Path To Restoration (Fighter's Den, #3)

Chapter 11 - Delilah

I'm a sucker for weddings.

There's something about them that just promise new beginnings and hope. Being surrounded by family and friends as they dance the night away and open the most vulnerable parts of themselves to each other is a beauty that's hard to come by. The man who never smiles, smiles. The woman who's too shy to dance, dances. The ones who are too scared to love, love. The ones who are always sad, laugh. It's like stepping into another dimension where time stills and you leave behind all your worries. In that moment, all you know is an infinite happiness you won't be able to find anywhere else.

People get drunk and giddy over this happiness. I've seen it. The atmosphere around them makes them feel brave and they do things they wouldn't do in a million years. They do things that they will immediately deny having done the very next day. They ride the high of a night that makes everything seem possible, especially the things they wouldn't dare let themselves dream of. It's the kind of high that makes them fearless and brave in the face of vulnerability. There's no such thing as pretending or faking it—there's just a raw honesty that they won't hesitate to share with the world.

Everyone here is riding that high I love to see and feel. It's a small ceremony—just between our Fighter's Den members and their families.

Jaxon and Emily's backyard is lined with chairs to accommodate the guests. Twinkling fairy lights and paper lanterns adorn the strings in the sky. A red carpet set up as a walkway leads to the very back of the lawn where Jaxon waits patiently for his wife to join him. Cameron, his best man, stands beside him. The two men look outrageously handsome individually and even more so side by side. Jaxon is wearing a tailored white suit and a light pink tie to match both Emily's and Lizzie's dresses. Cameron is wearing a traditional black suit with a red tie to match another one of Avery's signature red dresses. Avery, the maid of honour, stands opposite from the boys and looks stunning in her red gown dress that encases her lovely figure. Her hair is braided and swooped to one side, little roses places strategically in the fishtail. Cameron can't take his eyes off her.

The chairs are divided so that men sit on one side and women sit on the other. I'm seated at the front row on the chair that's just beside the gap where the walkway is. Nate is on the other side of the walkway, also on the first chair, so it's almost like we're sitting next to each other. He keeps glancing over at me and I'm trying to pretend like I haven't noticed. We arrived at the wedding as each other's "dates" but it's not obvious yet. As soon as we got here we took our seats but I'm not sure what's going to happen when the ceremony is over. Will we tell the others? Is it something that's even worth mentioning? I try not to think about too much.

I meet Avery's eyes who mouths "you're hot" at me, followed by a wink. I bite my lip through a smile and blow her a kiss. Truthfully, I do feel pretty hot. My dress is a pastel blue satin that's held up by two thin spaghetti straps and forms a v-shape neckline. The strapless bra I'm wearing underneath is equipped with padding that actually makes me look like I have cleavage and it adds a sort of elegance to the dress. The hem is an A-line style that starts high on my thighs in a way that's not revealing but isn't exactly saintly either. It ends a couple of inches above my knees and I've paired the look with clear heels that make my legs look longer than they already are. My hair is half up, half down and that part of it that's half down are in waves that reach just below my breasts. Avery had added a smattering of silver glitter in my hair when I got here and insisted it gave me a "Cinderella vibe." With my blonde hair and grey eyes that look more blue because of the dress, I guess she has a point. I have to hold back a smile every time I think of Nate's reaction when I opened my apartment door and he got a good look at me.

"Holy fuck." He'd rasped, eyes widening considerably as they made a slow-trek down my body. I'd clasped my hands behind my back nervously and tried not to squirm under his heated gaze. When his eyes met mine again, he spoke in a low voice. "Shit, Del. You're just so...fuck. Turn around."