Epilogue

“I JUST GOT off the phone with the bakery. The cake is now on its way to the reception hall.” Jessica said as she strode into the room.

Renee looked at her sister in disbelief. “You called them again? I told you to leave them alone the last time you called a half hour ago.”

Jessica looked at herself in the mirror, adjusting her midnight-blue bridesmaid dress so it fell perfectly over her rounded stomach. “I know, but I just wanted to double-check.”

“Double-checking was at least five calls ago. At this point I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t deliver my cake out of spite.”

“Oh, you’ll have cake. They know exactly how important it is that there’s cake at your reception. I made it very clear to them.”

Renee didn’t want to think about what Jessica might have said to the poor woman who owned the bakery. “I’m going to hope they think you’re a crazy pregnant lady and don’t charge me extra for the annoyance.”

Jessica waved her hand in the air, as if it was ridiculous to think that anyone would mind being repeatedly called and threatened over the delivery of a baked good. “I’m your maid of honor. It’s my job to make sure everything’s perfect.”

It really wasn’t, but Renee didn’t say anything. She had known Jessica would become the ultimate wedding planner before she even asked her sister to be the maid of honor. If she hadn’t, she wouldn’t be Jessica. So there was nothing she could do but let her sister indulge in some of her more neurotic traits and relax, knowing that everything was in good hands.

“Thanks, Jessica,” she said. “I know you’ve got it under control. Nothing will go wrong, I’m sure.”

Jessica was about to respond when her phone buzzed with an incoming text. Worry lines appeared on Jessica’s forehead as she read whatever it said, and Renee waited for whatever bad news her sister had gotten. “Did I speak too soon?” she asked.

Jessica looked up and gave the bride a tight smile. “Don’t worry. I can take care of this. I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

With that, she started to rush toward the door. “The ceremony starts in fifteen!” Renee called after her sister, but by the time she finished, the door was already closed and she was alone, wondering what had happened. Whatever it was, she doubted it was anywhere near as bad as Jessica thought it was.

With a few minutes alone in the little bridal room that adjoined the chapel, Renee sank into the couch in the corner, her skirt poufing up as she did so. She chuckled to herself, amazed once more that she’d ended up in a poufy white gown covered in sparkly rhinestones. Who would have guessed?

Someone knocked on the door. She assumed it was her mom, coming to tell her what Jessica was dealing with. “Come in,” she called, not moving from her spot.

Jeremiah poked his head into the room. “Is Jessica gone?”

Renee felt a rush of affection as her husband-to-be walked in, a giant smile on his face. “I wanted us to have a couple of minutes alone before the ceremony,” he said, sitting beside her on the couch.

She looked him up and down, enjoying the way his suit hugged his body. “You look amazing,” she said, reminding herself that she couldn’t undress him at that exact moment.

He wrapped an arm around her bare shoulders. “You, too. This is the dress I’ve heard so much about but wasn’t allowed to see, huh? Wow. Worth the wait.”

It was only then that she remembered she was in her wedding dress. “You weren’t supposed to see me before the ceremony, you know.”

He gave her his lopsided grin. “I know. Jessica wouldn’t have let me in.”

Realization dawned on Renee. “You sent that text.” He didn’t deny it. “What did you tell her?”

“I said that Aaron couldn’t find the boutonnieres.”

She glanced at the flower pinned to his breast pocket. “She’s going to kill you when she figures out it was a lie.”

Jeremiah shrugged. “She can’t kill me. It would ruin the wedding, which is her main priority today.”

His logic was infallible—she had to give him that. She snuggled closer to him, shoving sections of her dress out of her way to do so. “Another woman asked about my ring this morning. The lady at the hair salon wanted to know if you would be making more of them. I gave her your number.”

She glanced down at the delicate golden band wrapped around her left ring finger. The intricate details still amazed her, and she couldn’t imagine how much time and work Jeremiah had put into secretly creating it before he proposed. It was truly a thing of beauty.

He squeezed her closer. “I’ll think about that after the honeymoon. Right now, there are other things on my mind than building up a new business.”

“So you’re ready to give up your bachelorhood in about ten minutes and settle down as an old married couple?” she asked, looking up at him.

His eyes roved over her body again, making her skin tingle. “If it means I get to see what you’re wearing under this dress later tonight, then absolutely.”

She gave him a seductive smile. “Not much.”

He leaned in, his lips inches from hers. “My favorite,” he whispered, tugging at a loose strand of her hair.

She lost herself in his eyes as he closed the gap between them.

Just as their lips touched, Jessica’s voice broke into the moment, forcing them apart. “No! Hair, makeup, dress! You’re going to ruin all of it!”

They both looked at the angry pregnant lady towering over them. “You’re not even supposed to be in here, Jeremiah. You need to get up to the altar.”

She shook her head at him. “Do you have any idea how worried I was when I got your text?”

Renee tried to stifle her laugh at her sister’s serious manner, but she couldn’t stop herself from giggling. “Jess, you need to calm down. Everything’s fine. You’ve done a great job. Now relax a smidge and let me enjoy my wedding.”

Jessica looked as if she might give some sort of a retort, but then she took a deep, calming breath. “Okay. It’s your wedding—you do what you want. But Jeremiah, you need to be out of this room in forty-five seconds if we’re going to keep to the schedule.”

Jeremiah nodded solemnly, but his eyes sparkled. “Thanks for being so relaxed about everything.”

Jessica either missed or chose to ignore his sarcasm, because she just smiled and nodded at him.

Renee waited for a second, then realized her sister was going to keep standing there unless she said something. “You might want to turn around if you don’t want to watch us making out for the next forty-five seconds.”

Jessica rolled her eyes and turned her back. “Thirty-five.”

Renee’s gaze went to her husband-to-be. “We better make this time count,” she said.

He didn’t need any more prompting than that, pulling her close and pressing his lips to hers. The world disappeared as she savored the moment.

It took three tries for Jessica to pull them apart. “Okay, now you really are behind schedule,” she told them.

Jeremiah leaned his forehead against Renee’s as they caught their breath. “Are you ready?”

She smiled up at him. “I am.”

He shook his head. “It’s ‘I do.’ You might want to practice before you get up there.”

Renee rolled her eyes. “You better get out of here before Jessica has a meltdown. I’ll see you in a minute.”

He gave her one more kiss, then left.

Renee stood, and Jessica fussed around her for a few moments before declaring everything perfect. Then Jessica handed Renee her bouquet. “Love you, little sis. Let’s go get you married.”

Renee nodded, unable to speak, and followed her sister out the door. Her heart was too full for words as she walked out to join the man of her dreams.

* * * * *

Read on for a sneak peek at UNDER PRESSURE, the first book in New York Times bestselling author Lori Foster’s explosive new series.

For the men of the Body Armor agency, the only thing more dangerous than the job they do is the risk of losing their hearts.

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