The Divine Roses (Jake & Dean Investigations Book 3)
Page 21
“It’s okay, Jess.”
“I shouldn’t be saying this on your big day. I’m sorry. What am I even saying?”
“You tell me, sis.”
“I’m glad there’s finally some light after the dark. That’s what I mean.”
“I like that,” I replied.
“It’s so lovely.” Jessica’s voice quivered.
“You’ll ruin your makeup if you go,” I warned.
“Oh, shut up, knobhead,” she clapped back, following it up with a soft laugh.
“Really good job Lou ain’t here with us,” I said.
Dad laughed his joyful laugh that I loved so much.
“I love you, Jake,” Jessica said.
“I love you too.”
“Love you, Son. More than you’ll ever know.”
“Love you too, Dad.”
Blimey! I was on the verge of tears again!
Dean
“If you want him to be there, that’s your prerogative.”
My mum’s dark, gray-streaked hair was tied up in a bun, and she was wearing white as she faced me on the screen, sitting in her living room in Singapore.
We’d been talking about Dad and how I was letting him attend the wedding. He was back in this realm, in some Parisian hotel with a laptop.
“I gave him a list of rules,” I replied to her.
“As you should.”
I don’t even know why I was bothering with him, but there was a constant niggling sensation when it came to that man. Like I couldn’t quite cut the strings forever.
If only I could. But it wasn’t just about me now. I had Louise to consider, and she missed him. He’d left a big impression on her. How could I destroy that?
I wouldn’t. It would be cruel.
Mum smiled at me. “My handsome boy in white. Marrying the love of his life.”
“Thank you.”
“I am looking forward to watching this immensely.”
My stomach was in knots. “I’m so nervous.”
“It is to be expected, but you have no reason to be nervous. This man is your heart, your everything. Enjoy this moment. He is yours, you are his.”
She was so, so right.
Jake
On the screens: Mila, Soph and Luuk, my dad and sister, Dean’s mum, Cherry and Brem (the vampire being there was weird), Sonny, Nay and Greg, even Mr. Douglas, who we rarely heard from. Dylan and his crew too—he’d promised to sing for us, and Nay was fangirling all over the place.
So many faces of the people we loved on the screens (Sonny and Brem…hmm. Well, they’d ended up being allies, so, maybe not love, but yeah). Evander was in attendance too. He was told to keep quiet. If he said a word, Dean would cut his connection. But he was there, watching, and I think Dean was happy to have him, even if the two of them had a long, long way to go in terms of having a relationship.
Whatever Dean wanted to do, I was with him all the way.
We’d have to see what happened.
Virtual stuff aside, our people were with us, and that’s what mattered. We wanted them to see us slide those rings on each other’s fingers, declare our love in this ceremony in a house on the coast.
Sunlight caressed Dean, forming a halo of gold on his dark hair.
My Dean.
My heart.
Mila was wrapping it up from her screen.
“Jake? Do you take Dean to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
I looked into his eyes, falling into dark pools. “I do.”
His smiled widened.
“Dean?” Mila said. “Do you take Jake to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
“I do.”
Boyfriend. Fiancé. Now my husband. My partner in life.
“I love you,” he whispered.
“Love you too, treacle.”
He laughed, and we sealed the deal with a kiss.
The cheers from the virtual guests were so loud they almost blew up the speakers.
Dean
In the dead of night, as we lay in bed together, the sound of the waves drifting into our bedroom through the open window, moonlight painting our naked bodies, I kissed him again on his beautiful lips after we’d made love for the first time as a married couple.
He smiled up at me, his hand in my hair. “Thanks, husband.”
“Always love kissing you, husband,” I responded.
We moved so we were curled up together, on our sides, foreheads touching. The curtains billowed in the breeze, their hems licking at the bed.
“You and me,” I said. “Forever.”
He traced the side of my face with a finger. “You’ve got that right.”
The End
Author’s Note
Dear Reader,
I want to thank you so, so much for reading Jake and Dean’s story. It has been so much fun writing them again after Coldharbour Chronicles began, but the time has come for me to let the guys rest. I think they’ve earned it. Who knows, they might pop up again in the future for more adventures, but for now, it’s goodbye.
To stay in the loop with all the latest news, come join my Facebook Reader Group (Richie’s Round Table). There you will find updates, giveaways and good old chit chat (and cake).
You can also follow me on Bookbub, my Facebook page, and subscribe to my Free Newsletter if you fancy doing so.
Want More?
If you want more Jake and Dean, check out Winter Rising, the first book in Coldharbour Chronicles, where the guys first met:
Click the image above or HERE to be taken to your Amazon store.
Still Want more?
Want to know more about Dylan Rivers? Be sure to check out the first book in the Dylan Rivers Chronicles—Siren’s Debt:
Click the image above or HERE to be taken to your Amazon store.
Also by Richard Amos
Coldharbour Chronicles
Winter Rising
Winter Shadows
Winter Fire
Winter Blood
Winter Twilight
Dylan Rivers Chronicles
Siren’s Debt
Siren’s Call
Siren’s Heart
Siren’s Destiny
Jake and Dean Investigations
The Christmas Bones
The Charms of Death
The Divine Roses
Four Moons
First Moon
Chaos Moon
Dead Moon
Silver Moon
Fallen Fire
Reborn
Requiem (January 22nd 2021)
About the Author
Richard Amos is an author from England who is constantly lost in the worlds he writes about, and the ones in the queue yet to be written. He also has more books in his house than anything else and is never without a book (and chocolate) in his hands when he's not writing. He's a proud nerd who loves to dance. Hard.
In a former life, he was definitely a merman.
Richard writes kick-ass Fantasy and Urban Fantasy with gay male protagonists, all with good doses of action, adventure, and romance.