He grins, reaching up to wipe the tear off my cheek. “Because I love you. I won the Cup, and now I’m going to retire and move here, marry you, and grow peaches.”
I step closer, and he wraps his arms around me, pulling me to his chest.
Shaking my head, I smile up at him. “But you don’t know anything about growing peaches.”
“You’ll have to teach me.”
“I’m not even sure we can anymore.”
“We won’t stop until we do.” He leans closer, whispering in my ear. “Last I checked, my fiancée has some innovative ideas for how we can get things going again.”
“Oh, Maverick.” I lean forward, pressing my cheek to his chest and wrapping my arms around him so tightly. “You love this place as much as I do.”
He puts a large hand on the back of my head, holding me close. “I always have.”
My head tilts back, and I laugh through my tears. “Then I guess I have to marry you on the spot.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
We step back, ready to walk out hand in hand when Corey stands out of his chair so quickly, it falls backward with a crash.
“How dare you?” He walks over, grabbing my upper arm and jerking me away from Mav’s side. “Dove is my fiancée. I asked first.”
In a blink, Mav has him by the lapels of his coat, jerking him onto his toes and speaking into his face. “Don’t you ever touchmyDove again. Do you understand?”
He gives Corey a shake, and the idiot is dumb enough to snivel, “Or what?”
Mav exhales a laugh, lowering him to his feet and dusting off Corey’s shoulder. “There’s a nice, big, stinky dumpster out back. I’ll be happy to toss you right into it.”
“Are you threatening me?” Corey looks around the restaurant. “You all heard him!”
It’s more than I can bear. I snatch the bowl of peach cobbler off the dessert cart and walk straight up to him, turning it upside-down on top of his head.
The thick syrup quickly runs down his face and peaches fall onto his nose and suit.
“Ugh!” Corey shouts, wiping the sticky mess out of his eyes. “What have you done?”
“I amnotyour fiancée, and I never will be.” Then I turn to look around the restaurant at the people doing their best not to laugh, asking loudly, “Did y’all get that?”
Mav snorts a laugh, grabbing me around the waist andtossing me over his shoulder. “Come on, firecracker. Let’s get out of here before we get into trouble.”
I prop my elbow on his shoulder, giving everyone a defiant smile as he carries me out of the room. Until a few ladies start to clap, and some men start to laugh, and I break and start to laugh, too.
EPILOGUE
MAVERICK
“You said he’s the sheriff in Newhope?” Aiden Stone stands near the back wall in Lagniappe, which Gina’s and Dove’s dads have rented out for the night for our bachelor party.
His arms are crossed over his chest, and his brother Alex stands beside him. Alex is holding his thumb and forefinger against his cheeks, doing his best not to laugh, but their youngest brother Adam puts his fingers in his mouth and rips a loud taxi-whistle.
The sound system blasts the classic funk song “Superfreak” by Rick James, and Owen is seated in one of the restaurant’s wooden dining chairs in the middle of the room. His hands are tied behind his back with a satin bow, and we’re all cat-calling and laughing our asses off as a six-foot-four “blonde” in gold hot pants and a tube top twerks his oversized butt in my future cousin-in-law’s face.
Another “blonde” prances around behind him scrubbing a feather boa back and forth over Owen’s eyes beforetwirling away and stomping around the room in gold platform heels blowing kisses to us all.
“Yep,” my dad says, nodding slowly, his tone fake-chagrin. “He did the same thing to me the night before I married his little sister.”
“You didn’t seem too concerned when it was my turn just now,” I yell over the music, pushing his arm. “I heard you tell him to give me a lap dance.”
