Pack Mentality: Ring Ready

Chapter 8

"When I offered to host a party for you," Roman said, watching the officiant go into the guest house to prepare, "I was expecting something like a pool party, not a wedding."

"It's a small wedding," Seth countered. "Just you two and Cesaro and Sheamus for the guys and Bayley, Naomi, Sasha, and Asuka for the women." Cesaro and Sheamus would be more new additions to their werewolf circle, but he trusted them both.

Dean shook his head in wonder. "I can't believe you'd do this to your sainted Irish mother, Becky. She only has one daughter...."

Becky laughed, shutting her eyes as a warm breeze swept through Roman's backyard and ruffled the bottom of her dress. "My sainted Irish mother knows that her only daughter could have lost her life a few months ago, so she understands how precious time is. Besides, we're going over to Ireland before I start wrestling again and we'll have a ceremony for both our families there. Seth's mom has never been there, so that will be nice for her."

Seth squeezed her hand. He knew how hard it was for Becky not to have her family nearby. He was fortunate to live so close to his mother and brother; they were able to attend his important matches and he could visit them on holidays. Getting back to Ireland for any length of time was significantly more difficult for Becky, but Seth had talked to Hunter and arranged for a week off so they could head to Ireland for a more formal ceremony. It would be like a small honeymoon coupled with a rare family visit for her, and he hoped both would boost her spirits—and bolster her confidence—before she returned to the ring.

"Where's the party?" Naomi's joyous voice arrived before she did, bursting into Roman's backyard in a riot of colour. "Galina told us you were all out here and to just leave our bags in the front hall, but...." She glanced around at The Shield and Becky and narrowed her eyes. Dean was dressed in his trademark jeans with a crisp white t-shirt—the man had a preference and Seth wasn't about to ask him to change his ways—but Roman was wearing a dress shirt and slacks, as was Seth; Becky had chosen a summery white sundress, and every time the skirt fluttered around her knees, Seth couldn't help but look over at her and grin. "Hold up," Naomi demanded. "Why are you wearing white when there's a pool right there, Becks? That's a recipe for disaster."

Sasha and Bayley arrived next and looked equally suspicious. "Yeah. What's the occasion?" Sasha asked. She was wearing a summery dress as well, but Bayley had opted for a tank top and shorts. Seth had wanted the ceremony aspect of the party to be a surprise, and they really didn't care what their friends were wearing; it was more important that they were comfortable and they were there.

"Wait." Bayley stopped so suddenly that Cesaro, Sheamus, and Asuka nearly ran into her. "Why is there an altar? Are you getting married?"

"WHAT?" Sasha whirled to face Becky and Seth. "What? I didn't even know you were engaged!" She hurried over to Becky and grabbed her left hand before anyone else could move. "What? When? Why didn't you say anything? We would have brought presents and—"

"We don't need presents," Seth began.

"Just your presence," Becky finished, shooting Cesaro a thumbs-up when he laughed at her pun.

"She's not pregnant, is she, Rollins?" Sheamus sounded gruff, but he came up and hugged them both. "Her ma will be having some words for you if that's the case."

Becky laughed and shook her head. "Not pregnant. And my ma will be fine, because we're going over to Ireland next week for a more formal ceremony. This is just to make things legal—and because I wanted to see you all before I'm back on the roster."

Cesaro eased in and hugged her. "It's good to see you looking so well."

Roman made shooing motions towards the yard, where a small cluster of chairs was waiting. "We only booked the officiant for an hour," he said, "so let's get going." Seth knew he was just trying to get the officiant off the property so the happy couple could share their secret, which was the main reason for the gathering in the first place. He patted Seth's shoulder and added, "I'll go let her know we're ready."