Page 38 of Glass Omega

“When did he have time to get swans?” I muttered to Rhodes who was standing next to me dressed in a smart-looking tuxedo.

I’d so rarely seen him out of his usual uniform of dark pants, dark shirt, and the soft brown leather jacket that he wore like a second skin, that it was taking some time to get used to.

It clearly also made him uncomfortable because he was fidgeting with the bowtie like it was strangling him and when he pulled his hand away it was horribly crooked.

Without thinking, I shoved my oversized bouquet of lavender into his hands and reached up to fix it.

Rhodes’ dark eyes swelled with some kind of emotion as he stared down at me, letting me fiddle with the fabric until I was pleased with it. “I have no idea where he got them. The man has connections everywhere.”

My eyebrows shot up. “The big scary mobster has a swan guy?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he did.” There was a hint of a smile on his face but it was gone before I could truly relish in it. “You don’t really think he’s scary do you?”

I shrugged, the motion pulling at the chiffon material of my wedding dress. “Not to me, but it would be naive to say that he isn’t scary at all.”

Yesterday had been eye-opening when it came to just how dangerous my husband-to-be actually was. After we returned from the engagement party I caught Oona and the maids whispering about it—though their tone had been one of dry resignation. They didn’t seem afraid of Edison. No, they just seemed to understand why he’d done what he did.

“Smart girl.” Rhodes handed me back my bouquet, his eyes leaving my face for something behind me. “Ah, and it looks like your surprise actually made it!”

I frowned at him and turned, my mouth dropping open when I found my little brother standing a few feet away with his hands planted firmly in his pockets.

It was the same suit that he’d worn only a few short weeks ago when he attended my first wedding, but this time instead of a stormy expression, Romey just looked happy to see me.

“Rom!” I squealed, throwing myself into his arms and not caring if it crushed my flowers. “You’re here!”

Romey’s grip was crushing as he hugged me. “I was invited by Mr. Scary back there, so I came.”

Whirling around to Rhodes, I found him smiling the first truly genuine smile I’d ever seen from the alpha.

“Why did you invite him?” I asked, curious. Neither Edison nor Rhodes held any love for the Chandler family—even if seemingly they’d accepted me amongst their ranks.

“I overheard you talking to Oona about missing him, so I called.” Rhodes’ eyes shifted away from mine as if he was a little bit embarrassed to have displayed so much human emotion all at once. He was definitely going to reach his quota for the year if he kept it up.

“Dad’s still convinced you’re going to come back and marry the Italians,” Romey whispered in my ear. “So he doesn’t know I’m here.”

I didn’t care what my father thought, I was just happy to have my little brother at the wedding I actually chose. “Will you walk me down the aisle?”

Originally, I was going to walk alone down the long white path down to the large artificial lake that sat on the Keane property. It was normally hidden by a copse of trees which had since been trimmed back to reveal the pretty little lawn where all of the guests were waiting for me. But now that Romey was standing in front of me I couldn’t help but ask him to go with me—just like I’d wanted him to during my first wedding.

Romey’s gray eyes, the same as my own, swelled with pride as he puffed out his chest and nodded before holding his elbow up for me to grab onto.

Placing my hand on his arm, I turned back to Rhodes.

‘Thank you,’I mouthed to him, my eyes drinking in the softness of his expression as he nodded.

“You like that bodyguard?” Romey asked as we started on the path, and unlike the last time I’d walked down an aisle, I was filled with anticipation as we neared the floral arch that would lead to my groom.

I slanted a glance at my brother. Leave it to him to cut right to the chase, even after not seeing me for weeks. “Rhodes isn’t a bodyguard, he’s Edison’s second-in-command.”

“That may be, but you still haven’t answered my question.”

I frowned at him, wondering why he couldn’t just let it go. “What if I do like him?”

Romey’s lips twisted together as he scrunched his freckled nose. “It’s not a good idea, Per, the Keanes are famous for their leader not having a pack. No matter how much their wives like the help.”

Calling Rhodes the help sent a thread of irritation through me and I forced myself to breathe through my anger. I didn’t have a lot of time with my little brother and I didn’t want to spend it arguing.

Romey meant well, but our parents’ snobby influence seemed to have rubbed off on him more than it had me. That was, at least, one benefit of spending years in and out of the hospital.

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