“Oh, dear.” Amelia blew her nose again, so loudly Mrs. Pig squealed.
Pickles started in, too, but Natalia could only stare at Amelia. “You’re scaring me.”
“You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this event,” Amelia said. “It’s true love. It’s beautiful. You’re going to be so happy.”
“But she hasn’t agreed yet,” Tim said quietly. “Or said…
“No,” Amelia agreed, swiping her eyes. “But she feels
Natalia looked into Tim’s anxious eyes. “I feel it,” she seconded.
“I want to hear you say it.”
She’d never done so before. She’d never even thought it. In fact, before Texas, before Tim, she’d honestly worried about herself, wondering how she’d ever manage to find a man who would love her for her.
That was no longer a fear. In fact, all her fears…gone. “I love you,” she said with the most conviction she’d ever felt. “I love you, Timothy Banning.”
Amelia beamed at Tim through her tears. “See?”
“A moment ago you were ready to clobber me with your umbrella,” Tim pointed out, looking a little baffled by Amelia’s easy affection.
“She’s fierce, but loyal.” Natalia couldn’t help herself. Everything was perfect, and she cried and laughed at the same time. “And I don’t want you to give up anything for me. I really do want to live here.” She looked at Amelia. “You’ll come often.”
“You know I will.”
Tim looked positively flabbergasted.
“But there’s one thing,” Natalia warned.
“Anything,” Tim promised rashly.
“If I’m not pregnant from the broken condom-”
Amelia gasped, then smacked Tim upside the back of the head.
He held his head. “Hey!”
“It wasn’t his fault, Amelia.” Natalia grinned. “I think he needed a bigger size.”
The hoots and hollers from the gang increased intensely.
Tim, beet red, closed his eyes. “She’s making that part up,” he muttered.
“As I was saying…” Natalia continued. “If I’m not pregnant…” She waited until Tim opened his eyes. “I want to be,” she finished softly. “Is that okay?”
Eyes suspiciously bright, Tim reached out and pulled her close. “Nothing has ever been more okay. I love you, Princess.”
“Her Serene Highness,” Amelia corrected him.
“How about Princess In The Wild, Wild West?” Red called out helpfully.
“How about Pain-In-My-Tushie turned Favorite-Sister-In-Law?” Sally called out, also helpfully.
“How about Mrs. Natalia Banning?” Tim said firmly.
Natalia’s heart squeezed. “I like that one best.”
Her Knight To Remember
Prologue
“LOOK, I OWE YOU, all right?”
“Yeah, just don’t forget it.” Kyle Moore stared at his reflection in the mirror. He was wearing a tux, for God’s sake. It wasn’t pretty. Neither was being squeezed into a dressing room the size of a thimble-all six feet three inches of him-with his baby brother peeking over his shoulder.
Kevin-some baby at just over six feet himself-took a good look. “Tomorrow that will be me,” he said, paling slightly.
“You can still run like hell. In no time you could be out of New Mexico on your way to anywhere. I’ll even take you,” Kyle offered, in a blatant, desperate, last-ditch effort to get out of being the best man and having to wear the bloody tux.
Kevin smiled and shook his head. “Nah, I’m sort of fond of Taos. And of my life.” Reaching up, bashing his elbows on the walls in the process, he attempted to adjust his brother’s bow tie. “Besides, I’ll look better in the tux than you do.”
“No doubt.” Kyle still wasn’t sure how it had happened, but Kevin had gone ahead and done the unthinkable. He’d fallen in love. It made him do stupid things like sighing dreamily for no reason, or staring off into space for long moments at a time. It made him happy to be trying on a tux.
Insanity.
Kyle shuddered and hoped it wasn’t contagious. Not that he had a problem with commitment. Hell, he’d been committed all his life. First, to helping his mother raise Kev, then to spending the last decade being a cop, taking down every scum he could get his hands on.
Truth be told, he was tired. Very tired. In fact, he wanted a nice long leave of absence to…do whatever. Bike across Europe. Sail the Greek Islands. Nap in the Bahamas. Anywhere far from here.
But right now, this tux was starting to itch. “I’ve got to get to work.”
“You just closed a case,” Kevin said. “You’re entitled to a little personal time after killing yourself for weeks on end for the job.”
It was months, but who was counting. “I’ve got paperwork.”
“You work too hard, Kyle.”
Yes, but in all these years Kevin had never noticed before. Chances were, he hadn’t really noticed until now-he just needed something from Kyle.
Well, too bad. Today was actually a day off, a rarity, and he didn’t plan to waste another second of it. But before he could get out of the jacket, Kevin stopped him.
“Don’t go yet.”
Kyle shrugged him off. “This thing is making me claustrophobic.”
“Badass cops don’t get claustrophobic.”
“This one does.” Plus, it was hard to be a tough, badass cop wearing a ridiculously overpriced tux with a pink satin-
“Lissa,” Kevin admitted. “She has a thing for pink. It’s not that bad, really. Squint your eyes a little and it even looks good.”
“Yeah, if I squint them closed.”
Kevin started fussing with Kyle’s bow tie. “A guy only gets married once.”
“Not if he’s lucky-” Kyle’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head when Kevin cranked the bow tie, cutting off his air circulation. “Hey!” he croaked, waving his hands. “Too tight.”
“It looks just right to me.”
Kyle shoved his brother’s hands away and let in some air. Definitely, he was going to take a vacation. As soon as this was over. He’d go count sand granules in Mexico. Or go castle combing in Scotland. Maybe he’d never come back.
Well, he’d have to, because there was Kevin, who had always needed him.
And suddenly Kyle had to know his brother would be okay. “Hey, Kev…are you sure?”
“Sure?”
“About this.”
“Yeah, I think I’ll look good.”
“Not the style of the tux, Kev. The wedding.”
“Are you kidding?” His brother set his chin on Kyle’s shoulder and sent him a dopey grin. “Sex every night? Waking up with the woman of my dreams sharing my pillow? Having dinner ready for me when I get home?”
