Epilogue

Two months later…

“Can you zip me up?”

Alex walked over to where Megan stood with her back to him and her slinky black dress open all the way down her spine. He moved in close, placed his hands on her hips, and kissed her nape. “It seems a shame to cover all of this.”

They were standing in front of the full-length mirror in their bedroom, and he could see her blushing.

He loved to make her blush.

“How about I promise to let you uncover it all later,” she said in a breathless whisper as Alex went back to raining tiny kisses along her spine.

“How about we just cancel and stay in?”

Megan laughed softly. “We can’t cancel, Alex. It’s our engagement party.”

Straightening, he slowly worked her zipper up, and once it was in place, he gently grasped her shoulders and turned her to look at him. “Maybe it’s just me, but it seems crazy to have an engagement party when we eloped two months ago.”

In an act that still amazed him, Alex had suggested that they get married in Hawaii, and Megan had agreed. He had to admit that he’d first said it as a way of teasing her about her trouble with taking risks or doing things spur of the moment, but his girl had surprised him and said yes!

It was quite possibly the first time he didn’t mind being proven wrong.

“Not everyone knows that,” she gently reminded him.

“Our parents know, our siblings know, your cousins know—”

She gave him a patient smile and kissed him quickly on the lips before stepping away. “I know what you’re saying, but you also said you still wanted to have a traditional wedding.”

“I thought we both said that.”

She continued to smile as she slid on a pair of mile-high shoes. “We did. So this is part of what goes with the whole traditional wedding scene. It’s a small cocktail party—”

“For a hundred people,” he murmured.

“Get used to it. The Montgomerys don’t do anything small. You should know that by now. You’ve been to enough of our celebrations.”

He laughed. “That’s true, but it’s a whole other story when I’m directly involved like this.”

Next she put on her earrings. “Too late to back out now. You already married me.”

And with a smile of his own, he walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “And I love you so much that I’m willing to marry you again.”

That made her giggle, and he loved the sound. Actually, he loved everything about her. Looking at Megan right now, he was reminded of the woman he had first met back at Zach and Gabriella’s wedding, and he was so happy to see her feeling comfortable in her own skin. Finally! She enjoyed her job with Zach, she enjoyed dressing up like they were tonight, but she also enjoyed lazing around the house with him wearing one of his sweatshirts with her hair up in a messy bun. He loved both those sides of her.

“Tomorrow everyone’s planning on going over to Zach’s,” she reminded him. “I know you mentioned stopping in at the new clinic to see how much work the contractors accomplished today, but I’m hoping you can do that early in the morning. I want to be able to spend some time with my brothers while they’re here, and I want you there with me.”

Tonight was going to be his first time meeting Carter—which he was looking forward to—and Alex had to admit he was curious to catch up with Christian. Last time they’d seen him, he seemed to be in much better spirits, and Megan had mentioned—several times—that she thought he was dating someone new. Tomorrow would be a time for them to be able to be a little less formal and really get a chance to talk.

“Is Christian bringing a date tonight?” he asked.

“Not that I know of, but I’m hopeful!”

“Your aunt and uncle haven’t been to San Diego lately, have they?”

Megan laughed and picked up her beaded purse. “Christian hasn’t mentioned it, but you never know with those two. They can be pretty stealthy when they want to be.”

Then she stopped and struck a sexy pose.

“You look beautiful,” he murmured, moving in close again. “Are you sure we can’t stay home? We’ll text them all our wedding picture from Maui.”

Megan swatted at him playfully. “Stop! It’s going to be a wonderful night, and we’re going to have fun. Remember that. Aren’t you the one who’s always reminding me to make the most of every day?”

Dammit, that did sound like him.

Actually, it sounded like Danny.

And with a silent prayer of thanks to his friend, he took his wife’s hand and led her from the bedroom. “Come on. Let’s go celebrate us.”

For more Samantha Chase check out the
Shaughnessy Brothers: Band on the Run series

One More Moment

On sale September 2018