A cross between a laugh and sob escaped Lily at the end of his vows. Shade used his thumbs to wipe away the happy tears coursing down her face, grinning at her and trying to hold back his own, happy to finally be tying his woman to him forever.

“What will be the symbol of the vows you have pledged to each other?” Lucky asked.

“These rings,” Shade and Lily both answered at the same time.

“These rings will serve as a reminder to the both of you and to others of your vows.

“John, place your ring on Lily’s left hand and repeat after me.

“Lily, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love.”

Shade repeated the words after he placed the wedding band on her finger.

Lucky then turned to Lily.

“Lily, place your ring on John’s left hand and repeat after me.

“John, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love.”

Lily repeated the words, placing the wedding band on his finger. When she finished, Shade gripped her hand in his.

“Lily and John, you have now exchanged rings and vows, marrying in the presence of God, your family, and friends. By the authority vested in me by the state of Kentucky, I pronounce you husband and wife.

“You may kiss the bride.” Lucky smiled as he finished the ceremony.

Shade pulled Lily closer, lowering his mouth to kiss his wife for the first time.

* * *

The freezing guests left immediately after the ceremony while drinking the cups of hot coffee or cocoa that had been waiting for them inside the church. Shade invited only Lucky and Killyama, who was the only psycho of the bitch pack able to attend, back to the clubhouse for the private reception; both had refused. Lucky had Christmas Eve service that evening, and Killyama wanted to get back to Jamestown before the weather made the roads even worse.

Lily and the other women climbed in Beth’s SUV, while Shade and Train were riding with Rider in his truck.

Train had climbed into the back seat when Killyama came out of the church, going to her car, but then Shade and Rider turned, startled, as Train jumped out of the truck and approached the woman before she could get in her car.

Shade rolled his window down, unashamedly listening to the budding argument.

“Why are you ignoring my calls?” Train asked.

Killyama didn’t answer his question, asking one of her own. “How did you get my fucking number? I sure as hell never gave it to you!”

“I asked Stud for it.”

“Bastard.”

Shade wondered who she was calling the name—Stud or Train.

“So, why didn’t you answer my calls?”

“Why in the fuck would I want to talk to you? I wanted a fuck, and you gave it to me. Then, when I asked if I could come to one of your parties, you said no. If you thought your dick was too good for me, then you shouldn’t have given it to me.”

“That wasn’t what I meant!” Train snarled.

“You had your shot, but you didn’t want it. Now, fuck off.”

Shade watched as Killyama got in her car, ignoring Train who was still trying to talk to her. Train had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit by her before finally climbing back into the truck.

“That bitch is crazy.”

“Nope, that’s her friend,” Rider laughed, putting the truck in gear and backing up.

A car sped into the church parking lot, barely missing Rider as he continued to back up.

“Who the fuck was that?” Rider asked angrily.

Shade looked out his window at the woman getting furiously out of her car and slamming the door shut.

“Betsey Watson.” Shade turned his back to the window so she couldn’t see him.

“Why is she here? The wedding’s over,” Rider asked, pulling out onto the road toward the clubhouse.

“She didn’t come to see the wedding; she’s here to see Knox.”

* * *

With everyone back at the clubhouse, the men ended up carrying the women up the steps since they were so icy. Then several of the men went back out to clear them and the pathway for anyone who came by later.

As soon as Shade set Lily back on her feet, she escaped to their bedroom to change while Shade and the men were standing at the bar, congratulating him with shots.

Shade saw Lily standing on the steps a few minutes later, watching him with a curious expression on her face, and went to her. She had changed into a green sweater and brown slacks. His hands circled her waist, lifting her off the last two steps and holding her against his chest.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Watching you.” She smiled, touching his cheek.

“Why?” Shade smiled down at her.

Lily’s face got solemn. “Shade, we need to talk. We should have talked before we were married this morning.”

Her serious tone wiped his smile away. Shade didn’t want anything bad to tarnish their memory of today.

“Not today.”

“But I really need to tell you—”

“Not today, okay? Today is Christmas Eve—our wedding day—and we’re not going to talk about anything else except that today.”

“Okay.” Lily gave in to his demand.

“I’m going to go get out of this get-up. I’m never going to live this down.”

“I think you’ll survive,” Lily teased.

Shade bent down, brushing his lips with hers, but before he could start up the stairs, a knock sounded on the door behind them.

Shade gave her a quick grin. “I have another surprise for you,” he said, turning to open the door.

As it opened, Shade caught the second Lily saw Penni standing on the porch, her whole face lighting up.

When Penni saw Shade, she threw herself into his arms, something Shade hated yet decided to let go since it was his wedding day.

“You big doofus. Only you would give me a day’s notice to get here. My stupid flight got cancelled, and I didn’t think I would ever get through the roads from Lexington. I didn’t even know you two were seeing each other. How come neither of you told me?”

Shade set Penni back on the floor. “Slow down, Penni. If you hadn’t been so occupied with your new job, you would have known,” he told her.

It hadn’t taken Penni long to figure out the real reason he had wanted her to switch colleges. The nights he had spent watching their dorm room had both concerned her and provided ample opportunity to tease him, which was why he hadn’t told her his and Lily’s relationship had progressed until he had called and left a voicemail that they were getting married.

“Lily!” Penni squealed when she saw her from behind Shade and then grabbed her, pulling her into a tight hug. “I missed seeing you in your wedding dress. I was supposed to be there,” she wailed.

“It’s all right. Razer took a video for us.” Lily said with mild resentment in her tone.

Penni’s eyes flashed her hurt, but she wasn’t one to take anything without giving it right back.

“I know you’re probably mad at me for not telling you Shade is my brother, but he threatened to take the car back if I told.”

Shade’s face went blank at his sister’s revealing words then tuned the two women out as they chatted until Lily corrected his status as Penni’s half-brother.

“That doesn’t matter. Our families both get along. It wasn’t an ugly divorce. His mom was just sick of moving every couple of years. Our parents are pretty cool, our dad especially.”