Page 11 of A Different Husband

Flynn reached over, ever so gently, and used his finger under my chin to guide my attention back to him. “Stay with me,” he whispered lower than before to ensure I was the only one who heard him that time.

“I am,” I whispered back.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of Flynn Zachary Robeson and Courtney Elise Parker. If any here object to this union, let them speak now or forever hold their peace.”

Gasps rang out around the room and both Flynn and I turned to see why. Beckett stood up, and a woman in a barely-there red dress stood up a moment after him. “Sit down!” He hissed at her before he turned his attention back to Flynn and me. “Courtney, don’t do this. I was wrong.”

He had some freaking nerve.

“I’m the one who is supposed to be up there with you!”

I couldn’t help my response. I laughed at him. He seemed taken aback and about to argue his point until his date stood again and smacked him across the face. “You spent the night screwing me, and then brought me to this wedding only to ask the bride to marry you? What a fucking jerk! You leveled up, lady!” She called as she tried to push past the others in the pew to get out to the aisle. “Sorry,” She insisted as she went, ass or boobs in peoples faces as she did. “I’m so sorry,” She whimpered before finally breaking free into the aisle. It was clear she was embarrassed. I would have felt worse if she hadn’t come to someone’s wedding dressed like she was ready for a night outinstead of an elegant wedding. Then again, I was certain that was Beckett’s fault too.

“Dad,” I hissed.

His head snapped around to me and he gave me a nod. “I’ll take care of it.” He immediately moved to grab Beckett and escort him out.

“You know it’s supposed to be me! Everyone here does!” Beckett shouted as my father grabbed his arm.

“You gave her up. This is your fault and now you have to live with it, but what you’re not going to do is ruin my daughter’s day anymore than you already have, you little asshole.”

There were a few more gasps at my father’s rather polite choice words for my former fiancé. As soon as Dad got him to the back of the church, a few other men stepped forward and took over to escort him out so that my father could come back to his seat.

“Sorry, folks. We can resume,” Dad called out to the minister.

“Well, yes, okay then…” The Minister stumbled over himself as he tried to get back into the swing of things. I turned and stared up into Flynn’s eyes and whispered, “Sorry.”

He shook his head in a subtle way and offered me a closed-lip smile before we both turned back to the minister and followed along with his blessings before we recited our vows to one another.

When we got to the part where Flynn had to kiss me, I held my breath, wondering if he would do it or settle for some weird cheek kiss. I didn’t have long to wait for the answer. He reached over and took my face between the palms of his hand and leaned in as he pulled me closer. “Gonna do this the right way, Court.” I gave a quick nod and then his lips were on mine. My eyes drifted closed as his lips explored mine. I was lost in the sweet kiss and the feel of his warmth transferring to me as he moved another step closer. Our lips both opened and just as our tongues met,raucous cheers lifted throughout the church and rang even louder than should be expected because of the echo effect in the sanctuary.

Slowly, reluctantly, we pulled apart, but our eyes met one another’s as we stood there and allowed ourselves to feel the full impact of the moment we became man and wife. The minister’s proclamation was lost on us - or at least on me - as we stared at one another, still locked in an embrace with my arms on his chest and his hands cradled around my face.

“Flynn,” I whispered his name as another round of cheers went up. We both turned our heads and smiled at everyone who chose to celebrate with us instead of being weird about the unexpected circumstances surrounding our wedding. After his sister Bea and her husband Ky got married in an unexpected groom swap, I guess this was no big deal to most of the guests.

“Come on, Mrs. Robeson, that’s our cue to get out of here.” Flynn’s hand traveled down to take hold of mine and we walked hand-in-hand down the aisle as everyone showered us in peach rose petals as we walked by. My heart felt so light, I couldn’t help my giggle as the petals tickled my face and shoulders. Flynn looked over and grinned at me. “So damn beautiful,” He said before his hand squeezed down on mine a little to let me know that those words were all for me and not the spectacle around us.

Chapter 8

FLYNN

Holy shit!

Courtney was the most beautiful bride to ever walk down an aisle. I would swear my life on that, and I was the lucky bastard she said her vows to. It might have been by arrangement, by default, and only because my cousin was too stupid to realize exactly what a treasure he had in her; but I meant my vows. If she would let me, I’d be there for her through good times and bad, through sickness and health, and all the other promises we made to one another.

When we made it out the church doors, the sun shone in a brilliant blue sky just for us. I guess the temporary light blindness was the only reason I didn’t realize Beckett was lying in wait for us. I found out real quick when he sucker-punched me. The minute he attacked, I tugged Courtney behind me to protect her.

“Don’t fucking try to hide my fiancee from me!” My asshole cousin shouted.

“She’s my wife, and I will protect her from harm - even if that means sheltering her from you.” That made him stop in histracks, with his fist cocked back to have another go at me. “You set this in motion,” I reminded him.

“I came here today to set that right,” He argued.

I scoffed, but it was Courtney who spoke. “I hate to break it to you, Beckett, but the minute I realized you set this up so that you could be with other women, the possibility of us ever getting back together came to an end.”

“That’s not true!”

He didn’t get to argue any further because My dad, Courtney’s father, Ky, and a few other men stepped up to put a wall of bodies between Beckett and my wife and me. “Come on, Court. If you don’t have anything else to say to him, I’ll get you out of here.”

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