Not Yet Yours

Chapter 1

Chapter One

Liam

H arriet Rain, my future sister-in-law’s best friend, is smoking hot. We’ve met a few times and we flirt and joke together and there’s always that sexual vibe swirling between us that something could happen. But it’s just too damn cliché to hook up with the Maid of Honor. Then the wedding day comes. The bride is beautiful, of course, but when I see Harriet walking down the aisle, that’s the moment I know that I’m gonna become that cliché. And more…

I am going to marry that girl.

I don’t know where the thought or the conviction comes from, but I know in my heart and soul it’s true. I can’t take my eyes off her as she walks slowly toward the altar where I stand beside my brother, Cullen.

Her blonde hair is clipped in place, half up and half down, the down part tumbling in curls to just past her shoulders. She is wearing a pretty pink silk dress that brushes the floor and makes her hips look so grabbable and her breasts absolute perfection. Her cheeks are flushed, partly I think in embarrassment as every eye in the room is watching her walk down the aisle, and perhaps with excitement to see her best friend get married.

As though she feels my eyes on her, she looks up and meets my gaze. Her eyes are a beautiful pale green color and the earthy tones of the eye makeup she wears really bring out the sparkle in them. She’s still looking me in the eye when she bites her bottom lip, dips her eyes, and gives a half smile. That shy, almost demure, expression does something to me, and I feel my cock stirring in my boxers. I force myself to look away from Harriet before the whole congregation knows exactly how I feel when I look at her.

Behind Harriet, the two other bridesmaids have begun to walk down the aisle too. Their dresses are the same style as Harriet’s, but theirs are a few shades darker. I prefer Harriet’s dress but let’s face it, the woman would look good in a trash bag so it’s most likely not really a fair comparison.

Finally, Max, short for Maxine, appears on her mom’s arm. Her mom is giving her away as her father isn’t a part of her life. When Cullen first told me that was the plan, I thought it might look a little bit strange, but it doesn’t. It looks perfect. Everything looks perfect. Max’s dress is a fairy tale ball gown of white tulle adorned with diamantes making her sparkle as she walks. My brother glances at me and we grin at each other.

“I told you she’d show up,” I whisper.

“Yup, you were right. She’s breathtaking,” Cullen replies.

Harriet reaches the altar area first and goes to stand behind the empty space that Max will fill in a moment. The other bridesmaids join her and then Max and her mom reach us last. Cullen steps forward to receive Max’s hand and then the bridal party and the groomsmen, me included, move away from the altar and take our places in the front pew to watch the vows get exchanged.

Max and Cullen decided to skip the part where the officiant asks who gives the bride away and all of that because Max’s mom didn’t really want to do it because she knew she would end up in tears and unable to speak. I must admit I kind of like it not being there. It’s not the olden days when women were possessions. I think it’s not so much a case of someone giving the bride away anymore, but that most brides want someone to walk with them down the aisle to help with their nerves.

Cullen and Max are both all smiles and most of the congregation are too except for Max’s mom who is already tearing up before the vows have even started. Yes, she was right. She would have sobbed through anything she had to say about giving her daughter away.

The officiant smiles out over the congregation and the last-minute whispering and shuffling dies down as everyone focuses on the front of the church. The officiant begins by welcoming everyone to the wedding and then he talks about the meaning of love, and he reads a poem about ever-lasting love.

During the poem, I look around subtly and I can’t help but watch Harriet. Her full attention is on the bride and groom and the officiant, and she has a soft smile on her lips. She looks beautiful and I want to be the one to make her smile like that. I can’t help but wonder if that’s the same smile she will have on her face after I make her climax. I can’t start thinking like that, not here for fuck’s sake, and the tingling in my cock confirms this.

I force myself to look away from her and concentrate on the wedding. It is my kid brother getting married and he’s only going to do this once, or at least he’d better only do this once because Max is a keeper. The least I can do is pay attention. Harriet will still be here after the ceremony, and if I play my cards right, she will be around for a long, long time.

We have reached the point in the wedding ceremony where the officiant has asked if there are any objections to the wedding and the silence is deafening as he pauses to wait for any responses. If someone really did though, I don’t know who would be scarier to deal with Cullen, Max, or Max’s mom. My money is on Max’s mom if anyone attempts to ruin her baby’s wedding.

Cullen glances at me and catches my eye and I smile and give a tiny shake of my head. I’ve been winding him up for weeks leading up to the wedding, telling him I am going to object but of course, I’m not. Apart from anything, I don’t have a death wish and Max might call her mom off, but only so that she could kill me herself if I made a scene at her wedding.

“It’s always good when that part is over,” the officiant says with a soft laugh which gets a quiet laugh in return. “It’s all smooth sailing from here. Now, let’s get you two married.”

A short piece of music plays, and the officiant shuffles his papers and reads out a prayer, then the music ends and he smiles at the happy couple.

“Cullen, repeat after me. I call upon these people here present,” the officiant starts and then he pauses, and Cullen repeats his words. The officiant goes on. “To witness that I, Cullen James Monroe…”

“To witness that I, Cullen James Monroe,” Cullen repeats.

“Do take you, Lucy Maxine Granger,” the officiant goes on and again Cullen repeats his words. “To be my lawful wedded wife.”

Max cringes at the mention of her full name and Cullen grins at her. She can’t help but grin back at him and then it’s her turn to repeat the officiant’s words and she beams the whole time. The officiant moves on to the vows and Cullen and Max are still beaming at each other all the way through them.

Cullen repeats all of the vows and then it’s Max’s turn.

“I, Lucy, take you Cullen to be my husband,” the officiant starts, and Max repeats the statement. “To have and to hold from this day forward.”

“To have and to hold from this day forward,” Max repeats, her voice trembling with emotion.

He takes them through the for better or worse, richer and poorer, sickness and health thing.

“Until death parts us,” the officiant says.

“Until death parts us,” Max repeats and I’m sure I see a look of relief on her face that she got through all her part there without stuttering or stumbling over her words.

The officiant then talks a little bit about God and how the couple has made their vows with God as their witness. I kind of zone out a bit at that point. I’m not big on religion.

“And now the exchanging of the rings,” the officiant says, and I make sure to tune back in because this is my part. The officiant looks over at me and smiles. “Liam, the ring please.”

I stand up and get the ring from the inside pocket of my suit jacket. I’m kind of relieved to be able to hand it over and not have to keep patting my pocket and making sure it’s still there every five minutes. I walk up to the altar and hand the ring to Cullen. I pat his arm, and he beams happily at me. Then I take my seat once more as Cullen takes Max’s hand in his.

“Place the ring on Lucy’s finger and say your chosen vow,” the officiant says.

“I give you this ring as a symbol of my love for you. All that I am and all that I have is yours for now and forever,” Cullen says.

I hear a few sniffles from behind me and Max has tears in her eyes too as Cullen slips the ring onto her finger.

The officiant waits until the ring is on and then he smiles up at Harriet.

“Harriet, the ring please,” he says.

Harriet pulls the ring from her small purse, gets up, and goes and hands it to Max. The two women smile at each other, both of them with tears shining in their eyes and then Harriet walks back away, and yes, I watch her ass as she walks. She sits back down, and the ceremony continues. The officiant gives Max the same instructions as the ones he gave Cullen.

“I give you this ring as a symbol of my love for you,” Max says, holding the ring on Cullen’s finger. “I am yours, always.”

She pushes the ring onto Cullen’s finger and they both turn to the officiant who smiles again.

“With the power vested in me by God, I now pronounce you husband and wife,” he says. “You may seal your vows today with a kiss.”

Cullen and Max don’t need to be told twice and they wrap their arms around each other and kiss as the whole congregation whoops and cheers and claps. I look over at Harriet and I’m both surprised and pleased to catch her looking at me. She doesn’t look away as I expect her to.

Instead, she smiles innocently at me, and I smile innocently back at her.

God, I want that woman.