Chapter 34
SHELBY
One Year Later
Music filtered out onto the front porch of the lodge at the ranch.
Our first dance as a married couple had led us to the seclusion of the wide, wraparound front porch.
Actually, Jake had inched us to the doorway during our song, the laughter from guests and our friends at his doing so rivaling the music.
Jake waved them all away and slammed the door shut, leaving us alone and in the quiet for the first time all day.
It actually took us three tries to shut the door because the fabric of my white dress kept getting caught. Yesterday, I had let Sophie have a sneak peek of me in my dress, and when she took in my off-the-shoulder satin dress, the bottom half fit for a princess, her eyes lit up.
In our defense, we had spent all day smiling and chatting and toasting to old stories with the best of them.
Jake was in all the details of our wedding.
Every decision that he cared about, we made together.
Except, I did put a stop to his grand idea of roping me as I walked down the aisle.
A girl had to have some boundaries on her wedding day.
And now, after a full day of being surrounded by family we loved, we held each other outside, swaying gently to music we could barely hear.
“Let’s get you home, Tuck,” Jake murmured.
“After this song,” I said, perfectly content to stay in this embrace forever. “It’s not every day Jake Evans is dressed for a wedding. I’ve got to keep you in this suit as long as possible.”
He stepped lightly on my foot as we swayed severely off beat to the music.
“Jake?”
“Hmm?” His voice was husky and low and sent puffs of warm air into my ear. Anticipation of tonight and our weeklong honeymoon starting tomorrow left me almost dizzy with excitement.
“Remember that contract we signed at the beginning of last summer?”
He perked up at that. “The contract you failed to uphold? Yeah.”
“I recall a lot of kissing done by you that was specifically not in the cont—“
His lips found mine before I could finish my sentence.
I pulled away. “Remember that part when it said we couldn’t fall in love with each other?”
“Yeah, the part you failed to upho—“
I kissed him, quieting his lips while they formed a smile against mine.
I grinned, pulling away before taking a ragged breath. “Imagine that contract up in the air, fluttering in the wind.”
“Huh?”
“It’s in the wind. Gone,” I said again. “And now imagine me grabbing my rifle, faster than you, per usual.”
His head shot up, about to counter, but I kissed him, quick on the lips, and kept going. “And then I take aim…”
Another quick kiss on his lips.
“One-handed.”
Kiss.
Jake seemed to be enjoying himself, if the half smile on his face in between my mauling was any indication.
“And I blow that thing to bits.”
I was out of words, but that was fine because I didn’t need words for the next part. Jake played his part perfectly. His lips were warm on mine, tasting and exploring and growing quite comfortable there. His hands found their way to my cheeks.
Then he took control, his lips moving to my ear while his thumbs brushed lightly over my rib cage.
“Then all of a sudden, you look up…” Jake’s warm breath in my ear gave me chills.
He kissed me this time, quick and sweet and gone too soon. Annoyingly soon.
“And you remember…” He broke off for another kiss. I leaned in for more, but he squirreled away.
“That you’re a terrible shot.”
Another kiss. Silencing me.
“And that contract you failed to uphold is still flying in the wind.”
Kiss.
“Completely intact.”
“No, it’s—” I began as his mouth came down once more on mine, our grinning lips making it almost impossible to actually do the deed.
He moved his lips to my cheek, kissing his way down to my ear while I sucked in a ragged breath, the hair on my arms standing straight up. “So then I grab my rifle…”
Another kiss along my jawline.
“A double barrel.”
Kiss.
“So much harder to shoot—”
Another obnoxiously sexy kiss to quiet my very loud protest.
“And fire off a shot.”
Kiss.
“From the hip.”
When he had me deliriously drunk on Jake and kisses, he pulled back, warmth and humor radiating from him as he met my gaze. “And I blast it to bits.”
His lips found mine again, where this time they stayed. Words were no longer needed. His hands found my hips, hoisting me up while my legs wrapped around his waist, tulle and white fabric spilling out everywhere. He began slowly walking us toward his cabin.
After years of chasing something, we’d finally found it…together.