Sweet Addiction (Sweet #6)(93)

They both reached for her hands, simply holding out theirs. She didn’t hesitate, sliding her fingers over their palms.

Lucas cleared his throat, and again he looked nervous. It was odd to see him appear anything but self-assured and in complete control. Cole looked little better.

“Ren, we—Cole and I—brought you here tonight because it was important to us to have a symbolic ceremony that binds us together. We brought our friends here, not only to witness our binding but to celebrate our union and our love for you.”

Cole squeezed her hand and took over as Lucas went silent. “We love you. We want you to marry us and of course the only way to legally do so would be for you to marry one of us. We don’t want that. We want you to marry us both. We don’t give a damn about society, legalities or what anyone thinks. We want a wedding. We want one hell of a reception to celebrate our marriage and we don’t give a damn if we don’t have a piece of paper that declares it all legal and binding. All we care about is that you pledge yourself to us and that we pledge our lives to you. That we’ll promise to love, cherish and take care of you for the rest of our lives. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks or knows or accepts. It only matters to us that we know and that you know how much we love you and are committed to you.”

Her heart pounded furiously. She battled tears, biting her lip to keep from ruining the moment by bawling like a baby. Her nose burned. Her eyes burned.

Then before she could respond, they both slowly went to one knee, each holding one of her hands. Cole reached into his pocket and pulled out a glittering diamond ring. Lucas took out a platinum band with three intertwined ropes.

“Marry us, Ren darling,” Cole whispered.

Lucas found her gaze and stared intently into her eyes. “Marry us tonight. Right here in front of the people we care most about. Let’s throw one hell of a party to celebrate your marriage to two men who love you more than it’s humanly possibly to love anyone else.”

No longer able to control herself she rushed forward, nearly tripping as she threw her arms around them both. They caught her against them, ensuring she didn’t fall.

“Yes,” she whispered fiercely. “Yes!”

They held on to her as tightly as she held on to them. She buried her face in Lucas’s neck, trying to compose herself but she shook uncontrollably.

When she was finally able to pull away, she still shook. Shook so badly she couldn’t get to her feet without their help. They slowly rose, holding tightly to her and they held her between them. Safe. Protective. Always a shield. Constant.

She wiped her face, not caring if it messed up her mascara or smudged her eye shadow. To Lucas and Cole she was perfect. The rest of the world? Didn’t matter.

An older man pushed forward to stand just underneath the floral arch. He smiled at Lucas and motioned them forward.

“This is Father Hillman,” Lucas said in a low voice. “He’s a good and loyal friend of many years. When I explained our situation, he was more than happy to perform the ceremony so that we are joined in God’s eyes as well as ours. All we lack is paper, Ren. Just paper.”

She turned, love shining in her eyes. “We lack nothing, Lucas. We never will.”

She stepped to the priest, her hands tightly in the grips of Lucas and Cole. She glanced between them, love overwhelming her, welling from so deep that she couldn’t contain it. She didn’t want to. Now more than ever she wanted them to be able to see, never to doubt, how very much she loved them. How much she trusted them and that she embraced their lives together with no reservations.

She pulled their hands until she held them both in front of her, clasped tightly to her heart. Then she smiled and nodded at the priest.

“Dearly beloved …”