He directs his question to Liam, but I do see his gaze flick my way momentarily. It’s obviously hard for him to trust anyone with her.

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