by M. Malone
“Thank God.”
“I’m really proud of you, and I cannot wait to marry you.”
“Can you just go ahead and promise me that the rest of our marriage will not be quite so entertaining?”
I really wished I could. “Yeah, about that. Sometimes, things get a little crazy around here. Okay, a lot of times. I’m not going to lie. But we’re a team. Better than that, we’re a family.”
Noah was still glaring at Tyse. And Tyse was not backing down. I liked the kid already.
“Fine, it was the right call,” Noah finally muttered. “Gemma, Diana, JJ, and Hailey, thank you for saving our bacon.”
Hailey turned around and grinned. “You’re very welcome. Now if you guys don’t mind, I’d like to get some rest so I can get married tomorrow.”
Noah nodded. “Yeah, I think we could all use some rest.” Isabella slapped her father in the face and shook her head. She used her chubby little fingers to make sign language for ‘no bed time.’
I laughed. Only Izzy would say no bedtime after an ordeal like today. In that moment, all I wanted to do was get into bed and hold my wife close. Tomorrow, I would get to remember marrying her.
Hailey
We were really doing it, after everything we’d been through. After losing Oskar once, and then nearly losing him again, I planned to keep this man forever and I couldn’t wait.
“You look like the cat that swallowed the canary.”
I pinned the wedding corsage on his tux. “You recognize no one should look this good in a tuxedo, right?
He grinned, his blue eyes full of warmth and love. “I can’t help it. I make most things look good.”
I just shook my head and laughed. “Of course you would say that.”
“Of course I would. Being outrageous is part of my charm.”
“Are you sure you want to do this? There’s no backing out now. You can’t claim you don’t remember.”
He took my hands and clasped them in his gigantic ones. “From the moment I found out we’d gotten married in Las Vegas, I knew I was keeping you. I just wanted to give you time to come around to my way of thinking.”
I shook my head. “You did not know.”
“Maybe not consciously, but I definitely felt it. I didn’t want to let you go. Just the idea of it pissed me off. And now we get to make it official with our friends and family. For the first time in my life, I want to put down roots. I want to do this. I’m just so glad you’re back in my life, and I am never letting you go.”
“Someone has been practicing their vows.”
“Pretty much every day since you walked back into my life.”
I swallowed back tears. “You realize you’re going to make me cry, right?”
“No, no tears today. I think you’ve had enough tears. Today, my wife only gets to be happy.”
I grinned at that. “God, I’m really going to get used to that.”
“Yeah, me too. I’m especially going to get used to all the awesome parts of being close to you.”
He leaned forward and nuzzled my neck, kissing along my jaw. “Are you sure you want to go out there? I say we take our time. They can wait. They’re not going to start without us.”
I slapped his shoulder. “We’re getting married. I’m not going to wait to make it official, official. I can’t wait to be Mrs. Oskar Mueller.”
He grinned. “Is this a bad time to tell you that my last name is not Mueller?”
I stared at him. “What?”
“It’s actually Schilling, but when we all joined Blake Security, those of us with shady reputations changed our names and took new identities. Mueller is actually my mother’s maiden name.”
I blinked. “Oh my God, you know what? I’m going to take Mueller, because that’s your current legal name, right?”
“You don’t have to add a question mark to that. That’s my legal name. That’s who I am now. Oscar Schilling doesn’t exist anymore. The man who I was doesn’t exist. The man you see in front of you lives to make you happy. That’s all.”
“Well in that case, that’s the guy I want to marry.”
“Then let’s do this. I love you. I always have.”
“Right back at you.” I took his hands and squeezed. For once, I wasn’t at all terrified to let go.
22
Oskar
I tugged nervously at my collar again. It wasn’t too tight, but it still felt like it was strangling me.
“Tell me I’m crazy for agreeing to this.”
“You’re crazy,” Jonas replied. “Dude, you’re already married. You had the best excuse ever for actually skipping this bullshit.”
He glanced over his shoulder nervously and then relaxed.
“Don’t let your wife hear you say that.” I had to give the guy credit. He was married to JJ and dealt with her every day. I couldn’t even tease him about looking over his shoulder.
“Stop fidgeting. She’s not going to leave you. If she’s spent this much time with you and hasn’t bailed yet, I’d say you have her well and truly fooled.”
I glanced over at Rafe. “Just admit it. You love me. Secretly, deep down somewhere in that black heart of yours.”
He chuckled. “You wish, jackass. But I am happy that Hailey has someone to protect her the way she deserves. She's one of the good ones.”
Jonas appeared at my elbow holding a small highball of scotch. “Drink this. You look like you’re about to have a panic attack.”
It was just Jonas and Rafe with me. Noah had gone to check if the women needed anything. We were in one of the guest rooms since Hailey was changing into her dress in our room. God, who had come up with the asinine idea to make a man wait for his bride in a separate area? If I didn’t think Rafe would tackle me, I would charge out there and go find my bride. But considering that JJ had given us orders to wait here until it was time, I wasn’t willing to risk it.
No one wanted to deal with a pissed-off Jessica Jones, least of all me.
The door opened and we all looked up as Noah walked back in. “They’re almost ready. Hailey’s parents are here, by the way.”
My shoulders sagged in relief. In the wake of everything we’d discovered about her brother, Hailey hadn’t been sure her parents would even show up if we invited them. But in the end, she’d decided to take the high road. As she put it, “They’re my parents, and I want to do the right thing even if they don’t.”
“Good. That’ll make Hailey happy. She deserves that much.”
I couldn’t give her a normal life. It wasn’t like I had a normal set of parents to introduce her to since my mom was gone and my father and I mutually ignored each other. But if I could help her preserve her relationship with her parents, I would. As for her brother, Evan could fuck off. Hailey was still heartbroken after learning the truth about what he’d done in the past, but if I knew my softhearted wife, she’d eventually forgive him.
So I needed to start working on my tolerant face now. Currently it looked like a cross between road rage and constipation.
“Happy wife, happy life,” Noah muttered. “This is some A-level advice I’m giving you here.”
I shook my head. It felt good to have us all there. In a way it felt like the end of an era. All of us had started together in various stages of our lives, but we were all dealing with ghosts from the past. Now here we were, all married and on the other side. Proof that even bad guys could get a happy ending if they worked hard enough for it.
That was the secret, I guessed. You had to actually work for it. And be worthy of it. Which was an ongoing process.
“I want to say something before the others get here.”
Rafe, Jonas and Noah all stared back at me with knowing eyes. And I realized they’d already given me the best gift, knowing that they’d have my back no matter what, no questions asked. I didn’t need to pull some long speech out of my ass to thank them, either. They already knew.
“I’m still the prettiest.”
Moving q
uickly, I ducked out of the way as Jonas tossed the paper program at my head. I caught it in mid-air.
“How the hell did JJ get a program printed that fast?”
He shrugged. “She knew some guy at the printer. I didn’t ask any questions. Not sure I want to know.”
The program featured a gorgeous picture of Hailey and a picture of me in the middle of eating a hot dog.
“I see your wife takes her revenge at the best moments.”
He chuckled. “No one plays the long game like that woman.”
The door opened, and JJ appeared as if she’d been summoned. “We’re almost ready to start. Oskar, the bride has requested to see you. You’ll stay outside the door because she wants her dress to be a surprise.”
I jumped at the chance to see Hailey before we had to stand in front of whatever minister Noah had scrounged up to perform the ceremony. “Okay.”
JJ pinned me with a scary look. “And no hanky-panky. I did her makeup, and it’s perfect.”
I grinned, because me seeing Hailey and not messing up her makeup had a probability hovering somewhere around zero, but I was willing to say whatever was necessary if it got me there.
“You got it. Now, I need to see my wife.”
Hailey
At the knock on the door, I rushed forward to open it. After being poked and prodded for the last hour, I needed to see Oskar. He was my reminder of why I’d willingly signed up to squeeze myself into a sample-sized dress and put on heels that I could barely walk in.
Not to mention the pound of makeup JJ had plastered to my face. I needed a break. And a reward.
When I pulled the door open, Oskar burst inside. Giggling, I shut it behind him quickly.
“What are you doing? I know JJ gave you the don’t look at her dress speech.”
“I don’t care about that. I’m dying without you, and this tie is strangling me.”
“Poor baby. You need a hug.”
He came willingly, ducking his head so I could embrace him. After a minute, one finger migrated to the bodice of my dress. I slapped it away.
“I was just checking that my beauties are still there. I’ll see you later,” he cooed in the direction of my cleavage.
“You are crazy.”
“And you love me,” he said, his eyes locked on mine.
“You know it. I love you, and I can’t wait until we can be alone again. Why did we think a wedding was a good idea again?”
He swept me up into his arms and swung me around. “Hell if I know, but if you want me to bust us out, just say the word. I’m your hero, baby.”
Laughing, I extricated myself from his arms and smoothed my dress. “Lucia and JJ worked so hard on this ceremony. We can’t disappoint them. And my parents actually showed up, so we need to go out there and do this thing so our friends and family can be a part of our day.”
“We’re pretty lucky, huh?”
I knew what he meant. That the girls had worked so hard to pull this together for us literally overnight was a testament to their love for us.
“Our friends are pretty great.”
He laughed. “You know, when I met you that day three years ago, I could have never predicted this. I was alone in the world, trying to outrun the consequences of a lifetime of bad decisions and unsure of what the future held. Honestly at that point, I didn’t really think I had a future. I always figured I’d bite it at the hands of one of my dad’s enemies.”
I pulled him down for a quick kiss. “The universe works in mysterious ways, huh? Now we’re married, and we get to spend the rest of forever doing this.”
There was a quick knock at the door before it opened slightly. “Are you messing up her makeup, He-Man?”
Oskar didn’t bother to move back. “Yes. And enjoying it thoroughly.”
“Good. I expected nothing less. Now get presentable. It’s show time.”
I glanced over at the full-length mirror, straightened the bodice of my dress, and wiped away a smudge of lipstick below my bottom lip.
When I turned around, Oskar was watching me with amusement. He held out an arm for me to take.
“Let’s go do this thing.”
And I followed my husband out of the room and toward a future that was still being written.
Thank you for reading STILL BRAZEN!
* * *
Several of the side characters in this duet are from our other books. Find out more about Sebastian, the Prince of the Winston Isles and Mya Taylor, the marketing agent with the funny story!
* * *
I never wanted the throne…
I have a plan: find my long-lost brother & make him the prince so I don’t have to rule.
The last thing I have time for is my sexy new neighbor. She’s everything I don’t want, sassy, funny and…not available.
That’s okay—I’m amazing best-guy-friend material.. Friends? Sure. Anything more? Definitely not.
All I have to do is not touch her, kiss her or fantasize about…never mind…
It’s not like I have a choice. I can’t let her find out who I really am. And she’s got secrets of her own.
Start Reading Cheeky Royal at nanamaloneromance.net/cheekyroyal
My cock a doodle doo is on strike.
Yeah I know, I can’t believe it either. Years of perfect performance and now this traitor decides to get picky. And the only woman who gets him going is my co-worker. Rival, she-devil and my competition for the biggest ad account this side of the Atlantic.
If we want to win the hottest wedding designer in the world, we have to prove we understand his business. Love. Passion. Marriage. But it turns out Mya isn’t familiar with any of the above.
When I find out she’s never taken a trip to O-town, we make a little wager. Not only will I win the client, but I’ll prove to her that multiple O’s are not a myth.
* * *
Start Reading Beg Me at mmalonebooks.com/begme
More from The Malones
- The Shameless Trilogy -
Shame (prequel)
Shameless, Shameful, UnAshamed
* * *
- The Force Duet -
Forceful (prequel)
Force, Enforce
* * *
- The Deep Duet -
In Deep (prequel)
Deep, Deeper
* * *
- The Sin Duet -
Beyond Sin (prequel)
Sin, Sinful
* * *
- The Brazen Duet -
Brazen, Still Brazen
* * *
~ Books by M. MALONE ~
* * *
Romantic Comedy
BEG ME
ASK ME
WANT ME
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The Alexanders
One More Day
The Things I Do for You
He's the Man
All I Need is You
Say You Will
Just One Thing
BAD KING
* * *
Blue-Collar Billionaires
TANK
FINN
GABE
ZACK
LUKE
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~ Books by NANA MALONE ~
* * *
London Billionaires Standalones
Mr. Trouble (Jarred & Kinsley)
Mr. Big (Zach & Emma)
Mr. Dirty(Nathan & Sophie)
* * *
The Player
Bryce
Dax
Echo
Fox
Ransom
Gage
* * *
The Donovans Series
Come Home Again (Nate & Delilah)
Love Reality (Ryan & Mia)
Race For Love (Derek & Kisima)
Love in Plain Sight (Dylan and Serafina)
Eye of the Beholder – (Logan & Jezzie)
Love Struck (Zephyr & Malia)
* * *
The In Stilettos Series
Sexy in Stiletto
s (Alec & Jaya)
Sultry in Stilettos (Beckett & Ricca)
Sassy in Stilettos (Caleb & Micha)
Strollers & Stilettos (Alec & Jaya & Alexa)
Seductive in Stilettos (Shane & Tristia)
Stunning in Stilettos (Bryan & Kyra)
~~~
In Stilettos Spin off
* * *
Tempting in Stilettos (Serena & Tyson)
Teasing in Stilettos (Cara & Tate)
Tantalizing in Stilettos (Jaggar & Griffin)
* * *
The Chase Brothers Series
London Bound (Alexi & Abbie)
London Calling (Xander & Imani)
* * *
Love Match Series (Contemporary Romance)
*Game Set Match (Jason & Izzy)
Mismatch (Eli & Jessica)
About the Authors
M. Malone is a NYT & USA Today Bestselling author of completely inappropriate romantic comedy. She spends most days wearing Wonder Woman leggings and T-shirts that she's embarrassed for anyone to see while she plays with her imaginary friends.
She lives with her husband and their two sons in the picturesque mountains of Northern Virginia even though she is afraid of insects, birds, butterflies and other humans. minxmalone.com
