Page 62 of Irresistibly Wicked

Show me off? She knew he was trying to make her smile, but she was too nervous to muster one. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

He opened the front door and put his hand on her lower back as they walked in. As reassuring as that familiar touch was, she longed for his hand. Holding it had made her feel safer, more grounded.

There were boots and shoes by the door, jackets hanging on hooks, and a narrow table with a candle and a framed photograph of what could only be a young Zander. She’d know his mischievous smile anywhere. He was holding hands with a little blond girl who was sticking her tongue out at the camera, just like Zander was, and a little mahogany-haired girl who was gazing up at him with wonderous eyes.

She pointed to the photo and whispered, “Is that adorable boy you?”

“Yeah. That’s Ashley with the blond hair, and Madigan.”

Shauna’s heart squeezed for their loss.

Zander’s hand pressed on her back, guiding her toward the living room as he called out, “Mom? Preach?”

“Out back,” someone yelled from outside, though Shauna didn’t see anyone through the screen door as they entered the living room.

Family photos decorated the living room walls, telling a story of kids growing up with parents who loved them. She recognized Zander and his brothers and Tank, and Madigan’s wondrous eyes were easy to spot, even in the pictures of her as an adult. Ashley was in so many pictures, Shauna could see they kept her spirit alive. No wonder Zander said he thought about her every day. She assumed the other people in the pictures were also his family.

Theirs was a warm, loving home, with a family who clearly treasured one another, so different from the home she’d grown up in. She shouldn’t be tearing this family apart.

“Zander,” she said just as a strikingly handsome man appeared on the other side of the screen door. He was big, broad, and bearded, with slicked-back salt-and-pepper hair and a stern facial expression that had her holding her breath. He wore jeans and a black leather vest over a white dress shirt, which was rolled up to his elbows, exposing colorful tattoos on his forearms and his hands.

Zander tensed beside her as he and the man locked eyes. His hand slid across Shauna’s back, his fingers curling around her waist, holding her closer, as if protecting her.

That had to be his father. Shauna’s heart raced as a petite woman hurried up the steps onto the deck, her mahogany hair brushing the shoulders of her red dress as she came to the man’s side and glanced through the screen door. Her face brightened, but there was a hint of tension in her eyes as she said, “Hi, honey.”

“Hi, Mom,” Zander said tightly.

Holding Shauna against his side, he guided her out the door with him, as if they were parts of the same being. The yard spilled out around them, and Shauna felt like she was seeing it in slow motion. The sun hung low in the sky, shimmering over a small pond, colorful gardens, and the lush lawn where dozens of chairs with pretty flowers and white bows tied to the backs were set up in front of a gazebo. Glass lanterns glimmered on either side of an aisle between the chairs, and more lanterns sparkled on the gazebo steps. Twinkling lights were wound through branches of tall trees and around the frame of the gazebo, illuminating gorgeous greenery and flowers decorating the entrance. Women in pretty dresses and men wearing jeans, white shirts, and leather vests just like Zander’s father were milling about, watching Zander and Shauna, as little girls in frilly dresses darted around them, chased by a dark-skinned little boy. Shauna tried to make sense of what she was seeing, but couldn’t.

“What is all this?” Zander demanded, his grip tightening around her.

“Hopefully, if you and Shauna will allow it, it’s for your wedding,” Preacher said.

The shock in Zander’s eyes was as sharp as the astonishment consuming Shauna.

“You caught us off guard the other evening, honey,” his mother said. “Of course we’re concerned about you two getting married. You might be a grown man, but you’re still our child, and we haven’t even had a chance to get to know Shauna.” She smiled warmly at Shauna.

Shauna tried to smile in return, managing a shaky one as she tried to process what was happening.

“But you were right, son,” Preacher said firmly, and turned a serious gaze on Shauna. “This brave young woman saved your life, and that should’ve been enough for us to support your decision to help her in whatever way you deem appropriate.”

Her throat thickened.

“About damn time you came around,” Zander said. He looked at Shauna, and the relief in his eyes was palpable. “What do you think, Angel? Should we forgive them, or head out for those tacos?”

“Um.” She was still in shock, her heart racing as the magnitude of the love his parents had for him hit her full force, and she choked out, “Can I talk to you alone for a second?”

“Of course.” He turned their backs to his parents and stepped toward the slider.

“Are they leavin’, or are we gettin’ married?” a little girl hollered.

“Rosie, hush!” another little girl yelled, and then there was a burst of giggles.

“We can’t do this,” Shauna whispered quickly. “This is like a real wedding, and we’re not real. It’s not fair to your family.”

“Remember when I said you entered the Wicked zone? This is what I was talking about. It took them a while to come around, but this is who my family is. And trust me, they wouldn’t have done it if they didn’t support it.”

“He’s right, honey,” his mother said from behind them, drawing her attention. “You might not be getting married forever, but you’re still marrying into our family, and that means something to us.”