Vivian turned to exchange a look with Mannie and Samantha. “I hate to say this, but I think we’re going to need to break with tradition again.”
Lifting a curious eyebrow, Sami simply met Vivian’s eyes.
“Drastic times call for drastic measures,” Vivian muttered, stomping toward Armando. “Mannie, give me your bow tie,” she ordered, holding out her hand.
“Como?” Mannie asked, tilting his head as he looked at Vivian’s outstretched palm.
“Your tie, Armando,” Vivian rapped out impatiently as Molly continued to rant behind her and Devil continued to batter the door to the room. “Now.”
“I’d listen to her,” Sami murmured, “She only sounds like that when she cross-examines a reluctant witness. That’s the badass bitch voice.”
“We are in the Lord’s house, Samantha,” Vivian chastised her friend as she watched Armando’s hands tug at the silk around his neck.
“Yeah, and the Lord is aware that that’s the badass bitch voice, too,” Sami returned, unconcerned by Vivian’s admonishment since the Lord and Savior she believed in didn’t take offense to honesty. Nope, she was much more worried about the sassy wannabe runaway bride pulling a chair beneath the window. “You might wanna hurry,” she warned Mannie, keeping one eye on Molly as she stacked another chair on top of the first, building her makeshift ladder to freedom with the supplies she had at her disposal. They should all feel blessed she wasn’t stacking Bibles to climb her way out of here.
Snagging the now loose tie from around Armando’s neck, Vivian leveled Sami with a glare before stomping toward the rattling door. “Step back, Devil Delancy and close your eyes,” she ordered. Waiting a moment, she yelled, “Are they closed?”
“Mother of…yeah, they’re closed,” Devil’s voice growled back and Vivian opened the door and stepped into the hallway.
Meeting the brunette’s fierce eyes, Devil sighed. “Vivian, I admire you for the strong, capable woman you are, but if you don’t let me in there to calm Molly down, I swear, I’m going to move you myself.”
Rolling her eyes in the face of his threat, Vivian snorted. “I’ve dealt with cops and criminals, Devil. You don’t scare me. Turn around and hush for a second.”
“Why?” Devil asked, but he was already turning, automatically obeying the determined woman as she looped a piece of silk around his head and shielded his eyes.
“Because,” Vivian stated with exaggerated patience, “Even I’m not fool enough to think we can talk Molly off the ledge without your assistance. Now, tradition says that you can’t see her,” she explained, tying the makeshift blindfold around his head. “It doesn’t say you can’t talk to her.” Taking his elbow, she guided him through the doorway and into the room with Molly.
“Thank you, Christ. And Vivian,” Devil replied gratefully, holding his hand out in front of him and searching for Molly. Touching a cool cheek, he smiled. “Honey, you are not jilting me at the altar now,” he said firmly.
“Stud, I hadn’t planned on it,” Sami’s voice returned with an amused smirk in her voice. “But then, I don’t think you’re looking for me. Your bride-to-be is about six steps to the left and standing on a chair teetering precariously on a pair of kickass Manalo Blaniks.”
“What?” Devil yelped, stiffening as he reached up to shove the blindfold from his eyes. Ripping the silk off his head, he shoved it against Armando’s chest before leaping across the room to snag Molly’s hips in his hands. “What in the name of God are you doing?” he growled when she tottered precariously in his grip.
“Leaving,” Molly snarled, struggling to push open the stubborn window.
“Obviously, he’s never seen Runaway Bride,” Mannie murmured to Sami as Vivian fumed.
“Devil, there was a blindfold over your eyes for a reason! You just wanna invite more bad luck in and offer it a drink?” Viv hissed, stomping one heel shod foot against the floor angrily.
Wrapping his arms around his squirming escape artist’s satin-shrouded hips, Devil roared over his shoulder, “Everybody get OUT of here! NOW!! Molly and I need to talk. Molly, stop wrig- ….Ouch!” Staring down at where his future wife had her teeth clamped around his forearm, Devil’s jaw dropped. “You bit me!”
“Well, I’d like to knee you, but I’m facing the wrong way,” Molly hissed, releasing his flesh to glare over her shoulder at him while she continued to struggle. “Let me go, Devil! Our wedding is wrecked!”
“Not in this lifetime,” Devil retorted, tightening his arms as he met Samantha’s eyes. “I need a minute.”
“Absolutely not,” Vivian denied sternly, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Viv,” Sami interrupted, giving Devil a slight nod. “Devil Delancy is never gonna be a traditional guy, honey, but he’s what Molly needs right now. We certainly aren’t getting the job done in here. Let’s give them a few minutes alone,” she said, urging the other woman toward the door as Mannie followed behind them.
“Si! Si! And maybe you could figure out how to take the knots outta my tie,” Mannie added, dangling the destroyed silk in front of her face. “It looks like a noose, chica. I cannot wear a noose to the wedding.”
Devil sighed as the door closed behind the terrible trio and turned Molly in his arms to face him. “Now, darlin’, maybe you can tell me why you’re trying to climb out a window and leave me high and dry at the altar.”
Sizzle: Chapter Fifty-Eight
“I wasn’t going to leave you high and dry,” Molly grumbled unhappily, shoving a hand through her hair as she gazed longingly up at the window again. “I was going to call you. It’s just… this isn’t going to happen, Dev. Not the way I wanted it to happen. I hoped that it would, but maybe this was doomed from the start. I mean, what we had must have been the definition of an unusual engagement. Why would I expect to have an easy wedding?” she asked with a sniffle, her voice breaking on the question.
Damn it, she could feel the water works priming behind her eyes again. She wasn’t a freaking crier. She was a strong, self-assured young woman capable of handling anything life threw her way. She’d just hoped that she could have one day without drama. One day where she could live out her little-girl fairytale of the perfect wedding. One freaking day! Was that too much to ask?
“Molly,” Devil whispered as he stared down at her bent head. She looked incredibly pale, and he’d have to be an idiot not to know that she was fighting a wave of tears with everything she had. Wrapping one hand around the nape of her neck, he pulled her against his chest and wrapped his other arm around her waist. Backing her toward the table in the center of the room, he gently pushed her down to sit before crouching in front of her. “We’ve had some unforeseen obstacles, honey. That’s all.”
Squeezing her eyes shut, Molly shook her head furiously. “They’re signs, Devil. A single blip, I could have handled. Maybe two. But I can’t even get in my wedding dress,” she wept, tugging at the open bodice of her gown, once again cursing the seamstress who had confused her alterations with another bride. “My parents and brother are stuck on a freeway somewhere in Atlanta. The caterers bailed. The minister is currently hurling his guts up. And the wedding cake is more like wedding mush after being dropped twice. These are not obstacles. They aren’t even hurdles. They’re more like portents of the oncoming Apocalypse. The Lord took out a man of God to make sure this day wouldn’t happen, for crying out loud!”
“Sweetheart, Pastor Martin ate bad sushi. He doesn’t have the plague. He’s not at death’s door; he’s hanging over a toilet. There’s a big difference. I’ve already talked to Pastor Davis, and he’s agreed to perform the ceremony,” Devil assured her, trying desperately to soothe her ragged, tangled nerves.
Molly lifted her head to stare at him in complete shock. “Travis? You hate Travis!”
“I hate the fact that he was hung up on my bride; I don’t hate him personally. Besides, at this point, I don’t care if Mannie gets ordained online to marry us. Nothing is going to stop me from putting a gold band on
your finger.”
“Devil…”
“I’ve already handled the catering disaster. Their company subcontracted to another and is already in the process of delivering food to the reception hall. A new cake is being delivered, too. I’ve dispatched employees to get your family here. And I will be more than delighted to help tuck your lovely breasts into your dress because while I love looking at them, there’s no way in heaven or hell that I want anybody else to ogle them – especially the pastor presiding over our wedding. Yes, this is a wedding redo, but it will work. I know how important this day is to you. It’s important to me, too, but it’s not the most important thing. In the scope of things, this is just a day, babe. It’s one day. I want the marriage. I want all the days. This wedding is window dressing, honey.”
Oh sweet Jesus in heaven, he was going to make her cry again! And more than that, he made sense. When looking at a lifetime of days together, this really was a blip on the radar. Somehow, he’d taken a situation that was totally out of control and ordered the chaos. Resting her forehead against his shoulder, she mumbled, “Is it too late for Vegas? Elvis or Liberace could marry us in five minutes in one of those tacky little chapels on the strip. Then we could just move on to the honeymoon lickety split.”
“If I really believed that’s what you wanted, I’d have you on a private plane in the next hour, Molly,” he whispered against her temple. “I just want you today, however I get you. You want your church, your family, and your friends, though. I want you to have what you want. Therefore, we’re gonna get you tucked into this dress,” he murmured, carefully pulling up the beaded satin bodice of her gown and tucking her breasts into the material.
“Only you would figure out a way to cop a legitimate feel in a church on our wedding day,” Molly giggled as his fingers stroked her breasts one last time.
“What can I say? I’m a creative guy,” he chuckled, palming her shoulders before drawing back to look in her eyes. “Okay, all your lady parts are successfully covered now, babe. You good?”
Sliding her fingers against the lapel of his tuxedo, Molly smiled weakly as she let out a tired sigh. “I’m good.”
“Not gonna leave me hanging at the front of the church? No more trying to climb out the window?” he questioned suspiciously, stroking his fingers against her smooth cheek.
“Nope. I’ll be there. I want the marriage more than the wedding, too,” she whispered. “I just forgot that for a minute and turned into Bridezilla.”
Cupping her cheeks, Devil pulled Molly toward him and kissed her gently. “I can handle Bridezilla. What I can’t handle is the thought of losing you.”
“I love you, Devil,” Molly whispered tremulously before he kissed her again, deeper this time.
Devil groaned as someone pounded against the closed door. “What?” he barked, tightening his grip on Molly as she leaned against him.
“ETA for the rest of the wedding party is 15 minutes,” Sami called through the closed door. “This wedding is a go, people! Vivian says that everyone needs to assume their positions. Get out here before I cram her damn wedding checklist down her throat.”
Molly and Devil laughed and exchanged a look between them. “I think this wedding might have affected us all a little in ways we couldn’t expect.”
“Like turning the meek, mild corporate attorney gal pal into a fire breathing, man-eating, clipboard waving bit- …” Devil’s diatribe was interrupted by Molly slamming her palm against his mouth.
“She wants me to be happy. In the midst of chaos, she does that by exerting order over the details. Today has been one massive cluster of details…. she’s stressed. Vivian is very traditional, and you’re determined to break all the rules. Be nice.”
Pulling her hand away from his mouth, Devil grinned. “You realize that you were willing to crawl out a window to escape those details, right? And there’s no rule that I wouldn’t break if it meant keeping you here with me. I don’t care if I did see you before the wedding. Bad luck be damned. You and I make our own luck.”
“I was panicked,” Molly grumbled, wrinkling her nose pertly. “Brides are allowed to panic. I think even Emily Post would agree with me.”
“You’re right. They are, but this groom is never going to let somebody stand in the way of him calming his panicked bride. I don’t care if they are scary attorneys carrying a clipboard around like a loaded weapon,” Devil declared, rolling his eyes as someone else knocked on the door.
“Seriously, mi amigos, the dark headed vixen is going to blow the vein in her forehead if you don’t come out of there. This little scene is better than a telenovela, but I can smell violence is now in the air,” Armando warned outside the door. “It is turning ugly out here in the hallway. I think the hermanas are going to throw down out here! Now, I adore a good catfight as much as any gay man, but I do not think God would approve of His house being the location of a bridesmaid royal rumble.”
Molly laughed against Devil’s neck as she leaned heavily toward him. “Heaven preserve us against well-meaning friends.”
“Amen.” Tilting Molly’s chin, he waited until her sparkling eyes lifted to his. “I’ll see you at the front of the church, darlin’. You’ve got half an hour. Any longer than that and I come looking for you.”
“I’ll be there. I promise,” Molly vowed, meaning every word.
With one last soft kiss, he was gone and she was surrounded by her friends. Beaming at them, she sighed. “Let’s get me ready, gals. I’m getting married today!”
Sizzle: Chapter Fifty-Nine
When all was said and done, Molly Ramsey Delancy’s wedding could only be described as beautiful. The press would later deem it the event of the year, but Molly and Devil would just refer to it as the happiest day of their lives.
True to her word, a half hour after Devil forced himself away from her, Molly appeared at the back of the church’s sanctuary on her flustered father’s arm. Swathed in yards of satin, her dress clung to her curvy frame, highlighting the assets the Lord had bestowed on her without being too ostentatious.
She took her future husband’s breath away.
His bride glided down the center aisle toward him and Devil hadn’t been able to remain still. He hadn’t even bothered trying. Breaking with tradition (not for the first time, of course), he strode toward his intended and met her halfway down the aisle.
“I was coming to you,” she whispered as she offered him a soft look and he reached for her hand.
“Believe me, I would have tripped her if she’d tried to bolt,” her amused father interjected (not in a whisper).
Devil ignored the amused laughter that had surrounded them and focused on the only person in the world who mattered to him at the moment. “Wasn’t gonna risk it, darlin’.”
And so it was that Molly was guided down the remainder of the aisle sandwiched between the two most important men in her life. Her father’s hand rested on her elbow while Devil kept his fingers laced tightly with hers. In her free hand, she clutched a bouquet of slightly wilted red roses.
None of that mattered to her anymore.
She was standing in a church among her friends and family marrying the man that she’d loved over half her life. She was living her dream.
It felt like coming home.
From the beginning of the ceremony to the end, it didn’t escape the gathered congregation’s collective notice that Pastor Travis Davis managed to perform the entire service without once looking in the bride’s direction. No one was sure what exactly the groom had said to the young man to keep those eyes riveted to the Holy Bible, but no one looked more relieved than the good Pastor when he pronounced the overjoyed couple as man and wife after the solemn vows were said.
It might have been because Pastor Travis Davis had not held any doubt that the groom would commit mass murder inside God’s house if anyone interfered with his wedding ceremony. Or it could have been because there was a senior citizen that had aimed a wooden spoon like a weapon at the
gathered guests when he’d asked if anyone objected to this man and woman being united in holy matrimony. Either way, there was no mistaking the obvious relief that the junior pastor felt when he closed the Good Book.
In yet another departure from tradition, Devil didn’t wait for the invitation to kiss his bride. Instead, as soon as Travis announced that Molly was his, he’d hauled her into his arm and lowered his head, giving Molly a sizzling kiss that had even the oldest, most staid members of the congregation fanning themselves.
As applause thundered in the sanctuary and Devil lifted his lips from Molly’s mouth, he met her smile with one of his own. “Well, you’re stuck now. You’re mine in the eyes of God. There’s no getting out of that promise,” he whispered against her cheek.
Staring up at him, Molly just shook her head. There was nothing to say.
She intended to keep her promise until she drew her last breath.
~~***~~
Two long hours later, both Molly and Devil were looking for a way out...not of their brand-new marriage, but out of what had to be the longest reception in all of eternity. They’d smiled, greeted their guests, and accepted what felt like a million congratulatory hugs and kisses.
They were done now.
Leaning against Devil’s strong side, Molly let out a not-so-patient sigh as she muttered, “How many people did my Momma manage to invite to this thing, Devil? I’ve been on my feet for what seems like ages, and these shoes were made with style in mind, not comfort.” Holding up one slender leg, she glared at the spiked heel. “It’s like Mr. Blahnik wanted to torture brides when he made these. Seriously, if one more person wants their picture made with us and I have to smile, I swear to God I’m gonna kick them in the shins with these god-awful heels, wedding presents be damned.”
His brow furrowing, Devil wrapped one strong arm around his new wife. “Babe, I was all for absconding with you as soon as I got the Lord’s blessing.” Glancing over his shoulder, he searched the crowd for a moment before catching the eye of his best man and Molly’s brother. A quick jerk of Devil’s head had Grant heading quickly in their direction.
The Sizzle Saga Page 40
