Page 39 of Wait for You

Shaking her head, she smiled ruefully. “Save that thought.” She took a deep breath and gripped his hands. “I asked you here because I wanted to make sure you were ready for this.”

She tugged him toward the window. Her bedroom was on the second story of the mansion. Below them, people milled among the cocktail tables her mother had set up under an elaborate array of event tents. Waving a hand at the spectacle, she whispered, “I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to run.” He’d walked away from her before, and she had to be sure he wouldn’t do it again.

“Gen”—he lifted her hands to his lips—“we can ride out this shindig, elope, or go to the courthouse, I don’t care.” He kissed her fingers, then met her eyes and said, “All I need is you. The details, the five hundred people waitin’ on the lawn? They don’t matter.”

His easy acceptance had tears springing to her eyes. She fought furiously to blink them back; she absolutely couldnotmess up her makeup. “You’re all I need, too.” She managed a watery smile. “But I do love my dress.”

He leaned in to kiss her, then remembered her warning and groaned. “Well, you best put it on because I’m dyin’ to have you, and if I gotta wait ’til we say, ‘I do,’ we need to get this show on the road.” As he spoke, his hands gripped her waist and traveled over the curve of her hips before lingering on the swell of her bottom.

His weighty sigh made her chuckle. “If you want me to get dressed, you probably need to release me.”

“Uhuh.” The raspy murmur sent a shiver of anticipation across her neck. After one last squeeze and a smoldering look, he backed toward the door, snatching up Emiliano’s tie on the way.

She stopped him at the threshold. “I love you, Mateo Travers.”

The smile on his face promised forever, and it warmed her insides. “I love you, too, Imogen Sanchez.”

When the door closed behind him, she whispered to the empty room, “See you soon,esposo.”

Because he was going to be her husband. The certainty of it filled her body with a quiet calm, leaving her with peace enough to deal with the descending horde of ladies when the bedroom door cracked open.

“It’s been ten minutes, Imogen.”

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Mateo

Thirty minutes later, Mat waited for Imogen to walk down the aisle. A sea of people he didn’t know filled the chairs fanned out like a stadium in front of him. Fairy lights winked across the gathering, where they hung from poles decorated with blooming bouquets of white and orange flowers. More lights and flowers marked the aisle Imogen would walk down. A whitecloth covered her path while grass squished under his feet as he shifted his weight. The priest who would marry them stood to Mat’s right. On his left, Emiliano fidgeted with his watch.

“How long does it take to put on a dress?” Imogen’s brother muttered.

Mat shook his head with a smile, even if he shared the sentiment. Emiliano had always been impatient. Where Imogen had the patience of a saint, Emil was constantly on the move. Whatever restless energy thrummed inside him, Mat doubted his previous drug use helped it any. Not that the younger man was still using.

He’d gotten clean and vowed to stay as far away from the cartels as possible after his recent run-in. Mat might be an officer of the law, but he’d appreciated not having to decide whether to bust his fiancé’s brother for drugs or not. Emiliano’s dedication, even if some of it stemmed from fear, made Mat proud. It was a weight off Imogen’s shoulders, too, no longer having to worry about her brother doing something illegal.

“I feel like a fish in an aquarium. Why’d we have to stand up here so soon if Imogen wasn’t ready?”

Mat didn’t love being on display either, but the end result was worth being stared at. “One of life’s mysteries, brother.” He nudged Emiliano with his elbow. “Just gotta roll with it.”

At Emil’s grumble, Mat breathed deep and lifted his eyes to the evening sky, praying she would hurry. Above his head, an arch of flowers perfumed the air. No matter how fragrant they were, they didn’t smell as good as Imogen. Seeing her, breathing her in, and not being able to touch her had been torture. He’d understood why she’d wanted to see him, though. The worry she carried.

The last six months had been a healing process for them both. Him from his physical wounds and her from the scars of their past. She’d forgiven him, but neither of them would forget.It was a daily reminder to make the time they had together count.

He tugged at the sleeves of his white dress shirt when they tried to ride up because he kept moving, unsure what to do with his hands. The past few months had been a series of ups and downs, but she’d stuck with him through it all. It was why he wasn’t worried she wouldn’t show up to the altar, but he did worry how much longer it would take. After nearly six years, he’d had enough of waiting to make Imogen his wife.

The time it had taken him to heal had flown by. Everyone and their brother had wanted a word, a moment, a piece of the Texas Ranger who single-handedly took down the Lazcano Cartel.

Not that he had. That’s what all the press said, though. Mat knew he hadn’t done anything alone, and the reason he’d been successful atanyof it was about to walk down the aisle to him.

All that fuss had made him the shiny new penny her parents loved to show off. Eventually, the metal would dull, but he didn’t care. As long as he had Imogen at the end of it, none of it mattered.

Mat hadn’t expected to receive her father’s approval so readily, but he suspectedSeñorSanchez’s change of heart had something to do with the governor’s situation. The whole of Ranger Company “B” had come into an endowment, a generous thank you from the governor for ‘keeping Texas safe.’ As expected, his son never made the news nor faced charges for being the Lazcano’s chemist. But Mat was willing to let that be a problem for headquarters. He would pick and choose his battles, and right now, he figured he’d earned some serious “R&R.” Not to mention, he was about to have a honeymoon to enjoy.

The music that signaled Imogen’s entrance started, drifting out of the speakers set at each corner of the gathering.

“Finally,” Emiliano breathed.

A grin lit Mat’s face. The important thing was they’d stopped the Lazcano Cartel from operating in North Texas, andEl Jaguarhad been convicted. He’d be serving time for assault with intent to murder an officer of the law with no chance of getting out any time soon. That fact helped Mat sleep at night. Well, that and having Imogen in his arms.

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