Chapter 34 #2
The rest of the Rivers brothers process behind them. Duke stops to hold out his arm to me.
“Beautiful ceremony.” I curl my hand into the crook of his elbow.
He tucks his arm against his side, holding me close. “Cash really fell apart there.”
We start walking toward the tent. “Hey. He was in his feelings. To be honest, I am too. There’s lots of love in the air tonight. Also…I think I felt the baby move.”
Duke goes still, eyes flying wide. “You serious?”
“Hell yeah, I’m serious.” I take his hand and put it on my stomach. “You’re not going to be able to feel it from the outside for a while. But it felt like butterfly wings. Or a tickle.”
One side of his mouth quirks up. “Wanna give me a tickle later?”
“Can you not be horny for five seconds?”
We may have had morning sex earlier. Twice. And I would’ve snuck in a quickie if we’d had time after lunch. But Sally invited me, Mollie, and Ava to get our hair and makeup done with her, so I was too busy drinking nonalcoholic sparkling cider to get, er, busy with my boyfriend.
“Absolutely not. That’s a double negative, right?” Duke pretends to think on this for a second. “Whatever the case, I cannot not be horny. Not when you’re around.”
I give him a nudge, and we start walking again. “Nice boots, by the way.”
Duke is wearing a pair of our City Boots. All the Rivers boys are. We had five matching pairs custom made in navy blue leather for today to match their navy blue suits. They topped it all off with brown Stetsons.
It’s a good look for them.
Duke nods. “They’re comfortable too. Already got asked by Doc Hamilton where he can get a pair.”
“Way to mix work and pleasure.”
“Aw, Blue. It’s all pleasure these days.”
The breath leaves my lungs when we step inside the tent.
It’s a summertime wonderland, the poles that hold up the tent covered in whimsical greenery and yellow flowers.
Wooden chandeliers hang from the ceiling, coating everything in low, sexy light.
A huge bar is set up on the opposite side of the tent, where a dance floor waits.
I wonder what our reception will look like. Mine and Duke’s.
Not long ago, I would’ve banished that thought to the far corners of my brain. I didn’t want to date this man, much less marry him.
Now, though?
Now, I like the idea of Duke making an honest woman out of me. It doesn’t have to happen anytime soon. But I’m pretty sure I’ve found what I’ve always been searching for in my life with Duke.
Now, I’m finally able to trust that sense of deep knowledge inside me—that I’m exactly where I should be, doing exactly what I should be doing. Because with that deep knowledge comes a deep sense of joy.
Moving farther into the tent, we’re greeted by dozens of familiar faces.
Ava and the girls are nibbling on the mini sliders that servers pass around on pretty china plates.
Sawyer makes sure everyone’s hands and mouths are clean before they go for the sweet little lemonade stand set up in another corner.
John B can’t stop laughing, and Patsy is about as happy as I’ve ever seen her.
We’re turning back toward the bar when I see the dartboards. They’re hanging on a makeshift wall made of greenery nearby, and they’re done in shades of white and yellow to match the rest of the wedding decor. I come to a halt, my heart beginning to pound.
“Duke.”
“Yeah?”
“Did you—”
“Give Wyatt and Sally dartboards as a wedding gift?” He chuckles.
“No, I got them a toaster. But I may have mentioned that darts would be a fun wedding day activity. You know, keep people busy during cocktail hour. Sally loved the idea, and of course Wyatt agreed because he can win money off people.”
A bolt of excitement moves through me. “We haven’t played since the night we met, have we?”
“Nope. We never did finish that game.”
“Prepare to get your ass kicked.”
Duke holds out an arm. “Only if you do the same. After you, Blue.”
We grab a quick drink at the bar—club soda with lime for me, tequila on the rocks for him—and then we head for the dartboards.
The weight of the yellow-tipped darts is thrillingly familiar in my hand. I’m tired, and my feet have started to swell, but you wouldn’t know it by the way I bounce on my feet and shake out my arms, bending my head side to side in preparation to dominate this game.
“All right, Rocky,” Duke says with a laugh. “Time to get down to business. 501?”
I drop a pair of darts but keep one in my hand. “Like you even need to ask. Giddyup, cowboy.”
He smiles at the line, clearly remembering when he said it to me that night at the Rattler.
The band starts playing. I hit a bull’s-eye. Duke hits two.
“Do I get a pregnancy handicap?” I sip my club soda.
He presses a hard, quick kiss to my mouth, the brim of his cowboy hat tapping my forehead. “You get whatever you want, sweetheart.”
My heart pops around in my chest. He tastes like tequila and smells like heaven, and I’m hit with the certainty that I’ve never been happier in my life.
This is it. This right here is what I’ve always wanted.
Family. Friends. Good music. Darts. Cowboys.
“How about this, then?” I tilt my chin to peck him on the lips. “I hit a bullseye, and you promise to marry me in a tent just like this.”
A glimmer of surprise moves across his eyes. “You wanna marry me?”
“One day, yeah.”
“Just yeah?”
“Fuck yeah any better?”
“It is.” He nods at our surroundings. “So you want a tent like this, huh?”
“Yup.” I reach around to put my hands on his ass.
“Can it have dartboards in it too?”
“Yes.”
He puts his hands on my ass, pressing me into his body so that our hips melt together. “And our people—can they come?”
“Absolutely.”
“Can we serve Twizzlers? And grilled cheese? Not sure I could afford Milli Vanilli, but I could always try.”
I laugh, joy pouring through me. “Maybe we could even ride off into the sunset in a U-Haul.”
He laughs. “Now that, I’m gonna have to say no to.” His smile softens. “You just let me know when, Blue. I been ready to make you mine for good since that first round of darts. Before Aspen. Before the baby. She just sped things up a little bit.”
My pulse hiccups. “You still think it’s a she.”
“She’s absolutely a she.” His eyes search mine. “She’s gonna make a beautiful flower girl, you know.”
I blink back a rush of tears. “Of course she will. She’s gonna look just as gorgeous in her boots and hat as her daddy does.”
“Where we doin’ the honeymoon?”
“Anywhere we want.”
Duke leans in and kisses me again. This one is soft, ardent, full of feeling.
My body lights up, and I’m not surprised when someone nearby—pretty sure it’s Ryder—singsongs, “Duke and Wheeler, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes boning, then comes baby, then comes making out in public places.”
I laugh.
Duke smiles.
“Then comes happily ever after?” I ask him.
He nods. “If this ain’t a happy ending, I don’t know what is.”
I win the game, although I have a sneaking suspicion Duke let me have the W because I’m sober and he also wants to marry me.
We sit with his brothers and their wives and girlfriends at a long farm table and share a delicious meal that’s right out of Patsy’s kitchen: steak, sweet potatoes, and green beans sautéed in a creamy sauce that’s just the right amount of spicy.
When I feel another flutter, I grab Duke’s hand and put it over my belly. “Your flower girl likes those green beans.”
He blinks, hard, a cute little smile on his face. “Think she’ll like to dance too?”
“I think she will, yeah.”
He motions to the dance floor. “Let’s get to it, then.”
The band is excellent, their cheery renditions of wedding classics like “September” and “Shout” making it impossible not to dance. Sawyer, Ava, Junie, and Ella join us out there, and my heart twists at how adorable Sawyer looks when he puts Junie on his hip and twirls her around the dance floor.
Duke is all smiles as we move, keeping his eyes on the girls.
“What are you thinking?” I ask.
He turns to look at me. “That you’re beautiful. That our daughter will be beautiful.” He nods at the happy little family beside us. “One day, I’ll get to dance with her like that.”
“I can’t wait,” I say. “Soon.”
He pulls me close. “Never soon enough when it comes to you.”
We dance and we laugh, and together with the people we love the most, we send off Wyatt and Sally with sparklers and lots of hollering.
When the commotion dies down, Duke grabs my hand. “Off to our next adventure?”
Grinning, I take it. “If by ‘adventure,’ you mean going home to sleep for twelve hours, I’m in.”
“Sounds like a mighty fine adventure to me.”
THE END