Kaye Dacus - Stand-In Groom

He kissed her, his tenderness fulfilling her every dream. “Two planes.”

“I had to see you.” She touched his hair. He was grayer now than he’d been when she first met him. “I have a question I wanted to ask you.”

He smiled and pulled her out of the path of onlookers. She hadn’t meant to make a spectacle. She took his proffered handkerchief and dried her tears.

“What question did you want to ask me?”

My, my, but he was smug. “Well, I feel like we have a lot in common, and we obviously work well together.” She grinned. “What I wanted to ask is: Would you consider joining me as an equal partner in Happy Endings, Inc.?”

Smugness deflated into speechless disappointment.

Oh, she couldn’t resist. “I know you’ll have to figure things out legally with your work visa and all.”

He cleared his throat. “I—well, that is to say…”

She pressed one finger to his lips. “Of course, I’ve decided I cannot take on any business partner but my husband. So if you still want to work with me, I guess you’ll just have to marry me.”

He laughed and pulled her close, caressing the back of her head. “I think that’s the best business proposition I’ve ever heard.”

The touch of his lips on hers sent blue sparks through her body. “I love you,” she whispered. “Always, always, always.”

He traced the curve of her jaw with his forefinger, kissed the bridge of her nose, and tucked her back into his arms. “Now that’s what I call a happy ending.”