Read Engaged in Embellishments: Tulle and Tulips, Book 5.5 for Free Online

Trevor eased back, he was crying as heavily as her. When the song ended and the dance floor cleared, Trevor led her to a patch of the garden not full of wedding guests. “Do you know what you’ve just given me?”
    “A life sentence.”
    “I’ll take your life sentence and raise you a stoning.” Laughing, he lifted a hand with a ring she’d never seen between his fingers. Of all the ways he’d ever proposed, he’d never pulled out a ring, and this one was spectacular. A royal cut, small diamonds edged a star-shaped sapphire. “You’ve been the darkest and brightest star in my sky since you first stepped into my office. This ring is intended as a reminder of that.”
    “It’s amazing.”
    “Not nearly as amazing as you.”
    He slipped the ring on her finger and finally she felt like she was moving forward with life. “How did I ever tell you no?”
    “It only matters that you stopped.” He pulled her close and kissed her again. “You know, when we tell them, you’ll have made the year for my parents.”
    “A side bonus. You’re the only one I really care about.” Except she adored his parents and would be lucky to call them hers. “I love you, Trevor.”
    “I’ll let you show me how much when we get home.”
    “I have a room upstairs.” After checking in last night she hadn’t bothered to check out of the room. She hadn’t expected to be newly engaged after the wedding, but she had thought it would be nice to have an escape with him after they made up.
    “What? When did you book a room?”
    “When I wasn’t sure where else to go.” She shrugged.
    “You were here? All night?” Annoyance landed hard on the syllables of his words. It was nice to see him flustered.
    “I wasn’t in the mood to drive home.”
    “Do you know what I went through looking for you? I slept on the beach, afraid to leave.”
    “I’m sorry. I needed some time.”
    “Yeah well, it doesn’t matter.” He was grinning when he kissed her again. “I put you in that mood by not proposing. Besides, anything that wound up with you not only accepting me but offering the proposal was worthwhile.”
    “Want me to make it up to you?”
    “Absolutely. Upstairs. A few times. Then again when we get home.”
    “Okay.” She was laughing when she pulled him back toward the tent. “I’m just going to go tell Darci and Vic goodbye.”
    He laced his fingers with hers. “Hey, Lori?”
    “Yeah?”
    “Does this mean you’ll finally let your apartment go and live with me full-time?”
    “I don’t use it very often.” She glanced up at him, looking through her thick eyelashes. “And I guess if I’m going to marry you I won’t need my own place.”
    “You’re never getting away. Starting now.” Trevor swept Lori off her feet and carried her toward the hotel.
    “But… We should say goodbye.”
    “They’re smart enough to figure out where we went.”
    Glancing back at the tent as he carried her away, Lori saw her friends watching, with their hands linked, as they danced happily in place. She wouldn’t have a comic book wedding, but it seemed fitting that she’d be at one when she accepted Trevor as the guardian of her galaxy. It was, after all, a scene set around the unlikely pairing that became an amazing team.
    She was ready to get busy with their next beginning.

Look for these titles by Nikki Duncan
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    Tangled in Tulle
    Twisted in Tulips
    Handcuffed in Housewares
    Debauched in Diamonds
    Seduced in Sand
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