She reached up to touch my cheek, still unsure. “Tell me I’m imagining things. Tell me Michaels is imagining things.”

I sighed. “I can’t. I did go to the bar. I was talking to a girl. I couldn’t tell you if she was blonde or not; I wasn’t paying that close attention. But we were just talking. I did tell you I was driving home from work instead of the bar. I do talk to people on the phone late at night. But I only want you. Please trust me.”

Avery’s bottom lip quivered, and then she pulled me down to her, locking her wrists around my neck. I dug my hands between her and the mattress, holding her as if she were anchoring me to the earth.

The morning sun poured in through the windows, filling the room with light. Avery groaned. She’d covered for Deb the night before and had just trudged in at three a.m.

I stood, closing the curtains.

“It’s no use,” she said. “I’m awake.”

I rushed back to lie beside her under the covers. “Try to go back to sleep. You must be exhausted.”

“I can’t. There are only ten days left of May.”

I squeezed her tight. “Then it’s June.”

She looked up at me with weary eyes and a sleepy smile. “Then it’s June.”

“Still nervous?”

“I just hope no one is disappointed. It’s just a tiny wedding, no reception.”

“Hey,” I said. “I suggested pizza.”

She tilted her head, tucking her chin. “I’d rather not feed anyone than offer pizza for a wedding dinner.”

I shrugged and smiled. “They are just going to be happy to be there, Avery. They want to share this day with us.”

“I just don’t want it to suck.”

“You really think our friends and family are going to judge us based on if we feed them shrimp cocktails and have an ice sculpture?”

“No, but someone might.”

“Who are these fictional assholes that you speak of and why would we invite them to our wedding?”

Her giggles filled the bedroom, and she finally relaxed. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I can’t figure out what this thing is hanging over my head, so I’m making stuff up.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know,” she said, twirling her hair around her finger and looking out the window. “That thing.”

I wondered if she meant the same uncertain feeling that had been plaguing me. Clearly, neither of us was unsure about our relationship. It was something else, and she was feeling it too.

“How are you?” I asked, brushing her hair back from her face.

She smiled, amused. “I’m fine.”

“You know what I mean,” I said, nudging her. “How are you feeling?”

“Like the luckiest girl on Earth.” She grinned against my lips as she slipped her hands around the back of my neck and pulled me closer. Moving the blanket from between us, I slid my body over hers, still wanting her just as badly as the first night we’d made love. Settling my hips on hers, her thighs fell open wider, granting me access.

Reaching between us, she gripped my length, positioning me at her entrance, skin to skin. I glanced over my shoulder at the nightstand, but Avery pulled me down, planting a deep kiss on my mouth. “I want to feel you.” She bit her lip. “Just you.”

Lifting my head to look her in the eye, she nodded before I pushed forward, filling her slowly as she gasped at the new sensation. Her eyes fluttered closed, and I pressed my lips to each eyelid as we began to move together, her nails biting into the flesh of my back.

“It’s like you were made for me,” I rasped.

She sucked in a ragged breath, releasing it against the shell of my ear, causing a shiver to run the length of my spine.

Her hips rose and fell as her gasps grew louder, increasing in frequency as her release began to build. Rolling over, I pulled her on top of me as she kept her chest pressed to mine.

She sat up, raking her hair back, arching her back so I could appreciate her full form. “Christ, you’re beautiful,” I said, running my hands over her soft breasts and down her middle.

Her lip was between her teeth, pressing into the delicate flesh as she adjusted. The movement nearly caused me to finish, and I gripped her hips to give me time to refocus.

A piece of her golden hair fell into her eyes when she looked down at me. For the first time in a long time, she seemed confident, and that thought alone made my dick harden inside her.

I reached up, running my thumb over her mouth. She kept her eyes on mine, pressing a kiss to my skin, and then opened those beautiful lips, sliding them down over my index finger, gently sucking as she pulled away.

My breathing faltered. “For fuck’s sake, woman.”

She smiled. “You like that?” Her tongue ran up my finger again, something new flickering in her eyes. I didn’t dare question what, in case questions snuffed it out.

She pushed against my chest until she was sitting astride my hips, her nipples hardened into tight buds. My grip tightened on her hips as she slowly rose and fell, teasing me.

“I love you,” I confessed for the millionth time, but it felt like it would never be enough. Her movements grew less controlled as her inhibitions lowered. I began to move her with my own rhythm, pulling her hips forward and rolling them back like waves in sync with the pulsing of her body around me.

“I love you,” she whimpered as her hands ran down the ridges of my abs. “So much.”

“Show me.” With those words, she came undone in my arms, collapsing against me in the aftermath of our affection.

“I’m suffocating,” I panted, tugging the silky white material of my sundress.

“You look like a new pair of tits on a one-legged hooker,” Deb assured me. “I’m jealous.”

“Is that a good thing?” I asked as I stared at my flushed face in the mirror.

“That dress would look like a hand towel on me,” she said—as if that clarified anything at all.

The heat was sweltering and it was only mid-June. We had arranged airline tickets for Josh’s parents, and Mrs. Cipriani had graciously offered her spare bedroom and arranged to rent a vacant apartment in her building for cheap to help us cut down on costs.

“Why are you smiling like a pervert?” Deb’s voice shook me from my thoughts as I fastened the back onto my pearl earring. “You thinking about Josh’s wang?”

“I’m just … happy.” I shrugged as I slid my other earring in my ear. Deb twisted her face in disgust over my shoulder.

“Well, stop it. You’re grossing me out.”

I closed my eyes, behind them a blurry, horizontal peek of the hospital, as if I were looking into one of the rooms through blinds. I blinked them open.

“Whoa,” I said, reaching out for the dresser next to me. “I need more sleep.”

“What?” Deb said, leaning over to look into my eyes. “You’re not going to pass out on me, are you?”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I didn’t sleep great last night.”

“Typical. Your whole relationship is typical. I wanted an oops pregnancy and public fights and Josh to beat the shit out of Dr. Rosenberg for looking at you too long. Love is boring. No, thank you.”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know what love feels like, Hamata. I see you looking at Quinn like you want to eat him.”

“I’m a big girl, Jacobs. I’d eat just about anything you put in front of me.” She winked, nudging me in the ribs with her elbow. “All right, fine. I love him. He’s the yin to my yang. The lube to my anal.”

“You make that sound so … sweet.” I made a fake gagging sound as she took my necklace from my hands and clasped it around my neck. “Thanks.”

I felt the single pearl that dangled in the center of my chest. It was the necklace my grandmother had worn when she married my grandpa. Josh had my aunt ship it from Florida as a surprise. I tried not to be hurt that she couldn’t make it to the actual ceremony, but I knew we were asking a lot and it was last minute.