Page 105 of Axe-identally Married
I was not wearing my wedding dress, but I had put on a slinky black cocktail dress. It hugged my curves and showed only a tasteful bit of cleavage. Paired with thick black tights and booties, it was mostly winter-weather appropriate. Cole had whistled when I’d come out into the living room. Then he’d immediately grabbed my ass, so I was calling it a success.
But my husband had truly stepped it up. He’d donned a pair of gorgeous charcoal dress pants, a crisp white shirt, and a vest. A motherfuckingvest.
I swore that vest, which matched the soft Italian wool pants, was the hottest thing I’d ever seen. It had made me want to drop to my knees right then and there.
Even now, I kept sneaking glances at him. It was disorienting how good he looked. I was hot and bothered by the time we walked into the bar, and that was an achievement, as it was twelve degrees out.
Only in places like rural Maine would the Moose and other establishments have a special spot for snowmobile parking in the winter. Mainers did not get intimidated by snow. Quite the opposite, in fact. They usually relished the chance to get out and make Mother Nature their bitch.
The moment we stepped into the warmth, Cole wrapped an arm around me. I’d never figured him for the possessive type, and I couldn’t remember a single time I saw him hanging all over Lila, but he’d hear no complaints from me. Since we’d started sleeping together, he’d let his inner caveman out, and I liked it.
There was a group in the corner by the dartboards, and by the look of them—the height, the flannel, and the beards—it was his family.
Finn, who had his sandy brown hair pulled into a man bun, was gesturing with his pint glass as he turned to greet us.
And he was wearing a baby.
“Are you wearing a suit to a bar?” Finn guffawed.
“Did you bring your baby to a bar?” Cole countered.
“This is a family dining establishment,” Finn corrected. “And Adele is at girls’ night with her friends, so Thor and I decided to come out and see Uncle Jude. Plus, I packed protection.”
He pointed to the mini noise-canceling headphones that Thor was sporting.
For eight months old, the little guy was massive. Unable to help myself, I stepped up close and squeezed one of his chunky denim-clad thighs. He looked exactly like Finn, except toothless, and he couldn’t quite rock the man bun yet. I had a feeling he’d be a lot of trouble when he grew up.
“Ah, Dr. Willa is here,” Gus added, leaning forward to kiss me on the cheek. “Which is good, because Chloe keeps dancing in her heels, even though I told her not to.”
“She’s off the clock,” Cole gritted out, pulling me into his side.
I smiled down at the chubby baby. Gah, he was damn cute. He gave me a toothy grin, happy to look around at all the goings-on around him.
Finn, a big Viking with a baby on his chest, was getting a lot of attention. Every uterus in a five-mile radius was staring at him. But I was far more enamored with my husband.
And the vest.
Shit, would he leave it on later? Would it be weird of me to ask?
“It’s fine,” I said, patting Cole’s arm. “Gus, you can’t dictate your wife’s footwear choices.”
With a huff, he lowered his head and nodded.
“You know Adele has been working hard to sleep train,” I said to Finn, giving him my best serious doctor face. “So leave at a reasonable hour.”
“Yes, Doc,” he said, also hanging his head.
Before I could get caught up in more doctorly lectures, Cole steered me toward the stage, giving them both the finger.
“Your suit is ridiculous,” Gus shouted as we walked past.
“It’s a vest,” Cole shouted back. “And I don’t give a shit what you think. I like to get dressed up for my wife.”Thatadmission made a few heads turn.
My face heated at the attention. My brain wasn’t quite making the connection that I was the wife being publicly discussed. In fact, my brain had not been functioning optimally at all tonight. I blamed the vest and lots of hormones. I was a doctor, after all. I had earned the right to blame science.
The band was good. I’d known several of these folks for most of my life, but in an environment like this, when the music brought them to life, it was like seeing them through a new lens.
Jude Hebert was quiet and withdrawn, the kind of guy who nodded when you said hello. Whether that was a product of his childhood, when Noah—his more boisterous twin, usually spokefor him—or what necessitated Noah’s input in the first place, I wasn’t sure.
