EMMA
Nicole insists on giving me a ride to Ty and Juniper's wedding. Thatcher had to be there super early to deal with flowers and tuxes and stuff, but promised he'd come outside to see if Nicole approves of him.
She spends an hour setting my hair in hot rollers in the morning, spraying my red locks into a cascading fountain of curls. "You look hot as fuck," she tells me as I slip into a pair of jade green strappy heels. They match the dress perfectly, and I twirl around, watching the skirt billow out. I definitely look ready for a celebrity wedding.
Ty and Juniper are getting married in the conservatory, surrounded by Thatcher's glass of course, and because Ty and his teammates will all be there, security is heightened for the whole area. Nicole beams as we pull up to the guard blocking the street from through traffic. "I feel like I'm chauffeur for the rich and famous," she tells me. Then she leans out the window and tells the guard, "I'm delivering Emma fucking Cheswick to Thatcher Stag."
He looks through the window over the top of his sunglasses and waves Nicole on. She squeals. "Nick, you're being ridiculous," I tell her. "They're just people."
But I feel giddy when I spy Thatcher up ahead, waiting for me on the sidewalk. Nicole whistles and I don't blame her. Thatcher in a tux is pure elegance, pure sex, and all mine. He grins as we pull up, running a hand through his neatly-trimmed beard. He opens a door for me and whistles as I climb out. Nicole laughs, but Thatcher looks awestruck. "Chezz," he says. "You look so beautiful right now." His words are so earnest that I blush and squeeze his hand. "You ready for all this," he asks, gesturing toward the photographers swarming around the Escalades and Range Rovers bearing Fury players and their dates.
Nicole sighs and clutches her hands under her chin. Then she leans over and sticks out her hand toward Thatcher. "Nicole Thomas, best friend. Damn glad to meet you, Thatcher Stag." He grins at her, shaking her hand. "You take care of our girl, now."
He pulls me against his side and kisses the top of my head. "She doesn't need taking care of, Nicole. I need her to take care of me."
When Thatcher says that, Nicole punches her horn and gives me a double thumbs up. "Emma, he's a keeper. Go mingle with the hockey stars, get me someone's number, and then go have hot sex and beautiful babies." I laugh as she peels out.
Thatcher escorts me inside, where the entire conservatory seems to be in bloom to celebrate Juniper and Tyrion. Thatcher kisses my hand and leaves me with some other guests while he takes his place up front just as Tim and Ty enter the room. The trio of brothers standing tall, dressed to kill, is quite a sight to behold. I hear a sniffle beside me and see Anna Stag taking pictures of her grandsons, then dabbing her eyes with a hanky.
I give her leg a squeeze just as the violins start playing and Juniper makes her way toward her beloved. Tall and sleek in a simple, elegant white dress, Juniper has eyes only for Ty. They make their way through the ceremony, holding hands. Ordinarily I find this kind of thing cheesy, but I can't help but smile during the vows when Juniper blurts out, "I'm keeping my name!"
Ty smiles at her and squeezes her hands. He says, "I sort of thought you might, Junebug." When he leans in to kiss her, Thatcher pulls him back, scolding him for jumping the gun.
After they are pronounced married, there's a loud commotion from the crowd of well-wishers. I bite my hand in glee when I see all Juniper's rowing friends line one side of the aisle holding oars. Ty's teammates line the other side of the aisle holding hockey sticks. The two sides form an unlikely arch, and Ty and Juniper walk through their friends, laughing. Smiling. Happy and in love. I catch Thatcher's eye and we share a moment until he walks forward.
He kisses his grandmother's cheek and then, with a lustful look, squeezes my shoulder and asks, "Gram, can you excuse Emma for a minute? I need her." Anna Stag smiles and pats my hand as Thatcher tugs me into the hall.
"Where are we going," I ask, looking around, until I realize we are in the hall where we first met. Where he took me for nefarious purposes. Things have certainly changed in the past month. "Oh," I say, running my hands down his chest. Ty picked out stunning grey tuxes to match his brothers' eyes and I let my fingers trail down the long tie, wrapping it in my fist and pulling Thatcher in for a kiss.
He growls and boxes me in against the wall like he did that first night, nibbling my neck, and this time, I let him. Eagerly. "Emma," he breathes, "Do you want to know what I was thinking about during that ceremony?"
I roll my head to the side as he kisses a trail up to my ear, down along my chin. He smells so good and I love these gentle touches. "How much your brother loves your new sister-in-law?" I ask him, playfully.
He shakes his head and looks into my eyes. "No, Emma. I was thinking about you. How right you look sitting with my family, being here for my family's important days. I love you, Emma Cheswick."
I feel a whoosh as my breath leaves my body. Oh, to hear these words from this man! Since he asked me to be with him the other night, he's been so present. We've barely spent a moment apart in all that time, and now, as I lean against the glass wall of the conservatory where we met, I know I feel the same. "I love you, too, Thatcher."