Page 61 of Mark

I glance around. “Where are the other bridesmaids then?” I ask. “Shouldn’t they be here for the photos?”

Esther waves me off. “We’ve got enough group photos. We wanted to get some of us three together.”

Mark coughs on the swig of beer he takes, his eyes bugging out. “Seriously?”

“She’s my sister,” Esther points out snottily. “So, are you ready? We thought we could get some in here and then some upstairs on deck.”

Mark snakes his arm around my waist. “I’m afraid you’ll have to do them here, and quickly, because me and Freya have plans.”

“Plans?” Esther questions. “But it’s my wedding.”

“And at every wedding, there’s dirty, slutty wedding sex. Didn’t you know?” he questions.

I jab him in the stomach subtly. “I’ll take some pictures with you,” I agree, not wanting to start an argument.

“Let’s go over to the backdrop,” Esther orders.

She doesn’t give me a chance to agree; she just makes her way over, expecting me to follow. Mark quickly grabs my drink off the bar before we make our way over.

“Blink three times if you want an out,” he whispers as we reach where they have a backdrop set up. It’s plain white with a balloon and flower arch.

Esther and Danny stand in front of it, leaving the space between them open. “You want me in the middle?” I gulp.

“Yes. Come,” she demands.

I do, my entire body tensing as she wraps her arm around me. I smile tightly when the photographer asks us to move closer together. When Danny’s hand wraps around my waist, I blink three times fast. I don’t want him near me, let alone touching me. Just being near him makes my skin boil.

“That’s enough monopolising my date,” Mark declares, taking my hand and pulling me against his chest.

“We aren’t done,” Esther grits out.

“Yes, you are,” he replies, his tone giving no room for argument. “Congratulations on your nuptials. Your poem was quite moving, Danny. Where did you find it? My sister is getting married soon and I’m looking for a poem for my speech.”

Esther beams as she moves in closer. “Danny wrote it for me. I found it in his flat, and he got all flustered when he said they were his vows. Aren’t they sweet?”

I grit my teeth as I pinch Mark’s back. Or try to. There’s no fat on his body. It’s all muscle. “They were beautiful.”

“They sounded very feminine. Almost like a girl wrote it,” Mark continues, pointedly looking at Danny, who can’t meet my gaze. “Did someone help you?”

“It all came from the heart. Didn’t it, Danny?” Esther probes.

Danny rubs the back of his neck. “Yeah. Yeah, it did.”

Esther’s attention is pulled away from the conversation and her lip curls in a snarl. “What are they doing here?” Esther bites out.

I turn to the back entrance near the bar. The Carters and their partners are making their way inside. Following my nan. Some of them are dressed up, whilst others are still in shorts and tank tops.

“Nan must have invited them to join,” I muse, waving at Teagan, Mark’s mum.

“It’s my wedding. I don’t want riff-raff here. It’s a classy wedding. Not something thrown by a group of people who live off an estate.”

Mark tenses beside me. “I would watch how you address my family. To me and to them. We don’t take insults lightly, so I would be careful if you don’t want to find yourself in certain situations.”

“Mate, back off. It’s a private party,” Danny argues, brushing his fingers through his brown hair. His green eyes shine with rage, and I snort. I might not know Mark, but I do know Danny, and my nanna could take him in a fight.

“I’m not your mate. She hasn’t hired the boat, nor is there a sign to say it’s a private party. Either way, Maya clearly invited them,” Mark bites out before glaring at Esther. “My family are not riff-raff. We all work hard for what we have, which, by the way, is what most people call an empire. And just so you know, living on an estate would be better than the high horse you live on.”

He pulls me away and I grimace at the tightness in his jaw. “I’m sorry.”

---