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Contents ( 46)
  1. Southern Gentleman
  2. A Charleston Heat Novel
  3. Jessica Peterson
  4. Contents
  5. Also by Jessica Peterson
  6. Where to Find Jessica
  7. Julia
  8. Greyson
  9. Greyson
  10. Julia
  11. Julia
  12. Greyson
  13. Greyson
  14. Julia
  15. Greyson
  16. Greyson
  17. Julia
  18. Greyson
  19. Julia
  20. Julia
  21. Greyson
  22. Greyson
  23. Julia
  24. Greyson
  25. Julia
  26. Julia
  27. Julia
  28. Greyson
  29. Greyson
  30. Julia
  31. Greyson
  32. Greyson
  33. Julia
  34. Greyson
  35. Julia
  36. Greyson
  37. Julia
  38. Greyson
  39. Julia
  40. Epilogue
  41. Julia
  42. Southern Heartbreaker Excerpt
  43. Ford
  44. Also by Jessica Peterson
  45. Acknowledgments
  46. About the Author

My eyes move back to Grey. I notice the cut of his tuxedo—the pants especially—is different from the suits he usually wears. It’s…tighter. A bit more daring.

Makes me smile. Small thing, but it still shows Grey’s taking a chance. Putting himself out there.

I love it.

I love him.

I drink him in for a full beat. Heart twirling inside my chest like it’s being spun around the room in a My Romp With the Rogue-style waltz. I can’t believe I just thought those words. I love him.

I can’t believe this is happening. It’s bewildering. And wonderful.

That’s my man right there.

Never in a million years would I have picked him out of a lineup. But I’m pretty damn glad he’s mine.

I move toward him, careful not to let my heels sink into the grass. He turns his head and our eyes meet.

“Hey,” he says, lips parting as his eyebrows shoot up. “Jules, you look stunning. Wow.”

My heart rises. Through my chest, throat. Mouth.

It’s outside my body.

It doesn’t belong to me anymore.

Grey holds it in his hands as he kisses me. As he takes my hand and walks me into the barn, Ford waving us off with a smile. As the two of us marvel at how gorgeous the space is. Modern and romantic and full of character.

The cabinets and countertops look amazing. So does the hardware I selected. Rustic with a modern, sophisticated edge. Layout is spacious without feeling empty. The beams we installed in the ceiling are statement pieces, especially with simple wrought iron chandeliers, decked out with greenery and flowers. A bar is being set up on the massive countertop at the back of the barn. The reclaimed floorboards are just the right amount of roughed up, a perfect counterpoint to the strings of fairy lights and swoops of gauze that hang overhead.

New windows let in the pretty autumn light, bathing everything in shades of amber and gold. People mill around the space, admiring the details, the flowers. The cute programs, bound in green ribbon, that dot the long benches at the front of the barn.

I’m smiling so hard my face aches.

I look at Grey. He looks back.

“Your work is magic, you know,” he says. “This place is fucking unbelievable.”

Nudging him with my elbow, I reply, “You’re the one who gave Luke’s business a fighting chance. This is your work, too. Although mine is clearly more beautiful. Especially when it’s been zhuzh-ed up by a team of wedding planners and florists.”

He grins. Blue eyes lighting up. “I’m proud of you, Jules.”

“I’m proud of us.”

“You think Charlie Brown is, too?”

I curl my hands around his neck and pull him in for a kiss. His hands go to my waist, his thumbs working small, soft arcs across the just-barely-there swell of my abdomen.

“I think Charlie Brown is a lucky kid to have parents like us. She’s going to be just fine.”