What with one thing and another, it was a wonder that the event staff managed to get the reception prepared to admit guests into the ballroom at Maple Grove Manor within an hour of the ceremony coming to an end. The official photographs had been taken, and cocktails handed around to pass the time as the brides and grooms managed to get twenty minutes to themselves. With family and friends now safely ensconced in the ballroom, having found their place-markers and taken their seats, all that remained was for the newlyweds to make their appearance. Outside the ballroom, however, there was a slight problem.
Piper giggled as the event coordinator hurried away, muttering to himself about runaway newlyweds. She looked up at Des, her husband, the father of her daughter, with a playful grin. "Something tells me Jason may have been distracted from his excellent timekeeping for once," she mused with a chuckle.
"I can't imagine who might have distracted him," Desmond replied with a smirk. They both knew who and what was most likely to blame for the couple's tardy arrival; the real question was how much longer they were going to be. Miranda was going to be fit to be tied if they didn't show up soon, and it was likely Jason would be the one who would be on the receiving end of her ire. "So long as they get here before Miranda notices," he told his wife, smiling as he pulled her close. "Maybe we should disappear for a while, too, before anyone notices we're gone."
"Mmm, very tempting, Mr. Granger," she giggled softly, smoothing her hands up over his sleeves to curl her arms about his neck. "But do you think we would survive the scolding from Lynnie if she has to wait too long for her dinner?" The tip of her nose nudged his affectionately as she grinned - Lyneth hadn't shut up about her lack of nibbles and properly spaced meals all day.
"I'm pretty sure someone would feed her if she squawked loud enough," Desmond said, his fingers locking at the small of her back as she nudged his nose with hers. He was only teasing, of course, and had every intention of acting responsibly, at least until later when they were finally allowed one night alone as husband and wife before the much-deserved honeymoon. "Have I told you lately how beautiful you are, Mrs. Granger?" he asked, with a fond smile.
"That all depends whether or not you're referring to before or after you put your eyes back in after I trotted up the aisle," Piper teased him back softly, her lips brushing his as she breathed him in, one hand smoothing down to rest over his heart tenderly.
He had no answer for that, succumbing to her kiss with no resistance or denial, savoring the sweetness of her lips against his. "I think maybe Jase and Beth have the right idea," he admitted again, his forehead coming to rest against hers, feeling strangely content. "Miranda really outdid herself with that gown. It becomes you."
"We have all night," she promised him lovingly, reveling in the peaceful feeling he evoked in her whenever they had a quiet moment alone. She smiled as he commented on the gown. "I know, it's gorgeous, isn't it' I wasn't sure about it to begin with, but Miranda really does have a wonderful eye. She made me look like a princess."
"We have the rest of our lives," he corrected her. Whether they had Lyneth to worry about or not, they always seemed to find time for each other somehow, despite their little imp of a daughter. "You sort of are a princess," he reminded her of her own bloodline. Not quite, but close enough in his eyes. She would always be his own Queen of Hearts.
"Sod the title," she murmured, in that peculiarly blunt manner she sometimes employed, seemingly just to shock him. "I'm very happy with being Mrs. Desmond Granger, thank you very much."
"Mrs. Desmond Granger, Esquire," he corrected with a smirk, though he hadn't been doing all the much lawyering lately. Once they were back from the honeymoon, he would get back to business, but for now, he was enjoying a little time off, and after everything he'd been through over the past year or so, he certainly deserved a little break. "Humphrey will have me hitting the books again as soon as we're back. The charges against Junior are still pending, but I don't really want to talk shop on our wedding day."
"I could always offer to hit him with the books, if you'd like," Piper chuckled, interrupted by the sound of footsteps and the irate rambling of the event coordinator as he ushered Jason and Bethany down the stairs in a hurry.
Beth was laughing, flushed with something a gentleman probably wouldn't mention in public, and though she looked a little mussed, she could get away with blaming it on resting for twenty minutes.
Jason was busily adjusting his tie, which he could never get quite right, looking equally flushed as he and Beth were hurried along to join Desmond and Piper outside the Ballroom.
"And just where did you two disappear to?" Desmond asked, arching a brow and giving the other pair his best lawyer's glare. There was no point in denying their guilt, as they both looked guilty as sin.
"Would you believe she was giving me a tour?" Jason asked, turning to Beth to help him with his tie.
"Or would you like a blow-by-blow account of the last twenty minutes?" Beth offered with a cheeky grin as she tugged gently at Jason's tie, undoing the knot to settle it once again the way it had been when Miranda had finally left him alone half an hour ago.
Piper choked on her laughter at this shameless admission of guilt, coughing as she cleared her throat and tried very hard not to dissolve into hysterical giggles. With Jason and Beth around, at least she was guaranteed not to have to stay serious all day.
Desmond didn't even flinch, merely arching a brow and holding up a hand to his cheeky cousin, who he was slowly getting better acquainted with and who was bound to be a big part of their lives now that she married his best friend. "Guilty as charged, and too much information. If I were you, I'd suggest that if I were you, I'd keep that from your mother for the time being."
Jason looked at his newlywed wife, a little aghast at her lack of discretion, but then, that was part of what had drawn him to her, in the first place. "Good grief. I'm doomed."
Piper giggled as the event coordinator hurried away, muttering to himself about runaway newlyweds. She looked up at Des, her husband, the father of her daughter, with a playful grin. "Something tells me Jason may have been distracted from his excellent timekeeping for once," she mused with a chuckle.
"I can't imagine who might have distracted him," Desmond replied with a smirk. They both knew who and what was most likely to blame for the couple's tardy arrival; the real question was how much longer they were going to be. Miranda was going to be fit to be tied if they didn't show up soon, and it was likely Jason would be the one who would be on the receiving end of her ire. "So long as they get here before Miranda notices," he told his wife, smiling as he pulled her close. "Maybe we should disappear for a while, too, before anyone notices we're gone."
"Mmm, very tempting, Mr. Granger," she giggled softly, smoothing her hands up over his sleeves to curl her arms about his neck. "But do you think we would survive the scolding from Lynnie if she has to wait too long for her dinner?" The tip of her nose nudged his affectionately as she grinned - Lyneth hadn't shut up about her lack of nibbles and properly spaced meals all day.
"I'm pretty sure someone would feed her if she squawked loud enough," Desmond said, his fingers locking at the small of her back as she nudged his nose with hers. He was only teasing, of course, and had every intention of acting responsibly, at least until later when they were finally allowed one night alone as husband and wife before the much-deserved honeymoon. "Have I told you lately how beautiful you are, Mrs. Granger?" he asked, with a fond smile.
"That all depends whether or not you're referring to before or after you put your eyes back in after I trotted up the aisle," Piper teased him back softly, her lips brushing his as she breathed him in, one hand smoothing down to rest over his heart tenderly.
He had no answer for that, succumbing to her kiss with no resistance or denial, savoring the sweetness of her lips against his. "I think maybe Jase and Beth have the right idea," he admitted again, his forehead coming to rest against hers, feeling strangely content. "Miranda really outdid herself with that gown. It becomes you."
"We have all night," she promised him lovingly, reveling in the peaceful feeling he evoked in her whenever they had a quiet moment alone. She smiled as he commented on the gown. "I know, it's gorgeous, isn't it' I wasn't sure about it to begin with, but Miranda really does have a wonderful eye. She made me look like a princess."
"We have the rest of our lives," he corrected her. Whether they had Lyneth to worry about or not, they always seemed to find time for each other somehow, despite their little imp of a daughter. "You sort of are a princess," he reminded her of her own bloodline. Not quite, but close enough in his eyes. She would always be his own Queen of Hearts.
"Sod the title," she murmured, in that peculiarly blunt manner she sometimes employed, seemingly just to shock him. "I'm very happy with being Mrs. Desmond Granger, thank you very much."
"Mrs. Desmond Granger, Esquire," he corrected with a smirk, though he hadn't been doing all the much lawyering lately. Once they were back from the honeymoon, he would get back to business, but for now, he was enjoying a little time off, and after everything he'd been through over the past year or so, he certainly deserved a little break. "Humphrey will have me hitting the books again as soon as we're back. The charges against Junior are still pending, but I don't really want to talk shop on our wedding day."
"I could always offer to hit him with the books, if you'd like," Piper chuckled, interrupted by the sound of footsteps and the irate rambling of the event coordinator as he ushered Jason and Bethany down the stairs in a hurry.
Beth was laughing, flushed with something a gentleman probably wouldn't mention in public, and though she looked a little mussed, she could get away with blaming it on resting for twenty minutes.
Jason was busily adjusting his tie, which he could never get quite right, looking equally flushed as he and Beth were hurried along to join Desmond and Piper outside the Ballroom.
"And just where did you two disappear to?" Desmond asked, arching a brow and giving the other pair his best lawyer's glare. There was no point in denying their guilt, as they both looked guilty as sin.
"Would you believe she was giving me a tour?" Jason asked, turning to Beth to help him with his tie.
"Or would you like a blow-by-blow account of the last twenty minutes?" Beth offered with a cheeky grin as she tugged gently at Jason's tie, undoing the knot to settle it once again the way it had been when Miranda had finally left him alone half an hour ago.
Piper choked on her laughter at this shameless admission of guilt, coughing as she cleared her throat and tried very hard not to dissolve into hysterical giggles. With Jason and Beth around, at least she was guaranteed not to have to stay serious all day.
Desmond didn't even flinch, merely arching a brow and holding up a hand to his cheeky cousin, who he was slowly getting better acquainted with and who was bound to be a big part of their lives now that she married his best friend. "Guilty as charged, and too much information. If I were you, I'd suggest that if I were you, I'd keep that from your mother for the time being."
Jason looked at his newlywed wife, a little aghast at her lack of discretion, but then, that was part of what had drawn him to her, in the first place. "Good grief. I'm doomed."