I smiled, knowing we were indeed a couple. And my fiancé was hot. And sweet. And mine.
“Do you think they’ll like me?” I asked. I had no family, so it was incredibly important his liked me.
“They’ll love you like I do, though my brothers had better keep their hands to themselves.”
I snorted. I had no doubt they would. Thankfully, none of them had been remotely interested when we’d met at the club that night in Vegas.
“I’m just nervous.”
He kissed that place by my ear that always made me shiver. “Then let me distract you.”
* * * *
Chase’s parents’ home was large, but not enormous or pretentious. Just a comfortable upper, middle-class home. I was kind of thankful for that. A mansion would have been overwhelming, considering I had a one-bedroom apartment back in Chicago.
As he maneuvered up the drive in his Tesla, Christmas carols played quietly on the radio. He held my hand, his thumb brushing up and down and occasionally playing with the ring he’d placed there last night.
“So I’m okay with moving here—”
“Good. Otherwise, my commute home would be a bitch.”
I laughed. “You’re ridiculous.”
“No, I love you. I lived without you for three months, and that was three months and a day too long.”
I smiled softly, dipping my chin at his sweetness. “The question is, what will I do here?”
“Plan our wedding. You can do whatever you want.”
My brow raised, and I gave him the stink-eye. “Seriously, Chase.”
“I am serious.”
I shook my head. “I’m not exactly one to sit around and do nothing. Sure, it would be nice for about a week. But after that, I’d be bored out of my mind. And don’t say you’d keep me busy. You have to work, too. You have a company to run.”
“We can use a coder.”
The look I leveled him was full of disbelief.
“We’re looking to expand into security. It’s a natural extension of what we do, with many of our clients needing extensive systems. We’ve been developing a team.”
“And you want me to be on the team?”
“Or head it up.”
I nodded. “So you want me to be on the team?” I repeated, letting him know I was not stepping into some management position he may or may not have created for me.
“We’ll talk about it,” he countered.
So this was real life, working out our differences and figuring out how to mesh together. Worth it. Totally worth it. I squeezed his hand.
Then I let go so he could park. He turned to me. “Let’s go meet Mom and Dad.”
“You haven’t met them?” I teased.
“Smartass.”
“Do they know I’m coming?”
“They do, and my mom is so damn excited.”
And she was. The second I met Sara Malloy, she pulled me into a big hug. I was passed to her husband, Sean, then embraced by each of Chase’s brothers, Luke, Bennett, Jameson and Tatum. They each seemed to take pleasure in Chase’s growls.
He yanked me back to his side, locking me against him. I kissed his shoulder. “Calm down,” I whispered. “You know I’m all yours.”
“How about some eggnog?” he said, sweeping me away from everyone. Well, almost. Luke trailed behind us.
Chase lifted his hand to forestall whatever his brother was going to say. “No business talk.”
“You’ve been gone for a week.”
“A planned week. Whatever it is, it can wait five more days until we’re all back in the office after the holiday break.”
Luke scowled.
I looked up at Chase. “If you need to talk, it’s okay. I should check in with Laura. I haven’t called to wish anyone Merry Christmas.”
Luke perked up. “Laura?”
“Yeah. My friend whose engagement we were celebrating the night I met Chase.”
His expression darkened. “Is she married yet?”
“Not yet.” My phone rang then, and I pulled it out. “Speak of the devil,” I laughed.
“Speak of an angel,” he muttered.
Shaking my head, I took a few steps away. “Laura? Merry Christmas,” I answered.
“Hey, Em. Are you back in Chicago?”
“Not exactly.”
“Crap. Well, when will you be back? I kinda need a place to stay.”
“What’s going on?” I asked, concern leaking into my voice.
Chase came up beside me, wrapping his arm around my waist. “Okay?” he asked.
I nodded, listening to my friend, who sounded really upset.
“I left home. Told them I wasn’t marrying some guy they arranged for me. He was supposed to show up today, and my dad locked me in my room because he said I was damn well going to marry Matteo. I had to break my way out!”
“Tell her to come here,” Luke said from my other side, and I realized Laura was so agitated both Chase and Luke had heard her, too. “If they know where you live,” he continued, “they’ll look for her there. They won’t look here.”
“You’re right. Laura, listen…” Quickly, I told her where I was and explained she should come to Vegas and why. Then Chase took the phone and gave her directions.
“She’ll be here tomorrow morning,” he told me, handing back the phone. I stuck it away and took his hand. He pulled me close, resting his head atop my head. I looped my arms around his waist. I tipped my head back to look up at him. I loved the easy intimacy and knowing I belonged to him.
“Guess it works out that your maid of honor will be here, since I don’t want to wait for the wedding.”
I sighed. “You have a one-track mind.”
“When it comes to you? Yes, I do. It’s you and me forever, babe. Knew it from the first second.”
I rested my head on his chest, absorbing the sound of his steady heartbeat, the sound of my future. “I know. I think I did, too.”
Epilogue
~ Emerson ~
One Month Later
Chase: Is it time yet?
Em: Ten minutes.
Chase: Too long.
Em: You’ll live. Just stay out of the water, okay?
We were back on a ship. Crazy, huh? I know Chase thought I was crazy when I told him I wanted to get married on the ship where we’d had our Christmas cruise. What could I say? It
