The Sweet Addiction Series Collection: Sweet Addiction, Sweet Possession & Sweet Obsession (74 page)

“You’re the one who’s making us wait. She’s ready. I’m ready. Let’s fucking go.”

Juls shoves him in the direction of The Great Hall. “Go. We’ll be there in a minute.”

He looks past her, connecting with me. “If you make me wait, I’ll be hauling you down that aisle over my shoulder.”

“I’m right behind you,” I reply as Juls pushes her way into the room.

My mother walks over to us, disapproval stamped on her features. “I’m not saying a word.”

I shrug before turning to Juls. “Can I
please
get married now?”

Juls waves my dad over who has remained in his chair. “Are you ready to give your daughter away, Mr. Sparks?”

He looks at her then at me before standing and tugging at his suit jacket. Reserved and poised, he walks over and takes my hand, looping it through his arm. He tilts his head down, giving me an endearing look. “I will never be ready to give my daughter away. But if I had to pick one man to take care of her in my place, it would be Reese.”

I blink rapidly, trying to stop the tears from forming. Juls sniffs and wipes underneath my eyes, keeping my makeup intact while Joey fans his face and my mom pulls out a handkerchief, blowing her nose into it.

My dad leads me toward the door. “Come on. You heard the man. He isn’t going to wait much longer for you.”

We walk down the side hallway which dumps into the main room of the Whitmore. It’s empty, all the guests already inside The Great Hall. I hear the soft music playing behind the closed giant double doors. My mother comes up to me and kisses my cheek before doing the same to my father. Joey moves me to the side, shielding me while Juls opens the door and allows my mother to enter the room and take her seat.

“Okay,” Juls says in a soft voice. “Let’s line up.” She walks over to the side table and grabs my bouquet, handing it to me and taking hers. Joey stands at the front of the line, Juls right behind him. He grabs the door handles, glancing back over his shoulder.

“Ready, cupcake?”

Juls gives me a quick wink and I nod, shifting my weight on my feet.

God, yes. Come on already.

The doors open and the music becomes noticeably louder. I move forward once Joey begins his walk, gripping my bouquet tightly. As Juls makes her way between the rows of chairs, my father takes a few more steps with me. I look around the room, smiling at the familiar faces of family and friends who have joined us today. And then I can’t stand it any longer. I give into the biggest temptation of my life and let my eyes find Reese.

I see his reaction to me immediately. And even though I know this ceremony is being videoed, I won’t need any help remembering the look on his face right now. I know without a doubt I will never forget this moment and the mix of emotion in his eyes.

My dad turns me toward him. “Are you sure I can’t walk you down the aisle, sweetheart? It’s my only job today.”

I smile and look back up at Reese, because it physically pains me to not look at him at this point. “No,” I reply, letting go of his arm. “He’ll come get me.”

My father makes his way down the aisle alone, gaining muffled reactions from the guests. No one knows why I’m standing back here by myself. No one but Reese. And as my father takes his seat next to my mom, Reese begins his walk toward me.

Actually, it’s more like a sprint.

I hear the familiar laughs of our friends from the front of the room as Reese gets to me in record timing. He cradles my face in his hands and drops his forehead to touch mine.

“Thanks for coming to get me,” I whisper for his ears only.

“I’ll always come to get you, you know that.” He leans back and looks down my body. “You have never looked this beautiful, and you always stun me, Dylan. This dress…”

“Wait ‘til you see what’s under it.” My tease gets the reaction I was hoping for out of him. I’m quickly being escorted down the aisle, almost at the same pace with which he reached me moments ago with. The hall becomes filled with everyone’s laughter as they take in my flustered fiancé. Once we reach the front of the room, I hand my bouquet to Juls who can’t seem to stop giggling. Reese positions me across from him, steadying me with his hands on my upper arms before releasing me.

He looks up at the preacher. “Hurry up.”

We run through the majority of the ceremony without any glitches. When it comes to our vow exchange, I turn around and grab a few tissues from Juls. If last night was any indication to how I’m going to react to this, and given the fact Reese has never looked sexier than he does right this moment, I’m going to need these.

I go first, with the steadiest voice I can muster, repeating after the preacher. I only shed a few tears but quickly wipe them away before my makeup is affected. Reese keeps his eyes on me the entire time, giving me the sweetest smile I’ve ever seen as I promise to love him forever.

And then I prepare myself for his turn.

The preacher doesn’t ask him to repeat anything. In fact, he doesn’t say anything after I finish reciting mine. I look up at him and then to Reese with what I can only assume to be my most perplexed expression. Reese reaches into his inner jacket pocket and pulls out the familiar brown card he’s always sending me notes on.

I crush the tissues in my hand as my breath lodges in my throat.

He steps closer to me, holding it out for me to take. “Did you really think I’d ever use someone else’s words on you?”

“Oh, my God,” Juls chokes out behind me.

I hear Joey’s annoyed reaction, too, but can’t respond to it. I have to put all my focus into taking the card from him. It’s a difficult task. My hands are shaking so bad I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop them enough to read the card. I go to unfold it when his hands cover mine.

“No, love. That’s for you to never forget the words I’m about to say. Right now, just listen.”

I bring the card against my chest, holding it there while he barely leaves an inch of space between us.

“Dylan, until today, the day you fell into my lap, the day you came back to me, the day I knew I was going to marry you, those were the best days of my life. I promise to always look at you this way. To give you every part of me, and to cherish every second I share with you. Because you have always been mine, ever since I first saw you in this room. And I will spend the rest of my life being yours.” He looks down, breaking our contact briefly as I wipe underneath my eyes. “I feel like I’ve been waiting for this day forever. I still can’t believe I’m the one who gets to marry you.” He finally lifts his eyes and I see the tears in them. “I want you in every way, Dylan. I want the woman who fell into my lap, and the one who’s slapped me across the face more times than I care to remember.”

I laugh through a cry, hearing everyone’s chuckles around me.

Reese’s lips curls into a smile. “I want the woman who dances around her bakery every Friday, and the one who lets me watch her from across the room and acts like she doesn’t know I’m doing it.” His hand tucks my hair behind my ear, and my throat suddenly feels too dry to swallow as he holds my face. “I want the woman who protected her heart when she had to. The one who gave it to me when she was ready. And the one who is now giving me the best day of my life.”

I can’t control myself now, nor can any other woman in the room, I’m sure. Even Joey is blubbering behind me as I reach up and wipe the tear that’s trickled down Reese’s cheek.

“I promise to always love you. To send you deliveries when I want or when I think you need them. Even if it’s every day. To hold your hand and your hair when you’re hung-over. And to let you take care of me when I’m at my worst. I promise to give you every day of my life. To always protect you, even if it means breaking my hand in the process.”

My eyes widen. “What?”

He gives me a half smile. “Yeah, I… it might be broken.”

“Oh, my God,” I grab his hand and hold it out in front of me. I barely glance at it before he puts it back on my hip. “I wasn’t finished.”

“Neither am I.” He pulls my body against his, wrapping his arms completely around me. “I promise to laugh with you and comfort you. To love you when life is easy and when it’s hard. And to be the man you deserve.” He sighs, his face breaking into a smile. “Okay. I’m finished.”

“That was the best note you’ve ever given me.” Instinctively, I tilt my head up to kiss him but am stopped when the preacher clears his throat. Reese and I both turn our heads.

“Not at that part yet, folks. We still need to exchange rings.”

“Oh! The rings!” I spin around and hold out the card for Juls to take, swapping it for the ring. Turning back, I look over at the preacher. “All right, start talking. I need to kiss him.”

The bridal party and congregation all share a laugh before the preacher instructs us to slip the rings on the other person’s finger. I study the way the platinum band stands out on Reese’s skin.

My man looks good wearing a wedding band.

And then finally, after what feels like an eternity, we get to the best part.

“And now, by the power invested in me by the State of Illinois, I now pronounce you husband and wife.” He looks at Reese and I follow suit, bouncing up and down on my feet. I’m so ready for this fucking kiss, I might just burst before I get it. “You may now finally kiss your bride.”

“About time,” Reese grunts before pressing his lips against mine. This kiss wipes my memory of anything besides him, leaving me breathless as he cradles my face. I hear everyone clapping and cheering around us, but Reese doesn’t pull back. Not until he’s ready. “You’re mine, Mrs. Carroll,” he says against my lips, finally ending our kiss.

“Always have been,” I reply.

We walk down the aisle, my hand in his while everyone claps around us. Once we get through the doorway, Reese leads me to the room where the bridal party has to wait until it’s time to be announced upstairs. He pushes the door open and immediately pins me against the wall, his lips crashing against mine.

“Reese.” His name comes out as a plea. To stop because the bridal party will be in here any minute. To keep going because I’m dying to be with my husband this way.

“I need to get you out of this dress.” He kisses down my neck, nipping at my skin. His hands roam my body like he hasn’t touched me in years. There’s an urgency to it, a drive to touch every part of me. He grips my waist and spins me so I’m facing the wall. “How the fuck do I take this off?”

I flatten my palms against the wall as his fingers pop the buttons of my dress. I should be telling him we don’t have time for this, and we’re definitely about to be interrupted, but all words have escaped me.

“What the hell… Jesus Christ, Dylan. What are you wearing?”

The door swings open just as I’m about to answer and Reese quickly spins me around, closing in on me and shielding me with his body. I glance over his shoulder and see our friends walk in, all wearing the familiar ‘busted’ look on their faces.

“Mmm hmm,” Joey teases, pointing a finger at us. “You may have won the crying bet, but we just all won one hundred bucks from both of you for trying to stick it in before the reception.”

“I never agreed to that,” Reese scowls over his shoulder. “And will you all give us a fucking minute?” His fingers are trying to secure my dress blindly as I laugh against him, dropping my head against his chest. And then I feel him relax into me, his laugh echoing around us as we both enjoy the humor of this situation. The fact that we can’t make it through a few-hours-long reception before we need to have each other.

“You have two minutes before we need to line up,” Juls voice fills my ears as I keep myself completely submerged against Reese. Embedded almost. And then the sound of the door closing and the fading voices in the hallway are the only thing I hear besides our breathing

I glance up and take him in. All of him. Maybe I didn’t get a good look when we were standing in front of the congregation. Maybe I was too distracted by the heaviness of the situation and his vows to me, so honest and real, so Reese in every word. Because now as he looms over me, hands stilled on my back, I take my first real look at the man I’ve just given my life to.

Hair that’s been pulled by my fingers. Eyes wide and wild. Lips parted to speak, or ready to clamp down on my skin. His tongue teases the slit in his lip, and I know he
knows
exactly what he’s doing. I’d be doing the same thing if I didn’t think Juls would drag me from this room by my hair. But we don’t have time to tease or touch. Not yet.

I drop my head back as his finger runs along my jaw. “You need to button me up, husband.”

He stops all movement at the sentiment. All breathing ceases as he closes his eyes. I watch his neck roll with a heavy swallow. “Say that again.”

God, I love him. I love how he needs to hear me call him that. Not only to be mine, but to own the title.

“Husband,” I repeat before turning around. “I need some help.”

I feel his lips form to my shoulder. My neck. The shell of my ear. And now I’m the one closing my eyes and silently begging to hear him speak. To say the word he hasn’t spoken yet. “Wife,” he says against my ear. The material of my dress shifts as he buttons me up. “Can you please explain to me what you’re wearing under this? It looks like a torture device.”

I blush at my naughty secret. “It’s a corset. I figured I’d up my game a little for my wedding night. It’s uncomfortable as hell, so you’re welcome.”

He grabs my waist and spins me. “I better not have any trouble getting that off you. It looks complicated.”

“You can always rip it.”

His eyes turn feverish as he contemplates that solution while he leads me to the door. “Done. Let’s get this over with. I need my wife alone.”

I smile, feeling my body spark with anticipation, and can’t agree more.