When I finally get to Rage, and he wraps his hands around mine, I sigh in relief.
His touch always feels like coming home.
The rest of the ceremony goes by in a blur. I doubt I’ll remember any of it better than the one we had at the hospital.
“You may kiss the bride!”
Rage places his finger under my chin, slowly lifting my face.
“Look, Mommy, look. It’s a duckie!” Mila cheers.
Everyone laughs as they look up at the sky. Not one, but two ducks fly directly over our heads.
Now this … this I will remember forever.
“What are you waiting for? Kiss me already.”
Rage slowly drops his gaze to mine. “How do you manage to make every single day magical?” he asks.
I ignore the fact that he gives me credit for the universe doing its thing.
“Everyone’s watching,” I say, not moving my lips and tipping my head toward the audience. “And you still haven’t kissed me. Awkward.”
He laughs lightly and then dips me back, making up for any embarrassment I may have felt.
The crowd cheers, and immediately the celebration begins. One thing about the Bastards is that they know how to throw a party.
Rage pulls me to the side after we’ve made the rounds, thanking everyone for coming.
“Alright, what’s going on? Where are your sidekicks?”
“The kids are with Shelly and Wolfe. You know that, silly.” I bat at him playfully. “I think I’ll go have another piece of cake. Would you like one?”
His hand wraps around my neck when I try to slip away, and he pulls me back. “Not those sidekicks. The twins.”
“Oh, oh them,” I say, laughing nervously.
Rage is a patient man, but he isn’t one to be trifled with. He tips my chin. “Look me in the eye when you lie to me.”
A shiver runs through my body, and his scowl turns into a seductive grin. He leans in close, his lips brushing over the shell of my ear. “I think you like it when I talk to you that way.”
“I’m not going to lie,” I whisper against the side of his throat, kissing him lightly. “I don’t like it. I love it.”
He pulls back slowly, his gaze roaming over his brothers. “Let’s go get the kids. We’re leaving for our honeymoon … now.”
I place my hands over his stomach, leaning into him. “If that’s what you want.”
“It is,” he says, already pulling me toward the house.
Jesse winks at me as we pass her and her husband. I’m sure they heard everything. When I look back at her, she claps her hands, giving me a round of applause for my performance.
Maybe she’s right.
Maybe I do have what it takes to be the president’s wife.
When we’re loaded up, and I still haven’t heard from the twins, I realize I need to come clean before we leave town.
Rage looks behind us, making sure the kids are securely buckled in their car seats. Neither one of us could stand the thought of leaving them behind, so we decided to go on a “familymoon” to Disneyland. Mila has been looking forward to meeting Ariel and getting to see the ocean for the first time.