Good Sensations (29 page)

“Doing to me, huh?” She leans in again and kisses me. “Well, I have some things I want to do to you too… but later. Let’s go do this reception thing so we can get to the later part of the night’s festivities.”

With the top still down, we drive back to the reception, the weather nice, making for the perfect sunset tonight. She tousles my hair and out of nowhere laughs, really laughs. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her more happy. The wind is blowing her hair around and her eyes shine as the ocean in the background frames her gorgeous face. “What’s so funny?”

“Not funny. Happy. We’re married, Evan,” she says, a trace of astonishment found in her words.

“We are married,” I reply, punctuating with my big, happy grin.

Her hand slides between us and she rests it on my thigh. With a small smile lingering on her lips, she adds, “Life is perfect.”

Covering her hand with mine, I feel it too, and repeat, “Life is perfect.”

When I pull into the driveway, I can hear the music out back and the chatter of the crowd. Looking at Mallory, she says, “I need to freshen up when we get there.”

“We can detour upstairs.”

She nods, a lot on her mind by her quietness.

“Want to talk about it?” I ask.

That makes her smile. “Just hoping they aren’t too mad.”

“They’ll be mad, but they’ll get over it.”

“Yeah.” She pauses. “I guess. I don’t regret it though.”

“Good,” I say, stroking her shoulder. “I don’t either.”

I put the car in park and cut the engine. After tossing the keys to the valet attendant, I run around to help my bride out of the car. We grab our shoes and make a beeline straight for the front door and inside the house unseen. Holding hands, I pull her quickly up the stairs and around the corner.

“Ah!” We yell along with Sunny and Zach as we all run right into them.

“You scared us,” Sunny says, holding her hand to her chest.

“You scared us,” Mallory replies. “What are you doing here?”

They look at each other with guilt written all over their faces and Sunny starts to straighten her hair.

“Oh my. Don’t even answer that,” Mallory adds, rolling her eyes. I know what that look is about and I’m glad not to have it aimed at me.

Right when she starts telling them she can’t believe they were having sex during our reception, I cut her off when I hear people talking downstairs. “Shhh,” I whisper, putting my finger to my mouth. “Come with us.”

We scurry down the hall single file to my old room and I shut the door behind us.

“Are you married?” Zach asks, curious.

I look at Mallory just as she looks at me. She answers, “Yes.”

“Congratulations!” Sunny squeals, throwing her arms around Mallory’s neck.

“Keep it down,” I whisper.

“Congratulations, man,” Zach says, pulling me into a hug. “You skipped out on your own wedding. That’s so badass.” He claps me on the back.

“Thanks,” I answer with a chuckle. With Zach it’s always been easy. We don’t have to use words, just looks we learned from being friends for so long. He likes Mallory and he told me back in New York he’d support my decision to marry young. He sees how much my life has changed and knows Mallory is to thank for it. He had to put up with a lot of shit from me over the years, yeah, good and some really fucking crazy times too, but my life is better than ever. I’m just glad he’s here today to celebrate with me as my best man.

“Let’s go to the reception and do a toast,” Sunny suggests, fluffing the skirt of Mallory’s dress.

“Actually…” Mallory says, touching her hair. “I should really fix my hair.”

Sunny looks at Mallory. “I can help you, if you like.”

“I want to pull the front of my hair back? I think it will be prettier for the party that way.”

Sunny’s smile softens, and she says, “Yes, I think that will be very pretty.”

“I can wait here for you,” I say.

Zach hits me on the arm, “Beer?”

When I look back at Mallory, she says, “Go. We’ll meet you downstairs.”

“Awesome. Don’t mind if I do have a beer then. I’ll be waiting.”

The girls disappear into the bedroom and we head downstairs to raid the fridge.

We rejoin the boys ten minutes later. Sunny has taken the front of my hair and carefully spun it in two sections on either side of my face then rubber-banded them together at the back. She tucked three small Plumeria flowers from her hair into the rubber band to hide it, leaving most of my long hair down and wavy in the back.

Evan is waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. When I’m almost all the way down, he steps up one to meet me. Standing eye level now, he grabs both my hands, and says, “You’ve never looked more incredible than you do right now.”

“Mahalo.”

Leaning forward, he kisses me lightly. “I love you, Mallory.” His lips are against mine and his words are just a whisper between us.

He takes my breath away every time he says those three magical words. I rub his shoulders and whisper, “I love you, too. So much.”

When he pulls back, his eyes linger indulgently on my lips and then slowly looks up to meet mine as that half smirk appears—the one that creates a current of desire throughout my body. He proudly extends his elbow and I take hold just as proud to be his—legally and eternally. “Mrs. Ashford, it’s show time.”

We walk into the kitchen, which is bustling with caterers and waiters, and Zach stands up from a chair and makes his way to the door, taking hold of the handle.

“Are we all good here?” Sunny asks, eyeing us both and smiling.

“All good,” I reply, straightening my skirt.

“You ready?” Zach asks when we stop in front of them.

With a glance and a nod, we go.

“You ready to do this?”

“Absolutely.”

Sunny rushes outside with Zach following behind, but instructs us first, “Wait here until you’re announced.”

My palms start to sweat, but I’m not alone with the nerves. Evan shifts on his feet and takes a long pull from the beer. I laugh to myself that our introduction as husband and wife is what makes us nervous. Not that we eloped. Not the vows that we made up on the spot.
The introduction.
Go figure.

From just outside the back door, a man on a microphone announces, “Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce for the very first time, Mr. and Mrs. Evan Ashford.”

I step forward, but Evan is an immovable wall and I’m jolted back in place.

When I look at him, he says, “We’re still us out there, okay?” He’s more serious than I expected. “Don’t let their judgments change who you are.”

The meaning of his words sink in as I realize he’s referring to the uppity crowd from New York. Raising my chin up, I squeeze his hand. “I promise I won’t.”

Nodding, he steps forward, taking charge of the situation and leading us to the door. We walk out and Evan smiles, walking with pride into the setting sunset of the reception to a huge round of applause, cheers, and whistles.

Claire rushes over, hugging me, and whispers, “Congratulations, Mallory. This may seem rushed, but the photographer needs you two on the beach right away. We only have a few minutes of sunlight left.”

“Alright,” I say, returning the embrace.

She hugs Evan, and I overhear their exchange. “Congratulations, Evan. You heard me tell Mallory about the photographer?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, take care of the photos and we’ll talk about what happened today when you’re finished.”

Claire whispers to the guy with the microphone and he instructs the guests to hold all personal congratulations until we return from the beach. Of course, no one does as we work our way around the pool and down the stone steps. People seem genuinely excited for us though I don’t recognize anyone we pass. We give lots of thanks until we’re down the step and on the beach. We kick our shoes off again and continue walking, warm sand between our toes.

Claire was right. We only have a few minutes before the sun dips into the ocean, leaving a blanket of bright stars to softly light the sky. We take a lot of pictures and then make our way back up, this time stopping to shake hands, receive hugs and lovely words of wishes for our future. Back on the pool deck, I stand on my tiptoes to scan the crowd for my parents. The congrats are great, but I want to see my family.

Sarah surprises me when she shows up at my side and says, “Your parents are over here. Follow me.”

I take Evan’s hand again and we weave through the party, running into Ms. Chart. Evan hugs her tight, both of them taking the time to appreciate the special moment. “I’m so proud and happy for you, Evan,” she says with tears in her eyes.

“I’ve never been happier. She married me. She actually married me,” he says, releasing her and taking my hand back in his, holding it to his chest.

“You make a beautiful couple. Congratulations.” She leans forward, hugging me. “Mallory, I’ve never seen a more radiant bride.”

“Thank you.” I’m too choked up to say anything more. Gail Chart has always been a good friend to me and I know Evan is like a son to her. She should be proud of him since she’s played a big part in raising him.

“Take care of him.” she whispers.

“I promise I will.”

We welcome Harold and Nellie to the reception before finally spotting my dad. I rush over with Evan in tow until I reach my dad and see my mom behind him. Throwing my arms around our co-conspirator, I hug my dad tight. “Was it beautiful, sweetheart?” he asks, holding me tight. “Was it everything you wanted?”

“It was perfect, more than I could dream of. Thank you for helping us.”

Releasing him, I give him a quick kiss on the cheek before hugging my mom. Swaying in each other’s arms, appreciating all that’s led to this day, she sniffles. “I’m sorry, Mom.”

She whispers, trying to calm herself to keep from crying. “Don’t be. It should be about you, not us.”

My mom always knows the right thing to say. My guilt over them not being there to see me get married was starting to cloud my happiness. But the clouds have cleared and happiness returns. “I love you,” I tell her.

“I love you too, honey.”

When I look back at Evan, he extends a hand to my dad, which he happily accepts. With a shaky, emotional sigh, my dad abruptly and surprisingly pulls Evan into a hug. “I thought you weren’t a hugger, Sir?”

“You just married my daughter. I can hug ya if I want to. We’re family now and call me Clay or Dad, whichever you prefer,” my dad says, holding back the tears. Evan’s smile might be best described as victorious, but I don’t make a big deal of it, not wanting to embarrass my dad.

After making a round through the party to say hello to everyone else, Kate finds us and leads us to Evan’s parents who are waiting by the cake with champagne. Hugh hands us both a glass and Evan hugs him. “I’m really proud of you, son.”

I hear that right before Claire looks at me fondly, and says, “Mallory, you make a beautiful bride. I’m happy for you both. Congratulations.”

Setting my glass down on the table next to us, I hug her—not because I have to since she’s officially my mother-in-law and not because I really believe she’s being nice. I hug her simply because I want to hug the woman who has opened her heart to me and finally accepted me into her family. She welcomes me with open arms and returns the embrace. “Thank you.”

“I’m so glad that Evan has found you. I think you’ll be very happy together,” she says before releasing me. When we part, Evan and Hugh are smiling, acknowledging the significance of the moment we all just shared.

Hugh hugs me, and says, “Welcome to the family, Mallory. We couldn’t have wished for a better partner for Evan.”

“Thank you. I’m thrilled to be an Ashford.”

When we part, Murphy hands us our champagne again and we take a sip in celebration.

Evan steps forward and hugs his mother again, trying to ease the blow when he says, “I hope you understand why we eloped.”

I watch as she rubs his back, holding him close, as if she knows he’s his own man now, her little boy all grown up. “I would’ve loved to have been there, but Clay explained, so I’m trying to understand.” She hides her face against Evans shoulder and I hear a small sniffle escape her. “I love you, Evan.” She leans up and kisses him on the cheek while patting a tissue to the corner of her eyes. “I’ll get over it.” Claire backs away, but says, “Let’s celebrate and toast to the happy couple.”

I move back to Evan’s side, slipping my hand into his. He leans over and kisses my temple as Murphy raises his glass in our honor and starts his toast. “I couldn’t have picked a better match for Evan if I’d tried. Mallory, you brought our boy back from the dead and for that, we will always be grateful. May your days together be long and the sex be plentiful. Ow!” Our tight-knit group bursts into laughter as he grabs his stomach. “Fuck, Kate. That hurt.” Hugh clears his throat, giving Murphy a dirty look. “Oh, sorry for the language, Mr. Ashford.”

Kate grabs Murphy by the elbow and starts to drag him away from the group, griping at him. “I can’t believe you just said that in front of my parents.”

Evan leans down and whispers, “Not gonna lie. I want a long and sex-filled life with you, baby.”