Page 42 of The Healing Touch (Manwhore #3)

“I want you because you’re my heart, my breath, my life. My soul, Rebecca Joyce Rhodes. You are the soul that gives me a reason for being. That’s why I want to marry you.”

Tears streamed down her face, and she brushed them away. She knew he’d had a reaction to her news, and she knew he’d go all alpha male on her, but hearing him now, hearing her best friend she fell in love with, she forgot his earlier comments.

He was her soul too.

“Please, Becca, marry me.”

“I can’t do a big Catholic wedding, Dimitri. The crowds…I can’t.”

He hugged her to him.

“Then we won’t have a big Catholic wedding. We’ll go to Vegas and get married late at night at an all-night chapel. No crowds. Just you and me.”

“Uh, I think your family might have something to say about that,” Kade interrupted. “Mama would cry for years if you got married without her being there.”

“She’s still mad that we didn’t renew our vows.” Angel came in and started taking out plates. “Sorry for cutting your moment short, but this little girl is demanding food.”

Dimitri grinned wide. Their family never had girls, and now Angel was about to give birth to the first daughter, niece, and granddaughter.

“How’s my little Ariel doing?”

“She’s a future soccer player. I swear she kicks like a pro athlete. Especially when she’s hungry.”

“Feed my daughter, woman.” Kade lightly slapped her on the ass, and Angel rolled her eyes, but she did start dishing out food.

“Maybe there’s a way for your parents and grandmother to see the wedding.” It was a thought that occurred and took root. One she felt she could handle. Being around Dimitri’s family didn’t cause her panic attacks. It was just crowds of strangers.

“How?” Dimitri perked up and started helping Angel dish out the food. The two of them ate more than the entire Kincaid clan. She wasn’t shocked at the amount of food on Angel’s plate, but she sure was at the heaping plate Dimitri shoved her way.

“Feed my kid, woman.” Dimitri mimicked Kade’s earlier command, a hard look in his eyes. This pregnancy was going to bring out the overprotective asshole she loved to rile up.

“What’s this idea?” Angel shoved a forkful of rice in her mouth and moaned. “So good!”

They took a seat at the eat-in kitchen table and bench.

“Well, what if we have Mason stream it live so they can watch? Maybe my brother can watch too, if the prison will allow it.”

She knew Dimitri was uncomfortable with Jackson being in prison, but it was part of who she was, and he was dealing. Not well, but he was.

“We could all go, Mason could stream, and you’d be surrounded by family, on camera and in person.” Angel nodded. “Sounds like a plan to me.”

“Well…” Dimitri shot a look at Angel’s bulging stomach.

“What?” she asked suspiciously.

“Mama called me the other night.”

Angel groaned. She’d confessed to Becca the men’s mother had walked in on her and Kade having sex. Since then, Angel was convinced the woman wasn’t her biggest fan. Hell, not even her tiniest fan.

“You know Mama’s religious…”

“Get to the point.” Angel put her fork down and glared.

“Well, have you thought of renewing your vows? I know Kade said your first wedding wasn’t what you wanted…”

“We don’t have time to do that between Kade’s business, the doctor, and therapy sessions…”

Becca understood. Kade and Angel had a lot going on, especially with the gift they’d been given.

“You’re coming to Vegas for our wedding, aren’t you?” Dimitri arched a brow.

“Do I even need to acknowledge that with an answer?”

“Then you have time. You and Kade can get married the same time Becca and I do.”

Dimitri grinned, thinking he’d killed two birds with one stone. It would make his mama happy, and she’d stop calling him worried about her son’s and daughter’s souls.

“Uh, did you ever once think to ask Becca how she felt about that? A woman’s wedding is special to her. Look at Lily and Nikoli’s wedding. It was gorgeous.”

Becca had seen the pictures, but she hadn’t gone. It was too much of a crowd, and her nerves got the best of her. They’d understood, but she still felt bad about that.

“If we’re getting married in a Vegas chapel by an Elvis wannabe, how special can it be?” Becca smiled wryly. “I can’t do a big wedding. I just can’t. There’s too many people there, and…”

Her hands started to shake, and she took deep breaths trying to calm the panic threatening. Dimitri was right beside her in seconds. He pulled her into his side and started humming.

“Where’s her inhaler?” Angel asked. She, Lily, and Becca had become very close this last year, and she understood her sister-in-law’s conditions better than even the men did.

“She keeps one in the junk drawer.”

Angel found it and handed it to Dimitri. He helped her take several puffs, and she sucked in air. She despised this. Hated that the thought of a crowd could still do this to her.

“It’s okay, babe. You’re okay. No big wedding, I promise. We can go to the justice of the peace. I’ll call and ask him to stay late.”

Becca knew the brothers were deeply religious even if they cussed like the demons from down under and didn’t throw their beliefs in everyone’s face. Not getting married by a Catholic priest would be hard for Dimitri and his whole family.

But they’d go along with it.

Because they accepted her and her hang-ups as she was.

They were her family.

They would do this for her.

“I like the Vegas idea,” she whispered after a few minutes. “If Angel wants to get married, we can share our wedding day with her and Kade. But only if she wants this. She and Kade are married. No one should force them to do anything, including your mother.”

Angel gave her a grateful smile.

“ Da, sestra , no one, including Mama and Babby , will force Angel to do something she doesn’t want to do. If she’s happy, that’s all that counts.”

“Thank you, Kade.” Angel rubbed her belly and took a deep breath. “I…I think maybe if it’s okay with Becca, I’d like to do this right. I’d like to bring Ariel into the world without any stigmas on her in our church.”

Becca watched Kade’s face morph from calm to enraged faster than even Dimitri could. He stood and glared down at his wife’s bowed head.

“Our daughter is not a stigma. She’s going to be beautiful, kind, and if the Church decides to treat her as anything less than the perfect blessing she is, we’ll find another damn church! Fuck it, we’ll go Presbyterian.”

Dimitri squeezed her tightly, his fingers biting her arm. He stayed silent as the two semi-argued.

“No, she’s not a stigma.” Angel raised her head and looked her husband directly in the eyes. “She will never be a stigma. We’re married.”

“We are, and we don’t need to renew our vows if you don’t want.”

“But I do want to.” She rested her hands on her belly.

“Not for your mother or your grandmother. Not because I think our priest thinks so. I want to get married because we started over, Kade. We were given a second chance, and we were given back so much. I want to celebrate all of it, our fight, our struggle, our determination, but mostly I want to celebrate you and me and our family. I love you.”

“I love you to, moye serdste .” His entire face softened. “If you want to get married again, I’m all for it. All I want is for you to be happy.”

Angel took a deep breath and turned to Becca.

“Looks like we’re going to Vegas.”

“Looks like,” Becca agreed.