Page 204 of By His Vow

“Oh yes, of course.”

“Tate, are you okay?” Lori asks, concern laced through her voice.

“Uh-huh.”

The second the dress loosens enough for me to be able to escape from it, I dart back behind the curtain.

“Fuck,” I breathe.

I really shouldn’t have had that champagne.

“Tate?” Lori calls.

“I’m okay. I just need a minute.”

I let the dress fall to my feet before turning to look at the other three, but my eyes zero in on one of them and my heart continues racing for an entirely different reason.

Everything about it feels different from the moment I lift it from the hangar.

My skin prickles as I slide it up my body and pull it into place.

It’s not as big as the first one, and it fits as it is.

I look down at myself, my breath shaking. I don’t look in the mirror this time, so I’ve no idea how I look, but I know how I feel.

Closing my eyes, I find that it’s easy to imagine myself wearing this and walking toward Kingston. It’s such a vivid image that it knocks the wind out of me to the point I have to reach for the wall to steady myself.

Taking in a few deep breaths, I roll my shoulders back and move toward the curtain.

Both women turn to me the second I emerge. The assistant’s expression softens, but it’s Lori’s reaction that fully steals my attention.

“Oh my god,” she sobs, tears immediately filling her eyes. “That’s it. That’s the one.”

Without needing to be told, I step up onto the podium and lift my eyes to the mirror.

What I find staring back at me knocks the air straight from my lungs.

Lori is right.

This is it. This is the dress that I’m going to marry Kingston Callahan in.

50

KINGSTON

Aknock sounds on my hotel suite door and I make my excuses to end the call I’m stuck on before heading to open it.

Kian and Miles haven’t left the office yet, so that means it can only be one person.

I don’t bother looking through the peephole. Instead, I pull the door wide open and drag the man standing on the other side into a tight hug.

“Fuck,” he grunts when we collide. “Who the fuck are you, and what have you done with my big brother?” Kieran asks as I thump him on the back.

“Missed you, you little shit,” I confess before releasing him and inviting him in.

Little might be pushing it these days. Our scrawny little brother is now both taller and wider than both of us.

“Jeez, someone is feeling a little sappy. I guess that’s what happens when you fall under the spell of a feisty woman.” He flops onto the couch as if he owns the place, spreading his legs wide and resting his head back. “Is that it? Has Tatum Warner broken you already? Kian and I said that?—”

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