Page 29 of Bargain Match

I’m not sure we stop kissing the whole two-hour drive it takes for us to get back to the inn. Malcolm was nice enough to be our chauffeur. And he and Glynis give us the gift of a lifetime by only shaking their heads and chuckling when Hadley and I barely come up for air.

“Young love,” is all Glynis says with a sigh.

She’s not wrong. Plus, I’ve been in love with Hadley for so long and not kissing her that I have a lot of making up to do. I figure if I kiss her non-stop from now until our first child graduates high school, we should be halfway caught up.

Our first child.

That’s a thought that adds fuel to the fire of desire already stewing inside of me. Hadley and I have decided to wait a couple of years to start our family so we can get our business up and off the ground. But the thought of one day seeing our child grow inside of the woman I love…

It makes me wish we were at the inn, and I was carrying her over the threshold.

After all, there’s no harm in practicing making a baby now. And I plan to get in a ton of practice.

As Malcolm makes the final turn up the familiar drive, I finally pull back to admire my bride.

She chuckles, and I tilt my head curiously. “What?”

“I can’t decide if that shade of lipstick looks better on you, or me.”

I snort and sit as still as possible while she attempts to remove some of it from my lips. I tap my fingers on her waist as I do.

She arches an eyebrow. “Someone is eager to get to their wedding reception.”

“Actually,” I lean closer to her, my lips brushing her ear as I whisper. “I was thinking maybe we could sneak in through the back and escape to the honeymoon suite to start our private celebration.”

I kiss the spot behind her ear and shivers. “That does sound nice. Maybe?—”

Before we can make good on this new plan, the car pulls to a stop and the inn’s front door swings open. Everyone from the village—and probably everyone they know—seems to pour out of the building.

I swear under my breath, but Hadley just laughs as she takes my hand and tugs me through the line of people wishing us well.

We’re nearly through the throng when an excited Glynis reappears, waving a piece of paper in her hand.

“Oh, ye two! There’s such news!” she cries out. “And on yer wedding day, no less.”

Hadley and I exchange a look.

“What news?” I ask.

“It’s about yer grant.” The kindly woman pushes past a handful of people to thrust the paper at us.

Hadley takes the paper and scans it over. As she reads, her eyes grow wide and her jaw falls slack.

“What is it?” I ask, once again gripping her by the waist. “What does it say?”

She lowers the paper, and her electric blue eyes rise to meet mine. They’re shimmering with unshed tears. “We go to the grant.”

I suck in a breath. “We got the grant?”

She nods and throws her arms around my shoulders to pull me in for another kiss. This time, there’s no embarrassment as the crowd of our new friends cheer for us. After all, we have a lot to celebrate.

I’ve just married my best best friend. We’ve secured the funding to bring our business dreams to fruition.

Our future has never looked brighter. And I can’t wait to start living it. Together.

BONUS EPILOGUE

TWO YEARS LATER

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