Page 80 of Perfectly Wedded

“You need a wedding dress,” Jaz says. “We’re taking you shopping tomorrow.”

Sloan looks almost panicked now. “Definitely not.” She wheels around toward the kitchen, not wanting to have this conversation.

“You can’t say no,” Jaz says. “Because I’ve already decided. Tomorrow you will say yes to the dress.”

Sloan looks at me. “This is all your fault.”

I laugh. “I told you before. My wife deserves the best.”

TWENTY-SIX

Vale

“What were you thinking about?” Leo says on the ice at practice the next day.

“What?” I say, spinning toward him. I glance around the ice for the puck we were passing. It’s nowhere in sight.

“Look behind you, idiot,” Leo says with his trademark smirk, pointing his stick to where Tate’s picked up the puck that I totally missed.

Lucian skates over and flicks the puck my way. “So unlike you, MacPherson. You’re totally checked out.”

“So I’m a little rough around the edges on my first day back,” I say. “Cut me some slack.”

I’m not going to tell them the truth. I was thinking about my upcoming wedding, and more specifically, the wedding night. They’d laugh me off the ice if they knew we still hadn’t made this marriage official in the old-fashioned way.

Ever since Sloan agreed to go through with another ceremony—finally making our relationship more than a marriage of convenience—my thoughts are anywhere but here.

Leo skates backward, studying me. “Maybe you should take the job as water boy for the team instead.” He whips another shottoward me, slightly off mark, forcing me to scramble to chase it down.

Unfortunately, I don’t see Rourke behind me and crash into his brick wall of a chest.

“Somebody’s distracted,” he mutters.

“Not distracted,” I say. “Leo set that one up.”

“Don’t blame me,” Leo defends. “You’re the one who missed it.”

“I know what the problem is,” Rourke says, circling back to me while doing some quick stick work. He stops in front of me. “You can’t wait to give your little wifey a kiss.”

The others snicker.

“I think you’re just jealous,” I fire back. “Because you don’t have anyone to kiss.” I pucker up and make kissing sounds with my lips.

“The only thing you can kiss is this.” Rourke turns around and smacks his backside.

“Guys, are we twelve?” Leo asks, rolling his eyes.

“Wait until you find someone, Leo,” Tate says. “You’re gonna be twice as distracted as Brax and Vale.”

“What are you saying about me?” Brax asks from the other side of the ice.

“Nothing!” I answer, trying to end this conversation.

“Just discussing Vale’s marital problems,” Lucian adds.

I shake my head. “We are definitelynotdiscussing my marital problems.”

“What problems?” Brax skates over, his brow creased.

---