Forever After All - Kaylee Ryan Page 0,75

bouquet in the air.

I watch McKenna as she moves to the back of the pack. It doesn’t matter, though. My sister tosses the bouquet with all of her might, and it lands right in my girl’s hands. Everyone crowds around her, laughing and smiling while I stand here thinking about dropping to one knee right here and now and asking her to marry me.

“All right, fellas, your turn,” the deejay announces.

I head straight for McKenna and intercept her as she’s walking off the floor. “So, you caught the bouquet.”

She holds it up. “Looks like it.”

“Does that mean if I catch the garter, we’re destined to be together?”

“It means that you catch the garter.” She stands on her toes and presses a kiss to my lips. “Good luck, cowboy.”

“Wait.” I reach out for her arms, stopping her from walking away. “If I catch it, what do I get?”

“What do you want?”

“You.”

She smiles. “I’m already yours, Rip Callahan.”

I nod. That’s not what I meant, but it will do for now. Making my way out to the floor, I follow McKenna’s lead and situate myself in the back of the pack.

“Ready or not, here it comes,” Colby says, tossing the garter into the air.

All I have to do is raise my hand over my head, and it falls into my palm. I couldn’t have coordinated it better if I tried. Twirling the garter around my finger, I ignore the fact that it was just on my sister’s thigh and that Colby stuck his head under her dress and removed it with his teeth. Instead, I make a motion for McKenna to come my way. Bouquet in hand, she comes to me, wearing a shy smile.

“Look what I found,” I say, nodding toward the garter.

“Lucky you.”

“Lucky me,” I say, pulling her into my arms. I don’t let her go the rest of the night. I keep my arms around her, and I must give off the “she’s mine don’t touch” vibe because no one else asks her to dance.

When the crowd finally dies down and the newlyweds disappear, I lead my girl to my house and spend the rest of the night making love to her, all while thinking about what it’s going to be like when she’s walking toward me in a white dress.

Chapter 24

McKenna

It’s hard to believe Colby and Laramie have been married for two weeks today. They spent a week at the beach, celebrating their nuptials, and now the happy couple wants everyone at their place to celebrate. Never mind we were all at the wedding. It’s an excuse for them to have us over, now that Laramie is actually living there.

She told me she didn’t want to move in until they were married. She wanted to leave something sacred for marriage. I didn’t point out that she spent most nights there anyway. Now, however, that’s where she gets her mail, so it’s official.

“You ready?” Rip asks from the doorway of his bathroom.

“Yes,” I say, placing the wand back in my mascara.

“You don’t need that stuff.”

“What stuff?”

“Makeup. You’re already beautiful.”

“Are you setting yourself up to get lucky tonight, cowboy?” I ask, fluttering my mascara-coated lashes at him.

“Oh, I’m getting lucky, and by association, so are you.” He winks, and my body flares to life.

I don’t know if I’ll ever not have this reaction to him. We’ve been dating for a month. Although it feels as though a lifetime has passed, every look, every touch, every sexual encounter feels like our first. To say that I’m madly in love with him would be an understatement. Not that I’ve told him. The thought of saying those words and him not feeling the same makes me sick to my stomach. Yeah, I’m not going there. Not yet.

“No time for that,” I say, walking past him. I should have known he wouldn’t let me off that easy. He snakes an arm around my waist and pulls me close.

“We can make time. You come first, remember? You need me to take care of the ache, Kenna?”

“You are so bad,” I say breathlessly.

He chuckles. “Only for you, baby.” He runs his hands over my breasts. Even covered in my tank top, I know he can feel my body's reaction to him. “Tell me what you want, baby.”

“We have to go.”

His lips find their way to my neck. “You sure about that?” He nips at my ear.

As if she knows that her brother is trying to seduce me, my cell rings, and a quick glance at the screen