Jillian and Colin had plans for the day of the wedding. They went out for a leisurely Saturday-morning breakfast, walked around town a bit, then went back to their motel to get ready so they could be at the club by two. Colin took his shower first—he didn’t need much time and wanted to stay out of Jill’s way. After cleaning up and trimming his beard, he threw on some sweats and went out to grab a newspaper and a can of cola, leaving her alone to get ready. When he returned and let himself into the room, the sight of her knocked the wind out of him.

Jillian was in front of the mirror, bent over at the waist while she dried her hair. She was wearing a pink strapless bra and a thong of a matching color. When she noticed him standing just inside the door, mesmerized, she straightened and turned off the blow-dryer. “Colin?”

He tossed the newspaper on the bed, put down his can of cola and went to her. “Look at you,” he said, his voice husky.

She laughed at him. “You’ve seen me in a lot less.”

“And every time it blows me away.” He put his big hands under her arms and slowly slid them down her sides. He lowered his mouth onto hers and kissed her, tonguing open her lips, penetrating her mouth. One of his hands slid up her back and held her head against his mouth. And he moaned hungrily. “Shouldn’t I be getting used to you by now? Every time I walk in the room and see you half-dressed, it’s like the first time. And I start to want you like it’s the first time.”

While he kissed her, his fingers found the snap on that little bra and opened it, releasing her br**sts into his palms. He kissed her long and hard, then dipped his head to sample a hardened nipple, smiling inside as she let her head drop back in an erotic groan. He lifted his head and stared down into her eyes, his own eyes growing smoky-dark and intense as his hands slowly ran over her h*ps and slid that thong to her thighs, then to the floor.

“Uh-oh,” she whispered. “Are you going to make us late?”

“I’d like to make us no-shows,” he said in a deep, gravelly voice.

“Oh, Colin, I don’t want to make a bad impression on your family….”

“You mean the impression that I can’t get enough of you? It’ll be okay. We’ll get there in plenty of time….”

His hands on her waist, he lifted her onto the vanity, spread her knees apart and knelt before her, kissing the inside of her thighs right before he plunged his mouth into her core. She gasped, threading her fingers into his hair, leaning away to give him all of herself. The hungry sounds he made were beautiful to her; the strength of his tongue on her, in her, drove her half out of her mind. He pulled her closer and closer to the edge of the vanity, giving himself more space, more room, more depth.

She didn’t last long; her fingers knotted into his hair, she fell back against the mirror behind the vanity and she shook with an orgasm so strong her eyes rolled back in her head. Colin didn’t stop torturing her for a long time. Finally he pulled his head back only to rip his T-shirt over his head, drop and kick off his sweats and stand ready between her legs.

With a hand under each side of her bottom, he pulled her toward him, onto him. He lifted her easily and her legs went around his waist. “Ahhh, Jilly…”

“Your arm, Colin… Be careful….”

“Don’t worry about my arm. When I have you like this, I just about go out of my mind.”

“Sit, Colin. Sit on the bed. Let me do some of the work….”

He grinned against her lips. “Now how can I say no to that?” He sat down on the edge of the bed, his hands still under her perfect butt, buried his hairy face in her neck and began to lift his hips, pumping into her, slowly at first. “God, Jilly,” he whispered. “You’re so perfect….”

Arms around his neck, she held him close to her, close in her, and as always with Colin, she was reaching another pinnacle quickly, gasping and grasping, tightening around him, her legs like a vise around his waist. She knew he felt it because he chuckled deep in his throat, then he plunged into her one more time and she could feel his pulsing, throbbing release.

They clung to each other for a long moment, sweating and still breathing hard. When they’d calmed and Jillian leaned away to look into his eyes, she found him smiling at her. He pushed her hair over her ear. “We’re so right together,” he said softly. “You just do it to me every time.”

She laughed softly and said, “Ah, I believe you just did it to me! And now we have to start over—we need showers. And we’re going to be late! Because you just can’t control yourself and when you can’t, I can’t!”

“Your cheeks are pink, sweetheart. Flushed and satisfied.”

“Get in the shower, Colin. And please hurry.”

In the end Colin had to quickly shower, don his tux and head for the country club for the two o’clock pictures with a promise to come back for Jillian between pictures and the ceremony. When he walked into the hotel room later she shot him a look, held her hand up to ward him off and said, “I swear, if you touch me I’ll scream! I don’t have time for another shower and fix-up!”

He just grinned at her and said, “Do you just have that little pink getup on under that dress? The little bra and thong and that’s all?”

“I think it would be a mistake to talk about it!”

“I’ll be thinking about it all night and then when I get you back here, I’m going to undress you with my teeth.”

“That’s fine, as long as you don’t embarrass me in front of your family!”

“Come on, sweetheart,” he said. “Let’s get you away from the bed. We have to get Aiden married.”

The wedding was elegant, held outside in a sheltered cove. There were about a hundred and fifty guests—many of them Erin’s partners, coworkers from the law firm, a few of her clients and some of Aiden’s partners from his new medical practice. They spoke the traditional vows in front of a woman minister, a string quartet played, Ian Buchanan sang “From This Moment On” and, before Jillian knew it, they were walking back down the aisle. Since the pictures were already done, the rest of the evening was dedicated to a classy party. There was a champagne hour during which many toasts were made, then a beautiful meal was served, finally an incredible cake was cut. There was dancing inside the country club, but most of the guests seemed content to linger outside, visiting, listening to the soft string music that floated over the warm spring night and among the trees and flowers.

Jillian was able to spend lots of time with Colin’s mother and sisters-in-law. By ten in the evening the bride, groom and most of their family were headed back to the house for coffee at the end of the day’s events.

Typically, the bride and groom would be on the next plane out of town to their honeymoon destination, but Aiden and Erin didn’t want to miss out on any time with the family that had traveled to their wedding, family who would have to get back to their lives by Monday. So, instead of leaving town right away, Aiden and Erin stayed and hosted a Sunday-morning brunch. The same catering service was back, this time with brunch specialties.

Most of the family would only be staying until Sunday afternoon. Colin didn’t have pressing business, but Jillian had to get back to her plants. In fact, of all the Riordans, the only ones who had nothing but time were Maureen and George. They planned to stay in Chico for a couple more days, then head north for a visit in Virgin River before getting back on the road.

Before everyone went their separate ways they spent Sunday afternoon just sitting in the garden and visiting. Colin sat on a lawn chair on the far side of the lawn watching Jillian. She was sitting on the grass with Shelby and Marcie, who had their babies, both around nine months old, playing together on a blanket. The girls were talking and laughing; they’d made friends easily. Jill was animated as she laughed with the girls, played with the babies and made them giggle.

He was in awe of a woman who could look so pure and proper one moment and the next be the wild woman driving him out of his mind in his bed. This was far outside of his experience. Oh, he had lots of experience with wild bedmates, but he couldn’t possibly have taken them to family gatherings. And then, of course, he’d dated some real proper girls, but hadn’t met one who could hold his attention after dark.

“Usually you’d expect it to be the bridegroom who would be all fogged over, gazing at his woman….”

Colin looked up to see Aiden smiling down at him. He laughed and shook his head; he was caught.

Aiden dragged a lawn chair over and sat beside Colin. “I like your girl,” he said. “Jillian’s a catch.”

Colin nodded. “She’s pretty wonderful. I’ve never met anyone like her.”

Aiden rested the ankle of his right leg on the knee of his left and leaned back in his lawn chair. “I take it you’re feeling good? Medically?”

“Can’t complain,” Colin said. “Almost never have pain anymore—just the elbow sometimes.” He demonstrated by stretching out his arm. It wasn’t quite straight. “I keep working it, but it’s still a little bent. But at least it’s strong now. I have no trouble carrying heavy things, like a big duffel. I’ve been working with some weights.”

“Don’t overdo it. Take it nice and slow,” Aiden advised. “So, this?” he asked, nodding toward Jill. “Serious?”

Colin gave Aiden his full attention. “Oh, I’m serious about Jill. I’m just not ready to settle down.”

Aiden shrugged. “You haven’t known her all that long. That could change.”

“It’s not about marriage, Aiden. The crash and all the bullshit that followed sneaked up on me. I was a long way from hanging up my helmet. I planned to give the Army thirty, then find a civilian flying job until the age of sixty-five, or as long as my medical held out. I screwed that up.”

“True, you have issues to work through,” Aiden said. “But you aren’t necessarily at the end of your flying career. It’s just a matter of going through all the necessary steps to get your license back.”

“Aiden, I have my license back.”

Aiden sat up straighter. “No kidding? Good for you! When did that happen?”

“Couple of months ago. Six months clean and sober, all healed up—I have my medical back and I’m licensed, but noncurrent. Can’t fly if you’re not current. I’ll need check rides—but first I’ll need an employer willing to set up those checks to get my license current. The Army isn’t going to take me back and a civilian operation in this country won’t be ready for someone like me until the last thing on my résumé looks a lot better than it does right now. Listen—it’s going to be a little complicated….”

“What’s going on, Colin?” Aiden asked.

“I don’t think we should talk about all this here, today. It’s the day after your wedding and I’m not ready to get opinions from Sean and Luke and Paddy. Not to mention our mother.”

Aiden lifted a brow. “I’m ready,” he said.

“Can this be just between us for now? For a few more weeks anyway?”

“As long as you’re not going to tell me you are looking for work as a mercenary,” Aiden said.

“Not directly, but…” He shrugged. “Never know…”

Aiden leaned forward and put his forehead in his hand. “Aw, man…”

“That’s not my first choice. Like I said, I’m not ready to settle down, meaning I’m not ready for a quiet life. I’m not like Luke—I’m not going to be satisfied with some cabins by the river and a sweet little wife and baby. It’s not me. It’s not me yet, anyway. I like to be on the move, challenge myself, do the things not everyone can do. So I have some plans that will keep me moving, give me a chance to check out the possibilities.”