Redeemed: Bad Blooded Rebel Series #4 (11 page)

Jessie
walked over and pulled us both into a hug. “I had a feeling you two would tie
the knot before Kris and I had the chance,” she said, smiling. “I am so happy
for you both.”

“Thanks,
Jess,” I said.

“Okay,
well let’s get to the hotel and get checked in so we can get this wedding
going!” Sadie said. “Make sure you two make out like crazy because once we get
to the hotel you two won’t see each other again until the wedding tonight.”

Everleigh
grinned at her and I rolled my eyes. “Is it the whole ‘bad luck’ thing? I think
we have endured more than our share of bad shit in the past few months. We’re
good,” I said.

Sadie
shook her head and Jessie answered, “Come on you two, let us have our fun. It’s
only for a few hours and then you two will be married and will be together
every day for the rest of your lives.”

I
groaned because I knew she was right. I’m sure that Everleigh wanted to look
perfect for our wedding and I was willing to give her all the time she needed
to get ready. “All right, let’s get going so I can have my fun before we get to
the hotel,” I said.

We
got the rest of our luggage and walked out of the airport. Since I was on cloud
nine because it was my wedding day, I had arranged for a stretch limo to pick
us all up. The guys and I were used to this but I knew Everleigh wasn’t. I
wanted every bit of this day to be memorable for her, starting with our ride to
our hotel.

“Um,
hey you two, you can come up for air. We’re here,” Kris said, tapping me on the
back as I continued to kiss Everleigh with every bit of passion I could show
her since our friends were in the limo with us.

“Come
on, rock star, we have a wedding to get ready for,” Everleigh whispered to me.
I groaned, not wanting to leave her, but I knew it was just for a few hours.

We
climbed out of the limo and several bell hops came out to help us with our
luggage. We walked through the plush lobby to the concierge. “Welcome to the
MGM Grand, are you checking in?” said a polite woman behind the front desk.

“Yes,
we are checking into the honeymoon suite. Reservation is under Grande. Dick
Grande,” I said, smiling at Everleigh.

She
laughed and rolled her eyes. “You are going to have to change that sometime,
you know.”

“Why
change what’s true, gorgeous?” I said, and she smiled brightly at me. The woman
behind the desk checked us in and gave me the card key to our room. “Enjoy your
stay, and congratulations.”

“Thank
you,” Everleigh said to her and I took her hand and led her to the elevators.
“Well, rock star, I guess this is the last time I will see you before I become
a married lady,” she said, grinning.

I
stuck my bottom lip out and said, “I guess so. At least I know the next time I
see you I’ll get to end the night with you in our bed as Mrs. Matthews.”

“I
can’t wait, Ryder,” she said, and she kissed me with so much love. “I love
you.”

“I
think I love you more, gorgeous,” I told her as Danni, Jessie, and Sadie led
her off to get ready while I took our luggage to the honeymoon suite.

A
few hours later I was dressed in a tux that I’d bought when I went out shopping
with the guys that afternoon. We all met at the hotel bar to have one last
drink as four bachelors before we headed off to the chapel. “I have to say,
Ryder, you are the last person I thought would get married first out of all of
us,” Jude said.

I
snickered and tossed back a shot of whiskey. “You know, I’d disagree with you,
but I’m pretty surprised myself. I never thought I’d ever find anyone I’d want
to settle down with.”

“But
then Everleigh came along,” Kris said, smiling.

“Yes
she did. I’m a lucky bastard, aren’t I?” I said, and the guys snickered.

“Yes
you are. Take care of that girl, man, she’s one of a kind,” Beau said.

“I
know it,” I replied.

Before
heading out we all did one last round of shots. Kris raised his glass and
toasted, “To my best friend finding his other half. Congrats, bro!” We all
raised our glasses and downed our shots.

Jude
placed his big hands on my shoulder and gave me a hard shake. “Come on, let’s
get you married, man, so we can get to the reception. We need to celebrate
tonight Vegas style,” he said and we walked out of the hotel bar together.

Everleigh

I
stepped out of the bathroom in Danni and Sadie’s room wearing my wedding dress
and everyone gasped. “Ev,” Danni said, “you look so beautiful!”

I
chose a simple strapless silk gown that had a pink satin tie around the waist.
My dress was definitely a lot plainer than Danni or Sadie wanted me to get but
when I tried it on, it just felt right. It wasn’t the most extravagant dress in
the world but I knew the moment I put it on that it was the one for me. I would
marry Ryder Matthews wearing this dress. We’d all gotten ready at a nearby
salon and the girl that did my hair did a phenomenal job, twisting it up in an
intricate design and even adding a few rhinestones to it for a final touch. My
make up was simple with lots of light pinks and bare tones, and once I was in
my dress, I felt like I was in a fairytale. I looked and felt beautiful for the
first time in a very long time.

“See?
I told you the dress was perfect,” I said.

“Okay,
are you ready to do this?” Sadie said, smiling at me.

“More
than you could ever know,” I answered and she hugged me.

“I’m
so glad Ryder met you, Ev. You helped pull him out of the sadness he’d been in
since his parents died. He is more like his old self now because of you,” Sadie
said.

I
fanned my face with my hand and said, “Okay, girl, don’t make me cry. Let’s
save the tears for the wedding,” I said, and they all giggled.

“You
know, a few months ago I wasn’t sure if we’d ever get to have this after all
that happened. I just want to tell you before the wedding starts and we all
celebrate that I feel so blessed to be standing her with you, helping you get
ready for your wedding, Ev. You are my best friend and I love you so much,”
Danni confessed, tears glistening in her eyes.

I
pulled her into a hug and tried my best not to cry. “I love you too, Danni, and
I am blessed to have you here too. All of you,” I said, motioning for Jessie
and Sadie to join us.

After
hugging for a few moments, we broke apart and Jessie grabbed the bag that held
my dress for the reception (my sexy tight white dress that I’d be wearing when
we hit the Vegas strip later on after the ceremony) as she smiled and said,
“Okay, let’s go get you married!”

Soon
we were at the chapel and the guys were already waiting for the wedding to
start. Instead of matching everyone up and walking down the aisle in pairs, we
decided to have the guys already at the front of the chapel standing next to
Ryder. as the girls would walked in before me, leading my way. I ached to sneak
a peek at Ryder in his tuxedo but I controlled my impatience, knowing it would
only be a few more moments before our ceremony began.

As
the girls were getting ready to take their places, I took a moment and looked
at a picture I had in my hand…a picture of my dad. I held it and whispered,
“You knew I’d be here with Ryder when you met him, didn’t you, Daddy?” His
smiling face was staring at me from the photo and I grinned back as my fingers
touched the picture. “I wish you could be here with me today, but I know in
your own way you are, just like you always have been. I love you and miss you
every day, and do me a favor, will you? Keep rooting for me and being on my
side up there, old man.” I wiped a tear away and tucked the picture in my hand
with my bouquet.

Just
then, a shadow cast over my flowers and I smiled as I looked up at the big,
hulking man standing next to me, looking gorgeous in a tuxedo. “Well,” I said
to John, “you clean up nice, don’t you, big guy?”

He
smiled at me and said, “I do have my moments, Everleigh.” Holding out his arm
to me, he said, “Shall we?”

I
laced my arm through his and turned to hug him. “Thank you for giving me away,
John. This means so much to me.”

John
hugged me back and kissed the top of my head. “It means a lot to me too,
sweetheart. I am very honored that you asked me to do this for you.”

I
pulled away and looked up at him. “There was never anyone else I would have
asked. I love you, big guy.”

John
smiled at me. “I love you, too. You have no idea how much you have changed
Ryder’s life for the better and we all love you so much for it. You are an
amazing girl and he’s a very lucky guy to have you.”

“Thank
you,” I said, squeezing his arm. I heard the wedding march start to play and I
said, “Are you ready?”

“Ready,”
he said, smiling at me with pride in his eyes. The doors of the chapel opened
and the girls walked down the aisle one by one. They all looked so beautiful in
their dresses.

When
John and I were up, my eyes landed on Ryder standing at the front waiting for
me…and my heart skipped a beat. He looked devastatingly handsome in his crisp
black tuxedo and my mouth watered at the sight of him. I had a sudden urge to
sprint down the aisle and get this wedding over with so I could devour him, but
this was the most important night of my life. We had some memories to make and
we needed to start with the big one first.

John
walked me down the aisle and everyone was smiling brightly at us as we
approached the minister. When I reached Ryder, John placed my hand in Ryder’s
and gave us both a squeeze before stepping back and sitting down. Ryder leaned
into my ear and whispered, “You have never looked more beautiful than you do
right now. I love you so much, gorgeous.”

I
placed my arm on his shoulder and whispered back, “I love you more, rock star.
Now shut up and marry me already.” He pulled back with a huge smile on his face
as we said our vows and became husband and wife in front of everyone we loved
in the world.

The
rest of the night was wonderful as we celebrated our wedding on the Vegas
strip. Jude and Sadie were, as always, the life of the party as they both joked
and laughed together. Given the way the two of them had become as close as they
had recently, I wondered, to myself, something more wouldn’t come of their
friendship. When we came back to Cincinnati they were spending so much time
together that they realized it was a waste for Sadie to have her own place
since she was always with Jude. They decided that night to become roommates
once we got home from Vegas. The rest of the guys didn’t seem thrilled with the
idea of Sadie and Jude living together, but I honestly thought if anyone could
take that man on and win it would be her.

Danni
had been cordial to Beau the whole evening. But even sharing a few dances with
him, it was clear that nothing was going to come of their relationship, at
least not yet. Back in New York, Beau had told me that he would fight for her,
and I hoped he still would. Seeing what he was becoming without her was scaring
me. If he didn’t have a drink in his hand there was an open bottle of liquor
somewhere close by. What Beau did with that other girl in New York was
inexcusable, but I hoped for both of their sakes that Danni would get past it
and save him from himself.

Despite
my worries about them, it had been a magical night spent with my family. Soon
everyone was ready to go off on their own and that was fine by me. I was ready to
take my husband up to our honeymoon suite and have the time of my life making
love with him all night long.

We
bid everyone good night, and as soon as we got back to our hotel, we raced back
to our suite, slamming the door behind us. He pulled me into his arms and
kissed me with a new kind of passion. It was still deep and lustful but it was
also full of promise and excitement. “Hello, Mrs. Matthews,” he groaned into my
ear.

“I
love hearing that,” I said.

“Well
good because I plan on calling you that for the rest of your life, gorgeous,”
he said, his fingers finding the zipper on the back of my dress.

I
shivered as he slid it down and started to slide it off my shoulders. “Hey rock
star, I have something I wanted to talk to you about before we do this. Something
I’ve been thinking about since you proposed to me last night.”

“Yeah?
And what’s that?” he asked, kissing my bare shoulder.

“Well,
you know how you joked about throwing out my birth control and trying to knock
me up?” I said, smiling.

His
head snapped up and his eyes met mine. “What are you saying?” he asked, his
eyes alive with hope.

“I’m
saying that I realized as I was packing that I’d forgotten to take my pill for
about a week because when I went to pack for Vegas my pack was empty. We’ve
been unprotected on that front, so if you weren’t serious about trying to get
me pregnant now is the time to say something and we can go get some condoms,” I
said.