CHAPTER 369: FOUND MY HOME (4)

Georgia’s POV

I was in dessert heaven.

No, really, three slices of cake, two cupcakes, and a suspiciously large scoop of mango float sat on my plate, and I was still going. Nick had already given up trying to stop me.

I was halfway through stuffing another forkful of cake into my mouth when Candice suddenly appeared beside us, slightly breathless.

"Georgia, Nick," she said, "we’re starting the bouquet and garter toss in two minutes."

Nick immediately stood up.

I... did not.

I was still chewing like my life depended on it.

Nick looked down at me, amusement all over his face. "Love... finish that later," he said, gently pulling the plate away. "I already told them to set aside extra. They’ll bring the desserts to our room for the pregnant lady."

My eyes widened in delight, cheeks puffed out with cake.

"Really?" I managed to mumble through the sweetness.

Nick burst out laughing. "Yes. Really."

He leaned down and wiped a smear of icing from the corner of my lips with his thumb, shaking his head as if I were the cutest disaster he’d ever seen.

Then he extended his hand toward me, warm and steady.

"Come on, wife. Let’s go make some single people panic."

Still chewing but smiling like a fool, I took his hand, letting him pull me up as the crowd gathered behind us in excited anticipation.

The moment Candice announced the bouquet toss, every single woman in the crowd, single or suspiciously not, rushed behind me like it was a battlefield.

I lifted the bouquet, turned my back, and tossed it high.

A shriek cut through the air.

"I GOT IT!"

Ella held the bouquet above her head like she’d just won the Olympics. She was jumping, spinning, shaking it at Liam, who was suddenly coughing, choking, and pretending to fix his tie even though he wasn’t wearing one.

The guests roared with laughter.

Before I could join in, Candice’s team swooped in like trained ninjas and placed a chair in the middle of the dance floor.

"For the garter removal!" Candice announced.

Oh.

Right.

That part.

Nick grinned wickedly as he gestured for me to sit.

I froze.

Because suddenly, I remembered what I was wearing underneath this dress.

The white lace lingerie.

The white lace lingerie.

The one that the girls picked.

The one that barely counted as clothing.

My eyes widened. Oh no. Oh no no no.

Automatically, I darted a glance toward Bella and Jenny.

They were across the crowd.

Giggling.

Not cute giggling. Demonic giggling.

Jenny was wiggling her eyebrows. Bella was covering her mouth with both hands, shoulders shaking as she mouthed, Good luck.

Oh, I was going to kill them later.

Nick stepped closer, his smirk turning absolutely sinful.

"Something wrong, Mrs. Knight?"

I sat down slowly, praying to every deity that existed that my husband wouldn’t expose me to the entire guest list.

The music shifted, the crowd cheered, Nick knelt down—

And I braced for my slow, impending doom.

Nick knelt in front of me with that smug little grin he always wears whenever he’s about to misbehave. He lifted the hem of my skirt, wiggling his brows and making exaggerated faces that sent waves of laughter across the room. The moment he tugged on the garter, it didn’t budge.

"Uh... hold on. The garter is stuck," he announced, baffled.

Before I could even panic, Bella, my own traitor, shouted, "Go under the bride’s skirt!" And of course, everyone cheered like it was the best idea in the world.

Nick shrugged as if this was just another practiced performance, then disappeared, literally disappeared under my skirt. The crowd went wild. I, on the other hand, was dying inside.

But then I heard him, loud and clear, thanks to the mic the host was holding too close.

"Oh? And what do we have here?" Nick said.

Laughter exploded. I wanted the earth to swallow me whole. Because Nick wasn’t acting. His hand, which should have been on the garter, slid higher and brushed the very indecent, very open spot in the crotch area of my lingerie.

But that’s not all, he audaciously gave my slit a few strokes, not caring that all eyes were on us.

I jerked, smacked the top of his head hard. He groaned, and everyone thought it was part of the comedy show, except the ladies responsible for my demise, who were cackling like witches.

"Ouch!" he muttered before he yanked hard enough to rip the garter free. Then he emerged triumphantly, holding it up like he’d just returned from some heroic, inappropriate adventure under my wedding dress.

Nick stood up beside me, still brushing imaginary dust and probably my wrath off his hair as he held the torn garter like a trophy. The guests were still laughing when he stepped forward, rolling the garter around his fingers like he was about to pitch in the World Series.

"Ready?" he called out.

A chorus of cheers answered him.

He flicked his wrist, sending the garter flying in a perfect arc across the dance floor. For a second, it felt like everything moved in slow motion... and then Liam snagged it cleanly out of the air.

Everyone burst into applause—

But before the cheers could even rise to full volume, Benjamin’s voice thundered over everyone:

"Yes! Another kid of mine is getting married!" he exclaimed with both hands in the air as if he had won the lottery.

The entire room erupted. Liam turned beet red, Ella’s face matched his perfectly, and Benjamin proudly slapped Liam’s back so hard it echoed. The host could barely keep a straight face as he said, "A-alright! Ella, please take a seat so Liam can put the garter on!"

Ella was ushered into the spotlight, looking like she wanted to melt into the floor. Liam followed her, holding the garter like it was a bomb about to go off.

That’s when Nick leaned closer to me.

His hand settled on the small of my back, fingers warm and teasing as he dipped his head near my ear. "By the way," he whispered, voice low enough to vibrate through me, "what you’re wearing under that dress... I want to see the rest of it tonight. Take it off in front of me... Slowly."

My eyes widened. Heat surged up my neck.

Nick caught my reaction instantly, and his slow, wicked grin grew.

I bit my lip, smiled up at him, and rolled my eyes, making him chuckle.

Then he whispered in my ear, an idea that he had been wanting to do in our own wedding. I looked at him with hesitation, but he smiled as if no problem existed in our world.

I smiled and nodded. "Alright, let’s do that!"