All The Befores

by Samantha Chase

  She surprised him by abruptly breaking the kiss and taking first one step and then another away from him. He was about to ask if she was okay, but the impish grin on her face told him she had a plan.

  And who didn’t love a woman with a plan?

  Without breaking eye contact with him, Susannah slowly began unbuttoning the hunter green sweater she was wearing. When he spotted a hint of bright red, Colton had to clench his hands at his sides to keep from reaching out and helping her undo the rest of the buttons. He inhaled deeply and almost growled with need when she finally peeled the garment from her shoulders.

  “I must have been really good this year,” he said gruffly, studying Susannah standing there in her black slacks and red lace bra. Swallowing hard, he took a step toward her and felt relieved that she didn’t stop him. One large hand rested on her waist and he saw she was a little breathless – could see her pulse racing.

  She’d always been beautiful to him, but her confidence mixed with a hint of vulnerability was possibly the most attractive thing about her.

  Slowly licking at her bottom lip, Susannah nodded. “You’ve been very good.” Her voice was a husky, sultry whisper and he was instantly hard.

  So many thoughts were running through his brain, but he had to see what she was going to do next – take off the bra or her pants?

  He seriously hoped it was the pants. He was dying to see if the panties matched the bra.

  And with a little shimmy, Susannah moved around him and let her slacks fall to the floor. Bending over, she picked them up and – holy hell, she was wearing a thong!

  First. Time. Ever.

  Tossing the pants onto the chair in the corner of the room, she struck a pose as her smile grew. “So? What do you think?”

  I think I forgot how to breathe…

  Colton took one step toward her and knew his own smile had to be a bit wolfish. “I think you’re a living, breathing fantasy.”

  She blushed and looked away briefly before meeting his gaze again. “I…I wasn’t sure about the thong.” Laughing softly, she shook her head. “I’m kind of glad for the dim lighting, God only knows how much cellulite is showing.”

  She tended to do that – to not fully see just how sexy and desirable she was.

  Well…he was about to prove to her that she was.

  Closing the distance between them, he dropped to his knees in front of her, raining kisses along her belly to her hip bone. His hands reached around and grabbed her ass and gently squeezed. “I love this,” he growled against her skin.

  With her hands on his shoulders, Susannah moaned as her head tipped back. “Stop,” she whispered. “You don’t have to say that. I’m certainly no supermodel.”

  His mouth continued to kiss and lick and taste her. “No, you’re not. You’re better.” Sliding his hands around, his fingers hooked into the sides of her thong and slowly pulled it down.

  “Colton,” she panted as she tried to move away from him, but he wouldn’t allow it. His mouth found new places – better places – to taste and tease, and within minutes she was writhing against him. His name came out as both a plea and a promise and as she came apart for him, he thought no sound had ever been sweeter.

  Kissing his way up her body, he didn’t stop until he claimed her mouth – and that kiss was as deep and wet and carnal as they came.

  Quickly, he helped her remove her bra before he took a step back to get himself undressed. “On the bed, Susannah,” he said and he barely recognized his own voice. His hands shook and it took more than a couple of tries to get his own pants off. When he was as naked as she was, he crawled onto the bed – up her body – and settled in against the softest, warmest skin he’d ever felt.

  He was home.

  And as Susannah wrapped herself around him and began to move beneath him, Colton knew there was no place in the world he would rather be.

  This wasn’t quite the way he envisioned things going tonight and he knew there was a conversation they still needed to have, but not tonight.

  Tonight his girl had other plans for them and he was more than willing to go along with them.

  10

  “Okay, I don’t want you to panic, but the flowers are wrong.”

  Mallory was sitting at the antique dressing table in the guest room in Susannah’s suite on New Year’s Eve and simply smiled at her mother in the mirror. “Wrong flowers or wrong amount?”

  That was an odd question…

  “Um…they sent two bouquets,” Susannah explained. “One is white roses and the other is white lilies.”

  “Hmm…”

  “That’s all you can say? Hmm? Mallory, you need to call the florist! There’s probably a bride out there tonight missing her bouquet!”

  Turning on the upholstered bench, Mallory looked up at her, her smile still in place. “Mom, relax. I’ll make the call. It’s not a big deal.”

  Taking a couple of steadying breaths, Susannah tried to calm down. “You’re right. It’s going to be okay. I don’t know why I’m so nervous!”

  Standing, Mallory walked over and hugged her. “Probably because your baby girl is getting married in less than two hours.”

  Hugging her tighter, she felt tears sting her eyes. “Oh, right. That.” She took a minute to compose herself before pulling back and cupping her daughter’s face in her hands. “How is it possible? It feels like yesterday that I was bringing you and Sam home from the hospital! It doesn’t seem right that you’re all grown up and getting married tonight!”

  “And before you know it, Sam and Shelby will be doing it too. Now that he’s proposed, it’s only a matter of time.”

  “Oh, stop. I can’t imagine your brother being in a rush to walk down the aisle. I know he says he’d marry Shelby tomorrow, but…I think that’s just big talk from him. He can’t have mellowed that much.”

  Moving back to her seat on the bench, Mallory checked her reflection before picking up her makeup brush again. “I think he has. Shelby’s been really good for him and personally, I love it.”

  “She’s a very sweet girl and I agree, she’s perfect for him.”

  “Isn’t it amazing how all three of us not only found our forever loves here in Magnolia, but how within the next few months, we’ll all be married to them?”

  Just the thought of that was enough to make her smile. Nodding, she said, “Well, we don’t know when Sam and Shelby are going to set a date and Colton and I haven’t set one either, so…”

  Mallory gently placed the brush down again and turned around to face her. “You should do it tonight.”

  “You mean pick a date?” She shrugged. “I don’t know if tonight’s the night for that kind of discussion. I mean, we’ve got a houseful of guests coming and there will be a lot of distractions…”

  Standing, Mallory said, “No. I mean…you and Colton should get married tonight. You already have the license and…”

  “Mallory, have you lost your mind?” she cried. “I can’t…there’s no way…Colton would never…”

  Stepping forward, she placed her hands on Susannah’s shoulders to calm her. “Hear me out, okay?”

  Right now, the only thing Susannah could hear was her own heart pounding in her ears. Get married tonight? That was crazy and impulsive and just not possible!

  Was it?

  “So, a couple of weeks ago, Sam threw out the idea of having a double wedding.”

  “You mean for you and Jake and him and Shelby, right?”

  She shook her head. “No, me and Jake and you and Colt.”

  It took a minute for that statement to set in. “But…why? Why would he even think of something like that?”

  “Honestly? He didn’t like the idea of you having a wedding at the courthouse. Neither of us did. You said you were fine with that and Colton said you were fine with it, but…we know you, Mom. I know you were saying it was okay with you because you didn’t want to take away from my big day and potentially Sam’s.”

  Her children knew
her too well.

  “So here’s the thing. You deserve something wonderful and romantic and special just like the rest of us – possibly even more than us – and you should have it. Don’t settle for something that you don’t want when you can have something completely amazing.” Reaching down, she took both of Susannah’s hands in hers. “Share this day with me. Have a double wedding with us.”

  Her heart was racing so hard she thought she was going to hyperventilate. “Oh, Mal, I…I can’t! I’m not prepared! Colton’s not prepared! It would be crazy!”

  “You have the dress and all the people you would have invited are already here. There’s more than enough food and champagne and cake to cover two happy couples.” She squeezed Susannah’s hands. “Actually, I ordered a second cake. You know…just in case.”

  “A second cake? Mallory…”

  “Jake and I talked about it and he thinks it would be amazing to have one of his best friends sharing his big day with him.” She paused. “And I know having one of my best friends sharing mine would mean the world to me.”

  Tears rolled down her cheeks and she couldn’t believe how selfless – how incredibly generous and gracious – her daughter was being.

  “I…I don’t even know what to say,” she said softly.

  “Say yes,” a deep voice said from behind them. Turning, she saw Colton standing in the doorway, looking incredibly handsome in his suit. Jake and Mallory had opted for a less formal ceremony and the navy trousers with the burgundy vest he had chosen were perfect.

  Mallory quietly excused herself and closed the door behind her. When they were alone, Susannah suddenly felt like a bundle of nerves. Colton walked over to her and mimicked the pose her daughter just vacated.

  “So many times over the last two weeks I wanted to ask you,” he said solemnly, “but Mallory thought it would be best if we waited and didn’t give you too much time to think about it.” He gave her a lopsided grin and she couldn’t help but return it. “If you really don’t want to do it this way, we don’t have to, but you should know that it would mean the world to both your kids and me if we did this tonight.”

  It was crazy how much she wanted to say yes – how excited it made her to think that in just a matter of a few short hours, she could be Mrs. Colton Hale.

  She had the big wedding the first time – over a hundred guests, the big white gown, the half-dozen bridesmaids. There hadn’t been much time to plan because she was pregnant, but it was stressful and the day itself was a bit of a blur. But to do this – to simply walk out of this room and up the makeshift aisle in the living room with Sam and Mallory there to witness it seemed like the most perfect wedding anyone could ask for.

  “Let’s do it,” she said and laughed when Colton’s eyes went wide.

  “Really? You’re sure?”

  “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. I love you and I don’t want to wait another day to be married to you.”

  And with a little hoot of delight, he wrapped his arms around her and swung her around. “You have no idea how happy you’ve made me!”

  Once she was back on her feet, she kissed him soundly. “Yes, I do. Because that’s exactly how happy you’ve made me.”

  “Susannah…”

  But she didn’t have any more time to talk. Grasping his shoulders, she spun him around and gave him a gentle shove toward the door. “Okay, you can’t see me until the ceremony! I’ve got too much to do! Send Mallory back here! And Shelby! Oh, and if Georgia’s here, send her back too! I have a feeling I’m going to need all the help I can get!”

  Chuckling, Colton stopped at the door, his hand on the knob, and turned to look at her. “The only thing you need to do is meet me in the living room. I’ll be the one grinning like a loon as I stand next to Pastor Steve.”

  With her hand over her heart, she shook her head. “I love you, Colton.”

  “Love you too, beautiful.”

  “Are you nervous? Because…you should know…it’s completely okay to be nervous. It’s natural, really. Normal.”

  Colton nodded.

  “I mean, no one would blame you. After all, it’s your wedding day and you just found out about it a few hours ago.” He paused. “So really, there’s no shame in being nervous.”

  Colton chuckled softly as he turned his head. “Jake? Are you nervous?”

  If anything, Jake seemed to pale slightly. “How could you not be nervous? I’ve had over a year to think about this and then a few weeks to seriously plan it. You’ve had…what…an hour?”

  “Almost two,” he corrected. “But it wouldn’t matter if I had a year, two years, or two hours. I’ve been ready to marry Susannah almost since we met.”

  “Yeah, well…”

  Reaching over, Colton rested his hand on Jake’s shoulder. “It’s not a competition and you’re allowed to be as nervous or as mellow as you want. This is your day and you can feel however you want.”

  “It’s your day too,” Jake reminded him.

  And for the first time since the topic was brought up a few weeks ago, it hit Colton just how much his friend was willing to sacrifice for him. Clearing his throat, he said, “I want you to know how much this means to me – you being willing to share this day with me and Susannah.” He paused. “It was completely selfless and…”

  Jake held up a hand to stop him. “You know, when Sam told me his idea, the first thought that came to me was how I wished I thought of it.” He shook his head. “Mallory and Susannah are so close – sometimes they’re more like sisters or best friends rather than mother and daughter.”

  Colton agreed.

  “When I got home that day and told Mallory about the whole thing, she screamed with excitement and was so loud I thought for sure all the neighbors heard her,” he said with a laugh. “But once it was out there, she was one hundred percent on board. I don’t think she would have taken no for an answer today.”

  “Luckily Susannah didn’t need to be convinced too much.” He let out a long breath, looked toward the entryway and almost willed Susannah to be standing there waiting. Instead, Pastor Steve walked into the room and greeted guests on his way toward Jake and Colton. After shaking both their hands, he took his place at the front of the room – Jake to his right, Colton to his left.

  “Gentlemen, it takes a lot to surprise me these days, and when I arrived and Shelby told me the change of plans, I have to admit I was genuinely surprised. I’ve never done a double wedding before,” Steve said with a sincere smile. “But I can’t think of a more special way to celebrate both couples and to ring in the new year.”

  “Thank you,” both Colton and Jake said as they took their own places.

  The original plan was to have the ceremony out on the deck and use heat lamps to keep everyone warm. But the temperature was near freezing so they decided at the last minute to set up everything in the house while still keeping some tables and chairs – and heat lamps – out on the deck for anyone who wanted to get some air after the ceremony. The massive living room was decorated with tons of garland made of evergreen and covered in white twinkly lights. It had the feel of being outside while keeping everyone warm.

  All of the furniture had been removed and replaced with white chairs – fifty of them – and each of them was filled with family and friends. There were close to fifty people in all, but the only one Colton saw was Susannah. She stepped into the entryway with her arm looped through her son’s – who had his sister on his other side – and Colton had never seen a more beautiful example of love.

  Sam slowly made his way up the aisle between his mother and sister, and Colton knew he’d never forget this moment for as long as he lived.

  There was a moment of mild confusion once everyone was standing in front of Pastor Steve, but once Sam kissed his mother and then his sister, everyone seemed to find their space.

  With a smile, he began to speak. “You may not know this, but one of my greatest joys as a pastor is the honor of officiating weddings.
Every wedding is as different as it is special, but I will never forget the first wedding I ever performed. I had the honor of officiating for a couple of dear friends. The groom was my best friend from college. I think I was the one who was most nervous out of the two of us.”

  Everyone laughed softly.

  “Whether I know the couple personally or not doesn’t change the joy I feel out of watching a couple coming together in holy matrimony. But I’m not going to lie to you, I think this wedding is going to be my new favorite because I’m standing here with four of the most wonderful people I’ve ever met. I’m proud to call all of you friends and I thank you for including me in this special day. And I just know that Ezekiel is positively beaming as he looks down on us today. Nothing would have made him happier than seeing all the love in this one room.”

  They all nodded.

  Then he straightened and opened his Bible. “Everyone ready?”

  The four of them – as well as everyone in the room – let out another laugh.

  “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today for a most joyous occasion,” Steve began. “Today we have the honor of witnessing and celebrating the joining of two wonderful couples.” He paused and smiled at the four of them. “As most of you know, the decision to make this a double ceremony happened rather last minute, but I am honored to be the one officiating over it today.”

  Colton gently squeezed Susannah’s hand and looked at her with a smile. “You look beautiful,” he mouthed, mindful not to interrupt the pastor’s speech.

  “Thank you,” she mouthed in return.

  “Jacob…Mallory, I understand the two of you have prepared your vows.”

  They nodded. “We have.”

  Susannah’s eyes went wide and Colton knew exactly what she was thinking – they did not have vows prepared – not that he was worried. He knew when the time came, he would simply say what was in his heart.

  “Jacob,” Pastor Steve prompted.

  Jake seemed to take a steadying breath as he turned to face Mallory. “Mallory Westbrook, it’s been a long road to get us to the altar, but I treasure the journey. We were friends for a long time and then we became so much more. The years we spent apart…” his voice cracked, “were some of the roughest years of my life. I never dreamed that we’d get a second chance, but once you came back to Magnolia, I knew I couldn’t let you go a second time. You are my love, my life, my everything. I love you.” He slid the ring onto Mallory’s finger.