“Missed you, too,” Lucien murmured, putting his hand over his mate’s hand on his stomach and threading their fingers together. “Let’s congratulate the newlyweds and then go home.”
It took them a good half an hour to get to the newlyweds. There were too many guests trying to do the same, and they had to wait until the crowd dispersed a little. Regardless of the scandal, Hugh was a Randall, and that name carried a lot of power in this country.
“Congratulations,” Lucien said, hugging the younger omega while his mate congratulated Hugh.
Eric hugged back. “At what point will they stop staring?” he whispered into his ear. “It’s been months, but people are still talking about the bathroom incident. Not in a completely horrible way, I guess—many find it romantic—but it’s still mortifying.”
Lucien chuckled. “They’ll never entirely stop I’m afraid. We’ve been married for years now, but people still stare and judge us.”
“That’s not comforting at all,” Eric said, pulling a face.
“Focus on what matters. Does he make you happy?”
Eric’s entire face lit up as he looked at Hugh. “Beyond belief,” he said softly.
Lucien looked at his own mate. “That’s all that matters. Everything else is inconsequential. Life is too short to care about people’s opinions.” He wished it hadn’t taken him so long to realize that.
“Yeah,” Eric said, his gaze on Hugh. “He’s all I need to be happy.” His expression became slightly pinched. “Sometimes I get irrationally afraid that something will happen to him. Is that normal?”
Lucien knew what he meant. “That’s the price we pay for loving deeply. But it’s worth it, isn’t it?”
“It is,” Eric said, his expression becoming soft as his husband turned to him again. He took Hugh’s hand and leaned his cheek against his shoulder. “It absolutely is.”
Hugh looked at them curiously. “What were you talking about?”
“I was wondering when we could leave without causing offense,” Eric said, kissing him on the cheek. “I’m tired of sharing your attention.”
“You always have it,” Hugh said, pulling him closer.
Eric smiled up at him, an utterly smitten look on his face. “Because you’re mine.” There was a touch of wonder in his voice, as if he still couldn’t quite believe it.
“I am,” Hugh said, his voice dropping to an intimate murmur as his thumb stroked the mating bite on Eric’s neck.
And then they just stared into each other’s eyes, ignoring everything else.
Smiling, Lucien turned away. He didn’t bother saying goodbye—he doubted they even registered that he was there. These two had a hard time keeping their eyes off of each other years ago, and they were even worse now. Lucien didn’t take offense.
He knew the feeling exactly.
And it was the most wonderful feeling in the world.
The End