grinned at me, the wicked old bastard. Melissa looked totally shocked. I squeezed her hand and gave her a smile. Getting a dressing down from Preacher on your wedding day was a tradition. As long as he didn’t do his other routine, we were good.
“How on this green earth a lovely flower could be so cruelly plucked by such a pernicious, grade-A bastard is beyond my understanding. Only the good Lord knows why a sensible young lady could agree to marry a man with such ridiculous hair.”
He cleared his throat and brushed his long silver locks over one shoulder. I heard a muffled sound and looked at the bride. Her shoulders were shaking. Within a second, I heard it.
My almost-wife was laughing at me.
“But Nick does have some redeeming qualities,” Preacher said mournfully with an air of solemn doubt. “He is loyal to a fault. Faithful to his club and his brothers. He would take a bullet for any of you,” he said, reminding us all that he had, in fact, taken a bullet himself less than a year ago. I smirked. Preacher was a showoff to his core. It surprised me that the man hadn’t gone into showbusiness.
“If no one, including the bride, has any objections, I will continue.”
Preacher waited. And waited. And waited. The moment seemed to stretch forever.
Jack let out a snort, and that was it, everyone lost it. I looked around at all my traitorous friends. Janet was laughing so hard she was actually crying. Even Kaylie was laughing, the tiny baby in her arms jiggling up and down.
I sighed and waited for the hilarity to end.
“Since there are no objections, I have no choice but to continue,” he said with a rueful look at the crowd. “Nick, you swine, do you take this perfect young lady to be your wife, to have and to hold, through all that life might throw at you, for the rest of your life?”
“I do,” I said immediately. Preacher shook his head sadly and turned to Melissa.
“Melissa, my dear, do you take this man to be your husband . . . forever . . . with no escape . . . for all his many faults and bad behavior, for the rest of your life?”
“I do,” Melissa said primly. There was no doubt in her voice. She sounded sure. I held my breath.
“Then there is nothing but good sense to prevent me from pronouncing you man and wife, and apparently, we are all out of good sense. You may kiss the bride.”
“After I do,” Drake said and swooped in, dipping Melissa backward and kissing the heck out of her. Whiskey and Mac held me back, laughing their asses off. Drake didn’t stop kissing her until I threatened him with bodily harm, in great detail.
He set her on her feet, I was released, and I grabbed my girl, dipping her back again. Melissa let out a startled laugh as I murmured into her lips.
“You’re mine now, woman.”
She was still laughing when I stopped kissing her. Everyone cheered. I was grinning from ear to ear. Everything felt right.
There was just one last thing . . .
Without even looking, I reached out and shoved Drake off the dock and into the lake.
Nine months later
Nick
“Have another bite, sweetheart.”
My wife shook her head, rubbing her rounded belly.
“Nick! I already feel like I’m going to explode!”
“You like the key-lime, though. I thought it was your favorite,” I said, sitting back with a frown. We’d made the pie together. Well, I’d done the baking, but she had supervised. My wife loved to bake. She was just a little too pregnant to be on her feet for that long.
She’d had her feet up on another chair in the kitchen, with a cushion propped underneath them. And now we were on what was supposed to be a sexy picnic. A mini babymoon. I’d been about to break out the whipped cream.
Being pregnant made my wife very, very sensitive. I liked to take advantage of that whenever possible. Like now, for example . . .
“Well, if you won’t eat it,” I said teasingly, lifting the hem of her maxi dress. She was far too covered up for my liking. But I knew she was comfy in it, and she looked as pretty as a peach.
A very, very pregnant peach.
Being married to my girl was beyond perfect. She was cute all day and sexy all night. We both worked hard and liked to laugh. And what we did in the sheets