Page 80 of Ruthless Reign

“I do,” she said, smiling up at me.

“And do you, Roman Alexander Montgomery, take Julia Gianna Francesca Benita Natali Caputi to be your wife, to have and to hold, to honor and protect, to love and defend, for all the days of your life?”

“I do,” I replied, returning her grin.

“Do you have the rings?” Saint turned to KC.

KC reached inside his pocket to pull out the velvet cloth containing the simple white gold bands we’d picked out weeks ago. Even though we were already married, the little circles meant so much for being just chunks of soft metal.

“These are symbols of your vows to one another, signs of your commitment to the promises made here today.” Saint went on, but the significance hit me right in the chest. Four months ago, I’d sat in that lawyer’s office, going over a contract that stipulated the rest of my life. It mandated we had children, that we share a last name, that we share a house, and I barely knew the person I was supposed to do those things with. I only knew that it could end a war neither of us wanted.

Now, here we were. I grabbed Julia’s ring from Saint’s palm and held up her left hand, sliding it over the knuckle of the third finger, placing it on top of the ruby one I’d given her a few days ago. She did the same to me.

“And now, in front of your family, the Steel Roses, and all the fucking Gods, I pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your old lady!”

The crowd erupted into applause and cheers while I stepped closer to connect my mouth with hers. She smiled against me and held my jaw, deepening our connection.

When I stepped back, I knew no matter what happened today, I’d never regret marrying her…for real.

25

JULIA

The ceremony and reception went on as if we weren’t waiting for the real guest of honor to show up. Della and Chesco had assured us she planned to appear shortly after the vows. But when the dinner had been served, and it was time to cut the cake, we still hadn’t seen any sign of her.

“Castor, what the fuck is going on?” Roman asked his brother.

He typed on his laptop and shrugged, glancing at us. “I don’t know. The people I’m trackingshouldbe here. Like…right here.”

“Julia, Bear!” Ru called, waving us over to the cake at the other end of the tent. “C’mon. We’re all ready for dessert.”

“It doesn’t make any sense,” Castor said. He glanced at Lizard, whose club was responsible for guarding the perimeter. “Have you heard anything from your guys?”

Lizard shook his head and grabbed his phone, pressing a button before holding it to his ear. One of the servers walked back, his gaze connecting with mine for a moment, barely a heartbeat, but recognition shot through me. I could have sworn I’d seen him before, but I didn’t know where. He walked over toone of the tables to refill a water glass while alarms blared in the back of my mind.

“Let’s go cut our cake,mia cara,”Roman said, squeezing my hand and interrupting my train of thought. “Keep working on it, Cas.”

We walked to the group waiting by the three-tiered monstrosity, but the pit in my stomach only grew larger. She should have been here by now, and if she wasn’t, it could only mean one thing. She had planned something we didn’t foresee. Now we waited for the fallout. Today had been wonderful, something from a dream, and that made me more anxious because it was about to be brutally ripped out from under me.

I tried to calm myself.

Roman is wearing Kevlar. Your dress is reinforced with a bulletproof corset. It’s going to be okay.

That was, of course, as long as no one aimed at our heads.

“Here we go,” Ru said, handing the cake-cutting knife to me with a grin. I tried to reciprocate, but the tightness in my chest grew into a boulder, suffocating me. “Grab it together.”

Roman wrapped his hand around mine, and we sliced into the white dessert before plopping a piece down on a plate.

Something’s not right.

It rattled around my head like an echo as Roman cut off the tip of the piece and held it out to me to take. We were meant to feed each other a tiny bit, and when he put the portion between my lips, I regretted we had used our pretend wedding for this. I wanted it to be real. We deserved it to be real.

I smiled for the camera and kissed Roman’s icing-laced mouth, causing the crowd to applaud again. But after that, I needed a moment to get my head back in the game. Even though this had been my idea, I wanted nothing more than to grab my husband and our family and get the hell out of here.

“I have to use the bathroom,” I said to Roman, nodding back toward the house.

“I’ll go with you,” he said.

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