SocialPreyAllRomance (23 page)

“Everybody take your seats. We’re next in line for take-off,” John said over the speakers.

Keith motioned for Paula to take a seat on the small sofa toward the back. She sat
down, and Keith sat next to her.

“Are you still mad at me also?” he asked with amusement as he watched her fasten the
seatbelt around her hips.

She looked over at him and smiled slightly. “No,” she replied with a shake of her
head. “I’m just glad you made it out okay.”

“Me too,” he whispered.

He lifted his hand and brushed the back of his fingers along her cheek. “I’m glad
you were here, but you’ll never come on another one.”

Paula laughed. “I don’t want to. I think I’ll leave the mercenary stuff to you and
your team.”

Her smile faded somewhat, and she turned serious. “I am glad I was here to see them
get what they deserve, although not first hand, it still felt good to be a part of
it. Thank you.”

He dropped his hand and smiled. “You’re welcome.”

She sighed and stared briefly out the window as the nose of the plane lifted off the
ground. “I guess it’s time to go home and resume life as it was.”

“Who says life has to be as it was?” he murmured.

Paula turned to look at him with a questioning expression.

“I would like to keep seeing you,” he said.

Her eyes widened slightly. “I, uh…Really?”

“We’re good together, I think.”

She nodded, but still looked a bit shell shocked.

He grinned just a little. “You seem a little surprised.”

“No, it’s…” She smiled and cupped his cheeks in her trembling hands.

He grasped her hand and brought it to his lips. He placed a soft kiss on her palm
before lowering their hands to his lap.

“I want to take things slow,” she whispered.

“We’ll go as slow as you want.”

She smiled and wrapped her arm around his ribs. She leaned over and cuddled next to
him with her head on his chest. Keith slid his arm across her shoulders, and held
her close. He could get used to this.

“Does this going slow include sleepovers?” she asked softly.

Keith chuckled. “Hell yeah it does.”

Keith stood to the side with Paula watching his sister take Scott’s hand. The Caribbean
sunset the backdrop for his sister’s wedding to his best friend. Her smile beamed,
her skin glowed. She truly looked stunning as she stood next to Scott, promising to
love him forever.

He’d never seen his friend happier. Or his sister, for that matter. They really did
belong together, and he was sorry he’d kept them apart as long as he had. To make
it up to them, he’d not only paid for the wedding, but the honeymoon as well.

He looked over at Paula and smiled. The last eight months with her had been the best
of his life.

He reached down and took her hand in his. As she watched Kiley, he slipped a ring
onto her third finger, stopping at the first knuckle.

His heart raced as he waited for her to look down, to see what he offered. When she
did, she glanced back up at him, her wide eyes brimming with unshed tears. Smiling,
she nodded, and he slipped the ring the rest of the way onto her finger, then brought
it to his mouth. He placed a kiss against where the ring touched her skin, sealing
the promise they would soon make to one another. Just like his sister and Scott.

“I now pronounce you man and wife,” the pastor said just before Scott leaned down
to kiss Kiley.

He, Paula, Miranda, and the rest of the members of the team that had flown down to
see the wedding clapped and cheered loudly. Scott and Kiley broke apart, laughing.
They were a loud and rowdy crew. Scott had no doubt the wedding reception would be
a party to end all parties, especially with John there.

“Okay, okay,” Keith said, getting everyone’s attention. “We need to head over to the
beach for cake, but before we do…”

He held up Paula’s hand, showing off the ring. Paula smiled, Kiley squealed and embraced
Paula in a hug, and the guys descended on Keith with pats of congratulations and digs
of “Well, it’s about damn time.”

These guys were his family. He couldn’t ask for better friends.

“John’s next,” Scott said.

John shook his head firmly. “Oh, hell no. No way.”

He continued to argue against marriage the entire way to the beach. Kiley stayed back,
and as Keith passed, she wrapped her arm around his elbow and continued to walk with
him.

“I’m so glad you and Paula got together,” she said.

He smiled. “Me too. Are you happy, sis?”

She returned his smile and nodded. “You?”

“Happier than I deserve.”

“You’ve always deserved to be happy. I think Paula has been good for you.”

“I agree. And as much as I hate to admit it…I think you’ve been good for Scott.”

Her lips twitched. “It’s the other way around.”

Keith kissed her forehead. “Come on. Let’s join the others before there’s no cake
left.”

“We better hurry. If there’s one thing those guys can devour faster than alcohol,
its cake.”

“No, shit,” Keith said with a laugh as they headed toward the reception.

The End