Page 49 of Final Temptation (Alpine Peak #2)

Seeing the one day come together that I’d been working so hard to plan for Paige and Declan, finally, there was a surreal feeling.

Even though I knew it would all look seamless, seeing every detail in front of me, and not on a Pinterest mood board or my binder full of photos and printouts, was a completely different story.

The real-life image of the light-colored flowers, the accent colors incorporated in all the decor, the food and menus, the dresses and suits, the natural background of Cherry Creek —it all only lit a fire under my ass to book my next bride.

The final outcome of it all wasn’t just work.

It was fun. I’d never been confident in what I wanted to do with my life until today.

Until the moment I got to see it all come together—the moment I stepped back and saw every guest grinning and having the time of their lives.

But most of all, Paige and Declan were happy, and to my knowledge, they wouldn’t change anything.

Except for the dessert, that is.

About a month ago, they canceled the cake. Even though the flavors were out of this world, amazing—they opted to have French toast served at their wedding instead.

Weird right? Some may think so. But with it being their wedding day, who was I to judge?

Over a year ago, me and Paige had a girls’ night, and not only was it the night Myles and I kissed for the first time, but it was also the night she told me all about a wild morning her and Declan had with French toast. Ever since, it has been a staple sweet treat for them.

The entire ceremony had been a blur. Every time I looked at Declan and the way he looked at Paige, I found myself staring at Myles with the same adoration.

Our eyes were locked on each other from the beginning of the ceremony, through the vows, all the way until the end, when we linked arms and walked back down the aisle, trailing behind the bride and groom.

My head was still dizzy with thoughts of that man, even with the ceremony behind us.

You Are in Love by Taylor Swift played over the speakers, inviting the guests to the dance floor. It was a slower song and the perfect excuse to get my hands on Myles.

He was across the way, chatting with Chase, but just like me, the song caught his attention. It was almost as if he could sense my stare. Stopping his conversation with his best friend, he walked in my direction.

“May I have this dance?” He inched closer, whispering in my ear. Even all these months later, he still knew how to make the hair on my skin stand straight up.

“You have no idea how badly I’ve wanted to touch you today.”

“I’ll take that as a yes, then.” He winked, taking my hand and leading me to the dance floor.

My hands snaked around him, feeling the hairs on the nape of his neck roll between my fingers. I couldn’t take my eyes away from his; the look in those baby blues told me he was thinking the same damn thing I was.

“Something about weddings and love makes me?—”

“Same,” I cut him off, assuming we were on the same wavelength.

“I didn’t even finish what I was saying, though. How do you know they make you feel the same way as they make me feel?” Myles perked an eyebrow up.

“If horny or deeply, madly, in love was what you were getting at…then, same.” My teeth sank into my bottom lip. The slick heat between my legs and the way I wanted to grab his face and kiss him in front of everyone without a care in the world wasn’t the only thing going through my mind.

“Mm, I knew I fell in love with you for a reason.” The deep timber in his voice vibrated against my hair.

“Yeah, and what reason is that?”

“You’re the perfect match for me, Soph. You understand every thought that goes through my head, and even when you don’t, you hear me out and talk with me until you do.

All it takes with you is one look. One look to know we both have the same need, and that need is to tear each other’s clothes off right now. ”

“What if I said I had one other thing lingering in my mind? A thought I can’t shake?”

“I’d say, whatever that thought may be, I probably feel the same.”

I took a deep breath, my nerves all of a sudden kicking in. “Weddings also bring out the hopeless romantic in me,” I began.

“I’ve known this about you since the moment I met you, Soph. You’ve always been a hopeless romantic in my eyes.” I smiled at his comment before finishing my thought.

“Planning this whole thing, and seeing it come to life… It makes me think of my own wedding one day,” I admitted.

“Do you see me standing by your side?” his words mumbled into my hair once more before he lifted his gaze to mine, awaiting my answer.

Water glossed over my eyes, the emotion hitting me, taking me completely by surprise. He could have said anything— where do you see yourself getting married? When do you see yourself getting married? What kind of dress do you have in mind?

Instead, he hit me with the one question I’ve known the answer to all along. I told myself every day for five long weeks that if he woke up, if he came back to me, I refused to let him leave. It would be him and me; until death do us part.

“Without a fucking doubt, Myles Cooper.” Unable to hold it back, the corners of my lips lifted into a smile.

“One day, I’m going to put a ring on your finger.

One day, I will make sure you get a wedding just like this, or in whichever way you want it.

One day, I’m going to call you, my wife .

Until then, I’m going to keep showing you each and every day how much I love you and continue to work on myself to be the man you deserve. ”

A single tear rolled down my cheek.

I love this man so damn much; he had no idea how truly amazing he’s always been. He didn’t need to live up to a certain expectation to be a man I deserved . He would always be enough just the way he was.

“I love you, Myles. That won’t change. I’ll love you in every form you come in.

Whether that’s the playboy I first knew you as—the boy who hid his feelings and true self behind random women, or the man who felt his absolute lowest and couldn’t communicate with me for weeks on end because of it, or the man standing here, right now, telling me he loves me so much he wants to call me his wife someday.

I’ll love you through it all, Myles.” My heart pounded, the truth spilling out of me like my future vows.

“Soph, you have no idea how badly I want to show you with my hands, my mouth, and my whole body, how much I love you right now,” he growled with one hand on my lower back, creeping closer to my ass, the other hand gripping my jaw, pulling me into a mind-blowing kiss.

The electricity between our kisses on almost every occasion showed me alone that he was the one. I wouldn’t be feeling this intensely about a kiss if this kiss—this person—wasn’t meant to be in my life forever.

His lips were warm and soft, sucking me in, causing me to forget where we were with every swipe of his tongue against mine. All I knew was that the song playing in the background started fading, and we were in our own bubble.

Our own little world.

My hands gripped his hair as the stubble on his chin scratched my skin with every dive his tongue took into my mouth, the metal of his piercing swiping against my tongue. My knees were weak, and I didn’t have the strength to pull away from his lips.

“Baby, we gotta take this somewhere else. I need you now, and I can’t be the one to ruin my brother’s wedding because I fucked the Maid of Honor on the dance floor.” My eyes fluttered open at his words, my mouth immediately missing the warmth of his.

I was in a complete daze.

I needed him too.

Think quick, Sophie.

“Honestly, you’ve taken away my ability to think right now. I know I need you too, but where to run off to, I couldn’t tell you.” I shrugged.

“Did you really think I’d come to a wedding with my smoking hot girlfriend, and not have a plan on where to fuck her later?” My cheeks heated.

I fucking love a man with a plan.

“Fair,” I answered, “where to then?”

“Follow me.” Myles pulled me toward the dirt path, leading back to the farmhouse. Luckily, everyone around us seemed completely enamored with their own thing. Whether that was dancing, drinking, or talking with the other wedding guests, their attention was anywhere but on us.

“Myles! Slow down!” I called through gritted teeth. Coming to a complete stop, I pointed down at my high heels with a pout.

I didn’t have the same speed in my heels as I did all those months ago when we raced at Emerald Lake .

Myles didn’t think twice before scooping me up in his arms, continuing at the same pace. “Sure are living up to the nickname I gave you, aren’t you Rebel?” Out of habit, my finger brushed against his bottom lip.

“Damn right, I am, Princess.”

After we made it to the top of the hill, Myles steered me into the house, straight to the kitchen.

“Your grand plan was to what… Take me right here on the counter for anyone who needs to use the bathroom to co me in and see?” I stood in the middle of the kitchen with my hands on my hips.

“You mean you wouldn’t like that?” he teased, grabbing my hips and pulling me closer.

“But seriously, what if someone needs to use the restroom? Or what if Paige and Declan decide to leave their wedding and come up here to fuck? Since they are the bride and groom after all.”

“Then I guess we’d better hurry.” He nipped at my neck, his hands already groping up and down my body.

“Wait, wait, wait. Should we lock the door or something?” I panicked.

As kinky as we had been, nothing about my dad potentially walking in on us screamed sexy .

“Baby, stop worrying so much. I have it handled.”

“Handled?” The word slipped out in a semi-worried but horny whimper.

“Chase followed us up.” His voice was calm.

“What!” I pushed against his chest. “Does he have some kink for listening to others fuck or something?”

“Depends. How loud do you plan to scream my name, Soph?” Myles backed me up against the counter.