Page 119 of Fatal Vision

Shelby sat a cup of steaming coffee on the bar in front of him and grabbed her own for a sip. “As long as we’re at the courthouse, what do you think about…you know.”

Her gaze dipped to the gold band he still wore on his left ring finger. She’d dug out her engagement ring and matching band before they’d left Oklahoma and wore them on her left ring finger as well.

They were married, but not. At least according to the law. The connection in their hearts was as strong as ever.

He could not have cared less, since he’d known he’d never be married to anyone else, regardless of what some paper said. “You asking me to make an honest woman of you?”

She grinned over her cup. “I’m not sure that’s possible, but yes, I’d like to set things straight.”

Marcelo’s wide eyes went back and forth between them as he shoveled mouthfuls of his breakfast in.

“No Mama and Daddy Claiborne in attendance?”

“Nope. Just Connor, Sabrina, Jaya, and Jon.”

“No.” He wiped his mouth with his napkin. “The Wicked Witch of the West got to attend the first wedding and look how that turned out.”

“We need witnesses, Sabrina needs a break from physical therapy, and of course, I’m inviting my best friend. I already checked with Beatrice and she okayed vacation hours for this afternoon for you, Connor, and Jon.”

Connor was back at work, Sabrina still in recovery but doing well. She was living at her dad’s swanky million-dollar townhouse a block from SFI headquarters, which made it easy for Connor to run back and forth to keep an eye on her.

Jaya was in town playing nursemaid to Jon and dropping in at Colton’s apartment at the worst possible times.

Which amounted to always.

Not that Jon needed nursing—he was as tough as Colton and had been back to work for a couple of weeks. Light duty, poor guy. Colton snickered at the memory of Jon answering phones with Sloane strapped to his chest in some kind of carrier.

But Jaya liked the excuse to stalk him, and Jon, warped son of a bitch that he was, liked being stalked by a loudmouthed, purple-haired ballbuster of a woman.

“If you two are getting hitched,” Marcelo said, “I get to skip school.”

“I made the appointment with the judge for three o’clock,” Shelby said to the kid. “Jaya will pick you up after your last class and bring you to the courthouse.”

The kid’s eyes lit up. “Cool! Do I need a tux?”

“Tux?” Shelby laughed. “Your jeans will be fine.”

She grinned at Colton. “So what do you say, Bells? You brave enough to marry me a second time?”

He toyed with his pancakes for a moment, a burning wetness behind his eyes.

This woman. She’d been the only one to ever believe in him growing up, and even after all the times he’d let her down, she still wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.

“Colton?” The smile slid off her face. “Are you all right?”

He stood, kicking the stool back. Two strides and he was on her side of the breakfast bar. Taking the cup from her hands, he pulled her close and looked into her eyes.

“I don’t know what I ever did to deserve you, Shelby Claiborne, but I can tell you one thing—you make me the bravest man on this planet every time you look at me. You’re the best thing in my life and I’ll never be whole without you.”

She studied his face. “Is that a yes?”

He laughed and then kissed her deeply, bending her over the bar. Marcelo had to grab his plate and move it. Salisbury, always up for a game, jumped and barked at them.

When they came up for air, Colton smirked at her half-lidded eyes and the mewing sound she made when he broke away. “Now, what do you think, sweetheart?”

Her answer was to grab him by the back of the head and pull him in for another soul-drenching kiss.

“Um, guys?” Marcelo’s voice was laced with embarrassment in the background. “I do need a ride if you’re not letting me skip school.”