When all signs were flashing in the right direction, one would be a fool not to follow them.
As if Kate weren’t already giddy over this path she now traveled, Jude added more fuel to the vibrantly burning fire as he leaned in close to her while they ascended the red-carpeted steps of the Plaza, toward the entrance. He whispered in her ear, “Wait until our wedding night, baby. Ep-ic.”
Kate nearly melted into him. Her inner thighs quivered. Her clit tingled. Her nipples tightened behind the lacy cups of her bra.
“Oh, how you tease me,” she quietly retorted.
“I always make good on my promises, don’t I?”
“Keep it up, and we are for-sure not making it to this wedding.”
Jude let out a low, sexy groan. “I’d be all-in for skipping it, but you’ve been spotted by one very exuberant Mirabeth Presley—and that means you’re now the bridesmaid with the biggest secret to keep under wraps.”
Kate strategically turned into Jude, thus putting her back to Mirabeth as she rushed toward them. Kate slipped off her ring and pressed it into Jude’s palm.
“Take yours off, too,” she insisted.
He did, and casually put them both in his pocket.
His lips touched hers and he murmured, “I still feel duly official.”
“So do I.” She smiled. “I love you so much.”
“I love you more.”
They shared another kiss.
Then Kate tore her gaze from him and turned to greet Mirabeth.
“Oh. You. Two!” Mirabeth declared as she clasped her manicured hands together. “Get a room, already!”
Kate opened her mouth to agree, but of course Mirabeth interjected.
“Just joking, of course! There’s sooo much to do! Kate—we need you in the bride’s suite post-haste. Charlotte is still in a quandary about her lipstick color, even though she’s been with her stylists every day for the past two weeks, trying makeup hues, hairstyles, fingernail sculptures—good Lord, even her toenails aren’t perfected yet!”
That boggled the mind, in Kate’s opinion, but then again… She and Charlotte were not cut from the same cloth.
Kate hadn’t given a second thought to her manicure when she’d married Jude. But she did understand how Charlotte required every tiny detail to be absolutely perfect. So she followed Mirabeth to the elevators, leaving Jude to his own devices.
Something told her he’d find the groomsmen at the Champagne Bar.
She shot one last text to Nikki: I heard everything you said about you and Conner—that night we celebrated our new venture over champagne. When you have something precious, you hold onto it with both hands.
Nikki texted back: Amen, sister.
Nikki had lost her “something precious.” But it hadn’t destroyed her. Not fully. She’d bounced back.
Well, to an extent.
Though… The spark Kate had seen in her friend’s eyes when they’d been in Nico Valdiviesio’s hospital room proved Nikki still retained the capacity to move on…perhaps to love again?
Kate had to tuck that notion away for the time being.
She and Mirabeth entered the gorgeously decorated and incredibly chaotic bridal suite—and all Kate could think was…
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
Thank God she and Jude had already tied the knot!