Page 90 of Eternally Devoted

“If Juniper hadn’t come to the house that night, would we have made it here on our own?” he asks, finishing the knot at his throat.

“I don’t know, but I’m glad we’re here now,” I say.

“Me too. And hey, I ignored it, too. I always thought you and her would get together, so I ignored how I felt about both of you.”

I smile. “I thought the same thing.”

“I guess we’re both dummies,” he says, his eyes burning with desire.

My stomach tightens. “We should talk about something.” I lick my lips, trying not to look at his, trying not to get lost in a private moment between us before we commit to the woman we love. “We need to talk about what happens down the road if someone finds out what Juniper’s done. What we’ve done.”

“I’ve thought about that,” Dash says, “and I’ve reached a conclusion.”

“Alone?” I offer, not doubting where he’s landed on the topic but surprised he doesn't want to discuss it.

He nods. “I’ve decided we live in bliss and not worry a damn bit.”

The man I was just a year ago would’ve hated that response. But the man I am today, the one who is committing to two people forever, he’s happy. And he’s willing to compromise. I shove my hands in my pockets. “You know what? That sounds good to me.”

Another thing I thought could feel strange was standing in front of Juniper’s family, Keanu, and my brother, holding hands withboth Juniper and Dash. Having all that focus on us—I thought I’d not be able to enjoy our ceremony because of it.

But once I was up there, hand in hand with the people who support and love me the most, seeing our loved ones watching felt like completing a circle, putting the last piece of the puzzle in. I wasn’t embarrassed or nervous. I was and am proud.

Juniper cried. Dash held his chin high, and I just watched them both, in utter awe of who I get to call mine for the rest of my life.

We ate Goode’s barbecued chicken, a green salad with all the toppings, fresh grilled corn, potato salad, baked beans, butter rolls, peach pie, peach cobbler and I don’t even know what else. We drank, we ate, we laughed, we clinked our glasses together with tears stinging our eyes, laughter of love surrounding us, keeping us in a bubble of perfection all afternoon long.

When Dolly and Hudson peeled off to put the kids to bed, Ev and Deuce did the same. Now I’m standing with Ivy and Trace, saying our goodbyes. Juniper hugs and kisses her sister, thanking her again for helping with today. Trace shakes my hand and Dash’s too, and then it’s just the three of us.

“What a risk you guys took, hmm? Assuming I was ready to commit. What if I wasn’t?” Juniper teases, poking both Dash and me in the belly.

“The unprotected sex was kind of my biggest indicator that you wouldn’t say no to committing,” I tease back. It’s then that I realize that being with Juni and Dash has made me confident, something I never was before. “I knew that you wanted us. I knew that you loved Dash and I knew that you loved me. You gave me that. Both of you gave me that peace of mind, that assurance. Confidence. You gave me the confidence to do what we did today,” I tell them both.

Juniper smiles but instead of meeting the tender moment accordingly, she reaches out, cupping each of us by the dick.“That’s so sweet, baby, and I want to hear all about your growth. But right now, I want to fuck on my wedding night.” She dances her eyebrows as she nods her head toward the barn. We came back up the hill from the creek to walk everyone to their vehicles, and have been talking and romanticizing life under the oak tree since. “I have a very special batch of jam waiting in the barn. It’s ourwedding nightjam.” She bites her bottom lip seductively before adding, “We’re going to be making love for two days straight.”

Dash salutes her. “Go get it, babe. I’m going to get naked.”

She giggles, and I smirk but get to work on my tie.

Dash gets stuck on taking his tie off, so I step behind him helping. He curses, threatens to take scissors to it, and eventually says to just leave it on, that it could be sexy. While I don’t disagree that a naked Dash wearing a tie would be hot, I manage to loosen it and am opening the knot completely, when Juniper screams.

Dash doesn’t bother sharing a glance with me and I don’t say a single word. In a heartbeat, we both take off toward the barn, where the door is pulled closed.

Dash shoves it open, out of breath, and we stop in our tracks two feet inside.

A tall, thin man stands in front of Juniper, a knife pulled, pointing to her in silent warning. Her hands are up in self-defense, and her big green eyes slide to us, full of panic and rimmed with fear.

Dash continues edging forward, his own hands up to show they are empty and he means no harm. I follow his lead, and edge closer to the scene as the man directs the end of the knife toward us. He volleys it between Juniper and the two of us, his jaw clenched, eyes dark.

“Whoa,” Dash says finally, breaking the spell. “What’s going on here? Who are you?”

I stare at the man as he and Dash speak, trying to place him, but I’m coming up blank. I know just about everyone in Bluebell. I pick up at each of their homes. A few faces I haven’t seen, I’m sure, but everyone else, I’m aware of.

Yet I have no clue who this man is.

At her feet are cases of jam, all sizes, all varieties. I can see she got a case open, the jar she was going to bring inside sitting by itself near her bare feet.

“Who are you?” Dash tries again.

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