“Katie, seriously. Let’s get this show on the road.”

I glanced back at her but she was playing on her phone, yet again.

Fuck me.

I sat down on the stairs this time.

We were at the Crystal, on the fabulous sweeping staircase in the hotel lobby that led up to the second floor and the ballroom, and Katie had stopped again. It was taking us like ten minutes to get up half a flight of stairs.

“Just a sec…”

“Who the hell is it?”

“Um. It’s Jessa.”

“Please don’t tell me she’s running late.”

“Nope.”

“Good.” I sighed and checked my phone. Seven-thirteen.

I was supposed to have Katie here at seven o’clock, and for some reason she was really dragging her heels.

As the guest of honor at this thing, she was acting really weird.

Now that Dirty had reached the end of the North American leg of the tour and we were all home for a few days following the Vancouver show, we were having a little party for Jesse and Katie, to celebrate their big news—that Katie was pregnant. She was three months along now and everyone had known for a while, but it just seemed like a good time to celebrate it.

Jessa, being Katie’s sister-in-law, had the honor of handling most of the planning, including booking out the beautiful ballroom at the Crystal for the party. Probably a bigger room than was necessary, but I was sure the party would be top-notch.

I mean, I could only guess.

I was still trying not to be disgruntled about the fact that I wasn’t asked to help plan the party.

At all.

Because, you know, it wasn’t like planning was my thing or anything. Seemed like everyone had forgotten about that particular talent of mine, because no one seemed to want my input. On anything.

I wasn’t hurt about it, but I was kinda hurt.

At least I’d been able to keep myself busy.

Officially, we all had a few days off before we left for Europe, but the women’s shelter I volunteered at whenever I was home didn’t exactly take days off. I was always welcome there, and I’d put in some long hours the last few days—which had helped keep my mind off the whole party thing.

Still killed me just a little that all that planning was going on and I wasn’t a part of it.

“Okay,” Katie said, finally. “We’re good to go.”

“Alrighty.” I got to my feet and up we went the last several steps to the big hallway outside the ballroom. Giant set of ornate double doors, closed, and total silence from inside, but maybe the doors were soundproofed? Definitely didn’t sound like there were a few dozen people in there waiting for us.

And no sign whatsoever of Jesse. Wasn’t he supposed to meet us at the door?

It was more than a little weird, actually, that we hadn’t run into anyone on our way in. Not one party guest in the lobby.

And I was starting to get this horrible feeling on Katie’s behalf…

What if everyone was running late? Or something had gone wrong?

They really should’ve had me involved in planning this thing. Maybe they’d know better now, for next time. Good thing; if I was shut out of planning Jessa’s bridal shower this summer, it was gonna get ugly.

I paused just outside the doors, feeling weird about this. Where was Jesse? Zane was supposed to bring him.

“Just a sec, okay?”

“Sure.” Katie stood dutifully by while I typed furiously on my phone, sending a text to Zane: Where the fuck are you?

He replied almost instantaneously, at least.

Zane: we’ll be there

I showed the message to Katie and she smiled a little awkwardly.

Fuck. This party was all fucked-up. I could feel it. Something was way off, and it wasn’t my fault, but now I was gonna have to help fix it. I just hoped Katie’s feelings weren’t hurt when it all fell apart…

I sighed to myself and opened the door.

And stared.

Okay…

So maybe it wasn’t falling apart?

The room was full of people. Like, many dozens of people. Way more than I thought were coming to this thing.

I’d stopped short, and Katie nudged me into the room. I stood aside to let her in, but she hooked her arm through mine and we walked in together.

And… wow.

Apparently they didn’t need my help planning.

Everyone was on their feet, staring at us. I could see catering staff standing by at the edges of the room in crisp uniforms, and some of Dirty’s security team in the shadows. Antique furniture, tables laid out with food, and twinkly lights all over the place…

And the room was awfully… pink.

Pink flowers everywhere. Shiny pink balloons in giant bunches in the corners of the ceiling. There was even a huge pink disco ball over the dance floor.

Was Katie having a girl or something? Could they find out the gender this soon…?

It was weirdly quiet, as everyone just stood staring at us with the lights twinkling in their eyes. Then Jessa materialized next to us with a weird, hopeful look and a gorgeous grin on her face. Though she wasn’t looking at Katie.

She was smiling that smile at me.

Come to think of it, where the fuck was her brother? Like, the guy who’d knocked Katie up?

I turned to look at Katie, who gave me the same hopeful-expectant-giddy smile.

“Surprise?” she kinda whispered at me. Then she hugged me, and Jessa hugged us both with her long supermodel arms.

“Oh.” I heard the word slip out of my mouth, but then I went kinda blank. Then other people were piling in, hugging me.

And then there was Zane, patiently waiting to get his arms around me.

“You’re here,” I said stupidly when the crowd parted to let him through.

In a suit.

I blinked at him. My rock star husband was wearing a suit. Or at least, part of a suit. Black dress pants, black dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a black suede vest, all perfectly tailored to his gorgeous body.

“You look gorgeous,” I gushed, as he enveloped me in his arms. “Shit, am I dressed right for this? What’s happening?” I clung to him, thinking over my outfit. Cute blue cocktail dress, but nothing as special as what he was wearing. “It’s not my birthday…”

“No,” he whispered into my ear. “But it’s as close to our wedding anniversary as I could get everyone together. Sorry it’s a month late.” I peered up into his blue eyes. “Welcome to our wedding reception, Maggie.”

“What?” I peeked out over his shoulder at the beautiful room and all our beautiful friends, smiling at me.

“We never had one,” he said simply. “Thought you might like one, here at home.”

Pretty sure that was when I started to cry.

I definitely had tears streaming down my face by the time he handed me off to Jessa and Katie again and Jessa told me, “Let’s go get you changed. We’ve got a dress for you.” Zane just kept kissing my head, until I finally let go of his arm.

I couldn’t even see anything around me.

Total shock.

We ended up in a beautiful powder room in a little alcove off the ballroom, where dresses and lingerie were hung up for me.

“Oh my God, you didn’t,” I gushed, blinking up at the dresses on the rack as Jessa and Katie shut the door behind us.

“We did,” Jessa said.

“We’re sneaky that way,” Katie added brightly.

“Now get undressed,” Jessa ordered, as Katie started pouring us pink drinks from a glass pitcher on the antique vanity.

I was still in shock.

Jessa started pulling lingerie from the hangers and I drifted behind the pretty folding screen. I slipped off my shoes and started taking off my dress in a daze, as she draped panties and bras over the top of the screen for me.

“We got a few different sizes and cuts for the panties and bras,” she informed me, “just in case.”

I heard her, but all I could think was, They did all this… for me?

Zane did this for me?

“And don’t worry about your face,” Jessa went on. “We’ve got a makeup artist all set up in the next room to take care of you. But Maggie, you need to stop crying right now. That’s an order. There’s a photographer out there, too.”

“Amber?” I asked, just trying to wrap my brain around everything.

“She’s here, but she’s not taking photos tonight. We’ve hired someone else so she can just party with the rest of us.”

“I like that,” I said, as Katie reached around the screen to hand me a drink.

“And it’s a dry party,” Katie informed me, “in honor of your husband.”

“Thank you,” I practically sobbed, almost breaking down in tears again. I gave her a quick hug, even though I was already in my underwear.

I took a sip of the drink and it was delicious; some kind of sparkling pomegranate thing.

Then I finished stripping down and pulled on one of the panty-and-bra sets. It was blush pink and fit perfectly. I chose the skimpier panties over the boy-cut ones, the see-through lace with the keyhole and bow, rather than the silk, because I thought Zane would like them.

Then I stepped out.

Jessa and Katie made happy noises of approval.

“Now,” Jessa said, “all the bras are strapless so you can wear whichever you like best with the dress. We wanted you to have options, since this is all being kind of sprung on you…”

“Kind of…?” I said, still half in shock.

Katie made a sweeping Ta-da! gesture at the dresses. There were three of them, and I’d barely had to glance at them to know what they were.

Five days ago, the three of us and Roni had gone dress shopping, to get fitted for dresses for Jessa’s wedding to Brody later this summer. I’d been extensively measured, and Jessa had made me try on about a hundred dresses.

Now I knew why.

The one we’d all liked best on me was hanging right here in front of me now, in three different colors. None of them were the coral color Jessa had chosen for her bridesmaids to wear. Two of them were in soft pink shades that they had to know I would love.

The other one was white.

“We got one in white, just in case,” Jessa said.

“No pressure,” Katie added, grinning. “Just choose the one you like best.”

“The white one,” I said automatically, and my girlfriends both beamed.

“Yay!” Katie said.

“I didn’t wear a white dress at the wedding,” I told them. “So this is… perfect.”

Jessa got the dress down and handed it to me. It was short, with a flared skirt and a deep V neckline, the whole thing overlaid with a subtle white lace, the same lace used for the long, flared sleeves. It wasn’t a traditional bridal dress or bridesmaid dress. It was utterly cool, a little rock ’n’ roll, and I was pretty sure Zane was gonna love it on me.

I put it on, and Jessa turned me toward the giant wall mirror as Katie did up the little buttons on the back. It was perfectly tailored for my body.

Was this really happening?

I took a long look at myself. And I felt like I was in a dream.

“Maggie Omura, you look like a fucking dream,” Jessa said, as if reading my mind. And since it was coming from a lingerie model, I took it as a huge compliment.

“Thank you.”

Then she got right down to business again. “Bare legs, or do you want the stockings and garters?”

“Bare,” I said, knowing Zane would like that, too.

Jessa nodded and whipped out some leg cream, a tinted moisturizer with a little shimmer in it, and started rubbing down my legs. “Damn,” she muttered, “you have the most beautiful skin tone. You don’t even need this shit…”

At the same time, Katie played with my hair. “Up or down?” she asked. “The makeup girl does hair too, so she can put it up for you if you want.”

“No. That’s okay,” I said. “Zane likes it down.”

Katie grinned at me in the mirror.

“Now… shoes.” Jessa turned me around. “We’ve got these little booties that will go with the dress, but I’m thinking—”

“The glittery ones,” I said. My eyes had already fixated on them. They were pink gold, with a few thin straps that zig-zagged across the foot.

Jessa and Katie helped me get them on. The heels were four inches and gave me a nice boost of height, made my short legs look long in my dress, and added the perfect hit of dazzle to compliment the somewhat simple but edgy dress.

“Is this happening?” I asked, as they both stood back to admire me.

“Yes,” Katie said firmly.

“And it couldn’t happen to a better person,” Jessa added.

“But what about your baby party?” I asked Katie, feeling a little guilty.

“Ah,” she said with a shrug and a smile, patting her still-flat belly. “We’ll deal with that later.”

Then they steered me out the door to get my makeup touched up.

* * *

By the time the three of us made our grand reentry into the ballroom, the party was underway. People were mingling and chatting, laughing and drinking their non-alcoholic mocktails, and music was playing.

It was a remix of Sarah Vaughan’s “Fever,” and I was pretty sure I didn’t even need to look to know who the DJ was at this event. Then the music went low, and I heard a familiar voice over the sound system. “Here comes the bride!”

I smiled and looked across the room to find DJ Summer, a good friend of Dirty’s, all set up at the far end of the dance floor. Long, dark hair, scarlet-red jumpsuit, big smile. She blew me a kiss as she turned the music back up, and everyone applauded for me.

I clung to Katie’s hand until she passed me off to Zane, who was waiting for me.

He took in my dress… and my bare legs… and the hint of cleavage bared by the deep V of my neckline, and he nodded in approval. “Holy fuck, Maggie. You clean up nice.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah. I really came in here in rags.”

He smirked. “You look fucking gorgeous. You always look gorgeous. I’d be happy to do this thing with you in those pink sweatpants of yours, if you want.”

“No, thanks. I’ll keep the dress.” I did a little spin so the flared skirt did its thing and he got an eyeful of thigh. Plus the sparkly, sexy shoes.

His pierced eyebrow went up in a look of appreciation and pure sex. “Think you can dance in those things…?”

“Yes. I’m a professional. I can fuck in them, too.”

He pulled me up against his hard body and growled. “Careful what you wish for. We’ve got a lot of guests here, waiting on us.”

Then my eyes went wide. “Don’t tell me you’re actually planning to dance with me tonight.”

“I might. Have a few things planned. Maybe a special song for you, later… First dance for the bride and groom. You know, after the vows.”

I stared at him. “What vows? I thought this was just a wedding reception.”

“It is a wedding reception. We’re already married. Doesn’t mean we can’t renew our vows.”

I swallowed. “Uh… we’re renewing our vows tonight?”

“Yeah. I thought we could,” he said, kinda nonchalantly. But I knew this wasn’t nonchalant. I knew he’d planned the hell out of this. “If you want to.” His gaze moved over my face. “I don’t know about you, but the first time I was pretty nervous and emotional. Have a hard time remembering it all. Might be nice to do it again, with our loved ones here.”

“Yeah.” I blinked at him. Just… wow. Was he for real? Who was this man? “Me too. I mean, I was nervous, too.”

He leaned in and kissed me softly, his lips just brushing mine. So soft… It was very possibly the sweetest kiss he’d ever given me, and I felt it all the way to my toes. Tingles. I was tingling all over…

“You’re not gonna be nervous and emotional this time?” I asked him, swallowing, feeling kinda nervous myself.

“Emotional, probably. Nervous, no. This time, I’m not so afraid of losing you right afterward.”

“Because you won’t.” I kissed him again, wrapping my arms around his neck. “I can’t believe you did all this for me.”

“For us,” he said. “Definitely wasn’t easy, planning a surprise for the girl who plans everything.”

“You did an amazing job.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I like your spontaneity, too… but it makes me horny when you plan stuff.”

He kissed me again, his lips lingering this time like he wanted more.

Much, much more…

“You think we could slip away and fuck without anyone noticing…? I’ll be quick.”

I groaned a little. I wish. “Maybe later. After I’ve had a chance to at least talk to everyone and thank them for coming.”

And “everyone” was pretty accurate.

Everyone who was important to me was in this room. Zane had managed to pull them all together, somehow, and I was incredibly moved.

It took me a long while to make the rounds. And it was definitely a family affair.

Brody was one of the first to give me a hug. He told me baby Nick sent his love, but he was home with a sitter.

All of Dirty was here, of course, with their partners. Including Elle and her enormous baby belly. She’d flown home from the tour a couple of weeks ago, just in case, and she was literally ready to pop at any second; she was actually three days past her due date now.

Matt was here, solo.

Jude and Roni were here, and so was Jude’s brother, Piper, who’d always been pretty tight with Zane.

My two cousins on my mom’s side, the only living relatives I had besides my dad, were here with their families.

Some of Dylan’s family was here, too, and Elle’s sister and her parents. Katie’s parents, and her sister and her husband. Katie’s best friend, Devi, and her date, some cute model guy. Amber’s sister Liv, one of our favorite video directors, and her girlfriend, Laura. And Seth’s foster father, Ray, a lovely man I was meeting for the first time tonight.

All the members of Steel Trap were here, with dates.

Ashley Player was here, though I wasn’t even sure if he’d brought a date. He didn’t seem to be drunk, either, which was a nice change from the last several times I’d seen him.

Alec and Talia and some of our key crew from this tour had come, along with Jude’s entire security crew. And Woo, Dirty’s record producer, our Vancouver publicists and several other people both Zane and I had worked closely with over the years.

Rudy, Zane’s AA sponsor, had come up from L.A. with his wife, Laney. I spent quite a while talking to them.

Definitely felt like they were family now, too.

I gave Rudy a long hug that ended with me in tears, again. I felt like I owed a huge debt of gratitude to this man for playing a role in saving my husband’s life, probably on many occasions, and helping him in ways I’d never even understand.

“Thank you,” I said to him, not even sure how to put all of that into words.

“You’ve got a good man, there, Maggie,” was all he said.

And then I sat down with Dolly.

I found her, sitting alone, on one of the many beautiful antique couches, close to where Jesse and Katie stood. She was sipping a mocktail and she offered me a cheers. I clinked my glass to hers.

“Let me see…” she said, in her kindly way, looking me over. “Sore feet?”

“They’re actually quite comfortable,” I said, kicking up my foot as we admired my new shoes.

“They’re beautiful.”

“Jessa picked them out.”

“You’re beautiful, dear,” Dolly said.

“Thank you.” I put my foot down and looked in her pale blue eyes, so like her grandson’s. “Uh… I feel a little silly. I never actually talked to you about the fact that I married your grandson, or that I was in love with him or anything. Right now, sitting here with you, that feels like such a fail.”

“It’s alright, Maggie.”

“I should have. I should have talked to you. It feels… disrespectful.”

She laughed. “Why? You should’ve asked me for his hand in marriage?”

“Maybe.” I shrugged. “Something like that. Between him and me… you’re the most important parental figure we have left.”

I could see that she took that to heart, and her eyes got a little misty. “Maggie, dear. I love you dearly.”

“I love you, too.” I gave her a hug, and in her arms, I got very emotional. It was hard to get the words out of my mouth when I said, “Thank you for taking such good care of him.”

When we drew apart, she looked across the room, and I followed her gaze. We could both see Zane sitting on the other side of the dance floor, talking to Elle, Seth, and Matt. He was smiling at whatever Elle was saying and as we watched, he laid his hand gently on her belly.

“You know, when I look at him,” Dolly said softly, “I still see that little boy in my kitchen, getting all under my feet and asking me to play with him while I was trying to make dinner. His parents were gone from his life too soon, Maggie. And he just wanted me to play with him. ‘Will you come play with me, Grandma?’ How many times did he ask me that? Must’ve been thousands over the years. I can still hear his little voice, and see that bright look in his eyes. He thought if he turned on the charm, if he was just cute enough, I’d drop what I was doing and come play with him. It usually worked.” She laughed a little and I sniffled, trying not to cry.

Jesus, this party was gonna kill me.

I looked at Zane’s grandma as she fixed her blue eyes on me again. She placed her soft hand on my knee.

“All that boy wanted was to be loved, Maggie.”

And I understood her. I knew what she meant.

Zane had pursued me, for my love, from the moment we met, and I was pretty sure he would’ve pursued me to the ends of the Earth and the end of his days trying to get it.

I took her hand and squeezed gently. She felt so frail, but there was strength in her yet. “I love him, Dolly,” I told her, and it felt like a promise.

She nodded. “All I ever wanted for him was to be happy and to be truly loved.” Then she cupped my face with her free hand. “What more could I wish for him than you?”

* * *

After my talk with Dolly, I beelined across the room for Zane, feeling a little lightheaded. I scooped him away from Elle, pulling him aside. He wrapped me gently in his arms like he could sense I needed the support.

“You okay?” His eyes were soft as he searched my face.

“I’m great. Just had a little talk with Dolly.”

A smile tugged at his lips. “Good?” he asked, still trying to read my face as I blinked back the tears that hadn’t quite fallen.

“Yeah. I can’t believe all the people you brought together here for me. For us.” I gazed up into his eyes. “I noticed my dad’s not here, though…”

“Yeah.” His expression hardened a bit. “I didn’t invite Dizzy. Didn’t want you to think I did and he didn’t show, but I also didn’t want to give him the chance to disappoint you. Kinda wrestled with that decision. Hope I made the right one?”

“Yes,” I told him. It was sad, but it was the right decision. “I just want to be surrounded by people who really love me right now.”

He gathered me tighter in his arms and lowered his face down to mine. “Like this?”

“Yeah,” I said, and kissed him softly on the lips. “Just like this.”

“Besides,” he said, “Dizzy was the only one who got to witness our first wedding. Figured it was only fair we give our other friends and family a chance this time.”

“Fair enough.”

“So where do you want to do it?”

I peered up into his eyes, where I glimpsed the evil gleam I knew all too well. “Uh, do it…?”

“Our vow renewal. I’m ready if you are.”

“Oh. Right. That…”

He grinned at me, and I grinned back.

* * *

In the end, we decided to renew our vows out on the balcony, under the moon and stars.

There was a long, beautiful balcony loaded with flowers that opened right off the ballroom, overlooking the city and the mountains and the dark of the waters beyond. It was a May evening, the flowers were fragrant and it was a little cool but not cold in my dress.

I was pretty sure no one could even hear us from the ballroom, but it didn’t matter. These vows were for us, a private moment between Zane and I.

And our impromptu wedding party. It was small, just two people, because making it any bigger just got us into a silly argument.

Jessa and Jesse; my oldest friend, and his oldest friend.

After that he wanted Brody and Jude, I wanted Katie and Talia, but then he wanted Seth, too, which meant he wanted Dylan, and then he wanted Ash… and I wanted Elle, but then I didn’t want to leave Amber and Roni out, or my female cousin… and the whole thing snowballed into a ridiculous negotiation over who would get left out, until we would’ve had the entire guest list crammed out here on the balcony to make each other happy.

So instead… just Jessa and Jesse.

And our vows?

We made them up on the fly.

Well, Zane had maybe a little more time than me to prepare his, but we improvised a lot.

“I love you, Maggie, and I’m always gonna love you, so you’re just gonna have to deal with it,” was how he started.

“Absolutely the same right back at you,” I said.

“And I’m never gonna promise you I won’t fuck up. We both know I’m gonna fuck up, but I’m never gonna give up on trying to do right by you.”

“Same here.”

“This marriage means more to me than any other thing in my life, and I’m gonna make sure you know that, every day.”

“Me, too.”

“You can’t just ditto your way through these vows, Maggs,” he said, a happy sparkle in his eyes.

“I know.” I squeezed his hands. “You just pretty much said it all. I love you. That’s where this all started, but that’s not where it ends. You know… Seth said something to me the other day, about love being a verb—”

He kinda rolled his eyes. “Fucking Seth.”

“Don’t roll your eyes at me. You hate it when I do that to you, Mr. Omura.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “Mr. Omura?”

“Well, I’m not taking your last name.”

“I’m not taking yours, either. Mine’s pretty famous, Maggs.”

“Which is why I’m not taking it.”

The cocked eyebrow went higher. “Are you turning our vows into an argument?”

“As I was saying. Seth said love is a verb, and he’s right. I’m telling you right here and now at our wedding reception and vow renewal party that I love you, Zane Traynor. And to me that means I’m going to love you, actively love you, every day for the rest of my life. My love for you will be… you know, the wind beneath my wings and all that.”

“Holy shit. You are not gonna start serenading me with Sarah McLachlan…?”

“Holy Christ. It’s Bette Midler. What rock have you been living under?”

“Are you still talking? These are the worst vows ever.”

“Agreed. I didn’t have much time to prepare.”

“Maybe we’ll just have to redo them.” He grinned at me. “You know, again. In two more years.”

“Yeah.” I grinned back. “But they’re the best vows ever, okay? Because they’re ours.” I squeezed his hands again, pulling him closer to me. “Seriously. You’re the love of my life and my best friend, and you’re kinda my life in a way that, as a strong, independent woman of the now, I don’t like to admit. But you know what? I couldn’t be who or what I am without you, and I swear to you I will fight for that. I’ll fight for you and for us to my dying breath, because you are it for me, Zane.” Suddenly the humor had faded and this shit had gotten real. My breath hitched and his blue eyes softened.

“Maggie…”

“I love you in ways I never knew I could love until I met you. And to quote your vows from our first wedding, ‘I’m never letting you go.’”

“You remember,” he murmured.

“I remember.” I blinked back the tears that were glittering in my vision. “Yes, I remember.”

“I love you, Maggie May Omura.”

“I love you, Mr. Omura.”

He cracked a smile. “Don’t start.”

Then he kissed me.

When he pulled away, he said, “I love you so much it fucking hurts, Maggie. In the best way possible. The only thing I can really promise you is the most important thing there is, as far as I’m concerned. I’ll never leave you fighting alone.”

I smiled and the tears sparkled in my eyes. He knew how those words would hit me, because he knew it was a promise no man had ever made me before; not even my dad.

“I’ll be here for you whenever you need me,” he said, “and even when you don’t… I’ll be hanging around just in case. I’m fucking crazy about you, and I’m pretty damn sure, if the past is any indication, I’m gonna spend every day of the rest of my life loving you more than the last one.”

Then we kissed.

And we kissed… Until my pussy started throbbing so incessantly it sucked all my attention downward with its gravitational force, and I started calculating the quickest way to get his dick inside me…

“Uh… Maggie,” he whispered. He’d stopped my hand, which was on his dick, squeezing him through his pants. “I’m all for that, but maybe we get rid of Jesse first?”

“Nice vows,” Jesse said, and I glanced up to find our tiny little wedding party standing patiently by, watching us. Both of them with a little sparkle of happy tears in their eyes.

Shit. I snatched my hand back. They heard all that?

Totally forgot they were here.

“Thanks,” I mumbled, as Jessa swiped a tear from her eye. She was holding her brother’s hand.

Both of them moved in to hug each of us, then Zane took my hand in his and we all headed back into the ballroom. Jesse announced loudly, “PRESENTING MR. AND MRS. MAGGIE OMURA!”

To which Zane punched him in the kidney.

“Ooph. I mean, MR. AND MRS… ZANE TRAYNOR…?” He threw me a look, covering his vital organs with his arms like he was expecting another punch.

I just shook my head.

“Uh, ZANE AND MAGGIE! Let’s eat.”

So we ate. And we mingled.

And then we sat down and just enjoyed the feeling of being in this room together.

Our wedding reception.

There was no formal dinner, but the small army of catering staff circulated the room nonstop with loaded trays of food, and there was a massive buffet table of desserts. There was also a chocolate fountain, because my husband loved me like that.

And there was a full bar of exotic non-alcoholic drinks.

Fortunately, our friends were fucking cool and they knew how to party without alcohol. Although I was pretty sure more than a few people snuck out onto that gorgeous balcony for a toke throughout the night…

Zane didn’t seem to mind.

He took it all in stride, happy that his friends were happy. That I was happy.

“You’re really good with all this?” he asked me, leaning over to speak close in my ear as we snuggled on one of the antique velvet loungers. “I know you love planning and being in control. I was hoping you’d still have fun tonight.”

“It’s amazing. You did a great job, and I love it,” I assured him.

“You’re happy?”

“Yeah. Hells yes, I’m happy.” I kissed him softly, and then we toasted with our cranberry mocktails. “Here’s to many happy years together, okay?”

“Okay.” His eyes twinkled at me over his glass as we sipped. “You know, you’ll be able to drink again. If you want, you can take off with the girls later to the bar and celebrate. I won’t be mad. A little jealous, maybe…”

“Fuck that. I’m screwing you later until we both pass out from exhaustion.”

The grin spread across his face. “That sounds like a way fucking better plan. I knew I married you for a reason.”

“And what reason would that be?” I asked, as he set our drinks aside.

“Because you’re fucking smart, Maggie,” he said, lounging back and taking me with him. “You always know where it’s at.”

“Of course I do,” I said. “It’s in your pants.”

He laughed, pulling me into his side as he wrapped his arm around me. He held my hand, drawing it into his lap and brushing my knuckles very purposefully against his dick. Teasing me. Reminding me exactly where it was gonna be at later.

His ice-blue eyes said it all.

I just licked my lip and stared.

Zane’s eyes darkened… Then he smirked and looked away. I watched him looking at our friends, laughing and carrying on around us. It was loud. The music had gone up, the lights had gone down and people were dancing.

But all I wanted to do was stare at Zane.

My man wasn’t perfect. But he was definitely… epic. He was sexy and smart and devoted, and he still made the backs of my knees sweat.

Our relationship wasn’t perfect, either. But yeah… it was pretty fucking epic, too.

I stared at his gorgeous blond hair, styled in an edgy fauxhawk… His strong, defined, slightly crooked nose… His broad shoulders in his black shirt and vest. His strong hands with all the rings… and his bare ring finger, which bore the tattoo of my name.

My tattoo was visible, too. I’d stopped covering it up once we went public with our relationship.

And as it turned out, things did change once our marriage was totally out in the open. For the better.

We’d had all kinds of reactions from all kinds of people, both good and bad. Though mostly good. Anyone who really mattered to us, whose opinion really mattered, had been supportive, in the end.

And Zane was right. When our relationship went public and everyone weighed in on it, the fans had their say and the media swarmed all over it… it really didn’t change us.

Instead of heaping the pressure on, it had taken the pressure off.

No more secrets. No more little lies.

No more sneaking around.

I ran the tip of my finger over his ring tattoo and he looked at me. Our heads were close together as I leaned into him, our cheeks practically touching.

“I’m sorry your mom’s not here to see this,” he said, sincerely. I knew he meant it, deeply, because he loved me that much.

He loved me enough to know what I needed and where my heart was at. To pay attention to all the little things, and the big things, too.

And God, I loved him.

I squeezed his hand and shrugged, knowing exactly what my mom would say to that. “Maybe she is.”

Zane didn’t say anything, but he kept staring at me.

I kept staring right back.

“What?” he asked, softly.

“Is it weird,” I asked him, “that this is the first time I’ve truly felt like we were a married couple?”

He smoothed his thumb slowly over my ring finger, back and forth. “I know what you mean. I feel it, too.”

“I think something happened out on that balcony under the stars, Zane.”

“Yeah, Maggie,” he said, gazing into my eyes. “We got married.”