The Song Remains the Same (68 page)

“Do you, Zephyr Kenna MacGregor, take Philip Louis Deveraux as your lawfully wedded husband, from this moment forward, in truth, fidelity, and love?”

“I do,” she replied with a blazing smile.

Suddenly, I was higher than I’d ever been in my whole fuckin’ life. The band and then her engagement ring went on her hand, and
fuck me
, was it a beautiful thing to see.

My wife!

“By the power vested in me by the State of Louisiana, I now pronounce you partners in life, equals, as husband and wife. You may once again kiss your bride!”

I grabbed my woman, and I ate her fuckin’ face. Her cheeks were flaming hot when I set her back on her bare feet.

“Baby Girl!” I breathed.

“Hmm?”

“You ready to take our first step as man and wife?”

“Too fuckin’ right, I am!”

“Language!”
roared Da.

THE END

Thank you to my family. Espen and Makenna, you are my life.

For my lifelong friends who have inspired the people of NOLA’s Own—thank you so much for being YOU. Without you guys, my life would be a lot less wonderful.

Thank you, Em, for being my rock, my voice of reason, and for all the love and support you’ve given me through this experience. You’ve held my hand the whole way. I’d be lost without you.

A huge thank you to my beta readers—Mandy and Jaime, you two are the best cheerleaders a person can have. Sigrid, you were the first to read NOLA’s Own, and you were the one who told me I really had something worth publishing.

Thank you, Renee Ericson, for creating the covers of this series. You listened to what was in my head and heart and made it visual. And thank you for being such a great friend.

Jovana Shirley, I can’t thank you enough for all the magic you create. You take my words and make them shine.

To my street team—Where would I be without you guys? Thank you for all your hard work and all that delicious eye-candy. You know how to keep a woman happy!

A shout-out to my COPA Cabana chicas. I’m honored to be a part of such an awesome group of ladies. Thank you for all the support and positivity. I love you gals hard!

And, as always, music.

Born and raised in Miami, Kelli Jean traded the tropical heat for the Arctic. Now, she deals with twenty-four-hour daylight in the summer and zero sunlight in the winter, and she believes the Northern Lights make up for the mind-boggling amount of ice and snow she has to put up with for seven months out of the year. She’s surrounded by mountains and ocean and sheep, and she claims her bizarre sense of humor is what keeps her sane.

The insane don’t know they’re insane.

Kelli uses her imagination to create worlds she can escape to from the mundane tasks of everyday life, such as washing the damn dishes and vacuuming up Legos off the floor—and don’t get her started on the mad amount of cat hair on the end of the couch. She gave up on that a long time ago. When the household goes to sleep at night, she writes down everything that happened in her head while doing such tedious chores. But she enjoys living in her own head, so that’s pretty cool.

Technology terrifies her. She can barely turn on a computer, and she was completely shocked when she’d actually written a book on one. To this day, she has no explanation for this baffling mystery. It took her three years to realize she could take screenshots of messages and pictures of bearded, tattooed men with her phone. Now that she’s mastered this task, her phone is slowly dying. She’s nervous that she’s going to have to buy a new one, and it will take her another three years to learn how to use it.