A Cold Dark Promise (Cold Justice #8.5)(39)
“Alex will be here.” Mallory touched her heart with their joined hands, hoping that sheer force of will would make it happen. “Let’s go get breakfast and start getting ready for our big day.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Fuck. We are never going to make it.”
“Au contraire, mon ami.” Frazer told him, doing up the buttons of his dove-gray waistcoat and then shrugging into his hand-tailored jacket. “We are almost there.”
Alex had showered and shaved on the flight back. He’d even managed a few hours’ sleep. Getting ready for his wedding in the back of a black sedan while being driven at a high speed with a police escort was not something he had ever imagined when envisioning his wedding.
“You have the rings?” he asked Frazer.
Frazer frowned and searched his jacket pockets one after another and looked up with horror. Then he grinned and pulled out a jeweler’s box. He snapped it open to reveal two gleaming platinum bands.
“You picked now to develop a sense of humor?” Alex asked him, trying to control his heartbeat.
Frazer’s lips quirked. “Wait until you hear my best man’s speech.”
Alex groaned.
Frazer leaned over into the front passenger seat, pulled out another box, this one a small cooler box. He opened it and inside were two roses of the palest lilac color.
“Boutonnieres,” Alex said stupidly. He’d forgotten about the boutonnieres.
“Izzy made sure we had everything we needed.”
“Izzy is a gem.”
“Goddess,” Frazer corrected.
Alex raised his brows. High praise indeed coming from the consummate professional who’d unexpectedly become his closest friend.
“Izzy is a goddess.” The woman had saved Alex’s ass, and he wasn’t about to argue.
They were zooming down quiet back roads and Alex realized they were close to the vineyard. They were gonna make it.
“Get them to turn the sirens off. It’s going to freak Mallory out otherwise.”
Frazer nodded and called someone. The sirens turned off, and the cars slowed down to a less dangerous speed. Alex checked his watch as Frazer attached first his own buttonhole, and then Alex’s.
“Any regrets? Second thoughts?” Frazer asked, smoothing Alex’s lapel. They’d gone with classic black tuxes that could be worn for other occasions. Mallory was practical if nothing else.
One side of Alex’s mouth twisted. “Only that I didn’t get here faster.”
Frazer gave a satisfied smile and leaned back. “We prevented a major biological weapons deal and got Jane Sanders her daughter back. And we made it home in time for the wedding. I think we did a damn good job.”
And then the sign for the vineyard came into view, and Alex felt his pulse settle for the first time in days. A deep sense of calm washed over him. He was here. He’d made it.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Mallory could see the anxious glances her mother and father exchanged. Two of her bridesmaids were equally nervous and the third conspicuous by her absence. Haley was waiting with the other groomsmen, last seen flirting with one of Alex’s old Army pals.
Mallory stood in a side annex of the hotel. They’d completely commandeered the whole place for the wedding. The wedding planner stood near the arched wooden doors keeping anyone from wandering in.
It was five minutes to two o’clock.
The setting was fantastic, everything she’d hoped for in a venue. Beautiful but not ostentatious. Warm but elegant. Friendly. It was only missing one vital ingredient.
The groom.
“You look beautiful,” her father said quietly.
Mal smoothed one hand over her baby bump and squeezed his arm with her other. “Thank you.” Her gown was a wonderfully romantic affair with an embroidered lace bodice, a high waist to accommodate the baby, and layers of soft tulle with a court train. Not puffy or fussy. She’d fallen in love with it the moment she tried it on. She hoped Alex liked it. She tried to swallow, but her mouth was too dry.
She wore a circlet of flowers in her hair and had opted not to wear a veil.
No more secrets.
“Mallory…” her mother began with another anxious glance at her father.
“Go take your seat, Mom,” Mallory insisted firmly to the senator with a pointed stare at her former boss, Art Hanrahan. He gave her a nod and took her mother’s arm, leading her away and out the rear entrance to where the two hundred guests were gathered.
It was a lot of people. Her mother was worried she’d be humiliated, but if Alex didn’t turn up, her guests would be the least of her concerns. If Alex didn’t turn up something awful must have happened. She couldn’t bear the idea.
She thought she heard sirens in the distance, but then they stopped, and she decided she’d been imagining it. She walked over to where the bouquets were carefully arranged on the table. The photographer had taken a million photographs of them earlier along with photos of her with her parents and the bridesmaids. She had a horrible feeling the expression on her face would have been pensive rather than joyous but hopefully they could do some retakes later. When Alex arrived.
She reached out and touched a soft petal. A mix of pink, blush, lilac and white roses, peonies, and anemones filled out her bouquet and the scent was incredible. She wanted to find a way to remember that smell forever.