Sinners at the Altar by Olivia Cunning

Author:Olivia Cunning [Cunning, Olivia]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Adult, Contemporary, Anthologies
ISBN: 9781939276131
Amazon: 1939276136
Goodreads: 18490383
Publisher: Vulpine Press
Published: 2014-03-09T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Four

Jessica yanked her bouquet out of her mother’s hand. “I’ve had enough,” she said. “You have been making me crazy for months. If you want to watch the ceremony, fine, but this is my day, not yours. I don’t even want to look at you right now! I don’t give a flying fuck that Johnny Depp didn’t come, and no, we are not going to wait a few more minutes to see if he arrives late.”

In the brief pause of her tirade, Jessica heard the unmistakable sound of the wedding march scrambled by the blowing wind. Eyes popping wide with panic, she gathered her skirt in both hands and dashed into the tent where she was supposed to be standing before the march began. The curtains had already been drawn back, so her entrance had been completely ruined.

None of that mattered when her gaze landed on her groom.

Sed’s jaw was set in a harsh line, his stare fixed on the ground before him. She could tell by the look of devastation on his face that he thought she’d stood him up.

No. No, no, no. This was not how this was supposed to go.

The ushers were supposed to sweep the curtains aside and her eyes would meet Sed’s from a distance and she’d slowly take her practiced steps in his direction, her gaze never leaving his. The love would flow between them as they anticipated touching, anticipated becoming physically connected, just as they were psychically connected.

But he wasn’t even looking at her.

“Sed!” she called.

Jessica was running down the aisle toward him even before he moved. His head popped up and when his gaze landed on her, he staggered against Brian as if his knees had given out. She wanted to apologize for making him worry. She wanted to yell at him for thinking she’d leave him at the altar. But mostly she just wanted to stare at him in adoring awe. He’d never looked more handsome. More loving. More hers.

She stopped dead as she reached the front row of the carefully decorated chairs with their bows all blowing flat and the flowers crumpled, the ribbons flying in every direction in the punishing breeze. But that didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was the man. The man was perfect.

The wedding march faded to silence, allowing her to hear the whispers discussing the scene she’d just made. But these people knew her. They should be used to her causing scenes.

“Who gives this woman to this man in wedlock?” the chaplain said, as if he were going through the motions and not really part of what was going on.

The murmured conversations quieted as everyone stared at the empty spot beside Jessica where her mother was supposed to be standing and giving her away. At least that’s how they’d rehearsed.

“I give myself to him,” Jessica blurted. “My mother doesn’t own me anyway.”

Sed chuckled, his dimples flashing in his cheeks. He held out a strong, masculine hand in her direction. Her heart thudded, as it always did when she was near him, and she took his hand, stepping to his side.

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