Page 10 of Ice & Sweet

CHAPTER TEN

André

I tried not to think about Luke kissing me beside the cake, but it was all my mind could focus on as the wedding preparations kicked into full swing. Last night should have just been a one-time thing and we’d both agreed not to acknowledge our actions in public so we didn’t draw attention to ourselves, but that didn’t stop me from dwelling on it.

There was something about Luke that drew me to him and I couldn’t explain it. I’d been carrying a torch for him since the first moment we’d met and now it seemed to have burst into one of those ridiculous sparklers they put in desserts at restaurants for celebrations. Only it didn’t seem to be burning out.

If anything, it kept getting brighter.

I knew it was ridiculous to get attached to what was nothing more than one night at a wedding where we were conveniently stuck together, but something deep inside me whispered that if I still felt this way about Luke after all these years, then maybe it was worth exploring.

And the way he’d been so excited… Maybe I wasn’t the only one who’d been holding on to feelings for a while.

Or maybe that was simply the vain hope of the desperate.

Either way, now wasn’t the time to examine the situation closely. Not when I was about to watch my best friend marry the love of his life.

“Are you ready?” Natalia asked as we waited behind closed doors for the music to begin.

“I think so,” Kane said with a nervous smile, clutching Austin’s hand with white knuckles. “It’s a bit late now if not.”

“Thinking of running away, kitten?” Austin asked quietly, pressing a kiss to Kane’s temple and shooting him that same cocky smile he’d been wearing around Kane for years. God, how had I never realised they were together when Austin had always looked at Kane like that? Had they really believed what they had was nothing more than sex and Kane’s vague attempt at being irritated with Austin? If so, they were denser than I’d realised.

“No, I’m just… we’re finally here and it’s all hitting me.” He let out a soft laugh. “Good thing there’s only fifty people here.”

“Don’t think about them. Think about me,” Austin said. “You and me, sweetheart, just like always.” He kissed Kane and I had to glance away because it felt like I was intruding on a very private moment.

Instead I looked across at Luke, who was stood next to Theo and a tall older gentleman called Peter, whose face I knew but couldn’t place. Luke saw me looking and a smile spread across his face, unleashing a wave of butterflies in my chest and making my stomach twist and flutter like I’d just stepped out on stage.

“Okay,” Kane said. “Let’s fucking do this!”

“Fuck yeah! Let’s get fucking married, baby!”

Theo cheered and Luke laughed, and I couldn’t stop focusing on the way his face lit up. He’d always been gorgeous when he smiled, but his laugh was something else. There was a joy and freedom to it that I didn’t think I’d ever get tired of, no matter how long we knew each other.

Natalia nodded and tapped her phone a few times, and a minute later music began to swell from the other side of the door, courtesy of a string quartet. I glanced at Luke again as we shuffled into position to walk down the aisle. Kane and Austin had decided to walk together with Theo, Peter, Luke, and me in front of them.

Neither of them had wanted a whole swathe of people walking down in front of them, especially since the wedding was so small, but I had no idea why Kane had picked me over Toby, Dai, Haru, or any of his other friends. We’d always been close, but life had kept us apart recently and I hadn’t even been able to make their stag do.

Maybe those things didn’t matter, though.

The double doors in front of us opened, revealing the ceremony space and the waiting guests. The room was lit with pillar candles in lanterns and hundreds of fairy lights, with garlands on the walls and little sprigs of greenery tied to the chairs at the end of each row. At the far end of the room were large windows that looked out over the gardens, and even from here I could see the snow still falling, clinging onto the edges of the window like something out of a fairy tale.

As we walked slowly down the aisle, all I could focus on was Luke in his burgundy suit and how perfectly it fit him. I couldn’t decide if I liked him better in it or out of it.

Either way, I knew I couldn’t get through the rest of this weekend without another taste.

The ceremony was beautiful and I was glad I’d remembered to put a couple of tissues in my pocket because all of us had cried. And when they’d half walked, half danced out as husbands, laughing as they went, all of us had cheered and clapped so loudly I was sure I’d felt the wooden floor shaking beneath my feet.

“Are we still doing photos outside?” I asked as we all filed out into a cosy library where there were staff waiting with trays of drinks including mulled wine, hot cider, champagne, and a warmed apple punch for a non-alcoholic option. Outside, the sky was slightly less grey and the snow seemed to have slowed as the winter sun peeked out from behind the clouds, gifting us with little dazzling streams of light before it set again.

“I think so,” Luke said as he took a mug of hot cider. “But hopefully not many. I know the plan was to do most of them inside if the weather was bad, but if it’s stopped snowing, they might want to try a couple in the gardens.”

“If so, we’ll probably need to grab coats or something.”

“Nah, we can tough it out for a few minutes,” Luke said. “Except for maybe Theo. He probably ought to get something to cover his shoulders.”

I nodded. Instead of a suit, Theo had opted for a gorgeous floor-length gown in the same shade of burgundy, but the off-the-shoulder neckline and lack of proper sleeves wasn’t going to keep him warm if we ventured into the gardens. “I’ll let him know,” I said. “You’ve got a timeline of when things are happening, right?”

“Yes, but I don’t think I’ll need it. Natalia and her team are far more organised than me.”

I chuckled as I sipped my mulled wine. “Do you remember that time when we were in New York and got sidetracked playing Carcassonne backstage?”

“Yeah, I remember,” Luke said, a wry smile playing across his lips. “You were nearly late to go on because you all lost track of time and nobody bothered to remind you until ten minutes before. Toby was really pissed you couldn’t finish the game because he was winning.”

“I’m still not sure how that happened, considering how bossy our management was. But I was just thinking that if we’d been managed by Natalia, we’d have been on stage as soon as it hit seven.”

“You were older then. Maybe they thought you actually knew what you were doing?”

“I don’t think that ever happened,” I said. “What about you? Were you ever late for anything?”

“Never, not even the day after I got food poisoning when I was seventeen. Turned up at six, did an eight-hour day on some dry toast and half a bottle of water, went back to the hotel and passed out for ten hours.”

“Damn, I’m not sure if I should be impressed or horrified.”

“Definitely horrified,” said Luke as he took another sip of his cider. “It’s not something I should be bragging about.”

“Then I hope you’ll never do something like that again,” I said in a low voice as I fixed him with what I hoped was a firm expression. Luke grinned and leant closer.

“Don’t look at me like that. I don’t have time to get distracted.”

“And how am I distracting you?”

“Just the way you’re looking at me,” he said, turning his head slightly so it was harder for the rest of the room to see his face. “It’s fucking sexy, okay.”

I smirked and tilted my head down to whisper in his ear. “Do you have a thing for discipline then? Or do you just like being told what to do?”

A choked moan slipped from Luke’s lips and he glared at me as he took a long sip of his drink, trying to cover the sound. “Don’t start! I cannot get hard right now! We have photos to be in.”

“You didn’t answer my question.” I was having far too much fun teasing him, and being in public wasn’t putting me off. Based on last night, it was clear Luke liked it when I told him how good things felt and how gorgeous he was, and I was curious how far that extended.

Luke let out a strangled sound. “Fine! Sometimes I like being told what to do. It’s fun and hot and I don’t have to think for once. And I have no idea about discipline, but fuck, if you wanted to try spanking me, then be my guest because who the fuck knows.” He took another long sip of his drink and looked around the room. “Quick, change the subject. People are coming over.”

“I wondered where you two were hiding,” Haru said as he strolled towards us, glass of champagne in hand. “Are we still doing photos outside? If so, we’re going to freeze.”

“Oh, it’s not that cold out,” Dai said, throwing his arm over Haru’s shoulder and grinning. “It’s barely below freezing.”

“Excuse me but not all of us think minus two is tropical holiday weather.”

“Then you’re missing out.”

Haru rolled his eyes fondly and looked between Luke and me as Luke shuffled slightly further away from me as if he was trying to pretend we hadn’t just been stood less than two inches apart. “We probably need to round both parties up,” Luke said as soon as Haru opened his mouth. “Kane and Austin will be out soon and then we’ll do confetti, photos, canapés, all that stuff.”

“We don’t need to hand confetti out,” Dai said. “Toby and I practically threw it at people when they arrived, and I think Austin’s friends shoved a load of the spare envelopes in their pockets.”

“Did everyone make it okay?” I asked. Every time I’d looked out of the window today it had been snowing, and although it was a lot lighter than last night, there were still several inches on the ground. And given that this was England, it meant virtually all transport had ground to a complete standstill.

“I think most people arrived last night,” Haru said, looking at Luke for confirmation. “Kane wasn’t panicking about anyone being missing, so…”

“That might be because I took his phone off him,” Luke said slyly, reaching into the inside pocket of his suit jacket and pulling out Kane’s phone. He tapped the screen and then put it away again. “No messages or thousands of missed calls, so we’re fine. Anyway, it’s a bit late now.”

“I think a few people didn’t get here until the early hours,” Dai said. “But at least they got here.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Natalia entering the room and looking around for us. I put my hand up and waved her over. “We’re just discussing whether we’ll still be able to take photos outside,” I said, hoping she’d turn around and tell us it was impossible.

“I think it’ll be fine,” she said. “It’s not too cold and it’s stopped snowing, so we can definitely get some out in the gardens. It should look lovely with all the Christmas lights.”

“I told you it wasn’t cold,” Dai said with a triumphant laugh as he clapped Haru on the shoulder and pulled him into a half hug. “You owe me a drink.”

“The drinks are free, dumbass,” Haru said.

“Then you can go and get me another one. Please?”

“Fine but you’re coming with me.”

“If you see Theo, can you tell him to grab the little fur cape he’s got?” Luke said. “He’ll need it for photos. Also start rounding people up as we’ll do the confetti in a minute and I think we’re doing that…” He glanced at Natalia.

“On the steps to the garden. They’ve been cleared and salted, so there’s no risk of anyone slipping,” she said. As she spoke, I noticed she had a small earpiece and it suddenly made me wonder if Natalia and her team were ex-security or something. It was like being at a wedding run by MI5. “I’ll liaise with the photographers if you can help direct people out.”

“On the steps outside then,” Luke said, gesturing vaguely in the direction we’d need to go. “In five minutes. They can bring drinks if they want but they’ll need confetti too.”

“Roger that,” Dai said, throwing Luke a mock salute as he steered Haru away in search of more drinks.

“Do you think they’ll actually get people moving?” I asked as I watched them go, half wondering if there was more to their teasing than met the eye. Then again, they’d always teased each other, so it probably didn’t mean anything.

“I doubt it,” Luke said. He finished his drink and smiled at me. There was a soft flush in his cheeks and I wondered what it would take to make it deepen. “Can you give me a hand? Maybe find Peter and see if he can help too. He’s got one of those voices that people listen to.”

“He has. Do you know… I recognise him from somewhere and…”

Luke chuckled, his eyes twinkling. “He’s one of Austin’s friends from work. He goes by Wolf.”

“ Oh …”

“Yeah,” Luke said with a little sigh. “He’s hot. And that chest hair? Damn. Serious Daddy vibes.”

“Daddy vibes?” I asked, lowering my voice again and closing the gap between us. “I knew you had a thing for being put in your place.”

Luke’s flush deepened as he looked up at me, his eyes shining with desire. “Maybe if you’re lucky, you’ll get to find out later.”

I swallowed as Luke turned and began to talk to the people who’d been stood nearest to us.

No matter what we’d initially agreed, there was no way this was only going to be a one-night thing.

I had far too many ideas for him.

And it seemed like he had some ideas too.