Two Can Play (Celeste and Dominic) novel Chapter 432

"I do."

"Then by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Sparrow cupped Tasha's face in both hands, gently, and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. The crowd erupted. Applause and whistles and camera flashes, a wall of sound that seemed to shake the chandeliers. Tasha was smiling when he pulled back, her cheeks flushed, her eyes bright, and I let out a breath I had not realized I had been holding.

She had done it. I had been so afraid the formalities would swallow her, the vows and the staring and the weight of over hundreds of important strangers. But she had taken it all in stride, and I felt a pride so fierce it almost hurt.

After the ceremony, the crowd closed in like a tide. Tasha and Sparrow were swarmed the moment they stepped off the stage, society matrons and powerful men and people I did not recognize, all of them pressing forward to hug Tasha, to kiss her cheeks, to congratulate her, to touch her like she was a lucky charm. I hovered at the edge, ready to move in if she looked overwhelmed, but she handled them all with a grace that made me smile.

"Congratulations, darling. You look stunning."

"Thank you so much."

"Such a beautiful ceremony. Your husband is a very lucky man."

"Thank you. I am the lucky one."

"Where did you two meet? You simply must tell me everything."

"It is a long story. Sparrow saved my life, actually."

The woman's eyes went wide, and Tasha smiled, and the story grew with every retelling, and I watched her spin it, calm and lovely, and I thought, Lynette, your daughter is a queen.

By the time the crowd finally thinned, Tasha's cheeks ached from smiling and my hands ached from not strangling anyone who had gotten too close. I had relaxed, finally, had turned away to find a glass of water, when a hand closed around my elbow.

I spun, and Sparrow was there, close enough that I could smell his cologne, his face tight with something I could not read.

For a moment something flickered across Sparrow's face. Then his expression eased, and he smiled, smooth as silk. "I forgot."

"You forgot your own wedding party?"

"Many things happened today, Grandmother."

The old woman huffed, but the corner of her mouth twitched, and she turned and began walking toward the exit, Tasha's arm still through hers, hauling the bride along like a treasure being protected from thieves. Tasha looked back over her shoulder at me, her eyes laughing, and I shook my head at her, and she grinned.

We followed. There was nothing else to do. I had promised myself I would keep Sparrow's wishes for as long as the contract lasted, and if his wish was to drag us all to a party he had apparently forgotten he planned, then I would go to the party.

In the lobby, I spotted a familiar figure and stopped dead.