Page 111 of Gracefully Yours

Even through all our conversations, I was only half paying attention, my focus solely on Charlotte. Her lavender dress swayed against her hips as she danced with the other girls, the four of them laughing and clearly having a good time. I was content just like this.

Hunter laughed to himself.

“What?” I turned, looking at him.

He shook his head. “I was just thinking about our conversation at Benjamin and Angelina’s wedding. How we’d watched our girls’ dance then, too. But now… We don’t have to hide how much we love them.” He raised his glass up in the air. “Six months later, and everything is different.”

For the better. I took a sip of my whiskey.

Then I set my drink down. “You’re right. And I’m going to go dance with my wife.”

He chuckled. “Good plan.”

“You coming?” I asked the other three, who waved me off.

“We’ll get the next one,” Matthew added, taking another sip of his gin & tonic.

Weaving in through the crowd, I quickly found the girls.

“Mind if I cut in?” I said to Noelle, who was twirling Charlotte around following the steps of the dance they’d just learned tonight. Char already looked so graceful, gliding across the floor with every step.

Noelle’s freckled cheeks flushed with pink, and her dress hugged her curvy figure. Despite the surrounding beauty, I fixed my eyes on my wife as she stepped away.

Charlotte’s blonde hair flowed around her like a halo, and her skin glowed as if she were lit from within. Her purple, sparkly dress shimmered with each step she took.

“Hi.”

She smiled back at me. “Hi.”

“This is great,” I said, leaning my forehead against hers as I took her hand in mine, wrapping my other hand around her waist.

“I’m glad you like it. I wanted to do something special for your birthday.”

“You did. It’s been a perfect day.” Ever since we’d gotten out of the shower, she’d spent the day pampering me, taking me to my favorite places.

The best part? When we’d bundled up and taken Brownie for a nice, long walk around lunchtime, she'd held my hand the entire time.

We danced a few songs before the other guys joined us on the floor.

“Mmm. You know, I took a test earlier.” She had a mischievous look on her face, and it made me want to kiss her.

“Oh?” I pulled her in closer to me, and she stepped up on her tiptoes, her arms wrapping around my neck so she could tug my ear down to her lips.

“I’m ovulating.”

“You’re—” My dick practically jumped in my pants, which was a problem. Partially because a quickie in the bathroom on my birthday was definitely not how I wanted to spend the night, and because the rest of our friends were also here. “You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?”

She laughed, winking at me, before twirling out of my arms.

Grabbing her by the waist, I spun her back into me.

“Oh, no, you don’t,” I said as she shrieked, laughing as I hauled her back into my arms.

“Everything okay here?” A man appeared out of nowhere, my demeanor instantly shifting.

Charlotte stepped back further into me, letting me wrap an arm around her waist, like she trusted me to protect her. Felt safe with me.

“She’s my wife.” I said, practically growling.

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