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  He would have definitely wanted her to want him forever, to have said yes to sharing her life with him when he first slid the ring across her slim finger -- instead of the mutual need that their circumstances required at the time when he’d held the ring up to her as they drove into Catahoula, but those were the breaks.

  She deserved the romantic proposal, the flowers and chocolates and dates that should have preceded it, he pondered as he drained his coffee.

  It was too late to change any of that though, so he’d have to figure out a way to give her everything she deserved after the wedding somehow.

  He wished he’d had the thought earlier, so that he would have worked out a plan to do at least some of the romantic stuff before the wedding, but the rehearsal dinner was tomorrow night and the ceremony was planned for the following morning.

  He pushed the button on the coffee maker to brew a fresh pot and leaned against the counter, staring contemplatively out the window as he tried to formulate a plan. He rubbed a hand over his five o’clock shadow and sighed, coming up blank for the moment.

  He had just sunk back into his seat at the table to look over the last few remaining tabs when he heard her soft footsteps behind him.

  She pressed her front lightly to his back as she leaned down and put arms around him. Her breath was minty fresh as she leaned in beside him to see what he was studying, her faint strawberry smell still present in her hair and on her skin, even though she hadn’t showered yet.

  “What do think?” she breathed in his ear. A lot of the final arrangements had been made in the last few days and he hadn’t had much time to look them over, hence her insistence that he do it today. She sounded timid, as though she was scared he wouldn’t approve.

  He pushed his chair out lightly and reached to her to pull her into his lap. She came willingly, curling her body to his.

  “It looks good, surprisingly nice for such a last-minute shindig.”

  Her eyes lit up at his approval and she leaned in to nuzzle at his neck, sighing contentedly.

  “And how are you feeling about the wedding?” he heard her whisper, her head still in the crook of his neck, almost as if she didn’t have the courage to face him when she asked.

  He reached down and tilted her head toward his. He wanted her to look into his eyes for his answer, wanted her to see the honesty in them. It seemed to be the only way she truly trusted what he said.

  “I don’t hate it.” He smiled. “In fact, I’m kind of excited about it.”

  She beamed at him, her smile lighting up her entire face. Her eyes shimmered with happiness as she replied.

  “I feel the same way,” she confirmed.

  He breathed an inward sigh of relief. A small part of him was always worried she was doing this out of a sense of obligation instead of voluntarily from her own free will. He’d given her an out at every turn, but she’d stayed and consented willingly to absolutely everything.

  Seeing the genuine happiness in her eyes now, the way he felt like she was caressing him with them eased all doubt from his mind.

  He reached his hands up and grasped her hair, guiding her mouth to his. He groaned as she leaned into him, kissing him back with equal fervor.

  He suddenly became very aware of her body on his, her soft skin causing his to feel warm under her touch, that ass that he had been dying to get his hands on in the early days of their relationship firmly pressed against his rapidly hardening cock.

  He freed one of his hands from her hair and stroked it down her arm and up her side, loving how she responded to his touch, how she shivered and moaned when he cupped her braless breast over her tank top.

  He deepened the kiss and groaned when she adjusted herself on his lap, straddling him now.

  He felt the heat radiating from her core through their thin pajama bottoms and rocked his hips up against her, causing her to buck her own as he swallowed the resulting moan.

  His fingers tweaked and rolled her hard nipple, enjoying her heartbeat quickening in her chest and her breathing becoming heavier. As her body responded, so did his, as if hers was calling out to him.

  He grasped her ass, fully intending to lift her and rid them of the suddenly offending clothing between them and sink into her as deep as he could, already practically hearing her moan and gasp as he thrust into her.

  Instead, he heard the sound of the front door opening and slamming shut as his brothers’ easy banter filled the house.

  “Fuck,” he breathed against her mouth as he tried to take a few calming breaths after breaking their kiss.

  He barely had time to adjust his raging hardon before they stormed into the kitchen and pulled up short as they surveyed the scene in front of them.

  Ashleigh blushed and dropped her head into his neck as Walker treated each brother to the most withering death stare he could muster.

  Neither moved a muscle. Colt and Sawyer both smirked and seemed more than a little amused at finally walking in on him in a compromising position.

  “Well, well. If it isn’t the soon-to-be-newlyweds trying to get it all this morning,” Colt joked as he moved over to the coffee maker.

  “Fuck off,” Walker muttered, pulling Ashleigh closer to him. “Whatever it is that you two want can wait.”

  “Actually, it can’t. Time’s a ticking and all that,” Saywer said, far too cheerfully for this time of the morning. “Sorry to cockblock you, bro, but I’ll buy you a tequila to ease the blue balls later. Right now, you gotta get your horny ass into a cold shower. It’s bachelor party time!”

  Walker winced and shook his head.

  “Nope, we’re too old for that shit. I’ll just have my bachelor party here with Ashleigh. We’ll celebrate our impending nuptials together, without you two. I’m not into that,” he quipped, but he kept his narrowed eyes trained on his brothers.

  “Naw,” Colt drawled. “Sorry, but I can’t allow it.”

  “And who appointed you as the executive decision maker for the Roman family, kid?” Walker shot at his youngest brother.

  This morning, Colt seemed too excited to react to his hated nickname. or he was simply refusing to be drawn into an argument that wouldn’t advance his primary one.

  “I did.” He smirked, his eyes glimmering with mischief and amusement.

  Ashleigh had moved off of Walker’s lap by now and was settled in the chair next to him.

  Colt poured a fresh mug of coffee for Sawyer, Ashleigh and himself and then trained his eyes on Walker’s.

  “Chop-chop, Walker! We’re on a schedule. Cold shower, stat!” He laughed. “Besides, it’s precisely because of our age that we have to do this.”

  “Who knows how many bachelor parties we have left in us?” Sawyer lamented, but he was grinning widely as he leaned against the wall. “And there’s no way we’re letting the last Roman enter the realm of marriage without giving you a proper send-off.”

  Ashleigh looked between the men and nodded decisively. “They’re right, you should go!”

  “Aren’t you supposed to be on my side, bride-to-be?” He shot her the sexiest grin he could muster and waggled his eyebrows at her.

  His brothers laughed at the desperate move, but Ashleigh blushed fiercely, squirming in her seat in a way that told him his grin had affected her as desired. Thankfully, his brothers were too busy laughing and telling him to ‘get a move on already’ for him to notice.

  For his part, Walker was focused on Ashleigh only. “Really, you should go,” she urged softly, keeping the conversation between them.

  “Are you sure? I’d much rather stay home with you,” he grumbled, already knowing that between her and his brothers, the battle was lost.

  “I’m sure, they’re your brothers, you should go have some fun with them.”

  Sawyer caught the last part of her sentence just as his banter with Colt lulled. He smiled at her with a wickedly amused look in his eyes.

  “Oh, don’t you worry. The girls are coming for you, too.” He winked at her quickly
as he turned back to his brother.

  Walker knew that the wink had meant nothing, that Sawyer was as in love with Remy as ever before and that he would never make a move on Walker’s girl either way, but he felt his blood boil at the gesture all the same.

  Sawyer immediately put two and two together and threw his hands up in mock surrender. Colt chuckled. “You need to get a grip, brother. Seriously!”

  “And a cold shower. Hustle, hustle!” Sawyer cheered as the momentary wrath in Walker’s gut passed.

  He shook his head, this girl -- you mean your fiancée, he reminded himself -- had his emotions all over the damn place.

  He’d almost just gone all caveman on his damn brother. The loving husband, doting father, fiercely loyal and protective brother. Yeah, that’s the one he’d almost just decked.

  Colt was right, he needed to get a grip.

  He nodded at Sawyer, who inclined his head in understanding before Walker headed to the shower.

  Ashleigh was going over the itinerary for the ceremony with Colt and Sawyer when he returned to the kitchen, pausing in the doorway to absorb the scene.

  Something unfamiliar twisted in his heart as he observed their easy conversation, the way she was all smiles and explaining, the way they were responding to her as though she was already part of the family.

  His brothers were listening to her intently, and Sawyer smiled when she explained Shiloh’s role.

  “He’s going to love that, Ash. Thank you.”

  She returned his smile shyly.

  “Of course he will!” Walker spoke as he finally strode in to join them. “Shiloh’s the coolest.”

  Sawyer slapped his hand over his heart and feigned hurt. “It hurts me so deep that neither of you say that about me.”

  “You’ve never been the coolest, Sawyer,” Colt joked, giving Walker a quick wink.

  “Bite me!” Sawyer growled, still grinning. “You ready to go, ‘Uncle Walker is the coolest’?”

  Colt’s shoulders drooped just a little before he perked up again. “I’ve gotta spoil Harper more, I’ll be the coolest uncle to her.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Walker teased, falling into his brothers’ banter. “Never gonna happen, kid.”

  Colt’s eyes lit up as he flashed Walker a grin. “Is that a challenge I hear?”

  “Sure,” he smirked confidently. “I’ve always been the coolest, everyone knows it.”

  His brothers howled with laughter, and even Ashleigh joined in.

  “Keep telling yourself that!” Colt grinned and shook his head. “Shall we get this show on the road, boys?”

  “Hells yeah!” Sawyer said as his laughter subsided. He slapped Walker on the back as he headed over to the door. “Remember, the girls will be here for you in an hour, Ash. Walker, make it a quick goodbye, we leave in exactly three minutes.”

  With that and a goodbye to Ashleigh, both of his brothers were out the door.

  She studied him for a second before he pulled her up from her chair and into his arms.

  “You sure about this?” he mumbled into her hair.

  “Yeah, I am,” she replied, but there was something off in her tone.

  He leaned down and pressed his mouth to her soft lips, wishing he had more than three minutes.

  “Just be safe,” she said. “Promise me?”

  “I will, baby. You, too. Call me if you need me, okay? I’ll come get you and we’ll come home if you’re not having fun.”

  He gave her another quick kiss just as he heard a horn honking outside.

  “Jeez,” he muttered. “I’m coming, I’m coming.”

  He turned to look at her one last time just before a longer, more insistent honk sounded and he bounded out the door.

  The look he’d seen flash across her face haunted him all the way to New Orleans. He didn’t like the troubled look he’d seen in her eyes, or the way she’d bit her lip when she’d made him promise to be safe.

  It gave him a sense of foreboding that lingered in his gut, no matter how hard he tried to shake it off.

  23

  True to Sawyer’s word, Remy’s car pulled up just under an hour later and Remy, Rose and Shelby spilled out. Ashleigh and Shelby had interacted several times since the unfortunate incident at the fair and Shelby had assured her that there’d never been anything real between her and Walker, that it had all been rumors.

  Despite herself, Ashleigh had found herself having fun with Shelby once or twice. The girl had a big personality and an infectious laugh once you got to know her. Or perhaps she always had, and Ashleigh had simply been too jealous to notice.

  She smiled as their familiar giggles reached her ears after they’d let themselves in the house.

  “If it isn’t the sexy soon-to-be Mrs. Roman!” Shelby exclaimed, clapping her hands in delight and rushing over to hug her.

  A little weird, but Ashleigh would allow it.

  Rose had told her yesterday that Shelby had befriended her just after she’d come into town and had warned her that once the girl decided she was going to be your friend, she was quite tenacious and wouldn’t give up easily.

  Since Shelby was Remy’s sister and Ashleigh would soon be Remy’s sister-in-law, she’d decided to give Shelby a chance.

  It would make things too awkward to remain jealous of her, especially if she was going to be a part of the family -- and she desperately wanted to be part of their family.

  After all, she’d reminded herself, she was the one sleeping in Walker’s bed, the one living in his house and the one he’d be marrying in less than two days. By the day after tomorrow, she’d be the one taking the Roman name as Walker’s bride.

  “Alright, who’s ready to partay?” Rose cheered, carrying a duffel bag over her narrow shoulders.

  Ashleigh noticed then that all three girls were dressed in fitted black tights and tops with sky-high heels.

  “First things first, we need to get you dressed,” Remy explained and dragged her to the bedroom. “Where’s your closet?”

  Ashleigh led her to the door of the walk-in and let her in. Remy gave a low whistle as she turned in the large space.

  “And here I was thinking mine was big!” She giggled and wasted no time in rummaging through Ashleigh’s clothes. She pulled a pair of white jeans from the rack, found a tight white long-sleeved shirt and grabbed a pair of glittery pink heels that Ashleigh had never had the opportunity to wear.

  Shelby and Rose had busied themselves emptying the duffel bag and spreading its contents onto the bed while Ashleigh and Remy had been choosing clothes.

  There were three dark pink shirts with black lettering, one lighter pink shirt with white lettering and a shiny, silver tiara with what Ashleigh assumed were plastic or glass ‘diamonds’ shimmering in it.

  Rose picked up the lighter pink shirt with a flourish and held it against her body to show off first the front and then the back.

  Ashleigh gasped as she read the words printed on it. The front read ‘I’m almost Mrs. Roman,’ while the back read ‘Bride-to-be.’

  Rose tossed the shirt at her and then each of the girls reached for one of the darker pink shirts that read ‘Bridesmaid’ on the front and ‘Team Bride!’ on the back.

  Remy blushed as Ashleigh read the words, but grinned when she saw Ashleigh’s lips turn up into a huge smile.

  “Really?” she exclaimed. “You’d be my bridesmaids?”

  “Of course, silly! We’d love to, if you’ll have us?” Rose said.

  “Of course!” Happy tears pricked the back of her eyes. She’d never imagined that she’d actually have girls who’d want to be her bridesmaids.

  “Well good,” Remy said. “'Cause we already helped you plan the wedding, organized the bachelorette party and ordered our dresses -- just in case.”

  “Thank you, thank you so much. This means…” She trailed off, unable to find the right words.

  “It’s our absolute pleasure, Ash,” Rose said as she hugged her. “Now get dressed, ladies, let’s
get this show on the road.”

  Ashleigh smiled as Rose unknowingly repeated Colt’s exact words from earlier. She hoped that she and Walker would be that in sync one day.

  Each girl pulled on her bridesmaid shirt and then clucked around Ashleigh, doing her hair and makeup and finally placing the tiara on her head with so much fanfare it was like they were bestowing some huge honor on her.

  In a way though, they were. They were welcoming her to their family. It made her heart swell and sing in her chest, and she couldn’t stop smiling.

  They were halfway to New Orleans before her smile faltered at the realization of their destination.

  The girls were chattering excitedly about their plans around her and thankfully didn’t seem to notice that she was less than enthusiastic now. She’d thought they go to the bar in town or perhaps even just a restaurant nearby for lunch. She’d never imagined that they were going full on New Orleans bachelorette party, though she shouldn’t have been so surprised. These girls didn’t half-ass anything.

  The day passed quickly and while her guard was up all the time, she found herself occasionally relaxing and having fun.

  The girls attributed her apparent nervousness to pre-wedding jitters and told hilarious stories about their own pre-wedding jitters.

  Shelby regaled them with tales about the crazy things that some of her friends from town had gotten up to in the final days before their weddings, and she had them all clutching their stomachs and wiping tears of laughter from their eyes -- Ashleigh included, until she grew somber each time she remembered where was.

  “Then there’s the best story of all, I thought Remy was suddenly crazy nervous about the wedding, what with the secret vomiting and all.”

  Remy shot her a sideways look. “You knew?”

  “About the vomiting, of course I knew.” She giggled.

  “Turns out, she was just pregnant again! I must admit, I didn’t see that one coming.”

  Remy swatted Shelby’s arm as she started making inappropriate comments about Remy obviously seeing Sawyer coming, and Rose howled with laughter.