Page 61 of Monsters, Vows, and Growls
She narrowed her eyes, then slowly lifted the hem of her gown and put one foot on the chair the DJ had pulled out like some kind of ritual sacrifice. The crowd whistled. Henry shouted something about keeping it PG, and Carol yelled, “I swear to God, if you use your teeth?—”
“I heard you,” I called back, crouching in front of Ella like a man about to perform open-heart surgery.
Her garter was pale gold lace, delicate as spun sugar. I slid it off slowly and reverently, wishing I could keep it. Then I turned to the dance floor. A cluster of guys had assembled: some groomsmen, a few brave friends, and Ben, who looked like he was praying he didn’t catch it, but also like he wanted to impress Carol. The duality of man.
Gabe, of course, was at the back of the group, drink in hand, very muchNot Participating.
I grinned. Then Ilaunchedthat sucker. High arc. Good spiral. Straight out of the NFL playbook. Born from muscle memory and instinct, Gabe caught it. He stared at it as if it were roadkill.Laughter erupted. Gabe held it up with two fingers, like it was a contaminated lab sample, and said, “Not it.”
Carol raised her glass from across the room. “Coward.”
Gabe smirked. “Felony prevention.”
Ella had doubled over laughing by now, and I took the moment to wrap an arm around her waist and pull her close.
“You know,” I murmured against her temple, “it’s possible we just cursed my brother with a romantic subplot.”
“Good,” she whispered back. “It’s time.”
Thorne purred inside me.The chaos has spoken.
The reception had begun to drift into that golden lull — that slow, honeyed part of the night when the music is softer, the shoes come off, and even the rowdiest guests are two drinks away from taking nap selfies on the nearest hay bale. Ella was glowing, flushed from laughter, hair a little messy in the way I loved most—the way that meant she’d lived in the moment. Our moment.
She tossed the bouquet not long after the garter incident. It flew in a perfect arc and—of course—Carol caught it, purely out of reflex. She stared at the flowers in stunned betrayal, as if they'd personally violated her five-year plan.
Ben tried to high-five her. She handed him the bouquet and walked away.
And that was our cue.
I found Ella at the edge of the barn, her back to the lights, arms folded as she stared out at the moonlit field beyond. She heardme coming. I saw the way her shoulders softened the moment I was close.
“Too much?” she asked without turning.
“Never,” I said, wrapping my arms around her from behind.
She leaned back into me, warm and perfect. “The lights, the cake, your brother catching a garter—this whole night has been ridiculous.”
“And somehow still less dramatic than our first date.”
She laughed, low and sleepy. “Fair point.”
It wastime to send everyone home. The music had faded. The lights had dimmed. The last of the champagne had gone warm in half-empty glasses, and most of the guests had slipped into the night on waves of laughter and exhaustion.
But we had stragglers.
Carol was trying to fish a drunk groomsman out of a haystack. Gabe was nowhere to be found, which likely meant he was emotionally spiraling in a parking lot somewhere. And I couldn’t find my mother.
Or Henry.
Which was deeply concerning.
“Aunt Hatty wants her coat,” Patrick said, rubbing his temple as he joined me by the entrance. “She’s very insistent. Something aboutno one needs to see her knees in this weather.”
“I’ll help look,” I muttered, already marching toward the coat closet.
Carol tagged along. “You sure she didn’t already leave?”
“She wouldn’t leave without making a point of it.”
