Page 79 of Closing the Distance

The minister clears his throat again and leans forward. “We’re not quite done yet, you two.” There’s a chuckle in his voice. “She’s almost yours, but let’s get these rings exchanged first.”

I turn to him with my smile wide. “You’re wrong about that. She’s already mine. Today’s just about making it legal.”

I don’t bother keeping my voice down, and I hear the other members of the Fierce Four chuckling in the front row. They get it.

The rest of the ceremony goes by in a blink. We exchange rings, and then finally, I get to seal our marriage with a kiss. I hold her body close to mine, my tongue running across the seam of her lips until she parts them and lets me in. I don’t care if it’s indecent in front of our guests.

She’s my wife now and I’ll kiss her however I want.

Based on how she moans into my mouth and slides her fingers in my hair, I’m guessing she doesn’t mind. Cheers and laughter, followed by hoots and hollers when we don’t break the kiss right away, ring in my ears. When I finally pull away, I hold up our joined hands like I just won the Super Bowl.

But this feels better than any victory I’ve ever had on the field.

It feels like heaven.

EPILOGUE

A YEAR LATER

We didn’t take a honeymoon after we got married last year because Lana was still so young, and neither of us really wanted to be away from her for any length of time, so for our one-year wedding anniversary, we decided to rent a villa in Hawaii while Lana stays with her grandparents. The last year has been a whirlwind.

Tanner’s willingness to admit his faults went a long way in changing the narrative for the press. They immediately jumped on the “love” triangle story between Tanner, Heather, and his teammate and dug hard into the rumors surrounding Heather. Turns out, she’d done the same thing when she lived in Florida with other professional athletes. And while people stopped villainizing me on social media, the whole experience had showed me the true colors of the people I worked with. So, despite things shifting drastically after Tanner came forward with the press, I still decided not to return to my teaching job. As much as I loved my students, the politics had burned me out, and I wanted to do something that filled my cup instead of leaving me drained. Blaire also quit at the end of the school year to start the nonprofit she’d talked about. Together we help kids who’ve lost parents or guardians. We connect them with counseling, tutoring, and for older kids, helping them prepare for life on their own.

It’s been fulfilling and challenging in ways I never would’ve expected, but I love it. More than that, I love not spending hours working once I get home. Days of grading on my couch for hours after a long day of work are over. For the most part, Blaire and I work hard to make sure our work stays at the office. When I come home, that’s my time with my family.

Ty’s eager to get me pregnant again. I tease him relentlessly that he has a breeding kink, something he doesn’t deny. Since I’m not quite ready to put my body through that—and I’m a little scared after how my last pregnancy ended—we’re enjoying practicing. We both want a big family, so it’s just a matter of time before we have another baby. Right now, we’re both loving our time watching Lana come into her own personality. She’s curious and a little sassy. She’s also the biggest daddy’s girl even though she’s the spitting image of me.

And as much as Ty pretends to be a tough guy sometimes, he’s the biggest softie when it comes to our daughter. I even caught him playing dolls with her the other day when he thought I was still out running errands.

Not a day goes by where I’m not thankful that we ran into each other that night nearly two years ago. I had no idea then how much that man was going to change my life, but I don’t regret it for a second. I’m a better person for having him in my life.

That’s not to say I don’t still have moments of weakness. I’ve done a lot of therapy over the last year, working on fighting my demons and healing the hurts of my childhood. It’s not been easy, but true to our vows, Ty’s been there every step of the way.

Every day we choose each other. We choose to love each other through the hard moments as much as the easy ones. I choose not to yell at him if he forgets to close the toilet seat, and he doesn’t give me any grief when I’m sick and am surrounded by a mountain of Kleenex. We’re both human—flaws and all—but we choose to love each other with our flaws.

It’s better than the alternative of life without him. I’ve lived that life, and it wasn’t anywhere near as full as what Ty and I have built together. What we have is real, one-of-a-kind love. It’s the partnership of our dreams, and the deepest, purest love I’ve ever known.

I’m lying on my beach towel on the private beach where we’re staying, my body relaxed and languid from the last few days of bliss in paradise, when Ty interrupts my reflection of the last year and how far we’ve come.

He drops down into the sand beside me and kisses my shoulder. “How are you, Wife?”

My lips tug up in a smile. As much as I love him calling me Precious, I think I love when he calls me his wife more.

“Wonderful,” I murmur.

He hums and drops another kiss to my shoulder before he starts peppering kisses over my collarbone. “I wonder if I can make you feel even better,” he mumbles against my skin.

“Mmm, I’m willing to see if you can rise to that challenge.”

He chuckles, but doesn’t stop kissing any inch of exposed skin he can find. My body starts to heat, and it has nothing to do with the sun. His hand slides down to my stomach then under my bikini bottoms until his long, thick fingers are swirling over my throbbing clit.

My back arches slightly from the pleasure while I place my hands on his cheeks and pull his mouth to mine. He kisses me deeply, his tongue swirling inside my mouth as he owns me with his kiss.

He pulls back, panting. “I wanted to fuck you, but I’m not gonna lie, there’s sand everywhere, and this was not how it was described in that smutty book you read.”

I burst into laughter because he’s not wrong. Sex on the beach is not nearly as romantic as it’s implied in my books, and the last thing I want is sand in places sand has no business going. I sit up, kissing him with a smile on my lips, and then stand up.

“Race ya back to the villa?”

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