Only Her (A K2 Team Novel)(102)

Hand in hand, they came out of the church to birdseed being tossed at them. More than anything, he wanted to take her straight home and make love to her as her husband, but the boss was hosting a reception for them at his house. Cody figured it wouldn’t be cool to be no-shows.



“To Cody and Riley,” Kincaid said, raising a crystal flute of golden champagne.

“To Cody and Riley,” their friends echoed, the sound of clinking glasses filling the air.

“An Irish toast,” Ryan said. “Here’s to fire: not the kind that brings down shacks and shanties, but the kind that brings down slacks and panties.”

After the laughter quieted, Jamie lifted his flute filled with soda water. “May your ups and downs be done between the sheets.”

“I’m all over that one,” Cody said, grinning at his blushing bride.

Jake tapped on his glass. “I was told a toast should only last as long as the groom’s love-making . . . so thank you and good night.”

“Hey, dude, you only wish you were as manly as me,” Cody fired back.

“Don’t be making fun of my husband,” Maria said. “He tries hard. Real hard.” She giggled.

After several more naughty toasts, and the hilarity had calmed down, Cody’s father and mother stood. His dad raised his glass of champagne. “To our son and new daughter.” He smiled at Riley. “Welcome to the family, Riley. Your husband is an amazing man, one that his mother and I are very proud of, although I’m not sure he’s aware of that.” He shifted his gaze to Cody. “We may not understand why you chose the life you did, but we respect the man our baby became. We love you, son.”

Damn. Cody blinked, trying to clear away the burning in his eyes. Riley squeezed his hand, and he got her message, loud and clear. He stood and went to his parents. “Thank you for that. I love you both.” After what was his first hug with his parents that he could remember, he reached for Riley’s hand, bringing her to stand with him and her new family.

The mushy love stuff going around, though, made him uncomfortable. “How soon can I steal my bride away and prove none of you know dick about my stamina?” As he’d intended, the mood reverted to fun.

Two hours later, Cody, his teammates, and their wives were the only ones still sitting around the fire pit. They’d circled it with five lounge chairs, each wife held snug against the chest of her husband. The evening was chilly, but between the fire, the hot coffee they’d switched to, and the warmth of bodies pressed together, they were comfortable.

Kincaid raised his coffee cup. “To the ladies who dared to take us on.”

Five men lifted their cups in the air. “To the ladies,” they all said.

“When men like us who live on the edge fall in love, we fall hard,” Jake said, his gaze on his wife.

The team nodded, and Cody said, “And we fall forever.”

Riley squeezed his hand. “Hoorah.”

“Hoorah,” the other wives echoed.