Ava didn’t get any further, because suddenly he was on his knees in front of her, struggling to hold in his emotions as he pulled her into his arms. “Oh, Avie . . . You’ve always been my forever person and, baby, I can barely breathe when you aren’t with me. I’m yours. I always have been.” Holding her away from him, he reached a hand out to wipe away the steady flow of tears from her eyes and chuckled. “I was coming here to propose to you, but I can’t tell you what it means to me that you did it. I was afraid of pushing for too much, too fast, but I don’t want to be apart anymore.” He turned away briefly, digging in the bag he’d dropped on the floor earlier. When he finally turned back to her, he was holding a black velvet box in his hands. Her hands flew over her mouth as she gaped at him. Looking at her with so much love and tenderness that it made her heart hurt, he said, “There is nothing in this world that I want more than to marry you.” A gorgeous princess-cut diamond stole her breath away as he flipped the top of the box open. The ring was a perfect fit when Mac slid it onto her finger. When she finally lifted her gaze from it, Mac gave her a lopsided grin before asking, “I don’t guess you’re interested in being married by Elvis, are you?”
She amazed both herself and him when she giggled before nodding. “How about just a few velvet Elvis paintings around the wedding chapel? I would like nothing more than to leave Las Vegas as Mrs. Ava Powers.” She knew she had Mac’s approval when something hard poked her in the belly.
“I like the way you think,” he growled as he rubbed his length against her. “Now, how about we seal the deal in a way we’ll never forget?”
As Ava took his hard cock in her hand, pumping him slowly, she said, “Our deal was sealed long ago, but I definitely think we need to sign on the dotted line.” Luckily for them, their clothes were still off and there was nothing left in their way . . . absolutely nothing.
Epilogue
Ava stood still in a bubble of complete bliss as a flurry of activity hummed around her. She was getting married in Vegas just two days after she and Mac had coproposed to each other. She hadn’t seen him at all today, as her friends and torturers were insistent that she not see the groom before the ceremony. That didn’t mean that they hadn’t texted each other like crazy for the last twenty-four hours.
She finally looked around the room where they were all busy changing clothes to see a sight that she’d never expected. She had friends, good ones who had worked tirelessly for two days to give her a dream wedding. Suzy, the party planner extraordinaire, had refused to even entertain a trip to a drive-through wedding chapel. She’d paled alarmingly when Mac had jokingly suggested it. Instead she had opened her bag of tricks and secured them a beautiful outdoor venue with a breathtaking view of Red Rock Canyon in the distance. She had handled every detail, and despite their protests, Brant had insisted on paying for the wedding, stating it was his honor as head of their family. God, she loved her uptight brother. Finally, she and her brothers felt like a family.
Truthfully, she had been more than happy to hand over all the planning to Suzy, who seemed to do it so effortlessly. Ava just wanted to get married, and a justice of the peace would have been fine to her. Now her dear friends Suzy, Emma, Claire, and Beth buzzed around her, seemingly overjoyed to be part of her special day. She missed Ella and wished that she could have been there.
A knock sounded at the door and Emma rushed to answer it. When Emma didn’t return after a few moments, Ava looked over at the door to see the other woman passionately kissing Brant, and for once, Ava didn’t want to shudder in horror from seeing her brother making out with his fiancée. Actually, she’d never been happier that both of her brothers had found their forever persons. Despite years of doubt, it seemed as if there was a happily-ever-after on the horizon for all the Stone siblings.
Brant’s face was flushed when Emma finally pulled him into the room after ensuring that everyone was decent. He stopped in his tracks, just looking at Ava for a moment. She had chosen a simple white gown with a square neckline and delicate spaghetti straps. Tiny seed pearls were sewn on the white material, giving the dress a fairy-tale look. She had known it was her dream gown the moment she saw it. Suzy had given her an enthusiastic high five that she’d found her wedding dress within an hour.
“You look beautiful,” he said as he reached her. Emma ushered everyone from the room, seeming to know that Brant wanted a moment alone with his sister. He looked at her almost shyly before pulling two boxes from his jacket pocket. “I . . . um . . . think I can help you out with two things you might need before you get married.” He set one box on the table before holding a long, thin box in front of her. “You know that most of Mom’s jewelry has been in a safe-deposit box since their death.” When she nodded, he continued, staring at the box he held. “When you told me you were getting married, I remembered this one necklace. Mom always wore it to every party that she and Dad attended. It’s the only piece of her jewelry that I can remember seeing her wear on a regular basis. I . . . well, I thought you might like to have a part of her here today. I know it’s not the same, but . . .” Without finishing his sentence, he popped open the box, showing her the platinum pearl and diamond necklace nestled within. She choked on a sob as she too remembered it adorning their mother’s neck on several occasions.
Brant removed it from the box, walking behind her to gently move her hair aside before fastening it around her neck. Her hand automatically flew up, feeling the cool weight against her skin. His eyes were bright as he moved back in front of her. “I, um . . . had someone send this to me for you. I thought this could be your something old.”