“But you need proof?” she ventured.
“And it can’t be sex.”
“Too bad.” Her voice dropped low. “I’ve been thinking about sex all week.”
Something twitched in his expression.
“I missed you so much,” she told him. “I thought about you all morning. I imagined you pulling me back into your arms, holding me tight, and telling me everything was going to work out for us.”
“And instead I threatened to sell your home out from under you.”
“I should have listened longer. And it shouldn’t have mattered. I should have been able to handle the hard truth.”
“I should have started with the punch line.”
“I love you, Alec. I don’t know how to prove that to you, but I’m willing to do anything you say.”
A grin twitched the corners of his mouth. “Marry me?”
“I already did.”
He reached out and took her hands in his. “Have my baby? No. Wait. You’re already doing that.”
She couldn’t help but smile.
“And since we’re already having amazing sex…” He drew her in closer. “I can’t come up with a single thing that would definitively prove you love me.”
“I could shoot somebody,” Stephanie ventured.
His hand slipped to the back of her neck, fingers burrowing into her hairline. “What are you talking about?”
“Amber said it was some kind of a joke. It meant you loved me.”
“I do love you,” he admitted, and a heavy weight lifted from Stephanie’s chest. “But there’ll be no shooting involved.”
“Okay by me. Hey, I have an idea.”
“Shoot.”
She rolled her eyes. “What if we live happily ever after? We pull that off, you can be sure that I love you.”
Alec smiled as he leaned in. “Deal.” Then his lips came down on hers, and he drew her tightly into the circle of his strong arms.
She pressed her body against him, clinging to him, loving him with ever fiber of her being.
Epilogue
After considering nearly every wedding location on the planet, Amber had finally decided on a casual wedding at the ranch. She and Royce were married in the meadow overlooking Evergreen Falls.
She’d confided in Stephanie that it was as far removed as she could get from a cathedral and a ballroom in Chicago-the plan she’d had in place with her former fiance, the one who was now married to Katie, her best friend and maid of honor.
It was full on summer, a year since Stephanie had met Alec. Their baby girl was now three months old, and little Heidi had slept the ceremony away in her father’s arms. Now she was resting her head on his shoulder, staring wide-eyed at the lively country band that had taken over the deck of the ranch house.
The patio had turned into a dance floor, with the overflow spilling onto the lawn.
“You going to start riding again?” Royce asked Stephanie as he twirled her in his arms to the sweeping strains of a breakup song.
“I just got the okay from the doctor.”
“But did you get the okay from Alec?”
Stephanie laughed. “Did you get the okay from Amber to keep flying?”
Her brother frowned.
“Same thing,” she pointed out.
“Not exactly.”
“Yes, exactly.”
“How many times have you fallen off a horse?”
“Dozens,” she responded. “Hundreds.”
“I rest my case. I’ve never once fallen out of my airplane.”
Stephanie caught the warm gaze of her husband, and he playfully waved Heidi’s hand in her direction.
“Alec wants me to ride,” she informed her brother.
“Alec wants you to smile. Trust me, he doesn’t want you to ride.”
“He can’t stop me.”
“He can get you pregnant again.”
“He would nev-” Stephanie frowned. Wait a minute. Was that why he was being so cavalier about birth control?
Royce started to laugh.
Stephanie stopped dancing and drew back from his arms. She turned, eyes narrowing in Alec’s direction.
Alec shot back a look of confusion.
“Melissa,” Royce sang, drawing his six months pregnant sister-in-law into his arms.
“What did you say to her?” Melissa’s laughing voice followed Stephanie to the edge of the patio.
Alec’s brows narrowed in confusion, while Heidi gurgled and waved her arms toward Stephanie.
“How many kids do you want?” she asked Alec, retrieving her daughter and settling Heidi against her shoulder.
“As many as I can get,” he answered with a grin.
“I’m not giving up riding.”
“Huh?”
“You can’t keep me pregnant all the time.”
“Who says I’m trying to keep you pregnant?”
“Royce.”
Alec’s gaze shot past her. “Well, what the hell does Royce know?”
She leaned in. “You didn’t want to use a condom last night.”
Alec lowered his voice. “You’re still breast-feeding.”
“It’s not foolproof.”
“Nothing’s foolproof.”
“I’m jumping Rosie-Jo tomorrow,” she warned.
“Go for it. I’ll baby-sit.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. And stop listening to your brother. He’s trying to stir up trouble.”
Stephanie glanced to where her brother had switched dance partners once more. He now held his bride, Amber, in his arms, her gauzy white dress flowing around the satin slippers on her feet. He whispered something in her ear, and she smacked him in the shoulder. He just grinned and winked.
That was her brother Royce, all right, stirring up trouble.
“I think our princess is tuckered out,” said Alec, smoothing his hand over Heidi’s silky hair as her mouth stretched in a wide yawn.
Stephanie smiled. “Home?”
“Home.” He nodded.
She turned and caught Amber’s gaze, giving her a little wave.
Amber mouthed, “thank you,” keeping her head tucked against Royce’s shoulder. They’d see each other for a proper goodbye in the morning before the couple left on their honeymoon.
“Want me to take her?” asked Alec as they made their way toward the stairs to the deck. Through the house was the fastest way to the driveway and their truck.
“I’m fine,” Stephanie answered, starting up the short staircase while Alec kept close behind.
Heidi’s warm little body relaxed into sleep, even as they passed the drummer.
