Page 105 of Wicked Little Game
“No you don’t,” he scolds me like a concerned mom, still shielding her from my view. No matter how much I crane my neck, he’s moving with me. I hear her laugh and see her hand as she tries to shove him away, but he’s not moving an inch.
“You heard him, Sam. It’s bad luck,”Ruby says, finally giving up. “And you better get ready. We have to leave in an hour.”
I groan, but can’t suppress the small smile tugging at my lips as I reluctantly close the door.
I’m half dressed when I hear a knock on the front door and I thank God, because it means that Logan and Rockwell are here. At least I’m not alone in my excitement anymore.
They had all been a godsend through all of this. Yes, even Charlie. Being a part of our task force is more than a job. We are a family, and the last few months showed this more than clearly.
Rockwell came with me to pick out rings. We bought them from Richard because this man knows Ruby and her taste better than anyone else. He looked at me with a knowing grin when I walked into his store and I wondered what Ruby told him about me. But he didn’t slap me, so it was nothing too horrible.
While Ruby had her bond with Max, mine with Rockwell also grew stronger. He’s a bit like the father I never had. He helped me calm down when it all became too much and talked sense into my head when I was unreasonable again.
If it hadn’t been for his, Max, and Logan's loving force, I would probably still be sitting at base and drowning my sorrows in cheap whiskey instead of being with Ruby.
She made me realize it was okay to love, even if it meant taking risks. Even if it meant that I had something to lose again.
“I’m gonna fuckin’ punch him if there are no tears in his eyes when he sees you,” Max’s voice comes through the closed bedroom door, followed by Ruby’s giggling.
It’s a nervous giggle, and it makes my heart beat faster to know that she’s excited too. But before I can decide what I’ll do to Max if he’s not keeping his mouth shut, the door opens.
Ruby is always beautiful. Even when she had theflu last month, she was stunning. But right now, she looks like a princess. As if she just stepped out of a dream.
Her hair falls down over her exposed shoulders, slightly wavy. She also taught me how to do it like this. The red lipstick on her plump lips catches my attention before my gaze travels down to the diamond collier around her neck.
She picked out a short dress. I wouldn’t expect anything else from her. The white silk hugs her curves perfectly, and as she walks closer, I catch a glimpse of the lacy blue garter belt around her left thigh. Jesus, I’ll pull the thing off with my teeth as soon as I have her all to myself.
She twirls around for me like a ballerina, and it’s just now that I can see the veil that’s tucked into her hair, adorned by a small white ribbon. Of course, the ribbon has small diamonds on it too.
My sparkling princess.
“I helped her with the veil,” Max whispers proudly towards Logan and Rockwell, joining them in the hallway.
“Pretty?” she asks me with a smile as she straightens my tie.
“Prettiest girl in the whole world,” I answer, discreetly trying to wipe away the tears that form in my eyes.
Stupid air conditioning getting my eyes all wet.
Ruby
Sam looks marvelous.Elegant, just like Bond, as he stands there in his tailored suit.
Our tailor almost had a mental breakdown while working with him. Not only was it difficult to make a suit for a man who’s built like a tank, but it turned out that Sam was also impatientandticklish, which made taking measurements hilarious. For me, not for him.
We had a lot of funny first times in the past months. Grocery shopping with Sam proved to be just as amusing as I had expected it to be and the same goes for furniture shopping.
I love our house now. It doesn’t look like a cold showroom anymore. It’s warm and welcoming and the walls are no longer sad and white. They are filled with artwork and countless pictures of all of us. Pictures of Sam, the guys, and me on trips, pictures of us at Giordano’s, pictures of our first Christmas as a family, with Mochi, of course.
After Sam found out how lonely I was when he was gone during longer missions, he brought home Mochi.
She’s an American bulldog, and he initially bought her to keep me company and to protect me. The only problem is that Mochi loves everyone, is afraid of small birds, and takes up more space in our bed than Sam does. But she’s fantastic at keeping me company and she looks mean, at least for five seconds, before she demands head scratches.
I would love to frame the nice photo of me with a rocket launcher and hang it next to the others, but Sam still doesn’t know about it, and Max and I agreed on keeping it that way.
Rockwell was nice enough to agree to be our designated driver for today, and just before we arrive at the small chapel I picked out, Logan puts a blindfold over my eyes.
“We have a surprise for you, peanut.”
