Free Geek Groom (Forever Geek Trilogy #2) by Victoria Barbour

Margery, you dirty bird!
    As she moves off I repeat my question to Evan.
    “After they finished chasing us, and decided not to arrest us for carrying concealed weapons—Thank you for coming in, Aunt Rose.”
    And another kiss, this time from one of Evan’s relatives.
    “I told you to call the RNC and see if you were allowed to wear those swords.” Aunt Rose might not be out of earshot but I don’t care. If I have to have this conversation with him peppered between kisses and hugs, I will.
    “I know. But every time I called I was put on hold.”
    “You told me it was okay.”
    Don’t shriek. Be calm. Be the Jillian you know you can be. And watch out for Dr. Lester. He’s all hands.
    “I ran into an RCMP officer one day and he said it shouldn’t be a problem,” Evan says with a shrug.
    “The Mounties aren’t our cops!”
    “I know. But I figured it would be fine.”
    Dr. Lester, the head of my department, is shaking Evan’s hand while trying to wrap an arm around my waist. “If I could set a uniform for every female in the department, it would be that gown you’re wearing.”
    “And if I could set a uniform for every male in the department, it would be a codpiece that locked.”
    That shuts him up quickly.
    After all the family and friends and officially invited guests have gone through, five guys and one woman in uniform make their way over to us.
    “My apologies for the delay in your wedding,” the eldest of the group says. He’s the only one with a moustache, which means he’s likely been with the constab for twenty years or more. The rest of the officers with him look our age or younger.
    “I’m surprised you didn’t send them all to the lock up,” I say, accepting his handshake. “Although I haven’t heard the full story yet. Maybe you can enlighten me?”
    The officer, Constable Kennedy, laughs. “We got a call about a fight in Bannerman Park. Two calls, actually. One said it looked like they were armed. Another said it was a gang. I was in the area, and so was another car. Dispatch sent the van because of the gang report.”
    “May I?” Evan asks.
    “Please do,” the cop says.
    “We’re in the park with the photographer and she’s having us do all sorts of stunts with the swords. And of course, we’re carrying on a bit too. And then we see a couple of police coming across the grass, slowly, yelling for someone to stop. Daniel looks behind us to see who they’re yelling at and he sees a couple of young fellas running. They look like hard cases, so Daniel takes off after them. And so we all do. We’re closer than the cops are and figure seven on two is a fair advantage.”
    Gentle God. How were they not shot?
    “Now, if I were first on the scene, I’d probably have recognized what had happened. But Owen here is a rookie, and needs to work on his scene evaluation skills. He radios in for backup and I come up the other side of the park.”
    “Please tell me they weren’t running with their swords in the air.”
    “No. If that were the case this story might not have ended so well. Luckily, not one of them was carrying his little fake sword. They all dropped them when they started running. Cadet Smith,” he looks towards the lone female, “was the one who put it together and radioed for a stand down.”
    “But not before we came face to face with guns drawn,” Evan says, his voice a little shaky at that detail.
    “No, sadly, not before that. We did take them in, and were wondering what the best course of action would be.”
    “Did you call Dad?”
    Please have had that much sense.
    “You bet I did,” Evan says. “You can thank him and Constable Kennedy here for the fact we made it at all.”
    “Those bloody swords.” I look at Evan’s waist where it should be hanging. “Where is yours?”
    “They’re at the station. We can pick them up on Monday.”
    “Is it illegal to have them?” My voice is a whisper.
    “No,” the constable says. “But they were processed