Page 30 of Inconvenient Marriage
He didn’t, and by the time Annaliese came walking down the aisle to the chords of ‘Here Comes the Bride’, I was struck so damn speechless, I forgot all about my brother. It was easy when everything I am was completely consumed by the vision of my new wife.
I already knew that Annaliese is gorgeous. My attraction to her is undeniable. But seeing her float toward me, wearing the understated wedding gown that, despite being off-the-rack, fit her like a fucking glove… I understood why Adrian was willing to gun Desmond down to take Loni, calling her his princess. That’s what Annaliese looked like to me in her dress, her hair pinned up, showing off her face… she’s a princess.
She’smine.
The ceremony was simple. Because we both want this so badly—for our own reasons, yeah, but still—there were no objections. We did the Order standard vows, and when Father Francis told me I could kiss my bride, I did so with as much enthusiasm as I did when I had her up against that bathroom door.
The one thing I suggested during her planning was where we would hold the reception. Since Annaliese wasn’t too big on the whole ‘let’s throw a wedding’ thing, she said she’d try to get it for me. I told her just to give the owner my name and we should be good.
That’s how we ended up renting half of Martino’s out for our after-wedding meal. My favorite café has outdoor seating and a beautiful interior. Since our wedding is taking place during the evening at the end of March, we figured the inside would be best.
I wanted privacy. No surprise that Annaliese jumped at the suggestion. The restaurant could have seated plenty of others. It’s a Friday night, too. Oh, well. I liked having the inside space just for our party if only for the relief coming off of my new wife as she realized that no uninvited guests could join us here, either.
If only the servers that agreed to work our meal helped make her feel just as at ease…
The moment I told Annaliese that I would marry her, I knew that was the end of my whoring around. How can I expect her to want to stick around if I’m not loyal? And I sure as hell will get rid of anyone who thinks they can try to take her from me. There will be no ‘discretion’. So long as we’re wearing the matching Order wedding bands, we’re it for each other.
The staff at Martino’s knew that this was a Reynolds wedding. It was the name that Annaliese gave them when she booked it, and I’m pretty sure that the waitress who offered to lead the service took the job because she expected me to be here.
The way Polly shoots Annaliese a nasty look as I guide my wife in, her hand resting lightly on the arm of my suit jacket tells me that she never expected me to be thegroom.
I knew she was into me. Apart from tipping her well after I had my usual salad lunch, I didn’t give her any sign that I thought of her as anything more than the sweet server who always got my order right and delivered it quickly. She has no reason to be jealous of my new wife, but she is, and Annaliese gets a puzzled pinch to her features as she notices Polly’s sneer.
Shit. This is something I don’t want to deal with, especially on my wedding night. I went from a bachelor to a married man in less than ten days. It’ll be a shock to the way things have been in Harmony Heights, but that doesn’t mean that any of my previous lovers—or wannabe lovers—can treat Annaliese with anything less than respect.
Especially since I’d prefer that she didn’t know just how extensive my history is. It’s bad enough that I’m jealous ofoneguy that she used to be with. If she grows to be attached to me in any way at all, it’ll make things difficult if she’s the jealous type who runs into my past partners.
I don’t think she’s jealous. We were engaged for nine days and she hasn’t given me a single hint that she’s regarding this as anything other than what she proposed: a marriage of convenience. That’s when we’re alone, though. In public, surrounded by our friends and family, she really is the perfect bride. I can almost fool myself into believing that she’s as happy to be formally married as I am.
I kiss her cheek, wiping away her look of confusion while also making it clear to Polly to back the fuck off. Then, guiding Annaliese to the table set up for us, I position her opposite of her sister, sitting her next to Loni. Loni leaves a seat beside her for her suddenly missing husband. I, of course, sit on the other side of my wife.
The rest of our guests settle down. Dallas grabs the chair next to me before turning to engage my dad in conversation after he chucks my shoulder, offering me another round of congratulations.
Annaliese stiffens whenever Dallas comes close. That’s also my fault. I don’t think she realized that the King of the Order was actually the Dallas I wanted at my wedding until he showed up and she paled.
He noticed, too. My bro refuses to start any drama at my wedding—especially since he was such a vital part of the drama that went down during Adrian’s bloody wedding—so he’s been careful to not startle my bride. I appreciate it, just like I have to thank Loni for being so welcoming to Annaliese.
Connor and Haven came to the wedding, though I expected them to cut out before the reception like they did. Getting her out of the house for the hour in the church was damn near a miracle. I couldn’t ask any more from Haven, though I did thank Connor for the wedding gift he slipped me before they left. Without Haven to watch over, and Adrian still weirdly missing, it was easy for me to distract Annaliese long enough for Polly to take our drink order by pointing out the fact that my wife planned the whole wedding to Adrian’s.
“Aren’t you thinking about your reception with Adrian?” I ask, taking my seat, slinging my arm around Annaliese’s shoulder.
She goes ramrod straight at the familiar contact, but I ignore it. She’ll have to get used to it. I’m a touchy-feely guy, and I’m happy to show her off. That she doesn’t scoot away from my arm is hopeful. She leaves my arm where it is as she turns to look at Loni.
“Oh. Are you getting married, too?”
Loni flashes her rock. “Already did. But our wedding was… different than yours. We had a church ceremony. We keepmeaning to have a reception, but we haven’t done it yet. But you… you planned this is a couple of weeks?”
“Eight days,” I say proudly.
“It helps when you have a client who gives you an open budget,” she counters. “Sebastien told me to get it done, and I did.”
I laugh. “Hey. You wanted to get married as quickly as I did. Don’t deny it.” I make sure the entire table can see my charming grin as I say, “You couldn’t wait to make us official.”
Annaliese doesn’t deny that, either. I didn’t think she would. I don’t know what, exactly, she told her parents and her sister about our sudden wedding, but since the Crawford family is here, supporting the eldest daughter instead of snatching her way from Sebastien Reynolds’ clutches, I can guess she made it sound like she really did want to do this.
Whether a love match or in the name of the Order, it doesn’t matter. She said ‘I do’ and meant it—and everyone here knows it.
Polly returns, along with a male waiter I don’t recognize. He trails behind her, carrying a second tray of drinks. She mutters to him, telling him where to place them, then the two vanish back to the kitchen to bring out the salad course.
