The Sweetest Gift - Scarlett Cole Page 0,38

single thing. She ignored the number of white rose petals already thrown over the carpet thanks to Petal’s exuberant swinging of the basket.

Reid was waiting for her.

“Ready?” Harper said, and Lia became aware that Cujo and Trent had gone to their places with Reid.

Lia took a deep breath and nodded.

The organ music soared through the church. Oh, Holy Night. Her favorite Christmas carol. And she heard the shuffle of feet as people stood.

Petal went first, her little head nodding to the beat. Lia couldn’t help but be touched by the dedication with which the nearly five-year-old was carrying out the task. Step, stop, throw petals. Step, stop, throw petals. Her little head bobbed in time as she counted out her routine. A quick glance up the church showed all five men of Preload, exaggerating the nodding of their heads to show Petal when to step.

Harper and Drea followed Petal together. The two best friends turned to smile at each other.

“I love you,” Pixie said over her shoulder before starting her solo walk as Matron of Honor.

“I love you, too,” Lia called out.

And then it was just her in the cavernous stone entryway.

A slight pang of being alone hit her. Her mom was there, down at the front with her new friend, Fredrick. They’d met at an art class.

But the church was filled with the people she’d made her family.

And Reid was waiting for her so they could make their own.

Yeah, she was really blessed.

She straightened her shoulders and stepped into the church. It was too full to see Reid immediately, but she knew he was down at the front somewhere. Of course, she smiled, taking in the gasps of response to her dress. The layers and layers of tulle swished as she walked.

She felt it, the moment his eyes were on her, and she looked toward the altar and found him. Damn, he looked so unbelievably handsome in his black suit it took her breath away. All fears and worries about whether she would be a good wife fluttered away. He was hers and she was his and that was all that mattered. He wanted to marry her regardless of whether she could cook a pot roast or clean a toilet. The only thing that mattered was getting through every day of the rest of their lives, being happy, loving each other.

Tears glittered in Reid’s eyes as she arrived at the front of the church. He reached out his hand for her and she took it, giving herself to him as he gave himself to her. Equal partners in marriage and life.

“Damn, Babe,” he said, gruffly.

“You like?”

He raised an eyebrow, the one that meant, isn’t it fucking obvious?

She grinned and turned to face the priest.

While the church was large, she felt as though she were cocooned in a snow globe. Lights and sprays of white flowers surrounded them as they said their vows in front of their friends.

When the service was over and photographs taken, Reid helped her climb into the limo and then walked to the other side to join her.

As soon as the car pulled away, his hand coiled around the back of her neck and he pulled her to him. Their lips met, his tongue searching hers. The speed at which he was able to turn her on never ceased to amaze her.

“Do you remember what I said to you in Vegas before Cujo and Drea’s wedding?” he asked.

She did. The words made her shudder. But she played dumb, willing him to repeat them. “You said this would be us one day.”

Reid grinned. He knew she remembered. “I said that, but I also said that when we got married, somewhere between the church and the reception, I'm going to lift that dress over your hips and take you in that goddamn limo, and I'm going to call you Mrs. Kennedy the whole time I'm doing it."

Lia checked over his shoulder to make sure the privacy screen was raised between them and their driver. “It’s a fifteen-minute drive to the reception.”

Reid pressed a kiss behind her ear. “You should know I asked the driver to make sure it was at least thirty minutes.”

“I like the way you think.”

“So, are you ready, Mrs. Kennedy, because I’d really like to fuck my wife?”

Her insides turned liquid. Lia loved nothing more than when Reid was at his dirty-talking best.

His hand reached for the hem of her dress, his calloused fingertips slid along her calf, paused at the back of her knee,