see me nearly face-plant.” I chuckle. “I’m just glad I never have to do that again,” he says.
“That’s what you think, dude,” Tyler says and snarls at me, but it’s a snarl full of love and respect.
“What are you…” His voice trails off, and his eyes go wide as understanding dawns. “Hell no, Alyson. You can’t want—”
I whistle innocently and look away, and Jay mumbles curses under his breath.
“You’re killing me, babe.”
I grin at him. “Well, our wedding isn’t until next year, so you have plenty of time to perfect your moves.”
He leans in. “I’ve got moves.”
“Jesus, get a room, you two,” Tyler mumbles, and Beck agrees with a grunt.
The bridal song ends, and another slow song plays. “Come on,” I say. “Let’s get started on those moves.”
He puts his mouth close to my ear. “We can start on the dance floor, but we’re ending in our bed.”
Warmth flows through my veins as he lifts me from my chair and puts his hand on the small of my back, leading me to the dance floor. He pulls me to him, and I melt against his big, warm body.
“Promise?” I ask.
“Hell yeah, I promise.” He glances over his shoulder. “Think anyone will notice if we bail?”
I laugh, loving the way he always wants me. “Let’s give it another half an hour.”
He groans. “That’s like a lifetime, Alyson.”
“Yeah, a lifetime,” I say. “Exactly what we’re going to have.”
He smiles at me, and his lips find mine for a kiss steeped in love, passion, and a lifetime of promise…
Epilogue
Jay
Four Years Later
I step into the bedroom as Alyson puts the finishing touches on her makeup. My heart squeezes in my too-tight chest. It’s insane to think I can love someone more than yesterday and not as much as I know I’m going to love her tomorrow.
I cross the room and press a kiss to her shoulder. She turns and beams up at me before leaning in and kissing little Jacklyn on her chubby cheek. Jacklyn, our sweet eighteen-month-old, babbles “mama” in response and blows a spit bubble.
“Thanks for getting her ready,” Alyson says as she tugs on Jacklyn’s pink dress. “She looks adorable.” She touches my hand, checks my watch. “How are we doing for time, anyway?”
“Running late, as always.”
I adjust Jacklyn in my arms as Perry, our rambunctious three-year-old, comes running into the bedroom, Cluck tight on his heels.
“Clucky’s a douche,” Perry screams, and Alyson and I stifle a laugh as she points a finger at him, doing her damnedest to be serious.
“Perry, what did I say about not repeating everything you hear from Capone?”
“Sorry,” he says, not one bit remorseful, but neither of us can stay mad at him when he’s so damn adorable. Alyson shakes her head and gives me the look, one that suggests we need to work harder on cleaning up Capone’s language, and that we could do without Cluck running around inside our house. But she secretly loves the way the rooster protects our kids, and after we renovated Alyson’s place and allowed Cluck on the property, they both came to a truce.
“Come here,” I say to our son and bend to fix his hair. He fusses and tries to get away. My God, his rambunctiousness reminds me so much of Tyler when he was young. While I’m sure I’m in for a hard time during his teen years, it brings a smile to my face. “We want to look good for Mommy’s big book signing, don’t we?” He crinkles up his face because he couldn’t care less, but my heart swells. With each passing day, he looks more and more like me…like my dad. I fell in love with Alyson even more—impossible, I know—when she suggested we name him Perry after my dad. It was my idea to name Jacklyn after Alyson’s uncle, a way for us to keep his memory alive for all of us.
“Will you two hurry up?” Tyler calls from downstairs.
“We’re coming,” I shout back.
Beck huffs. “Why are we late for everything?”
“Because we have two kids,” I holler out. Tyler mumbles curses. “Hey, no swearing in front of the kids.” I touch Alyson’s arm after she slips in her earrings. “All set?”
“All ready,” she says, sounding a bit breathless.
“Nervous?” I ask.
She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “A bit.”
“You’re going to do great. You know that, right?”
She nods, her eyes brimming with confidence. “I do.” She goes up on her toes and presses her soft lips to mine. Jacklyn coos and tugs