Page 75 of Tangled Up In You

“You’re not saying that Celia is going to go from being a pious virgin to a stripper for him, are you?” she said with a laugh.

“That would be amazing,” he said with a laugh. “But no. Just that he’s revved up.”

“I hope he didn’t tell her what you orchestrated for his bachelor party. It will only make her judge you more.”

Celia had planned a traditional Catholic ceremony in a nineteenth-century stone and stained-glass church on the Southside of Dublin. The nearly ninety-minute service would include a full choir, multiple Bible readings, and communion for those who would take it. Gavin wasn’t actively anti-religion, but he had lost all comfort from it when his mother left, and he had made it clear for the last six months that he had no intention of taking communion. This conflict had resulted in Celia casting aspersions on the idea that Gavin was fit to be Martin’s best man, but there was no changing either side’s position on the matter.

“I will not be judged by Celia Rogers, of all people,” he said with a scoff. “She’s got her man, that’s all she needs to worry about.”

“And I’ve got mine,” she said with a sexy smile as she grabbed him over the fly of his suit pants.

“We have time. I know we do,” he said, backing her up against the bed.

“But we’re all dressed up and perfect,” she protested mildly.

He pushed up her dress and cupped her ass. “You’ll be even more perfect sitting on my face, darlin’.”

That made her catch her breath. “And then?”

“And then you can ride me until you come again.”

She swallowed. “And then?”

He grinned. “Then I’ll turn you on your side and get an even better feel of your tight pussy as I fuck you until I come.”

With this image, she could feel her nipples go rigid. “And then?”

His hands squeezed her ass with urgency. “Then we’ll go to church and act like we haven’t just ravaged each other.”

She bit her lip. “Sounds like a plan.”

They causeda stir when they arrived at the church as it was surrounded by eager photographers from various tabloids and legitimate papers. As usual, Sophie took Gavin’s lead and smiled as he chatted amiably with the paparazzi and posed before they made their way inside.

Sophie spotted Shay and told him, “Shay, you look so handsome.”

“Thanks,” he replied, his cheeks coloring. “You’re lovely as ever.”

“You two taking notes for your own wedding, then?” Conor asked as he approached them.

Looking at Conor, who also wore a smart suit that fell beautifully on his frame, a wave of emotion passed through Sophie. She realized that these boys who she had grown to love back in school were all men now. It was a wonderful thing to see.

“We’ll not be doing a church wedding, that’s for sure,” Gavin replied with a grin.

“Ah, he says this in the house of the Lord.” Conor laughed but also crossed himself for good measure.

A woman giggled at this and Sophie saw that a petite blonde was standing partially behind Conor. It was Conor’s girlfriend, Sondra Delaney. She was an actress on Fair City, the long-running Irish soap opera and Sophie recognized Sondra as the notorious man-eating home-wrecker of the show. She was also “temporarily” living with Conor. When she and Gavin were in Switzerland, Sondra’s apartment had become unlivable due to a massive renovation, so she took the opportunity to move in with Conor. And her designs on a future with Conor were clear.

Conor pulled her fully into their circle and they all greeted each other.

“We’ll sit together, love,” Sondra told Sophie, “since the lads have their thing.”

Sophie smiled. “Sure.”

“Darlin’, I better go find the groom,” Gavin said. “I’ll see you after.” He kissed her quickly before moving off.

The ceremony waslovely but long and formal enough that everyone seemed relieved to head to the reception which was being held at a nearby hotel ballroom. The atmosphere was wild as waiters dodged the young children who were let loose from parents ready to have a good time. But mostly, it was a joyous occasion with a lively mix of contemporary and traditional Irish music, and enough free-flowing Guinness to please everyone.

Sophie finally got some time with Celia well after dinner had been served and once again marveled at how the sweet woman was so completely unprepared for the rock ’n’ roll world her husband was devoted to. There was something naïve in the way she went on about the bizarre feeling of having press around her, especially given the fact that she had confessed upon their first meeting to being positively obsessed with the tabloid version of Sophie and Gavin’s story. This suggested to Sophie that as long as the focus was not on her, Celia was only too happy to indulge in the gossip scene, and that made her slightly wary.

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