by Amber Lynn
When she took her first step over the threshold, she saw him flinch to head towards her, but Sarah held up a finger and took a second step. The jolts of pain were expected. They weren’t the debilitating ones she’d felt off and on during the process of getting back to her feet, but they let her know her body was still thinking about the whole walking thing.
Even though she moved as fast as she could, it had to be one of the slowest walks down the aisle in history. She hoped there weren’t any record-keeping organizations in the audience with stopwatches.
Once the walk down the aisle was complete, Sarah let out the breath she’d been holding as she fought to get her legs to work and not let the pain get to her. For the first time during the walk, Jack took his daughter’s hand and helped get them started as the minister asked who gave the bride to the groom.
The ceremony itself was short and sweet. Sarah knew going into it that she was going to try to make it down the aisle, so she’d insisted that the time she had to stand around was kept to a minimum. That meant they didn’t make up their own vows. It wasn’t like they were needed. They’d said everything they needed to say a number of times over the year they’d been together.
As soon as the minister told Reid to kiss the bride, Nico was quick to add his own two cents worth.
“Make it fast. Pretty girl going to fall down if she have to stand too much longer.”
Reid shook his head and rolled his eyes. Since his eyes were still locked on Sarah, she assumed the annoyed look she had on her face wasn’t missed by him.
“I think I’ve got it covered, Nico, but thanks for the advice.”
Being careful to pull her closer to him from the middle of her back, instead of the lower part that was known to give her fits, Reid leaned down and settled his lips on Sarah. His moist lips met her somewhat dry ones and Sarah felt like she could’ve stood up there forever with him. He could have very well felt the same way, but the solid kiss moved to quick pecks before she was ready.
“I not joking about getting her to a chair. You need help carrying? We can put her in a chair to make sure we don’t hurt her back and then carry down the aisle.”
It sounded almost like Sarah’s dad had been chatting with Nico about her being carried around like a queen. The idea of being carried at all sounded a bit painful. The walk out to the limousine waiting to take the couple to the reception wasn’t far, but she planned on leaning on her new husband the whole way.
“Thank you for the offer, Nico, but I walked down that aisle once, I can make it down it again.”
“You say so, but I walk behind you just in case you need catched.”
Over the year they’d known each other, Nico had become a big brother figure in Sarah’s life. He was a goofy big brother, who really needed to find a woman to tame him, but he was a big brother nonetheless.
Reid interrupted the back and forth going on by turning his bride towards the crowd and serving as a crutch as they started the walk out of the church. Sarah tried her best to do everything on her own, but as the guests cheered and clapped for them, her left arm snaked behind his back and gripped tightly on his jacket.
“I know he thinks he has a quick reaction time, but I’ve got you in case it gets to be too much.” Reid sighed contently and waved to people as they walked by the guests. “I honestly don’t think I can describe what I felt when you turned that corner under your own power. You’ve worked so hard, and I couldn’t be prouder to have such a hard-headed woman as a wife.”
Sarah chuckled and rested her head on his shoulder. They were about halfway down the aisle and she was sincerely thinking about asking him what he thought about the carrying option. Even with the short service, Sarah had spent too much time standing in one place and her lower back was stiff.
It made her feel like she was walking like the robot Reid sometimes called her. She was still trying to decide if she preferred the nickname over silly. Both of them could’ve gone back to the drawing board, but she was terrified to hear what he’d come up with next.
Once they cleared the doorway, Sarah shared her response to the hard-headed comment. It was something she should’ve waited to say when they were alone in the limo, but she figured with Nico as the closest person to them, no one would be shocked by her words.
“You’re only excited because me walking around means you’re going to have the honeymoon you wanted.”
Their sex life could’ve started up once she was spending more time at home than in a rehab facility, but Reid was overly cautious about what her body could take. The whole pelvis being broken basically freaked him out.
Sarah had been worried what internal damage happened aside from the hemorrhaging and broken bones. The whole broken pelvis had terrified her just as much as it did Reid when she first heard about it. They’d talked about how much they both wanted kids, and Sarah feared that part of their future was over before they could try.
“You’re lucky people are watching us, because my hand is itching to paddle your bottom for those words. You know for a fact that I’m more than willing to wait until you’re able to dance a jig before we get freaky.”
Since he mentioned it, Sarah went ahead and swatted his butt instead. She’d been afraid with the way their relationship sparked like an inferno in the early months that, even though she was wearing the ten-ton rock of an engagement ring he’d bought her, the lack of sex would send him looking for someone to fill in for her.
The man didn’t leave her side if he could help it in the first days after she regained consciousness. She’d had to force him to go back to work after they got her moved back to New York, and he only did so if he was guaranteed one of her parents would be there in his place while he was gone. Talk about someone who was hard-headed. Sarah liked all the attention, but she was afraid he was going to sew them together at some point.
“I wouldn’t put it pass me to at least attempt a jig, so you better bring you’re A-game tonight. Nico back there is getting anxious about us not creating all the beautiful babies he thinks we’re going to have.”
“She right,” Nico interjected before Reid could respond. “You two need babies so I can learn to watch them. I haven’t been around them and must learn to take care of them before I find my Sarah. It first step in commitment.”
Whatever he was talking about terrified Sarah. It sounded like he was offering himself as a babysitter, which had to be the most horrific idea she’d ever heard. Her eyes widened as she thought about it and turned her head slightly to try to catch Reid’s eye and see what he thought of the idea.
Sarah had no problem reading the “no” he mouthed when he saw she was looking his way. It was great that Nico was thinking about settling down and finding his Sarah, but he was going to have to find someone else’s kids to test his theories on. It wasn’t like they were going to magically have a kid for him to fulfill his plan anytime soon. If they were lucky, the start of that chapter would begin soon, but Sarah had a feeling she was going to have to talk Reid into proving the doctors were right about her ability to have a child.
“Let’s take things one step at a time,” Reid diplomatically suggested. “First step is making it through two hours of a reception.”
They reached the limo and Reid held out his hand to do what he could to help Sarah climb in. The conversation had kept Sarah’s mind occupied during their march out of the building. Putting one foot in front of the other was one thing, but Sarah didn’t want to think about the car ride ahead of them. The sounds of traffic sometimes set off images she didn’t remember seeing the day of the accident, but she saw them clearly with certain triggers.
She hadn’t thought she’d have an issue with the way she’d ended the chase, but she hadn’t meant to cause Aaron’s death. Part of her was relieved that she wouldn’t have to look over her shoulder anymore. It wasn’t until the very last day that the vague threat came calling, but what she’d learned during their ride told her that his insistence that he loved her and they were mea
nt to be together wasn’t going to magically disappear.
That being said, she’d lived with the man for months and there was a connection between them. It wasn’t the same one that drew her to Reid, but there was something there at the beginning that she’d once let herself believe could be what she wanted in life.
“It’s soundproofed, so you won’t hear anything around us,” Reid said, bringing her out of her thoughts.
Sarah bit her bottom lip and looked up at Reid with a mischievous glint in her eyes. There was nothing right about going from mourning her ex to playfully joking with her husband, but no one had ever said Sarah was logical.
“Does that mean people can’t hear us from outside either?”
She stuck her tongue out and licked her upper lip playfully. They’d laughed in the months of recovery about the fact that some guardian angel must have known their ability to have sex would be in jeopardy, so they got in a year’s worth of sex taken care of in only a matter of weeks.
“Your ballgown might make your ideas a little interesting, princess, but we can do a little experimenting if you really think your back is up to it.”
For the first time in months, Sarah looked forward to getting in a car. She didn’t bother using Reid’s hand as she ducked down and worked said ballgown through the door. She’d already worn it the one time she was going to, so she didn’t care whether it got dirty or otherwise mangled in whatever fun they could figure out to try in the back of the limo.
The second Reid got in and shut the door behind him. Sarah climbed into his lap and started a deep kiss that she’d yearned for, proving that she wasn’t a delicate flower. She knew that she talked a good game, but the drive to the reception would only last a few minutes, so clothes weren’t going to fly around the limo.
Her goal with the kiss was telling him how much she loved him and couldn’t wait to let everyone know they were husband and wife. After a year together, no one could question whether things were moving too fast, but Sarah hoped everyone found that person in their life who made them feel the way Reid made her. The sensation of spinning out of control while knowing there was someone there with you who would always keep you grounded was something everyone needed to feel at least once in their life.
About the Author
Amber has always had a passion for the written word. Along with that, she’s always had ideas for stories swimming around in her head. It finally got to the point where she couldn’t take it anymore and had to start getting her thoughts down on paper. There are still too many ideas, but she is working to get them out as fast as she can. Her hope is that one day her brain will be hers again.
Other hobbies of Amber’s include: drawing, baking, arts and crafts, motorcycles, hockey and archery. She likes to think she has eclectic tastes where her hobbies are concerned. She loves to laugh and tries to make herself smile at least once a day. With the crazy thoughts going on in her head that usually isn't hard.
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Other books by Amber Lynn:
Delay of Game
Five for Fighting
Game Misconduct
Blue Lines
Empty Net
Top Shelf
Dropped Gloves
Twisted Fates series
The Call
The Pull
Argonauts’ Adventures
The Witch’s Web
The Dragon’s Fire
Daughter of Gaia series
Daughter of Gaia
Queen of Aquima
Nightwalker Saga
The Nightwalker Knocks
The Nightwalker Teaches
The Nightwalker Fights
Unlucky in Love series
Calypso in Love
Nani in Love
Rhea in Love
Hermia in Love
Desma in Love
Avery Clavens series
Not in My Job Description
Just Another Day at the Office
Working through the Weekend
Another Day, Another Dollar
The Harder I Work, the Luckier I Get
All in a Day’s Work
Nyx Slaughter series
Nyx Slaughter: Books 1-7
More Books
Searching for Home
Between Blood
From Earth to Oblivion
