Chapter 176
Lexi stared at her reflection in her bedroom mirror and tried to calm her racing heart. Her wedding night. If someone had said last week that she’d be married right now, she’d have called them crazy. But crazy was just how this felt. She knew of people who’d run off after knowing each other for a short amount of time, but even though she’d known Tyler for years, it still seemed absurdly sudden. Freakishly, frighteningly sudden.
The ceremony had been held in the backyard of her father's mountaintop home, the occasion even more beautiful than planned due to Tyler's interference in the arrangements her father and Lily had made. Lily, being the amazing friend she was, had taken time off her honeymoon to do this for her, and Lexi had let them decide everything. The music, the flowers. But Tyler had vetoed their decisions—and proved just how well he knew her.
Instead of roses, her bouquet was made of a mixture of miniature sunflowers, roses, mums and ivy with the sweet scent of honeysuckle tucked into the mix. Tyler had requested a band and dedicated it to her. From within the house she’d watched the crowd wipe away tears while she waited in the living room by the back door for her cue.
The initial music had begun and her father had given her a hug, told her he loved her, then said if she changed her mind for any reason, his truck was waiting outside.
The temptation to take him up on the offer had been so strong for a few seconds. Then she’d looked out the window and seen Tyler taking his position at the end of the aisle and she knew she couldn’t do that to him. The music began and it was time and there they went, toward Tyler.
It was a small but beautiful ceremony, and now the wedding was over. The cake had been cut, the bouquet thrown and she and Tyler were back at her house for the night since he had to go back to Olkfield tomorrow. They'd decided that she'd join him when she'd cleared things up in Nemford, but she wasn't sure how long it would take.
She was supposed to be changing, but all she could do was stare at the beautiful gown Tyler had given her, amazed all the way down to her toes because it was so very perfect, exactly what she would have chosen for herself.
Strapless, the bodice was heavily beaded at the top and over her breasts, the number of beads and sequins lessening at her ribs and finally ending in trickling sparkles at her waist where her skirt was lightly gathered on the left. The rest of the white material cascaded to the floor, straight and simple and very elegant.
When she’d got up that morning her hives were still visible, not exactly something a bride wants on her wedding day. Luckily the small dose of allergy medicine her doctor said was safe had helped them disappear.
“Lexi?” Her bedroom door opened, startling her.
“I’m not ready yet.”
Her comment brought a smile to Tyler's lips. “I’ll help you with your dress.” He crossed the room and, before she could argue, his hands tugged at the zipper.
“So you expect sex, just like that?”
Tyler stilled momentarily at Lexi's query, then smoothed his hands up to her shoulders and began a slow massage. She was tighter than the bow Aiya carried in Mystic Magi.
“I suppose you want laundry services, too?”
He knew Lexi was freaking out and trying to pick a fight, trying to keep him at arm’s length and get him angry. Angry enough to wig out on their wedding night and let her sleep alone? Not happening. He knew why she pushed, knew he had to push back. His gaze met hers in the mirror. “I don’t expect you to wait on me hand and foot,” he told her, dropping his head to kiss her temple.
“Good thing.”
He trailed his lips to the crook of her neck and the tender skin below her ear. She might be in a mood but she responded to him. Her lashes lowered, her breath hitched in her throat, and she tried to hide the shiver that coursed through her at his touch. He felt it, though.
“There's a chance we may not last.”
They were back to that again? He debated the merits of kissing her senseless to shut her up. He grazed his knuckles down the length of her spine revealed by the dress, liking the wave of goose bumps that followed his stroke.
“You want sex now but what about when I’m huge and you’re in Olkfield with inflatable blondes? What then?” she demanded, turning so that she faced him, her arms crossed over her chest to hold up the dress. “Who’s to say you won’t get grossed out by a big, fat pregnant belly and find some entertainment on the side?”
Tyler stared into her eyes, able to see the fear she tried to mask with bravado and spunk. She wasn’t a crier, not his Lexi. She was a fighter, one backed in a corner and swinging with all her might. “If you’re so worried about it, why not forget about everything and join me in Olkfield now?”
Her mouth flattened into a sharp line.
Tyler lifted his hands and cradled her face, leaned lower and nuzzled her nose with his. Her mouth parted, close. Close enough that he heard the nearly soundless moan she gave before she touched her tongue to her lips.
“The thought of you carrying my baby turns me on,” he told her bluntly. “You are so beautiful, Lexi.”
“Tyler…”
“I expect fidelity from you for the next fifty years or so.” He bent his knees to be at eye level with her and had to smother a sigh when she set her jaw and glared at him. “If I can’t honor my vows and promise fidelity to you, how can I expect it in return?”
“Fifty years?”
“Wanna make it sixty?” He dipped his head and kissed the corner of her mouth, the other corner, brushed his lips over her soft cheek and slid back to her mouth again. “Lexi…” Her stiff arms dug into his stomach because she still held the dress. “I’m in this for the long haul. You have to stop thinking of us in the short-term and get used to the fact that I’m now your husband and I’m going to be your husband for a long, long time.”