Forbidden Kisses (3:AM Kisses Book 9) (23 page)

T
he room stills
to nothing as if breaking the sound barrier in reverse, and I settle into this impossibility as my mother shoots daggers at me with her horrified stare.

“My grievance is that I didn’t see the beauty in the coupling of these fine people until it was far too late.” I swallow hard, trying to keep from all-out bawling. “Bradley, I’m so very glad that you made your way to my mother. I can’t think of two people who deserve to be happier. I haven’t seen my mother smile so hard, love so deep, and laugh so much in years. Thank you for giving her that gift.”

Scarlett and I take our seats once again as the minister openly frowns at the two of us. I get it. Our proclamations of love for our parents were probably better served for a champagne toast than causing a stir at the diciest part of the service, but, after what Scarlett and I put our parents through, I think we snuck in our heartfelt sentiments just in time.

“It is with the power vested in me that I have the honor to introduce to you for the very first time—Mr. and Mrs. Bradley Kent.”

Something in me loosens when I hear their names. They share a quick, yet slightly far too prolonged for my liking kiss before beaming back at the crowd and waltzing down the aisle. My mother waves like a pageant princess while Bradley carefully escorts her into the dining hall next door.

“Well done.” Scarlett leans in. Her mouth sears over mine like a furnace until my bones melt to dust and ashes. This girl has me so completely. There’s not a day on this planet I can end without her. “I love you.” Her leaf green eyes shine bright as the sun.

“I love you, too.”

We head next door where the band fills the room with smooth jazz, my mother’s favorite. There’s a line of well-wishers that winds around the room, and we make our way over.

Knox and Trixy meet up with us, each with a drink in hand.

“It’s official.” Knox blinks a dry smile at Scarlett. “How about you two?” His brows furrow as he inspects our conjoined hands. “This is the real deal?”

“It wasn’t always,” a female voice chimes from behind as Sabrina swoops in next to her sister minus her Duncan—an improved look if you ask me. Lawson flanks her and offers a simple nod. “Or was it?” She pinches Scarlett’s cheek, leaving a pink impression in her wake. “I knew you two were the real thing. That first night at the Happy Squirrel? You may have thought you were fooling me, but I saw right through it—two people pretending to be together who really couldn’t stand each other but were secretly hot under the proverbial collar?” She cackles out a laugh. “I need me a drink. Welcome to the family, children.” She winks at Knox and Trixy as she bypasses us on the way to the bar.

“She pretty much hit the nail on the head.” I cinch Scarlett in close as my sister and brother inspect us through this new lens.

“Why the fake relationship?” Knox wants answers. He’s always been black and white, detail orientated by nature.

“To break them up.” Scarlett shivers as if it were deplorable to think about, and in a way it is. “Then, when we saw the error of our ways, we did our best to bring them back together.”

Trixy’s pink mouth falls open, and I feel the weight of my own shame. I’m not proud of what we set out to do. I’m just glad we came to our senses. “And on the way you fell in love?”

“The real deal.” Scarlett wraps her arms around me as the music turns up in volume and couples drift to the dance floor.

I lean toward Lawson. “Are we good?”

“We’re good.” He offers up a knuckle bump.

“You better be good,” Scarlett chides. “You’re looking at Whitney Briggs’s new premier basketball star.”

“Congratulations, man.” I slap him over the shoulder. “You won’t believe how many jersey chasers there are at that school. You got it made, dude.”

“Watch it, you.” Scarlett bounces a kiss off my lips.

Mom and Bradley appear from nowhere, and Knox and Trixy are the first to congratulate them.

“Lynette!” Scarlett steps in. “You are a beautiful bride. I can only hope to shine half as bright on my wedding day.”

Mom tosses her head back and laughs with unabashed joy. “I know for a fact you’ll outshine the stars, and I for one can’t wait to see it.”

“Thank you.” She blushes a beautiful shade of rose, emulating her hair in every capacity. “And you look amazing, Daddy.” She thrusts her arms around him. “Thank you for finding the perfect woman to complete our family.”

I hug my mother and Bradley in turn. “Take good care of each other. I know you will.”

Mom looks up at Bradley as if his chariot ran the sun across the sky, and, for the first time in a long while, I feel as if she’s not so alone anymore. She has someone securely on her side, fully devoted to all her needs.

“Shall we let them eat cake?” She touches her nose to his.

“Cupcakes,” he corrects.

Roxy and Cole delivered a mountain of white frosted confections just for the occasion. Scarlett helped with the baking, so there’s love in the mix.

Mom and Bradley head over to the display, and the entire room turns their attention to the two of them.

Bradley picks up a cupcake, and my mother does the same.

“To true love.” He toasts his bride with the tiny treat.

“To true love,” she counters.

The room breaks out with applause. Scarlett and I clap the hardest, the longest, with as much heartfelt affection as we can muster.

This is the happily ever after they wanted.

The happily ever after they deserved.

* * *

S
carlett
and I head to the Black Bear after what Trixy dubbed as the early bird wedding. The 12 Deadly Sins rock the stage, and the sorority girls and frat boys are out in droves. Summer has all but tapped out, and the last school-free weekend is upon us.

Owen waves us to the back, and we head on over.

“So, it’s official?” He nods to Scarlett. “You’re dating your brother?”

Piper slaps him over the shoulder. “
Stepbrother
!”

Savannah Anderson struts by and does a double take in our direction, her face stunned into submission before her friend pulls her away.

“That’s disgusting!” she shrieks.

“Is not,” I say, laughing mostly to myself. “It’s official. I’m in love with my stepsister. I enjoy kissing my stepsister. And, yes, in the event inquiring minds want to know, I enjoy fu—”

Savannah cuts me off, gagging like she has a chicken bone lodged in her throat. “You’re a bunch of dirty backwoods whores!” she cries as they dive into the crowd.

“Nobody calls my girlfriend a whore but me,” I tease, my eyes never wavering from Scarlett’s.

“Shut up and kiss me.” Scarlett silences me with her lips, and suddenly, I’m craving some alone time with my new stepsister.

She pulls back with her eyes dancing into each of mine. “You’re such a goober. Some things are better left unsaid, you know.”

Jet comes up from behind and wraps an arm around Scarlett and me. “Congratulations, you two.” He looks to me with that familiar snide grin. Deep down, Jet is still the person I knew him as growing up. That’s what I like about him. He stays true to himself no matter how many years drift under the bridge. “Nobody deserves to be happier than you, man. If I had a stepsister this hot, I might break a few rules myself.”

“Speaking of sisters, how’s Lucky settling in?”

He winces. “She’s roomies with Owen’s little sister. So far so good. But I’m not letting her out of my sight. No Black Bear. No frat boys for my kid sister.”

“Dude, you’re going to suffocate her.”

“That’s my job.” He slaps me over the shoulder. “That is my job.” He offers a playful wink before heading for the bar.

I glance to Owen. “We need to do something about him.”

“Odd man out.” Cade frowns over at Jet as a few coeds inspect his intricate tattoos. “He’s got it handled.”

“He needs someone good”—I grunt—“someone as permanent as that ink all over his body.”

Cassidy lays her head against Cade’s shoulder. “I think I might know just the right girl.” She looks a few feet over to where Daisy chats it up with a few guys from the team.

Scarlett shakes her head. “She seems to be handling it herself. Besides, if Jet and Daisy are meant to be—it’ll happen.”

Piper reaches over and gives one of Scarlett’s red ringlets a tug. “So, you finally believe in destiny?”

Her arms tighten their grip around me. Scarlett and I fought against everything—the winds of change and destiny included. “It’s hard not to when it takes you where you need to be.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

The band switches it up to a slow song, and one by one we make our way to the dance floor.

“You ready for another year at WB?” I drink down this beautiful woman in my arms, my boxers already twitching to get her home.

“I’m ready for another year with
you
. Only this time I think we can gear our energy in more creative ways.” She bites down on her poppy red lip. “My body’s aching for some attention, and there’s not a person in the room qualified to give it except you. You think you can take on this dirty whore?”

A dark laugh thumps through me. “Only if you can handle this outspoken goober.” My thumb brushes over her nipple a moment. “Do you know what today is?”

“Um—yeah, the day my father and your mother said I do and forever altered the state of my mental wellbeing because I’ve just become that girl who openly sleeps with her stepbrother. If we ever have kids, they might have issues.”

I bark out a deep belly laugh that feels as if it’s been imprisoned for weeks. The thought of having kids with Scarlett warms me to my feet. I’ve become a sap, and I can’t help but love it.

“We’ll have at least five.” I press my lips to the tip of her nose.

“Why stop at five? I’m in for ten.”

“That’s a lot of bows and arrows.”

“And footballs.” She gives a coy little shrug, and I go in for the kiss. I want this girl now and forever. Ten kids, twenty, I really don’t care. The only thing in the world that matters is that Scarlett and I remain staunchly by one another’s side through the thick and thin.

“So, what’s today?” She pulls back and cocks her head as if calling me out.

“One year ago today, my mother dragged my siblings and me to a greasy Chinese restaurant in the middle of Hollow Brook to meet the family of a man she swore she’d marry someday.” I swallow hard just memorizing the way her hair lights up like a magnificent flame. “It’s the day I met the love of my life. That’s you, Scarlett Kent. I knew right then you were the one for me.”

She sucks in a quick breath as her body tenses next to mine. “I took one look at you, and for the first time in my life, I silently cursed my father.” We share a warm laugh. “I knew it, too, right then and there. I was a goner. I couldn’t look at another boy all year no matter how hard I tried. And I fought it. I fought us. But this is one war I’m glad I didn’t win.”

I pick her up and spin her a moment. “Let’s get out of here. My bed is calling, and I’m going to make sure you win round after round.”

“That’s the beauty of sparring beneath the sheets, Rex Toberman.” She jumps up and crashes a kiss to my lips. “We both win.”

We head out of the Black Bear, ready to celebrate the night that is officially the one-year marker of the making of us.

* * *

T
he moon shines
like a quarter as it bleeds its beams over the porch. I scoop Scarlett into my arms and carry her over the threshold while she bubbles with laughter, her voice the only thing I ever care to hear.

I close the door and carry her straight to the bedroom. “Don’t tell my mother, but you outshined the bride this afternoon—in fact, you outshined all four brides at all four weddings. You’re too beautiful to believe.”

“Technically, it was three weddings.” She giggles like a schoolgirl as she crawls onto my lap. “And that’s very kind of you to say, but we should probably keep that to ourselves or we’ll have half of Hollow Brook after us with torches and pitchforks.”

“Or in the least three angry grooms.”

“You mean four.” She caresses my cheek with her cool fingers.