Sweet Possession
Page 56
“Joey!” Billy yells.
My fuming assistant stops next to me, connecting with Billy over Juls’ head. “I’m not walking in with you. Why should I? You’ve barely spoken to me all goddamn day! Fuck you. Walk in by yourself.”
I grab his arm and yank him forcefully. “What the hell is going on?”
He opens his mouth to answer me when the doors are opened and the voice of the DJ spills out into the hallway.
“The wedding party is ready to make their grand entrance! And starting us off, we have Groomsman Billy McDermott and Man of Honor, Joey Holt!”
“Joey, get up here,” Billy harshly orders over the cheers of the guests.
Joey crosses his arms, firmly holding his ground next to me. “Fuck. You.”
Juls tries to pull him in the direction of the room. “What are you doing? Are you not going to walk in?”
“Not with him I’m not.”
We all look over at Billy who gives his forehead a quick rub. “Fine. Whatever.” He walks into the room by himself, disappearing into the crowd.
I smack Joey on the arm. “That was really mean. Now who the hell are you going to walk in with?”
He thinks silently for a moment before pulling out his phone.
I ignore him and turn to Reese. “Do you know what’s going on with them?”
He looks at me, shaking his head impassively. “Why the hell would I know what’s going on?”
Before I can answer him, the DJ interrupts me.
“And now please give a warm welcome to our Best Man, Ian Thomas, and his beautiful wife, Matron of Honor, Julianna Thomas!”
Reese and I step forward as Juls and Ian enter the room. Brooke slides past them and waves at us.
“Hey. I told the DJ. Now what?” she asks, pulling down the hem of her dress. She looks from Joey to Reese and me. “That ceremony was so beautiful. I cried my eyes out. Well played, Reese.”
Joey grabs her arm and slips it through his. “Come here. You’re being introduced with me.”
“What? But I’m not in the bridal party.” She tries to pull her hand from his grasp but doesn’t get anywhere. “No way! I’m not being introduced!” The DJ’s voice comes overhead again.
“And now our Man of Honor is ready to grace us with his presence. Everyone please show him some love. Mr. Joey Holt!”
“Joey!” Brooke protests as Joey moves her with him into the room.
“Billy wasn’t acting weird or anything when you were with him earlier?” I ask Reese as we step up to the entrance. “Joey said he was avoiding him or something.”
He places his hand over mine. “Dylan, Billy and Ian could’ve been fucking each other in front of me and I wouldn’t have noticed. I was too busy pacing the room.”
Billy and Ian? Shit. I’d pay to see that.
I give him a cheeky grin. “Oh, man. You just gave me the hottest image. Would you ever watch gay porn with me?”
Not that I have, but let’s be real here. I’ve read some crazy hot M/M books recently, and I’d be lying if I said I haven’t gotten heated over Logan and Tate’s sex scenes. In fact, Reese has benefited greatly from my extracurricular reading habits.
He glares down at me as the DJ’s voice comes booming out into the entryway.
“All right, folks. The moment you’ve all been waiting for. Everyone please go crazy for the couple of the hour, MR. AND MRS. REESE CARROLL!”
“Ready?” he asks, but he doesn’t give me time to answer before he bends down and hauls me over his shoulder.
“Reese!”
I wrap my arms around his waist as he carries me into the reception hall. A mixture of cheers, laughs, and whistles greet us and I lift my head, smiling at everyone the best I can as my hair falls into my face. Once Reese stops walking, he slides me down the front of his body, depositing me on my feet. I look around and see we’re in the middle of the dance floor, the crowd fanning out around us.
I smile up at him, watching as he lifts his gaze off my face and connects with something or someone over my shoulder. His lips part slightly, and a look of admiration washes over him as he studies whatever or whoever it is with deep concentration. I turn, looking through a gap in the crowd and instantly narrow in on what he’s looking at.
Our cake.
He takes my hand, moving me with him across the dance floor. He holds a finger up to the DJ before we slip through the mass of people and step in front of the dessert table. He leans down and studies my creation with great interest as he tightens his grip on my hand.
“Do you like it?” I ask, expecting him to glance over at me. But he doesn’t. He doesn’t take his eyes off our cake.
“It looks like your dress,” he says, moving around to the side and back to the front, making sure he takes it all in.
“And it’s all mint chocolate. The icing. The filling. Pretty much the whole cake.”
That makes him straighten up and turn to me. He brings our conjoined hands up to his mouth and kisses the back of mine. “The perfect union of flavors.”
I nod, motioning with my head toward the center of the room. “Dance with me, handsome.”
After he escorts me out into the middle of the dance floor, he wraps one arm around my waist, taking my hand and holding it against his chest. ‘“Look After You’” begins playing overhead and I smile up at him as we share our first dance, letting him lead me all around the floor. When we get close to the bridal party, I notice Joey standing as far away from Billy as possible. And I also notice Billy’s anxious eyes and the fact that they are glued to his heated boyfriend. As the song comes to an end, I steal a kiss from Reese before we’re instructed to take our seats at the bridal table.
I snap my fingers at Joey, gaining his attention once he sits two seats down from me. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
He leans back, seemingly insulted by my question. “Me? Nothing. I’m not the one acting like I want nothing to do with my boyfriend. I’m so sick of this shit.”
I look over my shoulder at Billy who is seated at the opposite end of the table next to Ian. He seems to be lost in thought, fidgeting nervously with his napkin and tearing it into tiny pieces.
Shit. My mother better not see that. It’ll be the cloth-napkin debacle all over again.
The sound of a woman’s throat clearing overhead gets my attention and I turn back around, seeing Juls standing behind me and holding a microphone. She smiles at me before looking out over the crowd.
“Can I have everyone’s attention for a moment, please?” The sound of shushing fills the room before the silence. “I don’t think there’s a person in this room who knows Dylan better than I do. Well, except for Joey.” She places a hand on his shoulder and he smiles up at her. “We’ve been best friends for as long as I can remember, and I have seen every side of her. Her pissed-off, slap-happy side. Her tipsy, nickname-giving side. Even her focused, career-driven side. I’ve seen every emotion. Every personality trait. Except one.” She focuses on me. “I’ve never seen my best friend in love. Not until she met Reese.”
His hand squeezes mine and I look over at him, smiling before Juls continues.
“She fought it. She was scared, but there was no denying what that man did to her. Or what she did to him. And I loved watching it. I loved seeing them completely blissed out on each other. I also loved seeing them both lose their shit over the other person.”
My fuming assistant stops next to me, connecting with Billy over Juls’ head. “I’m not walking in with you. Why should I? You’ve barely spoken to me all goddamn day! Fuck you. Walk in by yourself.”
I grab his arm and yank him forcefully. “What the hell is going on?”
He opens his mouth to answer me when the doors are opened and the voice of the DJ spills out into the hallway.
“The wedding party is ready to make their grand entrance! And starting us off, we have Groomsman Billy McDermott and Man of Honor, Joey Holt!”
“Joey, get up here,” Billy harshly orders over the cheers of the guests.
Joey crosses his arms, firmly holding his ground next to me. “Fuck. You.”
Juls tries to pull him in the direction of the room. “What are you doing? Are you not going to walk in?”
“Not with him I’m not.”
We all look over at Billy who gives his forehead a quick rub. “Fine. Whatever.” He walks into the room by himself, disappearing into the crowd.
I smack Joey on the arm. “That was really mean. Now who the hell are you going to walk in with?”
He thinks silently for a moment before pulling out his phone.
I ignore him and turn to Reese. “Do you know what’s going on with them?”
He looks at me, shaking his head impassively. “Why the hell would I know what’s going on?”
Before I can answer him, the DJ interrupts me.
“And now please give a warm welcome to our Best Man, Ian Thomas, and his beautiful wife, Matron of Honor, Julianna Thomas!”
Reese and I step forward as Juls and Ian enter the room. Brooke slides past them and waves at us.
“Hey. I told the DJ. Now what?” she asks, pulling down the hem of her dress. She looks from Joey to Reese and me. “That ceremony was so beautiful. I cried my eyes out. Well played, Reese.”
Joey grabs her arm and slips it through his. “Come here. You’re being introduced with me.”
“What? But I’m not in the bridal party.” She tries to pull her hand from his grasp but doesn’t get anywhere. “No way! I’m not being introduced!” The DJ’s voice comes overhead again.
“And now our Man of Honor is ready to grace us with his presence. Everyone please show him some love. Mr. Joey Holt!”
“Joey!” Brooke protests as Joey moves her with him into the room.
“Billy wasn’t acting weird or anything when you were with him earlier?” I ask Reese as we step up to the entrance. “Joey said he was avoiding him or something.”
He places his hand over mine. “Dylan, Billy and Ian could’ve been fucking each other in front of me and I wouldn’t have noticed. I was too busy pacing the room.”
Billy and Ian? Shit. I’d pay to see that.
I give him a cheeky grin. “Oh, man. You just gave me the hottest image. Would you ever watch gay porn with me?”
Not that I have, but let’s be real here. I’ve read some crazy hot M/M books recently, and I’d be lying if I said I haven’t gotten heated over Logan and Tate’s sex scenes. In fact, Reese has benefited greatly from my extracurricular reading habits.
He glares down at me as the DJ’s voice comes booming out into the entryway.
“All right, folks. The moment you’ve all been waiting for. Everyone please go crazy for the couple of the hour, MR. AND MRS. REESE CARROLL!”
“Ready?” he asks, but he doesn’t give me time to answer before he bends down and hauls me over his shoulder.
“Reese!”
I wrap my arms around his waist as he carries me into the reception hall. A mixture of cheers, laughs, and whistles greet us and I lift my head, smiling at everyone the best I can as my hair falls into my face. Once Reese stops walking, he slides me down the front of his body, depositing me on my feet. I look around and see we’re in the middle of the dance floor, the crowd fanning out around us.
I smile up at him, watching as he lifts his gaze off my face and connects with something or someone over my shoulder. His lips part slightly, and a look of admiration washes over him as he studies whatever or whoever it is with deep concentration. I turn, looking through a gap in the crowd and instantly narrow in on what he’s looking at.
Our cake.
He takes my hand, moving me with him across the dance floor. He holds a finger up to the DJ before we slip through the mass of people and step in front of the dessert table. He leans down and studies my creation with great interest as he tightens his grip on my hand.
“Do you like it?” I ask, expecting him to glance over at me. But he doesn’t. He doesn’t take his eyes off our cake.
“It looks like your dress,” he says, moving around to the side and back to the front, making sure he takes it all in.
“And it’s all mint chocolate. The icing. The filling. Pretty much the whole cake.”
That makes him straighten up and turn to me. He brings our conjoined hands up to his mouth and kisses the back of mine. “The perfect union of flavors.”
I nod, motioning with my head toward the center of the room. “Dance with me, handsome.”
After he escorts me out into the middle of the dance floor, he wraps one arm around my waist, taking my hand and holding it against his chest. ‘“Look After You’” begins playing overhead and I smile up at him as we share our first dance, letting him lead me all around the floor. When we get close to the bridal party, I notice Joey standing as far away from Billy as possible. And I also notice Billy’s anxious eyes and the fact that they are glued to his heated boyfriend. As the song comes to an end, I steal a kiss from Reese before we’re instructed to take our seats at the bridal table.
I snap my fingers at Joey, gaining his attention once he sits two seats down from me. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
He leans back, seemingly insulted by my question. “Me? Nothing. I’m not the one acting like I want nothing to do with my boyfriend. I’m so sick of this shit.”
I look over my shoulder at Billy who is seated at the opposite end of the table next to Ian. He seems to be lost in thought, fidgeting nervously with his napkin and tearing it into tiny pieces.
Shit. My mother better not see that. It’ll be the cloth-napkin debacle all over again.
The sound of a woman’s throat clearing overhead gets my attention and I turn back around, seeing Juls standing behind me and holding a microphone. She smiles at me before looking out over the crowd.
“Can I have everyone’s attention for a moment, please?” The sound of shushing fills the room before the silence. “I don’t think there’s a person in this room who knows Dylan better than I do. Well, except for Joey.” She places a hand on his shoulder and he smiles up at her. “We’ve been best friends for as long as I can remember, and I have seen every side of her. Her pissed-off, slap-happy side. Her tipsy, nickname-giving side. Even her focused, career-driven side. I’ve seen every emotion. Every personality trait. Except one.” She focuses on me. “I’ve never seen my best friend in love. Not until she met Reese.”
His hand squeezes mine and I look over at him, smiling before Juls continues.
“She fought it. She was scared, but there was no denying what that man did to her. Or what she did to him. And I loved watching it. I loved seeing them completely blissed out on each other. I also loved seeing them both lose their shit over the other person.”
