Chapter Twenty-Three

 

Aven

 

“You’re nervous.” It was a statement, not a question.

I shifted my gaze from the front doors of the hall where Genevieve’s reception was already in full-swing back to Finnley. We’d been standing by the rental car in the parking lot for over ten minutes while I composed myself.

At the church, we’d arrived at the last minute and stuck to a pew at the back to avoid detection. My mother knew we were there, but she’d been looking and waiting for us to arrive. The rest of the family had probably assumed I hadn’t bothered to show up. Walking into the reception with Finn on my arm would turn heads and draw attention. I was used to the negativity but dragging Finn into my messed-up family hardly seemed fair.

“I’m only nervous because I’m afraid of how they will treat you. When they throw their jabs at me, I just take it and move on, but I think I might have a harder time biting my tongue if they start directing it at you.”

Finn’s smile was radiant as he straightened my tie, which didn’t need to be straightened. His fingers brushed along my neck, raising the fine hairs, and brought goosebumps to the surface despite the warm evening.

“I’m a big boy, and you warned me.” When he finished fussing, he cupped my cheeks and drew me against his mouth, kissing, and delving inside with his tongue without any hesitation. “You’re smokin’ hot, Mr. Woods. I only hope I can behave and avoid humping your leg this evening.”

I laughed and nipped his lips again as he leaned in and pressed his crotch against my leg in demonstration. He was semi-hard, and I groaned, shoving him back. “Yes, walking into the reception with a hard-on is exactly what I need. Are you sure you want to do this? They probably would be thankful if we didn’t bother.”

“We didn’t fly here to not go. I’m positive. Besides, we’ve been dating six months, don’t you think it’s about time I meet the family properly?”

“That would be under normal circumstances. I could handle a one on one dinner or something but…”

And yet, I’d turned down every dinner invitation my mother had made. Maybe I would never feel ready.

“Come on. They don’t scare me. Your mom might even remember me.”

That’s what I’m afraid of. I hadn’t grown enough balls to tell my mother I was dating the man who’d taken care of her dead husband months back. It might not go over well.

Finn took my hand and encouraged me to walk with him to the front entrance. I was grateful to have him by my side but equally nervous what it might mean.

The hall was packed with over two-hundred guests. Tables had been set up throughout, draped with silky white tablecloths and floral centerpieces. Strings of fairy lights hung from the ceiling, and the overhead lights were turned off giving the large room a magical glow. The buzz of guests was prominent over the soft classical music playing over the speaker system, and I was thankful for the congestion because it made it easier for us to hide.

Finn leaned close to my ear, his lips brushing the lobe as he whispered, “You have a very big family.”

“Not all mine. Her husband, Louis’, family is extensive according to my mother.”

I scanned the tables and wondered if there was assigned seating or if we could find a place near the back, close to the exit in case we needed to make a quick getaway. Finn didn’t release my hand which warmed my heart, even though a few people had given us odd looks. I prayed they had enough decency to at least keep their mouths shut for once. Hand holding was fine, but I’d drawn the line at allowing any more intimacy, explaining to Finn that I didn’t want to be responsible for causing a problem.

I was still taking in the table arrangement when Finn gave a tug, drawing my focus up front. “Incoming. That’s your mom, right? I recognize her.”

Making her way through the crowd was indeed my mother. Her smile was warm when she caught my eye, but I didn’t miss the brief weariness when her gaze shifted to mine and Finn’s joined hands. She gave him a subtle once-over before her attention was fully on me again. I didn’t think she’d examined Finn long enough to connect the dots.

“Aven, sweetheart.” She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me to her level, hugging me tight and kissing my cheek.

“Hi, Mom. You look beautiful.”

“Never mind me.”’ She pulled back and brushed her hands down the front of my dress shirt. “Look at my handsome boy.”

“Mom,” I said, choking down my nerve and praying for the best. I wasn’t about to avoid the truth, because when she figured it out—and she would figure it out—it would only make things worse. “You remember Finnley?”

She reached for his extended hand as she studied his face with a furrowed brow. “Now why would I know…” And it hit her. Her lips parted as her composure slipped for a fraction of a second before she managed to catch herself.

Please don’t be mad.

“Finnley Hollins. It’s nice to see you again.” Finn’s voice was smooth and gentle as ever as he leaned in and kissed my mother’s cheek. “Congratulations on your daughter’s wedding. You must be thrilled.”

She cleared her throat and passed a trace glance in my direction before finding a smile for Finn. It was mostly genuine, and my heart beat a little less erratically. I could tell she wasn’t about to make a scene at least. “Finnley Hollins. From the funeral home.”

Finn’s gaze darted in my direction, but he quickly returned his attention to my mother. “Yes, ma’am.”

She seemed at a loss for words, so I jumped in before things became more awkward. “So, is there assigned seating or is it free choice, sit where you please?”

My mother visibly composed herself and rubbed my arm as she scanned the tables. “No, hun, it’s assigned. I’m not sure where your sister has put you.”

“Probably outside at the curb, if I were to wager a guess.”

That comment earned me a smack on the arm from my mother and a surprise pinch on the ass from my boyfriend which made me yelp and cut my eyes in his direction. Behave, I mouthed. Finn wore innocent too well and acted like he had no idea what I was talking about.

“Come on,” my mother said, tugging my arm, oblivious to what had happened. “We’ll go find out. Besides, you should congratulate your sister and Louis. She probably doesn’t even know you came.”

She’s probably hoping I didn’t.

Finn didn’t think twice about hooking his arm with mine as my mother dragged us through the crowd toward the large main table at the front of the room. It was on a raised platform and a few familiar faces mingled around up top—one being my sister in her elegant wedding dress, the rest, the wedding party all in matching tuxes and dresses.

When she saw us approach, the joy she radiated fizzled as she glared at me with the fakest of smiles. My mother waved her down to join us, and she broke off the conversation with her friends as Finn detached himself from my arm.

“Brr, did it get cold in here?” he whispered by my ear.

“I warned you.”

Genevieve made her way over, and I pulled up my big boy pants like I always did and gave her a much more genuine smile.

“Congratulations, sis.” I took her into a hug which was returned, but stiffly and with about as much warmth as the ice queen herself might emit.

“You came.” Her disappointment was evident.

“You did invite me, remember?”

“I remember.” She cut her eyes to Finn for a brief moment and pursed her lips as her nose curled. “I don’t remember adding a plus one.”

“An oversight, I forgive you. Gene, this is Finnley Hollins, my boyfriend.” I emphasized boyfriend as I wrapped an arm around Finn’s waist and pulled him against my side. “We’ve been dating six months now. In fact, we’re living together. I thought it was high-time he met our loving family properly.”

Although Finn didn’t flinch at my remarks, my mother became more flustered as the obvious tension between my sister and me rose. I knew she hated the ongoing animosity, but maybe it was time she took a stand.

“Gene, sweetie,” she interrupted. “Aven and Finnley were wondering where their assigned seats were.”

With a disinterested shrug, she nodded to a table a few over from where we stood.

“He’s with the cousins. Beside Niko, if I remember correctly.”

“Shocking,” I mumbled under my breath. Genevieve knew of the ongoing rivalry between Niko and I and had no doubt done that on purpose.

Probably sensing the conversation wasn’t about to improve any time soon, my mother pulled us along to our assigned table near the stage where the entertainment system was set up. Genevieve returned to her friends on the platform without a second glance in our direction.

“She doesn’t remember me,” Finn whispered.

“Not surprising. It would require her looking outside herself for five seconds, and I’m not sure she’s capable.”

“Ah, yes, here you go,” my mother said, swinging an arm to the decorated table.

There were small nameplates in front of each chair. One was clearly labeled with my name. Of course, there wasn’t one for Finn, but the chair beside me was without a tag, so I knew, even though it went against everything she probably wanted, Gene had been aware I was bringing a plus one. My mother had probably warned her.

Finn and I settled in our spots while my mother excused herself to mingle with guests. The cousins were milling about nearby but hadn’t taken note of us yet, so we had a momentary reprieve.

“Wanna leave yet?” I asked hopefully, finding Finn’s leg under the table and giving it a squeeze.

Finn chuckled. “Are you kidding, we haven’t even busted a groove on the dance floor. We gotta show this bunch how it’s done. You know straight people can’t dance.”

I gaped and couldn’t contain my laughter. “You are going to shit-disturb tonight, aren’t you?”

“To the max. Just give me the green light, and I’m gonna be so up in your face gay, they won’t know what hit them.”

Finn reached for the bottle of wine in the middle of the table with a smirk. He filled both our glasses three-quarters full and handed me one. Before taking a sip, he held it up and leaned in. “I’ll hump your leg and play tonsil hockey with you right up on that stage if you want.”

When I laughed and shook my head, he clinked my glass and took a hefty swallow of his wine.

“Will all these people come to our wedding?” he asked nonchalantly as he scanned the room. “They’re kinda a bunch of stiffs. I envision something a little more lively for us.”

I knew he was speaking hypothetically, but my mind instantly conjured up the possibilities in our future, and I became lost in his easy, carefree smile.

My Finnley. My beautiful, troubled soul. I know you aren’t being serious, but I’ll marry you someday, you’ll see.

His eyes returned to my face when I didn’t answer, and I realized I’d been lost in a fantasy of the future. “No way,” I said, sipping my wine. “When we get married, it will be on a beach in Jamaica. You, me, and the ocean. Fuck these people.”

When I expected him to laugh it off as a joke, he swam in the depths of my eyes, a soft glint shining in his hazel spheres.

“Promise?” he whispered.

“I promise.”

The mood was broken when our table began to fill with rowdy cousins and their significant others.

“Look what the cat dragged in.” Niko plopped down and smacked me on the shoulder. “Who’s your gay friend?”

Finnley didn’t flinch and smiled warmly, if not arrogantly, at Niko.

“Niko, my boyfriend, Finn. Finn, my homophobic cousin, Niko.” When Finn offered his hand, and Niko stared at it, I added, “Gay isn’t contagious, Niko. Go on, I dare ya. He doesn’t bite… mostly. But only when I misbehave. You’ll be fine… probably.”

Niko’s face soured, but he accepted Finn’s hand and quickly turned his attention afterward to my cousin Vanessa who sat beside him with her long-time boyfriend, Jackson. When they delved into conversation, Finn leaned close and spoke in my ear as he watched them.

“Should I tell him I used that hand to jerk you off this morning?”

I chuckled and nudged him when he nipped my ear. “I promised my mother no fights on my account. Niko is hotheaded, that would be a bad idea. Like, World War three bad.”

“You’re no fun.”

I snagged the wine bottle and topped off our glasses before the rest of the table emptied it. After ten minutes of quiet conversation, dinner was served. Everyone was given a Tuscan green salad for a starter, and an option for the main course which consisted of Chicken Florentine or Beef Wellington.

“There aren’t fish or vegetarian options?” Finn asked the server who shook his head, waiting for answers. “Your sister knows you are vegetarian, right?”

“Of course, she does, but you assume that matters to her. It’s okay, what are you getting?”

Finn looked put off by the lack of concern my sister had shown, but he bit back a comment and asked for the chicken. I told the server I’d have the same.

“You can have mine, and I’ll steal your veggies.”

“That’s hardly a meal,” Finn countered between gritted teeth. My family hadn’t thrown him off until that point. It was sweet seeing him become defensive of my sister’s lack of concern when it came to me.

“It’s fine. I’ll fill up on dessert later.”

He raised a brow. “You don’t indulge in dessert.”

“You missed my meaning, Finn.” I winked and scanned the room as it sunk in.

“Wanna skip dinner and go right for dessert? That stage is calling to me.”

“You’re trouble. Who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?”

“See what happens when I get a good night’s sleep?”

I did see. Being overtired all the time took its toll, but Finn had managed to improve his sleep habits significantly even in a few short months. He still had a lot of work to do, but the improvements were making a huge difference in his life.

When dinner was served, Finn and I slyly exchanged food and settled into our own little world of conversation which included stories of my growing up among a lot of the people present. They weren’t all bad stories, considering a lot of them took place before I’d come out and things had changed. While we ate and talked, we exchanged discrete touches under the table, but we did our best to keep it clean where everyone could see.

After dinner was finished, there was a long time spent on speeches before the dance floor was cleared and the music switched from classical to a mixture of new-age, popular dance hits. Finn and I found a couple of beers at the open bar and mingled on our own. The sideways glances were happening frequently, but we ignored them and tried to enjoy ourselves.

A huge part of me was tempted to drag Finn out onto the dance floor, but I feared it would only cause trouble, so we hung back. I could tell Finn would have rather broke out and got his groove on, but he understood I didn’t want to rock the boat. His self-restraint was admirable.

After an hour of dancing, the guests were beginning to loosen up with the flow of alcohol, and the DJ put a halt to the dancing briefly to announce that the bride was going to throw her flowers, followed by the groom throwing the bride’s garter.

“What’s the garter thing?” Finn asked as he leaned against my side, resting his chin on my shoulder.

“It’s like the groom’s version of flower tossing. He removes it from his bride and tosses it to all the bachelor men. Same deal as the flowers, you know?”

“Gotcha. Never seen that done, but I can’t say I’ve been to many weddings.”

The bride was first, and all the unattached women gathered while Genevieve launched her bouquet over her shoulder into a screaming mosh pit of single women. Some blonde, who I assumed was part of Louis’ side of the family, caught the bouquet.

After the commotion calmed, a chair was placed in the middle of the dance floor, and Genevieve took a seat while some cheesy stripper-type song sounded through the speakers. Her new husband, Louis, took his time giving the guests a show as he rid her of the garter she wore up her leg using only his teeth. I turned to Finn, not interested in the show, and pressed him against the wall since everyone’s attention was diverted.

“I say, we sneak out of here once the dancing starts again and go back to the hotel for our own fun. What do you say?” I asked, blowing hot breath across his ear.

He groaned, gripping my side with the hand not holding his drink and pressed his hips forward, showing me what my suggestion was doing to him. “Done.”

I gave him a quick, teasing kiss on his neck and turned back to the crowd, leaning against the wall beside him. Yeah, I was ready to depart. It was getting hard to keep my hands off Finn, and we’d made our presence known. What more was required?

Louis spun the garter on his finger as men gathered in front of him. It was a silly wedding tradition I didn’t understand. Louis swung the garter round and round while Genevieve wrapped a blindfold over his eyes.

Finnley laughed and leaned his head on my shoulder closing his eyes. “It’s a riot, I get it, but wake me up when it’s over, because the show is dragging, and I’m ready to get out of here with you.”

I kissed Finn’s head since everyone was too busy watching Louis. I couldn’t have agreed more.

Once Louis’ vision was impaired, the men began to chant “throw it” over and over again. With a forceful swing, Louis launched the garter with all his might, blindly into the crowd. The object took flight and soared through the air at a fantastic rate of speed considering it was a strip of fabric.

I watched it as it came directly toward us, and before I could voice a single word, the garter landed, looped around Finnley’s glass of beer in his hand. His head flew up, and he opened his eyes in surprise.

“What the…”

I almost choked on the mouthful of beer I’d just taken as the gathered guests turned toward us. My full attention was on Finn, and his was on the garter that had landed over his hand.

The murmurs and comments were nothing but background noise until my sister’s voice rose above them all.

“No! No freaking way is that happening. Give it back.”

I glanced up and saw her storming toward us, a look of disgust and venom on her face.

“Louis, throw it again,” she shrieked.

I caught Finn’s eye, and a smile broke across his face. I loved how my family didn’t faze him in the least. “Please, oh, God, please give me permission to hump your leg. Please.”

The mischief in Finn’s eyes was more than I could take. I laughed and nodded, not having a clue what he had planned but not caring in the least. “Green light, baby.”

Before my sister made it across the room, Finn removed our drinks and left them on a nearby table, then, he grabbed my face and crushed our mouths together in a smothering kiss. His fingers laced in my hair and held me tight, his tongue not shy in finding my own. It was nothing short of deeply erotic, and I knew it would be enough to make a lot of people upset. I didn’t give a shit.

But Finnley wasn’t done.

When he broke us apart, it timed perfectly with Genevieve’s arrival.

“Marry me, Aven. It’s fate.” Finn clutched the garter to his chest and fluttered his eyelashes dramatically as his smile lit up the room.

“Aven!” My sister’s shrill cry fell on deaf ears as I grinned at Finn.

“In a heartbeat, baby. In a heartbeat.”

He kissed me again with equal force, ensuring everyone present got a decent show. We kissed until we were both laughing and couldn’t keep it up. Knowing we’d pushed limits, we ignored the raucous crowd and worked our way to the exit.

As we crossed the parking lot, we stumbled and laughed. Finn fit the garter over his pants and yanked it up his leg before doing pirouettes all the way to the rental. God, I loved that man.

As we were about to get in the car, someone called out, “Aven?”

We turned to find my mother just outside the doors to the hall and approaching fast. Finn sobered and removed the garter, chucking it inside the car and dashing an apologetic look in my direction.

“It’s all right, we’re going, Ma. I’m sorry we caused a commotion.”

She crossed toward us, her face drawn and sad. “No, I’m sorry,” she said when she was in front of us. She shook her head and lowered her gaze. “I…”

“It’s okay, Mom. I get it. I don’t want you to lose the family on my account.”

“I love you, Aven. Just know I do support you.”

“I know.”

She shifted on her feet and lifted her gaze to Finn. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Finn. I can tell you make my son very happy.”

Finn, ever the gentleman, hugged my mother and kissed her cheek. “He makes me happy, too.”

Back at the hotel, Finnley didn’t waste a moment. He pushed me on the bed and climbed over top of me as he rid me of my tie and worked the buttons loose on my shirt.

“That was priceless, you know. The look on my sister’s face.”

“You aren’t mad?”

I laughed. “Not at all. It was really well played.”

Finn dipped his head and caught my mouth, sucking and kissing me as he shed my shirt and whipped it off the bed.

“I wasn’t playing,” he said between kisses. “I was dead serious.”

I pulled back and stared at his hazel eyes above me. There wasn’t an ounce of humor behind them, and my heart took off, unsure I understood what he was saying. “Finn?”

“In a heartbeat you said. Did you mean it?”

“You were seriously asking me to marry you?”

“Yes. Are you changing your mind?”

He grazed fingers along my cheek and trailed the pad of his thumb along my bottom lip. “I want to get married,” he said with assuredness.

“It’s kinda soon, isn’t it?”

“Not today. Not next week. It doesn’t even have to be next year.” He leaned in and claimed my mouth, sending heat to fill my body and tingle over my skin. When he came up for air, he shook his head. “But, I know what I want, Aven, and it’s you. Always you. What do you say?”

My heart swelled, and tears surfaced as I looked up at the man I’d fallen hopelessly in love with.

“In a heartbeat.”