Just as I sat down, Bull walked in wearing the same suit as Cade and Caleb, and was pushing Griffin down the aisle toward the archway. Dressed the same as the others, Griffin was the fourth and final groomsman.
As usual, Bull had on his glasses, but as he stood with his nephews and Griffin, I knew he was scanning the growing crowd looking for me. When he found me, his jaw set and I could feel the burn of his glare across the heads of the guests sitting between us.
He stared at me and I stared back at him.
It was ridiculous.
In the two decades we’d been friends, I had never seen him act this way. He was a man of action. If he felt wronged by you, you felt the weight of his power either through pain or consequence. But the man standing under that floral archway murdering me with his eyes was behaving like a petulant child. I expected a beat down from him. Hell, I expected two. What I didn’t expect was him keeping his distance like I had the fucking plague.
I planned to confront him. Because at the end of the day, he needed to know that I was in love with Chastity, and I didn’t need his blessing to continue.
As the music started, an excited murmur rippled through the crowd, and the love of my life appeared at the edge of the aisle, followed by Cassidy’s friend Daisy, then Honey and Indy, and finally, Cassidy.
They all looked stunning, but none more than Chastity. Dressed in a backless black dress, she was so fucking beautiful it almost hurt to look at her.
I watched her walk slowly down the red-carpeted aisle, taking in her curves and the way her nipples pressed against the silky fabric. Her hair was up and diamonds dripped from her ears. When she saw me, her ruby-red lips parted into a big smile.
I could count the number of weddings I’d been to on one hand. My sister’s wedding to Bull, which seemed like a lifetime ago, and three of my club brothers in New Orleans, including Hot Potato, our treasurer, who got so drunk before his vows he vomited on his bride’s dress and then went on to nail not one, but two of the bridesmaids in the restroom. It wasn’t a good start to the marriage, but it was a good sign of things to come. They were divorced within the year.
But this wedding, there was something special in the air. I had seen Chance’s relationship develop with Cassidy first hand, and I knew it would be a cold day in hell before this one went up in smoke.
Fuck. I was getting sentimental in my old age. Falling in love with Chastity had made me soft.
Throughout the ceremony, I couldn’t keep my eyes off her, my head full of ideas of a future with her. I had meant what I had said to her in the shower, she was my queen, and the sooner I made it official, the better.
With the ceremony over, we all stood and clapped as the bridal party made their way down the aisle. But as Bull walked past, he stopped next to me. “Just so you know, I’m still going to kill you.”
I didn’t miss a beat and continued to clap. “And I look forward to you trying.”
The air snapped between us before he walked off.
Maverick leaned over. “What was that about?”
I grinned to myself. “That, my friend, was the beginning of the thaw.”
Maverick shrugged and went back to clapping as the rest of the bridal party passed. And I continued to grin to myself. While Bull’s threat was genuine and there was a good chance I was going to feel some kind of physical pain along the way, it was indicative he was ready to face what was happening between me and Chastity.
And that was a good sign.
The reception was held next to where the ceremony took place, and while the bridal party was off having photos taken, I went to the bar. I wasn’t in the mood for small talk. I was ready to sit back and watch.
I glanced around at the wedding guests. At my club brothers and their families. At the laughter and smiles all around me, at the strong sense of happiness and love in the air, and my heart glowed in my chest. These people, they were my family and I wanted them all to know that I was the luckiest fucking man in the world because the most amazing, beautiful, vibrant goddess was in love with me, and I was head over heels in love with her.
Fuck.
I sounded like a Hallmark card.
But I was at the mercy of what I felt for her.
I was in love.
Hell, I was fucking drunk with it.