“Why do you think the pastor is still standing up there?” he asked.
Since I was eye-level to his shoulder, I was forced to lean to the right to peek around him to find the pastor on stage, talking to a few of the guests in attendance.
After I straightened my stance, I jerked my neck back, revealing my wicked side-eye.
“Hell, no!” I barked, stretching the two words out as a heavy dose of attitude spiked in my system.
“I want my own shit. I’m already feeling salty about being your second choice. Do you honestly think I’m settling for a damn second-hand wedding too? It’s tacky as fuck. No! Just no!”
He stood before me, doing his best to suppress the laugh tickling his lips at my antics, a good sign that he had a sense of humor.
“You must be smoking bad crack if you think I’m getting married in an off-the-rack suit that I bought on sale.”
With a stiff finger aimed at the expensive white jumpsuit I wore, I continued my rant.
“If we do this, I want an overpriced dress and cake, a bunch of stuck up guests that I don’t know, a bigger venue, expensive food and drinks, and a rock on my finger that cost enough to break one of your bank accounts.”
His hardy laugh escaped, especially when he realized I was serious. I knew what I wanted, and he appeared to be at ease with my logic. If I was marrying a man I didn’t love, for a less than honorable reason, I may as well get what I wanted.
“Laugh all you want, future husband,” I warned. “I don’t intend to be second in your life, but this one time. If I didn’t love my cousin as much as I do, your brother would be standing his ass right here with me, hearing the same speech.”
The statement caused his laughter to push out harder. Seeing him laugh had me fighting back the urge to join him. He was the same towering height as his brother, and I liked that he wasn’t all skin and bones. He was manly, muscled. A pillar of strength like he could handle himself in a brawl.
Starting at his feet, big and long even in black dress shoes, my curious gaze eventually reconnected with his.
“What the hell are you Vallin men taking, some kind of growth serum?”
He laughed loud enough to call attention to us this time. I wasn’t intending for my comments to be funny, but I think I enjoyed making him laugh, especially after what he had done for my cousin. The love he had for his brother had forced him to swallow his ego and give up the woman he had chosen to marry.
I respected Arjen more for the selfless gesture he had made on that stage than for what his name stood for. He was willing to accept hurt and defeat for his family, an attribute I prayed he carried into our union, even though it was an arrangement.
“Understood,” he finally replied to my earlier statement about me not being number two in his life again. “And no, we’re not taking growth serum.”
He offered me a parting smile before he left to approach the stage and inform the pastor that we wouldn’t need his services today. His brother met him at the foot of the steps, giving him another long hug before whispering something in his ear.
Observing the brothers together reminded me of me and Desiree, who was approaching me with a wide smile and teary eyes. We embraced for a long moment, her tears wetting my shoulder before she backed away.
“I’m sorry,” she said, sobbing. “I know you were supposed to marry Khane. I didn’t know things would turn out like this.”
Shaking my head and fighting back emotions of my own, I cupped her cheek and swiped a tear away with my thumb.
“You have nothing to be sorry about. He makes you happy, and that’s all that matters. I’m happy for you.”
She slung her arms around me, knocking my breath away.
“You’re choking me,” I edged out, laughing playfully. “Besides, Arjen just half-assed proposed to me.”
She stepped back from our embrace to get a look at my face. Her lips parted in surprise as she prepared to respond to my revelation.
“What? Are you serious? Did you say yes?” she asked.
“Of course, I said yes. I’m nothing if not an opportunist.”
“I’m happy for you. For some odd reason, I think you two are better for each other anyway.”
My lips pinched at her statement before I tossed her a sarcastic glance and aimed a quick eye and a chin lift towards the brothers.
“Today is not about me. It’s about you getting the wedding you wanted. I can tell that Khane makes you happy, but if he ever gets out of line or you need to get away, call me. Don’t go running off like you did the last time. You had my ass all up in Mexico, hiding in the fucking woods, playing sniper. But the Vallin men were on point. They handled their shit.”