Page 137 of Masked Hearts

They are wearing gorgeous baby pink dresses that highlight each of them. Kaia outdid herself in the limited time she had.

Theá’s eyes meet mine, and a tiny smile stretches onto her face, and I mirror one back that’s a million times bigger.

My eyes track her until she takes up her spot at the altar. My eyes don’t stray from her, and although I’m sure the ceremony is lovely, nothing else manages to hold my attention the way she does.

She’s focused on the ceremony, and I watch as her facial expressions change from joy to apathetic, and as Valerie is reciting her vows, Theá’s eyes start welling up with tears.

Panic surges through me briefly as I wonder if it’s from sadness, but when her eyes meet mine and a smile makes its way onto her face, I sigh in relief.

“You may kiss the bride,” I hear the officiant say.

My eyes lock with hers, and I’m frozen. Suddenly, I’m back at our wedding, remembering this exact moment, and all I want to do is walk across the room and kiss her again.

The room erupts in cheers, and Valerie and Ambrose head down the aisle first, and we all follow. Theá ends up next to me, and I offer her my arm to hook in.

“You look beautiful,” I smirk.

“You don’t look too bad yourself, Mr. Perfect.” Her shoulder brushes mine.

“I’m trying to see things from her perspective, but I just can’t get my head that far up my ass,” Adriano says in Valerie’s direction.

They’ve been discussing Natalia for the last few minutes, and it seems like something must’ve happened between her and Adriano again, especially since he seems so heated about it this time.

“I don’t need you two to be best friends; I just need you to tolerate her,” Valerie pleads.

“Who would’ve thought the two of them being civil would be this difficult?” Theá whispers in my ear from her spot on my lap.

My fingertips trace lazy circles along her thigh as I try and stifle back a laugh. “They’ve been at each other’s throats since the day they met; there’s honestly no saving them.” I shrug.

“Surely it’s not that bad?” She asks, and I just shoot her a look.

“Speaking of the devil.”

Natalia approaches, an unfamiliar man trailing along at her side. “Hey guys, I wanted to introduce you guys to my date. This is Taine,” she says.

The words are barely out of her mouth when Adriano does a spit-take with the mouthful of whiskey he had, thankfully in the other direction.

I stare at the situation in front of me with wide eyes. “Since when have they been seeing each other?” I whisper to my wife.

“This is the first I’m hearing of it,” she responds, her eyes not leaving the scene in front of us.

Most of the eyes on Natalia are wide and visibly shocked, but it’s the way Adriano is glaring at her that sends a chill down my spine.

“I think this is our time to leave,” I say, tapping her thigh lightly.

She stands up and takes my hand, and I guide us both in the direction of the balcony. We walk past where Augustus and Selena are looking extra cozy in a corner, and I’m glad that they’ve managed not to argue today since that seems to be happening more and more often.

A cold wind hits as we step out onto the balcony, and I immediately remove my suit jacket and drape it over Theá’s shoulders.

I sit down on the edge of the railing and pull her to stand between my legs.

“Such a full circle moment,” she says.

“Why do you say that?” I look down to meet her eyes.

“You went from fighting outside with your brother at our wedding to standing outside with your wife at his.” She grins.

“It’s a welcomed change, although I’m sure there’s still a fight happening inside right now.”

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