Chapter 25
Elizabeth
The second I stepped out of the car, a tall, slim woman whisked me into the house. She looked as if she was twenty with pitch black hair streaked with red and had the bluest eyes I had ever seen. The smile on her face wide and showed a perfect set of white teeth.
"I'm Bree, Caden's little sister. You gave us all a bit of a shock. When mam told me, I wondered if hell had frozen over." Her words came out a mile a minute, and I had to concentrate to keep up with her. "You're very welcome to our family." She pulled me into a warm hug and kissed my cheek. "Anyone who can get my brother down the aisle must have a bit of magic about them."
I laughed, immediately at ease.
"Come meet everyone else," she said.
I glanced behind looking for Caden to come to my rescue, but someone had waylaid him by the garden fence. A bottle of beer had been thrust into his hand, and a sheepish smile curved his lips. He looked at me as if to say, 'there's nothing I can do.'
"I'd love to meet your other sister," I said to Bree.
"Don't worry. You're about to meet every member of our family." She drew me into the bright, open-planned and packed living room.
"Look who I found—Mrs. Caden Gallagher." Bree's voice rang around the room, and everyone stopped what they were doing to gawk at me.
Fire heated my cheeks, and I would have been fine had the ground opened up and sucked me under. I badly needed my calming oils. An arm I'd grown to know well, snaked around my waist, and I was thankful to finally have Caden by my side. He handed me a glass of champagne and kissed my cheek.
"Would you ever give her five minutes to catch her breath," he said to Bree.
"Sure she's grand, aren't you, Elizabeth."
"Yes, I'm good. Grand. Never better."
"See," Bree said, triumphantly. "I'll take care of her and introduce her to everyone. Keegan is in the kitchen making cocktail concoctions." She turned her attention back to me. "She's dying to get a look at you."
Caden's dad clinked a spoon against a glass of champagne. "If everyone can shut their traps for a minute, I'd like to say something."
The murmuring guests stopped talking and turned to face Artur. "Yesterday, our son Caden gave his mother and me the shock of our lives when he introduced us to his wife. I said, 'You're having a laugh,' he says, 'I'm not.' We were bloody shocked as you can imagine, and didn't we give Elizabeth the wrong impression." He looked at me and raised his glass. "Elizabeth, you can now consider yourself our daughter. If that big eejit gives you any trouble, give us a call, and we'll sort him out. We can see how happy you make him and even though Cait didn't get to buy a new hat, happiness and love are all that matters. To Elizabeth and Caden."
Everyone held up their glasses, and said, "To Elizabeth and Caden."
I wanted to be part of this family for the rest of my life, but I wouldn't be. I swallowed back my sadness and tears and took a sip of champagne which tasted like guilt with a dash of lies and disappointment.
A blonde who was the replica of Bree walked up to us.
"I'm Keegan," she said, giving a nervous smile. "We could barely believe it, could we, Bree?"
"It shocked us all," Bree agreed. "What was the wedding like? Was it fabulous and fancy?"
When Bree stopped to catch her breath, Keegan continued, "I bet you were gorgeous don't you think so, Bree?"
I smiled and my sisters-in-law and tried to keep up with their rapid-fire conversation. It would take a while to get used to how fast they spoke.
"It's about time he moved on from Louise," Bree said.
I didn't miss the eye daggers Keegan threw her sister.
"How about a top up?" Bree asked, taking my glass.
"Sure," I said. If someone didn't tell me what had happened between Louise and Caden, I would have to do some serious snooping.
The rest of the night passed by in a blur of meeting new people and telling our story repeatedly. And with each pass, we added more details.
Caden's sisters looked after me like mother hens and bombarded me with questions at every opportunity. By the end of the night, I had two more sisters to go with my other five.
They said they'd visit when they could, and I wished that was something that could happen.
****
I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the elevator wall. Caden wound a hand around my waist and pressed a kiss to my cheek.
"See, it wasn't as bad as you thought it would be."
"You have a great family."
"I do," he agreed.
He trailed soft kisses over my jaw and down the length of my neck, and when he reached the spot where my neck and shoulder met, he bit, sending shivers down my spine. His actions left no doubt in my mind about where the night was headed.
He kissed my lips, and at first, he used no pressure but soon it turned hot and demanding. His tongue swept my mouth, and he tangled his fingers in my hair, pulling me to him. He lowered his hands and massaged my ass through my dress, thrusting his already hard cock against me.
When he broke away, both of us gasped for breath.