Page 38 of Wait for You

“Mother, please.” Imogen gripped her hands, giving them a calming squeeze to stop the anxious twisting. “Just give me ten minutes.”

Her mother opened her mouth, but before she could argue any further, Imogen pleaded, “Please. Ten minutes then I’ll put on the dress, walk down that aisle, and make this the talked about event of the year.”

SeñoraSanchez sighed, aware she wouldn’t change Imogen’s mind. “Ten minutes.”

“Thank you,mamá,” Imogen spoke quietly, but the rarely used tender endearment softened her mother’s expression. She touched Imogen’s cheek, then nodded with a smile before floating from the room.

When everyone had cleared out, Imogen tugged at the swoop of bangs styled across her forehead and stared at herself in the standing mirror. She looked pretty but hardly like herself. At least not her true self. The person she got to be with Mat. This version of her was what her mother always wanted her to be—perfection. But perfection wasn’t real.

She blew out a breath, and her bangs shifted. Annoyed at herself, she combed them back into place with her fingers, trying not to smudge the makeup the hairdresser had spent an hour carefully applying. Maybe she and Mat should elope, escape from it all and just enjoy each other. No family, no cameras, no pressure.

If it wouldn’t destroy her mother, she’d actually consider it. But family was too important to her. As much as she and her mother disagreed on how Imogen should live her life, she still loved her. Just as she loved her father. She wasn’t even sure she’d be having a wedding if they hadn’t received her father’s approval.

HavingSeñorSanchez on board with Mat and Imogen’s nuptials, her mother quickly fell in line. It didn’t hurt, of course, that Mat had become a local celebrity. Touted as the hero of Liberty Station who braved the cartel and won, he was a feather in her mother’s cap. One she had no trouble flaunting.

Imogen glanced at her phone to check the time and prayed Emil would hurry up. They were down to seven minutes. Her hands started to sweat, and she brushed them against her robe. She was dressed in her undergarments and white heels, covered by a short silk bridal robe. In the outfit, she looked more like a burlesque dancer than a bride. Imogen grinned at the thought. Not that she didn’t have a striptease planned for Mat later, but he had to marry her first.

Her dress hung hidden in a bag behind her. It was the one thing she’d been able to choose for her wedding. Her motherhad planned everything else. But the dress was hers. Thinking about the sheer lace bodice, which bled into a sparkle-encrusted sheath that flared at the bottom, put a dreamy smile on her face.

Mat’s going to love it.

As soon as she’d tried it on, she’d known it was the one. It hugged her curves and showed just enough skin to tease. She hadn’t put it on yet because she wanted it to be a surprise for him at the ceremony. And she had to speak with him first.

A loud knock sounded on her door, and Imogen called, “Come in!”

Her stomach jumped at the sight of Mat in his tux.

Talk about perfection.

Her gaze traveled up the black satin, which shimmered under the overhead light, across the silk chapels that framed his chest, and then snagged on the blindfold over his eyes. She had to suppress a giggle as her brother led Mat to her.

She placed her hand on either side of his head, fingers dipping under the material covering his face. Glancing at her brother, she asked, “Isn’t this your tie?”

Emiliano shrugged. “So?”

Sibling code required her to pick on him. She raised a brow and said, “Kinky.”

Her brother shook his head. “Shut up! It’s all I had.”

Laughter tickled her throat. “You know you didn’t have to blindfold him, right?”

Emiliano scowled. “I wasn’t sure if you’d have your dress on or not.”

“Wait”—Mat’s hands found her waist, bunching the silky material of her robe in his hands—“whatareyou wearin’, Gen?”

She chuckled. “Relax,vaquero. I’m decent.”

“Okay, I’ve heard enough.” Emil gagged and backed toward the door. “Mat, bring me the tie when you’re done,” he said before he shut it behind him.

Imogen untied the blindfold and slipped it from Mat’s face. He’d shaved the short beard he wore while undercover, and touching the smooth skin of his chiseled jaw, she smiled. “Good evening, Ranger.”

He dipped his head with a grin. “Princess.”

When he would’ve kissed her, she jumped backward. “We can’t!” Throwing up her hands to keep him at bay, she explained, “If we mess up any of the paint on my face, I’ll have to sit through another hour of torture while they fix it.”

His gaze raked down her body before he said with a grin, “We could make that hour worth it.”

The way he looked at her promised panty-melting pleasure, tempting her to give in, but then she thought of the bobby pins and couldn’t go through that again.

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