“No. Not at all.” His Adam’s apple dipped with a large swallow. “I just…”
My head cocked to one side. “You were seriously expecting me to run. Weren’t you?”
His face fell and he looked ashamed. “I was planning on it. Mentally preparing for it. We got engaged too fast. And this wedding came too quickly. I was waiting for you to realize it and panic.”
My heart ached for him. “If that’s what you thought, then why did you agree to this?”
“Because…I told myself if there was even the tiniest chance that you wouldn’t run, I had to take it. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted.” He shook his head. “Theonlything I’ve ever wanted.”
I laid my hand against his cheek. “I am not running, Ash. Not today. Not tonight. Not ever.”
Four hours later, I swayed in Ashton's arms, my bare toes digging into the sand. I caught sight of Theo and Charlie twenty feet away, shoeless like the rest of us. Theo was trying so hard to look grown-up in his shirt and tie, but his tongue was sticking out in concentration. They were attempting some sort of spinning box step that was more chaos than waltz. Charlie’s flower crown was slightly askew, and she was laughing so hard she could barely stay upright. I couldn’t help but giggle. They were stealing the show without even realizing it.
I glanced atmy husbandand twirled the band on his finger.Walking down the aisle, with Theo as my escort, I’d barely been able to breathe looking at Ash. If he was handsome in regular clothes, he was next level in a tux. His jackethad come off after the ceremony and his bowtie was coming loose. My heart stuttered for the fiftieth time tonight.
Then a thought made me smile. “My last name is Dupree now. That is so weird.”
“It is weird.” He grinned. “Wonderfully weird.” He put his mouth right next to my ear. “Tallulah Hawkins Dupree. I’ve never heard a more beautiful name.”
I tilted into him. “Mmmmm. I like the sound of that.”
His hands slid up, cupping my face as he leaned down and kissed me long and slow. “‘I love her,’” he whispered, low and husky. “‘And it is the beginning ofeverything.’”
“F. Scott Fitzgerald.” My thumb drug over his bottom lip. “‘The minute I heard my first love story, I started looking for you.’”
“Jalaluddin Rumi.” His forehead rested against mine.
From the corner of my eye, I spied Ford, my new brother-in-law—so weird—who’d somehow convinced Peyton to dance with him.
“Hey.” I smiled. “Look at that.” Ashton turned his head and together we watched.
Ford was behaving, hands above Peyton’s waist, being all sweet, making her laugh. She looked happy there in his arms. Cash ran up to talk to her. I couldn’t hear what he was saying but Ford scrubbed him on the head. As Peyton talked to Cash, Ford watched her. The way he was looking at her was like a little peek into his mind. He was usually all arrogance and pride, but this? This was full of adoration and longing.
“Well, look at that. They’re getting along.” Ashton chuckled.
“I’d say they’re more than getting along.” I twirled the band on Ashton’s ring finger and brought it to my lips. “I hope I never get used to how wondrous this feels.”
“I know I won’t,” he whispered. “Take a walk with me?”
“Is that code for let’s walk down the beach to our house where we’re going to make love all night long?”
A smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Is that what you want it to mean?”
I shrugged. “Maybe. Depends on how good the walk is?”
He pulled me toward the waves. I glanced over my shoulder at Anna and Brooklyn, each standing by their leading men. When I’d caught their eye, I gave them a finger wave. They both blew me a kiss. Brooklyn was leaving early in the morning with Jonah to head back to Durham.
When Ashton and I got to the shore, I lifted my skirt and cooled my toes in the water. As soon as he rolled up his pants, he stepped in behind me, winding his arms around my waist. The moon was a silver thumbnail in the sky, its soft light leaving a trail from the horizon all the way to where we were standing.
“Are you going to be okay tonight?” he asked. “I don’t want to spook you. If you need to wait, we can.” There was a tightness in his voice that told me the sacrifice that would be. But he was willing to do it for me.
I turned in his arms, facing him. “Are you trying to get out of spending the night with me?”
“Definitely not. I want to spend every night with you for the rest of forever.”
“Okay then.” I pulled him further in, the water enveloping our knees, the bottom of my dress soaked-through. The breeze picked up. I grabbed both sides of his collar, pulling his mouth to mine. He took over then, leading, like outside Capitol Cuts. It seemed forever ago.
I fumbled with the buttons on his shirt, working my way down, down, down. His breath hitched, followed by a low hum of contentment rumbling in his throat. His lips tasted of the salty ocean swirling around us.
