Strength of Love: Book 3 in the Heirs of Orion Series

by D. Anne Paris

"No, you're the groom. Go ahead."

  Tiny smiled. "That sounds so weird!" He visibly shook himself. "Ok, I'll get used to that. Anyway, I'd like to thank everyone for pulling together this wedding on such short notice. Elle and I really appreciate it." He turned and looked at Elle, who stood next to him in a short sleeved white wedding gown, her arm free from the sling. Missy and Helen had worked on the dress non-stop since they heard the news of Elle's wedding. He didn't know how they pulled it off, but it was gorgeous and Elle was breathtaking.

  Elle took hold of his hand and squeezed it.

  He turned back to everyone. "We are so grateful we could share this special day with all of you. I wanted to elope..."

  Elle smacked his arm.

  "But as you can see, Elle convinced me we should have family and friends here."

  The sound of a whip resounded in the room and everyone turned to look at Dean, who had his cellphone out. "I have wanted to do that for years!"

  Everyone laughed and Kenneth yelled back at him. "Maybe you should follow his lead, Dean."

  Dean looked at Anne's father and sank back into his chair to avoid responding.

  Tiny enjoyed seeing Dean squirm under Kenneth's comment. When Tiny had approached Kenneth and told him he was going to marry Elle, the man had grabbed him in the fiercest bear hug he ever got. Without his super strength he would have been crushed by the man.

  "Looks like you're next, Dean!" Tiny exclaimed and raised his glass.

  Dean glared at him, and Tiny had a feeling he was flipping him off under the table.

  "But seriously, I really wanted to thank all of you, not just for today but for every day that we've been together. I once thought the team Keith, Dean, and I served on was the best in the world, but now I think this group is the best, and we're not just a team, we're family." He lifted his campaign glass up.

  "So, I'd like to propose the first toast."

  "Uh, Tiny?" Christina interrupted him.

  He looked over at her sitting next to her father. "What's up, Chrissy?"

  "Before you do that, you both need to look under the table." A grin lit on her face.

  "Huh?" Tiny put his glass down. Elle moved back to let him lift the tablecloth. A fat stuffed manila envelope was taped under the table. He reached and pulled it out.

  He handed it to Elle. "You want to open it, Angel?"

  "Sure." Elle put her glass down on the table and ripped open the top. A confused expression crossed her face as she reached inside and pulled out a folded blue piece of material.

  Tiny took the envelope from her. She unfolded the material to reveal a little shirt with a phrase.

  "Oh, my!" Elle exclaimed, with tears in her eyes.

  "What is it?" Missy asked.

  Elle turned it around to show everyone. I'm the big brother was written in big white letters.

  Gasps and clapping came from the group.

  Tiny reached around and kissed his bride. When he released her he took the shirt and walked over to Scott, who was sitting in his mother's lap.

  "You're going to be a big brother! What do you think about that buddy?"

  Scott just looked at his father and began to chew on his hand.

  "I think that means he's happy," Tiny’s mother answered for him.

  "You're such an awesome little guy." Tiny leaned in and kissed his forehead. He stood up and went back to Elle.

  "Ok, so no champagne for you, Angel." Tiny took her glass and replaced it with a glass of water.

  "That's why I wanted you guys to open it now," Christina explained.

  "And I'm very glad you did!" Tiny raised his glass again. "So let's try this again. A toast. To the future, may it hold nothing but good things for us!"

  Everyone raised their glasses and Elle raised the glass of water.

  "To the future!" they all exclaimed. Tiny gulped his drink and turned back to Elle, who finished drinking her water. Sure enough, there were clanking of glasses, and Tiny smiled at Elle.

  "I love you, Elle."

  "I love you too, Jason."

  They inched closer and kissed, hopeful of what tomorrow would bring.

  Their lips melded together in a kiss that had everyone howling with applause and laughter. The sound resonated throughout the floor. Tiny wished these would be the sounds they would hear more often in the coming months and years, the same sounds his heart made when he was with Elle, his Angel.

  Thank you for reading Strength of Love!

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