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“Jeffrey, do you take Katherine as your wife, to hold her to you until death, only, parts you?”
Martini looked right into my eyes. “I do.”
My throat was tight again.
“Katherine, do you take Jeffrey as your husband, to hold him to you until death, only, parts you?”
I swallowed. I didn’t want my voice in dog-only register. “I do.” Martini gave me a long, slow smile.
Raymond came over and handed us our rings. Martini took my hand, slid my engagement ring off, hooked it into the entwined wedding band, and slid it back onto my finger.
“It’s beautiful, Jeff,” I whispered.
I took his hand, he pulled it away. I looked up at him, wondering if he was upset with me. “Wrong hand,” he whispered, with a small grin. He offered his left hand, and I slid his ring on. He stared at it. “You picked this for me?” I nodded, as worry raised another fin. “It’s perfect.” He looked at me again, and his expression said the ring was telling him exactly what I wanted it to—how much I loved him.
“These rings are symbols of your love and your union—unbroken, never ending, precious, never tarnishing, enduring and beautiful. And with the rings willingly given and happily received, as Sovereign Pontifex, I pronounce you married. What has been joined will never be broken, in this world or the next.”
I heard a lot of quiet sobbing. But I was looking only at Martini. Who it dawned on me I should start thinking of as Jeff. Since my last name was now Martini, too.
He gri
“Always, Jeff.”
White cleared his throat. “Jeffrey, you may kiss your bride. Remember there are children present.” This got a good chuckle.
Martini removed the veil and wrapped it around my shoulders. Then he took my face in his hands. “You’re mine, you know.” His eyes held mine and I knew the truth—I’d been his since the moment he’d told me his name.
“Yes, Jeff. Only and always yours.”
He bent and kissed me deeply. I’d been wrong before. This was the best kiss ever.
CHAPTER 73
THE KISS WAS WONDERFUL, but not too long. By our standards, anyway.
Christopher and Jareen untied the rope, and White came to us. He hugged Martini, who I was going to start thinking of as Jeff any minute now, then hugged me. “My dear Miss Katt,” he whispered, “let me be the first to call you by your married name, and know I do it with great joy and pride.”
He let me go and turned to the audience. “Beloved guests, please welcome Jeffrey and Katherine Martini.”
We got a standing-O, led by Chuckie and Brian who were still working at not cracking up. I was kind of impressed, though.
Martini gri
This was met with cheers and laughter, as everyone did what he said. “You’re so good with the Commander thing.”
“I command you to wear that dress every day on our honeymoon.”
“Nice try. But no.”
He sighed. “Your father warned me about this.” He scooped me up into his arms. “Can’t hold you the way I like in this dress. So, I guess it’s okay if you don’t want to wear it all the time.”
I kissed him. “You’re so good to me.”
He put me back down. “True, true.”
Christopher shook his head. “Only the two of you would have ended up turning your wedding into a track meet.”
“It could have been worse.”
“Yeah, we might have had a superbeing formation.” Christopher looked around, as if he were waiting for something. “Well, small favors, I guess.”
“Yeah, that’s how I feel about it.”
“I see why we paraded all over the room,” Jareen said. “Sort of just ends and everyone wanders off.”
“Not normally,” Jerry told her. “Only when Kitty’s involved.”
Reader came over and pulled me away from Martini. Jeff. Guy I was now married to. Reader hugged me tightly. “You looked great. Even upside down.”
“Yeah, the twins stayed inside.”
“For the most part.” He laughed. “Next wedding I run, I’m not going to be in the wedding party.”
“Don’t count on it. You’re the guy everyone wants with them, James.”
He kissed my cheek. “Tell me that later.” He let go, and there was a twinkle in his eyes.
“What are you pla
Reader just gri
Martini made sure no guests or members of the wedding party were straggling. Once we were alone, he stroked my face. “So, wedding of your dreams?”
I thought about it. “Married the most gorgeous, wonderful man in the galaxy, so yeah, pretty much.” He took my hand and led me back down the aisle. “We ru
Martini laughed. “No. I just wanted to walk down the aisle with you this way, as a married couple.” We looked at each other the whole way. It was romantic and sexy. We reached the end, and I flung myself at him. He gathered me up and kissed me, deeply, passionately, and for a long time.
I heard someone tap a microphone. “Jeff, if you and Kitty can stop making out for a minute, the rest of us are starving.” Christopher sounded as though he was trying not to laugh.
Martini ended our kiss, sighed, and let me slide back to the floor. “No problem. I sleep with you tonight, not him.” He swept me up into his arms and strode through the now empty ballroom into the bigger, very full ballroom. “They’ll be pretending to faint from hunger if I let you walk it.”
“Humph.”
He gri
I rolled my eyes. “We can play Chase Me, Chase Me or Pretend Attacker tonight, you know. The suite’s big enough.”
“Mmmm.” His eyelids dropped and he purred. “I love how you think.”
We got to the head table, and things started to blur again. Lots of great food. Lots of long speeches, some fu
“Only known Kitty and Jeff a short time,” Jareen said for her toast. “But once you find your soul sister, she’s yours for life. So, take good care of her, Jeff—you don’t want to find out how we avenge our sisters out my way. We make Renata’s girls look like babies. Oh, and Kitty? Way to go on landing His Royal Hotness.” The girls in my wedding party were howling by the time she was done, Wahoa almost literally.
Christopher got the mike. “I’ve had no choice but to know Jeff all my life.” Lots of A-C chuckles for this. “But if I’d been able to pick the person who I’d go through everything with, risk my life every day with, and even fight with, I couldn’t have found anybody better than Jeff, even if I’d searched through two solar systems.” I heard sniffles from the audience. He closed his eyes for a moment. I took a fast look—Martini was trying not to lose it.
Christopher opened his eyes. “Jeff, I’ve told this to Kitty, but I don’t think I’ve ever been man enough to say it to you. You’re more than my cousin, more than a brother, even. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had and many times a better friend than I deserved, and . . . I love you.”
People were sobbing. I was teary. Martini was really trying not to lose it. So was Christopher. He took a deep breath. “She’s the greatest girl, Jeff, and you’re perfect with her and for her. You make each other better, and you make other people better, me especially, because of how you are together. And if anyone was going to come along and force me to share you, I thank God every day it was Kitty.”
I joined the rest of the audience and started sobbing. Martini got up and hugged Christopher. I knew they were both shedding the manly tears while I was busy wiping my eyes on the tablecloth. They separated, and Martini pulled me up and we did the group hug thing that was so popular among the A-Cs. I heard more sobs.