Tainted Forever
Page 26
Roanna shifted, her hands rubbing over her barely there baby bump, making the normally stoic rocker’s eyes flash with a happiness I’d only ever seen in his dark eyes when he looked at his wife.
“Daddy! Look at me,” Charlotte yelled at her father, pulling my attention back to the little girl at my side.
This was why it had been decided I would walk up the aisle with her. Charlotte was a total ham for attention, especially her father’s. If I weren’t holding her hand right then, she already would have been throwing herself into his arms, and then the ceremony would have to be put on hold until she was ready for her parents to say their vows.
Cash lifted his finger to his lips, grinning but motioning for her to hush. Thankfully, she clamped her lips shut, nodding.
I breathed a small sigh of relief when we finally got to the front of the church and the two of us took our places across from Cash and Caleb. Riley reached me seconds later, silently laughing as her goddaughter spun around and around.
The ceremony was over in half an hour, and when Cash kissed his bride, there wasn’t a dry eye in the church. Not even the other four Tainted Knights members could say they didn’t shed a tear.
As soon as Cash lifted his head, Charlotte decided she was done being left out and threw herself into her father’s arms. “Are we married now?” she demanded, so loudly the entire church heard and chuckled.
He gave her a watery smile. “Yeah, Charlotte bug. We’re married now. Are you happy?”
“Does this mean I can have cake?” Laughing, Cash nodded. “Then I’m happy, Daddy.”
Hours later, my feet were killing me, but I wasn’t ready to leave the reception yet. I wanted to dance with my husband, and I wasn’t leaving until I got to. All night, I’d had to dance with everyone else, and whenever I happened to be free, it was to find Jace dancing with someone else or talking to a group of people that I didn’t have the heart to pull him away from.
I folded my arms over my chest, waiting for him to notice me as he laughed with Harris and Kale at the bar where Axton Cage was ordering shots for all of them. Harris’s newborn son, Evan, was sleeping in Gabriella Bryant’s arms as she sat with her sister-in-law and Dallas Cage close by, while Hayat danced around with Charlotte and Abi on the dance floor. Lucy was close by, half watching the girls while she danced with her dad.
Gray’s son, Bentley, rushed up behind his cousin, tugging lightly on Abi’s hair to get her attention before holding out his hands to her, wanting to dance with her. They were pretty close despite having an entire country between them. But when we all went on tour together, they were inseparable. Bentley was the sweetest little boy I’d ever met, and I was hoping he didn’t go through that whole phase where he turned into a teenage asshole, like his dad had.
Abi rolled her eyes at him, shaking her head no. He pouted, making him look so much like Gray I had to stifle a laugh.
Charlotte took pity on him and took the hands he’d offered to Abi, dancing with him just like her own parents were dancing only a few feet away. She put her little hands at his shoulders while Bentley put his on her waist, and they began to step side to side to the music. The other two little girls giggled.
Seeing how close Hayat and Abi were warmed my heart. I hoped they were always best friends like Lucy and I were.
While I was watching them, strong arms came around my waist, pulling me back against a hard chest. “Have I told you how beautiful you look in that dress?”
I smiled, melting back against him. “Not since this morning, no.”
His lips caressed down my neck. “Shame on me.” Turning me in his arms, he began to sway to the music. “I saw our nephew out there getting some action and figured I needed to show my beautiful wife some too.”
I laughed. “So you’re using Bentley as a role model now? That doesn’t bode well for our future son.”
He snorted. “Son? Funny. I’m only having daughters. No boys allowed in my wife’s heart but me.”
As we danced, I rested my head on his chest, loving the feel of his arms around me. I was exhausted, but so happy, I felt like I was glowing. Or maybe that was just the baby growing under my heart. We’d only found out the week before and no one but Lucy and Harris knew, but I was excitedly planning our baby announcement.
“I love you so much, Kin,” Jace breathed in my ear, his fingers contracting on my waist.
I snuggled closer. “I love you too.”
Playlist
“Ihateit” by Underoath
“This Feeling” by The Chainsmokers (ft) Kelsea Ballerini
“Head Above Water” by Avril Lavigne
“Without Me” by Halsey
“Craving You” by Thomas Rhett (ft) Maren Morris
“Love Lies” by Khalid & Normani
“Dream” by Amaranthe
“Let Me Down Slowly” by Alec Benjamin
“All We Know” by The Chainsmokers (ft) Phoebe Ryan
“A Little Braver” by New Empire
“Somebody New” by The Struts
“Unified” by Amaranthe