Page 149 of An Inevitable Marriage

Once again, Tristan hurried away, and when he came back, he had a tray of champagne flutes. Handing out a glass to everyone except my parents—my dad couldn’t drink because of the medication and my mom didn’t want him to feel left out—he held his in the air.

“Here’s to an unforgettable night with unforgettable people.”

We drank to that. And then we enjoyed the rest of our evening. I caught up with my mom and sister. Danced with my husband, and, of course, blushed furiously when the images for the new line were revealed.

And by the time the night was over and everyone said their goodbyes, I realized I’d do it all over again. Even the terrible things, because they were the ones that led me to eternal happiness.

Chapter forty-three

Liam

Itightenedthelastscrew just as the front door opened and closed. Excitement bubbled through my veins, and I hurried out of the room to intercept Snow before she stumbled upon my little project.

“How was brunch?” I asked with a kiss to her lips. “You girls have fun?”

She shrugged out of her coat and pulled her boots from her feet. Stepping up to me, she wrapped her arms around my waist. Her head rested against my chest, and she blew out a long breath.

I fucking loved when she did that.

“It was nice,” she said. “Cece still hasn’t landed her dream role, but she’s not done auditioning, so that’s good. Natalie is working on another line, and get this…” Snow glanced up at me.

As always, those green eyes pierced me right down to the bottom of my soul.

“They’re moving to Spain.”

That must have been hard for her to hear. Natalie was like a sister to her.

Gazing down at her, I tucked my fingers under her chin. “I guess all our vacations will be in Spain from now on.”

She smiled, and holy hell, even after six months of marriage, it still took my breath away. “I guess so.” Snow’s head went back to my chest, and her arms tightened around my waist. “What did you get up to today?”

I wanted to keep my surprise, well, a surprise, until much later, when everything was in place. But after hearing her best friend was moving away, I figured my wife could use some cheering up.

“Tristan and Rafe stopped by to help with a project I’ve been working on,” I said, resting my chin atop her head.

Again, she drew back to look at me. “Oh yeah? What project?”

Instead of answering her, I took her hand and led her down the hall to my study. It was the one place she usually avoided, which made it the perfect place for what I had in mind. Never taking my eyes off her, I opened the door and motioned for her to go inside.

“What’s this?” she asked, gaze frantically flicking over the mess.

I pointed toward the items. “That’s a wall-to-wall bookshelf, and that’s a reading chair with a holder for your Kindle and clicker attached. I still have to put your books on the shelves, but I wasn’t sure in what order you like them. Plus, I only just finished with the shelf.”

Moving in behind her, I wrapped my arms around her and held her body flush against my chest. I bent down and spoke next to her ear, “I want you to have a place you can escape to after a crazy day, but selfishly, I want that place to be close to me.”

That was why I’d set everything up in the study. I could easily work while she read, or I could just sit with her,bewith her.

“Oh, Liam.” Snow twisted in my arms and stared up at me.

I swear, I’d never get used to the way this woman looked at me.

“You didn’t have to do all this. I already have an escape.”

She pushed onto her toes, and because I wasn’t about to miss out on a kiss from my wife, I bent down to meet her mouth.

When we drew apart a while later, the smile on her lips stopped my heart in the best way possible.

“You’re all I need to drown out a crappy day,” she told me. “You’re my escape.”

I pushed my fingers into her silky tresses. “So, you’re saying I can pack everything up?”

“Don’t you dare. It’s here now; I might as well use it.” Her smile widened, and that familiar warmth spread behind my breastbone. “Wouldn’t want that hard work to go to waste.”

“Good,” I said, tugging her toward her books. “I peeked inside this one book, and there’s a scene I definitely want to recreate.”

Snow threw her head back and laughed, and shit, I still didn’t know how the fuck a guy like me had got so damn lucky. This woman found me at my worst and gave me life when I needed it most.

And for the rest of mine, I’d make sure she never had to wonder how incredibly loved she was.