One year later…

“Ho, ho, ho.”

Heath gave the traveling Santa who was passing by the entrance to the hotel ballroom a flat look. He was on edge enough as it was without some jolly old elf getting all up in his face with holiday cheer.

Once Santa took a hike, Heath walked over to a nearby mirror and checked his appearance for the umpteenth time. New Tux? Check. Crisp white shirt? Check. Bowtie? Skipped. His soon-to-be-wife had specifically requested him to be “rumpled and ready.”

He scrubbed a hand through his hair again, making sure it was suitably messy then flashed a wide grin at his reflection. Nope. Too much. He tried a smaller smile, but it still felt forced.

What the hell is wrong with me?

Today should be the happiest time of his life. He and Aileen were getting married. All their friends and family were here. The ballroom was beautifully decorated in silver and gold and all things Christmas and a gentle snow was falling outside. Everything looked like a frigging picture-perfect moment. So, why was he a bundle of nerves?

“Hey, dude.” Murphy walked up to him and slapped him firmly on the back. “You okay?”

“I’m good.” Heath gave a curt nod. “You?”

“Good. Really good. Excellent, actually.” His slow smile showed the truth of it. Murphy and Shayma had tied the knot over the past summer and now Shayma was six months pregnant. For a guy who’d been questioning his path in life just one year ago, Murphy seemed to have found his niche. He’d ended up accepting the head of security position at Heath’s company, BrightStart, and had already implemented some of the best policies and procedures Heath had ever seen. Not to mention married life agreed with the guy. He’d never seen Murphy happier or more content than when he was with Shayma. They’d bought a house together in Queens and were getting ready for their new arrival. All was right in that little corner of the world.

Murphy chuckled and shook his head. “Don’t worry, dude. Everything’s going to be fine. You’re marrying my sister and you’ll make her supremely happy for the rest of your life.” Said as a statement of fact, not up for discussion. “Plus, we’ll be brothers now. For real. Not that I didn’t always think of you that way.”

“Thanks, man.” Heath and Murphy shared a quick back-slapping bro hug. “I feel the same. I just…” He hesitated, not sure how to put what he was feeling into words. “It’s just an enormous responsibility, you know? Joining lives with someone else. What if she marries me then realizes what an idiot I am? What if she grows to hate me? What if—”

“Hey.” Murphy held up a hand to stop him. “Do you love Aileen?”

“More than anything in this universe.”

“And I know she loves you too. She won’t stop talking about how wonderful and sweet and awesome you are. It’s enough to make me puke, dude.” Murphy rolled his eyes then grinned. “But that’s all that counts. You love her. She loves you. All the rest will work out from there.”

“Is that how it was for you and Shayma?” Heath leaned his hips back against the side table behind him. “Her family had some reservations, right?”

“Yeah.” Murphy had traveled to Al Dar Nasrani for their wedding ceremony, Shayma insisting that her parents would love and accept him once they met him and saw how happy their daughter was with him. Heath had been there, acting as co-best man along with Daveed and it hadn’t seemed to go as smoothly as she’d predicted. There’d been lots of interrogation sessions between Murphy and Shayma’s father, lots of wary looks at the funny Americans treading on their precious island soil, lots of tension between both sides. But seeing how happy Murphy and Shayma were now and how the strife had given way to a tentative accord with the news of a baby on the way, Heath had hope that the much less daunting problems between him and Aileen would vanish once they said their I Do’s.

“But we got past those. Her mom’s even coming to stay with us once the baby’s born to help Shayma.” Murphy’s smile faltered slightly. “It’s good. It’ll all be good.”

“What’s good?” Daveed said, coming up to join their group.

“I was just telling Heath that he’s gonna be fine.” Murphy crossed his arms and rocked back on his heels. “Also, that he’ll make my sister very, very happy or suffer the consequences.”

“Yes, I can see how well that worked. He looks ready to puke in his shoes.” Daveed shook his head and sighed. “Seriously, though. I don’t know what you’re worried about. I’ve never seen two people more perfect for each other than you and Aileen. Well, perhaps except for Mel and I. You challenge each other, you support each other, you make each other better people because of your relationship. There is nothing better than that.”

Heath snorted. “When the hell did you get so wise?”

Daveed shrugged. “Maybe some of Mel’s new college education is rubbing off on me.”

“Maybe.” Heath laughed. Daveed and Mel had permanently relocated to Al Dar Nasrani a few months back. Just because Daveed had abdicated his throne for the woman he loved didn’t mean he wasn’t still deeply interested in the affairs of his island home. Between him and his two brothers they’d nearly talked his father into instituting a democracy in their tiny country and ending the monarchy that had been Daveed’s birthright. Daveed couldn’t have been happier. Add in his new wife and happy marriage and he too seemed ecstatic. Mel had since taken advantage of the free schooling available to all permanent residents of Al Dar Nasrani and enrolled in their highly acclaimed university. She was studying business and marketing last time Heath checked. “Yeah. I know I have no reason to be nervous, but I still am. Is that weird? I’m afraid I’m not good enough for her.”

“You’re not,” Murphy said, then grinned. “None of us are good enough for the women we love. But we try every day to be better. You’re a good man, brother. That’s all anyone can ask.”

“Can’t believe I’m saying this, but he’s right,” Daveed said. “Now, the girls sent me to get you. They’re ready to start the ceremony.”

The earth fell out from under Heath’s feet and his stomach plummeted along with it. Luckily, his buddies were there to keep him upright if he fell. After a few deep breaths for courage, the trio made their way to the doors of the ballroom and stared inside. The room was packed with guests seated on linen-covered folding chairs and the low murmur of conversation helped steady Heath’s nerves.

Along both sides of the massive room, floor to ceiling Christmas trees lined the walls, spaced about six feet apart. Between them were low tables decorated with garlands and delicate glass ornaments in jewel tones. A white runner stretched down the center of the room to the front of the space, where a dais had been set up for the wedding party to stand on. The minister was there, busying herself with preparations for her readings and the vows. A large arbor had been set up and laced with white and red roses and lilies.

“Ready?” Murphy asked, standing on Heath’s right side.

“Ready,” Daveed said, flanking him on the left.

Heath took a deep breath, then nodded. “Ready.”

They walked down the aisle toward the front of the room and took their places in front of the dais on the right-hand side. The wedding was a small affair, per Aileen’s wishes—about thirty guests and just the guys and their wives as attendants. To distract himself, Heath looked out over the gathered crowd and spotted his father about three rows back from the front, his new wife on his arm. His dad had decided to leave the stress of New York behind and run his company remotely from his new ranch in Wyoming. The laid-back lifestyle seemed to suit him, given his deep tan and relaxed demeanor. Of course, the twenty-something, supermodel trophy spouse clinging to his arm probably didn’t hurt either. Heathcliff, Sr. caught his son’s eye and raised a hand in greeting. Heath waved back and smiled.

On the bride’s side of the room, amongst friends and fellow journalists, sat Aileen’s boss from The Globe. Aileen had been a bit on edge lately because the guy kept bugging her to cash in on some of Heath’s connections and score an interview with Senator Lawrence, who was currently serving a two-year sentence in a white-collar prison in upstate New York. Seemed Lawrence had sold rights to his memoirs to the highest bidding publisher to raise money for his legal fund to fight the fraud charges against him. Aileen had been adamant about not wanting to speak to Milford Lawrence again, no matter how big the scoop. In fact, lately, she’d been talking about getting out of the newspaper business entirely and trying her hand at fiction writing. Heath would support her no matter what she chose. He’d told her that and earned a nice long kiss in return.

In the front row on the bride’s side sat Fiona and Devon MacLean, the elderly couple who had helped Aileen when she’d first come to New York and the reason she’d gone undercover in the first place. In a way, Heath supposed, they’d brought him and Aileen together and he’d grown just as fond of them in the past year as Aileen was. They were sort of his surrogate parents now too, especially with his dad gone.

“Look sharp, buddy,” Murphy said, elbowing him in the side. “They’re ready to start.”

Heath looked down the long white center aisle and spotted his bride at the entrance. His breath caught and his heart stuttered. Not from nerves this time but from the sheer beauty of Aileen. She’d been sure to keep her dress a secret from him up to this point, citing traditions and old wives’ tales and some such nonsense. But now… Wow!

He swallowed hard as the string quartet he’d hired to perform the music began Pachelbel’s Canon in D Major. Mel started down the aisle first, followed by a gently-rounded Shayma. Both women glowed with excitement and only had eyes for their men.

Finally, the minister gestured and the guests rose and the string quartet switched to the traditional Wedding March. Heath couldn’t take his eyes off Aileen. In her strapless, mermaid style gown of flowing white lace and shimmering beads, she looked like his every fantasy come to life. All he’d ever wanted and nothing he deserved. A little bit of heaven right here on earth.

Her amber gaze remained locked on his the entire way down the aisle until she stood by him at last. She handed off her bouquet of flowers—matching to the ones draped over the arbor, of course—then linked arms with Heath.

As they stepped up onto the dais, Aileen leaned in and whispered, “You look so hot.”

Warmth tingled through him from the compliment, chasing away the chill of his earlier nerves. “And you look incredibly gorgeous, darling.”

Pretty pink color stained her cheeks and the diamond tiara—a family heirloom passed down from Heath’s grandmother to him and kept in trust until this special day—twinkled in her midnight black hair.

The ceremony passed in a blur. He vaguely remembered being asked questions and he must’ve answered them correctly because next thing he knew he was sliding a ring on Aileen’s finger and she was doing the same to him, both while reciting the vows they’d chosen. Finally, the minister pronounced them man and wife and a cheer rose up from the guests as he swept Aileen into his arms and kissed her deeply.

By the time they separated, the guys were shaking Heath’s hand and smacking him on the back in congratulations and the girls were hugging Aileen. The guests began to file out of the room to head down the hall to another adjoining ballroom where the reception was set up.

Once the room had cleared, Heath stepped down off the dais and extended his hand to Aileen. “Ready to join our guests next door?”

She smiled and stepped down beside him. “I am. But first…”

Aileen turned to face him and cupped his cheeks. “Did I mention you looked hot in that tux, all disheveled and sexy?”

“You did.” He grinned, sliding his arms around her waist to pull her closer. “Then again, you requested it, so I could hardly disappoint my wife on her special day.”

“True.” She slipped her hands around his neck and into the soft hair at his nape. Heath couldn’t suppress his answering shudder at her soft caress. “Say it again?” she asked.

“What?” He frowned. “I could hardly disappoint you?”

“No, the other part.”

His slow smile grew. “My wife?”

“Yes!” Aileen snuggled closer, her heat and the brush of her curves against him making him sigh with contentment. “I love the sound of that.”

“And I love you, darling. That makes us both perfect for each other.”

“I love you too.” She leaned in and kissed him sweetly before pulling away to take his hand and lead him back down the aisle toward the exit, her tone wistful. “Do you think this is it? The pinnacle of our love affair?”

Heath tugged her to him once more at the doors, smiling down into her beautiful face, knowing he’d made the most wonderful choice ever by marrying her. “Nah. Trust me, darling. The best is definitely yet to come.”