Epilogue
. . .
LANE
TWO MONTHS LATER
“You sure about this?” I asked Sutton for what was probably the millionth time.
We stood outside the Vegas chapel, waiting in the middle of the surprisingly long line that snaked through the doors.
Big business, the Vegas wedding industry, and apparently, we picked a popular day to get hitched.
She patted my cheek. “Relax, Chief. It was my idea, remember?”
“Oh, I know,” I said, playfully grabbing her ass, but my fingers shook.
That was true. Most women wanted the pomp and circumstance of a carefully curated ceremony followed by a big party with all of their friends and family, but not mine.
She’d found herself in the spotlight way too much recently thanks to Addie’s attempts to ruin her life, and Sutton wasn’t interested in further scrutiny.
I’d never thought much about my wedding beyond who I’d be marrying, and Sutton had always been the one standing across from me in my imagination.
As long as I had her, the rest didn’t matter.
“You’re not afraid to marry me, are you?”
“Of course not.”
She rested her chin on my chest and looked up at me, studying me.
“No, I know what it is. Be honest. You’re afraid of what your mom will say!” She chuckled, digging her fingers into my sides, and I twitched.
“Of course I am!” I burst out. “Aren’t you?”
“We’re adults, Lane. We make our own choices. I think as long as we’re happy, she will be too. So no, I’m not afraid of Birdie.”
“Me neither,” a cheerful voice piped up, and I turned, spinning both Sutton and I to face Aspen. I’d momentarily forgotten they were here, and the reminder sent dread sweeping through me.
Mama was going to kill us all.
“Really?” I asked her, a brow raised. “Because I distinctly remember you saying the only reason you and Crew didn’t do exactly this is because of Mama.”
“Okay, let me rephrase. I’m not afraid of Birdie when my ass isn’t in the hot seat.”
“For what it’s worth, I’m telling her you abducted me and held me against my will,” Crew said.
Aspen smacked her husband on the chest. “I don’t think so, hotshot. If I go down, you go down.”
His expression softened, and he ducked to press a quick kiss to her lips.
I couldn’t help but smile. I was happy for them—and even happier for myself. That I’d found what Crew and Aspen had.
We’d wound up in Vegas after deciding to take a vacation. Today marked one year to the day since I’d gotten shot, and neither of us were keen on spending it in Dusk Valley. Instead, we’d decided to replace that awful anniversary with something a lot more joyous.
Maybe that was morbid, but we’d been through a lot together. Not only recently but over the entire course of our relationship, and we deserved to celebrate the fact that we’d survived and found our way back to each other.
I’d asked Sutton to marry me, and she suggested we elope to Vegas.
Win-win.
Crew and Aspen also happened to be in town because Aspen was on a tour for her latest book release that included a stop in Sin City.
It also timed perfectly with their one-year wedding anniversary.
When we realized they’d be here at the same time as us, we asked if they’d be our witnesses.
Aspen agreed for both of them, but to Crew’s chagrin.
We’d be heading home tomorrow as husband and wife, but I was really looking forward to our wedding night.
Eventually, I’d take her on a true honeymoon, somewhere tropical where she could spend the entire time in a skimpy bikini—or nothing at all.
My mouth watered at the thought of Sutton all warm and golden from long days in the sun.
Of a private villa where I could spread her out and fuck here wherever and whenever I wanted…
Fingers snapped in front of my face, and I jerked back to reality to find Sutton watching me, brow creased in confusion.
“You good?” she asked.
Clearing my throat, I subtly reached down, adjusting my cock against my fly, using her body as a shield. She chuckled.
“I’m fine. Just…fantasizing.”
“I did not need to know that,” Crew said, dramatically slapping his hands over his ears.
All I could do was grin at my little brother. “Don’t be a prude.”
“I’m not a prude,” he protested. “Just don’t talk about that shit in front of me and we’ll be fine.”
“Says the man who made a point to tell me you two”—I wagged my finger between him and Aspen—“fucked in the bed I had to sleep in while recovering from getting shot.”
Aspen laughed. “He’s got you there.”
“Little phoenix…” he warned.
The tiny woman moved in until she was toe to toe with her massive husband. “What’re you gonna do?”
Before Crew could make an empty threat—that woman ruled his world—the line advanced again, and we found ourselves right outside the entrance. Only a few more couples stood between us and becoming husband and wife.
Sutton placed her hand on her favorite spot on my chest, right over my heart and the puckered scar from the bullet that nearly took my life.
“We don’t have to do this, you know,” she said to me.
“I vote for that idea!” Crew quipped, and Aspen dug her elbow into his stomach.
“I want to,” I promised. “I love you. I want you to be my wife. I want to be your husband. I want you to have my last name.”
She sagged a bit, relaxing further into me, grinning widely.
“It’s a pretty great last name,” Aspen added, and when Sutton turned to look at her, she winked.
“Sutton Lawless,” my girl murmured. “Has a nice ring to it.”
Nice ring was an understatement. The sound of it had my dick perking up again, and when Sutton felt it thickening against her stomach, she laughed, shaking her head.
“You’re incorrigible.”
“When it comes to you? You’re goddamn right.”
From inside, the man behind the counter to the left of the entrance yelled, “Next!”
“We’re up,” she whispered.
“Not too late to back out,” Crew said. “Or at least have some strangers sign your marriage license.”
“Shut up, Crew,” the three of us said in unison.
Clasping both of Sutton’s hands between mine, I brought them up to my mouth, pressing kisses to her knuckles. Her ring finger was bare and would remain so until we got home and could go to Boise to pick them out together, but I lingered there, reminding us both we’d be bound together forever.
“Let’s get hitched, baby.”
Then I laced our hands together and we headed inside.