Downstairs the music started to play, and Gwen shuffled in front of them to take her place.

Dean offered his arm and leaned in to whisper. "I feel I need to offer you some kind of advice."

"You don't have to."

"Good. I managed to get married, but I suck at staying married."

Eliza chuckled and turned to look at Dean. He was completely serious and somewhat offended that she was laughing. She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For caring."

He winked. "C'mon. It's about time I hand you off to someone else for a while."

Eliza continued to laugh as she walked down the stairs.

All eyes were on his bride, which suited Carter perfectly. When she stepped out into the sun and glanced up the grassy path to his side, her eyes met his and his nerves flew away with the breeze. He knew how sappy it would sound if he told anyone his thoughts, but it didn't matter.

Eliza was the picture of perfection. Every man's dream. And she was about to become his.

She was smiling at something Dean had said, and the laughter behind her eyes made her glow even more.

Dean handed her over and waited until Carter looked his way.

"Take care of her," he said.

"I will."

Carter took Eliza's hand, squeezed it, and turned toward the minister.

The minster spoke of tomorrow, of now...of love. He encouraged the both of them to consider each other every day of their lives. He addressed the audience and asked if there was anyone who thought the two of them shouldn't marry.

For a moment, Carter held his breath. God help anyone who said a peep now.

They didn't.

He glanced down at his bride, noticed the slight smile on her lips, and knew she was thinking the same thoughts.

When the minister addressed him and asked if he would hold, cherish, and always keep sacred his union with Eliza, he said he would and felt the commitment to his very core.

Maybe it was his look, or perhaps the expression on his face, but when it was Eliza's turn to devote herself to him for always...Carter believed her.

The minister asked for rings and Carter turned to Blake. His best friend produced the ring he'd picked out for Eliza to wear. It was the first time she would see it.

When he turned to her, her gaze drifted from his face to his hand. Her face washed of color and he thought for a moment that he might have to hold her up. Her jaw dropped and she quickly swiveled her eyes toward him. They glossed over and a brilliant smile manifested behind her mask of nerves. "With this ring, I thee wed."

Carter accepted her ring, a simple gold band with a beveled edge and brush finish, and then finally the minister pronounced them husband and wife.

Both of them released a collective sigh, which brought a slight chuckle from the audience.

For a brief moment, it was only the two of them. The minster wasn't there, the audience... the sea. No one. Carter stepped into her space, wrapped his hand around her waist, and lowered his lips to hers.

He didn't care that flashbulbs recorded the moment, didn't care that his loving parents stood by and watched. This was for them. It was in that moment he knew that marrying Eliza meant more than protecting her from her past.

This was deeper.

This was lasting.

He ended their kiss and held onto her so she wouldn't fall.

He paused for the camera when the minister pronounced them Mr. and Mrs. Billings.

She squeezed his hand, and he shuffled them down the aisle.

According to his tip, recreation time tonight would confirm or deny what he'd been told. It was impossible to deny the future governor a few moments of airtime on the local channels. Especially when that man was getting married.

The media ate that shit up.

He glanced around the room full of blue uniformed inmates and knew that many of them would hold out hope that the next governor would grant them a pardon.

He didn't hold out that hope.

And if his tip was correct, there would be no question left in his mind what he needed to do.

The only way he could resolve what his meager existence had become.

Even then, it wouldn't leave him whole.

But it was something.

It was something.

"Senator Hammond. The pleasure is mine," Eliza prayed to God that Carter was nearby, but he was across the room talking with Blake and one of his influential friends.

Eliza extended her hand and Carter's uncle leaned down, pretending to kiss her cheek. "Congratulations."

"Thank you." What else could she say? Eliza glanced over in Carter's direction hoping that he could feel the weight of her stare and come to her rescue.

"I certainly hope you're prepared to be a political wife, Eliza. The strain is taxing I'm told."

Where are my supernatural powers when I need them? C'mon Carter. Look over here. "I'm sure it's not that bad."

Hammond laughed, although his smile appeared forced...tight. "How is it I've heard nothing of you until last month with that unfortunate incident in the Texas bar?"

Carter!

"Discretion is key. Isn't it?"

Hammond hesitated. "I suppose."

His words hung on the air like a thick cloud of smoke.

"Max. It's wonderful of you to have come on such short notice."

Eliza had never felt like kissing another woman before as she did at that moment. Abigail stepped into the conversation and dominated it in seconds.

"It seems your son has followed in your footsteps, Abby. Instant marriage with someone the family barely knows," he whispered so no one close by could hear.

"The best matches I'd say. Speaking of, where's Sally?"

Maxwell glared at his sister, his hatred thinly veiled.

Lord, how could Abigail stand it?

"She's helping Mother. Perhaps you can lend a hand."

Abigail smiled and clasped onto Eliza's arm. "Perfect idea. Come, Eliza, let me introduce you to the matriarch of our clan."

They left Max standing alone, clutching his drink.

"Holy cow!" Eliza exclaimed when the escaped his presence. "Is he always so intense?"

"Yes. Sadly. He didn't say anything truly nasty did he?"

"No. But I don't think he likes me."

Abigail dropped an arm around her shoulders. "That's a very good thing. I'd have worried if he had."

"Are you going to tell me why all the badges are here?"

Carter glanced over at his father and considered lying. Instead, he stalled. "What do you mean?"

"So that's how you want to play it. Okay..." He turned toward the guests and nodded in Dean's direction. "Dean is a cop, but not Eliza's family. My guess is the man he's talking to is his partner. They've talked to four other people here other than the wedding party. Of course there is Neil, but we know he's a retired Marine. He still works for Blake, right?"

Carter swallowed his drink. "Yeah, technically."

"There's a rookie, a police dog with the valet, and those are only the ones I see. So I'll ask again. Why all the badges?"

Carter hesitated. "It's complicated, Dad. This isn't the time or place."

Cash lowered his voice. "Are you in...has there been a threat?"

Across the room, Eliza laughed alongside one of their guests. "I'm fine."

Cash followed his gaze. "You know I'm here to help."

For the first time in a while, Carter remembered how effective his father was as a cop. Maybe it was time to do some investigating on his own. As much as Dean and Jim were there to help, they weren't free with the details that landed Eliza in her current the position.

Carter waved Neil over and asked the man if he had a pen. He scribbled Ricardo Sanchez's name onto a napkin and handed it to his father. "He's in San Quentin," he whispered in his father's ear. "Look back ten years."

Cash shook his son's hand. "Have I told you how proud I am of you, lately?"

Carter patted him on the back. "It's been at least an hour."

A photographer snapped pictures throughout the day. During Blake's long-winded toast, Carter stood beside Eliza with a possessive hand around her waist.

When they cut the cake, Carter dribbled only a speck of icing on her nose. He avoided a messy chin by capturing her hand and licking off her fingers. For a moment, he caught her eyes and saw a spark of desire flood in them.

They hadn't spoken of their wedding night, of what the other expected. In Carter's mind he figured he'd let her set the course. With the slightest hint of passion, he would consummate their union and give into the sizzling chemistry that had been brewing for years. The thought of removing her wedding dress to see what she wore underneath, brought heat to his cheeks, and desire to his blood.

He finished chewing the cake while she watched and because he knew she wouldn't pull away, he dipped his head to hers and kissed her. She was sweeter than the cake and breathless when he moved away.

They had another hour tops at the reception before he could remove her from the crowd and gauge her desires. He could hardly wait.

Chapter Nineteen.

Eliza was plucking tiny grains of rice from her hair in the back of the limousine en route to the airport. "Wow." She took a full deep breath for what seemed the first time that day. "That was crazy."

Carter leaned forward and helped her disengage the small grains. "Crazy good?"

Her cheeks actually hurt from all the smiling. "Yeah. Crazy good."

He nodded and tossed the rice to the floor. "Have I told you how gorgeous you are?"

"Yeah, you did."

"Well you are," he laughed.

The car moved into traffic leaving the guests behind to continue the party.

Eliza brushed rice off his shoulder. "You missed your Hollywood calling, Carter. I'll bet you didn't even rent this tux."

"Is that a compliment?"