“…and go join your wife,” the minister continued as if nothing had happened.
Drake did so, giving a quick peck on the head to Mal as she slid past to take more pictures.
Hunter did not come from a particularly demonstrative family, and he knew Mal was not a hugger generally, but the warm affection from her aunt, uncle, and cousins fascinated him. They were loud, but loving, and though they had not seen Mal in ten years, they treated her as if she’d never left, and from her accounts, never made her feel guilty about it. And now, seeing Mal interact with them, he wondered if this wasn’t some part of her nature too, just something she’d forgotten. Mal grinned at her uncle and then went back to business behind her camera.
“Jenna and Tom, you say your vows,” the minister said, peering over his spectacles as he held the order of events.
“Blah, blah, blah, I love you, etc.,” Tom said, making Jenna grin.
“Exactly,” praised the minister. “I say my spiel, and yadda yadda yadda, you are man and wife, kiss the bride.”
Tom made a show of dipping Jenna and kissing her, which earned some whoops and hollers from the rest.
The minister chuckled and waited for them to be set to rights. “And I present you as the mister and missus. Wait for applause, and down the aisle with you.”
Tom and Jenna marched their way down. Hunter offered his arm to Caroline, and they followed. Mal snapped a picture of them, and Hunter cast a wink at her that earned him a scolding look. The rest of the group followed perfectly, and they all held their breath and waited to be dismissed.
“All right, y’all,” Jenna finally said over them all with the help of a whistle from Tom. “Thanks for your patience. Dinner’s on your own or at the lodge. Boys, you got Stag Night later, I guess a text will be going out with details. Anyone brings a stripper near my man, I will beat you with a tire iron.”
That was met with some chuckles, and Hunter noticed some of the girls looked ashamed.
“Tomorrow morning, we’ve got breakfast at nine with the rest of the family members that are coming in for the wedding,” Jenna continued, holding Tom closer. “We turn in phones after that. You can pick them up when you leave the reception for the night.”
Some of the group grumbled, but Hunter actually didn’t mind that. Tom and Jenna had thought of everything for the security of their wedding, and it should work. Wedding guests would turn in their phones when they arrived at the resort before they were shown to the venue, and it should not prove to be an obstacle, as everyone that had been invited knew about their wish for privacy. His only concern would be keeping track of Mal throughout the day with all the running around they would both be doing, but so long as he stayed close, it shouldn’t be a problem.
But when the wedding was over, when Jenna and Tom left for their mystery honeymoon, when everyone started going back to their lives…
What was the plan then?
“Okay, dismissed!” Tom called out, cupping his hands over his mouth.
People began dispersing, and Hunter looked for Mal but couldn’t find her. Caroline saw him and took pity on him.
“She’s headed over to her cottage,” she told him. “I’m bringing things over to help her get ready, and then I’ll take her stuff back to the Hen House for tonight. You pick her up at six thirty, all right?”
Hunter gave her an assessing look, then sighed. “Take care of her, okay?”
Caroline reared back. “Tonight? Oh, buddy, you better take care of yourself. She is going to knock you off your feet.”
He smiled, then said, “No, I mean after. Tonight, at the house.”
Caroline’s expression softened, and she patted Hunter’s arm. “I gotcha. Rest easy, Hunter. I’ll take care of our girl.”
He swallowed a lump that had formed and nodded, turning to go back to his truck.
Tonight was going to be special for them; he could feel it. It might be the last night they had together before the real world took them back. He wasn’t letting her go, he knew that much, but where did she stand?
Where did they stand?
“Mallory Hudson, if that man does not want to eat you with hot fudge and a spoon, I am checking him for a pulse.”
Mal snorted and teetered on the heels that had been forced upon her. They weren’t especially tall or crazy; in fact, they were quite perfectly Mal’s style, if a bit more strappy. Mal was just ungainly and uncoordinated and the tiniest bit nervous.
“Seriously, girl, come look at yourself,” Caroline insisted, waving her toward the mirror on the back of the closet door. Mal shook her head and fumbled with the jewelry Caroline had brought, looking for something that might match.
Caroline heaved a sigh, then grabbed Mal’s arm and yanked her toward the mirror. “I said come look, and I meant come look!” she ordered.
Mal glanced up, and her eyes went wide at the sight of herself.