P.I.T.A. (L.A. Liaisons #3)(35)

"I'm serious. You're a hell of a kisser, but don't let me walk out that door because you're too stubborn to finally say out loud what you want."

"You calling me a chicken?"

Dawson looked around. "I seem to be the only one spilling their guts here. Better hurry or I'll make you beg."

"I'd love to see you try," I said. "Okay, well, before I confess my undying devotion to you, I have a couple of questions."

He tapped his watch. "You've got five minutes … and go."

"How did you …  I mean, how did you even manage this? The video? And Dave …  How did that even happen?"

"Long story short, we ran into Dave at the bar and told him we were getting married and that he should come along and film it. Actually, you said that last bit, and your reasoning was because you wanted to remember, since Goldschläger might leave holes in your memory."

Holes? More like complete blackouts.

"Which I now realize was a better idea than I'd originally thought," Dawson said, following my train of thought.

"Okay … " And now for the answer I'd been wondering about since the video had ended. "How long have you wanted us to happen?"

Dawson's brows rose. "How long do you think?"

"I asked you first."

"Since the moment I first laid eyes on you, love."

I waited for him to laugh or give some sort of indication he was joking, but when that didn't come, I said, "No, really."

"You asked, and I told you. But if you want me to be more specific, when did I know I'd fallen for the feisty pain in the ass next door? That would be the day you came over crying about that asshole tennis instructor. I'd never wanted to hurt someone like I wanted to hurt that guy, and it was then when I also knew I never wanted to see someone break your heart again. So I told you to-"



       
         
       
        

"Hold my head up high and stomp on every other guy's heart out there."

"Okay, that's paraphrasing, but basically."

"But still you never said anything."

"I was advised by someone we both know and love that you needed your space. That we both had some growing up to do, and she was right. Even back then I knew you'd never be happy if you didn't get a chance to live a little. I've never wanted to hold you back. So if I had to bide my time until you were ready, so be it. I knew my end goal. It was just a matter of when."

I pursed my lips. "So confident … "

"You forget that I know you, Paige Iris. I know every deep, dark secret you've ever had. I can tell when you're lying and when you're upset. I know which of your laughs are genuine and which ones you save for the people you don't like. And I knew every time you fought with me, there was a passion there that could only come from love. So, yes. I was confident."

And damn him. He'd done it. He'd made me lose my words. All I could do was stand there gaping at him as I tried to remember all the things I'd wanted to say to him, all the times I'd wished we might've been. But right then, the only thing that came out, was: "Richard Dawson. Damn you for making me fall in love with you."

The smile he gave me then was blinding. "That's all I ever wanted to hear." Then he did the unthinkable-he dropped down to his knee. "Paige," he said, pulling a blue Tiffany box out of his back pocket, and my mouth fell open as he reached for my hand.

"Oh my God," I said. "Are you serious?"

"I'm gonna do it right this time, dammit." Then he opened the box and I gasped. The ring he'd chosen was a dazzling yellow diamond, one that would have me sinking if I ever fell off a boat. When my wide eyes met his, he gave me a smirk. "You didn't think I'd have my girl walking around with something no one could see, now did you?"

"Wow …  If I didn't know better, I'd say you were making up for something, but since I do know better … holy fuck."

Dawson's grin right then rivaled the shimmering brilliance of the diamond. "For all of the reasons I've already said, and for any that remain unsaid, I want you to be my wife. To remain my wife. Not because you have to be. But because you choose me. Just as I'll choose you every day of my life from this day forward. Paige-my Pita-will you marry me?"

I wasn't sure how I was still standing there while my heart was bursting, but that just proves miracles do happen. There was one on his knee right now, asking me to be his wife. And suddenly, my life had never been more in focus. Since he'd walked into the room, there'd been no doubt in my mind that my life was as tied to the man looking up at me as my lungs were to my chest. And so I dropped to my knee as well, so we were eye to eye when I told him the words I never thought I'd say. 

"Yes, Dawson. I would love to marry you."

Then he put the ring on my finger and tilted my lips up to his, and never before had I felt the peace that came over me then. He was my family now. He always had been, but now it was official, and somehow that knowledge had a weight lifting off my shoulders. I knew with Dawson by my side, there was nothing I couldn't face, and I had a feeling he felt the same way about me.

"You know I'm gonna expect to live in happily orgasmed bliss forever after now, right?" I said, as he lifted me easily in his arms and carried me off to my bedroom.

Dawson grinned against my lips. "If I didn't before, I do now. And I think I'd like to die trying."





EPILOGUE





TWO MONTHS LATER

Weddings Are Still For Suckers





"PAIGE?" THERE WAS a rap on the door that accompanied Shayne's voice. "Paige, are you in there? You're gonna be late for your own wedding."

I let out a groan, and Dawson smacked my ass.

"If you don't keep quiet, you don't come," he said in a hushed voice, and I pushed back against him, where he was several inches deep inside me. So, like a good girl-that was the role I was playing for the next five minutes-I kept quiet.

Nothing like a little pre-wedding nookie to get the party started, am I right?

"I heard that," Shayne said. "You've got thirty seconds and I'm sending for reinforcements." She waited for a moment before we heard her walking back down the hall.

Dawson's lips were hot on my neck as he moved inside me, but our interlude was interrupted seconds later by Ryleigh.

"Paige Dawson, you get your butt out here before the groomsmen hook up with all the guests."

A chuckle left my lips at Ryleigh's put-out tone, which only made my man thrust harder, causing us both to moan.

"Is that Dawson in there with you?" she asked, and even through the door I could hear her heels tapping against the floor. "Fine. Have it your way. But remember, you asked for it." The sound of her walking away had us ramping up the pace, chasing our orgasms before the next intrusion.

"Dick and Pita, if you aren't in front of that altar in five seconds flat, I will personally come in there and pull you two out by your genitals. While it may prove entertaining to the rest of the guests, I can guarantee that it won't be the vow renewal you want to remember." Quinn's voice brooked no argument, and I knew better than to think she wouldn't do it. Her threat had me and Dawson groaning (and not in the Yes! Yes! Yes! kind of way) and pulling apart to put our shit back together. And before she had a chance to break down the door, I had it open and was heading out into the corridor. "You worry me sometimes, you know that?" I said as I walked past her and adjusted the strap of my short white dress. And before you say anything about me converting who I am to fit some traditional marriage mold, yes, I was wearing white. Not because I was some virginal bride, but because it looked best with the tan I'd been working on for the past few weeks. Priorities, people.

Dawson came out of the room adjusting his pants, and then he pulled at his cuffs of his jacket sleeves. "Never thought I'd have to walk down the aisle with blue balls, so thanks for that, Quinn."

"Quite welcome," she said, following us down the hall to just outside the doors of the spot we'd rented for the occasion. "Though I'm sure, considering our girl here, that you won't ever have to deal with that particular affliction again."



       
         
       
        

"Thank fuck," I thought I heard him say, and his annoyance at our interruption made me smile.

Our venue tonight wasn't the Tunnel of Love, but it was close: the fifth-floor terrace of a rock nightclub, overlooking the Strip and decked out just for us. And the highlight of our classy shindig was our wedding party: Quinn, Ryleigh, and Shayne wore dresses they'd chosen themselves-black, yellow, and purple, respectively, to match the decor, and the guys … ohhhh, the guys. Dawson's best friends must've really loved the guy, because they all sported guyliner and rocker tuxes for the occasion.

We looked like a hair metal wedding concert gone bad. But then again, some would argue, when had they ever gone good?

When Dawson and I decided to renew our vows, the first thing we'd agreed on was the venue. We weren't the chapel types. Definitely no more Tunnel of Love business. I couldn't deal with any more of the sappy stuff, so a beach wedding was out of the question. When we sat down and thought about it, the decor of the club fit my man to a T, and it also captured the fun vibe we were going for, so it was the perfect place for us to get married. Again. Not to mention Las Vegas was where we'd said "I do" the first time around, and since that hadn't ended badly, we figured we may as well keep up the tradition.