Six months later…

Fiddling with my halter top dress, I stared in the mirror at myself in the mirror and frowned. Dark green was normally my color, but I still wasn’t quite sure this was the right dress today. I kept pulling it up and adjusting it in frustration.

Letting out a deep sigh, I checked my makeup again. Everything was nearly perfect. My hair was piled on my head and cascaded down my back. I had my favorite pair of earrings on that were a gift last month from Cade. The man had finally gotten a yes from me about getting married, and he'd been showering me with jewelry every week since.

Knowing I wasn’t a high maintenance person with clothes, or just about anything else, he'd made it impossible to refuse with my mother standing in the room each and every time he produced something new.

Stubborn man.

I pulled the top of the dress up again and let out a frustrated sigh. It would have to do.

Turning, I found Cade leaning against the bedroom door, eyes twinkling with an amused smile on his face.

“I should have picked a different dress,” I remarked.

He straightened and walked over to me slowly, taking me in with a lingering glance from head to toe.

“You’re gorgeous, as always, sunshine,” he said, as he paused in front of me. His hands reached out and rubbed my arms gently. “Let me show you.”

He turned me around to the mirror again, so that I was looking at both of us. Him in a black suit behind me, leaning over to kiss the side of my neck.

“We’re not having sex twenty minutes before our damn wedding, Cade. I swear to God if you fuck up my hair, I will poison your ass.”

He smiled against my skin and chuckled darkly. “Would never dream of it. As it is, one bout of food poisoning was enough for me this year.”

I rolled my eyes. “It looked like it was cooked all the way through. Are we talking about this again? I think I need to change.”

“You can wear whatever you want, babe. You know it doesn’t matter to me if you wear cut off shorts and flipflops. I just want you to become my wife today. That’s all that matters.”

Blinking at his reflection in the mirror, I reminded myself for the millionth time, how lucky I was. What this man saw in me was beyond what I’d ever hoped someone ever would. He was my best friend, lover, and the one man that I admired the most.

I pulled the top up again subtly and glanced at him.

“You’re worked up over nothing, babe,” he said as he ran his hands over my shoulders.

Looking in the mirror at my chest, my eyes roamed over the scar Garrett had left. It was an ugly reminder of what had happened, and I was a little shy when it came to exposing it to anyone but Cade. The scarring had been minimal due to some phenomenal healing, but it was still ugly.

Luckily, Cade had interrupted Garrett before he had completed carving a “10” into my skin. It looked more like a “C” to Cade, as the zero was incomplete. And in typical Cade fashion, he had talked me into getting an elaborate tattoo of a “C” to disguise it somewhat. It bordered the scar and to anyone that glanced quickly at it, they wouldn’t notice. It was still there, though, and it made me self-conscious.

Garrett was sitting in a federal prison, pending a trial date for the murders he’d committed. When Agent Kennedy had caught up with him, it'd ended with an agent dead, and Garrett wounded. He had led them on a chase across the state then a standoff. I was thankful that Cade didn’t kill him, but I wondered some days whether it would have been an easier conclusion to the nightmarish havoc he’d caused. I knew that we’d both have to testify against him, and it was hard to imagine what that day would look like. The tattoo on my chest was a reminder, that no matter what he’d done to us, he hadn’t won in tearing us apart.

Cade’s hand slipped down over the tattoo and he smiled. “There’s a beautiful woman in the mirror right now, and you know what?”

“What?” I asked grudgingly.

He slipped his hand off the tattoo and stepped back. “There still is.”

Rolling my eyes, I turned toward him and grabbed his hand. “Let’s go, before I start balling all over the place.”

He chuckled and let me pull him into the hallway. “You’re really cute when you start crying.”

“Please! Being pregnant has made me a complete mess. I don’t think I’ve ever cried so much in my life. I cried at a fucking pet store commercial the other day.”

He laughed and stepped into the living room of his house with me. “I know, I saw you. Are you sure you want to name the baby, Landon?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Marcus sounds better.”

“Two words. Hell. No.”

As we stepped further into the room, we were greeted by family. Not blood relatives, but the family we chose to love.

All in suits and dresses, they were gorgeous company. Aiden and Holden were leaning against one of the walls near the entrance. Logan had his arms wrapped around Kate as they looked through the window into the back yard. Liv, Julia, and my mother were laughing about something on the couch. And by the embarrassed features and red cheeks on Andi’s face, Brock was whispering something naughty into her ear as they stood by the kitchen.

My mother saw me first and smiled proudly. “You look beautiful, sweetie.”

The girls walked over, each giving me a smile. The guys gravitated toward the entrance and looked like they were amused by something. Knowing them a little better now, it was probably something crass.

Each was so different in eye and hair color. None of them the same in height. Even the things they wore and the way the spoke was dissimilar. Even with all the times I had seen them together in the past, it surprised me how much I really didn’t notice how close they were back then.

As my gaze roved over them all, it was easy to tell how unflinchingly loyal they were to each other, how the bonds of friendship had formed the bonds of a family. They were imposing as a group. Some might even observe that they had a look of danger to them. No matter who they were or had been, I only knew them as I saw them. Brothers to the man I loved.

“Picture time!” my mother yelled as she pointed. “Everyone over there.”

We all lined up against Cade’s wall, smiling, happy, with lives that meant something to each other.

Aiden stepped out and asked, “The limos are outside, anyone need anything before we head to the church?”

Everyone gathered their things and got ready to leave.

Brock was the only one that hung back, frantically checking his pockets.

Cade frowned at him, “What’s up?”

“The rings.”

“What about the rings?” Cade growled.

“I think I left them back at the house. Shit, man, I thought I grabbed them.”

Cade shook his head as Holden started prowling toward Brock. “What the fuck?”

Brock smiled and pulled a box out of his pocket. “Just kidding.”

Holden glanced at Aiden, and steered Julia through the door. Logan followed with Kate, chuckling.

“Brock, you’re really pushing it,” Aiden growled, pulling Liv toward the door.

Brock laughed and took Andi’s hand as they made their way in the same direction. “What? That was funny.”

Cade took my hand and started laughing. “Welcome to the rest of your life, sunshine.”

I smiled up at him and couldn’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be.