Page 75 of Anger Bang
First, there was the actual marriage ceremony, which—unlike just about everything else during this weeklong live-streamed reality TV wedding event from hell—went off without a hitch.
Kade had stood next to his brother and had produced the giant diamond ring at the appropriate time, even though he kept losing track of everything because he couldn’t stop watching Thea. They were back into the outfits from when they’d first met outside Jackie’s RV. He was in his baby-blue tux with the ruffled shirt, and she was in that giant pink fluffy dress with a skirt that was so wide she’d had to turn sideways to walk through the door for the ceremony.
The only good thing about the actual ceremony—besides the fact that Dex looked happier than he ever had in his life—had been that it was short.
Half an hour after they’d all done that weirdly paced walk down the aisle to stand in front of the obnoxious flower heart he and Thea had built together, they were walking back out—him with Lakin, the maid of honor, and Thea with Kyan, the groomsman who’d stood third.
That was fine, though, he’d decided, because he was going to see her at the reception, and then they’d find a nice closet to have a very private and—please, God—naked conversation.
He seemed to always be a few minutes behind her after the ceremony and when he had finally gotten to the barn where the reception would be held, he was chasing her shadow again.
Following Thea’s giggle, he made it through the throngs of people who had flown in from L.A. to serve as guests to get to the private rooms at the back of the barn that used to be the bunk rooms. He was about to call out her name when Thea had disappeared into a room with the rest of the bridesmaids to help Jackie change into another dress for the reception.
Without any other choice, he had paced back and forth down the hallway, glaring at the closed door—from which a few high-pitched giggles escaped but no Thea. He was about to go bang on the door when Dex and Jackie had come running around the corner, looking like they’d been doing exactly what newlyweds did.
“I need your shirt,” Dex had said as he’d grabbed Kade and strong-armed him into an alcove across from where Thea was.
He had just enough time while Jackie snuck into the room she was already supposed to be in to sneak a peek at Thea. She’d ditched her parasol and that ugly-ass hat. Her dark hair was starting to spill out of the low bun it had been in. Her cheeks were flushed, and she was giggling so hard she was having trouble catching her breath. Their eyes caught, and she stilled, staring at him with a look of pure hunger.
That’s when Jackie closed the door behind her and his jackass of a brother demanded Kade start to strip.
“Tell me again why you needed the actual shirt off my back?” Kade asked as he scanned the hall for a cameraperson.
“My agent doesn’t want any more bare-chest shots, so people start thinking of me more as an actor that’s an indie-award contender and less as the hot guy on TV with the six-pack,” Dex said with a groan. “The fans have expectations.”
“You know, sometimes I think you have the worst job,” Kade said as he put his tux jacket back on.
“But the best brother.” Dex tucked the blue shirt ends into his pants. “There, good as new. You, however, look like a mess.”
Kade didn’t bother to look down at the white undershirt that was now all he was wearing under his tux jacket. Instead, he flipped his brother the bird and started back toward the door, determined to do whatever it took to get to Thea.
He hammered his fist on the wood, and the unlatched door swung inward. The room was deserted except for the bridesmaids’ abandoned parasols, hats, and high heels that were in a great heap on the floor and looked a lot like the beginning of a bonfire.
Heart slamming against his ribs, he scanned the room, trying to figure out how in the hell they’d gotten out. That’s when he spotted a second door that was half open. On the other side was the barn’s reception area. The dance floor was already full by the time he walked through the door, and he nearly plowed into someone doing the running man in honor of the eighties theme.
What in the fuck did it take for a man to finally get to talk to the woman he loved? A lot, apparently, because he couldn’t find her anywhere. She wasn’t by the bar with the moms. She wasn’t in the circle of people watching some guy break-dancing on a large piece of cardboard. She wasn’t over by the DJ booth ready to request some eighties power ballads.
She’d disappeared. Again.
“Okay, all you single ladies,” the DJ called out over the speakers. “It’s time for the bouquet toss.”
There was a rush of women hurrying over to where Jackie stood on a table, her humongous pink-and-teal bouquet in her hand. He only gave the bride half a glance, though. It was Thea he couldn’t look away from, because he’d finally found her.
Her glasses were a bit cockeyed; she’d given up on the bun, so her hair was loose around her shoulders; and she was grinning so hard there was nothing Kade could do but smile with her. She had that effect on him. His shoulders relaxed, his pulse finally chilled the fuck out, and he took a deep breath because everything was finally going to go according to plan.
He took a few steps forward and, out of the corner of his eye, saw Jackie toss the bouquet. She must have played softball at some point, though, because the flowers left her grasp with the speed of a pitcher letting loose in fastpitch. It sailed upward in a long arc that sent it straight into the path of the huge ceiling fan above the dance floor. One of the blades caught it and sent it flying in a ninety-degree turn. Kade barely had time to turn his head before the cloyingly-scented bouquet caught him square in the head with a thump against his ear—and he caught it reflexively.
Still, he didn’t miss a step—not when he was this close to Thea.
People parted like the sea as he marched across the dance floor while grasping the slightly mutilated bouquet. All of the bridesmaids and the other single ladies scattered. But Thea stayed. Her hands clasped together, she stood her ground.
Mindful of the handful of remote-controlled cameras placed throughout the barn, he stopped himself just short of carrying Thea off and making just the kind of scene she’d hate. They weren’t mic’d anymore (thank fuck) but there were still watchers somewhere catching the last few minutes of the live stream. Instead of scooping her up, though, he just stood there, his arms crossed behind his back with the annoying bouquet, and tried to figure out what in the fuck he was supposed to say now that he was finally with her.
Thea smiled up at him. “You okay?”
“I’ll live,” he said as he picked pink petals out of his hair, his voice coming out more gruffly than he meant. “I have been trying to get to you since this morning. We need to talk.”
Her eyes rounded, and she swallowed as her gaze shot around nervously. “Yes. I have something I want to ask you.”
