The afternoon turns into evening, and the rehearsal dinner begins. The decorations, despite the initial hiccup with the florist, look beautiful. The candles and makeshift arrangements Selene organized have turned out more elegant than I could have hoped for.
Archer arrives shortly after we do, but he's alone. No brother in sight.
"Where's your brother?" I ask, giving him a quick hug.
"He's coming. He got held up with a phone call."
"Right," I say, my gaze searching the room.
"He'll be here soon. Don't worry."
Music begins playing, and Archer walks to the center of the room. "Good evening, everyone. Thank you so much for joining us tonight."
The crowd quiets down, the attention turning to Archer.
"I'm so glad you could all make it. I want to start by thanking Emma, my lovely fiancée's daughter, for organizing this. You're the best."
I smile, taking a bow.
"I'd also like to thank Julie, the love of my life, for agreeing to spend the rest of her life with me. I know I'm not perfect, but you've always been patient with me, and for that, I'm eternally grateful."
My mother blushes, the joy radiating off her.
"He gives a great toast," a voice behind me says.
I turn, my heart skipping a beat. Ares stands there, his eyes locked on mine. He's dressed in a black suit, his tie perfectly knotted. His beard is trimmed, his hair neatly styled.
"What are you doing here?" I ask, the words coming out harsher than intended.
"I'm here for the wedding," he says, his expression amused.
"But— How—?"
He chuckles. "I'm Archer's brother."
I stare at him, my jaw dropping. This can't be happening.
"Wait. You're his brother?" The realization dawning on me. Ares is Archer's brother. The man I fucked last night is fixing to be what? My step uncle? Basically family? This can't be happening.
My face flushes, the shame and guilt washing over me. What did we do? We had sex. Sex! And not just any sex. It was incredible, mind-blowing, toe-curling sex. And the whole time, he was my mom's fiancé's brother. The same person I'm fixing to spend the rest of my life with as family. Before I can say anything else, we are interrupted.
"Emma, you're up," Selene says, gently touching my arm.
"What?"
"You're the next speaker."
"Oh, right," I say, the room suddenly feeling too hot.
I walk to the front of the room, my knees wobbling.
"Hi everyone, thanks for being here," I begin, my voice shaky. "I just want to thank you all for coming and sharing this special day with us."
My gaze wanders the crowd, landing on Ares. His eyes are dark and intense, his lips curved into a mischievous smirk.
I continue talking, trying not to think about him, trying not to remember the feel of his hands on my body, the taste of his lips.
I stumble over a few words, my nerves getting the better of me. "I want to say how happy I am that my mother found Archer." As the words tumble from my mouth, I watch Ares's reaction. From his look of surprise, I'm assuming he didn't know who I was either.
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Older || 18+
RomanceAge gap step-uncle romance. When twenty-four year Emma reluctantly takes on the role of maid of honor for her mother's wedding, she's anything but thrilled. To escape the stress, she finds herself at a bar the night before the rehearsal, where a cha...