Fuck, who was I kidding? It would be a bomb to my family if I mentioned I was dating anyone who wasn’t Luca Thornton.
But they would get over it, because I was happy and in love, and I wasn’t going to let anyone ruin it for me.
After Lyric told me that his future father-in-law was in a motorcycle club, it didn’t surprise me when the car pulled into the parking lot of what was once a huge warehouse that was now the MC’s clubhouse. It was raining, and according to Shaw, this was apparently the biggest building in the county that could actually hold everyone.
Someone opened my door, and I smiled up at Uncle Jesse as he offered me his hand. “Now, you are a sight for sore eyes, sweetheart,” he said as he kissed my cheek once I was out of the car. “Damn, you’re trying to make that boy sweat, huh?”
I frowned as I looked down at my dress. It was a pretty purple one that I’d bought in London before Remington and I had flown home so he could meet my parents. I hadn’t bought it with the wedding in mind because I didn’t think it would be taking place quite so soon, but it was lovely. It didn’t reveal much of anything, but Remington had bit his fist like he was trying to control himself when he’d first seen me in it earlier.
Other than my focus on keeping Luca away from me, I hadn’t really given much thought to how he would react to seeing me. I glanced at Shaw as we walked into the clubhouse. “Should I be worried that Luca will cause a scene?”
She pressed her lips together in a hard line for a moment as she thought about how to answer me, and I prepared myself for the worst.
“Vi babe, I’m going to be honest. When Luca sees you, I think it’s going to take a small miracle to keep him away from you.” She sighed heavily. “But when he sees you with Remington… When he has the proof of your happiness with another guy right in front of him, he’s going to lose his shit.”
“No,” I denied with a shake of my head. “He moved on, Shaw. We saw it with our own eyes. The entire country did. That girl threw herself into his arms, and he kissed her back.”
She grimaced. “I think we’re about to find out one way or the other.” After she linked her arm through mine, we entered a huge room. There weren’t any chairs for anyone to sit, because there was barely enough room for people to stand, but there was an arbor set up and a minister was standing with two guys I didn’t recognize and Lyric.
Luca was right beside him, and as if our eyes were magnets drawn to each other, they locked. I saw him inhale sharply, but if I was expecting to feel anything life-altering at seeing him in the flesh for the first time, it didn’t happen.
I wasn’t suddenly overflowing with emotions. The love I once held for him in my heart, the attraction that would burn through me with just a glance, the way my heart would jackhammer against my ribs just looking at him and knowing he was mine…
None of those feelings were there.
Everything I once felt for him was only a nostalgic memory from the past.
Because Luca really wasn’t destined to be my forever.
He wasn’t my happy ending.
Remington was.
I watched Luca speak to his brother, and they looked like they were suddenly arguing. But with the room so crowded with people, I couldn’t hear what they were saying and I didn’t try to read their lips. It wasn’t my business.
“Violet.” I turned at the sound of my name and instantly embraced my cousin Nevaeh.
Or tried to.
She was seven months pregnant, so it was hard to get too close, and even if I’d succeeded, I doubted her husband would have let me squeeze her too hard. “Look at you,” I said, my hands going straight to her stomach and rubbing over her adorable baby bump. “You’re so beautiful. I’m jealous.”
My cousin glanced over her shoulder then turned her eyes back to me. She was wearing contacts today instead of her glasses, and her blue-gray eyes sparkled as she looked at me with concern. “If he gives you any trouble, let me know. Brax will put him in a sleeper hold and knock his ass out.”
I didn’t doubt her husband could or would do just that, but I wasn’t worried about Luca. “I’ll keep that in mind,” I told her with amusement. “Now, hold still. I want to see if this little one will move for me.”
She put her hand on her stomach with a grimace. “He’s all over the place today. I think we’re going to leave after the wedding. I’m tired, and I just want to go home.”
“I’m sure Lyric will understand,” I assured her, then squealed when I felt her son kick against my hand. “Oh my gosh, that’s so incredible.”
“Stop molesting the pregnant woman’s stomach,” Shaw chastised me as she turned from talking to someone.
“Yeah, hands off,” Uncle Drake said as he came up to us and pushed my hand away. Only to replace it with his own. “I totally get why Jesse and Devlin were always doing this to Lucy when she was pregnant with Hayat and Evan,” he said with a grin as he rubbed his daughter’s tummy.
Nevaeh rolled her eyes. “And I totally get why she ran and hid whenever she saw them coming,” she teased. The smile on her face turned into a grimace moments later, and both Uncle Drake and Braxton turned pale.
“Kitten, are you sure you’re feeling okay?” Braxton asked worriedly. “You’ve been making faces like that all day.”
“I’m fine,” she mumbled. “Just a little cramping. It’s probably all the excitement. And I haven’t eaten much today. I just haven’t been hungry.”