Page 18 of Big Rucking Disaster (Rucked by You #8)

Johnnie

“ You may kiss the groom.” The priest beamed as he offered the words.

Isaiah grasped Travis’s cheeks in his hands and pressed the sweetest of kisses.

Had that been me? I’d have kissed Yardley for all I was worth.

As if sensing that, he grasped my hand.

The grooms before us, though, had to be more circumspect.

Isaiah’s mother had spent a lot of time cajoling her church to let her baby boy get married here—in a space she held close to her heart.

The battle had been an uphill slog, but she’d won.

This was the first gay wedding to be held here and, we all hoped, not the last.

Becca, who stood to my right, sniffed.

Roger, catching his wife’s eye from the riser, smiled. He’d been happy to stand up for Isaiah. Travis’s friend Dodge was standing up for him. I’d yet to hear the story behind the name—because his given name wasn’t Dodge , but I hadn’t figured it out yet.

Something for later?

Yardley squeezed my hand.

“You are now married.” The priest raised his hands toward the grooms.

The room erupted in laughter, cheers, and applause.

The man appeared momentarily taken aback.

Ah, no one warned him what a squad of rugby players and their spouses were like.

Fair.

The grooms started back down the aisle, but stopped at the first pew where both kissed Isaiah’s mom. The mom who had always embraced him, loved him, and championed him. And she now loved her son-in-law just as fiercely.

Love I’d never known.

Still, if not for my uncle and his love of rugby, I wouldn’t have made it into Yardley’s life, and mine would have been so much poorer. Would I have figured out I was bi? Hard to say. Did I love having his cock up my ass? Hell fucking yes.

The grooms passed us, with Travis winking at me.

I might’ve picked his brain about how to be a good bottom. Turned out, laying there and taking it wasn’t all I could do. I’d used his advice and had blown Yardley’s mind.

Go me .

Roger extended his hand to Becca.

She offered him a brilliant smile.

They walked down the aisle together.

I sighed.

Yardley pressed himself against me. “What?”

“I want that.” I gestured with my chin.

“Five kids and a house in the suburbs?”

“Burnaby?”

“Yeah.”

“That would be a bitch of a commute for both of us.”

“Yeah.”

“But your house has three spare bedrooms for kids. Why would we move?” Plus, if things got really nuts, we could reconnect the basement to the main house and use it as part of our home instead of a rental unit.

“So let’s not move. Except to get the last of your stuff in with me.”

I was happy to walk away from my rental apartment in Gastown.

The landlord had a waiting list a mile long and was thrilled to return my security deposit and to see the last of me.

Probably planned to jack up the rent. Unfortunate for the next person—but at least they’d have a roof over their head. “Sounds good.”

We followed the crowd out to the little reception area where hugs were given freely. I loved that about the squad—the affection shared easily with everyone.

Hell, even Yardley gave more than a few hugs.

Two hours later, our asses were parked in a line near the buffet at a local celebration hall.

I hopped from foot to foot.

Yardley pressed a hand to my hip. “You look like you have to pee.”

“I’m hungry.” That might’ve contained the hint of a whine.

Travis and Isaiah made their way, along with Isaiah’s mother, to the front of the line.

Isaiah caught my gaze.

I nodded.

He grinned and cleared his throat. “I know you’re all starving—”

A cheer went up.

“—but we have one last thing to take care of.”

General good-natured grumbles.

There, in front of my entire squad, their families, and everyone else invited—about sixty people—I dropped to one knee.

Isaiah’s mother gasped.

Becca squealed.

Yardley’s inhale was sharp.

I grasped his hand. “I know—” Remember to breathe . “—we talked about you proposing.”

A general chuckle went up.

“But I needed you to know that I’m in this too. That I want to show you how much I love you. And yeah, it’s only been two months—”

“And six days.” He added that because precision was important to him.

“And six days,” I repeated. I fumbled in my pocket for the ring. When I finally had a good grasp on it, I held it out. “Would you do me the honor—” I couldn’t. My throat closed with an emotion so strong it would’ve brought me to my knees had I not already been there.

He lowered himself so he knelt across from me. “From the moment you stepped into my gym, I thought that’s a guy I could love . Not just because you’re sexy as fu—”

I grinned.

He cleared his throat. “But because you have a heart of gold. Those kids look up to you, and they’re lucky to have you in their lives.” His eyes shone.

I read the unspoken words as well—that if we ever had kids of our own, whatever that looked like, they’d be lucky too.

“You’re mine.” He grasped my chin and kissed me something fierce. His tongue invaded my mouth as I clung to him—ever mindful of the ring.

Finally, he pulled back. “The answer’s yes.”

“Oh, thank God.” Roger laughed. “Now can we eat?”

That night, as Yardley and I came together, we pledged ourselves to each other. This was a forever thing.

Out of disaster, I’d found my forever man.

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