“It’s perfect for both of us,” Anna added.
The song faded to its end and Jacob came up behind Adam with a wide grin on his face. “Hey, Langford. I don’t want to be a jerk about it, but I’d like to dance with my bride-to-be.”
Adam kissed Anna on the cheek. “Sounds like somebody is tired of sharing you. I can’t say I blame him.” He clapped Jacob on the back. If anyone had said six months ago that this particular scene would be indicative of the new status quo, Anna never would’ve believed it. “I’ll leave you two lovebirds to it. I have a date with my own bride.” He excused himself and waved at Melanie, who was extricating herself from a dance with her uncle.
Jacob swept Anna into his arms, twirling her several times, making the eggplant purple bridesmaid’s dress flutter around her. “Finally. I get you to myself.”
Anna giggled, the swarm of wedding guests around them fading into the recesses as she became solely focused on Jacob. He really was her dream man. He really was perfect for her. And she couldn’t have been any happier.
“We need to get in our time on the dance floor. Just a little more than a month until we’re in this same spotlight.” They did, in fact, need to clock a few hours of dancing, although their wedding would not be anywhere near as extravagant—fifty guests, at Jacob’s house upstate. Neither one of them cared to deal with anything more elaborate. Jacob had actually said he was hoping for a blizzard so no one would be able to show up and he could keep Anna to himself for an entire week or more. She couldn’t blame him. It sounded like the perfect plan.
He pulled her closer, his body heat enveloping her, or perhaps it was just his magnetism, the things about him that wouldn’t allow her to stay away. He was especially difficult to resist in a tuxedo. “I can’t believe you’re going to be my wife. Honestly, I can’t believe I’m going to be part of the Langford family. I’m having a hard time imagining what it’s going to be like. Especially after spending six years in exile.”
She reared her head back, looking deeply into his soulful eyes. “Things happen for a reason. I believe that. Maybe you and Adam will end up having an even stronger friendship one day. I certainly wasn’t ready to run away with you and have a baby six years ago. So maybe this was for the best, as difficult as it was for you to go through.”
He nodded, a slight smile crossing his face. “I’d go through it all for you. Every last minute of it.”
She smirked and shook her head. “You’re sweet.”
“Really I’m just angling to get you out of that bridesmaid’s dress.”
“You and me both. I can’t wait to change. It’s too tight on my belly.” Anna wasn’t showing much yet, but her tummy had pooched out a little. Jacob liked to lie in bed and talk to the tiny baby bump. Then he would get out his Doppler for listening to the heartbeat, which had arrived shortly after the spotting scare. He made quite the doting dad-to-be.
Jacob pulled her in tightly, moving her in time effortlessly to the music. “Are you happy?” he asked.
“What kind of question is that?” Anna whispered, leaning into him as she watched Adam and Melanie sway in the tiniest of circles, husband and wife. It wouldn’t be long for Jacob and her. The thought warmed her from head to toe.
“It’s a perfectly valid thing to ask, especially considering everything we’ve been through. I want to know that you’re happy, Anna. It’s the only thing I care about.”
She looked up into his eyes, which shone down on her like sunshine on the first day of spring. She could get lost in those eyes for a lifetime and be deliriously giddy. “I don’t think it’s possible for me to be happier. Truly. Being with you is all I’ll ever want.”
“Good.” He slowed their dance to the most imperceptible of movements, lowering his head and planting the sexiest, hottest kiss she could’ve imagined on her lips. It was slow and seductive, a subtle parting of lips and the most tasteful bit of tongue. It left her ready to pass out.
“Jacob. My family is watching,” she said when she came up for air, making a mental note that they absolutely would need to continue this when they got home after the reception.
“I thought we agreed that your family had interfered in enough of our kisses.”
“True, but it’s still a wedding. We don’t want to be those people, do we?”
He laughed and spun her around, then stopped and laid another steamy kiss on her, this time dipping her back in his arms. He left her breathless, ready to surrender in a ballroom filled with hundreds of people. “Tell me to stop.”