Valorous(61)

“I love this dress. I never want to take it off.”

He raises a brow. “It’s coming off. Very soon.”

I laugh at the thinly veiled yet playful threat I hear in his tone. “Thanks for the warning.”

We share a chocolate dessert that’s the most sinfully delicious thing I’ve ever tasted. Coupled with the champagne and the strawberries that came with the dessert, I’m bordering on sensory overload. When we’re finished eating, the waiters return to remove the dishes and then the table, leaving us with yet another bottle of champagne in a fresh bucket of ice.

“We need a song,” Flynn says.

“A song?”

“For our first dance as husband and wife. What shall it be? Lady’s choice.”

“Hmmm, this is a huge decision and not one to be taken lightly. For the rest of our lives, whatever song we choose will be the song we danced to on our wedding night.”

“Which is why I left that decision up to you.”

“I’m feeling a tremendous amount of pressure to get it right.”

“I have faith in you, sweetheart.”

“May I consult my iTunes library?”

“By all means.”

As I scroll through the songs on my phone, dismissing one after the other as not right for us, he turns the lights way down. “What song did your parents dance to at their wedding?” I ask him.

“‘Moon River.’ They love that song.”

“That’s a good one.”

He looks over my shoulder as I consult my song list. “Wait, what was that one? ‘Love, Laugh, Fuck.’ That works.”

“We are not having a wedding song with that word in it.”

With his arms around me, he presses his erection against my back. “Why not?”

“Because we’re not, and that’s it.”

“Buzz killer.”

“Maybe so, but you’re stuck with me now.”

“Never been so happy to be stuck with anyone in my life.”

I smile at his sweet words. The kisses he’s leaving on my neck set off goose bumps that cover my entire body. “I can’t concentrate when you’re doing that.”

“My apologies,” he says but doesn’t stop.

“How about this?” I choose “I Won’t Give Up” by Jason Mraz and play it for him.

“That sounds sort of perfect for us in light of everything.”

“So we have a winner?”

“Yes, we do.” He takes my phone from me and plugs it into the suite’s sound system. Then he turns and extends his hand. “May I have this dance, Mrs. Godfrey?”

“Absolutely, Mr. Godfrey.” I go to him and let him wrap me up in his love. My hands find their way inside his coat, and I lay my face on his chest. “Flynn…”

“What, honey?”

“I just want you to know that for the first time since everything happened to me, I feel like I’ve found my way home again. The whirling inside my head has finally stopped, and I’m… I’m calm, at peace. And it’s all because of you and what we’ve found together.”

“Nat… There’s nothing you could say that would make me happier, especially in light of everything that’s happened since you met me.”

“There’s relief in having nothing left to hide, so while I wouldn’t have wanted it to happen the way it did, I’m glad there’re no secrets between us.”

He tightens his arms around me as we sway to the music. “I won’t give up on us, Nat. Ever. No matter what happens.”

“Neither will I.”





Chapter 12





I die inside when she says there’re no secrets between us. I’ve kept something huge from her, something that might’ve changed her mind about marrying me if she knew. I tell myself it doesn’t matter because I’ve put that in the past to focus on my future with Natalie.

She’s the only thing that matters now. Neither my past nor hers has any bearing on the future we’re going to create for ourselves. I’ve made my choices, and now I’m going to make this marriage work or die trying.

She’s warm and soft and pliant in my arms as the song comes to an end and another begins. I don’t want this moment to ever end, the first time we dance together as a married couple. It may be the first time, but it won’t be the last. We’ve got everything to look forward to, and I refuse to spend any portion of this night looking back.