Page 131 of Wedlocked

“Finally, someone who realizes it’s a marriage and not a wedding,” I muttered.

“Well, I’m not a moron.”

We looked at each other and laughed.

“Good times and all, bro, but you mind telling me why I was blasted awake by a midnight serenade from Coach’s whistle?”

“That was my wedding announcement,” I said. “I think Coach sleeps with that thing.”

Kruger shook his head. “Poor Malibu Barbie.”

We both grinned.

The smile was short-lived, though, and Kruger went back to glaring. “Stop trying to charm me, Arsen. Your charm is about asuseless as a knitted condom. What makes you think you can just up and marry my brother?”

“What makes you think I can’t?”

A thunderous look crossed his features, and then I was bulldozed backward, the painting hanging overhead banging into the drywall with a thud.

The door right beside us opened, and Lars popped his head out. His eyes widened, seeing me pinned by Kruger. “Uh, bros. Everything okay?”

“Bro, sure. Just getting a few things straight,” Kruger told him.

Lars glanced at me. “Are you really getting married right now?”

“Yep,” I said at the same time Kruger yelled, “No.”

“Angel, what are you doing?” Win asked, his head popping out around Lars. He made a face. “Ah, yeah, we’ll just give you two a minute,” he said, pulling Lars back into the room and shutting the door.

Kruger turned back to me, and we continued like there’d been no interruption.

“You can’t marry P,” he said, pressing me harder against the wall.

“Why the hell not?”

“You didn’t ask me first!” he barked.

Both of us drew back, surprised.

“Fuck,” Kruger spat, pushing away from me.

I straightened off the wall, went to adjust my shirt, and realized I wasn’t wearing one. “That’s what this is about?” I asked, voice level.

“I know we have this love-hate, shared-custody thing with P, but I thought you respected me more than this,” Kruger said, not one ounce of sarcasm in his tone.

“I do respect you,” I said.

“That why you’re trying to marry him in the middle of the night behind my back?”

“If you call waking up the entire house behind your back…”

He let out a rumble. “I am not the entire house. I’m his brother.”

Well, fuck.

“And the fact that you thought you could just lump me in with everyone else and usher me into a room five minutes before you marry him without a word to me?Brooo, I forbid it.”

Down the hall, a door cracked. “He’s got a point,” someone called through the slim opening. It was Jamie.