Always the consummate professional in public, Drew's smile never wavered as he glanced downward to discover the glaring fashion statement Adam had taken upon himself to make for the wedding.
“Kiss...your fucking car...buh-bye...” Drew managed through clenched teeth.
Just as Father McCarron shot him a stare that could plummet him straight down to the devil in a handbasket, Drew proceeded to step ever purposely over Adam's white besocked toes, leaving the imprint of his own leather lace up behind.
“Love you, too, big brother,” Adam said, struggling with his temptation to snicker and snort. “And congratulations.”
Much to Drew's relief, the attention had drifted from Adam's feet to Lara and Lyle bouncing down the aisle, hand-in-hand. Somewhere mid-way, Lara decided to just dump the entire basket of hydrangea petals all over her brother's head, which seemed to delight Lyle as he laughed with the true joy only a child could express.
And just as they'd reached the front row of seats, Lyle managed to maneuver that silly little wool cap from his head...wound up his best pitcher's arm...and aimed with full calculation at the aging priest.
Ever so methodically, Father McCarron approached the young boy, knelt down in front of him, and—with the gentleness of a lamb—made the sign of the Cross with his thumb on Lyle's forehead. That child certainly needed all the prayers he could get, especially growing up in the McKenzie family.
Naturally, Drew couldn't resist a glance over toward Zoe, who had abandoned her camera to cover her face with the wedding program. All the while, she held her breath and avoided Drew’s wink from the altar.
And then all things just suddenly stopped...and then began to swirl as Drew watched from afar—the opening of the French doors...and a cautiously moving Maxine stepping out...holding on to Tom's strong arm...onto the patio...and pausing only momentarily before she dared step down the aisle.
Once more, Drew laughed to himself. He didn't even need to see her feet, but he knew immediately that she'd opted for the flats.
How much did he, Kind Sir, love his tiny little Penelope...
And at that single moment, Drew could have sworn that his very last breath had left his body, and the tears began to trickle from his eyes.
Their dear friend Cora catered to Maxine’s tastes with perfection in every last detail of the gown. In Drew's loving eyes, she was his little angel, floating down the aisle on her father’s arm with the anticipation of their entire lives before them. In fact, his only worry was that Maxine might be a bit chilly in that capped sleeve that barely covered her porcelain skin. That was fine, though. She'd be at his side soon enough, and he'd keep her warm.
So classically graceful and gorgeous, there was no bling or poof to her gown at all—just one exquisite sheath of creamy white dotted Swiss lace,hand-stitched in asymmetrical layers and belted at the waist with a ribbon of satin. The short train puddled behind her as she strode so proudly and so confidently toward him with a perfect sphere of hydrangeas in her delicate hands.
Drew struggled with his emotions as he took note of every last detail of his bride—those pearls dangling so elegantly from her ears, her softly curled auburn locks that framed her collar at her neck...the touch of her mother’s pearls on her wrist.
What made him shrug with one single sob, though, was the veil that covered her face. Immediately, he'd recognized it from his own parents' wedding photos. So sweetly, his heart swelled with love for the two most important women in his life—his mother, for loaning out such a personal family heirloom, and to Maxine, for donning it with the same panache that Maggie had so many years ago.
For the first time in his life, Drew feared stage fright. He could command an audience of thousands. However, seeing Maxine walking down the aisle wearing that silly little adoring grin upon her beautiful face left his mind completely blank.
Fuck, Mack, don't forget your fucking vows.
Fuck...fuck...fuck! Don't swear in front of Tom...or in front of Father McCarron—again—for that matter!
“Perfect, little one...” he whispered as she stepped closer.
“You too, Kind Sir...” she murmured in return with a pucker of her lips.
And Maxine just couldn't tear her gaze away from Drew. Although she'd seen him in his best formal attire before, there was just something so very dashing about him as he waited for her that afternoon with his signature impatience, in that silk tuxedo, accentuated with grosgrain lapels and that sharp black bowtie.
Oh, she cherished nothing more than that man standing before her. There was absolutely nothing she couldn't accomplish or conquer with Drew at her side. She loved him—needed him—without a single condition, even throughout their most anguishing moments.
So tightly, Tom clutched Maxine's elbow, guiding her as she made her way up the wooden stairs. “Don't fall, Maxie,” he whispered out of pure habit then stepped up to her side to lift her veil.
However, Maxine knew that he just wasn’t quite ready to let her go.
“I love you, Daddy...”
There was no mistaking that sob that left Tom when he leaned in for his last kiss before his little girl became Mrs. McKenzie. “I love you, too, Princess. More than anything...”
“I can share...” Drew reassured him with a squeeze to his shoulder.
“She's ours now, Drew...” he reached for Drew’s hand. However, Tom was so emotional that he couldn't even manage a proper handshake.
“I'll take good care of her...I promise...”
With a blink of his tear-filled eyes, Tom said, “I know that, pal—I already know...”
Oh, even Father McCarron, who had seen almost as many weddings as St. Patrick's Cathedral itself, was tearing up at that point. With a grin to Tom, he asked, “Who gives this woman to this man in marriage?”
“I do...” Tom said, his pride overflowing in his two simple words.
From that moment onward, Maxine had trouble focusing on the prayers, readings and blessings bestowed upon them. Lost in that true blue, teary-eyed gaze of the man she loved so much, she wondered how she'd ever manage to say her own vows, so choked was she with sentiment was she.
“James Andrew and Maxine Elizabeth,” Father McCarron addressed them, “we have all come together here today so that the Lord may seal and strengthen your love before your family and friends. In this way, you will be bound to carry out the duties of marriage. And so, in the presence of the church, I ask you to state your intentions.”
Lips quivering, Maxine looked to Drew and held his gaze. Not a single doubt surfaced between them.
“Drew and Maxine,” he continued, “have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage?”
“Yes...”
“Will you honor each other as husband and wife for the rest of your lives?”
Emphatically, they both agreed again. “Yes...”
“Will you accept children lovingly from God, and bring them up according to the law of Christ and his Church?”
With that, Drew couldn't resist his urge to steal a sly glance at his mother, now just weeping openly with a fistful of tissues in her hand. Declan held her tightly, wearing that stoic smile on his own face. He was certain that no one in their immediate presence could hear them recite their vows over Margaret McKenzie’s sobs.
“Yes,” they consented in unison.
“Since it is your intention to enter into marriage, join hands, and declare your consent before God and his Church.”
As they entwined hands so very tenderly, Drew wasn't sure if it was his own fingers or Maxine's that trembled as they joined.
“Maxine...” Drew paused for a split second that felt like a lifetime as he stood there, now holding on to her for dear life. “You have completed me in ways I never thought possible. In these few short months, I fell—and I fell hard, little one. I love you when you’re silly…when you’re serious…and even more when you’re just sitting beside me on a cold winter night, saying not a word as we si
t in front of the fire with the kittens. You swept into my life, but you changed my world without intention.
“But you’ve done so much more than merely making me realize what true love is about. You’ve proven to me that love isn’t all about the happy times, and you’ve stood unwaveringly by my side when they’ve been bad. You’ve shared with me the light that’s in your heart and soul. You brought me your trust. In turn, you gained mine. And I promise you forever—in sickness…in health...and in hiccups…”
Although she did worry about the threat of those damn spasms returning at this most inopportune time, Maxine couldn't contain herself from her own emotions. “Oh...”
Utterly swept off her feet once more by this kind and sweet Sir standing beside her, Maxine absorbed his words that ensconced her with the devotion behind his sentiments.
“Drew...” Maxine gave his hands a tug and prayed that she wouldn't forget a single word of her own commitment. “...you've opened my eyes to a new world. And you've taught me so much about myself...and about how wonderful our lives could be together as they converged.
“We've shared so much, and you have been my confidante...my inspiration...and my motivation. You're the rock to my weaknesses. You're my protector from my fears. With your honesty and patience, I’ve grown to trust you without doubt. And I promise that I will love you and stand so very proudly by your side...until I take my last breath.”
“You have declared your consent before the Church. May the Lord strengthen that consent and fill you with the goodness of his blessings. What God has joined together, let no one separate,” Father McCarron continued. “The rings, please.”
Shoving his hand first into his right jacket pocket, Adam looked at Drew with a trace of hesitation, then stuffed his hand in the left.
“The rings...” Father McCarron prompted, and Maxine just held her breath with a rash of scenarios—none of them ending happily—flooding her mind. Did he merely forget them back in the house...or did he lose them on the lawn somewhere between the patio and the gazebo?
As Adam patted himself down, Drew froze in absolute panic. Those diamonds on Maxine's band were quite rare and irreplaceable. However, he was too consumed with fear at that moment to allow his festering rage to bubble to a boil. They had to find those fucking rings...now!
“Gotcha, Mack,” Adam winked and pulled the box from his breast pocket.
“Father, please forgive me in advance of my sins toward my brother this afternoon,” Drew whispered.
Father McCarron now struggled to regain control of his own ceremony. Only Adam McKenzie would fuck around on such a colossal scale during his brother's wedding...in front of the family priest!
“Lord, bless and consecrate Drew and Maxine in their love for each other.” Now, Father McCarron seemed to be in a bit of a hurry, if not rushing, before either one of those brothers tried to pull another fast one. “May these rings be a symbol of true faith in each other and always remind them of their love. Through Christ our Lord.”
Catching Maxine's adoring gaze as he slipped the diamond eternity band over her ring finger, Drew couldn't stop grinning. “Maxine...take this ring as a symbol of my love and fidelity...”
By the time she reached for Drew's band, set in brushed platinum with three of the tiniest diamonds right down the center, Maxine was visibly shaking. “Drew...take this ring...as a symbol of my love...and fidelity...”
The closing blessing was bestowed upon them, and no one was happier to hear the words, “I know pronounce you husband and wife...and you may now kiss your bride...” than the bride and groom.
And naturally, with Drew still being Drew, he pecked her lips almost puritanically...then moved in for a second kiss that literally left Maxine breathless.
“Ladies and gentlemen...I now present to you...Mr. and Mrs. James Andrew McKenzie.”
So blissful was Maxine that she literally jumped off the bottom step of the gazebo, squealing as she continued to squeeze Drew's hand. Then, as she turned to him sharply, she whispered, “One more?”
“Oh, I could kiss you all day, Mrs. Mack...” he obliged.
“Say that again...”
“I could kiss you all day...”
“No, the other part...”
“Mrs. McKenzie, Mrs. McKenzie...Mrs. McKenzie....”
“Ode to Joy,” their chosen recessional, was a gross understatement of emotion. In fact, at that moment, there were no two souls in the entire world filled with a greater sense of elation, love and fulfillment than Drew and Maxine McKenzie.
“I love you, little one…”
“And I…hic…love…you…” Stomping her foot, Maxine laughed as her body heaved. “Fuckballs.”
Chapter Fourteen
“Off...! Right....fucking...NOW...!”
“Uh-uh...” Adam said, propping his foot up on the garden wall to brush off the dirt from his brother's tizzy earlier. They were finishing up with photos, and the younger McKenzie continued to incite the elder with his antics. “You know, Dr. Drew, the Romans wore socks with sandals…”
“I'll have your damn feet Photoshopped out of every last fucking photograph, so fucking help me,” Drew said. “And no fucking car for you, little boy...”
“Come on, Mack!” Adam threw his hands in the air in disgust. “You bought one for them...”
Across the lawn, Adam glared as Lara drove Lyle around in the child-sized sports car that Drew and Maxine had gifted them as a thank you for being in the wedding party. Zoe was actually wearing a smile for the first time that weekend. Her children were both contained and fully engrossed in an activity other than tantrum-throwing, and since she was in the great outdoors, she could smoke all the fuck she wanted.
“I don't think you'd fit in that Jag,” Drew observed, watching as Maxine posed first with Tom, then for a few shots with Ben.
Maxine actually had to stand on a boulder in the garden a few times that afternoon, just to capture the perfect shots of husband and wife. And Drew simply couldn't wrench his eyes away from her. Just the drape of each layer of lace around her body sent shockwaves straight to the south of his navel. His only real concern was those fucking little buttons—so many to unfasten…and so in a rush he would be that night.
Before Drew had the time to ponder the thought of undressing her further, though, Maxine was in his arms again, leaping up to wrap her legs around his waist as she kissed him. Although she'd lost one of her ballet flats in her maneuver, she was lucky that the skirt of her dress was just full enough to accommodate such frivolity.
“Mrs. Kirk-McKenzie, shall I carry you to the reception?” Drew mused.
“Maxie, honey, your...shoe!” Tom called out as he picked up Maxine's silvery flat while Drew strolled away with his wife in his arms. “You...lost…it…” And it wasn't long before Tom was chuckling himself.
“I guess we'll just have to return that to her as soon as we can...” Maggie turned to Tom, her own smile so placid yet proud. “They're too adorable, aren't they?”
“They certainly are, Maggie...” Tom agreed.
With a sly curve of her lips, Jillian looked to Adam then hooked her arm in his as all other eyes trained on Drew while he made his way skillfully across the lawn with Maxine. “Don't you get any ideas, Adam McKenzie...”
“Only if you dance with me to Coldplay later...”
“You're sure they're playing Coldplay?” Jillian wondered out loud. Maxine had shown her the playlist a while back, and she couldn't recall seeing a single track from Adam's favorite band.
“Oh, I've made sure...”
“Adam...” Jillian admonished with her finger pointing. “I am not playing mediator tonight. I just want to enjoy this wedding to the fullest...with a cute boy on my arm.”
“Well, I would be happy to accommodate you, my precious...”
“I'm sure you will...”
# # #
One beautiful moment seemed to float into the next, and Maxine had no plans to return to the ground from her idylli
c cloud anytime soon. Those little touches and stolen kisses took on an even greater thrill and importance with the simple utterance of two little words that bound them as husband and wife. Every glance into Drew’s eyes held the promise of their lives, now entwined by their vow of forever.
So exuberant was Maxine that she couldn’t stop smiling. In fact, she could only imagine how those feelings she held for Drew would strengthen and deepen throughout her lifetime. She couldn’t stand close enough to him—couldn’t tear her hands or eyes away from him. In fact, she hated the thought of even slipping away from him long enough to have her hair and make-up retouched. He was all hers—that moment and always—and the magnetism between them simply couldn’t be broken.
Maxine couldn’t remember much of the receiving line. She saw all the familiar faces—from Aunt Frannie to Lexi Tate. She’d systematically left Aunt Tessa from her invite list, but made sure she included Tom’s cousins on the list. Drew knew everyone on Maxine’s small side of their new family, but Maxine feared she’d forget the names of aunts, uncles, and cousins on Drew’s invite list. While they’d kept things small, he still knew so many people.
As the last of their guests shuffled through, bride and groom held their smiles and hugged every single person with the same warmth as the first. Maxine thought she'd be exhausted by that point in the day, but she found herself running on pure adrenaline—brimming with newly-wedded bliss. Oh, how sweet and delicious and absolutely spectacular it was to be, at last, Drew's wife.
As the line tapered, Drew turned to Maxine and took her hands in his again, if only to play with her wedding band. His own grin was playful, and Maxine knew there was something behind that mischievous stare.
“I have another surprise for you…”
“Life is always full of those with you, my love,” she whispered, standing on her tiptoes to meet his lips for a kiss.
“Come on, Mrs. Mack,” he said, with a squeeze of her hand as they turned their backs toward the entrance to the party. “Let’s get you seated…”
KNOTTED: The Manhattan Bound Series, Book Three Page 21