“I was just saying I can’t believe I get to call the woman of my dreams my fiancée,” I remark, wrapping her in my arms.
Dakota’s face lights up with an endearing smile, her eyes full of warmth. “How lucky am I to have stumbled upon the love of a lifetime at a job interview?”
“I’ll forever be the lucky one,” I admit.
And I am one hell of a lucky man to love and be loved by this woman.
“Repeat after me,” Dakota whispers against my lips.
“Okay,” I hum in reply.
“I have the best fiancée in the world,” she chuckles.
“I’ve never heard a truer affirmation. I have the best fiancée in the world,” I mimic. “Now you repeat after me,” I tell her before giving her ass a firm squeeze. “I’m ready to go home and make sweet, sweet love to my fiancée.”
She lowers her voice to a hushed whisper and repeats my words back to me.
“Carson!” she squeals as I dip down and throw her over my shoulder, being careful not to get cut by one of her skates.
I give her a playful smack on her butt as I walk us over to the bench where our boots are. Setting her down, I untie her skates and slip her boots on.
“So, am I taking your last name, or are you taking mine?” I ask.
That earns me a soft chuckle. “Your last name says everything about you, Golden Boy. I can’t wait to become a Wilder. Though, I do think my pen name will be Kota Lynn. Is that okay with you?”
I look up at her from where I’m kneeling before her. “You never have to check to see if I’m okay with a decision like that. But, yeah, I love that idea, Austen.”
She nods her head at me. “Good. Now take your fiancée home and make sweet, sweet love to her.”
I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to referring to her as my fiancée, but I’m sure right when I do, she’ll become my wife. Hope blooms in my chest as I think about the future we’re about to embark on. We’ve got a lifetime of wild adventures in store for us, and I can’t wait to experience them with my dream girl by my side.
Dakota - July
Someone please pinch me because this can’t be my life right now.
Carson and I are back in Texas for our wedding with only our families and close friends here to witness us exchange vows.
It’s the morning of our wedding, and I just got a call from my publicist Trisha that my publishing deal for my football series was announced. A couple months ago, a major publishing house asked if they could meet with me. Never in my wildest dreams did I think they’d end the meeting with an offer to publish the series. I submitted my manuscript to my editor two weeks ago, but the announcement hadn’t been made public yet.
Too excited to wait, I swing open the door to the room we’re getting ready in and march down the stairs in only my robe and head to the den where the guys are hanging out until they need to get ready.
Peeking my head around the door, I ask, “Hey, Carson, can I steal you for a minute?”
Carson stands with his back to me, and a laugh slips from my lips when I see his shoulders stiffen before he squeaks out, “Austen, what are you doing? I’m not supposed to see you—it’s bad luck!”
“Oh, I don’t believe in that. Come on, Golden Boy. Take a quick walk with me,” I implore.
He slowly turns toward me, and when his eyes land on me, his face lights up with an enigmatic smile. “You look beautiful,” he tells me.
Pointing at my head full of rollers and the gel under eye patches I have on, I roll my eyes at him before he pulls me in for a tease of a kiss.
“I’ll meet you on the front porch,” he says as he disappears into the kitchen. When he joins me on the porch swing, he hands me a cup of black coffee and I smile at him.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome, Dream Girl.” Carson pulls my feet into his lap and begins kneading my arches. “So what did you want to talk about? If it’s a case of cold feet, I can keep them warm.”
I sit up and playfully push at his shoulder. “Never. My feet are nice and toasty over here.”
