“It’s nice to finally meet you,” Damon said.
“Same here. And thank you,” Anna Victoria added. “For thinking up that plan to have me come to the bachelor party.”
J.D., in her usual brash manner, grabbed her left hand and tugged her away from Gabriel, and linked their arms together. “You’re sitting next to me, Temperance. Gabriel’s been hogging you for too long, and I haven’t had any chance to tell you embarrassing stories about him.”
“Hey!” Gabriel protested. “We’re bonded, you can’t scare her away anymore.”
J.D. let out a laugh that sounded like a challenge. “Yeah, whatever. C’mon, I’m starving.”
As dinner progressed, Temperance seemed to relax more which made Gabriel less tense. All of them accepted his mate, asking genuine questions about her and ensuring she was never left out when they told stories about the past or inside jokes.
“I’m glad to finally have someone else who’s new to Blackstone,” Anna Victoria said.
“Oh, did you just move here too?” Temperance asked as she took a sip of wine. “Why did you decide to move here?”
Anna Victoria went bright red. “Er, I didn’t exactly decide,” she said. “I just kind of … arrived here.”
“In a wedding dress,” Gabriel added, unable to help himself. “After she jilted her previous groom.”
“After what?” Temperance looked up at him for clarification.
“Don’t make it sound so bad,” Anna Victoria protested and then she told them the story of how she escaped her nasty fiancé from her arranged marriage, drove all the way to Blackstone, then walked into The Den in her wedding gown where she met Damon.
“Don’t worry, buddy,” Gabriel said. “I’ll make sure she doesn’t escape this Saturday.”
“Yeah, you better, pretty boy,” Damon warned jokingly.
“Speaking of which,” Anna Victoria began. “Temperance, you’ll come to our wedding this Saturday, right? I mean, Gabriel’s asked you to be his date?”
“Er …” She looked up at him, her light hazel eyes going wide.
“I haven’t, actually,” he said. “And that’s my mistake. Will you be my date, Temperance?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered.
“But you have to come, Temperance,” J.D. whined.
“I don’t have anything to wear,” she said.
“It’s not a formal dress type of affair,” Anna Victoria said. “After the church, we’re having a barbecue at the Blackstone Castle grounds. I didn’t want anything fussy or fancy.”
“I’ll lend you something to wear,” J.D. offered. “No wait, scratch that. I only own one dress, and I’ll be wearing it as maid of honor. But I’ll go shopping with you.”
“Me too,” Anna Victoria said.
“It’ll be great, Temperance,” he assured her. “And I’d really like it if you were there.” He could already picture it in his mind. Sitting next to her at the ceremony. Holding her hand while they walked into reception. Dancing with her under the stars. “Please?”
Four pairs of eyes looked at her hopefully. “I …” She nodded. “All right.”
“Yes!” J.D. exclaimed and grabbed her phone from her pocket. “Give me your number, and we’ll go shopping this week.”
“Wow, you should be honored. J.D. hates shopping for clothes,” Damon joked.
“Only when I’m shopping for myself,” she shot back.
“Thank you,” Gabriel whispered into her ear. “I promise, if you don’t feel comfortable at all, we can leave anytime.”
“It’s fine,” she said, looking up at him with a smile on her face. “And you can’t leave, you’re the best man.”
“And you’re my mate.” He kissed her on the tip of her nose. “You’re always going to be my priority.”
A pretty blush spread over her face. “Thank you.”
Most of the week was uneventful, and soon, Saturday rolled around. They had the ceremony at St. John’s Chapel in Blackstone. Damon was not very fond of crowds, so only his parents and a select few people were at the church, including Gabriel and Temperance.
“I’m glad the ceremony went well,” Temperance said as they stood with the guests outside the church, waiting for the bride and groom to exit. “Was there any problem? Why were Anna Victoria and J.D. late?”
The ceremony had started thirty minutes later because the bridal car didn’t arrive on time. “According to J.D., there was some drama about the dress,” Gabriel said. “But I guess they fixed it; they just needed some extra time.”
The doors of the church flew open, and as Damon and Anna Victoria stepped out, they were greeted with a shower of rice and rose petals. The groom looked handsome in his tux, while Anna Victoria was radiant in her blush peach gown.
“Well, she—they look perfect,” she said as they watched the bride and groom get into the Mercedes waiting at the end of the driveway, a “Just Married” sign hanging from the back.
“You’re perfect,” he said, pulling her into his arms and growling against her lips. “In case I forgot to tell you.”
Her cheeks went pink. “You have Anna Victoria and J.D. to thank for the outfit and my makeup and hair.”
“You do look beautiful, but it’s not just that. You are perfect.” She was wearing a simple yellow dress with sleeves made of a delicate translucent fabric that covered her arms, but looked comfortable and elegant at the same time, while her hair was styled so that a few tendrils of hair covered her cheek, but not fully. He reminded himself to thank Anna Victoria and J.D. for whatever they did to help Temperance feel less insecure about her scars.
“We should go to the reception,” she said. “J.D. said she needs some help setting out the party favors.”
They made their way to Blackstone Castle in his Jeep, and soon, he was pulling up to the massive driveway in front.
“Wow, it really is a castle,” Temperance exclaimed. “Have you been inside?”
“Yeah,” he said. “I’ve been a couple times. Damon and I were the same year as Jason and Matthew Lennox, so we were invited to their birthday parties and other events.” Not to mention, his mother had sat on the board of the Lennox Foundation, and liked rubbing elbows with the Blackstone dragons. When he was a teenager, Geraldine Russel had hinted that he
