Stolen Course (Wrecked and Ruined #2)(73)

“Both. At the same time,” she says with a dreamy gaze.

“That would be a maybe with Hunter and a hell no with Alex. Sorry, lady, but you’re going to have to pick one.”

“Hunter.” She all but drools after saying his name.

“Excellent choice.” I smile. “Hey, Hunt, can you look here for a second?” I call across the room.

“What’s up, sugar?” he drawls, and I swear Kara moans.

“I’ve been rude. You may have already met, but I want to officially introduce you to my very, very good friend, Kara Reed.”

Hunter tips his beer to his lips while sliding his eyes over her petite body. I glance down at my wedding ring and thank the Lord that I will never have to do the dating game again.

He tosses her a wink before saying, “Nice to meet you, again, Kara Reed. I’m Hunter Coy.” He extends a hand with a very obvious twinkle in his dark brown eyes.

“Okay, well I need to get back to my husband. I’ll catch up with y’all in a bit.”

I leave as they continue to shake hands for entirely too long. But before I go, I have a little additional information for Kara. I lean in close to her ear and whisper one single word.

“Eggplant.”

Oh yeah. She definitely moans this time.

I brush off my hands from a job well done and head back to my man.

“Hey, you.” I cozy in close to Caleb’s side.

“Hey, Emmy.”

“This is perfect.” I lean up for an all-too-brief kiss.

“Well, I told you I screwed up the proposal. I wasn’t going to screw this up too. Besides, it’s still small and intimate like we planned. I pretty much consider everyone in this room family.”

“Thank you.” I lean my head against his chest and loop my arm tight around his hips. As I trace the tattoos on his forearms, with a dozen people chatting around us, the whole crazy world all ceases to exist.





AFTER AN incredible night of lovemaking with my wife, I dragged Emma home at the crack of dawn. She groaned and whined, begging for me to just let her sleep. But I was almost as excited as a kid on Christmas.

See, I’ve lied to Emma a lot recently. And while I normally wouldn’t be very proud of that trait, today I am damn near ecstatic.

“Jeez, Caleb! What the hell lit a fire under your ass this morning?”

“It’s October first,” I announce, pulling her out of the truck and into the backyard.

“And?” she asks, thoroughly confused.

“Your due date is in exactly four months. In less than one hundred and twenty days, I will meet my temporarily named son, Collin. By the way, I’m still holding out hope for something not so preppy.” She playfully slaps my chest, and I smile huge, knowing what’s to come. “So I realize we are not even twenty-four hours into our marriage yet, but I already have a confession to make.”

“Is it that you have been secretly hiding a bed in the backyard? Because I could really use a pillow and, like, eight more hours of sleep right now.”

“Jesus, Emmy. Talk about stealing my thunder. That is eerily correct.”

“Which part? About the bed or the fact that I need more sleep?” she asks, looking up through tired eyes.

“Just give me a minute. I need to tell you a story.” I dramatically clear my throat. “So back in February, I met this amazing woman, and even though I had no idea what to do with it, I fell in love with her damn near the minute I laid eyes on her. She was beautiful, but what really surprised me was the fact that she was smart and funny as hell.”

“Caleb, are you cheating me with this other woman? Because I’m not sure I could blame you—she sounds fabulous,” she says teasingly.

I ignore her jokes but pull her against my chest, tracing my hands down her back and over her ass. “A few days after I met her, I realized I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I tried so f*cking hard because I had absolutely zero business being with her. So I began building a table that I had been plotting in my head for years. I used the finest Bubinga wood I could find on short notice. I spent every waking hour trying to forget her, all while building my dream table.

“Emma, this table killed me. Even the simplest of tasks turned out like crap. It had a million flaws, and no matter how hard I tried, I just made it worse every time I tried to go back and fix them.

“Then one night, just as I was finishing this annoying table, I got a phone call from that spellbinding woman, and when I picked up the phone, she was crying. It scared the ever-loving shit out of me. With that fear, I realized that there was no point fighting it. It wasn’t the smartest decision to pursue her, but it was definitely the best one I’ve ever made.

“The next day, as I looked around my workshop, I realized that stubborn, flawed table that I finished, the night I decided that you were mine, really was us. I moved it into my house the minute the polish dried.”

“What happened to it? I haven’t seen it since I’ve been back.” She blinks up at me while fighting back tears.

“I tore it apart it the night you sent back Manda’s ring.”

“Oh,” she breathes in disappointment.

“See, Emmy, that wood was never meant to be a table. Our relationship is not simple or straightforward. It’s not perfect the way young couples dream about. It’s rough and flawed, but it’s ours. And sometimes, if you get really lucky, something truly beautiful can come from the imperfections.”