Page 5 of The Wedding

A better sub, in every sense of the word.Jamie’s eyes lingered on a black choker lining Monique’s throat. Most people wouldn’t recognize it as a submissive’s collar, but Jamie did. She had a similar one, although she rarely wore it. Not like Monique, who wore it with pride, because nothing made her happier than living a submissive lifestyle, especially with her soon-to-be-wife.

“Yeah, we have. I’m surprised you would want to bring that up, though.”

“You have to talk about it, otherwise it will eat you alive.” Monique sighed. “A lot of things have been making me think. I’m in a swing ofchange these past few months, and it’s only going to get more intense as this year goes on.” She drank, glaring at the coffee table as if it offended her. “If I don’t address things from my past now, I won’t be prepared for the future.”

“You mean the wedding and getting married?”

Monique’s demeanor was so fatigued that Jamie worried she might faint. “That’s the biggest thing at the moment. Once that’s over with… there will be other things.”

“Like…?” Jamie cleared her throat. “Sorry. I don’t mean to pry.”

Monique studied her for a few seconds, sizing Jamie up in ways she had never attempted before.I feel like I’m being scanned by lasers.Backwhen Jamie was a plebian who had to fly coach, she was always pulled for additional screening. Now, she and Etta bypassed that without care. They would get cursory lookovers before boarding their private plane to wherever. No more body scans and pat-downs for Jamie Joy.

“After this month,” Monique began, “I will be Mrs. Helen Warner. That carries a huge burden of responsibility I will have to do my best to live up to. A lot of expectations rest on my shoulders. I have to meet them while also continuing to run my business and…” She put her hand briefly on her abdomen before readjusting her entire position. The couch squeaked with her movements. “It’s a lot to take in right now.”

Jamie nodded, not that she understood. This bridal shower was the first formal party she had hosted that wasn’t centered on her friends from her old life coming by to get drunk on expensive alcohol and play video games on a huge TV.Now that’s my kind of party. She couldn’t imagine Monique enjoying something like that. Although Jamie had often been surprised by what Monique liked – and not just in the kink scene.

“If you don’t mind…” Monique stood. “I would like to visit with Etta. I’m guessing she’s upstairs in her office?”

Jamie nodded. “Be my guest… not that you aren’t already… er,you know what I mean.”

“Indeed. Thank you for the party, Jamie. I hope to return the favor someday.”

Until that moment, Jamie had never thought to compare her situation to Monique’s. As she watched her friend walk out of the salon, however, she wondered what she meant by that.

Does she mean she hopes to throw me a bridal shower too?

Marrying Etta? Not like Jamie hadn’t thought about it before…

Her thoughts were cut off when Beatrice appeared and asked Jamie if she needed help cleaning up. There wasn’t that much, but Jamie appreciated having someone help her carry the trays and glasses into the kitchen. From there, she insisted on helping Beatrice wash the dishes before the live-in maid started dinner. The last Jamie saw of Monique was when the guest of honor stopped by the kitchen to say farewell. The next time Jamie would see her was at the bachelorette party the following weekend. Then after that?The wedding of the year.

Chapter 2

“How was the party?”

Etta stood in the bathroom doorway, brushing her teeth while Jamie sat cross-legged on their bed.I don’t get the point of beds this big.I can’t find her to cuddle half the night. Queen-sized was good. Ample room for people their size, plus her girlfriend didn’t feel a million miles away when Jamie woke up in the middle of the night and found her hanging off the side because she was a weird sleeper.

She turned off her phone. “It was sufficiently boring and stuffy, which I’m told means it was a great success.”

“Who told you that?”

Etta disappeared into the bathroom to spit out her toothpaste, so Jamie raised her voice.

“Monique! She’s the authority, isn’t she?”

It was a few seconds before Etta wandered back into the bedroom. “Last I heard. Before you moved in, I was calling her all the time to ask how to survive social functions. You’d never guess she grew up with barely more money than we did.”

It’s because she’s the most observant person on Earth.Anyone who spenther days watching and learning from others was bound to absorb the greatest social graces… or the worst, Jamie supposed. “Before I moved in, huh?”

Etta climbed on the bed but did not pull back the covers.She must not be too tired yet.When she was ready to sleep, there wasn’t much Jamie could do to stop the tide of Etta Coleman slipping beneath the covers and dozing herself into slumbering bliss.Jealous.Half the time, Jamie took more than an hour to sleep, and this was the most comfortable bed she ever had.

“Yes. Before you moved in, I had to brave everything by myself.”

“What about all those girlfriends you had before me?” Jamie referred to the previous personal assistants. The ones Etta paid to serve her in the office… and the bedroom.I come from humble, hooking means.She had to laugh at herself once in a while. Not many women could say they got millions of dollars in their checking account for taking notes and then taking it between the legs for six months.

“They didn’t go to functions with me. They weren’t real girlfriends. You know that.”

“Of course I do. I was in that position once.”