Holding You (Love Wanted in Texas #3)

Lacing my arm over his, I smiled. “We shall.”

STANDING NEXT TO my father, I attempted to calm my beating heart. “Jesus, Colt. I can hear your heart from back here. Take some deep breaths in.”

Blowing out some quick breaths, my father laughed. “I said deep breath in, son. Not blow all your air out in quick bursts.”

Taking in a deep breath, I looked around. The wedding was taking place on the terrace. It was simple, with just a few decorations of white candles and red rose petals. I prayed Lauren liked it. The doors to the terrace were closed as we waited. When the music played, I felt my knees wobble.

“Breathe, Colt.”

Not realizing I had been holding my breath, I slowly dragged in a deep breath and blew it out just in time for the French doors to open. My eyes immediately fell on Lauren. She was dressed in a lace gown with her hair pulled up. Curls hung down and framed her beautiful face. There was a lightness in my chest, and my senses heightened as I watched Lauren make her way to me. The smell of her perfume engulfed me as I took a deep breath in.

As she got closer, I noticed my mother’s daisy necklace hanging around Lauren’s neck. Quickly looking at my mother, she smiled and wiped a tear away as she watched Lauren make her way to me.

Stopping in front of me, Lauren smiled the biggest, brightest smile I’d ever seen. Scott turned to me and winked as the pastor asked who was giving Lauren away.

Placing Lauren’s hand in mine, Scott said, “Her mother and I.”

Lauren turned to face me, and my eyes moved across her entire body and back to her amazing blue eyes. “You look stunning, sweetheart. Absolutely beautiful.”

A single tear rolled down Lauren’s face as I reached up and wiped it away.

The pastor began the ceremony as Lauren and I held each other’s hands. I wasn’t even sure what he was saying; I couldn’t pull my eyes from Lauren. Before I knew it, he was pronouncing us husband and wife and I was kissing my bride as our parents cheered us on.

Pulling away, I searched Lauren’s face. Her face was relaxed and she wore the most beautiful smile I’d ever seen. It was her eyes that held me captive though. They were filled with nothing but love and desire. Leaning down, I placed my lips at her ear. “I’ve never in my life been as happy as I am at this very moment.”

Placing her hands on my chest, her breathing picked up as she closed her eyes. “Colt. We need to ditch our parents. Fast.”

Pulling back, I looked at her. She was totally serious. “W-what?” Jessie walked up and took Lauren in her arms as they both held onto each other. My father shook my hand, then pulled me in for a hug. “I’m so proud of you, Colt. So very proud.”

Smiling at my father, I said, “Thank you, Dad. Thank you for everything you and Mom did to make this happen. I don’t know how you did it all on such a short notice, but I’ll never forget it.”

Wrapping my mother up in my arms, I told her how much I loved her. Jessie waited patiently for my mother to step aside before she walked up and hugged me. “Take care of my little girl, Colt. I’m counting on you.”

Giving her a reassuring nod and smile, I said, “Yes, ma’am. Lauren will always be my number-one priority.”

“Good, I’m glad to hear you say that.”

Reaching out, I shook Scott’s hand as he pulled me in for a quick hug and a slap on the back. I wasn’t sure if he meant for the slap to be that hard, but when he pulled back and narrowed his eyes at me, I knew for sure he meant for it to be that hard. “You take care of her, or I’ll break both your arms and legs.”

“Um . . . I um . . . yes, of course I’ll take care of her, sir.” My mind was spinning as I let Scott’s casual threat sink in.

After heading to the bar and ordering champagne, to which both my father and Scott said a little toast to, we headed to the Italian restaurant Levo and ate dinner. I loved watching Lauren soak in the attention, and the glow on her face made my heart feel so happy. Taking a sip of my tea, I began to daydream about making love to her. My dick had already begun to get hard the moment we sat down and she started running her hand up and down my leg mindlessly as she talked. I needed to get her back up to our room and quickly.

An Italian cream cake was served after dinner. Each of our parents took a turn giving us a few tips on keeping our marriage a happy and healthy one. Scott was the last to speak. His words of advice caused both Lauren and I to laugh and to cry. Soon our parents got wrapped up in their own conversations as Lauren and I sat there, the heat building between us until I couldn’t take it anymore.