“You sure you don’t want me to cause a distraction so you can run out the back door? I can go pick a fight with one of the brothers.”

“You do anything to mess this up for me and I will gut you, Brady.”

Curtis would probably need to sharpen one of his kitchen knives to accomplish the task, but he’d get it done. He was already anxious enough, waiting around in the backyard wasn’t exactly fun. Things had seemed to be going relatively smoothly. His parents and Hannah’s full family were there, even getting along by all indications.

Things went from quiet to chaotic pretty fast after Nina showed up. She’d brought a whole crew of people with her, and they were busy setting a trellis up and throwing flowers everywhere. Curtis had tried to stop them, but Nina played the best friend card and claimed she knew exactly the kind of wedding Hannah wanted.

He’d tried to contend that if Hannah wanted something, all she had to do was ask. The concept sounded better in his head than it did out loud. If she needed something, Hannah wouldn’t hesitate to speak up. It was the things that weren’t necessary she had problems asking for.

Turning the backyard into some fancy wedding venue wasn’t needed, but Hannah had hinted she had some dreams, foolish by her account. He felt like he’d be sorry he let Nina’s forces take over. When it came down to it, though, all he cared about was Hannah walking down the now white aisle covered in pink rose petals that led the way to him.

“Hey, I’m not the one who’s going to mess this up. That wicked witch of yours is going to be the one who ruins this. I can’t believe you invited her. She cock-blocked you for years and now she’s going to stand next to your girl when you say your vows. There’s something seriously wrong with that shit.”

Since there was a party being thrown after the wedding, there wasn’t food and drinks available for the few people at the wedding, other than whatever was in the kitchen. There hadn’t been alcohol until Brady had shown up with two cases of beer. It was supposed to be a relatively quick hour event, and apparently, Brady couldn’t make it through it without a couple beers in him.

Curtis tried not to take offense. His friend was a confirmed bachelor who broke out in hives when he thought of marriage. It only made sense that he thought people needed to be drunk to make it through the event.

“She’s not my wicked witch. She’s Hannah’s best friend, even if she’s a bit mental.”

A bit was being kind. That wasn’t news to anyone, but it was interesting watching other people interact with the she-devil. Other than unleashing her worker bees to make magic in just a few minutes, Nina had been the sedate version of herself. Hannah’s family, particularly her brothers, didn’t seem to know how to deal with that.

In the yard, there were less than a dozen chairs where the families had taken their places and were talking amongst themselves. The Williamses weren’t as boisterous as the other times Curtis had been around them, but they were easy to hear over his parents. Karen had taken it upon herself to offer direction to Nina’s busy bees since the ringmaster herself had disappeared to help Hannah.

“I don’t know about her mental state, but she’s fucking hot. You seriously didn’t hit that?”

“I haven’t thought about it for a long time, but the only time I did, my dick shriveled up and I threw up a little in my mouth.”

Curtis was being generous saying he’d even thought about it. Nina had always been someone he knew he wouldn’t be dipping body parts in. He wasn’t sure if she’d ever had surgery, but she seemed plastic in high school and that hadn’t changed.

“But she wanted to, right? That’s why she went all psycho on you. I can’t believe you didn’t take one for the team.”

There were times Curtis had to wonder why Brady was his closest friend. Other teammates had personalities and views similar to Curtis, although, he didn’t doubt that the majority would be on the Nina is a sex goddess team. She just had that power over men.

“It’s complicated, but trust me that it never crossed my mind. I’ve always had a thing for Hannah, whether that’s because of a secret redhead obsession I have going on or just the fact that she’s fucking perfect, well, I guess I’d go with the latter there.”

“I don’t know,” Brady said, shaking his head. “She’s a little quiet for my tastes.”

Thankfully, Brady hadn’t experienced Hannah in the bedroom. The times he’d introduced her to the team tended to be with her glued to his side, simply smiling when anyone acknowledged her. For him, it was cute seeing that awkwardness still there, since she’d rarely had it since the reunion.

“And I can’t believe she wouldn’t let me get you a stripper. I did all sorts of research for you and everything. She was going to be a drop-dead gorgeous blonde with tits out to here.”

Brady held his hands out in front of him a good foot. Curtis imagined a woman with a lot of back pain who had trouble standing up straight. Big boobs had never been his thing. As sappy as it sounded, it was always personality that won him over.

He smacked his friend’s hands out of the air and scowled at him. Curtis’ wedding wasn’t the place to talk about strippers that could have been.

“I’d prefer if you didn’t bring up strippers in front of my soon-to-be in-laws.”

No one seemed to be paying any attention to them, so Curtis didn’t worry too much about Brady’s crude words being taken the wrong way. There hadn’t been a lot of time for them to get to know Curtis, which was probably a good thing. They hadn’t had a chance to see his stubborn and overprotective sides, not that either of those had proven to be a bad thing.

The overprotective part of it could be said for pretty much anyone who knew Hannah. There was something about her that made a person want to wrap their arms around her and never let go. Why another guy hadn’t swooped in and done just that, Curtis had no idea. He was just thankful that his waiting around to make sure Nina’s blackmail wouldn’t kill his career hadn’t made him too late.

“I think I’m going to go see if they’re ready to get this show on the road. You all set here?”

Hannah’s father asked as if Curtis had any clue what was going on around them. They seemed to have a walkway with flowers set and some lighted arch all ready to go, but he had no clue if there was more in store. As far as he was concerned, he was there, the judge was there and as soon as Hannah got there, things were ready.

Curtis and Brady were both in tuxedos, while the rest of the men were in suits, which Curtis was surprised to see when they’d all converged as one on the house. He’d thought the short notice would necessitate them breaking out their sweater and button-down combos, but they’d gone all out for the wedding.

“As long as Nina hasn’t managed to talk her out of it, I think we’re good to go.”

Harvey shook his head. Curtis tended to think of him as Hannah’s father or Mr. Williams instead of the name he insisted Curtis call him. He didn’t seem like a Harvey in his mind. There was no reason for that feeling, since Curtis didn’t know any Harveys. He supposed over time he’d eventually get used to it, but for the time being he liked the deference of saying Mr. Williams.

He was marrying the man’s daughter, after all, and it’d only been a few months since they’d been together. No one had said anything about the timing of everything, but Curtis had to wonder if they assumed there was a baby involved. Technically, they’d been engaged long enough that she’d be showing if a baby was the only reason they were getting married. He was quick to point that out the couple of times Brady had brought the subject up.

“We were a little surprised to see her show up after that deal at Christmas. I know the girl has always had her heart in the right place, but she has trouble showing it.”

It was hard for others to see the bond between Hannah and Nina, since the two women were so vastly different. Curtis understood what tied them together, even if he didn’t particularly like the fact that they were. Liking Nina wasn’t something on his agenda, but Hannah couldn’t stop talking about her after their dinner and trying to find reasons for Curtis to like the other woman. He figured he needed to at least be able to tolerate her, which alone was a daunting task.

“They made up a few days ago. I guess it’s good that Hannah has someone to be her maid of honor. It was going to look a little weird with three of us standing up with the judge.”

Curtis hadn’t officially asked Brady to stand up with him. He’d asked him to be there and assumed he would sign any paperwork as a witness, but Hannah and Curtis really hadn’t talked about a wedding party. She didn’t have anyone close, other than family, and it seemed weird to have your mother stand with you.

“Nah, if you hadn’t told me Hannah found someone, I would have brought someone else to even things out.”

Brady winked, making Curtis think of the stripper he’d said he had picked out. Hannah would have loved that, which of course was sarcasm. She would’ve come out the back door and immediately turned around and ran from the house.

“Okay, then,” Harvey said with a confused, yet almost knowing, look on his face.

He opened his mouth to say more, but a shrill voice beat him to it. Maybe Curtis imagined the shrillness, because no one else seemed to cringe when Nina spoke.

“Daddy-o, you’re needed in the hallway. Let’s get this show on the road so we can make it to the afterparty. I’ve heard rumors there’s going to be one, so you guys better not let me down.”

Nudging Curtis with his shoulder, Brady chuckled. Curtis had already seen in his eyes and words that he was smitten. He’d done what he could to warn the poor guy, but it seemed he was going to need to find out for himself that Nina was the devil.

“Seriously, you didn’t hit that?” Brady said in disbelief. “There’s something wrong with you.”

Curtis wouldn’t deny that, but not for Brady’s reasoning. He felt sorry for his friend and the games he saw playing out between him and Nina. Both of them were good at the love ‘em and leave ‘em relationship, but Curtis had a feeling Brady was biting off more than he could chew.

“My only advice is to not fall in love.”

There was barely enough time to whisper the words before Nina descended upon them. She took time to analyze every one of her steps down the aisle, probably making sure every rose was in its place. She looked Curtis over, briefly glanced in Brady’s direction, then focused on the arch.

Surprisingly, she didn’t say a thing, just observed and nodded a couple times. Curtis was waiting for her to scream about something being wrong and delay things even more. Other than needing to be at the arena by two, there were no time tables, but Curtis had thought the ceremony itself would move along quickly.

“You ready for this, Curtis?”

Curtis didn’t bother answering Nina verbally, choosing to simply nod. There had never been a thought that he’d have cold feet.

“Good, because I’m only going to tell you this once, and that better be all it takes. I know I haven’t always shown it, but I love that woman in there like a sister and I will do everything in my power to protect her. If you ever break her heart, I will rip yours out of your chest and stomp on it repeatedly, then cut your dick off and shove it up your ass. Do you hear me? Ripping your heart out will probably kill you, but whoever finds you is going to see your fucking dick up your own ass. And I’ll make sure that’s printed in all the papers. People won’t remember you for being a great hockey player. They’ll remember you as the dickwad who died with his own dick up his ass.”

It seemed like she just had to say that part over and over, making sure it was etched in Curtis’ brain. It wasn’t a pretty picture, so Curtis didn’t linger on it, no matter how many times she said it. They both stood there, about five feet apart, watching for Hannah and her father to start their walk down the aisle. By the looks on their faces, no one would assume death was being threatened.

“That’s fine, Nina. As long as you remember the same goes for you. I love that woman with all my heart, and if you ever hurt her again, because let’s face it, you already have sent her crying to me once, I will kill you. I don’t care how people find you or what you’re remembered for. If you make my wife cry again, I will end you.”

A song started playing, which Curtis hadn’t expected. Music had not been discussed for their quick and quiet ceremony. He didn’t recognize it, but he knew enough to know it wasn’t the traditional wedding march.

He was poised to ask Nina what in the world song she’d picked out, a little worried, but nothing else mattered when Hannah and her father turned the corner. Her father being there was an afterthought once he got a good look at his bride. Her in the white dress took his breath away.

Her red hair was curled and pinned up on her head in various spots, and even from fifteen feet away, he could see her eyes popped with added makeup around them. Curtis loved her no-fuss look that she naturally pulled off, but seeing her green eyes look like shimmering emeralds could possibly make him request a little makeup from time to time.

As he ogled her, he registered the music saying something about “beauty and the beast.” He groaned and looked out the corner of his eye at Nina, keeping most of his focus on Hannah.

“Hey, I’m not the one who wanted a princess wedding. It was the best music choice I could come up with on short notice.”

Curtis’ full focus returned to his very-soon-to-be wife. If anyone ever looked like and deserved to be a princess, it was her. He made sure to slip that in to his vows, just to make sure everyone knew.