Page 72 of Survival

Finally ready, they scooped up the backs of their dresses to carry the long material as we headed out of the room. We stopped at the top of the stairs, and Harper’s voice carried up from the bottom.

“God, Jet. Annie dressed up, and you can’t even wear a suit?”

“It’s slacks and a dress shirt. It’s good. Now, stop messing with me.”

I grinned, excitement coursing through me. “I wouldn’t have wanted him in a suit anyway! Y’all ready?” I called down.

“Like yesterday!” Archer called up, and I heard Mom shush him.

“Yes, y’all come down. One at a time.”

I rolled my eyes and looked back, wanting to check, but Izzy urged me forward.

Embracing the awkwardness of knowing everyone was waiting below, I headed down the stairs, finding Jet first in the sea of our families to avoid their gazes. I wasn’t prepared for what was in his.

The intense blue of his eyes darkened before they traveled down my body, lingering along my chest and my hips before settling on the slit of my dress where he was treated with a glimpse of my thigh. He swallowed, slowly dragging his eyes back up to mine, and hurried forward to take my hand as I reached the bottom of the stairs.

“You look beautiful.” He pulled me close and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips.

Emotion filled me that I didn’t know where to place, and I ran a hand over his chest, smoothing the crisp material of his dress shirt.

“Lookin’ pretty sexy yourself.” I winked.

Uncle Blake cleared his throat, and I flushed, Jet then pulling me aside with my back to his chest as we waited for our friends to come down.

Emma was next, her dress a pale shimmery pink with a train of material that flowed down the stairs behind her. Her cheeks were tinged with a flush as she glanced around the room, and Rachel pressed her hands to hermouth when Emma reached the bottom. “You look beautiful, baby.”

“She does.” Nic stepped forward, holding out his hand to take Emma’s and guide her to his side, the perfect model date in a sleek black tux.

Everyone looked back to the stairs when Izzy began her descent, getting a glimpse of her sparkling shoe peeking out from beneath the pale, icy blue material of her dress. It shimmered as she moved, the swirls of glitter and crystals along her skirt traveling up along her waist. The material spread out behind her, waves of sparkles following her along the stairs. Even her hair sparkled. She looked like a breathtaking ice princess. But it was the glimmer in her eyes that surprised me and the intensity in my sister’s gaze as she held it locked with Tucker’s. An intimate look passed between them, and I almost looked away, afraid to disturb their moment.

Tucker was staring in awe, floored speechless, and it took his dad giving him a tiny nudge to his back to get him moving.

He reached out for Izzy, pulling her close before kissing her smile, and her arms lifted to wrap around his neck, the two of them lost in each other until Jet was the one clearing his throat this time. They lingered in the kiss for another few seconds before Izzy tucked her face into Tucker’s side, avoiding our gazes.

“Pictures!” Jenna declared, and the guys brought over our corsages before we spent the next chunk of time posing in front of the stairs and then the honeysuckle covered fence in the backyard. We were smiling and making goofy poses in front of the limo in the last few shots, well, except for Nic in some of them, before he pointedout that we had to go if we were going to make it to dinner on time.

Jet was helping me into the limo when I saw Mom grab Izzy’s arm and pull her aside. I immediately stopped, watching the tension fall over my sister’s body and the way her eyes hardened with whatever Mom said.

“I’m serious, Isabel,” I overheard Mom hiss at the end, and Izzy just shot her a cold look of indifference before walking off. Tucker pressed his hand to her back as my gaze met my twin’s, but Izzy shook her head, telling me she didn’t want to say.

Irritation filled me, and I sent Mom my own glare before finally crawling into the limo, sliding over next to Emma where she waited beside Nic. Jet slid in after me, followed by Izzy and Tucker, and when the door shut, I couldn’t hold back anymore. “What did she say?”

Izzy shook her head, her jaw tight. “Just telling me not to be stupid and get knocked up again, basically.”

Tucker’s look darkened with mine, but Jet was already running his hand along my arm, soothing my tension.

“As a parent, you can’t blame her for being worried,” Nic said, and my eyes whipped to his.

“Who asked you?”

“Don’t,” Jet whispered.

Nic just held my stare, nothing changing in his expression, like it was sealed. It was infuriating. “I’m not saying that Izzy and Tucker don’t know to be careful. I’m just pointing out that your mom is worried, given what happened in the past.”

“It’s fine, sis,” Izzy cut in. “I’ll get over it. I want tonight to be perfect, and I refuse to let Mom ruin it.”

Jet whispered in my ear, encouraging me to let it go, and I shivered at his breath on my neck, his ministrations quick to divert my thoughts.

---