Fatal Series 00 - Fatal Destiny

said.
    In his eyes she saw disbelief and resignation.
    “We’re not spending our first minutes as husband and wife talking about someone who’s not worth our time.” As she watched him make a huge effort to shake it off, Sam raised her hands to his face and kissed him softly. “She’s not worth our time.”
    His arms encircled her waist. “Did you rip her to shreds?”
    Sam smiled at his attempt at humor. “I made confetti out of her.”
    “I really wish I could’ve seen that.”
    “Someday, I’ll tell you all about it, but not today.”
    “I’ll look forward to that.”
    Sam kissed him again. “Will you be all right?”
    “Yeah. Thanks for having my back.”
    “Always.”
    He reached for her right hand and removed her engagement ring, placing it on her left hand with the low-key but elegant diamond band. Running his thumb over the two rings, he said, “Do you like your ring?”
    “It’s beautiful and perfect. And it won’t get in the way at work.”
    “I knew you’d say that.”
    She captured his left hand. “What do you think of yours?”
    “I love it. Very classy.”
    “Just like you.” Sam kissed his ring. “I’ve always thought there was something so incredibly sexy about a wedding ring on a man’s finger. It tells the world he has pledged himself to someone and isn’t afraid to say so. Everyone you meet will know you’re taken. I like that.”
    “Then I’ll never take it off.”
    “You have to take it off at least once so you can see the engraving.”
    “All right, but just this once.” He slid the ring from his finger and tipped it into the light so he could read the inscription. She hadn’t expected him to laugh. “Take a look at yours.”
    Sam removed both rings and held up the wedding band so she could see inside. You’re my home. Always, Nick . She looked up at him, astounded. “No way! No wonder why Shelby seemed so surprised by what I’d chosen!”
    Nick laughed again, and the sound warmed Sam’s heart. Thankfully, he seemed to have rebounded from the shock of seeing his mother. “What a pair we are, huh?”
    “A match made in heaven,” Sam said, sighing as she kissed him.
    For the longest time, they stood there gazing at each other like two lovesick fools.
    “I can’t believe you’re finally my wife,” he said softly, reverently.
    “And you’re finally my husband.”
    He framed her face, kissing her long and hard before he seemed to remember they had guests waiting for them. “We probably ought to get out there before Shelby thinks we’re consummating in here.”
    Chuckling, Sam looked around the small but elegant room that included an upholstered chaise lounge. “That’s not a bad idea…”
    “Hold that thought for a couple of hours.”
    She reached up to wipe the lingering lipstick off his mouth. “ That long ?”
    “I’ll make it well worth the wait,” he promised with a salacious grin that sent shivers down her spine as he led her out the door to rejoin Shelby.
     
    The room fairly shimmered in candlelight and the waning glow of daylight. Greens and purples and orchids with painted glass vases full of more flowers on the tables. Sam had seen sketches of Shelby’s vision, but nothing could’ve prepared her for the reality of just how amazing it turned out to be. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, their city stretched out before them—from the White House to the Washington Monument to Lincoln, Jefferson and the Potomac beyond.
    Earlier, word had rippled through the city that the famed cherry trees that lined the tidal basin in front of the Jefferson Memorial had burst into bloom overnight. As the photographer took shots of them on the patio with the monuments in the background, Sam pointed out the sea of cherry blossom pink to Nick.
    “The city is giving us its blessing,” he said.
    She went up on tiptoes to kiss him, hearing the click, click, click of the camera that recorded their every move. “It certainly seems that way, doesn’t it?”
    Nick never left her side as they received guests, had dinner, took what seemed like a thousand photos and exchanged an equal number of on-demand kisses. Freddie, Gonzo and the others from the MPD seemed to have placed themselves in charge of regularly clinking silverware against crystal to demand more of the PDA Sam avoided like the plague. She’d get them back when it was their turn to tie the knot.
    Freddie seemed thrilled to have Elin with him, and Sam was glad she’d encouraged him to