“I know what I said,” I cut her off. “And I know I was a liar. I went home and dreamed about what it would be like if you’d gone through with it.” I cup her face again and close the distance, our lips dancing across each other. “The reality is so much better than I dreamed.”
Epilogue
LUCKIER THAN A TWO-PECKERED GOAT
Shelby
“Don’t take this the wrong way,” Archie leans in and whispers from his spot beside me.
“But I’m a little relieved you guys aren’t dressed like one of Momma’s bodice-ripper romance covers.”
I look down at my simple silk A-line dress with its killer slit up the left thigh and bite back a laugh. No heaving bosoms in sight. “You mean my dress isn’t giving youRavished and Returned: The Mistaken Mail-Order Bridevibes right now?” I ask with feigned surprise. When he rolls his eyes, I add, “I don’t think any of the Gambles would appreciate Dallas’s nipples on display during the actual ceremony.”
We’re standing behind a small copse of trees by the river, a late autumn breeze catching our matching copper-toned hair as we wait for our cue. I couldn’t have planned a more perfect day to marry my best friend. The sun is out, the air is cool, the birds are providing a sweet soundtrack, and my groom is waiting by the riverbank for me.
“Point taken,” my brother replies before extending his bent arm for me to take. “Well, you look beautiful, sis. Momma and Daddy are smiling like crazy watching us right now.”
Tears fill my eyes, but I refuse to cry today. Instead, I nod and go on tiptoes to kiss Archie’s cheek. “I know.” I’ll always have their rings on my finger and their love in my heart. Forever.
It turns out that after years of dreaming and planning my big fantasy wedding, I found I didn’t need any of it in the end. As the person who knows me best, Dallas, of course, offered to help make all my dreams come true for the big day. I thought about it, and we even sat down at the kitchen table together with all my vision boards to start planning.
But sitting across from Dallas, with his sleeves pushed up and his carpenter pencil ready to take notes, my dream shifted—just like that. The most elaborate, over-the-top, fantasy wedding paled in comparison to the reality of spending the rest of my life with Dallas.
Who needs aerialists serving champagne or a flower-crown-making station when we have all the love anyone could ever hope for? Besides, I figured out pretty quickly that planning a wedding with a Gamble would take more patience than I probably have. Dallas not only refused to believe a cummerbund wasn’t a baked good, but the concept of a tablescape was way beyond anything he was willing or able to process.
So, with no big wedding to plan or vendors to book, we decided not to wait a second longer than we had to before we could officially belong to one another. Dallas has been working overtime to get me pregnant too, and Meemaw declared we’d been “shacking up” long enough, and she was sick of telling her friend Phyllis to mind her own damn business about it.
When the first few chords of “My Best Friend” by Tim McGraw come from Houston’s guitar, my heart rate jumps with anticipation, and my hand tightens on Archie’s arm.
“You ready?” he asks.
I’m smiling too hard to answer, so I nod instead, and then we’re off. We round the copse of trees to see the small crowd standing to either side of a makeshift aisle. It’s an intimate gathering—just family and close friends—but as soon as my eyes catch on Dallas, there’s no one else here.
He stands by the river where we’ve spent more afternoons than I could ever count, his stance firm, boots rooted to the ground. My rock. My everything. I probably shouldn’t be surprised by the tears in his eyes because I’m fighting back my own, but I don’t want anything to get in the way of my view.
My groom is hot as hell in a pearl-snap dress shirt and black suede blazer, his hair held in place by a sleek Stetson and his tanned cheeks lifted by the broad smile he’s aiming right at me. The same smile that had my stomach flipping the day I met him on the street outside my momma and daddy’s house over twenty-five years ago.
It’s only when Ryder stage-whispers, “I didn’t know she was gonna dress like a princess,” that my attention wavers from my groom. I glance down to see Ryder dressed like a mini-Dallas, standing right next to his dad.
Everyone laughs, including me. Dallas’s gaze locks with mine again, though, while he replies, “The prettiest one in all the land, kiddo.”
Frankie “awws,” and Pops coughs like he’s fighting his own tears while Archie and I finally reach the front of the aisle. Josie Mae takes my bouquet of classic white roses with their turquoise ribbon, and then my hands are secure in Dallas’s, his warm grip firm, telling me without words that he’ll never let me go.
Houston strums a couple strangely off-key chords to finish the song, and I force my eyes from Dallas to meet Ryder’s. “Hey, Little G. You look super handsome.” He stands up a littlestraighter at my words, and I smile at him until Dallas clears his throat and says, “Um, I’m right here.”
Laughter fills the air again, just as Dallas intended.
“Here we go,” Houston mutters, but there’s no heat in his tone. I glance his way and shoot him a wink. How he still manages to be so good-looking with that ridiculous hair and mustache is one of the universe’s great mysteries. I guess being my soon-to-be husband’s twin might have something to do with it, though.
He’s been home for a few weeks now, surprising all of us by not bolting back to the rodeo as soon as the crisis mode abated at the ranch and Ridge settled down. The Gambles are still in negotiations with Tiffany Grace and her lawyer, but things have been relatively quiet overall. Nobody has had the nerve to ask Houston when he’s going back on the road, probably because we’d all rather he stay—even if he’s been giving Ridge a run for his money in the competition for Big Knob’s biggest grump.
Meanwhile, Skye is determined to save the family just like she saves every down-on-its-luck animal in the county, and she’s even roped Josie Mae into her scheme. I’m betting on the two of them to show up the menfolk and kick some ass while they’re at it.
It’s hard to believe that in a few short minutes, I’ll officially be a Gamble, even though they’ve all made me feel like one for years. I grin at Dallas, and he surprises me by yanking me into his arms and laying a hot one on me.
The crowdwhoops,and the minister clears his throat while I pretend I’m trying to push Dallas away even though I’m not. It’s way too easy to get lost in his kiss. When he does pull back, he whispers for only me to hear, “Hey, Sweetness. Sorry it took me so long.”
My eyes flit over his features, each one as familiar to me as my own, as I catch my breath and inhale his captivating warmscent. I pause a beat, committing this moment to memory so I can hold on to it forever. And then I whisper right back, “Ditto.”
