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A knowing smile answered her. Bending down, Ace swept her off her feet and carried her into their home. Stomping up the steps with her, he elbowed the door to the nursery open and dropped into the huge recliner. She laid her head on his chest, and he grabbed his favorite book from the vintage side table he’d re-stained and varnished. Opening it, he began to read. It was practice for when his daughter arrived. The togetherness was nice and stoked his excitement for their wedding and the birth of their child.
“You’re going to be a really good father, I can tell,” Barbara said softly, petting her hand down his chest.
He wasn’t as confident in himself as she was, but he was damn sure going to do his best. Until then…he changed the subject. “Are you more comfortable with managing the coffee shop now?”
Twirling a finger around a fraying string from his shirt, she nodded. “You always come home smelling like coffee. What wife wouldn’t love that?”
“It’s a nice little moneymaker for the club,” he agreed.
She sighed and lifted her head, taking in the room. “You did a really nice job with the nursery.”
“Sugarplum fairies was a good idea,” he said, giving her credit where it was due. She gave the orders, and he simply carried them out. “The purple colors came out nice.”
“They did.”
Ace stared at her profile, the perfect lines and slopes and angles and swore she grew more beautiful every day. “I’m so gonna kiss you now.”
She grinned and turned her face toward his. “You’ve got some sweet lips. I can’t wait.”
Dipping his head, he captured her lips in a kiss that was filled with all the things he was. Today, tenderness was somehow the quality that floated to the top. Truth be told, her pretty white dress and nice hair were too much to mess up with the kind of kissing he really wanted on his wedding day.
A knock at the door pulled them from their lip lock.
As much as he wanted to be mad at the intruder, Ace knew it was a needed distraction. “Come in.”
A moment later, Tiffany peeked into the room.
“Let me guess, you got elected to get us to the altar on time?”
“You’re a smart man.” She smiled. “You two are so cute together.”
Grinning, Ace teased, “You’re like the third or fourth person who’s said that to us today. For the record, I’m a badass biker.” Glancing down at Barbara he added, “And my wife is just filled with freaking cuteness, especially in the dress that shows off her baby bump.”
Tiffany deadpanned back, “If you knew how many stores we had to shop at to find that little prize, you’d be on your knees worshiping the gown.”
Standing with his woman in his arms, Ace stated happily, “I’d be more likely to worship the woman than the gown. Now go away.”
“I will not,” she protested. “I will hold the door so you can make it downstairs with her though.”
Ace nodded, conceding, and rose to his feet with his woman securely in his arms. Heading for the door, Ace’s chest swelled with pride. They had decided to forgo anyone walking her down the aisle. Ace’s main request was to be able to carry her down it himself. In fact, he’d carry her around everywhere if she’d let him.
As they passed, Tiffany remarked, “She looks like a little wood sprite curled up in your arms.”
Ace beamed. Little did she know that his Barbara had gotten quite comfortable in his arms over the last few weeks.
The music started as they approached, and all eyes turned on them. Today was the first day of the rest of their lives together. For once in his miserable life, he would be building wonderful memories with a woman who loved him.
He hadn’t had a nightmare since moving to her place. He suspected that it had something to do with it being too cheerful to pull a dark mood from him. Plus, there were too many wonderful memories waiting to be created to get mired in the past.
At the head of the room stood their minister, an older man who had performed weddings for the men in his club for years. Looking down over his podium, Ace realized his smile was quite fatherly. He’d have to practice a smile like that for his little one.
Okay, maybe he was going a little too far. Sliding his bride to her feet, Ace smoothed out his favorite cotton dress shirt and straightened his cut. His hair had been tied back neatly at the nape of his neck, and he was ready to move forward with his life.
With most of his focus on his Barbara, the minister’s voice was more background noise than anything. Since they had chosen to write vows for each other, rather than say the traditional ones, Barbara went first.
Turning to him, she took his hand in hers. Sliding the ring onto his finger, she said, “I knew there was some something special about you the moment I set eyes on you. Though you were injured at the time, I could see such strength in your handsome face. All the things that were so difficult with other men came effortlessly with you. Even now, sometimes I wake up, and before I can get turned around, it’s bedtime. The time I spend with you is always over too quickly. In some ways I feel like I have known you all my life, and in other ways, only a minute. I’ve never felt more loved or cherished than when I’m in your arms. Being loved for myself is a new experience for me, and I’m loving every minute of being with you. I don’t ever want to be anywhere except at your side.”
Bringing her hands up to his lips, Ace kissed her before slipping her ring onto her finger. “My sweet angel, I want you to know that you are the center of my world. Having never had much of a family, I worried about my ability to love. You knocked that idea right out of my head in short order, and now I can’t imagine being with anyone but you. You’re my tiny taste of heaven on earth, and I’m never letting you go.”
As he gazed into her eyes, there was more yammering by the minister, and then he got to kiss his bride. Kissing his very own wife for the first time was a life-altering experience. Feeling the ground shift beneath his feet, Ace realized he’d never want it any other way.
Although life had dealt him more than his fair share of shitty hands, he’d finally found his ace with the angel standing in front of him.
