“A match made in heaven,” Sam said, sighing as she kissed him.

For the longest time, they stood there gazing at each other like two lovesick fools.

“I can’t believe you’re finally my wife,” he said softly, reverently.

“And you’re finally my husband.”

He framed her face, kissing her long and hard before he seemed to remember they had guests waiting for them. “We probably ought to get out there before Shelby thinks we’re consummating in here.”

Chuckling, Sam looked around the small but elegant room that included an upholstered chaise lounge. “That’s not a bad idea…”

“Hold that thought for a couple of hours.”

She reached up to wipe the lingering lipstick off his mouth. “That long?”

“I’ll make it well worth the wait,” he promised with a salacious grin that sent shivers down her spine as he led her out the door to rejoin Shelby.

The room fairly shimmered in candlelight and the waning glow of daylight. Greens and purples and orchids with painted glass vases full of more flowers on the tables. Sam had seen sketches of Shelby’s vision, but nothing could’ve prepared her for the reality of just how amazing it turned out to be. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, their city stretched out before them—from the White House to the Washington Monument to Lincoln, Jefferson and the Potomac beyond.

Earlier, word had rippled through the city that the famed cherry trees that lined the tidal basin in front of the Jefferson Memorial had burst into bloom overnight. As the photographer took shots of them on the patio with the monuments in the background, Sam pointed out the sea of cherry blossom pink to Nick.

“The city is giving us its blessing,” he said.

She went up on tiptoes to kiss him, hearing the click, click, click of the camera that recorded their every move. “It certainly seems that way, doesn’t it?”

Nick never left her side as they received guests, had dinner, took what seemed like a thousand photos and exchanged an equal number of on-demand kisses. Freddie, Gonzo and the others from the MPD seemed to have placed themselves in charge of regularly clinking silverware against crystal to demand more of the PDA Sam avoided like the plague. She’d get them back when it was their turn to tie the knot.

Freddie seemed thrilled to have Elin with him, and Sam was glad she’d encouraged him to try again with her—even if there’d be hell to pay if Mrs. Cruz ever found out what Sam had done. They’d been united in their dislike of Elin for Freddie, but he was right. It was his life, and he had to live it as he saw fit, even if that meant loving a woman his mother didn’t approve of.

“I have a little surprise for you,” Sam’s husband of two hours whispered in her ear.