Fatal Series 00 - Fatal Destiny

her. They were nearly to the door when Sam stopped him. “Wait! I forgot to toss my bouquet.”
    Nick moaned. “We were almost to a clean getaway!”
    “One more minute.”
    “Hurry!”
    Sam signaled for Shelby, who had the whole thing organized in under a minute. “One, two, three!” Sam tossed the bouquet over her shoulder and turned just in time to see it land with Freddie’s girlfriend Elin. Like a deer caught in headlights, Elin tossed it up in the air, and Gonzo’s fiancée Christina Billings caught it the second time.
    She let out a delighted squeal and threw herself into Gonzo’s arms.
    Sam blew a kiss to her sisters and friends and took her husband’s outstretched hand. With a last look back at the beautiful room, Sam left with him to begin their new life together.
     
    “I have to confess that you were right about something,” Sam said when they arrived in their suite and found their honeymoon luggage neatly placed in the corner. Someone had lit candles, left champagne chilling in an ice bucket and placed more orchids around the sitting room. The suite was cozy and elegant, but she didn’t give it much attention after waiting all day to be alone with her husband.
    “I love how you say that, as if me being right about something is a special occasion. I expect it to be a regular—maybe even daily —occurrence in our marriage.”
    Sam rolled her eyes at him. “Whatever you say, dear.”
    Nick tugged off his bowtie and released the top button of his shirt. “So what was I right about this time?”
    “Shelby. She was worth every single one of the many thousands of dollars you paid her. She’s a freaking miracle worker.”
    “No kidding. Was there anything she didn’t think of?”
    “Not that I saw.”
    Sam turned to him and put her arms around him. “I could use some help getting out of this getup. Are you game?”
    “I suppose I could be convinced to lend a hand.”
    Sam smiled at him and tilted her head. “You can start at the top and work your way down.”
    Nick slid the orchid from her hair and brought it to his nose. “That scent will always remind me of the best day of my life.” He trailed the delicate bloom down her cheek. “I know you would’ve preferred something less elaborate—”
    “You were right about the wedding too.”
    “This me-being-right thing is becoming a bit of a pattern.”
    “Don’t get used to it. I’m sure we’ll be back to normal in no time.” She reached up to caress his face. “The wedding was beautiful and everything I hoped it would be for you and so much more that I didn’t even know I wanted.”
    “I’m glad to hear you say that.” He put the orchid on a table and reached up to remove the pins from her hair. “Are you kidding me?” he asked as he watched her gorgeous hair spill down over her shoulders. “Three pins were holding that whole thing together?”
    “Apparently, when you put them in the right places, that’s all you need. Who knew?”
    Nick buried his fingers in her hair and tilted his head to kiss her. “You were so incredibly beautiful today, Samantha. You are every day, but today… you took my breath away.”
    “When I saw you waiting for me in church, I’ve never seen you look so handsome.” She smoothed her hands over his chest and made quick work of divesting him of the onyx studs that had served as buttons. “I broke a lot of hearts in the Capitol region today by taking you off the market.”
    “Right,” he said, laughing. “So my guy Terry and your girl Lindsey, huh?”
    Sam moaned. She too had noticed his deputy chief of staff dancing most of the evening with the District’s chief medical examiner. They’d seemed positively smitten. “ Why do our two worlds have to keep colliding?”
    He kissed her nose. “Because all our friends want to be as happy as we are.”
    “I guess,” she said as she dropped the studs in a pile on a table and turned around. “Unzip me?”
    “If I have to,” he said with a dramatic sigh that made her giggle. “Is there something under here that’ll stop my heart?”
    “Perhaps,” she said, sending him a coy smile over her shoulder.
    His lips found her neck as he slowly unzipped her dress.
    “My sisters gave me a frilly thing I’m supposed to wear tonight.”
    “Is that so?”
    She tipped her head to give him better access to her neck. “Uh huh.”
    “Is it sexier than what I’m finding under this dress?”
    Sam bit her lip and smiled. “It’s not quite as