Page 30 of Need (Men of Inked Sinners #3)

OLIVER

Christmas – Clearwater, Florida

“How can you look so calm?” Liam asks me, pacing around the room like a caged animal.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

He stops, spins on his heel, and pins me with his stare. “Because you’re getting married.”

“I asked her to marry me.”

My brother drags a hand down his face as he shakes his head. “It’s a big step. Nail in the coffin. End of it all.”

“End of what?”

“Freedom,” he says as he starts to pace again, wearing a path in the carpeting of the hotel room.

The door opens, and Vinnie pops his head in. “We’re ready.”

I give him a nod and turn toward the full-length mirror, making sure nothing is out of place as Vinnie disappears. “I’m ready.” I move toward the door, but Liam stops me, grabbing my arm.

“Are you sure?”

“Brother, if I weren’t sure, I wouldn’t have asked her. What’s your problem?”

He drops his hand and tucks it into the pocket of his pants. “I thought… I don’t know. I thought you’d be single your entire life.”

“I didn’t have plans to get married anytime soon, but when you meet the right girl, you got to make sure the relationship sticks.”

“I like Lulu,” he says.

“Well, that’s good. Didn’t matter if you didn’t.”

“She’s perfect for you.”

“I know.”

“But I’m sure someone thought Mom and Dad were perfect for each other before they were married, and look at how they turned out.”

I place my hand on Liam’s shoulder, trying to console my brother. “Not every relationship ends like theirs, Liam. I won’t let their mistakes guide my future. I want to be married to Lulu. I want to make a family. I want however many years I have left on this planet with the woman I love.”

“Will I still be your family?” he asks, his lips turned down as he can barely meet my gaze.

“You’ll always be my family. You’re not losing a brother. You’re gaining a sister. ”

“Fuck. I never wanted one of those. They’re so bossy.”

“My sons,” Mom says, stepping into the room before I have a chance to leave.

Everyone is waiting downstairs, and the wedding is set to start in fifteen minutes. The sunset won’t wait for anyone, especially my family and their relationship issues.

“You both look so handsome,” she says, touching Liam’s cheek before kissing mine.

“Can we walk and talk?” I ask her, glancing down at my watch.

“Oh yes. We can’t be late,” she replies and walks back toward the door.

I take my mom’s arm as soon as we’re in the hallway, the door slamming behind us. I hate hotels. It’s impossible to get any sleep because everything needs to seal shut like it’s Fort Knox.

“Are you nervous?” Mom asks.

“Not a bit, but he is.” I tick my chin in Liam’s direction.

“He’s always a bundle of energy. He has been since the day he was born. Sometimes good, but usually bad.”

“I can hear you,” Liam gripes, smashing his finger into the elevator button.

“Maybe he’ll get married soon,” Mom says.

Liam turns and shakes his head. “Not a chance. I’m too young for that. ”

“Too dumb too,” I add, teasing my brother.

“Sharla doesn’t want to get married either,” he adds.

“Sharla isn’t the type of woman you marry,” Mom tells him, saying what we all think but don’t say. “But you’re not the type of man a woman wants to marry either.”

“What’s that mean?” Liam asks her as the elevator doors open.

We step inside and I hope the conversation is going to end, but of course it doesn’t.

“You’re too into a good time. You party too much, and you’re more led around by the thing between your legs than what’s in that head of yours.”

“Oh, his head leads him, just not the right one,” I say, thinking I’m being cute, but the look my mother gives me says otherwise.

“I’m too young,” Liam says, jamming his finger against the lobby button harder than he did to get the elevator to our floor. “Give me ten years.”

“You’ll be in your forties then,” Mom says, shaking her head.

“My life will be almost over at that age. Might as well settle down before everything stops working.”

“Jesus,” Mom mutters. “Nothing stops working then.”

“Pretty much,” Liam adds.

“You’re going to look like a grandpa at your kid’s high school graduation,” Mom tells him .

Liam winces. “I’m never having children. A wife is bad enough, but babies? Hell no.”

I roll my eyes. I don’t know why he’s so sour on everything. Sure, our parents weren’t the epitome of romance and a long-term relationship. But our lives weren’t that bad, and we were along for the ride with Randall and Mom, who have a good relationship.

As soon as the elevator doors open, the music from the beach and the string quartet Lulu booked hits me. My heart leaps in my chest as I step into the warmth and humidity, and everything crashes into me.

I’m getting married today.

I am lucky enough to have found an amazing woman, but the fact that she is willing to hitch her trailer to me forever is a freaking miracle.

She is all class, while I am covered in oil and smell like burned rubber.

I’ve never been the type to get nervous in front of a crowd, but when I walk down the aisle toward the officiant and everyone turns to look at me, my stomach dips.

Lulu’s mom stops me before I can take my place. “You look so handsome, Oliver. You doing okay, baby?”

“I’m good, ma’am.” I give her a smile, seeing Lulu’s features in her face.

“I’m not a ma’am to you. I’m Delilah or Ma. That’s it,” she says and lifts her hand to my tie, adjusting it. “Got it?”

“I do,” I say as I lift my gaze toward the bank of elevators I just came from.

“Treat my baby good, and we won’t have an issue.”

“I plan to worship her.”

She smiles up at me and pats my chest. “Welcome to the family, Oliver.”

I realize then, I’m not only marrying Lulu—I am joining something bigger.

I never had a large family, at least not one I was close to by distance or familiarity.

They say when you marry someone, you marry their family, and there’s no other group of people I’d rather join than the Gallos.

They are solid people. Welcoming and kind.

Gracious and giving. Nosy and sweet. They don’t have a bad side that I’ve seen, and they are more than willing to have one another’s backs for just about anything, even if it puts their lives in danger.

“Go,” my soon-to-be mother-in-law says, pushing me toward my spot on the beach where I’ll watch my future walk toward me.

I have barely a moment to catch my breath and ready myself when the elevator doors slide open, and the music the quartet is playing changes.

My breath lodges in my throat as Lulu steps out of the elevator and is bathed in sunshine like an angel coming down from the heavens .

“Damn,” I whisper, knowing I’m the luckiest son of a bitch in the world. On paper, we don’t work, but when we are together, nothing else matters.

She is the clean to my messy. She is the organized to my chaos.

“Stunning,” I say, unable to take my eyes off her as she glides down the sand toward me on her father’s arm.

The attendants stand, turning in her direction.

We lock eyes, and everything else fades away. My wife is walking toward me.

My wife.

My future.

Never in a million years did I think I’d meet my future that day I took the call about a busted tire. I almost passed the job to Liam. And if I had, I wouldn’t be here, and Lulu may very well not be alive because there’s no way he would’ve tackled her to save her life.

All the nervousness I’ve had about standing up in front of everyone vanishes as she stops before me, looking more beautiful than I’ve ever seen her look in my life.

“Hi,” she says with a slight squeak to her voice.

“Hi,” I whisper, trying not to have my voice crack since I’m getting all choked up.

I’ve never been an emotional guy, but there’s something about this moment that makes it impossible for me to keep my shit even .

“You’re beautiful,” I mouth as the officiant starts to talk, and everyone behind us sits.

The ceremony passes in a blur. I can’t stop staring at the woman of my dreams whom I somehow made my reality. I don’t know what I did to deserve this kind of happiness, but I’m thankful for it every single day.

When the man says, “You may kiss the bride,” I grab my wife and pull her flush against me.

I see a hunger burning in her eyes as I lean down and take her lips with mine. The kiss isn’t sweet and gentle like they show in those shitty movies Lulu and Zoey force me to watch with them. No. This is a claiming. A marking. I kiss her long and deep, leaving my mark and sealing the union forever.

Lulu’s breathless as I pull away from her, and our family and friends clap, along with a few hoots and hollers.

We did it.

We are officially husband and wife.

“I love you,” I tell my wife.

“I love you too, husband,” she says, sending a thrill of pleasure through me.

“Say it again,” I tell her, holding her around the waist.

“Husband,” she whispers, peering up at me with so much love, my heart threatens to burst.

“Let’s get this party started,” Zoey says, breaking the moment, which is probably for the best because I was about ready to throw Lulu over my shoulder and consummate the marriage immediately.

“I’m starving,” Lulu says.

“Me too, but not for food.”

Lulu smiles up at me, placing a hand on my chest. “Later, big guy. We have a party to attend, and we’re the guests of honor.”

“Can we leave early?”

“All good things come to those who wait.”

I’ve waited my entire life for this moment. I can wait a little longer. Celebrating our big day is important to Lulu—and me too—but she planned every little detail, and I want everything to be perfect for her. She deserves as much.

I take my wife’s hand, leading her back down the aisle as our guests move in front of us, heading toward the terrace overlooking the beach at sunset.

The only thing more beautiful than a sunset over the Gulf is my wife, and I do my best to memorize every moment of today to look back on someday when I am old and my body is wrinkled.

“Huh,” Zoey says, glancing over at my brother as they walk a few feet in front of us. “Who knew you could clean up so well.”

“I’m always handsome,” he replies.

“Debatable,” she teases him.

Thankfully, Zoey has not fallen for my brother, but since the shit with Mark, she hasn’t bothered to fall for anyone else either .

“You’re a stunner,” he tells her.

“Sharla,” Zoey shoots back. “Don’t be an asshole. I like her.”

“Me too,” he tells her.

“Then tell her she’s a stunner.”

“Sharla knows she’s a stunner.”

“So do I,” Zoey says, putting him in his place. “Women don’t need their egos stroked as often as men.”

My brother laughs as he walks beside her. Our maid of honor and best man. They’re the two most important people in our lives, besides each other.

I’ve grown closer to Liam over the last year, closer than we’ve been since we were little kids. He isn’t a bad guy. Sure, he is still a jagoff, but he has his moments of kindness, even if they are as rare as spotting a black Florida panther in the wild.

Lulu chuckles beside me, squeezing my hand. “They fight like they’re siblings,” she says, peering up at me and squinting from the fading sunlight.

“That they do,” I tell her.

The night passes quickly.

Dinner. Drinks. Dancing.

The sun slowly drops below the horizon as the lights on the terrace kick on, casting the party in a soft glow.

We’ve spoken to every single person who’s attended the wedding, and that took most of our time. Lulu’s family is mind-bogglingly large, and I won’t remember half their names by morning.

“This was the best day ever,” Lulu says in my arms as we move around the dance floor.

“Mine too, sweetheart,” I say, adjusting my arm around her waist and holding her closer.

“It’s time for the bouquet,” the DJ says into the microphone.

“I have to,” Lulu tells me as she pushes out of my arms. “It’s almost time for us to leave.”

Thank God.

“All the single ladies to the dance floor,” the man says, and no fewer than twenty women make their way to the middle, huddling together.

I watch as my wife climbs up near the DJ booth, waving to her friends and family who are waiting to catch the bouquet, a tradition I’ve never really understood.

Zoey stands in the dead center, looking about as uninterested as I feel. Lulu turns around and lifts her arms a few times before she lets go, and the bouquet of flowers hurtles through the air.

I watch in amazement as the women lunge forward, misjudging the distance, and completely miss the catch. But the flowers smack Zoey right in the chest and drop into her hands.

“Fuck,” she mutters, staring down at the flowers like they’re about to catch fire.

Lulu turns, her eyes widening when she realizes her sister caught the bouquet. “Yay,” she says, clapping.

“Damn it,” Zoey groans as she marches toward Lulu. “You did that on purpose.”

“My aim isn’t that good, sissy.”

“You turned into a professional thrower.”

“There’s no such thing as a professional thrower.”

“Like Uncle Vinnie.”

“He was a quarterback.”

“Whatever.” Zoey rolls her eyes, trying to give the flowers back to Lulu.

Lulu pushes them back into Zoey’s chest. “Someday you’ll think different, and you’ll find yourself an Oliver.”

My eyebrows rise. “I’m a thing now?” I ask, marching up to my wife and her sister.

“Not all men are like you,” Zoey says, turning her gaze toward my dipshit brother. “They’re like him.”

“I can’t argue with you there,” I tell her, laughing as my brother hits on every single woman at the party but is immediately shot down. “He’s making his rounds.”

“And not winning a damn thing,” Lulu says, watching Liam. “Thank God the women in my family have common sense.”

“Can we go now?” I ask Lulu.

Zoey giggles. “Someone wants to get lucky.” She nudges her shoulder into mine, looking genuinely happy for the first time in a long while .

“I already got lucky. Your sister said yes,” I explain to her.

“We can go,” Lulu says to me, taking my arm. “I need to get off my feet.”

“That’s the plan,” I tell her with a wink.

“I don’t need to hear this,” Zoey says, covering her ears. “It’s too much, even for me.”

“I’m ready to start our forever.”

“I thought we already did,” Lulu says, and she’s right.

Our forever started the moment we met, but neither of us knew it.