Forever Mine: Callaghan Brothers, Book 9 (10 page)

Those on the right held less recognizable faces. That was the bride’s side, he realized, which meant that most of them had travelled over from Birch Falls. Yes, there was Kathleen’s mother in the front row, happy tears already streaming down her face and several handkerchiefs at the ready, clutched in her hand.

Many of the others on that side were looking at him curiously, as if trying to figure out why their Kathleen had chosen him. It was a question he’d asked himself a thousand times over the years. He had yet to come up with an answer, but whatever the reason, he was profoundly grateful she had.

The organist progressed from the cueing chords to the traditional wedding march. Torsos turned as all eyes went to the back of the church where Kathleen’s sister stood. She began to walk slowly down the path of white that had been rolled out, holding a small bouquet of chrysanthemums laced with dark pink around the fringes.

When she reached the front, she moved off to the side, mirroring Brian’s position. She gave Jack a wink and an encouraging smile, which he appreciated.

The tune of the organist changed slightly, and as one, everyone in the church rose. A blur of veiled, satiny white was just beginning her procession, arm-linked with a tuxedoed Conlan O’Leary. For several moments, Jack’s heart stopped, then resumed with thunderous force.

“Easy there,” Brian warned under his breath. Jack felt a tug, then realized he’d taken a step forward. Since everyone was looked at the bride, no one noticed except Brian and the priest, who chuckled knowingly.

It took forever for her to reach the front, or so it seemed. But then Kathleen was standing beside him, the last notes of the pipe organ faded away, and the priest was asking, “Who gives this woman to be married to this man?”

“Her mother and I do,” Conlan said clearly. The priest nodded, and Conlan lifted Kathleen’s veil, kissed her on the cheek, and took his place beside her mother. Then Kathleen looked at him and everything else faded away.

If asked, he couldn’t have recalled much about the actual Mass. He remembered repeating whatever Father Murphy told him to. Lighting some candles. Slipping the ring on Kathleen’s finger. But what really stood out about that day was the love he saw in his bride’s eyes, and the sensation of absolute completeness the moment the priest announced, “I now pronounce you man and wife.”

It was done. Kathleen was his, now and forever. He didn’t wait for permission to kiss the bride; if he had to wait one more second he wouldn’t have survived it. Brian told him later that everyone in the church had laughed and cheered, even the priest, but Jack couldn’t remember anything but the feel of her lips on his.

––––––––

J
ack fought the growl that had been rolling around deep in his chest as the call for the bridal dance was announced. He’d sat through dinner, toasts, and the Father-Daughter dance, and now that he finally had her in his arms again, they’d come up with something else to keep them apart.

“It is tradition to dance with the bride,” Kathleen told him, sensing his irritation. Amusement danced in her emerald eyes as she tilted her head up to his. She was so beautiful, just looking at her took his breath away. And she was all
his
. Screw tradition. She belonged in no one’s arms but his. If only everyone would just go home and leave them alone, or maybe they could make their escape through the kitchen entrance...

“Don’t even think it, Jack Callaghan,” Kathleen warned under her breath, but she was smiling and she had that look in her eye, the one that said she wanted out of there as much as he did. “This is it, a one-time deal. We’ll have the rest of our lives to be together.”

“I suppose,” he sighed. “But I’ll not wait much longer, Kathleen. How long do these damn things go on, anyway?”

She laughed, the same eager anticipation burning in her eyes. “Too long. After the bridal dance, there’s the cutting of the cake, tossing the bouquet, and the removal of the garter.”

This time he couldn’t totally withhold a soft growl, thinking about that particular tradition. Of running his hands beneath the full skirt of her gown, up her silk-sheathed calf, to remove the garter belt. “How high is it?” he whispered against the soft shell of her ear.

“Not high enough,” she said huskily, nearly sending him to his knees. Brian tapped his shoulder, and it took everything he had not to throw Kathleen over his shoulder and run out the door right then and there.

“E
asy, Jack,” Brian advised under his breath. Jack clenched his jaw even tighter, curling his hand around the beer bottle until it was in danger of shattering. His glare remained fixed on the dance floor, specifically on the blonde-haired, blue-eyed asshole dancing with his new bride. The bastard obviously had a death wish. He was holding her too goddamn close, and if his hand moved even one fraction of an inch lower, Jack was going to rip it off and choke him with it.

“Who is that guy?” Jack managed.

“Tristan Dumas. His father bought up a few hundred acres of local farmland for the new corporate headquarters of Dumas Industries.”

That gave Jack another reason to dislike the smarmy-looking bastard. “Who the hell invited him?”

Brian shrugged and looked around at the huge crowd. After nearly six hours of revelry, the celebration was still going strong. “I doubt there’s not a person in Pine Ridge or Birch Falls that isn’t here. Of course, not all of them drive a Mercedes and have a house in the Hamptons.”

Jack grunted and took another long pull from his beer. “Go ahead, laugh it up. Wait till you’re forced to sit here and watch him dance with
your
wife.”

“I haven’t even asked Adonia yet,” Brian confided.

“Why the hell not?”

Brian looked down at his hands. “I’m not convinced she’ll say yes.”

“Seriously? Adonia thinks the world revolves around you, man.”

“She’s from Greece, Jack,” he said miserably.

“So?”

“So? Hello. This is
Pine Ridge
, not the Mediterranean. Not to mention her father owns a huge shipping company and thinks his daughter can do a hell of a lot better than me.” He exhaled heavily. “Maybe he’s right.”

“Don’t be an idiot,” Jack told him point-blank.

“I’m serious, Jack. What could I possibly give her that she doesn’t already have?”

“
You
. Are you seriously telling me you think there’s another man out there who is going to love her better than you will?”

“Well, no, but she shouldn’t have to choose between her family and me.”

“No, she shouldn’t, but it’s not you forcing her to choose now, is it? Let the woman make up her own mind.”

“But -—”.

“No buts, Bri. The woman is your
croie
. Get your head out of your arse and do something about it.”

Brian’s lips quirked. “An expert in
croies
now, are you?”

“Damn right,” Jack nodded emphatically. “And I’m a smart enough man to grab mine with both hands and never let her go. As a matter of fact, I’m going to be getting on with that right now.”

“Atta boy, Jack,” Brian laughed. “Go grab your woman.”

Jack stalked across the floor, a man on a mission. He tapped Tristan Dumas (rather hard) on the shoulder. “Thanks for coming. Now get the hell away from my wife.”

Dumas scowled, then evened his features and addressed Kathleen. “Congratulations once again, Katie. And think about what I said.”

Jack pulled Kathleen close against him. The need to touch her had become an addiction.

“I don’t like him calling you that. And what the hell was he talking about?”

“Most people call me Katie, Jack,” she said reasonably. “And he offered me a job.”

“Over my dead body,” he growled. It was a sore subject with him. He’d grown up believing that a man should be able to provide for his wife and children. However, if Kathleen wanted to work until the kids came, that was fine by him. Doing some shifts at her father’s diner and keeping the books was one thing. There she was safe, surrounded by friends and family, and he didn’t have to worry as much. But working for a pampered idiot like Tristan Dumas? Not going to happen.

Yeah, he was a bit old-fashioned, but so was Kathleen. They’d both been raised with a strong set of traditional family values, and Kathleen had to know he wouldn’t be okay with this.

When Kathleen didn’t say anything, he stopped dancing and pulled back enough to look into her face. “You’re not actually considering it, are you?”

“It’s a good position, Jack,” Kathleen said quietly. “They have openings in the Accounting department.”

Shite
. “No.”

“It’s a decent starting salary, and full benefits after six months.”

“No.”

Kathleen sighed, smoothing the lapels of his tux. “I don’t want to fight with you, Jack, not tonight.” She lifted her gaze to his, her eyes filled with fire and promise. “I want to get started on our honeymoon.”

Just that quickly, Jack forgot all about Tristan Dumas and jobs and everything else except the beautiful woman who had vowed to love him for the rest of their lives. After hours of dancing and drinking and sharing her with everyone else, he was finally going to have her to himself.

“Thank God.”

Her smile was brilliant. “Let’s go say our goodbyes and we can be on our way.”

Jack knew quite well they would never get away that easily; the minute the guests realized they were about to leave, they would find every excuse to keep them there for as long as they could. It was an annoying tradition, one surely devised to drive an eager groom to insanity.

“No,” he countered, shaking his head. Even now he felt watchful eyes on them, waiting for them to make a break for it. “If we want to get out of here anytime soon, we need to be sneaky about it.”

She laughed, but put her hand in his. “What’s the plan?”

He raised her hand to his lips and brushed a kiss across her knuckles. With his other hand he gave a discreet swift and effective tug upon her bustle, forcing one of the satin-covered buttons to pop free.

“Jack Callaghan, you did
not
just defile my wedding gown.”

He smirked. “It’s just a button, Kathleen, and I’d rather be getting on with defiling you, my bonnie bride.”

“Well, when you put it like that,” she agreed enthusiastically. “Meet you in the parking lot in fifteen?”

“Ten,” he breathed.

“Deal.” Kathleen smiled, grabbed her sagging train and moved away under the guise of locating a sewing repair kit.

Eight minutes later, Jack had Brian’s car running and looked at his watch. Kathleen appeared, making a mad dash from the kitchen entrance, looking flushed and somewhat breathless in nothing but her slip, silk hose and shoes. Jack near swallowed his tongue.

“Kathleen! What the hell, woman?”

“It was the only way to keep them occupied.”

“It was only a button.”

“They had that fixed in two seconds. I had to get a bit more creative. Now stop gawking and let’s go,” she urged. “I’m freezing my arse off, and they’re going to notice I’m missing any second. Where’s your car?”

“Parked out front and bedecked with cans. Not ideal for a stealthy getaway.” Jack quickly opened the door and Kathleen practically dove in head first. Her dress-like slip bunched up and left him spellbound for a moment.

“Jack! For goodness sake! Get in!”

He shook himself free and removed his jacket. “Here,” he said, tossing it to her, then jumping in after her. She gratefully pulled it around her shoulders.

“Brian’s covering for us,” he said, “but it’s best if you stay down until we’re out of the lot.”

He was forced to question the sanity of that suggestion when Kathleen did exactly as he said, resting her head in his lap. She laughed softly, the heat of her breath tossing fuel onto his own personal inferno. “Think they’ll be upset with us?”

“They’ll get over it,” he grunted. It was nearly impossible for him to think with her in that position, especially when consummating their vows had been forefront in his mind. He wound his way through the narrow openings and emerged onto the country road without incident, then breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay, I think we’re safe. You can sit up now.”

“I rather like it here,” she said nuzzling into his upper,
upper
thigh.

“
Kathleen
.”

“Don’t Kathleen me, Jack Callaghan. You are mine now, to do with what I please.” To punctuate that claim, she brought one hand to his leg and began slow, deliberate strokes from his knee, along the inseam, to the throbbing juncture of his legs.

“You weren’t so bold before,” he breathed, yanking hard on his straining tether of self-control.

“I knew you’d stop me before,” she confessed. “But you won’t now. You made an oath, Jack, a vow before God to let me have my wicked way with you.”

A chuckle stuck in his dry, tight throat, the constriction a direct result of holding back against the riptide of arousal currently threatening to pull him completely under. “I don’t quite remember it being worded that way.”

“Love, honor, cherish. To have and to hold. Same thing.”

He laughed, but it was strained. “Please, Kathleen. Do not unman me on our wedding night.”

With obvious reluctance, she pulled away from his lap and sat up. His cock throbbed in protest of her absence. Jack was torn between relief and the desire to cup the back of her head and guide her right back where she was.

Her lips set in a classic pout. “I don’t want to wait until we get to the lodge, Jack.”

As if he could wait that long. Clearly, she had either underestimated his desire or overestimated his self-control. “You won’t have to.”

Jack pulled into the dark lot of Finnegan’s Pub and cut the engine before pulling Kathleen in for a soul-searing kiss. He crushed his mouth to hers. She opened for him immediately and without question, meeting his tongue with her own as he reveled in the taste of champagne and wedding cake.

A few minutes were all he could bear; any longer and he’d take her right there in the deserted back parking lot.

“Come,” he commanded, opening the door and holding out his hand.