Page 146 of Better Late Than Never

“From your lips to God’s ears.” He lifted himself up and pressed a long, soft kiss to my lips. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” I stroked the unbruised side of his face. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Neither am I. And now I’m counting down to retirement even more than I was before I met you.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, I bet you are.” I paused. “For tonight, should we find something stupid and funny to watch?”

“Definitely.” He took his phone out of his pocket. “Why don’t I order something from the kebab place?”

“Sounds perfect.”

It did, and it was, and I didn’t care if spending tonight with Alex in my arms was a bad idea. I wasn’t letting him out of my sight right now, and rules be damned, there was no better place for me to sleep than beside Alex.

We wouldn’t be able to do this often. Not until he retired. The next year or so would be tough. There was no way around that.

But I knew it would be worth it.

Because in the end, I’d be with the man I loved.

EPILOGUE

ALEX

Three years later.

“Ready for this?” Connor laced his fingers between mine.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that? I’m not the one who’s about to watch his son get married.”

He smiled, looking a little overwhelmed at the prospect. “Well, just don’t judge me if I cry, okay?”

“I won’t. I promise.”

“Good. And I meant, are you ready to meet my ex-wife?”

My teeth snapped shut. Oh. Right. I was meeting her today, wasn’t I? Probably, like,now.

“Uh. Yeah.” I cleared my throat. “Yeah. Sure.” I laughed self-consciously. “Why am I more nervous about meeting her than I was about meeting your parents?”

“You tell me.” He elbowed me gently, then kissed my cheek. “I’m sure it’s a little weird. Her boyfriend seemed like a nervous wreck over meeting me, though, so maybe it’s normal?”

“Works for me.” No, I really couldn’t explain my nerves, or the ex-wife’s boyfriend’s nerves. I was just nervous.

I stuck close to Connor today, not wanting to get overwhelmed by the sea of unfamiliar faces. It also didn’t hurt that I loved being close to him, especially when we hadn’t seen each other in almost three painfully long months. And what could I say? I kind of wanted to thank Quinn and Savannah for asking everyone to come in civilian attire; as hot as Connor was in his dress whites, he was sexy as hell in that tuxedo. Goddamn.

I was introduced to some other family members, and I got hugs from Quinn, Savannah, and Landon. Connor’s parents seemed happy to see me again, so maybe I’d made a good impression when we’d spent last Christmas with them. I’d never met a boyfriend’s parents before, so what did I know?

And then… there was the ex-wife.

I’d missed the rehearsal dinner because my flight had been delayed, so I hadn’t been able to meet her last night, but I was meeting her now. Even before Connor pointed her out, I’d guessed who she was from across the room. She was a little shorter than Connor with blonde hair, and I could suddenly see where Landon had gotten his hazel eyes.

As we approached, she turned, and she put on what seemed like a genuine smile. She and Connor exchanged a quick hug, and then he turned to me. “This my ex-wife, Aimee, and her boyfriend, Paul.” Touching my back, he said to them, “This my boyfriend, Alex.”

The three of us shook hands.

Aimee smiled. “We’ve heard a lot about you. The boys and Savannah have had nothing but good things to say.”

I laughed nervously. “Okay, good, because I paid them not to repeat the bad stuff.”

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