Chapter 151 Love You No Matter What
Emily and Byron went up to their suite in the farm house. The ceremony had been intense, and they needed a bit of time to recover and be alone for a half hour before the reception began. Meanwhile, the guests could wander around the farm or hang out in the barn, which was decorated for the reception with flowers and fairy lights.
The suite they were in had a simple but lovely décor. There were paintings of horses on the walls, and the furniture was old-fashioned and functional. It felt like a restful country retreat.
“We pulled it off,” Byron said, putting his hands around her waist like he couldn’t wait for their first dance… or their wedding night. “I hope you were happy with how it all went, minus the Carter incident?”
Emily placed her hands on his shoulders and returned his admiring look. Gazing up at him, she could hardly believe they were married. “I’m glad we managed without a martial arts demonstration. Some other time, sure, but not at our wedding. You don’t think Carter ruined it?”
“Hardly,” he shrugged. “No wedding is perfect. But some brides are.”
He leaned forward to kiss her, and the kiss was not as restrained as the one they had done for wedding guests. It made her whole face tingle and her legs weak. She stumbled back and they fell onto the bed, but then the hold on her lips was suddenly released.
“That was just to get us fired up for the wedding night,” Byron said, “There’s not enough time now to enjoy all the things I’m thinking of doing.”
The ‘firing up’ seemed to have worked because the kiss made Emily crave so much more. She felt an invisible string of energy like a magnetic pull between them throughout the whole reception.
Even when they walked hand in hand into the festively decorated barn and were greeted like royalty, Emily could hardly think of anything but how much she anticipated the touch of his hands on her skin, the pressing of his lips on hers, the weight of his body on top of her.
Although she savored the party, she also savored the indulgence yet to come.
Before dinner began, everyone circulated, chatting, snacking and drinking. Emily was embraced by all her family members and congratulated by her friends. When it came to Quinn Faines’s turn to talk to them, he had a strong hug for both bride and groom.
“You two are amazing,” he said. “I promised my wife to cut back on touring, but I had to make an exception for your wedding. And that’s why I brought her along. You seem to do everything together, and you inspire me.”
“I’m trying not to let all the compliments go to my head,” Emily said, “but to hear this coming from you, Quinn, I can’t help it. You're the one who inspires me.”
"I guess it was time you returned the favor," he said with a wink.
After a dinner of delicious food, they strolled into the middle of the floor for their first dance. Quinn Faines played his guitar and sang a song he had written just for this occasion. It wasn’t just a dream come true, but more than Emily could have ever wished for.
Dancing with the man she adored, spinning away and then back into his arms, where she felt safe and desired, she felt a rush of happiness like she had never imagined possible.
“Even if you decided to run away with Carter on our wedding day,” he whispered in her ear, “I would still love you. I love you no matter what.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” she whispered back. “I love you forever.”
More people joined them on the dance floor as Quinn sang more of his songs. Then the jazz band which was hired to please Sylvia took over, and the party got more and more lively.
Emily felt so happy and energized that she hardly ever left the dance floor. She danced with Byron, and when he needed a break, she danced with her friends from work.
She spotted Katie dancing with Mateo, which raised a lot of questions in her mind. Was Mateo’s charm working? Being Byron’s half-brother made him not so far removed from being a billionaire, which was Katie’s favorite type.
When Emily ran into Katie on her way to the snack table, she couldn’t help asking how it was going with her admirer.
“Oh, don’t be silly,” Katie said, rolling her eyes, “He’s just a kid. A very cute kid. And he seems pretty crazy about me, but let’s face it he’s younger than me.”
“Okay, I’ve given up playing matchmaker,” Emily said, “So I’m not going to try to influence you either way. You seem like you’re having fun anyways.”
“I am,” Katie said with a luminous smile. “This is the best wedding ever!”
“I’m definitely getting a big head,” Emily said, “Too many compliments.”
“But they’re well-deserved,” Katie remarked as she went to rejoin Mateo.
The celebration his a new high note with the cutting of the cake, which was made up of several tiers of chocolate, coffee, hazelnut, strawberry and guava towering on top of each other. Each different flavor was delectable to the senses with its richness of color and texture, not to mention the taste of sweet chocolate and fruit.
Emily thought this was worth taking a break from dancing, and she tried each layer of the cake until she was completely full, trying to feed some of it to Byron, who was more than happy to finish it for her.
Soon the DJ took over from the band, and a big dance party began. By this time, Emily thought it might be safe for the newlyweds to sneak away and let the rest of the people keep dancing.
She looked over at Byron, who seemed to have read her mind because he nodded to her as if it was an agreed-upon signal. Soon he got out of the conversation he was in, and together they made their way out of the barn, casting one last look at their wedding festivities.
