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“Dad!” Cooper shouts, running across the yard toward me, a huge grin on his face. “Mom said that it’s okay if I stay the rest of the weekend with you!”
“All right!” I pump my fist into the air as he runs back toward the house—our new house. After some convincing—well, very little convincing—Callie and I were swayed by my family to build a house out on the ranch like everyone else, joining the family compound of weirdness.
Okay, it’s not weird.
It’s a gorgeous home with plenty of room to start a garden—which Callie has done, of course. She’s joined forces with my mom to create a secret oasis in the middle of the dry Texas heat. She also took it upon herself to decorate the inside of the house with every kind of houseplant imaginable, creating a homey atmosphere full of life and color.
We’re nearly a mile away from everyone, but it’s still closer than I ever thought I’d be. That being said, Callie loves it. She’s made herself the center of all the wives of my brothers, creating a wife club.
They meet in my living room every Thursday night to drink wine and complain about us—or something like that. They also read books and do other typical woman things. If it wasn’t so adorable, it might be obnoxious, but Callie can do anything she wants and I’m okay with it.
We got married a few months ago in Fiji, surrounded by all our loved ones. It was spectacular. The beach was the perfect backdrop, with white sand and turquoise water. We had a beautiful outdoor ceremony in a pavilion overlooking the ocean. Cooper was my best man, and Ava was our flower girl. Dad officiated of course—which was extra special, because he and I have become best friends over this past year. As we said our vows, the sun set slowly over the horizon, creating an atmosphere of peacefulness and love that I’ll never forget.
“Is baby Ella going to be here today?” Cooper asks me as we head to the house and I wave goodbye to Harper, who’s pulling out of the driveway.
“Yeah, I think Bailey is going to bring her by,” I answer him, my mind flashing to Sawyer and Bailey’s little girl, who’s nearly six months old now. Emma is pregnant, too—she and Carson finally got that going for them.
Hunter and Layla are still going strong with no kids. They’ve been traveling a lot and are enjoying every single moment together.
“Are you excited to have more cousins to play with?” Callie asks, her eyes landing on Cooper as she opens the door for the two of us.
“Yeah, but we’re gonna need more boys.” He smiles. Callie gives Cooper’s shoulder a squeeze as he takes off running into the house. I go to slide by her, but she catches my arm, pulling me right back to her. “Where do you think you’re going, rockstar?”
“Mmm,” I hum, instantly excited by the seductive tone in her voice. “Nowhere if you’re gonna start talkin’ to me like that.”
She giggles, leading me into the kitchen before standing on her tippy toes and planting a kiss on my jaw. “I was hoping that you and I could find some time later to, you know...”
“Celebrate that multi-platinum record that we made together?” I offer up, leaning my forehead against hers and wrapping my arm around her waist, feeling grateful I was able to convince her to sing on the album with me. Turns out, Callie really was the muse I didn’t know I needed. The album we wrote and produced together resonated with fans in a whole new way—it’s much more cheery than my previous albums. And I love it.
“Mmhmmm.” She nuzzles her nose against mine. “Or maybe...” she bites her lip in a way that drives me crazy.
“Or maybe we should talk about that soon-to-be movie of a book you wrote?” I offer, enjoying the tease of it all. Callie finished her novel not long after the open mic night at the coffee shop. Turns out a quick trip to Texas was in fact the inspiration she needed, because Fake Fiancé at First Sight very quickly became a number one New York Times Bestseller.
“Or maybe we should talk about the fact that your brother is playing you in the film.” She bursts into full-blown laughter. “I still can’t get over the fact that Hunter—the Hunter that rides horses backward and drinks too much Red Bull has gone to Hollywood to pretend to be you in the film.”
“I’m really not all that surprised.” I laugh with her. It started as a simple joke between us—Hunter and I have always been a bit competitive with each other—but the more we talked about it, the more it made sense. What better person to portray me on the big screen than my own brother? So after a few phone calls and some negotiations, Hunter ended up getting the part.
I hold Callie’s body tightly to mine. Things only seem to get better with time between the two of us, and it’s been the best year of my life. Everyone thought that we were crazy for the way that we just ran off and did the real thing after only knowing each other for six months, but it hasn’t failed us yet.
And it’s not going to.
I kiss her cheek softly, before slowly making my way down to her jaw and burying my face in the crook of her neck as I continue to kiss her.
“Wade, we have company,” she says, her voice coming out strained as her hands wrap around my neck.
She’s not that worried about company.
Her breath catches as we stumble back, pinning her against the wall in the kitchen. Everything is always so unbelievably exciting with this woman, and anyone who says marriage isn’t fun is crazy.
Well, it is hard work, too.
But this makes up for all of that.
My mouth hungrily captures hers as I pull her in tightly against me. I can feel her heart racing, and it only fuels the fire inside of me more. My hands grasp her hips as my tongue reaches out to caress hers. I can taste the sweet honey on her lips, and it makes my skin tingle with anticipation. She sighs into the kiss, pressing herself against me even more firmly. Suddenly all I can think about is how perfect this moment is.
How perfect she is.
I run my fingertips along her jaw, and up to the nape of her neck while our mouths continue to move together in a heated frenzy. Her body melts into mine as she wraps her arms around my neck and entwines her fingers into my hair—a move that never fails to make me weak in the knees. Before long, we’re both lost in our passionate embrace, completely unaware of anything else going on around us.
