“And I guess we’ve got our first fight out of the way, too.”
“Guess we did.” She hesitated. “There’s just one thing.”
He tensed. “What?”
“When I’m upset, I stress bake.”
“Okay.” Where was she going with this?
Her lips curved and there was no mistaking the wicked gleam in her eyes as she leaned in close enough to whisper, “I made another pie.”
That thought completely eradicated the cold that had started to seep through his jacket. “Do you have anywhere you have to be the rest of the day?”
“I had the rest of it earmarked for making up.”
He bent his head to kiss her. “Then let’s go get started.”
Epilogue
ON A GORGEOUS JUNE evening, as the sun sank into the glittering Gulf of Mexico, Sonya Cooke married Gena Bryson in a small, beachside ceremony. Both brides were radiant, but it was the best man who kept Mary Alice’s attention. Chad looked positively swoon-worthy in a tux, and his genuine joy for Sonya shone through, as he watched his friend take the vows she’d once thought to make with him.
Life was strange. But it was also very, very good.
In the wake of the wedding, the thirty or so people in attendance followed the brides to the beach party reception. The luau style dinner was eaten, the cake was cut, and the first dance was had. Mary Alice danced with Chad by tiki torch light and thought the night couldn’t get more perfect.
“Let’s go for a walk,” he suggested.
Willing to follow him anywhere, she stepped away from the group. They slid their shoes off and strolled, hand-in-hand down the beach, toes digging into the s
and as the tide rolled in. Mary Alice gave a contented sigh. “It was a good day.”
“Yes, it was.” He looked back toward the reception, where Sonya and Gena were kicking up their heels to Katy Perry. “They look good together. And so damned happy. Sonya deserves that. I just wish her family had relented and come for the wedding.”
Mary Alice leaned up to kiss his cheek. “The family who mattered came.” She’d come to understand that’s what Sonya was to him. And she’d learned to love Sonya in her own right over the past six months.
Chad dropped his shoes and reeled Mary Alice in. “Thanks for that. And thanks for coming with me.”
“A wedding in Florida, tacked on to a beach vacation with the guy I love. Why wouldn’t I be all over that?”
“It’s been a great trip. Know what would make it even better?”
Sliding her hands up and over his shoulders, she pressed close. “I don’t think there’s anywhere sufficiently private to sneak away for nookie on the beach, and I’m not keen on the idea of sand in…any of those places.”
He laughed. “Pity, but no. Going home together.”
She arched her brows. “Were you planning on sticking me on a Greyhound bus?”
“No. I mean going home to the same place. Move in with me, Mary Alice. Come home to me.”
Her heart kicked into a gallop. “Are you serious?”
“Sure am. I even got you a key.” He reached into his pocket and brought out one of the silly alligator keychains they’d seen all over in gift shops.
Mary Alice stared at it, fisted in his hand. “That’s a really big step.”
“I love you, and I’m ready to make a really big step. I think you are, too. What do you say?”
They already spent almost every spare minute together and quite a few nights a week. But was she ready to give up her own space? To take that next step in their relationship? To sleep with him every night and wake up with him every morning? She’d never done that with anyone, but she found she wanted to do it with him.