Marrying Her: The Keeping Her Christmas Wedding (The Keeping Her Series Book 5) by Kelly Lucille Page B

the full kitchen
where Ian and Liam were gracing two of the bar chairs, while Cassandra and Mac graced
the other two. Ian was doing his best to make Cassie laugh and Ben was wielding
his spatula and flipping pancakes.  Miley was sitting on Lucas’ lap in the
living room, and Cleo and Shawn were standing close together against the woodland
backdrop spanning the wall of windows.  As usual, when she was around, Roxy was
standing with Cleo pointing out at the playground set you could just see around
the corner of the house. The guys had built it for her birthday.  It was a
thing of beauty for sure.  With a fort, excuse me den , fit for a wild
thing high up in the trees, swings, a slide, and even a teeter-totter and sand
box, all made by hand and decorated with wood carvings of mystical beasts and
forest creatures.  She had no idea how long it took them to complete, but she
did know they hired a local artist to help with the finishing work and
carvings.  When Demon had mentioned a playground set, she had pictured
something plastic that you screwed together, and she had thought it a sweet
gift then.  But the reality?  Yeah, she could see Roxy wanting to show it off
every time someone came by, even if they had seen it before.
    Clytie took in the lot of
them and narrowed her eyes on her mate.  “Something I should know?”
    Demon shrugged, his eyes
taking in the same thing she did.  Before he could answer Roxy was running at
them, Shawn and Cleo right behind her coming at a more sedate pace.  Roxy hit
their legs with a squeal and held her arms up.  Clytie laughed and Demon picked
up the seven-year-old, hefting her high so she squealed again.  Clytie laughed
and then turned to see that Lucas and Miley were no longer on the couch but standing
right in front of them with Cleo and Shawn beside them.  Everyone was smiling.
    “Congratulations,” Lucas
said presenting his hand to take Demon’s, but his eyes were smiling and on
Clytie.  “This will be the first ever wedding in our pack.  I never got the
chance to express this when you mated, but I am thrilled that Demon found
someone I would be honored to call pack.”
    “Thank you,” Clytie
licked her lips, touched by his words and the sincerity in his eyes, but
confused all the same.  “But I just agreed to marry Demon this morning; how did
you get here so fast?”  She turned suspicious eyes to Demon.  “When did you
make this thrilling announcement?”
    “Never mind that,” Miley
said, seeing the look on Demon’s face and jumping in.  “Let’s see the ring.”
    She heard Cassandra gasp,
before practically bowling over Ian as she jumped from her bar stool and came
at them.  She grabbed Clytie’s left hand and raised it, looking at what Clytie learned
was a rare champagne morganite surrounded by that spiraling halo of diamonds
set in rose gold.  She got wide-eyed and then they actually teared up when she
raised them to look at Clytie.  “Oh, Clytie . . .”
    Clytie felt her own eyes
start to fill with that one look of happiness from her cousin.  “I’m getting
married!”
    Then they both squealed
and jumped into each other’s arms, ignoring the way the males moved away as
fast as possible, and barricaded themselves behind the kitchen island.  Clytie
was too busy celebrating with her cousin and best friend a milestone in her
life that she had never really expected to reach for herself.  And mainly
because she refused to settle for anything but the real thing.
    “Let me see the ring,”
Cassie said, wiping away her happy tears while Miley moved closer so she could
see, too.  With Miley and a slightly less enthused Cleo looking on, she raised
the ring hand.  Cassie grabbed it and turned it this way and that.  Then they
all turned to look towards the kitchen at Demon.  “How did you manage to get
the perfect ring?”  She kept going, and you could hear the clear surprise in
her voice.  “I mean without my help?”
    Demon was drinking