Page 99 of Full House

Nate kissed her knuckles. “Ready to go see us fall in love on the big screen?”

Victoria gave him a grin. “I’ve been ready for this my whole life.”

The lights dimmed, and Victoria squeezed Nate’s hand. This was it. Her first starring role on the big screen for all to see. Her stomach dipped, and her palms started to sweat. She hadn’t even been so nervous her first day of filming.

“Easy,” Nate whispered in her ear, and she took a deep breath. The opening credits filled the screen and the sound of clapping filled her ears. This was it, for better or worse, there was no backing out now. She squeezed Nate’s hand, again, and he gave her a reassuring squeeze in return. She had this.

No, together, they had this.

8 months later…

Nate stood, gazing across the expanse of the beach—past the rows of their seated family and friends—to Victoria, draped in white lace to the tips of her bare toes that peeked out from the hem of her gown as she made her trek across the sand to him.

His breath caught and held.

Wanting this day to be perfect for her, he’d rented a small private island to ensure no press or paparazzi could invade either by land or air and hired a wedding planner to take care of all the troublesome details, so Victoria could fully enjoy all of their son’s first moments.

They’d had a boy, but all joking aside, they didn’t name him Nate Junior. After many long, nightly debates, they’d finally agreed on Lucas Alexander Reed. Luke for short. Nate couldn’t believe how much he enjoyed being a father and couldn’t wait to get started on more. He thought three sounded like a nice number.

Victoria’s smile was radiant as she neared. He couldn’t drag his gaze away. She had him deep in her spell.

Reaching him, he held out a hand, and she took it without hesitation. “You look incredibly handsome, stud.”

He wore cream linen pants and a white shirt, untucked with the sleeves rolled up his forearms. As far as wedding attire went, he couldn’t have asked for anything more comfortable.

“And you look,” his eyes swept her from head to toe and back again, “breathtakingly beautiful.”

“Shall we begin?”

They turned to the minister and nodded in unison. Although she’d been legally his for exactly one year, to the day, he was eager to spread that knowledge to the world, so there would be no doubt, she was his.

“Happy anniversary,” he said, bringing her knuckles to his lips for a kiss.

She flashed him another heart-stopping smile. “Best present ever. I don’t know how you’re going to top this next year.”

He gave her a wink. “I guess I better start planning now.”

She tipped her head back and laughed. Fuck, he loved his wife.

“You tired, baby?” Nate reached for his wife’s hand and kissed her knuckles.

It had been a long day and an almost equally long night. The chateau on the island filled to capacity with family and friends, made for one long and boisterous party. They’d done the traditional cutting of the cake and first dance, and now it was a free-for-all. Their little man had crashed hours earlier and was safely tucked away under the careful eye of his grandma. The rest of the night was theirs.

“Just a little. But I’m not ready to go to sleep yet. I’m having too much fun.”

“Are you up for an adventure?”

A sly smile tugged at her lips. “You know I always am.”

He led her out through the patio doors to the terrace, saying goodnight to well-wishers as they passed. Their feet hit the sand, and he saw, in the distance, the giant white tent he’d had erected.

“What’s this?” Victoria asked as he swept open the entrance.

“This,” he pulled her inside, “is our honeymoon suite.”

A makeshift bed overflowing with pillows filled half the space. More pillows of all shapes and sizes were piled in clusters on the floor. A small table sat in the corner laden with sweets and fruit and a bucket keeping a bottle of champagne on ice.

She took it all in, a look of astonishment on her face. “Wow.”

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