Page 93 of Operation Annulment
“Holy shit, you came back!” Little Ricky intercepts me as I round a corner, spinning me in a small circle. Then he sets me back on my feet with a stern expression. “Why the hell did you run away?”
“I had some unfinished business,” I pant, still out of breath from running. “And I forgot to leave a note explaining where I was. Speaking of, where is Zane—is he still here?”
“Right here, Dakota.”
My mouth goes dry as I turn to face him. Even without a cape, he is the sexiest superhero, with his slate gray three-piece suit and golden hair waves cascading down his shoulders.
And he’s all mine as soon as I clear up some confusion.
“I meant toleave a note?—”
He jerks his chin in a brisk nod. “You had second thoughts. Maybe we rushed this.”
I run a hand over his chest, stopping to pat his rock-hard abdominal muscles. “Look at me, Big Guy. Do I look like a woman who’s having second thoughts?”
He cups my cheek in his hand and studies my eyes as if trying to read my thoughts. “Babe, you look incredible. But you left, and I?—”
“I know,” I interject, resting my chin on his chest with a sigh. “This is the happiest day of my life, and call me crazy—I wanted to share it with my sister. So I may have gone out to get the happily ever after she deserves—superhero style.”
Zane rolls his eyes with a chuckle, eyes sparkling with amusement. “Jesus, babe. You’re insane, but I love you.” His hands move down to cup my rounded belly. “You’re feeling okay, though? Baby’s good?”
“Big Guy,” I begin, feeling as if my heart might burst. “If you haven’t broken me yet, I doubt running around will, either. When you’re carrying a superhero’s baby, you’re pretty much invincible.”
“Babe, you’re killing me over here,” he says in a low voice, nostrils flaring. “Get your ass down that aisle so I can make an honest woman out of you.”
I narrow my eyes. “Language.”
He smirks. “Sorry. Get that fine ass of yours down the aisle.”
“Shouldn’t we wait for Kate?” I argue as he helps slip my masquerade mask over my eyes.
“Oh no, I’m not waiting a minute more. See, I need to be inside you in the next half-hour—we can’t stall this wedding any longer.”
I couldn’t agree more. “I mean, Kate’s done this before, so surely she knows how it goes. Right?”
thirty-seven
COMMANDMENT #38: THOU SHALT BE OPEN TO LOVE WHEN IT FINDS YOU
Nate
Isit back in the chair with a plastic cup of punch in my hand. I’m on call, and New Year’s Eve is always a mess. For once, though, all is right with the world. I don’t know how Dakota knew where to find me, but I’m glad she did.
I’d convinced myself that maybe I was the only one in misery. I thought maybe Kate was better off without me—I had no idea how much she was struggling.
Little Ricky staggers over and falls into the chair next to mine, his eye mask only covering one eye. I had to hand it to them. The Quinn sisters were geniuses.
With everyone wearing masks, no one noticed the blond-haired biker walking Dakota down the aisle. If they did, well, no one would say anything about it.
The entire affair is so unapologetically Dakota—instead of the typical bride and groom’s side, there’s just a large picture in the lobby of Zane and Dakota in a face-off. The caption reads, ‘Everyone mustchoose a side.’ The only thing missing is that she isn’t dressed as Captain America, and he isn’t dressed as Ironman.
Each table is labeled with a different superhero and random facts about each one. I look down at the marker on my table.
Captain Marvel
Captain Marvel is the alias of Carol Danvers.
Fun Fact: Dakota drove a little red car that she fondly referred to as Carol Danvers. That car was nothing more than scrap metal and nothing like a superhero, regardless of what Dakota would tell you.
