Alexis gleefully jumped on his lap and explained her new position with Preston as Deputy Sherriff.
“So, you’re making Carson home?” Cliff said.
Wrapping her arms around Cliff’s neck, she brushed her lips against his, adoring the way he responded to her touch.
“You’re my home, Cliff. Wherever you are is home.”
Epilogue
“Wow, this is more beautiful than I expected,” Alexis whispered as they looked out across the Smoky Mountains from their cabin’s balcony.
“Can’t argue with that.”
Cliff stood a couple feet behind Alexis, mesmerized by her bare back as the ivory slip dress blew in the breeze. With the sun setting just beyond the mountains, the combination of her and the view was breathtaking.
Lifting his camera to his eye, Cliff adjusted the lens and snapped a few pictures. No better way to capture their wedding day than with a few personal pictures.
He had convinced Alexis to take a short trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, while Austin put the final touches on Cliff’s house in Carson.
Once they arrived, Alexis had immediately asked if he wanted to elope. Like he would turn down making her his wife sooner rather than later.
They grabbed a marriage license at the courthouse and were married in a small chapel the next day. Neither one of them came from large families, it was perfect for Cliff and Alexis. Though Cliff suspected that Mrs. Connelly won’t be too keen on not having another wedding to plan.
The sound of the shutters alerted Alexis and she turned on her bare feet, leaning against the railing.
“What are you doing?”
“Capturing something beautiful,” he explained as he snapped another picture of her.
“Come here, husband of mine,” she beckoned. He couldn’t turn her down. “I want one of us together.”
Cliff moved to join her against the railing and held up the camera, centering them with the viewfinder. He snapped a few images then placed the camera on an outside table before pulling Alexis to rest against him, wedging her body between him and the railing.
“Thank you, Alexis. For being with me, for loving me. I can’t believe I get to call you mine.”
“Oh, Cliff,” Alexis replied, stroking her fingers against his cheek. “I love you so much. You’re everything I ever wanted.”
Cliff kissed her slowly, retracing all the grooves in her mouth as if he’d never felt them before. Reaching for her shoulder, Cliff grazed his fingers along the scar left from her bullet wound before tugging the strap of her dress down her arm.
“Why don’t we move this inside and I can show you all of the ways I want to love?”
“I was wondering what was taking you so long,” she joked as she stepped around him, slipping the other strap down her body. Just as Alexis stepped beyond the threshold of the mountain cabin, her dress pooled at her feet.
“Fuck,” Cliff cursed, quickly following her inside.
She was going tempt and tease him every day of his life, and he couldn’t wait.
***
He didn’t know how she got the consistency perfect, but somehow Sydney made the most delicious, melt in your mouth, donuts he’d ever had.
And Preston didn’t even like donuts, despite the fact that cops and donuts went together like peanut butter and jelly. They’d never been his thing.
He sat at the small table watching the woman he had planned to spend his life with add more cupcakes to her display. He screwed that up, just like he had everything else in his life.
Thankfully his feelings for Sydney waned and he saw her as nothing more than a friend. Otherwise, things would be very awkward as his best friend, and Sydney’s husband, took the seat across from him.
“Hey, man,” Dylan greeted, his The Grill apron still tied around his chest. Preston could barely manage working as the town sheriff and a few missions with his old FBI team when things got slow. He had no idea how Dylan was able to manage his diner, the extra missions he took, and his family.