The party ended around midnight, and Leland drove him back home. "Wouldn't want you to turn into a pumpkin," he joked. "So, did you have fun?"

"I had fun," Adrian conceded. "It was really great, Leland. Thank you."

"I told you that you'd thank me later," Leland grinned.

"Thanks for inviting Joe," Adrian added. "It was good talking to him again."

"Aw, don't mention it. I wanted to see him too," Leland said. "You know, Natalie invited him to your birthday party last year, but he couldn't make it — I think he had a court appearance he couldn't miss."

"Yeah, he told me," Adrian confirmed. "But I'm glad he was able to make it tonight, and he plans to be at the wedding, too."

"Him and all of my department," Stottlemeyer chuckled. "They're already making up schedules so they can take turns going without leaving the desk unmanned. I still can't believe you invited all of them."

Adrian shrugged, smiling. "Natalie's idea. She said we should invite all of them so it wouldn't seem like we were playing favorites. And since we had such a generous budget, why not?"

Leland laughed. "Well, I can tell you that they're really excited about it."

"Me too." He was a little nervous, not about getting married, but more that something would go wrong with the ceremony or reception. So far, though, his anticipation overshadowed his anxiety. In less than two weeks, Natalie would be his wife. He felt like pinching himself in a daily basis to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

"How are the plans coming along?" Leland asked. "Is everything ready to go?"

"I think so," Adrian said thoughtfully. "Cassandra's taking care of most of the last-minute details — getting the final headcounts, confirming all the reservations, and so on. We're going to go get the license on Monday, and of course we need to go pick up the tuxes the following week, but otherwise I think we're set."

"T.K. has Natalie's wedding dress under lock and key," Leland told him. "She hasn't even let me see it."

Adrian smiled at that, but it brought to mind something else he'd intended to talk to Leland about, because it'd been bothering him for a while. "Listen, Leland… you're okay with not being my best man, aren't you?"

"Aw, Monk, of course I am," Leland said. "Brothers take precedence with things like this."

Adrian gave a relieved sigh. "Thanks for understanding."

"Besides, I'm sort of a deputy best man anyway, considering that I threw your bachelor party and I'm the one giving the toast at the reception," Leland pointed out. "But I think it's great Ambrose is going to be the one standing up with you at the ceremony, especially since he missed your first wedding."

"Did you see him tonight?" Adrian said, still amazed. "He was having a good time, even though he barely knew anyone there. I couldn't believe it."

"He's made some great progress," Leland agreed. "I think having your dad back as been good for him."

"Yes, it has," Adrian mused. "I wasn't too sure about that arrangement, especially if Dad decided to take off again, but it seems to be working well for both of them."

"He seems to be settling in for the long haul," Leland observed. An obviously excited Jack had shared the news that evening that he'd accepted a job with Davenport Industries and would start the Monday following the wedding.

"Maybe," Adrian said, but he was too jaded to get his hopes up where his father was concerned. "I guess we'll find out."

Leland pulled into the driveway. Adrian could see a light on in the living room; had Natalie left it on for him or was she still awake? "Thanks again," he told Leland as he got out of the car. "I had a really good time."

"My pleasure," Leland said with a grin.

Adrian jogged up the steps and let himself into the house. Natalie was indeed still awake, though dressed in pajamas, curled up in a blanket on the sofa and watching television. "Hey," Adrian said as he shut and locked the front door. "You didn't have to wait up for me."

"I wanted to," she said, turning off the TV. "I thought I should be around in case you were too traumatized from the festivities to function." She managed to keep her face somber, but her laughing eyes gave her away.

"Very funny," Adrian said, unable to keep from grinning. "Did you know what he had planned?"

She shook her head. "He wouldn't tell me a thing. So, what'd you do?"

He sank down on the couch beside her. "We went bowling."

"Bowling?" Natalie repeated with a smile. "That sounds like fun."

"It was fun," Adrian said, still marveling over that fact. "He rented a private suite with two lanes, and he even had brand-new shoes for me to wear. I bowled six games." He flexed his arm, which admittedly was a little sore after the unaccustomed exertion.

"I bet you were impressive," Natalie said, remembering the last time she'd seen him bowl. He'd been truly amazing, especially considering it'd been his first time.

"Well, I don't know about that," he said modestly, "but my scores were pretty high. Ambrose did really well, too, for his first time."

"Ambrose was there?" Natalie asked, delighted.

"He was. And Joe Christie, too," Adrian said, smiling with pleasure. "It was great to catch up with him again."

"I told you that you'd have fun," she said, lightly jabbing his chest with her finger.

"You were right," he admitted.

"My three favorite words," she said, smirking at him.

"Well, I have three more words for you," he said, leaning over until his mouth hovered teasingly above hers. "I love you."

"Those are my favorite, too," she murmured, just before he kissed her.

The kiss began playfully but quickly deepened in intensity. They'd deliberately kept their distance from one another over the last few weeks, in order to avoid increasingly irresistible temptation, but their tacit agreement abruptly flew out the window as their long-restrained passion ignited.

Natalie slipped her hands inside his jacket, running her hands lightly over his T-shirt. She really, really liked the new outfit. Then her hands found their way underneath his T-shirt.

Adrian went rock hard at the glorious feeling of her fingers caressing the bare skin of his chest. He wanted her so badly that he couldn't stand it any longer. Suddenly he decided their wedding night was simply too far away. He pulled her onto his lap, and, in perfect accord, she moved to straddle him.

"Oh, yes, Nat," he groaned against her lips as she enthusiastically rubbed against him. His hands vised on her hips as his tongue mimicked the motion of her body.

She loved it when he called her 'Nat.' It was something he did only when they were being intimate. She didn't think he even realized he was saying it most of the time.

Kissing him all the while, her hands moved down to unbuckle his belt. As she did, he slid his hands under her pajama shirt to stroke the bare skin of her waist, and then wandered higher.

They were both so engrossed with one another that neither of them heard a car pulling into the drive, or a key turning in the lock.

When Julie opened the door, she took one step into the room and then gave a startled shriek. Adrian and Natalie abruptly pulled apart and scrambled to untangle themselves.

"Can't you put a damn sign on the door or something?" Julie protested, clapping a hand over her eyes. "I'm never going to be able to unsee that."

Natalie wanted to crawl under the couch and die of embarrassment. Adrian, equally mortified, hurriedly yanked Natalie's blanket over his lap to hide the obvious evidence of how much he'd been enjoying himself.

Julie warily removed her hand from her eyes. "There are rooms with much more privacy right upstairs, you know." Her face was solemn, but her mouth was twitching at the sight of their crimson faces. "They have doors that lock and everything."

"I wasn't expecting you home quite so soon," Natalie said in a small voice, her tone flustered.

"It's nearly one in the morning," Julie returned. "I said I'd be home around one, remember?"

Natalie flushed. She'd completely lost track of time after Adrian had kissed her, and she certainly hadn't intended for things to go as far as they – almost – had. Thank God they'd kept their clothes on, at least. She'd been working on undoing his pants button but hadn't quite managed it, and although he'd been slowly inching her shirt up, it'd still mostly covered her.

Julie sighed dramatically. "You're almost newlyweds, so I'll cut you some slack. But thank God I won't be around during your honeymoon."

Amen to that, Adrian thought. He caught Natalie's eye and was sure she was thinking the same thing.

"Before I go pour bleach in my eyes," Julie said, "I wanted to remind you about brunch tomorrow. Did Grandpa talk to you about it, Adrian?"

He blinked at her, then suddenly remembered his conversation with Jonathan earlier – and the surprise that was planned. "Oh, right. Brunch." He turned to Natalie. "Eleven o'clock, at Ella's."

"With Mom and Dad?" Natalie asked.

He nodded, hoping she wouldn't ask if anyone else was going to be there, as he was a terrible liar and might give the surprise away. Thankfully, she didn't.

"See you in the morning," Julie said, heading for the stairway.

They listened to her jog up the stairs, and a moment later they heard her bedroom door closing with a firm *snap.*

"Oh my God," Natalie said, burying her face in her hands. "I'm never going to be able to look her in the face again."

Adrian blew out a slow breath. "Well, it could have been worse," he said philosophically. "For example, if she'd walked in about, oh, five minutes later – "

"I don't even want to think about it," Natalie said, shuddering slightly. She leaned back against the couch cushions. "Thirteen days."

"Technically twelve days, now, since it's after midnight," he pointed out, carefully and precisely folding the blanket in his lap and draping it neatly over the arm of the couch. "It feels like twelve years."

"I know," Natalie agreed. "But we've come this far, so we might as well see it through. Assuming we don't die in the attempt."

They exchanged rueful smiles.

Natalie heaved a sigh and pulled herself to her feet. "If we're having brunch with my parents tomorrow, I should get some sleep. Assuming I can calm down enough to sleep."

"Lock your door," he quipped. The phrase had become a standing joke between them in the last two months.

She grinned. "You too."