Page 60 of Subtracting the Heart

Carlotta settled her doll on the seat across from Jax and Sela before she moved to sit between them. “It’s okay, Uncle Jax. Mama and I saw some of the mean things people said about you and Uncle Cade and Uncle Ford. We don’t care.” The girl took his hand to hold. In that moment, he didn’t care either.

Fuck them!

Chapter Twenty-Five

Cade

“This is your decision. You’re the planner,” Cade heard Ford complain… again. He was exasperated, but it washiswedding—his and Jackson’s.

Cade hated to beat the dead horse, buthe’dnever experience his own wedding of the likes he’d planned for his lovers.Adult adoptionjust didn’t have the same panache asholy matrimony, but he wasn’t going to complain. He’d accepted it just as the other two men he loved, and it was too late for sour grapes.

Of course, he wasn’t going to allow Ford to puss out on wedding plans. “No, Branford, it’snotmy decision. I’m the planner. You’re the groom. You’re walking down that aisle tomorrow, not me. Now, do you want the chairs in straight rows or in a semicircle?”

That was the other thing. The wedding of about fifteen had grown to about thirty with the surprise arrival of a lot of people from Fairytails,the Chicago Breeze team, and the few people Cade had invited—his mother and a couple of her friends along with Ash. He’d tried to track down any of the kids from the shelter, but he’d had no luck. It was okay. It wasn’t his wedding.

“Why do they have to have a place to sit? The ceremony takes all of two minutes. Can’t everyone just stand?” The snap in Ford’s voice was annoying.

Cade sighed. “Remember when we had the discussion regarding the service? You two chose a more traditional ceremony. Dr. Fellows sent the three readings over email, and I printed them off for you and Jackson. You picked the same one, and that’s what we’re going to use. The vows are traditional, but there are recitations and songs, Ford. I talked to both of you about all of this.”

Cade was trying very hard to hold back the acrimony from his voice.If it was my wedding…he thought before he stopped himself.

“God, okay. Just… whatever you want, Kincade. I’m not the planner, okay? You’re the planner.”

Before Cade lost his temper, Katrina jerked his hand. “Patience is a virtue, darling. Let’s just operate off the idea this is the wedding you’d like to have and go from there. Obviously, the man doesn’t care, so use your own judgment. So, thirty people. How about we just split it into three rows of five on each side of the aisle and don’t specify groom or groom, okay?”

After everything was in place except the flowers, they left the loft and went back to Katrina’s building. The rehearsal was to be in the community room there, which was about the size of the loft, with the sit-down dinner being held at Katrina’s penthouse.

It had been Cade’s idea to keep Jax and Ford—mostly—from the wedding space until it was time for the ceremony so they’d both be surprised. He’d gone so far as to ensure Jax stayed in the spare room of Katrina’s apartment that night, about which Jax didn’t know, and Ford was staying in the suite with Sela and Carlotta.

He’d enlisted help from Griff and Owen Hatch to sort the clothing, both of whom had gone over and above expectations to help him make it a special day for Jax and Ford. He still had plans to spend the night at his mother’s place to give them a proper wedding night whether they liked it or not.

Cade went to his mother’s lush en suite bathroom to take a shower, hoping to lose some of the anxiety he was feeling regarding the fact they’d kept it from Ford about the arrival of his older sister and her daughter.

Cade prayed the blond hadn’t lost touch with her for reasons he hadn’t told them because it could be awkward, but when he discussed the idea with Katrina, she’d been supportive. It was why he loved her so much.

A loud knock came on the bathroom door as he was shaving, so he opened the door to see Ashton standing there in a nice graysuit, looking quite handsome. “You look amazing, little brother. How was the flight?”

“It was fine. I need to thank Ford for the first-class ticket. It was really cool to get to fly by myself. How about you? You ready for this fancy stuff?” Ash leaned against the bathroom door jam.

Cade finished shaving and washed his face before he turned to his little brother. “I’m ready for all this shit to be over. Who else is out there? I need to shower.”

“Miss Rina and a few of her lady friends were having cocktails. She sent me back to see if you wanted a glass of wine.”

Cade laughed. “I’d love a glass of something white. I’m really nervous about this.” It was nice to confide in his little brother.

“I’ll be back.” The young man left the room. Cade stepped into the shower stall, wishing the night was over. Hell, he wished it was the next Monday when they’d be on their way to Italy with all the drama behind them. Less drama would be his new motto for the New Year…which was still several months away, but Cade knew for a fact that time went by too fast. It would be upon them before he knew it.

Everyone was meeting at Katrina’s penthouse to go up to the club room in an orderly fashion. Ford was sitting on the couch speaking with one of Katrina’s friends about a new installation at some gallery in Chicago when Cade saw Jax enter the room alone.

He hurried over to him. “Where’s Sela?” His voice was high-pitched, matching his level of anxiety over the surprise.

“The kid had to pee. They’ll be out in a minute. How’s the bride?” Jax joked.

Cade chuckled. “Being a bitch. I swear I wanted to strangle him today. He was totally being an ass regarding the setup of the room, and I was about to walk out. If it wasn’t for Mom, I’d have just gone to a bar.”

A tug on his hand had him glancing down to see the beautiful Carlotta Thomas standing next to him with her doll in tow. He knelt and smiled at her. “It’s a pleasure to meet you and your dolly. What’s her name?”

“Ava. Thank you, Uncle Cade. I always wanted one.” The girl handed the doll to Jax and hugged Cade around the neck.

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