“Well, big brother, looks like you’ve pulled off the society wedding of the year.” As stirring organ music filled the church, Roarke stood next to Aidan and gazed out at the expectant faces of New York City’s A-list. “If only they knew this is a mere formality.”

“Some of them do,” Aidan said. His father had invited his friends from each of the other packs, so the room was a mix of humans and Weres.

“So far they’ve all been pretty cool about Emma.”

“Yeah. That’s saved me from having to kick some ass.”

“Which I know you’re fully prepared to do. I just about plotzed when you took on the old man that night.”

“And I’ll always remember that you backed me up, Roarke. I owe you one.”

“You owe me several. Let’s not forget making me stand up here in this monkey suit. I wouldn’t be doing that by choice, either.”

“Yeah, you would. You love it. You’ll have your pick of the women at the reception.”

“There’s a pleasant thought.” Roarke smiled. “Will you look at the ’rents sitting out there, proud as punch, both acting like they’ve won the lottery? After all the bitching and moaning about their new daughter-in-law’s lineage, they’re totally on board. Emma’s won them over.”

“I never doubted it.”

“Liar.”

“Okay, there were some dicey moments.” He thought back over the fight with Theo, the disapproval of his parents, the ultimate confrontation with his father.

“Well, you’re about to have the payoff for sticking it out. Here’s a moment for you, bro. Your lady love approacheth.”

Roarke didn’t have to tell him that. Aidan had caught Emma’s scent the moment she’d stepped out of the chamber where she and her mother had finished preparing for the ceremony. She walked arm-in-arm with her mother, who served as her only escort and attendant, just as Roarke was his.

Aidan hadn’t been allowed to see Emma since yesterday, and the night had been long, indeed. Now he drank in the sight of her like a man presented with a feast after starving for days. Everyone else became a blur as he focused all his senses on her.

Her lace dress flowed in a graceful column down her still-slim body, and her veil, also of hand-woven lace, cascaded down her back. She’d chosen not to cover her face, and he applauded that choice. The joy of impending motherhood made her skin glow and her blue eyes sparkle.

He was the only one who knew that she was three months pregnant with the child they’d conceived the night of the binding and he liked knowing they shared the secret. They would tell it when they were ready. Emma was good at keeping secrets.

He hadn’t realized what a great secret-keeper she was until he’d watched her provide partial truths to her inquisitive mother. Thanks to Emma’s talent for fiction, Betty Gavin believed that her daughter was marrying a wealthy bachelor whose parents traveled outside the country frequently, often taking Aidan and Emma with them. That was the story Emma had created to explain why the Wallaces were only occasionally in the city and why they preferred having rooms at the Waldorf to owning a place in Manhattan.

The life that Aidan had feared would become a burden to Emma had proven to be an exciting challenge, instead. Her fascination with the Were community won her more converts every day. Some Weres were already suggesting plots and characters for future projects.

His father still insisted on reading everything she wrote, but she’d taken that with good grace. She said she actually found some of his literary comments helpful in developing her stories. Now instead of resenting him as a censor, she seemed to enjoy him as an editor. Aidan was learning from her that confrontation wasn’t always the best way around his father.

He’d learned much from his mate, in fact, and knew that in the years ahead, he’d become wiser still. Sometimes when he was with her, he even took the subway.

But they would not ride the subway today. A white limo waiting outside the church would take them to the Rainbow Room at the Waldorf. Later tonight it would transport them to a private runway where the corporate jet would fly them in style to St. Barts.

On some things he refused to compromise, and when it came to giving Emma a day to remember and the honeymoon of her dreams, he would shower her with luxury.

Most of all, though, he would shower her with love. When he took her hand and turned to the minister, his heart was so full that he wasn’t sure he’d be able to voice the required responses. But when the time came and the minister asked if he would take this woman, he found the words came easily.

He gazed down at Emma’s smiling face and poured every ounce of his love into his pledge. “I will.”