Page 52 of Kiss & Collide (Racing Hearts #2)
Four months later Cloveshire Manor, England
“B efore this congregation, William and Miranda have given their consent and made their marriage vows to each other. They have declared their marriage by the joining of hands and by the giving and receiving of rings. I therefore proclaim that they are husband and wife.”
By the time the officiant said the words, twilight had deepened into night and fairy lights had twinkled on over the heads of the two hundred guests assembled on the grass for the wedding.
Behind Mira and Will, the ivy-covered walls of Cloveshire Manor provided a gorgeous backdrop for their wedding.
Violet stood at the front of the congregation behind Mira, who she thought looked like a proper princess in her lace sheath dress, her blond hair in a riot of curls down her back. Will, looking sharp as anything in a black tux, held her hands and gazed down at her like she was a miracle.
Will leaned in to kiss her and everyone erupted in applause. Violet scanned the crowd, past Mira’s father, Paul Wentworth, and his new wife, Natalia, and past Will’s sour-faced, insufferable parents, the Hawleys, who couldn’t even be bothered to smile at their son’s wedding.
She finally spotted Chase sitting in the row behind Will’s sister, Jemima, and her girlfriend.
He looked absolutely edible in a fitted black suit and crisp white dress shirt, open at the neck.
She wanted to grab fistfuls of that gorgeous tousled black hair, climb onto his lap, and do unspeakable things to him.
She’d start a mental list of them for when they were back in their hotel suite later.
After the ceremony concluded and the guests were streaming across the lawn toward a huge white tent for the reception in, Chase found her.
He reached out and ran a finger over her hip. “Nice dress.”
“Mira said I could wear what I wanted.” She smoothed a hand down the emerald-green silk sheath.
“Lucky me.” His eyes were lit up with hunger as he sidled closer to her and grabbed her hips with both hands.
Laughing, she pushed on his chest with two fingers. “I’ve got a speech to give at the reception, so whatever filthy thing you’re imagining, it’s going to have to wait.”
“Is that my favorite PR person in the whole world??”
Violet heard the words, called out in a broad Texas accent, and turned to see Mira’s mother, the former supermodel Cherie Delain, descending on her with arms spread wide.
“Hi, Cherie.”
Cherie swept her up in a bone-crushing hug. “It’s so good to see you, honey.”
“You, too, Cherie.” Last year back at Lennox, Mira had done her tell-all interview about Brody McKnight, then closed the book on that miserable chapter of her life and moved on.
Violet and Cherie, however, had been far from done with him.
They’d texted back and forth whenever another shitty thing he’d done came to light, and Violet did what she could to make sure every major media outlet reported about it. It had bonded them for life.
“Who’s this handsome friend of yours?” Cherie asked, all mischievous smiles and twinkling green eyes, just like Mira’s.
“Cherie, this is my boyfriend, Chase Navarro. Chase, this is Mira’s mum, Cherie.”
That word … “boyfriend” … had been hard to say at first, but it was coming easier to her now.
All of this was coming easier. She’d let Chase slip through one crack in her armor, and it seemed like a flood of people had flowed in with him.
Mira and Will, Rabia and Rajan, who had turned out to be hilarious and awesome, Imogen, Leon, Chase’s parents and siblings …
Nicole was texting her almost daily, just to chat, and next month she was finally going to meet Samantha, Chase’s sister.
She’d even been added to the Navarro family WhatsApp, although she could barely keep up with the chaos.
“So nice to meet you, Chase. You take good care of my girl, Violet. She’s special.”
Chase looped his arm around her waist and tugged her closer. “She sure is.”
“Ah, you two. You’re adorable together.” Cherie sighed. “I’m gonna go catch up with my baby girl. Enjoy yourselves tonight.”
“See you inside, Cherie.”
“She’s sweet,” Chase said as she left.
“Until you fuck with her, then watch out. But, yes, she’s really sweet. She’s a good mom to Mira.”
“And you.”
Violet pivoted around to look at him. “What are you talking about?”
“She thinks of you as one of hers.”
“Cherie? You think so?”
“It’s obvious, Violet. She adores you. So does my mom. Because you’re adorable, I guess.”
She nudged her elbow into his side as they walked across the lawn. “The last thing I am is adorable.”
“Maybe not, but you’re lovable. They love you. And so do I.”
She nudged him again, but this nudge was softer and ended in a sideways hug.
“Looks like Mira and Will are heading in,” Chase said, pointing toward the tent. After the ceremony, the two of them had been whisked away by the photographer for a few more formal portraits but now they were back for the reception.
“They look really happy together,” Violet said, watching as Mira looked up at Will, her face glowing.
“Forever looks good on them.”
Violet sighed, feeling a very rare pang of sentimentality. “It does.”
Beside her, Chase ducked to murmur near her ear. “I think it would look good on us, too.”
She stopped walking and turned to face him, heart pounding. “Are you—”
Chase grinned, holding his hands up. “I’m not asking anything. Yet.” Then he reached out for her hand and brought it up to brush a kiss across her knuckles. “I’m just planting the seed.”
“Planting the seed,” she repeated.
He slid his arm around her shoulders and turned them both toward the reception again. “Because I know that with you, seeds take some time to blossom.”
As they walked, his arm holding her against his side, she absorbed that idea—forever. And she found—shockingly—that it wasn’t as terrifying as she’d thought it would be. Not now, and not tomorrow. But maybe in the future …
“Maybe,” she said out loud, very quietly.
Chase let out a soft huff of laughter and tightened his grip on her. “Take all the time you need, Violet. For you, I’ve got forever.”