InHap*pily Ever After (Incidental Happenstance) (81 page)

“Didn’t
Tia tell you? I’m currently unemployed, so I’ve got all the time in the world.
I hear The Virgin Islands are nice this time of year,” she said.

“Hey,”
he teased, “if we do this, I don’t want there to be anything virginal about it.
I was thinking more of Aruba, or maybe Trinidad—something sexy—you know, worthy
of the two of us.”

“I
like the way you’re thinking, handsome,” she smiled, leaning over and pressing
her lips to his.

“I
wonder if Jessa might look into a few things for us—she’s got the magic touch
when it comes to things like that. Should we head back to the party and see if
we can talk her into it?”

“Mmmm,”
Lexi moaned. “I like it right here, thanks.” Bo tilted his head and raised his
eyebrows. “Oh, all right,” she groaned, “I guess we are the maid of honor and
best man—we should go join in the celebration.”

Just
then, Jessa came around the corner and made her way into the garden. “There you
are!” she said, out of breath. “They’re going to toss the bouquet and garter
soon, and they both want you to be there!”

Lexi
peeled herself off Bo’s lap and smoothed her dress. “I’m coming,” she said with
a smile. “We were just headed that way anyway.”

“You
are going to make a try for that bouquet, right princess?” Bo winked at her.
“Couldn’t hurt to have a little luck on our side, right?”

“I
will do my best. You’re going for the garter, then?”

“Are
you kidding me? I’ve been visualizing it all night,” he swirled his hands
around his head, his fingers wagging. “It’s in the bag, sister.”

Lexi
giggled and wrapped her arm around his waist, while Jessa shook her head and
groaned. “Oh hell,” she said. “One of you InHap boys in love is hard enough,
but two of you will be impossible!”

Bo
detached himself from Lexi and wrapped his arm around Jessa. “Now, now, little
one,” he said smoothly, “you know I never ask for much. I’m always easy to
please!”

She
stopped and turned, looking at him suspiciously while Lexi giggled. “OK,
Collins, what do you want?” she asked, hands on her hips. Bo shrugged and
pasted an innocent look onto his face. “Spill it,” she insisted.

“Well,
now that you mention it—speaking of mentioning, did I tell you how stunning you
look tonight? Positively gorgeous!”

“I
don’t need any of your sugar, Bo. Just ask. You know I’ll help you if I can. I
can always squeeze in some time for you, you know that.” Bo kissed the top of
her head affectionately. “So, what do you need?”

Bo
pulled her into a friendly hug. “You’re the best, you know that? We’re all
lucky to have you. I mean that.”

“Uh,
sugar?” she reminded him. “Don’t want it, don’t need it. Give me something to
do.”

Lexi
broke in and took Jessa by the arm, leading her back to the reception. “Bo and
I are thinking of extending our little vacation, and were hoping you might be
able to get us some info on some good destinations.”

“I
see,” she said with a knowing smile. “I can definitely help you out with that.
Tony’s been impossible; I can’t wait to see the look on his face when I tell
him I have to steal away for a bit and find some stuff for you. You want to
stick in the Caribbean?”

“Might
as well; we’re already here,” Bo said. “I want something quiet and romantic;
private, and with a view.”

“You
want activities and excursions, or just something…with a big bed?” She smirked
and shook her head. The two of them together wasn’t a big surprise—not to her
at least. She’d guessed a long time ago that there was more between them than a
casual flirtation. It was overpowered when Dylan and Tia were in the room, but
it was there—she’d seen it.

Lexi
and Bo shared a devious smile. “Maybe both?” Lexi said. “I don’t know that
we’ll make too many excursions…”

“I’d
like a private sunset cruise,” Bo interjected, “and maybe something a little
adventurous—horseback riding? Zip lining?” He looked at Lexi. “How does that
sound?”

“I’m
up for it if you are,” she said, smiling.

“I’ll
see what I can do for you in the morning,” she said. “But for now, you go work
on catching that bouquet!”

They
climbed the stairs to the enormous open air deck where the reception was still
in full swing. Lexi caught Tia’s eye and made her way over.

“I
didn’t miss anything good, did I?” she asked.

“It
was pretty interesting watching Tony and Jessa on the dance floor, that’s for
sure,” she smiled. “But other than that, I haven’t noticed much besides my
incredibly fine husband,” she giggled, and knew she’d never get tired of saying
that.

“He
does look damn amazing,” Lexi agreed, “and so do you. Marriage agrees with you
both already.”

“It
does, and I know it’s terrible of me, but I want to get the formalities out of
the way so we can sneak out of here a little early and…” a grin spread across
her face. “…you know.”

“I
do,” Lexi agreed, “so just toss me that freaking bouquet and get it over with
already. Eat some cake, make a toast to thank everyone for coming, and get out
of here. There’s not a single person here who isn’t going to understand that.”

Dylan
sidled up and wrapped his arms around his bride. “I missed you, sexy wife,” he
said, kissing her on the cheek. “I’m ready when you are.”

“I’m
working on it, husband,” she smiled. “We have to do the bouquet and garter, cut
the cake, and make one more round of goodbyes, and then we’ll be done.”

“Not
done,” Dylan said with a sly smile. “Just getting started, baby.”  He leaned
over and nibbled on her ear.

Tia
grabbed his hand and started for the stage. “Let’s hurry, then,” she said
breathlessly.

She
climbed the steps and took the mike, and Dylan joined her. Immediately, the
silverware started clinking against dozens of glasses, and Dylan happily
obliged.

“Whew!”
she said into the mike. “I will never get tired of that!” The guests cheered,
and raised their glasses. “So listen,” she started. “We want to thank each and
every one of you for sharing this incredible time with us. We both feel so
blessed to have you all in our lives, and couldn’t imagine this day without
you. Many of you came halfway around the world to be here, and we are so
grateful. It’s been the best day of my life so far, and we are both looking
forward to starting our married lives together…”

“As
soon as possible!” Dylan called into the mike, a few whistles and catcalls
coming from the floor.

Tia
punched him playfully on the arm. “So we’re going to toss the bouquet and
garter, cut the cake, have one last dance and then make our exit—since we won’t
see you again before we’re off on our honeymoon, we wanted to say goodbye, we
love you all, and we have loved every minute we’ve spent with you! So, with
that, if I can get all the single girls over here…”

It
was Jessa who ended up with the bouquet, much to the delight of the crowd. She
stood there dumbfounded—she hadn’t had a real romantic interest in anyone since
the horrible break-up she’d had shortly before she’d started working for Dylan;
and getting married was the furthest thing from her mind. She felt a blush rise
up in her cheeks as she stood there holding the beautiful bundle of tropical
flowers, and she looked over to see Tony Granger smirking at her. Who the hell
did he think he was, anyway? Mr. High and Mighty, reigning over his little
kingdom here, calling meetings with her at his whim to go through pictures and
videos so he could profit from this whole event?  He did put on a hell of a
wedding, though, and it had been incredibly easy to put it all together with
his help. He was a pretty good dancer, too, and they’d actually shared a few
light moments. Maybe she was being a little too hard on him.

A
thin smile touched her lips before she decided to roll with it, and held the
bouquet over her head, doing a little victory dance.

Dylan
made a huge deal out of diving beneath Tia’s dress to retrieve the garter, and
although the guests saw the humor in it, Tia shivered as she felt his tongue
slide deliciously up her thigh past the garter belt to the edge of her panties.
She felt the vibration of his moan between her legs, and had to work hard to
keep a light expression on her face.

Bo
did manage to grab the garter, but it wasn’t too much of a struggle for him,
since Dylan practically threw it right at him. He waved it in the air, and then
pulled Lexi over for a hug, telling her, “Looks like the luck’s all on my side
tonight, sweetheart!”

The
music started up and they took to the dance floor once more, Dylan with Jessa
and Tia with Bo.

Bo
smiled down at Tia. “You take good care of my man, there, you hear me?” he said.

“No
worries there. You take care of my friend, too, Bo. She’s had some tough times
this past year too.”

“I
know it, and I will,” he assured her, and she knew his word was golden.

“I
trust that you will,” she smiled, adding, “I couldn’t be happier, you know, for
the two of you. How awesome would it be for this to work out for all of us?”

“Well
now, don’t be getting ahead of yourself now, little missy,” he said with a
sheepish grin. “Or I guess now I need to say little missus. I’m very hopefully
optimistic, though, you know? She brings something out in me that I didn’t even
know was there. I feel like I’m back in grade school with a major crush. It’s a
little disconcerting, to be honest, but it feels really good.”

“I
like the two of you together,” Tia smiled, “although I wouldn’t want to be
within a five-mile radius if you get into an argument. Neither of you would
ever win.”

“Ah,”
Bo said smiling. “The answer to that is to always let her win. I definitely
know that.”

“Well,
in that case, there shouldn’t be any problems,” she laughed. They both watched
as Tony Granger strolled confidently onto the dance floor and approached Dylan,
requesting to cut in on his dance with Jessa.

“I
was hoping to get one more dance with my bride anyway,” Dylan smiled, handing
her over as Jessa frowned at him jokingly. Dylan cut in on Tia and Bo, and Bo
motioned for Lexi to join him, twirling her around the floor and laughing with
her. It was a hell of an end to the evening for all of them as the other guests
joined them for their final dance.

They
cut the cake, posed for the obligatory pictures as they fed it to one another,
and ran around to hug their guests one last time before heading out and down
the path that led to the romantic little villa where they’d be spending their
wedding night. Dylan grabbed her hand and tugged her along, and Tia kicked off
her shoes in an attempt to match his pace.

“Are
you in a hurry, Mr. Miller?” she asked slyly as they hurried down the path.

“You
better believe it, Mrs. Miller,” he answered breathlessly. “It’s not official
until we consummate, you know.”

Tia
picked up her pace and they nearly ran to the bungalow, stopping just long
enough for him to pick her up and carry her over the threshold into the
well-appointed villa. They stood staring at each other for a moment, getting
one more look at their wedding attire, and they both smiled.

“You
are my wife!” he exclaimed, reaching out to run his fingers down her cheek.
“Finally.”

“And
you are my husband,” she replied, her eyes lidded. “I can’t tell you how happy
I am to say that.”

He
pulled her close and slowly undid the zipper on the back of her dress, letting
it fall to the floor. She smiled as she watched him take her in, loving the
lustful look in his eyes. “You like?” she whispered. The matching bra and
panties were a gift from one of her showers, and she wore them as her
“something new.”

“Oh
yeah,” he growled back. “I really like.”

She
slipped off his jacket and threw it over the back of a chair, taking her time
with the buttons on his shirt. Frustrated, he yanked it off over his head, and
pressed his bare chest against her. “Mine,” he said. “All mine.”

“I’ve
been yours all along, Dylan,” she said, repeating what she’d said to him nearly
a year ago. “Didn’t you know?”

They
fell onto the bed, and he kissed her, long and deep, his hands sliding slowly
up the length of her body to cup her face in his hands. “And I yours, my
love.”  He brought his lips down to hers and they made love, slow and easy, for
the first time as man and wife.

The
music kept playing, and the guests kept partying, long after the bride and
groom had left. It was an unreal experience for most of them; a private island
in the Bahamas, witness to one of the weddings of the century, and a chance to
let loose and have some fun in the beautiful Caribbean. Bo and Lexi danced the
night away until they could barely stand, and then, as the night was winding
down, Bo whispered, “Stay with me tonight.”

“I
packed the leopard outfit,” she whispered.

“Oh,
hell yes,” he growled, pulling her closer. 

Tia
had the best room on the property—the master suite in the main house. It had
been cleared out after she’d gotten dressed for the wedding; her bags packed
and moved to the villa. She’d told Lexi at the reception that she was welcome
to it that evening, if things moved to that level, and that was where she led
Bo now.