Page 39 of Merry Mix-Up

"You're supposed to be on the dance floor," she hissed in her bridezilla way.

"There's no one for me to dance with." My staunch complaint earned me another jab to the ribs as the music started. They chose Chicago'sYou're the Inspirationas the song we'd dance to, and I felt dumb standing to go to the dancefloor with no dance partner.

But the wedding party all paired up and there was one person standing alone—long, dark hair streaked with a vibrant purple, a deep emerald dress that didn't quite match the other women's dresses, and full ruby lips, pressed into a thin line.

"What?" I asked Naomi, and she grinned.

"I made Jade an honorary member of the wedding party for just this dance… Like Derek." She pushed the small of my back. "Go get the girl, Newt." I swore I saw tears in her eyes as she said it.

"Why, though?" I asked my sister, who was supposed to be celebrating her special day, not worrying about me.

"Because you love her, idiot. Now go dance with her." Naomi pushed me again, and I could have hugged her.

Clearing my throat, I nodded at Naomi and pecked her on the cheek as I buttoned my suit coat and then strolled out to the dance floor where Jade stood waiting with rosy cheeks.

"Hi," she mumbled, and I smiled so brightly I thought it might blind her.

"Hey," I said. "Uh, can I have this dance?" When everything went down, I thought my plans for tonight were ruined. I had booked a room at this lodge hoping to convince her to stay with me, but that was when I thought she was the maid of honornamed Amber. I felt like I knew nothing about her, but I loved her so deeply at the same time.

"Of course," Jade said, and she waited for me to pull her close. The satin of her green gown tangled between our legs, but her body felt right pressed against mine. She draped her arms over my shoulders as the song played out and we swayed to the music.

"So, Naomi planned this? Have you been here the whole time?" I studied the purple in her hair and decided I liked it very much. The shade wasn't flashy or over the top, and it highlighted the gold flecks in her brown eyes.

"I've been lurking."

Jade smelled amazing, like vanilla and cinnamon, as if she'd rolled in a batch of Christmas cookies right before she walked up here. I breathed her in so deep, I could have whisked her right off this dance floor to my private room I had completely forgotten to cancel on when I was so upset. I was glad I forgot.

"Newt, I'm?—"

"I'm sorry, Jade."

We both spoke at the same time and she smiled. "Why are you sorry?"

Just having her against me felt healing. I never wanted the song to end. I'd done so much thinking over the past four days, and I knew I couldn’t let her go. With as much chaos and upheaval as their trickery caused, I should have just washed my hands of her, but she was so much more than any woman I'd ever met. More in every way—her personality, her charm, her intelligence, the way she made me laugh, and most of all, the way I felt like making every one of her dreams come true.

"I'm sorry for my reaction." I swayed time with the song and tightened my grip on her. "I should have given you a chance to explain, and I should have believed you when you said you'd never hurt me."

Jade's eyes brimmed with tears and I hated that she'd cry again, unless they were happy tears. She deserved only good things. She got caught between her sister's plan and the attraction she had to me, and she'd done her best to protect everyone. I saw that now, though it did hurt when I first learned about it.

"I'm sorry too. I should have told you sooner. You didn't deserve that. Amber told me what your ex did to you, and I felt so awful. I never meant to make you think I'd cheat on you. The whole situation was messy and complicated, and I just got carried away. I liked being with you so much…" Jade blinked, and a tear rolled down her cheek. I wiped it away with my thumb and made a mental note of where on the dancefloor we were.

Hanging from the center of the room, under the cluster of holly plants, was a single sprig of mistletoe. I had been maneuvering us closer and closer without her knowing it, and we were almost there.

"I think what you did for my sister and yours was such a sweet thing to do. You must have been so stressed out. Jade, I'm sorry you felt like you couldn't tell me. And I know it wasn't your decision, but I could have been a bit easier on you in that regard." I bit the end of my tongue as I remembered how many times I'd playfully insulted her as a person thinking I was speaking to Amber and not her.

"It's okay…" Jade laid her head on my chest and I swung her around again, finally positioning us under the mistletoe.

Ever since last night, I'd been waiting for this moment. I had hoped to catch her much earlier in the evening, perhaps at any of the doorways to this main hall where Naomi and Jared put mistletoe, or maybe during a common dance. Right now, every eye in this place was on the wedding party, including us, as we danced to the music. I didn't care. I would profess my love for this woman to the ends of the earth.

"Did you mean it?" she asked, turning her chin back up so our eyes met again.

"Mean what?" I asked, very aware of how we were expected to kiss, and I hoped she'd look up and see it too.

"When you said you loved me."

My heart warmed, and I looked straight up at the mistletoe as she stared at my face. Then I looked back down to see her eyes locked on the sight overhead.

"I meant it with every beat of my heart, every breath in my lungs, every ounce of my soul."

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