Branding Gemma [Grizzly Pines 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (26 page)

When she stepped out of the room and walked down the stairs, her breath froze in her throat. She’d known the guys were going to dress up for the occasion, but she hadn’t expected them to take her breath away. Hell, she hadn’t even known Synclair owned a suit, much less that he would look mouthwatering in one. Both of them had on black suits, white shirts, and pale blue ties.

“You look amazing,” Ryan told her as she came to stand in front of them.

“Beautiful,” Synclair said.

“Look at the two of you.” Gemma smoothed a hand down Synclair’s lapel. “Who knew you’d clean up so well?”

Synclair just grinned.

Elodie came down the stairs behind her, a huge smile on her face. “Look at the three of you! Before you drive to the county courthouse, there’s one stop we need to make first.”

Gemma’s brow furrowed. “What are you talking about?”

“You need a wedding photo. The gazebo in the town park would be perfect for it. Especially right now with the jasmine blooming around it. Don’t you want something you can frame and display in your living room? Something to remind you of this day in the years to come?” Elodie looked at the three of them expectantly.

“And just how are we going to have this photo taken?” Gemma asked.

“I brought my camera!” Elodie smiled. “Now come on, the three of you can follow me over to the park, and then you can head over to the courthouse and get married.”

“Something tells me we shouldn’t argue with her,” Ryan said.

Synclair shrugged. “I wouldn’t mind having a picture of the three of us. Maybe we could get copies made and I could keep one at work.”

Ryan nodded. “Good idea.”

Gemma looped her arms through Synclair’s and Ryan’s and they walked out to Ryan’s SUV. The town park was nearby and they parked next to Elodie in the small parking lot. Gemma just knew someone was going to see them and know what they were up to. She could only hope word wouldn’t get back to her brothers until it was too late. The last thing she wanted was for them to crash her wedding or, worse, stop it all together.

Gemma, Ryan, and Synclair stood in the gazebo, big smiles on their faces, as Elodie snapped several pictures with her camera. They each gave her their cell phones and more photos were taken. Gemma’s heart was so full of love that she thought she would burst. Never had she been happier. While her family may not know about her wedding, she was glad that Elodie was here to share the morning with her, even if her friend wouldn’t be attending the wedding itself. Maybe if she’d come up with a way to separate Elodie from Beau, Beck, and Cody, she could have invited her.

When the pictures were finished, they piled back into the car and drove the twenty minutes to the county courthouse in the next town over. Parking was a nightmare and Gemma hoped that didn’t mean the Justice of the Peace would be busy. There was nervous energy buzzing around inside of her and she worried if she had to sit still she’d start fidgeting.

They entered the courthouse and found the office of the Justice of the Peace. There was a woman behind the front desk, and thankfully, no one else in the room. Ryan handed her their marriage license and explained they wished to be married. The woman took one look at the three of them and excused herself for a moment, to return with the justice of the peace himself.

The man shoved his hands into his pockets. “Well, what have we here?”

“We wish to be married this morning, Your Honor,” Ryan said.

The justice of the peace raised his eyebrows. “You know I can’t legally marry the three of you. You’ll have to decide which one of you is going on the marriage certificate.”

Ryan stepped forward. “I will be, sir. This is my brother, Synclair Black, and I’m Ryan Black.” He ushered Gemma forward. “This is our fiancée, Gemma Brower.”

“Well,” the man said. “As I told you, I can only legally marry one of you. However, I’m sure we can include your brother in the ceremony. Just follow me.”

They exited the small office and entered the courtroom to the right of the door. Gemma was surprised. She’d thought they would be married in the office. It was a large room, seeming even bigger with only the four of them in it. They followed the justice of the peace down to the front of the room, where he motioned them through a little swinging half-door.

Positioned with Synclair to her left and Ryan to her right, she waited to see what would happen next.

“As you know, marriage is a serious thing,” the man began. “It’s a lifelong commitment that mustn’t be entered into lightly. Before we proceed, are you sure this is what you want?”

“I’m positive,” said Gemma.

Synclair and Ryan also agreed they wanted to continue. Gemma squeezed their hands, feeling anxious.

“Gemma, do you take Ryan and Synclair to be your lawfully wedded husbands? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, until death do you part?”

“I do.” She smiled.

“Ryan and Synclair, do you take Gemma to be your lawfully wedded wife?” Gemma tuned him out for a moment, but her men both said
I do
and brought her back to the present.

“Do you have rings?” the justice of the peace asked.

Synclair pulled three rings from his pocket. Gemma’s fit around her engagement ring, while Synclair’s and Ryan’s were just plain white gold bands. It thrilled her that Synclair wanted to wear one, even if Ryan was her husband on paper.

Gemma slid Ryan’s ring on his finger, then turned to Synclair and did the same. Synclair handed Gemma’s ring to Ryan, letting him do the honors, and smiled down at her hand once her ring was in place. This was it! She was truly married. Her heart filled with love for her men and she knew her memories of this day would never diminish. It was a day she would remember for the rest of her life.

They thanked the man and went back to his office to sign some papers. While he had to have an official copy for the state’s records with just Ryan’s and Gemma’s signatures, he did pull out a small certificate, just printed on certificate paper you’d buy at the store, and had all three of them sign it.

“I know this isn’t an official one,” he said. “But it will give you something to frame and put in your home, or in a wedding album. I keep these for relationships like yours. You’d be surprised at how many I’ve seen over the last few years.”

“Thank you,” Gemma said, holding the certificate reverently.

The man smiled, nodded, and ushered them out of his office. “Keep an eye on the mail for your official wedding certificate. You’ll need it for insurance purposes and any other time you need to prove you’re married. You’ll want to put it in a safe place.”

Synclair took the certificate from her and gripped her hand, with Ryan claiming her other one. With a smile on her face so big her cheeks hurt, Gemma walked out of the courthouse with her husbands. She couldn’t believe how lucky she was to have the love of both of her men. They were truly amazing and she looked forward to spending the rest of her life with them.

When they got in the car, Ryan smiled at her. “Ready for a party?”

“Party?” Her brow furrowed. “What party? I thought we’d go home and celebrate.”

Synclair cleared his throat. “Elodie called while you were getting ready this morning. It seems she’s put together an impromptu party to celebrate our marriage. It would hurt her feelings if we didn’t go.”

“That means she told! She swore she wouldn’t tell anyone.”

“It’s just your family, Gemma. They had to find out sooner or later, and since they didn’t show up at the courthouse to stop the wedding, I think you can relax.” Ryan smiled at her. “I think they’re happy for you, even if we didn’t include them in the big event.”

Her shoulders sagged. “I was really looking forward to having some alone time with the two of you.”

Ryan lifted her hand and kissed her palm. “Darlin’, we have all the time in the world to be together. Spending a little time with your family won’t hurt anything.”

“All right,” she agreed. “Let’s go to Elodie’s.”

The guys were quiet on the way to the ranch and it made Gemma feel nervous. Did they know something she didn’t? This was just a party with Elodie and her cousins, right? Surely Elodie hadn’t told her brothers, because if she had, that meant her parents already knew and she had wanted to be the one to tell them. She’d just planned to do it after the wedding.

When they pulled up to the house, Gemma groaned. There sat all of her brothers’ trucks, her cousins’ vehicles, as well as a gold truck and a bright red truck. Just seeing those last two vehicles was enough to make Gemma want to turn around and run. It meant that the whole family was here. How had they gotten here so fast? Elodie must have called them the night before.

“Something wrong?” Synclair asked.

“No. I just hope you’re prepared to meet my parents.” She pointed to the red truck. “That’s my daddy’s truck. And the gold one belongs to my Uncle Hank and Aunt Carol.”

Ryan smiled. “I’d be delighted to meet your family.”

“You say that now, but wait until Momma gets going about how she wasn’t invited to the wedding of her only daughter. Just wait and see.”

They got out of the truck and stepped up onto the porch. Just as Gemma was reaching for the door, it opened and her Uncle Hank filled the doorway. He gave her a stern look, but it soon melted into a big smile.

“You look beautiful, little girl.”

“Uncle Hank, I’m not a little girl.”

He laughed. “You’ll always be one to me. Come on inside. Everyone is waiting to see you.”

Gemma slid past her uncle with her husbands in tow. She headed straight for the kitchen, where she knew everyone would be gathered, because really what southern family didn’t congregate in the kitchen whenever they got together for special occasions? Birthday? Gather around the kitchen table. Mother’s Day? Surround Momma at the kitchen table. All of her fondest memories of her family had happened in the kitchen.

“There’s the bride!” Elodie shouted as Gemma walked through the door.

She cast a glance around the room and saw her momma and daddy standing off to the side. She would have sworn there were tears in their eyes, but whether those were tears of joy or disappointment she didn’t know. Gemma, Synclair, and Ryan were all congratulated and hugged as the men were welcomed into the family. When they stopped in front of her parents, Gemma wasn’t sure what would happen.

“My only daughter gets married and doesn’t invite her own parents. We had to hear about it from Elodie and your cousins. Even your brothers didn’t know! What kind of daughter does that?” her mother demanded.

“Momma, it wasn’t that I didn’t want to tell you, it’s just…” How did she tell her mother she hadn’t wanted her meddling in this one event in her life? That she’d wanted to do it by herself?

“I have to admit,” her father said, “I’d always thought I’d walk you down the aisle one day. But the important thing is that you’re happy. If you needed to elope in order for that to happen, then I’m okay with that.”

She smiled and hugged him. “Thank you, Daddy.”

“Mrs. Brower, we’re the ones who talked Gemma into a quick wedding,” Synclair said. “So don’t be mad at your daughter. We were just anxious to have her as our wife. A traditional wedding would have taken too long to plan.”

Gemma’s mother snorted. “First of all, call me Peggy or call me Mom. Second, we could have put a wedding together on the spot if we needed to. All you really need is the preacher. You can get a store-bought cake at a moment’s notice. Might not be as pretty as one you order weeks in advance, but when you look back on your special day are you really going to be thinking about the cake?”

Synclair smiled. “No, ma’am. The cake is the last thing on my mind today.”

Her lips twisted into a half-smile. “Did you at least take pictures?”

“Not of the ceremony,” Ryan said. “But Elodie was kind enough to take some before we left for the courthouse this morning. We’ll be sure to have copies made for everyone.”

“You do that.” She smiled and patted him on the cheek. “Welcome to the family. Both of you.”

“Now that that’s out of the way,” Asher said, rubbing his hands together. “I think it’s time for your wedding gift, and then I want to dig into the food Elodie has out back.”

“Out back?” Gemma asked.

“I ran to Wal-Mart this morning,” Beau said. “There are two portable gazebos out back with tables and chairs for your dining pleasure. And I picked up an arbor so we can take more wedding pictures, this time with your family.”

Gemma went over and hugged him. “Thank you, Beau. You didn’t have to go to so much trouble.”

He shrugged. “I figured we could use all of it again when we get Elodie down the aisle. Which I’m hoping is sooner rather than later.”

“I feel awful that you had to cancel your wedding because of me.” Gemma twisted her hands. “When you’re ready to get married, I promise to help in any way I can.”

“You just show up,” Elodie said. “Besides, I may make you a bridesmaid.”

Gemma winced. “Does that mean another trip to the bridal shop? Because I was kind of hoping it was a onetime thing.”

Elodie laughed. “Okay. No bridesmaid.”

Nick handed her an envelope.