My eyebrows lift.
The last time we kissed would have been the morning after we got engaged. We’ve done a lot of holding hands and snuggling when we’ve been out with other players and their wives or at hockey events, but we haven’t had a reason to kiss again, especially since we’ve been following the rules so closely. But he’s right. The wedding kiss isn’t exactly optional.
Right now, Anna and Miles’s living room is full of our family and friends. Emerson and Jeremy and a few others from Savannah have driven up. Carter’s mom, Kim, is here, as well as his former captain from his AHL team, not to mention all his current teammates. Even Coach Kimzey and the Jaguars GM are here.
And all but a handful of those people currently believe we’re in love.
“Right,” I say. “It should be convincing. Were you thinking we should…practice?”
He gives me a sheepish look, but then he shrugs his shoulders. “It might make it easier out there if we do.” He leans forward and hooks a gentle hand around my waist. “Can we break the rules in the name of practice?”
Carter has a playful air about him, but under the surface, I sense a vulnerability I don’t always see in him. He’s done so much to makemecomfortable, coming to my rescue over and over again. So this time, it feels like I should be the one who rescues him.
“I think this definitely feels like an extenuating circumstance.” I lift a hand to his face, my fingers wrapping around his jaw, then I push up on my toes and press my lips tohis.
Carter’s breath stutters at first, but he quickly stills, settling into the kiss as he lifts a hand to my face, his fingers grazing across my cheek.
The first time I kissed him, we were in a room full of people, making the whole thing feel a little like a performance. It was still amazing—I’ve been dreaming of that kiss for weeks—but this time, we’re the only two people here, allowing my focus to zero in on Carter.Only Carter.
And the difference is significant.
His body is warm and solid in front of me, his lips soft, his grip firm, andoh,I really,reallylike kissing him.
Carter tilts his head to deepen the kiss, and somewhere in the back of my mind, it occurs to me that there’s no way we’ll kiss like this in front of our friends and family. A kiss like this—it’s the kind that sparks hunger, a craving for more. More of this. More ofhim.
I should stop, but I can’t bring myself to pull away.
Not until a knock sounds on the bathroom door. “Are you two ready?” Anna asks.
Carter pulls back, his expression stunned enough that I’m pretty sure he fell as deeply into that kiss as I did.
I press a hand to his chest as if to calm him and clear my throat. “We’ll be right out,” I say to Anna, then I wait until I hear the swish of her dress as she walks away.
I look back at Carter.
“I’m sorry,” he says. “I think I got carried away.”
“I kissed you, Carter.”
“I know,” he says. “But I…I shouldn’t have done that.”
I study his face, trying to read his expression. For once, I can’t tell what he’s thinking, if he regrets kissing me for my sake…or for his. Either way, the fact that he regrets it at all pricks at the tenderest places in my heart. I’ve done a pretty good job of compartmentalizing over the past six weeks, convincing myself that I am not, nor can I ever be, the supportive wife Carter deserves. But I don’t like the reminders that at some point, I’m going to have to give him up. And the look on his face right now—that’s what it feels like.
“We’ve had a lot going on,” I say. “A lot of emotion. A lot of change. I think we can give ourselves a pass on this one. And, hey—at least now the wedding kiss won’t feel like a big deal.”
He lets himself smile the slightest bit, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “True,” he says. He straightens his jacket, and I reach up to adjust his tie.
“Should we do this?” I ask, letting my hands linger on his chest, and he nods.
“Let’s do it,” he says. Then I slip my hand into his, and we head out the door together.
Five minutes later,Miles walks me down the aisle, then I’m standing with Carter, promising to love and cherish and care for him until death do us part. He adds a wedding band to the engagement ring I’m already wearing, and I slide a ring onto his left hand. There’s a scar that runs up the side of his finger I’ve never noticed before—probably a hockey injury—and it suddenly feels startling to me that I don’t know the story.
There’s still so much I don’t know.
“Breathe,” Carter whispers, and I lift my eyes to meet his. His gaze is warm, steady like always, and my nerves immediately settle.
And then I’m officially Mrs. Carter Williamson,and a room full of our loved ones is cheering us on while Carter presses the sweetest, tenderest kiss to my lips.
