“Because it’s Hollywood ... Nothing ever goes wrong in a Hollywood happily ever after.”
After a moment, his laughter subsides and he gazes into my eyes with a look of love and lust that has my heart in a fluttering mess. “Well who needs a Hollywood happily ever after when we have our own? Fuck Hollywood,” he murmurs before his mouth captures mine and his tongue flicks out and traces my lips. The kiss is short-lived when the sound of coughing interrupts our lustful flow and I pull away, heavily blushing as I look up at a smiling Alana and Samuel.
“We’ll leave you two lovebirds to enjoy the rest of your night. We just wanted to give you the rings and tell you how happy we are for you,” Alana says as she stands up and pulls Ashton and me into an embrace, pressing a kiss to my cheek and planting a big one on Ashton’s head.
“Thanks, Mom,” Ashton begins as Alana pulls away. “We’ll treasure the rings; you know how important Grandpa and Grandma were to me.”
“I know you will … and about last night,” she says with a little hesitation as she gently strokes his right cheek. “I’m sorry; I should never have hit you, but the thought of you hurting this beautiful woman right here …” She looks towards me before returning her eyes back to Ashton. “It lit a fuse within me. She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you and for a split second I thought you had ruined everything.”
“It’s fine, Mom, but I would never hurt her. She’s my world.”
My insides practically melt at his words, and I find myself clutching tighter against his hold.
“I know, but just promise me that you won’t ever let her get away.”
“I promise,” Ashton says without an ounce of uncertainty.
Alana finally steps back with a smile and mist-filled eyes, allowing Samuel to affectionately squeeze Ashton’s shoulder, followed with a slap on the back. He then presses a kiss to my cheek. “Welcome to the family, sweet girl,” he says before standing to his full height and walking away with Alana on his arm. I smile dreamily at Ashton, but as I go to speak, the sound of Alana’s voice from a distance freezes me in place.
“Today’s been perfect but I desperately wish that Christopher was here too.” My eyes close with sadness. I can’t even begin to imagine what it must have been like for her to lose her son in such tragic circumstances. I open my eyes and trace my fingers through the silk tendrils of Ashton’s hair, seeing how his beautiful green eyes have a hint of sadness in them.
“Do you think if Christopher was still alive, he and Jo would have gotten married?”
“I’d like to think so. He was crazy about her. He’d been her best friend since they were in kindergarten.” He pauses for a split second, softly laughing. “His relationship with Jo came as such a surprise to us. Christopher never really showed interest in the opposite sex, to the extent that we were all convinced he was gay,” he says with a chuckle. “He was always focused on his studies, what with him being a genius and all. Even when he wasn’t studying, he was helping others learn. I mean, he never looked the part, but he was definitely a geek at heart. We all loved that about him … we were all smart but he was like super human smart. I remember girls flaunting themselves at him and he wouldn’t even bat an eye at them. Then just before he was graduating college, he announced out of the blue that he’d been in love with Jo all his life and that they were dating. I had no idea he thought of her like that, but I was happy he found something good for him that wasn’t solely surrounded with studying.
“They never had what you would call a normal relationship; it was long distance for the majority of the time that they were together, but they loved each other. He was her first everything …” He trails off and I hate how the raw sadness catches at the back of his throat. He misses him … they all miss him. I press my lips to his, desperately wanting to soothe his pain away with the simple touch my lips can bring. It seems to do the trick because when I pull away the sparkle in his eyes returns. I rest my forehead against his and gently bring my hand up to his beating heart, feeling it pattering against my fingertips.
“I love you,” I say for what seems like the millionth time today, but Ashton doesn’t seem to mind the repetitiveness of my words. If anything he seems to crave them, and the way his pupils dilate every time he hears them tells me that.
“You have no idea what those words do to me,” he huskily says, almost as if he can read my mind.
“I think I have a little idea of what they do to you,” I respond flirtatiously with a little wriggle of my hips as I feel him begin to stir beneath me. His hand sweeps gently through my hair until he’s cradling my head. His eyes trace my entire face before they land back on mine.
“I love you,” he breathes across my lips before he lightly brushes them against mine. His taste and aroma fill my senses and my world begins to spin as we become lost in each other, with our hearts, bodies and souls melding together as one. Through the haze, I instinctively feel my fingers reach out to the collar of his shirt, and as I begin to release the first two buttons, I hover my lips over his, pulling away slightly. I need him …
“Take me to bed,” I whimper against his lips. He smiles against mine. “Thank God. I’ve been dying to strip you out of this dress all night.” I laugh against his mouth before pressing a lingering kiss there. “Let’s go to bed, Mrs. Bailey.” I stand and he takes me by the hand. We begin to make our way to the house when I suddenly stop in my steps.
“We better say goodnight to Mia and Tyler,” I say, earning myself a scowl from an aroused Ashton. His mouth twitches with amusement before responding in a frustrated growl, “Fine … but then I’m taking you to bed, to ravish the crap out of you.”
I giggle as he hurriedly drags me in the direction of where his brother and sister-in-law are on the dance floor. We approach and an excited Mia launches herself at me the moment she sets eyes on us.
“There’s my bride BFF!” she exclaims against my neck before pulling away, her smile beaming against the fairy light glow. I figure half of her happiness is because she married her soul mate today; the other half is definitely consumed with the numerous glasses of champagne she’s sipped throughout the night. Mia steps into Tyler’s arms and pins her happy gaze on Ashton. “Ashton! You romantic. I loved today so much. I’m so happy you and Ava got married today.”
“So you didn’t mind us crashing your wedding?” Ashton asks with his usual humor.
“Hell no! If anything I was relieved … after everything with Riley … I had no idea how you’d be able to fix it. And I swear I wanted to kill her this morning,” she says flitting her eyes between Ashton and me with a look of anger. Soon, the anger dissolves and it is replaced with a smile.
“But you guys showed the world you were made for each other and it was incredible to be a part of it. I couldn’t have asked for a better wedding day.” I feel myself choking up at her kind words and I clasp Ashton’s hand tighter into mine. He looks down at me with an adorning gaze, his eyes glistening. “It’s a day I’ll never forget.”
Silence grows as emotion seeps into the atmosphere around us. After he stares at me for what feels like hours, he finally breaks his gaze and looks back at the happy couple. “We just came over to say goodnight as I’m taking my wife to bed.” His eyes turn devilish. “There are certain things I want to do to her right now and well … you can catch my drift.” Both Mia and Tyler burst out laughing while I’m trying to fight off the pink that glows against my cheeks.
“Ashton!”
“What?” he chuckles, a look of innocence softening his features as he pulls me deeper into his side, his fingers caressing my arm.
“Well …” Tyler starts with a shit-eating grin on his face. “Since my brother is currently pitching one hell of a tent right now, I’ll let you lovebirds get down to business.”