Page 118 of Winning Bid

Nope. I am her husband, and that means I’m here to protect her.

I signal the band and mouth, “First dance.” The lead singer nods, motioning to her compatriots, and they start to play. I stroll to June, hand out. “May I have this dance?”

She beams up at me. I think she knew what Mom wanted, because she looks so relieved. As she skirts past Mom and Dad, neither tries to stop her. I take her in my arms, and we have the whole dancefloor to ourselves.

In her ear, I whisper, “Better?”

“So much.”

I chuckle, holding her close. “How was my speech?”

“Perfect. Thank you for not asking me to do one, too.”

“You don’t like public speaking, so I’m not about to do that to you. And I’m not going to let Mom do it to you, either.”

“What’s her deal about that? You didn’t even have a choice.”

I smile and nod. “I should have been prepared for it. Growing up, Mom always had this Kennedy fantasy that her children would be raised to be in politics, comfortable with public speaking, and all of that. Any chance she got, she put us on the spot.” I shrug. “It’s useful now, but back then, I hated it.”

She lays her head on my shoulder, and I breathe her in, relishing the scent of my wife. “I know this reception was kind of thrust upon us, but I’m glad for it.”

“Oh?”

“I like seeing you here. You seem more comfortable here with your family than in the city.”

“That’s probably because my dad gave a good speech that didn’t humiliate us, and like you said, the bar is in hell for him.”

She laughs, and we’re blinded for a moment because the photographer gets in close for that picture. I give him a look, and he backs off. June says, “Honestly, I’m having a good time. I didn’t expect to, but I am. I know we got married a week ago, but this sort of makes it feel real.”

“I know exactly what you mean. It just feels like this is how things are meant to be. Like everything is going to work out. We’ll have big family events here, birthdays, holidays. We can even invite your folks if you want.”

“I think I’d like that. But only one of them per event. No sense in bringing the drama of the both of them together.”

I nod. “Obviously, marriage doesn’t always work out, but …” I sigh and smile at my wife. “When I look in your eyes, all I can think is, ‘And they lived happily ever after.’”

57

JUNE

“We will live happily ever after, Anderson.”

“You really think so? Even after all the crazy shit that’s happened to us?”

I smile and nod. “That’s exactly why we will. We got the crazy shit out of the way already.”

He laughs and kisses me, and I don’t even care that the photographer is capturing the moment. I’m too damn happy right now. Anderson murmurs, “That guy has to go.”

“It’s fine. In fifty years, when we’ve forgotten about today, we’ll have the pictures to look at.”

But then Anderson shakes his head. “I’ll never forget today, June. Or our wedding day. Or the day I met you. I might forget my own name, but I’ll never forget a minute I spend with you.”

I swallow hard, trying not to cry again. I managed to keep it subtle when he gave his speech, but now? No. I can’t do that again. Instead, I give him a peck of a kiss, and we relax into the beat of the song.

With my head on Anderson’s shoulder, it’s hard not to feel sublimely happy. Even with all the eyes on us, I am still relaxed. He makes me this way. Braver than I’ve ever known. Happier, too.

Maybe my father is calculating some scheme. Maybe Elliot said all those nice things to butter me up for some dastardly plan of his own. Our fathers can pull strings and manipulate another day. Today, they’re both on their best behavior, and I’m grateful for it. Truly, they were the last two people I expected to be well-behaved today, and they’re knocking it out of the park. Tag is a douche, but at least he didn’t try to make a speech. Out of everyone else here, they’re the only ones I worry about. Everyone else has been lovely.

Today truly is a magical day.

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