Big Flight by Zenina Masters Page A

you. Sissy never said that you were so stunning.”
    Molly looked around the table. “Well, you know how it is. You never get a good look at those who are close to you until you step back and let yourself see it.”
    Five sets of embarrassed eyes looked away from her.
    “Come on, Damon. More folks to meet. It was good to finally see you, and I wish you and Sissy nothing but the best.” She nodded to her soon-to-be brother-in-law.
    He blinked. “You will be at the wedding, of course.”
    She looked to Damon and he nodded his head. “Apparently I am the councillor’s plus one.”
    The fiancé laughed. “I should hope so.”
    Molly smiled and linked arms with her husband, and with a slightly lighter heart, she went about her rounds while the wine flowed and the snacks were plentiful.
    When her father-in-law, Dorian, grabbed her and hauled her to the dance floor, she was laughing as they did the Chicken Dance with a group of enterprising partiers. Crouching in the tight-fitting skirt was tricky, but she managed it.
    Laughing at the clapping, the twisting and the twirling, she was thirsty and exhausted when Damon finally caught her against him and they swayed together.
    “So, Mrs. Suel, would you care to retire for the night?”
    Molly grinned up at him. “Why, Mr. Suel, are you propositioning me?”
    “Less of a proposition and more of a sure thing.” He winked and dipped her back in his arms.
    When he righted her, she sighed. “I hope I am not that transparent.”
    “No, I am simply that persuasive.”
    “Well, in that case, I would love to go.”
    “Good. Toss the bouquet and we will be on our way.”
    She blinked and nodded. “Right. Don’t you have to do something with a garter?”
    “Right. I had forgotten about that.”
    He turned her around and she bumped into a chair. She burst out laughing as he went to one knee and the crowd began cheering and whistling.
    His hand skated up her calf, and he lifted the skirt with his arms, not putting her on display but still finding the garter on her thigh with his hands before he ducked under the frothing silk to pull the garter down with his teeth. When it was past her knee he lifted her leg to his shoulder and eased the garter over her calf, slipping her shoe free and then pulling the garter away. With the garter still in his teeth, he slipped her shoe back on and winked. Cinderella complex in action once again.
    The single men were already gathered, and with a tremendous snap, Damon fired her undergarment into the throng.
    There was lunging, a few fistfights and, finally, a triumphant waving of the garter.
    Now, it was on to the most dangerous part of the evening, tossing the bouquet.
    Molly stood at one end of the dance floor as the unmated women came running into a flock that rippled with both hope and hostility.
    Molly clutched her roses and swung the bouquet. “One, two, three…”
    The flowers were launched, and Molly turned to watch the arc of the green leaves and pink and white petals.
    The women lunged upward and several pushed, using their inner animals gaining several feet of height on the jump.
    The flowers struck one hand and were knocked to another. They spun it around, tackled each other, one or two fists flew into backs and jaws.
    Molly moved toward Damon as the women growled and snapped in their effort to gain the upper hand. When the bouquet finally settled, it was a triumphant Ameline holding it aloft.
    At the human weddings that Molly had attended, the single men avoided the winner of the bouquet. Here, Ameline became the target of interested eyes the moment that she brandished her prize.
    Molly sighed and leaned against Damon. He and his family had provided every ritual she had ever heard of regarding weddings. The shower was to have been thrown by her family, but Molly pretended that there just wasn’t time.
    He swept her off her feet and walked out of the wedding without saying a word to anyone.
    “You can’t keep carrying me around like