A white carpet had been rolled out on the ice to help give them a little traction. Even with it, the heels Casey had helped Lizzie pick out seemed to want to slide, making Lizzie feel a little like a baby learning to walk as she took tentative steps.

  The whole team was waiting for them on the ice, including the coaches, some of the front office management and trainers. Doug had been wrong about the other team sticking around, because she spotted their players intermingled with the Tigers. After the rough stuff that happened on the ice, it was surprising to see everyone with smiling faces.

  Waiting for them at the end of the aisle was a minister in the center, with Dylan, Nels and Klinger on the left and Annie, Doug’s mom and Casey on the right. Doug’s dad was there too, but Doug had enough groomsmen, while Lizzie needed an extra person to fill in as a bridesmaid.

  The walk seemed longer than it had during rehearsal, maybe because of the fans clapping out their own wedding march as the group made it to center ice. Lizzie tried to keep her eyes focused on what was in front of her, but it was hard when she knew tears were going to blur her vision for at least another thirty minutes.

  The group came to a stop just in front of the minister, and Ben ran over to stand by his grandma. That was what they’d planned, but Lizzie still let out a sigh of relief when he didn’t get caught up in all the noise and attention.

  “Quite a lively bunch here tonight,” the minister said with a smile on his face. Chances were good he hadn’t performed a wedding in front of that many people, and it was good to see stage fright wasn’t an issue for him.

  Lizzie on the other hand was still trying to figure out if it was for her. She’d thought tuning out everyone else would be easy, but she didn’t think they’d be screaming like someone had just scored a goal. She had to take a few deep breaths to try to calm her nerves down.

  When that didn’t seem to help, she fell back to looking Doug in the eyes. She’d warned herself that if she did that, there was a good chance she’d mess up her lines, but he was the only thing that made her feel safe.

  “You guys ready?” The minister had a microphone in front of him that would pick up everything said by the three of them, but it wasn’t turned on yet.

  Lizzie watched as Doug nodded his head, so she did the same. The butterflies in her stomach seemed to start fluttering their wings in overdrive as soon as she heard the minister’s opening line go out over the sound system.

  “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness and to celebrate the marriage of Douglas Alex Renaud and Elizabeth Grace Ellens.”

  There were more words after that, but Lizzie had heard them enough that she kind of zoned out until it was time for her to say some of her lines. It wasn’t hard to say “I will” when prompted, but after they said their traditional vows, they each shared a more personal vow while they exchanged rings.

  Doug had already put the ring on her finger and repeated after the minister what was usually said at that point, then he pulled her hand up to his lips and kissed the marquise cut diamond that she still thought was a little too big for her finger.

  “We’ve already said so much to each other that it was kind of hard to come up with anything different to say to you now. You already know you and Ben are my world. I always dreamed this day would come, but I have to be honest that there were times I wasn’t sure I’d find you. But I did find you, and until a zombie apocalypse takes over the world, and the zombies eat our brains, I will always be by your side.”

  Lizzie had to cover her mouth to keep from snorting. They’d promised to keep the personalization short, but they hadn’t heard what each other had to say. The fans and the people on the ice all thought the zombie part was hilarious, so it took a second for them to quiet down. Lizzie glanced towards the minister, curious what he thought about the impending end of the world, but he just smiled and shook his head.

  When it was quiet enough to continue, she repeated after him and put Doug’s ring on his finger. She’d thought a long time about what she’d say, and for some reason she just couldn’t come up with the right words, so she decided to make it easy on herself. She knew Doug would understand, and he’d already shared with all in attendance that they’d told each other how much they meant to the other before.

  “I love you,” she said as she put both of her hands on either side of his face and kissed his lips.

  Judging by the smile and laughter that greeted her, she knew he didn’t mind the condensed version. It took him about a second to deepen the kiss, and after a few throat clearings, the minister decided to continue the ceremony without them paying attention.

  “Well, I would normally tell Doug he could kiss his bride here, but I’m sure it didn’t go unnoticed that they started a little early.”

  It probably took him two minutes to get the rest of the words out, and by then Doug and Lizzie needed to come up for air. The kiss hadn’t gone past PG, so she hoped there weren’t too many mothers who felt they needed to cover their kids’ eyes.

  “Best vows ever,” Doug whispered as they spun around and waved to the fans who’d all gotten to their feet.

  “I’m not the one who worked a zombie apocalypse into them. I knew watching that movie last night was a bad idea.”

  He shrugged as the people on the ice started walking over to congratulate them. As far as she knew, they didn’t have to greet all the fans, but the hundred or so people they were greeting would take a while. It was nice that most of them understood they wanted to get home before midnight, and since the game had gotten over at ten, it meant they were in a hurry.

  Refreshments were set up in the locker room, so they made a quick stop there to get some water and pieces of cake. Doug’s mom practically begged to take Ben for the night, and as tempting as it was, after thirty minutes of milling around, the trio made their way out to Doug’s replacement car. Technically both of their names were on it, but Lizzie was afraid to drive it. She’d seen the price tag, and it didn’t matter if insurance paid for the other one, it was too much for her to take to the grocery store on her own.

  “So, are you ready for a cartoon marathon?” Doug asked Ben as he strapped him into his car seat.

  Lizzie was already situated in her seat in the front. She relaxed into the seat as she slipped out of her heels. She wondered what the chances were of getting a foot massage at some point. She hated wearing heels, but it seemed wrong to wear tennies to a wedding, especially if your dress wouldn’t cover them.

  “I’m tired and need Turtle.”

  Lizzie wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She was excited that she could spend a little more alone time with her husband, but without Ben as a buffer, it was going to be hard to keep her hands to herself.

  Doug added an extra smooching sound effect as he laid a kiss on Ben’s cheek. “Okay, buddy. We’ll be home in a few minutes and you can grab Turtle.”

  Doug didn’t hide his eagerness to get home once he was in the front seat. His left hand stayed on the steering wheel, but his right hand found a place high on her thigh where it rubbed up and down.

  She caught him looking her way once they got out of the parking lot, and she glanced down at his hand and then glared up at him. She had never considered herself a sensual woman, but Doug turned her into someone else when he touched her like that.

  He waited until he got to a stop light before he leaned over and whispered in her ear. “Don’t worry, I can be quiet.” He emphasized the word can, because in the limited experience she had with him, he hadn’t proven to be quiet at all.

  She was willing to test his claim, as long as they were certain Ben was fast asleep and their bedroom door was closed. Ben hadn’t mastered opening doors, so he’d have to knock before barging in on them.

  “Okay, we can test your theory, but only because I love you, Douglas Renaud.”

  “Not nearly as much as I love you, Elizabeth Renaud, and I’m willing to prove that statement tonight.”

  Lizzie felt her whole body flush as she thought about ways he could do that. He opened up her world to new adventures and she hoped someday she’d be able to do the same for him. She wasn’t sure how to accomplish that, but she’d think of something. After all, she had until a zombie apocalypse ran amok on the world to figure things out.

  About the Author

  Amber has always had a passion for the written word. Along with that, she’s always had ideas for stories swimming around in her head. It finally got to the point where she couldn’t take it anymore and had to start getting her thoughts down on paper. There are still too many ideas, but she is working to get them out as fast as she can. Her hope is that one day her brain will be hers again.

  Other hobbies of Amber’s include: drawing, baking, arts and crafts, motorcycles, hockey and archery. She likes to think she has eclectic tastes where her hobbies are concerned. She loves to laugh and tries to make herself smile at least once a day. With the crazy thoughts going on in her head that usually isn't hard.

  Follow Amber on social media

  Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AmberLynn00

  Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/amberlynnbooks

  Blog: http://amberlynnsbooks.blogspot.com

  Other books by Amber Lynn:

  Five for Fighting

  Game Misconduct

  Empty Net

  Top Shelf (Coming in late June)

  Twisted Fates series

  The Call

  The Pull

  Argonauts’ Adventures

  The Witch’s Web

  The Dragon’s Fire

  Daughter of Gaia series

  Daughter of Gaia

  Queen of Aquima

  Nightwalker Saga

  The Nightwalker Knocks

  The Nightwalker Teaches

  Unlucky in Love series

  Calypso in Love

  Nani in Love

  Rhea in Love

  Hermia in Love

  Desma in Love

  Avery Clavens series

  Not in My Job Description

  Just Another Day at the Office

  Working Through the Weekend

  Another Day, Another Dollar

  The Harder I Work, the Luckier I Get

  All in a Day’s Work

  Nyx Slaughter series

  Nyx Slaughter: Books 1-7

  More Books

  Searching for Home

  Between Blood

 

 

  Amber Lynn, Empty Net (Five for Fighting #3)

 

 

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