Page 37 of After the Vows

I narrow my eyes at him and he winks back. Lucas slaps him upside his head and he bursts into laughter.Fun,he mouths at me.

The singer of the band taps his microphone. “I believe it’s time for the couple’s first dance.”

Lucas offers me his hand. “You ready for this?”

I bite my tongue before I giggle. I’m ready, but I don’t think he is.

He leads me toward the dance floor and gathers me in his arms. “What song did you pick?”

“You’ll hear.”

“Ladies, gentlemen, and mermaids, I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Fellows,” the singer announces before beginning to strum his guitar.

Recognition lights in Lucas’s eyes. “Wild horses?”

“What can I say? I love the Rolling Stones.”

“Another layer to unpeel,” he murmurs.

“Layer? What are you talking about?”

He sways to the music. “Nothing, wildcat. Nothing.”

Wildcat? Butterflies flutter in my stomach. Did he just give me a nickname? A sweet nickname to match me but isn’t rude the way wild child is?

The music ends and I realize my eyes are closed. And I’m clinging to Lucas. So much for keeping this marriage strictly professional.

“Um…” I step away. Lucas holds on for a second longer before releasing me.

An electric guitar plays a mellow rock intro and Sophia, Nova, Maya, and Paisley rush to me. Lucas backs away. “Have fun,” he says with a wink.

“I take it all back!” Sophia yells as she and the rest of my friends dance in a circle around me. “I love this marriage!”

I raise an eyebrow at Paisley. “What changed her mind?”

“I believe the fact you appeared ready to copulate with Lucas on the dance floor.”

“You were making goo-goo eyes at each other.” Maya presses her palms to her heart.

Nova beams at me. “Even Hudson the crabby crab tree can’t ruin this moment.” My happy friend is never down for long.

But she’s wrong. There were no goo-goo eyes. There is no love or affection. This is a business arrangement.

“We’ve got one more activity for our bride and groom,” the singer announces when the song ends. “The cake.”

“The cake?” My brow furrows. “I didn’t order a cake.” I would have but all of the bakers claimed they didn’t have time to make one.

“We did!” Sophia squeals as she nudges me toward the corner.

My mouth drops open as I step closer and notice the multi-tiered cake is covered in seashells. There’s also a mermaid sitting on top of the cake with a merman. It’s the perfect wedding cake for Smuggler’s Hideaway.

“It’s chocolate stout cake,” Paisley explains. “Parker used the Five Fathoms Out of the Blue Stout in the cake batter.”

Natalia sprints in our direction and crashes into me. “Come on, Chloe. Dad says I can’t have a piece of cake until youcut the cake. I said I could cut it but I’m not allowed to use the cake knife.”

I wrap my arm around her shoulders. “I guess I better cut the cake then.”

The wedding photographer rushes forward. “Can I get some pictures with you and the cake?”

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