He climbed on board and fumbled in his pocket for his phone. He didn’t know how long the helicopter ride would take, and he wanted to make sure Lyric knew he was on his way.
Except his phone wasn’t in either of his pants pockets. And it wasn’t in his jacket pocket either. He checked his pockets again. Had he dropped it when he was dashing up the stairs?
No. He wanted to slap his forehead. He’s left it on the coffee table in the waiting room. Damn it. He didn’t have time to go back for it.
Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.
He started to tell the pilot to wait a minute, but he was too late. The helicopter took off with a roar.
“Hold on, darlin’,” he murmured to himself. “I’m coming for you.
# # #
“Lyric, maybe I was wrong.” Harmony’s voice was soft, her look full of sadness and regret. The royal-blue bridesmaid’s dress she wore looked magnificent on her. “Maybe we should think about cancelling.”
Pink, yellow, and peach roses draped the arbor she was standing under and scented the air.
“We’re not cancelling.” Now that Lyric believed that Heath loved her, she refused to believe that it wasn’t coming. She held the giant bouquet of daisies that he’d picked out for her and stared out over the rows and rows of white chairs holding all of the wedding guests.
“Are you sure? You don’t have to be the one to do it. I can—”
“He’ll be here, Harmony.” She’d never been more sure of anything in her life.
“How do you know?”
“Because, as you reminded me not that long ago, Heath is an idiot. But he’s my idiot. And he loves me. He’ll be here.” Lyric had moved heaven and earth to get just the right Agent Provocateur to wear under her wedding dress. He’d better like it, because she could barely breath.
Her sister nodded, but she still didn’t look convinced as she glanced at her phone for the tenth time in as many minutes. In fact, she looked downright worried.
Lyric wished she could calm her down, wished she could convince her that it was all going to be okay. But the truth was, she had no proof that it actually would be okay. There was no evidence, not even one little text, that pointed to the fact that Heath was on his way.
And yet … and yet, she knew. It was as simple as that. Standing here, wearing the dress he’d picked out for her, surrounded by the beautiful, and sometimes strange, choices he’d made for their wedding, she could feel his love for her. Every single decision he’d made had been made with her in mind. And every single one was right on … well, except for the doves. Those were totally him.
She especially loved her wedding cake. It took up three tables and could easily have fed five hundred, but that was to be expected when your future husband tried to give you the entire universe.
She just hoped she’d get the chance to give him the same.
“Lyric, baby.” This time it was her father who was staring down at her, concern in his eyes that were so like her own. He’d worked so hard to be here to walk her down the aisle, and she hated seeing the doubt on his face.
“I know you have faith in Heath, and I believe he would be here if he could. But maybe …” The last of his words were drowned out by the thwap thwap thwap of a helicopter’s blades.
“Damn paparazzi.” He jabbed his cane in the air like he could use it to take down the helicopter. “I’ll get security on it right now.”
The helicopter landed in the open space that separated her parents’ house from the rest of the working ranch. Her father shaded his eyes from the sun. “What the hell?”
She couldn’t see Heath on board, but still her heart beat faster. Her palms started to sweat. Because she knew—she knew—that Heath was here.
Sure enough, the door popped open, and out stepped the love of her life. His hair was still too long, and he had three days’ worth of stubble on his cut-glass jaw, but he was here. And he was in a suit.
She took both as very good signs.
And then she was running—up the aisle, across the patio, past the pool, and through the gate—to get to him. He didn’t quite meet her halfway, but he did give it the old Wranglers try.
“Lyric—”
“Heath—”
“I’m sorry—”
“No, I’m the one who’s sorry. You don’t have anything to apologize for.” She reached up, cupped his cheeks in her hands. And just looked at him for several long seconds.
“I knew you’d come.”
“I’m sorry I was late. I’ve been avoiding ESPN—and pretty much every other channel on the planet. I didn’t see your interview until it was almost too late.” He held her too tightly against him.
“That’s okay. It was a long shot anyway.” She was messing with him.
“It was a long shot.” Suddenly, he looked furious, which was so not the look she’d anticipated from him when he finally showed up. “What were you thinking? What if I hadn’t seen it? What if you’d been standing here all night and I hadn’t shown up? I never would have forgiven myself for missing our wedding. Or for hurting you more than I already have.”
“I’m messing with you. I knew you’d come.” She leaned up to press a kiss to his mouth. It had only been a couple of weeks, but it felt like forever since she’d touched him, held him, made love to him. “Stop beating yourself up about something that happened years ago. It’s over, and I’m over it. It’s time for us to move on.
He started to say something else, but she stopped him with a finger on his lips. “And to answer your question from before. If you hadn’t shown up, I would have locked myself in my room and eaten so much chocolate that I threw up. And then I would have gotten in my daddy’s truck and driven to Fort Worth and dragged your ass to the closest justice of the peace.”
He nipped at her finger, then grinned when she yanked it away with a yelp. “You would not have come to Fort Worth.”
“I wouldn’t bet on that, buddy. You asked me to marry you, and I’m holding you to it. There’s nowhere on this earth—or off of it—that you can escape now. You’re mine … forever. Whether you like it or not.”
His eyes turned to molten chocolate at her words. “And you’re mine.”
“Always.” Everything she had—everything she was—belonged to him.
“Say it.” He rested a hand on her lower back and then pressed her body against his. “Say that you’re mine.”
“I’m yours. I’ve always been yours.” She was wearing a wedding dress, a bunch of crinolines, and a pair of Spanx at her mother’s insistence, and still she could feel him get hard at her words.
“Thank God.” This time he was the one to kiss her. But it was no chaste kiss. It was wicked and wild and so wanton that her knees trembled beneath her skirts.
Her hands came up to the lapels of his suit, and her grip on them was the only thing that kept her from falling as he thrust his tongue inside her mouth and the kiss took on a life of its own.
Minutes—or maybe hours, or maybe days—later, he pulled away. She grumbled a protest as he did, but eventually she let him go. They did have people waiting for them.
“Let’s get married.” Heath escorted her to the front yard, where the altar and arbor he’d insisted on were set up.
“Let’s.” She looked up to find her father was waiting for her at the end of the aisle. “And for the record, this is the best idea you’ve ever had.”
“No.” Heath gave her one more kiss for good luck. “Loving you is the best idea I ever had. But this is a close second. Though it is tied with my decision to throw that seventy-five-yard touchdown pass in the last Super Bowl. Now that was a really great idea.”
She laughed. She couldn’t help it. Heath was always going to be Heath, and she was always going to be the lucky woman who loved him. What else could a nerdy astrophysicist ask for?
* * *
About the Author
* * *
Katie Graykowski is an award-winning author who likes sassy heroines, Mexican fo
od, movies where lots of stuff gets blown up, and glitter nail polish. She lives on a hilltop outside of Austin, Texas where her home office has an excellent view of the Texas Hill Country. When she’s not writing, she’s scuba diving. Drop by her website www.katiegraykowski.com or send her an email at
[email protected] * * *
Other Books By Katie Graykowski
* * *
The Marilyns Series
Place Your Bets
Getting Lucky
The Lone Stars Series
Perfect Summer
Saving Grace
Changing Lanes
The Debra Dilemma
PTO Murder Club Series
Rest in Pieces
Texas Rose Ranch Series
Texas Rose Forever
Tracy Wolff, Lyric and Lingerie
(Series: Fort Worth Wranglers # 1)
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