Free Society Weddings (Corrigan & Co. Book 11) by Crystal Perkins Page B

tell her again.
    “Don’t ever be sorry for making Nate
comfortable. I just wish I could’ve seen it.”
    “You’ve seen the video.”
    “I know. And I’m sorry I’ve been kind of a
bitch about it.”
    “You haven’t. If you were being a bitch,
you’d be telling me I can’t still be your matron of honor.”
    “That would never happen. I love you,
J.”
    “I love you too, El.”
    “Are you two done now? We all still have
hair and makeup to take care of,” Stella reminds us.
    “Yes, boss,” Ellie tells her.
    We spend the next few hours getting ready. I
love these women so much, and I also respect the hell out of them.
I’m so glad I get the chance to wear my dress and have them with
me. The wedding wasn’t important, but having my friends with me to
celebrate is. I never told Nate, because I didn’t want him to feel
any pressure at all to do what I wanted, but I was a little
sad.
    Stella has me step into my dress, and I
smile into the mirror once it’s on. The dress has an embroidered,
strapless, sweetheart neckline. The front is a few short, ruffled
layers of soft material, but the back is long enough to trail
behind me on the floor. There are a couple of big pink flowers at
my waist, too. Pink isn’t really my color, but I really love them.
To top things off, Stella found me a poufy hat thing to wear on the
side of the updo she did for me. Sparkly shoes with flowers and
pearls crossing over each other complete what was to be my wedding
look. I feel totally girly, and I love it.
    The rest of the girls are in brown strapless
dresses that have beading over the top and side. They all look
gorgeous, especially Audrey with her baby bump. She still has about
three months, and none of us can wait. Tegan’s pregnant too, but
she’s barely showing. I think about having a baby with Nate, and
I’m surprised to find that I want one. I never planned to have
kids, but I want to have Nate’s baby. I’m not sure he’s ready for
that, but I need to talk to him about it. Later. Right now, I have
something else I need to do.
    “I’ll meet you all in the tent, okay?”
    “You’re going to see that horse, aren’t
you?” Stella asks me with a laugh.
    “Yes. I want to see my boy before I go out
to my man.”
    “I knew you would. Here, put these shoes
on,” she says, handing me some plain grey sandals. “And please try
not to totally ruin your dress in the barn.”
    “I’ll try.”
    I really do try. I hold the back of my dress
up until I get to Cherub’s stall. I let it go to hug and kiss him,
but I don’t move too much so I hope it’s okay. If not, I’ll deal
with Stella’s wrath. I just need to see him.
    “How did I know you’d be here?” Nate asks
from behind me.
    “I just wanted to see him for a minute.”
    “I know. I’m not jealous of him anymore.
Much.”
    I turn to my husband. “You have nothing to
be jealous about, and you know it. Cherub is like our kid, just in
horse form.”
    “We never talk about kids.”
    “I wasn’t sure you wanted them,” I say,
biting my lip.
    “Do you?”
    “Yeah. I want a little Nate.”
    “Well, I want a little Jade.”
    “We may have to wait a couple of months. You
know, because of the super birth control, and also because some of
us still need to do missions for a few more months at least.”
    “We have forever, Angel.”
    “Yes we do, Soldier.”
    He picks me up into his arms and carries me
out to the office area of the stable where I left my pretty shoes.
I switch them out once he sets them down, and then we walk hand in
hand to the reception tent. All of the boxing-themed things I
picked with Stella look amazing. Nate and I both love the boxing
ring centerpieces that are filled with roses, and feature different
famous boxers. Our cake with the fighting couple is great, too. And
honestly, even if this whole place was in shambles, it would be
perfect. I’m married to Nate, and we both want kids. What more
could a girl want?

Darcy &