#rowealin

“Are you a friend from school?” Evalin asked.

“He works at the coffee shop down the street from my apartment,” Aelin said.

There was a commotion behind them. They turned to see that the argument had turned into a fight, and people were pulling two of Aelin’s cousins off of each other. Aelin grimaced.

Her mother sighed and turned back to Rowan. “Well, it was nice of you to come with her. I hope you at least enjoy yourself a little bit.”

“It’s only going to get worse from here,” Aelin apologized.

“Well, it will certainly be… interesting.” Rowan shrugged. “Who knows, it might be fun.”

Aelin raised her eyebrows at his optimism. Maybe he was right.

Finally, the disarray died down and everyone took their seats. The ceremony began, and various family members made their way down the aisle. Aelin didn’t know much about the groom, Kyle. She’d met him once, briefly, at a family reunion. Her memory of that conversation had been overshadowed by the food fight that had broken out over a discussion about football. Aelin wouldn’t be surprised if a similar thing happened at this wedding.

The music changed to the wedding march, and the doors opened once more to reveal Dana. She floated down the aisle in the biggest and frilliest white dress Aelin had ever seen. How she could walk in it, Aelin didn’t know. Beside her, Aedion snickered.

“You can always count on Dana to be over the top,” he whispered.

“I don’t know how she got that through the door,” Aelin quipped. On Aedion’s other side, Lysandra laughed. Rowan was watching them with amusement.

Kyle stumbled over his vows and Dana was excessively tearful when giving hers. Aedion was shaking with barely-controlled laughter when she started sobbing in the middle of it. But that wasn’t the worst of it.

The church went dead silent when the priest asked if anyone had any objections and a drunken uncle stood up.

“I didn’t know that this was something people actually did,” Rowan murmured.

“In the Ashryver clan it is,” Aelin said dryly.

“He’s your relative?”

“Distantly.”

Everyone held their breath, waiting for him to say something.

“His fly is down,” he slurred.

Poor Kyle’s face went white. He looked down, mortified. Aelin’s uncle cackled. “Got you!” He smacked his leg, his shrill laughter filling the room. “So gullible! You’re perfect for each other.”

Not even Aedion was laughing. Kyle was pale and frozen to the spot. Dana looked furious. One of the other uncles got up and hauled the man out of the church. The crowd broke into nervous chatter.

Rowan looked stunned. Aelin bit her lip. “I did tell you they were awful.”

“And I underestimated what ‘awful’ meant,” Rowan said.

“Sorry I dragged you into this,” Aelin told him.

“No.” He shook his head, chuckling a bit. “This is going to make a great story.”

She was surprised by this and didn’t know how to respond. She just looked at him in disbelief.

“What, you’re not enjoying this even a little bit?” He grinned. “Your family would make one hell of a reality show.”

“You have no idea,” Aelin muttered, and found herself laughing with him. “Okay, maybe I am enjoying this a little bit.’

The priest raised his hand and the commotion died down. “If that is all,” he said. “We should continue.” Everyone went quiet again. Aelin caught Lysandra’s eye, a smile still lingering on her lips. Lys winked at her.

“By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

The reception was held in the ballroom of a hotel. The four had piled into Aedion’s car again to get there, laughing the whole time about the disruption.

“So, Rowan,” Aedion said, looking at him in the rearview mirror. “Had enough yet?”

Rowan laughed. “No, actually, I’m enjoying this more than I thought I would.

“Just wait,” Aelin told him. “The worst is yet to come.”

They pulled into the hotel parking lot. “Maybe we should just book some rooms,” Lysandra said. “I have a feeling that after this none of us are going to feel up to driving home. I know I agree to be the designated driver, but I’m starting to realize I am definitely going to need more than one drink.”

Aedion agreed and went to the front desk to see if any rooms were available. The other three made their way to the ballroom. About half the guests had already arrived. The wedding party was nowhere to be found; Aelin figured they were out getting pictures.

“Ah, yes, socialization,” Aelin sighed. “The best part.”

“Brace yourself, Whitethorn. It’s going to get hairy,” Lysandra told him. It occurred to Aelin that that was the first time she’d heard his last name.

Rowan looked amused. “I can handle it. I work in a coffee shop. I deal with cranky people all day.” He gave Aelin a pointed look. She frowned, and Lysandra laughed. “Teasing,” Rowan said. “Can I get you a drink?”

Aelin nodded. “Yeah, thanks.”

Lysandra went to find Aedion, leaving Aelin on her own. It was then that her obnoxious cousin Lorelai approached her.

“So,” she sneered, looking in Rowan’s direction. “You’re resorting to an escort now, hm? How much did you have to pay for him?”

“Cut it out, Lorelai,” Aelin said.

“Come on, we both know that you can’t get a date to save your life. So where’d you get him?”

Aelin rolled her eyes. Lorelai wasn’t entirely wrong, but Aelin certainly wasn’t about to tell her that. Her cousin didn’t need to know that Lysandra had found him for her. “He’s here with me because he wants to be.”

“Oh, is he? I’m surprised.”

Frankly, Aelin was too. “As if you’re such a catch.”

Lorelai scoffed. “I could have anyone in this room if I wanted them.” Aelin made a face. The majority of all people in this room were related to Lorelai in some way. She doubted that had even occurred to her cousin. Lorelai stepped closer, looking smug. “If he’s not an escort, what is he, then?”

Aelin wasn’t sure what possessed her to say it. Maybe it was because she didn’t want Lorelai to have the satisfaction of being right. Maybe it was because she didn’t want to have to explain to everyone a million times that she and Rowan were just friends. Maybe it was because part of her wanted it to be true. But why she did it didn’t matter; the outcome was still the same.

“He’s my boyfriend.”