Chapter Eighteen.
"You"re sure he doesn"t suspect?" Jamie asked, pinning the last ribbon to a chair outside.
Everything looked perfect. Jamie"s talents were priceless. Chairs, ribbons, even the white wire arbor with ivy. Not flowers, and nothing excessive. The weather was holding, and aside from nerves, Cade couldn"t believe he was doing this.
"Not a thing," Cade replied, getting back on track. "He thinks we"re doing pictures for his parents."
"Evil."
Cade shrugged. Whatever worked. "I told him Chris had my suit so I was going to change here and to bring his mom and dad when he was ready." It gave everyone time to show up and hide their cars, too.
Jamie leaned close. "When are you doing the pack ceremony?"
"During the summer." It was part of why he wouldn"t be expecting this. All the discussion had focused on that. "Was it hard?"
Jamie gave him a steady look. "It was...odd. Different, but I was never scared, either."
That eased some of Cade"s deeper worries. "I think you"re the first since Barbara to be honest. And now in just a year, we"ll have two. You and Dean."
Jamie touched his forearm. "I"m honored."
Cade leaned and kissed his forehead. "Love you too, baby bro."
The back door popped opened. "I think they"re here," Maya warned.
"Get everyone out of the house!" Jamie chirped.
Maya giggled but vanished in a whirl. A few seconds later, a deluge of people poured through the back door.
"That"s everyone?"
Jamie counted heads. "Yep." Just then a knock on the front door rapped through the silence.
Jamie jumped and scooted out of the way. "Go!" He shoved Cade to go inside.
Cade shut the door and cleared the house to his soon to be husband and parents. "Hi. Come on in." He got a hug from Ann and shook Trent"s hand. "The photographer is in the back if you want to go see what they"ve cooked up."
Ann just smiled and grasping her spouse"s fingers, tugged him along.
Once they were out of earshot, Dean said, "Okay what"s going on? Mom"s been humming like a bee and even Dad has been smiling."
"Can"t they just be happy that you are? To spend time with you?"
Dean arched an eyebrow, but finally relented. He leaned and got a quick greeting smooch, then ran his fingers over Cade"s suit coat. "d.a.m.n, you look amazing."
"You do, too."
The back door opened. "The photographer is ready," his mother called.
"What kind of stuff are they going to do?" Dean asked, fixing Cade"s tie.
"Oh, just some couples shots. I"m glad your parents could join us. We can do a few with them also."
"Mom would love that."
Cade almost cracked, but managed to hold it together to guide Dean through the house. At least he wasn"t sweating. Not yet.
He opened the door and holding his breath, let Dean out first. He wished he could see Dean"s expression. He heard it though in the rough indrawn breath and chuckle. "Oh, man. I"ve been had."
Coming up behind him, Cade spotted everyone turned in their seats, all with smiles.
"Want to get married today?" Cade whispered by his ear.
Dean swung around on his healed neck. "I thought... This summer?"
"That one is legit, but it"s private," Cade said. Dean had only been to one pack run so far. Jamie had kept him company since his wounded throat had still made talking difficult then.
Cade moved to Dean"s shoulder and clasped his hand. "I"m marrying you, you, now and here, because I love you. I don"t want you to ever doubt that." now and here, because I love you. I don"t want you to ever doubt that."
Dean swallowed. Hard. "Yes."
Cade chuckled. "Glad to get that part out of the way." Dean"s eyes sparkled in the sunlight with the teasing. With a gentle tug and hand in hand, they walked together down the aisle.
Dean"s voice was sure, if a little thick with emotion when he whispered the I do. His voice was deeper, rougher after the trauma he"d suffered. Neither they nor the doctor knew if it would ever return to normal. Cade didn"t care one iota. It was s.e.xier than ever, especially when he moaned or cried out Cade"s name.
He felt Dean"s hands grasp his and realized he"d lost himself in staring at the man in front of him.
"I do." A quiet chuckle from the closest seats proved it hadn"t gone unnoticed.
He withdrew a box from his coat pocket and slipped one of the rings on Dean"s hand, offering its mate for him to do the same.
"I now p.r.o.nounce you husband and husband," the officiant said with warm delight. "You may share your first kiss as a couple."
Cade brought Dean close and literally felt his heart kick into his ribs when their lips met. Dean quivered and sighed.
"Love you," Cade said against his lips when they parted.
"I love you, too," Dean echoed, not so much as blinking to break the connection.
They faced the gathering of family and friends. Everyone stood and applauded. Dean"s fingers gripped his. Cade finally finally felt like he could take a deep breath. felt like he could take a deep breath.
Dean stood at his side now in the kitchen as people milled through Chris" house. "Is this for real? What about the marriage license?"
Cade tugged him close. They"d taken photos for over half an hour and he needed something to drink, sipping on water after a champagne toast from Chris.
He felt his face warm. He wasn"t the kind to blush, but he didn"t doubt this time he was. "Remember that doc.u.ment I had you sign last week?" He"d slipped it under Dean"s nose when he was distracted, getting him to sign it with hardly a look, telling him it was hospital stuff. Cade waited for Dean to nod. "You"re official." It also helped to have friends and pack who knew how to get things done.
"Sneaky b.a.s.t.a.r.d."
Cade shrugged. "You have no idea how hard it was to keep this quiet."
Dean mused, obviously not put out by the deception. "He didn"t do the Mr. and Mr. at the end."
Cade caressed a forearm with a light finger. "I wasn"t going to presume."
"I"d be okay with Dean Eckler-Rose."
Cade swallowed the water on his tongue. Dean hadn"t even hesitated. "You"re sure? I-"
Dean shook his head, halting him. "It"s just a name. Besides, when we have kids, never want them to doubt that they were wanted by both of us."
Cade almost melted into a puddle. "You mean it?"
"Mean it," he said before stealing a gentle kiss.
And as if to prove that Cade was being truthful, the officiant approached. "Is now okay?" He studied both questioningly.
Cade offered a hand. "The whole thing has been explained."
"Wonderful." He produced a book from behind him. "If you"d both please sign, I can get this copied and returned to you to file on Monday."
"Thanks, George. Really appreciate today. George Tennar, Dean Eckler-Rose." Cade introduced them.
Dean laughed and smiled, taking his hand and shaking as well. "You"re a devious bunch."
"It"s been a while since I"ve been part of a surprise wedding. They never get old."
"Has anyone ever run the other way?" Dean wondered, signing his name to the line, officially making him a married man.
"Not yet." George laughed.
"Stay and eat, George. I"m sure Jamie outdid himself."
"Thank you. I"ll be here for a bit." He closed the book, protecting the page. "Congratulations again."
Cade wound an arm around Dean. "You should know, you took me by surprise from the beginning. The wolf just kept me from making a larger than life mistake," he said as he nuzzled into Dean"s neck below his ear, keeping their conversation private.
"Oh?"
"He wouldn"t let me walk away, and when I realized I was feeling something more, he finally shut up." Cade huffed. "Now I"m never letting you go."
"Not gonna happen," Dean concurred. He tapped the ring on his finger.
"Are you disappointed in today?"
"Not at all," Dean replied. "This is actually perfect. This was something I never wanted to plan. I wanted to find the right guy, but this?" he said. He rocked a hand toward the melee in the house. "Not my forte." He smiled for Cade. "And you"ve absolutely won over my mother with this."
"Long hair and all, huh?" Cade teased warmly.
Dean smiled. "And all."
Cade grazed from below his ear to find his lips, savoring the first kiss of many.
About the Author.
Diana DeRicci is the s.e.xy, flirty pen name of Diana Castilleja. A romance author at heart, DeRicci"s writing takes you into a saucier spectrum of sensuality and s.e.xual adventure, where a happily-ever-after is still the key to any story. Diana lives in Central Texas with her husband, one son, and a feisty little Chihuahua named Rascal. You can catch the latest news on all of Diana DeRicci"s writing and books on her website. Feel free to drop Diana an email. She"d love to hear from you.