The venue was dramatic and unique. It was set high over the city skyline, and you could see the lights and winter landscape of the Rocky Mountains for miles and miles. Shaw wanted everything to look pale and cool; she said she wanted it to feel like being in the center of a blizzard. Anyone who knew the soon-to-be-married couple knew that the bride had a serious infatuation with Rule’s superpale, icy-colored eyes. Clearly, it was what the entire wedding theme was built around. Rome and I had on matching black pants and button-up shirts, with ties that were the same color as Ayden and Cora’s dresses. Rule had the same thing on, only he was wearing a black jacket over his with a pinstripe pattern running through it. We looked badass, way better than typical wedding finery, and I couldn’t believe how steady my best friend seemed. I never thought he was going to settle down and now it seemed like the only thing in the world he wanted to do. I was a little envious, which surprised the hell out of me.

“So the nurse?” Jet gave me a look and handed me the flask. I grunted at him and took a swig of the burning, amber liquid.

“She doesn’t like me very much. I’m trying to change her mind about it.”

Rome was fidgeting with his tie and texting Cora back and forth. The closer she got to the due date, the more paranoid he got about her well-being. I think he would’ve kept her glued to his side or tied to a bed if the little spitfire would’ve allowed it.

“She showed up with you. She can’t dislike you that much.”

Yeah, she had showed up, but she kinda looked like she was going to be sick or like she was sucking on a lemon the entire ride over. Not that she hadn’t looked gorgeous even with the unease clear on her pretty face. It was the first time I had seen her in anything other than her work wear, and man, could she rock a little black dress and sky-high heels like a pro. It was simple, understated, but with all that spectacular hair and flawless skin, she looked regal and elegant in a way a lot of young women couldn’t pull off nowadays. She was a classic. Kind of like my car, and I had a feeling her ride would be just as nice if she ever let me get that far.

She wouldn’t let me pick her up, had insisted on meeting me at my place. I had almost had to literally twist her arm to get her to agree to actually ride downtown with me, and after I’d won that argument, she had spoken maybe five words to me since. I deposited her with Phil, who had just looked at me knowingly and given her a smile. He was holding up pretty well, all things considered, and there was no way he was going to miss seeing Rule tie the knot.

Rule and Shaw were doing things really informal. There weren’t going to be any sappy speeches, no first dance, just a quick ceremony, dinner with everyone they loved, and then Rule was taking her to New Orleans for a week for their honeymoon so they could spend New Year’s Eve partying it up on Bourbon Street. That is, if they managed to leave the hotel room. Knowing my best friend, I doubted it. Personally I was stoked that they weren’t dragging it out. They didn’t need pomp and circumstance to make the love between them official.

“She showed up with me under duress.” I grinned at him. “I don’t really get her.”

Asa chuckled and flicked his golden hair out of his eyes. “But you want to? Get her, I mean.”

I grunted again. “Did you see her? Of course I want to, but she’s throwing out some pretty strong ‘hell no’ signals. I’m not interested in pushing my luck.” That wasn’t entirely true. I wanted to push and push, not that I thought it would get me anywhere. I kind of dug the mystery to all of it. She always had me guessing.

I’m sure the conversation would have kept going, but Rule’s dad stuck his head in the room where we were all gathered and gave his son a nod and a grin.

“The girls are ready to get this show on the road. I sure am proud of you boys.”

Rule nodded and I saw his chest expand and release. The rest of the guys pounded him on the back, leaving just the three of us in the wedding party behind.

“You good?”

Rome clapped his brother on the shoulder.

“I’m fucking great.”

We all chuckled and I gave him a fist bump.

“You are fucking great, and so is she, so this is gonna rule.”

He lifted his pierced eyebrow at the pun and I grinned at him. We were tight for a reason.

“Let’s do this. Let’s get you married.” I was surprised that there was some pretty thick emotion working in my voice.

Rome fiddled with his tie some more. I guess when you had a neck like a fullback, ties weren’t very comfortable.

He looked at Rule and asked, “Did Shaw’s mom show?”

Rule shook his head. “Nope. I called her and told her what I thought about the entire situation and promptly got told to go to hell. Shaw seems okay with it. Her dad is here with a chick that looks like she’s maybe eighteen at the most. He wanted to walk Casper down the aisle, but she told him no. She’s having Dad do it.”

That made sense to me. The Archers had always been Shaw’s real family. Like Rome had told Rule when he was thinking about proposing, giving her his last name was just a formality.

We lingered at the back of the room while Rule took his waiting mom’s arm and made his way to where the ordained officiant waited. Fittingly enough, Brite Walker, Rome’s mentor and an ex-marine, was an ordained minister. He looked like a member of a biker gang, but was one of the most centered, thoughtful men any of us had ever met. He had played a big part in bringing Rome back to the land of the living, and neither Rule nor Shaw could think of a better person to guide them into a life as man and wife. Just like he had offered Rome a new start, their thinking was he was the best person to give them a new start on a life as a married couple.

The girls came out of the elevator and both Rome and I lost our breath. Cora looked like a fairy princess from a Disney cartoon—granted, with a full sleeve of tattoos and a round baby belly. Rome bent down and kissed her until it was almost awkward for the rest of us. Ayden was a knockout even on a bad day. The blue made her dark hair pop and the silly grin on her face made me smile back at her just as goofy.

“Jet is so jealous of me right now.”

She scoffed at me and put her hand in the curve of my elbow.

“It’s good for him. He was out of town all last week. That means he won’t be able to resist me later.”

“Does he ever? Resist you? Because if he does, maybe I need to tell him he’s doing being married wrong.”

She made a face at me and dug her nails into my forearm, which made me laugh. I knew that her and Jet couldn’t keep their hands off each other, so I was only teasing her.

When my gaze landed on Shaw as she came out of the dressing room she had been in, I was surprised at the wealth of sentiment I felt at looking at her. She was beautiful. Like something out of a fantasy or anyone’s vision of “this is the perfect bride.” Her white-blond-and-black hair was twisted all up. Her dress was poufy and long, like a ballerina’s, and tied with a pale blue sash in the middle. She was holding on to the senior Archer’s arm, and Dale looked like any proud papa should. Rome maneuvered around his dad and bent down and gave the beautiful bride to be a kiss on the cheek. It was a good day for all the Archers … and the rest of us as well.

I told her honestly, “You look perfect.”

She blushed prettily and glanced at Rome.

He lifted the eyebrow under his scarred forehead and told her bluntly, “What he said. Rule is a lucky bastard for sure.”

Shaw just giggled and looked impatient.

“Let’s do this.”

We all faced the front, the clock face behind Rule and Brite showing the beautiful Denver skyline and making the most memorable Christmas Eve ever. Jet and his band started to play “Silver Mountains” by the Deadstring Brothers and I don’t think anyone in the room had dry eyes by the end of the song. Jet was in a metal band, could scream his ass off with the best of them, but when he used those pipes to really, really sing, it just did something magical to the people lucky enough to hear it.