Page 103 of A Nice Day for a Cowboy Wedding

“Deal.”

“But . . . what are we going to do? Live here? In the main house? And like, what about kids? We’ve never talked about having kids and . . .”

“Yes, to all of it, yes. Whatever you want. Because you and Micah are what I want, and the rest is negotiable.”

A laugh tumbled out of her, a little lost buthappy.“Living here, kids with you, it all sounds like a dream I had and tried to sabotage,” she murmured, cupping his face with her hands.

“Well, lucky I was around to fix it.”

She glared at him, though her mouth kept twitching up, ruining the attempt at severity. “I think we fixed it together.”

Shane gathered her close, pressed a kiss to her forehead. “And we always will.”

And then, paying no attention to the groans coming from the stable, Shane kissed his wife-to-be with everything he had. He knew without a shadow of a doubt he would love her and protect her, fight with her and make up with her, raise Micah and any other kids together, and it wouldn’t ever be perfect or easy.

But it would be right. And it would be good.

Epilogue

Cora looked around the sparkling, gorgeous reception and breathed for the first time all day.

Deb and Ben’s wedding, a wedding she had planned and worked her ass off on, had gone off without a hitch. Her very first wedding for Mile High Weddings, and it was beyond a success. It had been a gorgeous, fantastic spectacle ofjoy. And the great thing about it was, she wasn’t just proud of herself and what she’d accomplished. She was happy. For Ben and Deb and their second chance.

“Does the prettiest wedding planner finally get to dance?” Shane asked against her ear, his arms coming around her from behind.

She turned in the circle of his arms, grinning up at him. The cake had been cut, the bouquet thrown—Lindsay hilariously fighting to the death for it. All that was left was dancing to the strains of old country music under a beautiful, starry sky.

“I think she can find a few minutes for the handsomest cowboy of the lot.” And he was. Dressed in a suit, with a black cowboy hat to match. He’d walked Deb down the aisle, and just about everyone had cried as he’d given her away.

Cora got a little teary just remembering it. But Shane spun her onto the makeshift dance floor and she laughed instead.

“Don’t try to butter me up just to get into my bed,” he said, failing at hiding a grin. “I’m feeling a bit put out I haven’t seen you in days.”

Which was true. Despite the fact that she and Micah had moved into the Tyler ranch—totally for practical reasons with the school year starting and not at all for selfish, share-a-bed-with-Shane-at-night reasons—she’d only been home late in the evening, most of the time after Shane had gone to sleep.

“You’ll have to get used to it during wedding season. I’ve found I’m determined to be the best damn wedding planner in all of Colorado.”

They swayed to the music, and he kissed her temple. “I have no doubt you will be.”

There were so many ways Shane surprised her, challenged what she’d thought a relationship would be. The fact he wanted her to succeed, even if it meant time away from him, was something that still amazed her.

“So, do we get to talk about our wedding yet?” he asked, drawing her closer than was appropriate for the beat of the song.

She didn’t care. Not by a long shot. Though she was impatient too. Impatient to share this kind of night with him and the people she loved and pledge herself to him. It changed nothing, because she was already his, heart and soul, but there was something about the ritual that she knew would mean a little extra. “You are too impatient by half,” she teased, because she was more than pleased he was as eager as she was.

“Yes, indeed.”

“Well, Lilly did find this place that got me thinking . . .” Cora had to rest her cheek against his shoulder because she didn’t want him to see her expression. They’d been talking about a summer wedding, when she let him mention a wedding that wasn’t his mother’s. “Do you know the Bartons?”

“Sure. Lindsay and Cal Barton were high school sweethearts. I always liked Cal. And that Christmas Tree farm of theirs is a Gracely tradition.”

“It’s a darling little place,” Cora said. “Small, but so picturesque, and especially would be in the snow. Perfect for a wedding. A Christmas wedding.”

He pulled her away from his shoulder so she was forced to look up at him. He glared down at her. “You better mean this Christmas.”

She laughed, so happy it hurt. She knew it wouldn’t always be this good or this easy, but she also knew he’d be there holding her either way. “Yeah, this Christmas. I don’t want another year to go by where I don’t get to call you my husband.”

“I like the way you think. A Christmas tree farm, huh?”

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