Lydia couldn’t believe her ears when Crystal spoke up. “Mark spanked me last night, and it was so hot. He put me right over his lap.”

   “And that was so not what I was expecting to hear,” Suzy said in disbelief. “It’s way more than I could have hoped for, though. Boy, you don’t play around, do you, Tinkerbelle?”

   “Spanked by DeStudo,” Mia purred, “how poetic. I bet that man gives excellent hand.”

   “Well, we don’t call him Mr. Big for nothing now, do we?” Lydia joked. Heck, hearing that from Crystal made her want to go home and ask Jake to put her over his knee. She had a feeling he’d really be into that. He certainly was a fan of changing positions multiple times during sex. This one would probably blow his mind if she suggested it—when she suggested it.

   All too soon, several hours had passed and Brant walked in, followed by Mac. Then surprisingly enough, Jake appeared next and headed straight for her. “Hey, baby,” he whispered in her ear as he leaned down to drop a kiss on her upturned mouth.

   “I didn’t know you were coming.” She smiled as she took in her sexy husband in his jeans and a T-shirt. The things she wanted to do to that man of hers tonight. She wasn’t sure if they’d actually get out of the parking lot before she had her way with him.

   “I wanted to take care of my own woman,” he said possessively, which effectively set her clit on fire.

   Jumping to her feet, then swaying slightly as the alcohol hit her, she whisper-shouted to her friends, “I’ve got to go now.” When Jake turned his back to say something to Brant, Lydia made a grabbing motion at his ass, causing the other women to howl in laughter. He flipped back around and gave her a questioning look, to which she replied innocently, “They’re drunk.”

   Next to her, Emma appeared to be attempting a tonsillectomy on Brant, much to Ava’s disgust. Lydia had a feeling it was also mostly for Ava’s benefit. Those two certainly loved getting to each other.

   Jake held her hand while she made her way around the room to hug each woman good night. Then he walked her to his truck and helped her carefully inside as if she were a breakable heirloom. When he clipped her seatbelt in place, she kissed his cheek before he could pull back. “I love you,” she murmured dreamily.

   His answering smile was soft as he replied, “I love you too, baby. Let’s get you home and in bed.”

   “Mmm, I’m going to do stuff to you when we get there.” Wrinkling her forehead in deep thought, she added, “I’m not sure what, but it’ll come to me.”

   She heard him laughing as he shut her door and walked around to his side. He held her hand as they made the trip home. “It looked like you ladies had a great time,” he remarked in a voice filled with amusement.

   “Oh, we did.” She giggled. “One of them is pregnant. It’s Beth. No, wait, that’s not right. Maybe it’s Claire. And she has glow gas. Like really bad.” Attempting to bring Jake into focus through her suddenly blurry eyes, she asked, “Would you still love me if I farted like a mule? Because someone at dinner does that.” Before he could answer, she snapped her fingers together clumsily. “It’s Suzy! She’s the one with something in her oven and she’s got gas.” She thought she heard Jake choking when she added, “And she’s horny all the time.”

   “That’s um . . . tough,” Jake said, still sounding wheezy.

   “You bet your ass it is.” She nodded. “I want to ride your big stick all the time too so I understand that. When we get home, I’m totally doing that to you. Just wait, it’s going to be the hottest thing ever.”

   Patting her hand, Jake said, “I’m sure it will, baby.”

   They fell silent for the rest of the trip. At one point, Lydia thought she’d actually woken herself up snoring. She wasn’t sure how that was possible since she didn’t remember going to sleep. Wow, what is Jake doing? Why is the truck rocking so much? Back and forth, back and forth. “Honey,” she said weakly. “I’m not feeling too good. Could you please keep the vehicle straight?”

   “Oh shit,” she heard him mutter.

   One moment, she was sitting beside him on the way home, and the next, she was bent over a bush in the front yard as her two or maybe three margaritas staged a revolt. Through it all, Jake was right there with her. Holding her up and keeping her hair out of the way. He was her white knight and absolutely the one man she wanted around when she was tossing her cookies. In her drunken state, she had a startling moment of clarity. Real men—the keepers—weren’t there just for the good times or the amazing sex. No, they were there beside you in the trenches when you were at your lowest and they still looked at you as if they were the luckiest bastards alive. Any guy can be a husband, but only a real man will ever use his shirt to wipe your face after you’ve defaced the magnolia bush in clear sight of all the neighbors at midnight. And that same man will carry you in the house, brush your teeth even though your breath smells worse than a dead cat, and then hold you up while he stands in the shower fully clothed himself to clean you off. He will dress your limp body and tuck you lovingly into bed, where he will stay awake to check on you repeatedly throughout the night.

   As she felt him kiss her forehead and say, “I love you,” Lydia knew that through all the heartache and loss in her life, she’d found it. The guy who had turned into a man just to love her. It wasn’t that he was better than Brett had been. It was quite simply that when God took one angel from her life, he blessed her three years later with another one. Their beginning might have been unconventional, but in the end, they’d gotten it right, and wasn’t that all any couple could hope for? Each love story takes a different route, but if you truly love each other, you’ll always reach your destination together, no matter what road you travel to get there.

Epilogue

   “I thought your wedding was the social event of the year,” Lydia marveled as she stared at the setup for the sunset wedding on the private beach of the Oceanix–Myrtle Beach resort.