Chapter Nine

"IT NEEDS to be you, mijo."

Raudel nuzzled his neck, taking occasional nips at his skin as they sat together on the bed in their room. The bed he'd been so terrified of only a few days ago.

"She hates me."

"She loves and needs you."

"No. I'm pretty sure the stink eye directed my way during the photo session yesterday was hatred."

Fortunately, they'd been able to reschedule the photographer to give Lindsey's swollen, red eyes a chance to recover from the crying jag induced by Chad and Raudel's unintentional marriage announcement. It still hadn't made up for the complete annihilation of the itinerary, however, and no amount of Wite-Out in the universe could repair the damage of his betrayal. They'd merely taken care of the most essential things: Lindsey's drunken bridal shower, the photos, and the rehearsal dinner they'd just returned from. He frankly couldn't understand why they hadn't simply done that in the first place and spent the rest of the time enjoying the fucking lake.

"I think Daniel's parents hate me too."

"That's called homophobia, honey. In which case, I qualify for their list as well."

Chad plucked at the hairs on Raudel's naked thigh, which was draped over Chad's leg. It was the position they'd ended up in after coming back from the tense, awkward dinner and then racing to their room to rip off their clothes and jack each other off.

"Why would she need me ? I'm the cause of all her troubles."

"She's getting married in a few hours, and you've been there for her ever since she got engaged a year ago. Whenever we talked on the phone, she'd tell me everything you helped her with. You're a good person, Chad. So we threw a wrench in the machine in the eleventh hour? Everything's turning out okay. I helped your mom re-verify all the players, took the tuxes to the cleaners—" He laughed. "—mowed the lawn."

Chad traced circles with his finger on Raudel's skin. Everything about the man he'd married fascinated him. "I should've done that."

"You were mopping the floors."

Chad shrugged. "I should be doing everything."

Raudel jostled him with his elbow. "Don't be silly. I was just as much—if not more of a participant in our wondrous wedding escapade."

That pulled a chuckle out of Chad. "Yeah. It was pretty wondrous, wasn't it?"

Raudel licked the side of his neck. "Not was, mijo. Is."

Chad took a deep breath before slowly exhaling. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"I'll go try and talk with her."

"That's all you can do is try. But I have a feeling she's ready."

They shared a kiss before Chad steeled himself in case she blew his ears back when he showed up at her door. He didn't realize he was tiptoeing until he reached her room. He lifted his hand to knock.

Please let me live.

"Mom?"

Chad cleared his throat. "Uh, no, Lin. It's me." He cringed.

After a brief pause, she responded. "Fuck off."

"Lin, please. I need you to hear me out. I understand if you never want to have anything to do with me again, but for your own sake, you don't want to be upset on your wedding day. I don't want that either. I want it to be one of the happiest days of your life, the beginning of many more to come. Don't ruin it because of something I did."

He waited for her to say something, anything—even if it was to tell him to fuck off again.

The door flung open, and he jumped back.

"Then why did you do it, huh? Were you jealous? Couldn't stand that I had all the attention?"

"God, no . That had nothing to do with it."

Tears shimmered in her eyes. "Then why, Chad? Why did you disrupt everything? Mom was so upset that something bad had happened to you guys that I thought she was going to have to be hospitalized."

She'd hit the guilt button that his mom had only deactivated that morning. Scaring Mom half to death was what both he and Raudel had felt the worst about.

"And you're absolutely right, Lin. But it wasn't intentional. Not particularly well thought-out, but not intentional."

She narrowed her eyes, her expression only slightly less disgusted than it had been all week. "What about stupid ?"

Chad shook his head. "No, Lin, not stupid. I can't say that about marrying the man I love, the one I want to build a life with, who I can't imagine being without now that I know how amazing it is to be with him."

Her features softened, some of the tension lessening as a slight crease formed between her eyebrows. "Oh." She looked him firmly in the eyes. "That's how you see him? How you view Raudel?"

"Yeah, Lin, of course. You know me better than that. I wouldn't have married him unless I did, no matter how drunk I was."

Lindsey chuckled, and he joined in. She glanced over her shoulder. It seemed as though Shannon and Brenda were asleep, but he wouldn't put it past Shannon to be pretending so she could listen in. Brenda probably had her hand in a bowl of warm water, so he wasn't too worried about her.

Lindsey turned back to him. "Is there still any of that cookie dough ice cream left?"

"I thought you weren't eating anything that didn't sprout directly from the ground until after the wedding?"

"Shut up, Chad. Do you want to have some ice cream with me or not?"

"I could be convinced."

She hooked her arm through his and let him lead her to the kitchen. "So… no regrets? You know, you and Raudel?"

He paused, taking a moment to see his sister, really see her as a woman. When had they gotten to this point? How had the years gone by without him noticing they'd changed in ways he never could've imagined? They were brother and sister—playmates as children and then sworn enemies as teenagers. Now, neither of those roles belonged to them. New ones had to be formed because no matter what, they would always have each other's backs, and that would never change.

"No, Lin. No regrets."

"CHAD, I need you to keep an eye on Grandma and make sure she doesn't fall in the lake."

"Yes, Mom."

He was actually more concerned about his mom pitching into the water as she teetered up and down the lawn on her high heels. She'd switched from beer to champagne for the ceremony, promising Chad that she was never drinking again "if I can just survive this last, awful day."

She gazed out at the lake and let out a sigh that, for once, didn't have melancholy, frustration, or sadness attached to it.

"What is it, Mom?"

"It really did all work out, didn't it? Just like you said. Lindsey is so beautiful and happy, and here we are, a gorgeous, sunny day, and we were so worried it would rain." She regarded him. "Lindsey even believed the story that the new fountain was the same one she originally chose." Mom tucked his hair behind his ear. He couldn't remember the last time she'd done such a thing. "I know this has been hard on all of us, you included. Don't think I don't realize how diligently you worked to help make Lindsey's day very special." She took a large gulp of her champagne. "And I'm so thrilled about you and Raudel, I really am." She patted his cheek. "But no reception. I'll need about a decade to recover from this one."

"It's a deal."

His mom gave him a peck on his forehead and then returned her gaze to the scenery. "Chad! Quick!"

Sure enough, Grandma had her sights set on the pier.

Chad took off at a fast clip, dodging Daniel's mother and a toddler who belonged to one of Daniel's sisters—Chad couldn't be sure which one. He reached his grandmother before she'd set one foot on the long slatted-wood structure extending out over the lake.

Haven't lost my speed.

As a kid, Chad's nervous energy in schoolrooms had always translated into a lot of tearing around the playground during recess.

"Hey, Grandma. Wanna come have a seat with me? I was going to get some more of those puffy things with the cheese and brown stuff in them. They're really good. I'll fill up a plate for both of us." He tugged lightly on her arm.

Grandma wrenched it away. "Let go of me!" She flailed for a moment.

Chad's heart jumped into his throat as he made a grab for her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, dragging them both away from an undoubtedly icy bath.

Grandma let out a yell so loud and piercing she drew the attention of all sixty or so guests in the yard. Even the band stopped playing.

Sure enough, Daniel's parents had a particularly steely gaze trained his way.

Raudel rushed over to them, Chad's mom and dad not far behind—although his mom was doing a weird tippy-toe dance in her heels as she struggled to move quickly over the uneven ground. Raudel planted himself between the lake and Chad, who still held on to his struggling grandmother.

Chad had to give the woman credit—she was a feisty one.

His mom finally caught up to the show. "Mother Barton, calm down! You're making a scene at Lindsey's wedding!"

"Lindsey?? She grunted. "I thought this was Chad and Hottie's wedding."

Chad loosened his hold on her. There seemed to be enough of them surrounding Grandma that the chances of her falling into the lake had diminished greatly. "No, Grandma. Raudel and I got married a few days ago."

She grabbed a healthy pinch of cheek flesh and did her signature shake. "Then why the hell wasn't I invited? Don't expect any gift from me, young man!"

"That's okay, Grandma. We would've invited you, but we eloped."

"Bullshit." She regarded Raudel. "Are you keeping him satisfied?"

"Mom!" His dad shook his head, frowning.

Chad caught Raudel's scarlet-tinged face and had to laugh. He wandered over to his husband since his dad had apparently taken over Grandma-sitting duty.

His dad's words drifted back as he led her away. "I'll fix you a plate with some of those nice pastry things with the cheese and brown stuff in them."

Grandma made a retching noise. "Why is everyone trying to pawn that shit off on me? They taste like they're filled with cat food."

Chad's eyes widened. Was that what it was? He'd thought they tasted pretty good, but now all he could think about was Purina. Time for a palette cleanser. "Hey, I think we deserve to try out that chocolate fountain, don't you?"

Raudel slipped his hand into Chad's, then took a soft kiss. "I do."

"That's odd." Chad feigned seriousness. "Didn't you say that to me just the other day?"

"And I'd say it all over again."

Damn. He really is good. Chad grinned. "Me too."

They strolled over to the object that had forced them to be stuck in a car together, an event that, at the time, seemed to be the end of his world. Instead, that ride into town forever changed his life for the better. He couldn't begrudge the grotesquely ornate, burbling fountain that honor.

Chad considered the enormous strawberries displayed in yet another obscenely elaborate bowl.

Raudel picked one out and handed it to Chad before taking one of his own. Raudel winked. "I'd love to feed this to you, but it would make me unbelievably hard, and wouldn't that give Daniel's parents an eyeful?"

Chad snorted out a laugh. "No shit. I almost popped a boner when they brought out the cake."

Raudel lifted his strawberry as if in a toast. "Well, let's find out what is so amazing about a chocolate fountain that it almost tipped the world off its axis."

Chad rolled his eyes. "Seriously." He swirled the berry in the liquid chocolate, then held his hand underneath the fruit as he brought it to his mouth. The first bite was a revelation. Rich and sweet, tart and juicy, the flavors combined together perfectly. It was a complete and utter foodgasm.

"Holy shit."

Raudel nodded. "Pretty amazing."

"We should totally get one of these for our house one day."

The smile Raudel offered him went to his eyes, a satisfied, happy smile that gave Chad the shivers. He swiped a finger at the corner of Chad's mouth, then sucked it into his own before licking it clean. "Whatever you want, mijo. Whatever you want."

* * * *

I hope you enjoyed Chad and Raudel's swoony romance and their surprise forever after! If you haven't started the Uniform Encounters series yet, it's complete and features hot men in and out of uniform searching for the one who was meant for them. You can expect more swoon—but also spice, suspense, and mystery. Get started with Secret Fire , a grumpy/sunshine, opposites attract romance between a cop and fire marshal HERE . Read on for a peek at Chapter One: