Page 133 of Wedlocked

Smiling, I slapped him on the back.

Beside my ear, he said, “Take care of my brother.”

“I promise I will,” I replied.

Pulling away, he nodded. “You got my blessing.”

“Thank you.”

“But I’m going to make sure he wants this. If he even looks the slightest bit wobbly, I’m putting a stop to it,” he warned.

I gestured for him to go ahead.

He made a face. “And I’m still kinda salty you’re trying to be the first one married around here.”

Everyone clearly sensing the moment was over, the bedroom doors began flinging open.

Jess was the first one out, her long brown hair fluttering around her as she ran right over and hugged me. “Congratulations, Arsen! I’m so happy for you two.”

“Thanks, Jess,” I said, hugging her back.

“Stealing my thunderandhugging my wife? It’s too much, bro,” Kruger said, tugging her away from me.

“Matty!” She gasped, darting past me.

I turned, seeing Matthew standing at the end of the hall outside of our bedroom, Gram right beside him.

Our eyes locked and held even as Elite poured into the hallway. Their ears were probably tired from all that spying they did.

Jess wrapped her arms around Matthew, and he hugged her back, but our eyes still held. If I’d been nervous he’d manage to talk himself out of marrying me in the time it took to wake the house, well, that worry ceased to exist.

The look in his eyes told me everything I needed to know.

He was still all in. And so was I.

23

Prism

Our bedroom seemeda lot smaller with nineteen people squished inside.

But it was a crowd I didn’t mind.

All eight couples plus Arsen’s parents—my soon-to-be in-laws—and Gram were here, and everyone was wearing pajamas.

A pajama wedding in the middle of the night was kind of perfect, wasn’t it? At least to me. I could barely wrap my head around it. I’d spent the entire day in survival mode, worried Arsen was fuming at me. Worried he’d finally had enough. Worrying my brother and sister getting married would somehow leave me alone—even if, logically, I knew that wouldn’t happen. It was hard to argue with feelings, though, wasn’t it?

There really wasn’t much mind over matter when it came to me because emotion ruled all.

But Arsen ruled my emotion. Loved me so good that nothing else mattered.

When I woke up this morning, with snow-capped mountains as my view, the last thing I expected was to get married.

But here I was.

Herewewere.

Surrounded by the only people who mattered to me, with Senator Andrews—no.Bennett. With Bennett standing in front of us all, his back to the massive darkened windows, dressed in a pair of pin-striped navy-blue satin pajamas and a pair of slippers. In his hand was a single sheet of paper, with all the others lined up on a small table nearby, a single pen lying on top.

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