If not for the weapons-grade air-conditioning in our room, the morning sun that came pouring in from the desert would have melted us both. Neither of us had thought to shut the drapes last night—we’d been a little preoccupied—and now our bed was awash in blinding gold rays.

When I failed to convince the drapes to close on their own or the sun to burn out and fuck off, I stumbled out of bed. Squinting behind my hand, I managed to cross the room without tripping on any of the clothes or shoes that still littered the floor. With a few pulls on the cord, the curtains were shut and the sun blocked out. I paused, letting my seared retinas adapt to the newly darkened room. There was still plenty of light spilling in, but it was much more reasonable now.

My eyes finally adjusted, and I picked my way back to the bed and slid in next to Darren. He stirred a little, mumbling into the pillow, and then cuddled up against me. I smiled as I wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Back in the beginning, he’d self-consciously joked that he was part spider monkey, and he hadn’t been kidding. Sometimes it was a little too hot, but I still loved it. And hell, considering this room had air being pumped into it directly from Siberia, his body heat was more than welcome.

Who was I kidding? Even if the AC had crapped out and the drapes had jammed open, I wouldn’t have pushed him away.

I pulled him a little closer and kissed the top of his head. He murmured something, but didn’t wake up. Smiling to myself, I ran my hand up and down his arm, and paused when my wedding ring glinted softly in the morning light. I thumbed it, exploring the smooth surface.

Last night had been real. We really had gotten married. There was a document out there—and a copy in Erin’s purse—sealing us together and making us legal husbands in the eyes of the State of Nevada. When we got home, there’d be reams of paperwork to make each other our beneficiaries for insurance and pensions, noting each other as next of kin in case something happened—all that shit that formalized this and made it real to everyone else.

I didn’t need the forms. The rings, the vows, and the man were enough. If gay marriage hadn’t been legal, I still would’ve asked him and still would’ve gone through all the motions, because even if the government didn’t recognize it, I did.

Being married to a cop meant an uncertain and uneasy future. That was just how it was. With both of us being cops, things were guaranteed to be tough sometimes. The fact that we were partners meant we’d see each other, so that was a plus, and I was about ninety-nine percent sure we’d stay that way until I retired. I couldn’t see Captain Hamilton inflicting me on anyone else.

But there’d be hard cases, long hours, more injuries, more stress, more things we’d see and experience that we couldn’t talk about with anyone else. I had no illusions that life would be easy just because we were married.

That was okay, though. I wasn’t in it for easy—I was in it for Darren.

On the nightstand, my phone buzzed. It was a little bit of a challenge to get it without jostling Darren, but I managed.

The screen glowed with a text from Erin: Taking Em to Circus Circus. Lunch later?

I smiled. I did want to be there and see my daughters playing the ridiculous carnival games, but I had a feeling they’d be willing to go back for more later on. Right now, I didn’t want to move. Not when I had Darren cuddled up against me, sleeping peacefully with his arm draped over my stomach.

So I wrote back, Will text. Have fun.

Then I put the phone aside and clasped my hands on Darren’s shoulders, encircling him in my arms. We’d go join the family in a while. Our vacation was only going to be so long, and before we knew it, we’d be back to late nights, early mornings, and being dragged out of bed by 2 a.m. phone calls. Long, lazy mornings like this didn’t happen very often.

A long, lazy morning after a long, hot wedding night? Well, we wouldn’t get another one of those.

So I closed my eyes and just listened to my husband breathing. Outside, Las Vegas was bright and awake, and my kids were headed off on an adventure, no doubt with my in-laws in tow, and the world was continuing as if last night hadn’t been anything unusual.

But in here, with the AC keeping us cool and drapes keeping out the desert sun, it was just us. Everything else could wait.

Because this was all I needed.