Page 27 of Picture This

Noah came to a stop in front of me, the gold flecks of his hazel eyes brighter in the golden glow of the room. “Did you get it?”

“Yep.”

The other photographer was milling around the room, taking pictures of the guests. She’d been so busy making sure she got the centerpieces and cakes she’d missed the best shot.

As the sun was setting on the ranch, I’d pulled Emily and Luca outside for a few minutes. With the sky alight with pastels, I’d sent them into a meadow and told Luca to pick her up. He spun her in two circles, the skirt of her dress swishing over the grass.

If I knew Emily—and I knew Emily—it would be the photo she had framed for above their mantel.

“Let’s dance.” Noah took my hand and led me to where we’d been sitting so I could drop off my camera. Then he pulled me to the dance floor as the band started a slow song. He pulled me close and kept one arm banded around my back as his body swayed.

God, he smelled good. I leaned against him, pressing my cheek to his heart in exactly the same place where I’d slept last night, draped over Noah’s bare chest.

He released his hold to spin me in a circle before pulling me even closer. “I can’t fucking wait to strip you out of this dress later.”

My cheeks warmed as a throb bloomed in my core. “Think they’ll notice if we leave?”

He growled, a raw, sexy sound from his throat. “Don’t tempt me.”

“After cake.”

“We’ll take it to go.”

I smiled, looking up at him as he led me around the dance floor.

As the band changed to a fast song, he came to a stop, framing my face in his hands. “Our parents are watching us, aren’t they?”

I shifted to glance past his arm to where his parents and mine were, in fact, watching. “Yep.”

“How do you think your mom and dad would react if I kissed you right now?”

Dad would probably give us a thumbs-up. He was a thumbs-up kind of guy. Mom would wait a maximum of five minutes before hurrying over to the table where the Havens were sitting and inquiring about availability for a future wedding weekend.

They loved Noah.

“Guess there’s only one way to find out,” I said.

He grinned, then brushed his mouth against mine. The kiss started slow and soft, but then he licked the seam of my lips. The moment his tongue slipped inside, tangling with mine, my entire world seemed to flip.

Upside down. Right side up.

And just like my favorite photographs, the edges blurred until all that remained was Noah and me, in perfect focus.

Epilogue

Noah

Five months later . . .

Ilifted the final box from the back of the moving truck and tucked it under my arm.

“Is that it?” Delylah called from the porch. She was dressed for the cold in a pair of jeans and a thick oatmeal sweater. But after a day of hauling boxes, the sleeves were pushed up past her elbows, and her hair was piled on top of her head, a few tendrils by her temples damp with sweat.

“Last one.” I used my free hand to close the drop-down door, then walked up the sidewalk to the house.

She led the way inside, standing beside the door and rising on her toes for a kiss. “Done. Finally.”

“Welcome home, baby.”