A Guy Walks Into My Bar - Lauren Blakely Page 0,119

and Fitz take their first dance in the middle of the Loeb Boathouse’s dance floor. As they finish, Sam presses a kiss against my temple, and warmth thrills through me.

How could I have ever thought to say no to this?

I laugh and lean against him. He’s running his hand along my knee when the DJ changes the song to “Thinking Out Loud.”

“Oh my God,” I say. “This is the guitar!”

“What?” Sam says, and then he listens. “Is this Ed . . . what’s-his-name? The guy with the guitar that we bid on?”

I nod and laugh harder. “The guitar we were robbed of.”

“It’s a sign,” Sam says. He stands up next to me and holds out his hand. “We didn’t get a chance to slow dance before,” he says with a smile. “How about we fix that?”

My hand slides into his, and we glide over to the dance floor. I catch sight of Dean and Fitz dancing too, and my heart gives a tiny flip.

Remember when we promised this wouldn’t be us? I think. And as if he can hear me, Dean glances my way. He smiles and shakes his head before turning back to Fitz, looking like a guy who can’t believe his luck.

I laugh as Sam twirls me, and when he catches me, we’re closer than ever. I look up into his eyes and find his are gazing right into mine.

“So, what’re we going to do now that we’re out of parties and events to go to?” Sam asks.

I pretend to think about it. “Hmm, I guess we’ll just have to keep having mind-blowing sex all the time.”

“Oh man,” he says. “Not sure I’ll be able to make that work.”

“No?”

“I’d have to make it official first. Officially date,” he says. “And you’ll have to meet my friends.”

I laugh, and he catches my mouth in a kiss. It’s a shiver that doesn’t go away, spreading from where his lips touch mine.

This, I could do forever.

And maybe, just maybe, I will.

That Night and On Into the Next Few Years

Also Known As, what happens next after you change your life for love…

One Last Epilogue

Dean

After I dance with my husband’s mum and all his sisters, and after he dances with Maeve and Anya and Summer and Bryn, I toss my suit jacket on the back of a chair. Eager to steal a moment away from everyone else, I make my way toward the terrace overlooking the lake at Central Park, tossing a glance at the man I just married.

I tip my forehead in the direction I’m heading, my eyes saying Join me. Since I’d like a moment alone with him, and I’ve barely had that all night. With a knowing nod, he sheds his jacket on a chair too and follows me outside.

Resting my elbows on the railing, I gaze at the lights of New York as Fitz slides a hand up my back, draping his arm around my shoulder. “Hey you.”

“Hi.” It’s so simple, those words from each of us. Nothing special. But it’s how we greet each other when it’s only us. It’s our language, it’s how we reconnect.

Glancing around the quiet terrace, he squeezes my shoulder. “You angling for a quickie out here?”

I roll my eyes. “No. Sorry to break your heart there.”

He frowns, snapping his fingers. “Dammit.”

I make a shooing gesture. “By all means, go back inside, then.”

He laughs, squeezing me harder. “Fine, so you just needed a moment alone with me for a hot kiss. I’ll settle for that, as long as you admit you can’t resist me.”

I loop an arm around his waist. “I think we already established that one a long, long time ago, Fitz.”

“I’m happy to keep establishing that fact every damn day.”

“Then where’s the hot kiss?”

“Oh, now you want it?”

“Don’t I always?”

He obliges, giving me a searing kiss here on the patio with all of our guests inside. “That’s just a teaser for later.”

I hold up a finger to make a point. “Which will not be a quickie.”

“No fucking way, babe. We’ll make it last on our wedding night.”

“Like we always do,” I say with a smile, then turn back to the skyline.

He stares out at the city too, then takes a deep breath, exhaling, sounding ridiculously content. “Mr. Collins.”

He says my name like he’s tasting it, like he’s savoring it on his tongue.

“Mr. Fitzgerald,” I say.

He returns his gaze to me, his tone less playful, more earnest. “You look good married.”

A warm, buzzy sensation winds through my body, and I don’t think it’s