One in a Million(78)

Troy broke eye contact and stared out the window. “I do know it.”

“Well…good.”

Troy eyed him warily. “So do we have to, like, hug now or something?”

“Yeah,” Tanner said, and snagged Troy with an arm around the neck and pulled him in, giving him a knuckle rub on the head first for good measure.

With another of those precious laughs, Troy shoved free. “Hope you got that out of your system.”

“I probably didn’t,” Tanner said. “I might feel the need to tell you that. A lot.”

“And the hugging?” Troy asked, the wary look on his face just a front now.

“I don’t know, man,” Tanner said. “I kinda liked it.”

Troy stared at him, a new light in his eyes, one that Tanner had never seen before.

Not love, not exactly, but affection.

He’d take it.





             Chapter 24



One week later—seven deliciously sexy, erotic nights in Tanner’s arms—it was finally Becca and Sam’s bachelorette/bachelor party. Mother Nature cooperated with mild temps, but as night fell they combated the chill with carefully placed outdoor heaters along the dock and on the boat. The decorations were up and the boat was rollicking with friends and family when Callie took her first deep breath.

Her phone buzzed with an incoming text from one of her brides. The “litter” bride.

Everything was perfect, Callie. I know I panicked a lot leading up to the wedding. And I also know the odds are good I’ll panic occasionally throughout this marriage as well. But the wedding was worth every bit of angst and so is my husband. Thank you for believing in love and teaching me to believe as well.



Callie stared at the text for a long moment. An epiphany probably shouldn’t be inspired by a text from a bride she didn’t even know all that well, but there was no denying that she felt something loosen in her chest as she let the words sink in.

The wedding was worth every bit of angst and so is my husband…

Thank you for believing in love…

Was it true? Had she slowly come to believe in love?

“You did well, honey.” Lucille came up beside her and slipped a hand in hers. “Look at them. So happy.”

Callie took in the sight of Becca standing in the bow, wearing a gorgeous dress and boots, both of which Olivia had gifted her from the vintage shop. Becca was glowing with happiness—as she had been since early that morning when she’d peed on a stick, turned it blue, and pounded on Callie’s and Olivia’s doors at the crack of dawn to tell them she was pregnant. Now Becca was greeting a group of friends as they arrived. Sam came up to his soon-to-be bride and, clearly not caring one whit that they had an audience, pulled her in close and laid a hell of a kiss on her.

Something tightened deep inside Callie. A yearning, she realized. An ache. Each of her friends here was part of a couple, and she was so happy for them. She truly was.

But something clicked in place and she realized…she wanted that too. She wanted what Sam and Becca had. What Olivia and Cole had. She wanted to wake up next to the same person every morning and have him see her Wild Man of Borneo hair and be okay with that and whatever their future brought. She wanted to let a man all the way in, wanted him to know her crazy grandma and understand those were her genes and have him still want her. She wanted to know that the man she loved felt the same about her and always would.

This yearning went against everything she’d been telling herself for years. After all, she’d been down that road before and had purposely veered off, taken a different path.

But she could admit something now—she’d never really let herself love all the way. Not once. Seeing Becca and Olivia so open and loving with Sam and Cole, she knew she’d always held back, always kept a part of herself safe. Just in case.

But love wasn’t safe. You had to take the plunge and hope for the best.

Sam pulled back from Becca just far enough to curl an arm around her, keeping her close as possible as they greeted people. He was as big and bad and tough as they came, but he kept looking down at Becca with undeniable and unapologetic love, like she was his entire world.

It actually made Callie’s chest hurt. Cole and Olivia looked at each other like that too. And a part of Callie suspected that she looked at Tanner that way. And she thought maybe he looked at her the same. And even as she thought it, a little seed of warmth burst from deep inside her, soothing her ache of a moment before.

She could have that, she realized. In fact, it felt like she and Tanner were working their way up to exactly that. He was such a good man. He’d stepped up for his mom, for his son, for everyone in his life. It was what he did. For perhaps the first time in her life, she thought maybe she could really let herself believe. Believe in him.