Page 13 of Matrimonial Merger (Lakeshore Empire #2)

Daphne

Before my first wedding, I’d held onto my father’s arm for dear life, afraid I was making the biggest mistake of my life.

I told myself it was just nerves, but knew deep down it was wrong.

And in the end, it had been. Today was different.

Today, I wore a chic dress to match the grown up, empowered Daphne I’d become.

I held the arm of a man I loved beyond reason.

My favorite earrings and a bracelet I’d inherited from my grandmother tied me to the past as I stood out facing my happy future.

I still thought about what would have been if Cal and I ended up together that year—if I’d stayed in Chicago—but he was right, we couldn’t change the past and the timing was off.

As we hid in a hallway, I looked Cal’s way. It was perfect. I missed Dad. I wished he could be here, but I loved this man. It was right.

“You okay?” Cal asked. “You’re not going to faint or?—”

“No,” I shook my head. “Cal, I love you. This is perfect. Dad would have been proud.”

Cal smiled. “He would be so happy. I just wish he could be here.”

“Same, but… in a way if he’d never asked you to watch over me and if I’d never found my way back to you, it never would have happened, right? He’s here in spirit.”

“He sort of ordained it,” Cal snickered. “That’s David.”

“Making a deal—a merger—posthumously,” I giggled.

“Sneaky bastard—in life as in death.”

I rested my head on Cal’s shoulder and said, “I don’t want anything else. I couldn’t.”

Cal held my waist tighter. “Never.”

“Cal?”

“Yes, baby?”

I looked back at him with all the love in the world. “I want the baby to be Delphine-Markham. I want her to have both names.”

“That’s probably good because I told John to announce us that way. We talked about it?—”

“I know,” I said. “But we should do it. I want the kids to have both names.”

“Same,” Cal said. “So, now we’re talking kids ?”

I blushed as the music picked up. “Is that terrible?”

“Daphne! Cal!” The wedding planner waved us over. Our guests were seated. It was time to go. There was no time for Cal to answer.

We took our places before slowly walking down the aisle.

Any worries about my confession abated as I glanced at Cal.

He was high on the feeling, not at all worried about my words.

He loved me. Everything else faded. Our families and friends looked on.

Dora Elizabeth, Dahila, Chloe, and even Elise Markham cried what I hoped were happy tears.

Mum would never cry like this, but she smiled.

These people wanted to be here for us. It was a perfect moment—more perfect than I ever dreamed up.

The judge began, “We gather today to join Cal and Daphne in matrimony today. Before I begin, the couple would like to welcome you all.”

Cal and I looked out and I began other lose it. Tears welled. Delanie rushed forward on cue to hand me a tissue.

“Thanks,” I whispered.

We turned back to one another, our gaze never dropping until Cal pulled out our vows—his written in his terrible scrawl, mine in my neat script. Hell, as bad as his handwriting was, I could only think about it with love now.

He elected to go first. “Daphne, I won’t pontificate too long about my love for you, because I think it’s pretty obvious, but I do love you.

You are so wonderful—compassionate, loving, and supportive beyond measure.

But what I admire about you most is your willingness to go to the mat for your family.

And today, I am so lucky to officially be in that fortunate group. ”

I dabbed my tears that ran even more.

“You are so fierce, my love. And I know that you will be a dedicated partner and mother to our future children.”

Children . Clearly, we were on the same page.

“And while that trajectory may have started a bit sooner than we intended originally, I wouldn’t want to live this chaotic life with anyone else.”

“Wait, are you pregnant?” One of my aunts asked.

I turned momentarily and nodded.

Those in the room who didn’t know erupted, interrupting Cal’s flow. He paused like the adept speaker he was.

“We’re both really happy,” Cal clarified. “But this wedding was rushed at Daphne’s urging, not because of any external pressure.”

I clarified, “I really just wanted to not be miserably pregnant.”

I turned back to Cal, signaling he should continue, “I promise to show up, to take care of you, and to always be an equal player in life and parenthood. Daphne, you have made me the happiest man alive. And for that… I could not be more grateful.”

“I couldn’t either,” I said, starting my vows. “Cal, I am glad I gave over to the love before me rather than ran from it. Things were messy. Things weren’t always easy, but we never gave up. And you? You taught me to accept love the way I never knew I could—and in a way I never know I deserved.”

I sniffled, fighting sobbing tears. “Oh, God, sorry. I’m falling apart.”

Cal squeezed my hands. “Take your time, Daph.”

Delanie handed me another tissue and I took a deep breath.

“You are so wonderful. You love me so purely and so fully. I have no doubt that you will always treat me with love and respect. I am so lucky, Cal, that it finally worked out. And I’ve never been so sure about anything in my life.

I promise to always support you, love you, and trust you. ”

That last one brought tears to his eyes.

Delanie handed him a tissue and gave him a pat on the back, eliciting a deep chuckle from the crowd.

The judge waited for us to confirm he could move on with the rest. He picked back up with the ring exchange. Cal slid my wedding band on—with a little bit of force since my fingers were swollen. I did the same for him. And then, we were done.

“And with the power of the great state of Illinois, I pronounce you husband and wife.”

Cal didn’t wait a second longer to kiss me.

And I could have swore that I held onto that kiss forever because I wanted to give our photographer the best view of a kiss, but it was mostly because I never wanted it to end.

I wanted to bottle this moment—the moment when I finally became Cal Markham’s wife and partner for life.

When we pulled back, Cal said, “I love you, Daph.”

“You too, Cal. So much.”

We turned to look at the crowd which was now on its feet cheering us on.

“And with that, I am so proud to introduce you to the Delphine-Markhams.”

And we were. It was the best merger of my life.

Cal

“It was the best wedding I’ve been to in ages,” Kristy said. “An ambush wedding where everyone was happy for the couple and no one seemed stressed.”

I shook my head. “I was sweating bullets all day waiting for something to explode.”

“You looked truly in the moment by the time we got to see you,” Kristy promised.

I smiled. “I was. It was truly the best feeling.”

She patted me on the back. “It was wonderful to see. You love her. She loves you. It was always the way it should have been.”

“I always feel awkward admitting that,” I said.

“Cal, we needed to find each other to find our partners. For me, that’s what makes it even more beautiful. We both got what we needed in the end—our happily ever afters. And for that, I am so grateful. Thanks for inviting us.”

“Your urging was what put this thing together. Thanks for being my gut check and friend, Kristy.”

She smiled. “Anytime. Daphne deserves it. In a strange way, as happy as I am for you , I am even happier for her. She has so much light in her eyes. You’ve brought her back to the plucky girl who was never afraid to argue with you in a meeting.”

I snickered. “You’re right. But I’d like to think I just gave her some space to feel that way. It’s all her. She’s the brains.”

I watched Daphne dance—totally caught up in the joy of the moment—with her sisters.

“Make her rest tomorrow,” Kristy said. “She’s going to be exhausted.”

“I know. I don’t even know how she’s upright now.”

“She’s happy. She’s love-drunk. It does wild things to you. Are you taking her anywhere for an actual honeymoon?”

“Well, since she’s not going to be able to travel in June, I decided to bump that up. We’re going to Hawaii in a few weeks.”

Where it all began .

“She doesn’t know,” I added. “It’s a surprise.”

“You are full of them. I won’t lie. I’m jealous. You would have never .”

I snickered. “You hated surprises. They never worked out.”

“So does Daphne.”

“Daphne is… I know what buttons I can push. It’s hard to explain.”

“You’re perfect together. I get it. You do not have to explain. Go on, pull that woman off the dance floor and make sure she drinks water.”

I took Kristy’s advice, finally getting Daphne alone for a minute. It was true that the newlyweds never got much time together at the wedding.

“We need to cut the cake,” I said. “We keep putting it off.”

She pulled me into a slow dance as the music changed, looping her arms around my neck. “Okay. I will cut the cake—and eat it—but then I want to go home.”

I smiled. “That sounds lovely.”

“I am so full,” Daphne said. “I couldn’t want more. I just want to grow old with you and do all the things.”

I kissed her. “It’s all both of us want—and need.”

“Okay, let’s tell them to do the cake. Do not smash it into my face.”

“I would never ,” I gasped. “That’s just dickish behavior.”

“Just to be clear, that is a fireable offense.”

“For certain,” I agreed.

We flagged down the wedding planner who called everyone over for the cake cutting.

It was the only traditional thing we’d done.

Daphne was certain she didn’t want to do a bouquet toss or a a garter toss—which she described as “cringe”.

While I agreed to both of those being ridiculous, Dora had protested the bouquet toss.

She was desperate to catch that damn bouquet.

We cut the cake without even a minor smash and kissed quickly while people clapped.

Everyone was so happy for us—even Mom who admitted it was a wonderful wedding and she was happy for us to be happy, too.

She’d softened—taking my words in Daphne’s office seriously. It was the wakeup call she’d needed.

“Now, I’m going to eat this cake!” Daphne declared. “And I want a second slice because these are tiny.”

I hatched about piece out of the cake and handed it over. I kissed her once more and finally got her to sit down and take a minute. She scarfed down her two pieces of cake and finished mine off before I could. In the end, I wasn’t much for cake, so it was fine.

“I love the strawberry filling,” Daphne said. “You did well.”

“I am glad it met your expectations.”

“It was beyond. Well done, Mayor Markham. Another smash hit.”

I leaned over, kissing her slowly.

“Oh, take me home already,” she groaned. “I cannot handle it. I want to jump your bones.”

It surprised me, but I would take it.

“We should say goodbye to everyone.”

“If we do, then it will take forever.”

She was right. “But isn’t it rude?—”

“We’re the newlyweds. It’s our own party. We can do whatever we want.”

“Point taken.”

We notified the planner, who called the car. And we got no further than Michigan Ave before Daphne kissed me—hot and heavy like I was the air she needed to breathe. I still didn’t understand her impulsive side, but I loved it.

“Daph, we should wait,” I chuckled.

“I don’t want to,” Daphne said, calling up to the driver. “Can we put the partition up? And just… drive in circles if we need to—take Lakeshore Drive. Hell, head to Wisconsin if you need to.”

I chuckled. The driver got the drift and Daphne tossed my bowtie aside.

“Daph, where does this side of you come from? Where does bad girl Daphne live? And why am I so lucky to see her this evening?”

“I love you. And I want every bit of you. Plus, I found out from Chloe that you’re taking me to Hawaii and I’m a little horny just thinking about it.”

“Fucking Chloe,” I said. “Let’s not talk about Chloe.”

“Fair,” Daphne said. “Just think about getting me off.”

“Daphne—”

“That’s not my name right now,” Daphne growled, pulling her dress up. She guided my hand up her thigh until it was past the point of no return.

“Daphne, you aren’t wearing any panties.”

“As you know full well you love.”

“God, I love you. Are you gonna cum for me, princess?” I played with her wet clit.

“Yes,” Daphne gasped. “Don’t fucking stop until you’ve gotten me off.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

And that was how I managed to get Daphne Delphine off in the back of a limo headed north on Lakeshore. It wasn’t on my bingo card, but as she moaned my name and pulsed around my fingers, I didn’t really want it any other way.

“Oh, fuck,” she whimpered, coming back down. “We shouldn’t have done that.”

“And yet, we did,” I said. “But I know you’re going to want to do the same… and I want to wait until we get home.”

“And then what?” Her nostrils flared.

“I’m going to fuck my wife on the new dining table she just ordered,” I said. “Fuck her until she screams for mercy.”