Page 109 of Say it Ain’t So

“Nonsense.” I dropped a kiss to her lips and tightened my hold around her waist. “I’m never letting you go. You’re mine for eternity.”

“You know that’s not what I meant.” She rolled her eyes before giving an awkward smile to someone over my shoulder.

I clutched her tighter, and she snaked her arms around my neck, pressing her lips close to my ear.

“You’re cute when you're jealous.”

“Not jealous,” I told her, even as my hands squeezed to hold her tighter.

It was our wedding reception. Why did anyone other than the groom get to dance with the bride?

Joss giggled as someone tapped on my shoulder. Someone whose face I would happily bash with my fist if he so much as thought about touching my wife the way he’d been touching his own girlfriend all night.

I shouldn’t be jealous. I knew that. But Joss and Van’s friendship had always made me stabby, even after I realized she had eyes for no one but me.

“Come on, man,” Van complained, “quit hogging the bride. You’re literally stealing her away tomorrow and disappearing for a month. The least you can do is let the people here gathered to celebrate the both of you see something other than your backs.”

With a grumble, I loosened my grip on my wife, only to shove her behind my back as I turned to him. “What if I don’t want to share?”

The words were barely out of my mouth before Joss squealed and the warmth of her body was ripped away from mine. I spun on my heel and found her laughing as Weston twirled her in a circle before dipping her low.

This time, the smile on her face stole my fucking breath.

Damn, she was gorgeous. Her cheeks flushed red as Weston pulled her upright again, holding her loosely in his arms and dancing with her to a slightly faster song. She flashed a look my way and I swore my heart was going to explode with how much I loved her.

“So.” Van bumped his shoulder against mine. “Where did you decide you’re jetting off to?”

I rubbed my palms together. “So many places,” I started, unable to contain my excitement. “First stop is St. Lucia. Then Joss’s got us booked for a jungle adventure in the Riviera Maya before we head over for some fun in the Galápagos Islands.”

There was so much to do, and no possible way we could get everything we wanted to experience squeezed into a single month. Joss may have tricked me into letting her choose our destinations, but I couldn’t have been happier with her choices.

This woman knew me. Knew there was no way I could spend a week laying on the beach and soaking up the sun—which had been my biggest worry when she insisted on going someplace warm. She went all out, planning every excursion available, not just in one locale, but three.

Scuba diving and zip lining. Hiking through the rainforest and up volcanic mountains. She’d surprised me with sky diving and claimed a little of her own joy by sending us to the Galápagos, where we were going to see as many critters as humanly possible.

She spent so many hours planning out every day, with backup plans in case anything went wrong, that we had enough to fill three months’ worth of vacation instead of just one.

Beside me, Van scrubbed his hand over his jaw. “The Galápagos, huh? Sounds a little more exciting than snowmobiling up north.”

I flinched as if he’d punched me.

Just another reason I couldn’t fault Joss for tricking me. When I’d found out Van owned snowmobiles and a mostly unused house back in North Dakota, I had jumped on the idea of heading up there to spend our honeymoon racing over the snow covered fields.

Joss poo pooed that idea faster than she could have said I told ya so.

“Don’t worry.” Van gripped my shoulder and gave me a hard shake. “My place is still open for you anytime you ask.”

Turning my face toward him, I raised a single brow. “You sure it’s not going to be in use?”

A grin I was still trying to get used to plastered itself to his face as he glanced across the room to his girl. “Yeah, about that. You might want to check with me first before you go making any plans.” He looked back at me, trying—and failing—to school his face. His brow furrowed and a half-assed scowl strained his lips. “You know, in case Patty’s on a rampage. Wouldn’t want to subject you to that.”

“Right.” I shoved his shoulder and let free the laughter bubbling in my chest.

He was so gone for her he couldn’t even pretend he wasn’t already planning a way to sneak her away again.

I turned my gaze back to Joss, finding her in the center of a group of our friends. Hands up in the air, smile stretching her face as she bounced and jumped to the sounds of the upbeat song pumping out of the speakers around the room.

The love of my life.