Shade's Fall
Page 76

“Yes. Look out that door, Beth. How could I not marry a man who did that for me?” The sisters stared out into the winter wonderland that Shade and The Last Riders had created for her. It was everything she had dreamed about and more.
The snow in the backyard of the church was virtually pristine except where the guests were standing. They had waited for the ceremony to begin to go outside into the yard so they wouldn’t have to be cold long.
“Shade’s been planning this since the weather forecasts came in. I didn’t think he would wait for the last second to ask, though.” Lily felt Beth scrutinizing her face. “Lily…”
Lily turned to her sister, taking her hand in hers. “I want to marry him, Beth. I don’t know if I would have made it the last few months without him. I love him.”
She looked outside to where Shade was standing in his black tuxedo; he didn’t even seem cold. She saw her reflection in the glass door, standing in her adopted mother’s lace wedding gown and veil that lay on her black hair and fell to the floor in a beautiful train that would brush the snow as she walked to Shade.
“I can’t even cry; I’ll smear my make-up,” Beth said, smiling tearfully.
“Are we going to get this show on the road or not? They’re freezing their asses off out there.” As if on cue, Killyama opened the door for them. She was the only one from Sex Piston’s crew able to make it to the wedding on time. Stud had refused to have his wife on the road during a snowstorm and the others had been snowed in by unplowed side streets. Killyama was the only one near cleared roads.
The woman who had showed up was not the one Lily was familiar with, though. The biker bitch had been replaced with a feminine woman whose hair, which hadn’t been teased within an inch of its life for once, lay against her shoulders in loose curls the color of rich, dark bourbon. Without the crazy eye shadow, she had hazel eyes that didn’t look nearly as scary, either. She wore the tight green dress that Sex Piston had bought the day they had gone shopping, which accentuated a figure that would make a fitness trainer cry. She looked smoking hot, but Lily didn’t care how she’d come dressed as long as she was there.
Beth took a deep breath. “Ready?”
“Yes.” She looked toward the arch filled with fairy lights where Pastor Dean and Shade were waiting. “I’m more than ready.”
* * *
The freezing guests left immediately after the wedding. Shade had invited only Pastor Dean and Killyama back to the clubhouse for the private reception; both had refused. Pastor Dean had Christmas Eve service that evening and Killyama wanted to get back to Jamestown before the weather made the roads even worse.
Lily said goodbye to Killyama before climbing into Beth’s SUV. She saw Train approach the woman before she could get in her car. She couldn’t help hearing them argue as the other women climbed into the back of Beth’s SUV. The men were riding their bikes except Shade and Train who were riding in Rider’s truck. Winter and Viper were bringing the overflow in their SUV.
“You had your shot; you didn’t want it. Now fuck off.” Lily winced when she heard Killyama’s harsh words; however, she had no doubt that Train probably deserved much worse.
She watched as Killyama got in her car, ignoring the man while he was trying to talk to her. Train had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit by her, finally giving up and climbing into Rider’s truck.
She didn’t blame the woman; Train was all over the women at the house. He was… a sudden thought struck Lily. She turned in her seat to look at the women crowded in the backseat as Beth pulled out of the parking lot.
Raci, Bliss, Evie, Jewell, Ember and Stori stared back at her.
“Who’s the worst?” Lily asked, staring at the women. “Is it Train?”
The women didn’t even question what she meant; they knew what she was asking. Their eyes went back and forth between each other.
“Lily, don’t do this. It’s your wedding day,” Beth said.
Lily turned, facing the front again. The silence coming from the backseat was deafening. Shade was the worst. Lily thought back to every incident that she had witnessed since she had moved into The Last Riders’ Clubhouse and knew it wasn’t that long ago that Shade also had been participating… and now she knew he had been considered the worst among them by the club itself.
Her mind whirled as they drove home where Beth turned into the parking lot. When she parked and cut the motor, the women members used the opportunity to escape.
Beth turned to her. “Talk to him.”
Lily gave her a smile, trying to regain the same cheerfulness she had possessed before she’d left the church. “I will. Let’s see if we can make it up those steps without breaking our necks.”
The men ended up carrying them up the steps then several went back out to clear them and the pathway for anyone who came by later. As soon as Shade set her back on her feet, she escaped to their bedroom to change. Lily pulled on soft brown slacks and a green sweater.
Dressed, she went back downstairs where the men were standing at the bar congratulating Shade. She watched the men from the stairway, her mind not on what they were drinking but the camaraderie they shared. A bond like theirs was unbreakable; they would die for each other without a second’s hesitation.
Shade saw her standing on the steps and came to her. 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.
“Shade, we need to talk. We should have talked before we were married this morning.” Her serious tone wiped his smile away.
“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.
Before he could start up the stairs, a knock sounded on the door behind them, and Shade gave her a quick grin.
“I have another surprise for you,” he said, turning to open the door.
As it opened, Lily caught sight of Penni standing on the porch. When she saw Shade, she threw herself into his arms. “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.
Penni saw Lily when he took a step back. “Lily!” She 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 tried to keep the reserve out of her voice, yet she was unsuccessful. Penni’s eyes flashed her hurt, but she wasn’t one to take anything without giving it right back.