Page 94 of The Bodyguard's Fall

I swallowed. But I found that all my logical reasoning had vanished, leaving only unabashed swoon in its wake.

Swoon.

I tried, but there really was no other word for the feeling of bliss threatening to drown my body. So I let him take my hand, pull me up, and lead me out of the restaurant.

It was nearly ten p.m. when we arrived back at the Walker farm. I wasn’t sure what my stay in this home would look like with our newly minted marriage license. He had said we would be sharing a room, but now…when it was actually nighttime…and we were married…my brain had a hard time knowing what to think. Even platonically, it was…a lot to take in. I attempted a breezy attitude as we walked toward the front door and even patted myself on the back for thinking well enough to comment (breezily) about my favorite maple tree outside my window, bursting with copper leaves. Tate seemed unbothered by anything and reached ahead of me to open the door.

It was locked.

He tried again. Still nothing budged. He banged on the door. Nothing. We quickly checked all the other doors into the house to no avail.

He sighed. “Dominic changed the locks yesterday. I don’t have a new key.”

Tate pulled out his phone, but before he could dial, there was a knock at a window, coming from inside the house.

We walked a few steps to the right of the porch before we saw all three Walker brothers’ faces smiling at us from the inside as they opened the window between us a crack.

“Open the door,” Tate said.

Luke looked confused before bringing his hand to his ear like he hadn’t heard right. “Huh?”

“Let us in,” Tate said, somewhat impatiently.

Ben stepped forward and waved at us both. The kind of wave that told me entertainment was on its way. “Now, what kind of brothers would we be if we let you spend your wedding night at the house? You’re a husband now. You better start treating your lady right.”

Tate’s back stiffened. His demeanor abruptly took on a brotherly, I’m going to kill you type of vibe, which I found to be quite endearing. He appealed next to Jaxon.

“Jax. Let us in. Now.”

But Jaxon only grinned, comfortably leaning his shoulder against the window frame, holding up what looked like a pamphlet from the town’s bed and breakfast.

“We all chipped in and got you a room at the Inn for tonight.”

“No,” Tate said, but Jaxon went on cheerfully like he hadn’t heard a word.

“It’s a wedding present,” Luke added, practically beaming.

“Isn’t it under construction?” I asked.

Jax flipped open a pamphlet showing the old Once Upon an Inn B&B on the cover. “They are now completely open for business.”

“Come on.” Tate banged against the window. “Let us in.”

“I mean…it sounds pretty good to me,” Jax said, opening the pamphlet. “We splurged and got you the Sleeping Beauty room. It says right here that you can, ‘Indulge in our enchanting haven where moonlight dances across silky sheets. Bask in a night to remember with golden candlelight and complimentary white wine while you let romance sweep you off your feet.’”

I covered my mouth with my hand. Tate gave me a pointed look with raised eyebrows before turning his attention back to his wholly unchastened brothers. “Where are Mom and Dad?”

“They’re in bed, probably watching a rerun of Jeopardy right now,” Ben said, his arm against the window frame as he leaned forward. When he saw Tate begin to lift his phone, he added quickly, “But I have to warn you, they’re definitely on our side with this one.”

The door creaked open, and a partially full duffel bag flew out, landing on the steps before the door slammed shut. The sound of the lock came next.

Ben reappeared in the window, standing a bit taller than the others. “We had Mom pack a shared overnight bag for you both.” He motioned to all his brothers. “We wanted to buy you both some new…pajamas, to celebrate, but Mom wouldn’t let us. Just know, it wasn’t for lack of trying.”

Tate swore under his breath as he ran an annoyed hand through his hair while my cheeks blazed.

“Fine,” he said. “You’re all safer if I leave now anyway. Where’s the room key?”

“Rosie’s expecting you.” Luke smiled. “She’ll get you all settled in when you get there.”