Keeping Secret (Secret McQueen) - By Sierra Dean Page 0,89
not the bride. But I wasn’t big on being the center of attention, so I wasn’t going to complain too much.
Kimberly had handled it beautifully, even if she hadn’t understood it herself. It’s amazing how much you can write off as an eccentricity when your client is a billionaire. I think most people suspected Lucas was just the vainer of the two of us, and no one really corrected those assumptions.
One way or the other, by the end of the night I was going to be Mrs. Lucas Rain.
It didn’t much matter which of us came down the aisle last.
The main lobby was empty, security keeping tourists out and helping escort guests to their rooms while keeping them away from the wedding areas. The Columbia Hotel was the first of Lucas’s hotels I’d ever been in, and that had been several years prior when I’d executed a few vampires in one of the four penthouses and had almost gotten thrown off the balcony. But I’d survived, and now I was here on my wedding day.
The lobby floor was clear Plexiglas over river rocks, with fresh water passing over the stones. I stopped outside the elevator to marvel at the expensive details of the lobby, which looked like a British Columbia forest had been transplanted into the middle of Midtown Manhattan.
What better place for a werewolf king to get married?
Across the street, Bryant Park was decorated for the reception, with white tents and strings of glimmering yellow lights. Security guards were everywhere, ensuring no uninvited guests crashed the party. In spite of the cool April temperatures, the light made the whole park look warmer. And if the illusion wasn’t enough, Kimberly had also brought in dozens of outdoor heaters to keep people from getting chilly.
I took a shuddering breath outside the big ballroom doors, fidgeting with the bouquet of gerbera daisies I was holding.
“Ready?” Kimberly asked.
“Does anyone ever say yes?”
“Sometimes they lie.” She smiled and straightened my veil. It didn’t cover my face, but she wanted it to frame my cheeks just so. Satisfied, she stepped back and gave a contented nod. “You’re the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen, Secret.”
My heart stuttered a little at the unexpected compliment. “Thank you.”
She had traded her cell phone for a headset, and she clicked a button near her ear. “We’re good to go, cue bridesmaid entrance.” Pulling me to one side so my entrance wouldn’t be ruined, she nodded to the man beside the ballroom doors, and he pushed them open when the first swell of Etta James’s “At Last” began to play.
A hush fell over the ballroom, and chairs scraped as guests turned to watch the procession. Eugenia, Kellen, Brigit and lastly Mercedes entered and made their way to the front of the room where a makeshift altar had been constructed. Kimberly pushed Grandmere and me together and after an appropriate pause spoke into her headset again. “Cue bride.”
The traditional wedding march began to play, and the sound of a full ballroom coming to their feet followed the first beats of the music.
Grandmere and I entered the room, and I walked with her up the aisle in a half-daze. On my side of the ballroom I saw familiar faces, and with each one I got a little stronger.
Keaty had come. I’d have been lying if I said I was sure he would. Beside him Nolan and—to my genuine surprise—Shane were smiling as I walked farther into the room. Holden was there too, as far to the back as he could get, and he wasn’t smiling. Ben, my brother, was at the front looking as uncomfortable as Eugenia had when she’d first arrived, but I appreciated his being there. And beside Mercedes’s boyfriend, Owen, was Detective Tyler.
I didn’t have many people in my life before I became a part of Lucas’s pack. It meant a lot that everyone I cared about was here.
I raised my chin high and smiled for all I was worth. When I got to the altar, Grandmere kissed me and took her seat while I stood next to Mercedes on the platform and glanced over the gathered crowd. Briefly I felt like I was on the set of a movie. Lucas’s side of the ballroom was so full they’d put the overflow into my almost empty half. His guests were New York royalty. Some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, actors and singers, real-estate tycoons and the elite of Manhattan’s upper crust were all here to see me marry the most