Flirting with the Rock Star Next Door
Page 30
“Yes. Of course I will.”
Smiling, he rose to his feet and put the ring on my finger.
I kissed the man who made me believe real love could exist in real life. “I love you too. We’re going to be awesome, Killian.”
Chapter Forty-Six
Emily
September in Virginia was perfect for an outdoor wedding—still warm, but without the oppressive heat of July and August. The sky was high and clear, just white, fluffy clouds dotting the endless azure.
I’d told Killian an outdoor event would attract paparazzi, but he’d said he wanted everyone in the world to know he was marrying me. “You’re mine, all mine.” I’d smiled, since that was sweet, and I was happy he was becoming less uptight about that kind of publicity.
Since we didn’t have a ton of time to prepare, I’d considered wearing my mom’s dress, but she categorically refused to even consider the idea. She insisted I needed something new—not a dress tainted with something as terrible as her own marriage. And as of yesterday, that marriage had become a thing of the past. Thanks to the kick-ass lawyer Killian had helped me find for Mom, she got to flip Dad the bird. Legally speaking, of course.
“Give me, like, two seconds. I’m on my last sentence,” I said, typing away in the bride’s dressing room as Mom fussed with my hair and the small train on my wedding gown. I knew it was ridiculous to still be working on my book, but I didn’t want to be wrestling with it on the honeymoon.
“I can’t believe you set your wedding date as your deadline!” Mom said.
“I didn’t! It was supposed to be done two weeks ago. I just couldn’t meet the original deadline because of a certain person.”
“Who on earth are you talking about?” She sounded bewildered.
Oh, for God’s sake. I typed The End, saved the manuscript and sent it to my editor. Then I shut the lid on my laptop and spun around to face my mom. “You! The certain person is you. You’ve been dragging me around everywhere.”
“Because weddings don’t plan themselves! You know that!”
“Well, I certainly do now.”
“It’s the same thing as books not writing themselves.”
“Ha! Okay, fine, you have a point. But see, now that I’m done, I don’t have to work on it on my honeymoon!” This book was my gift to Killian and Mom, since the bad guys in the story were modeled after Caitlyn and Dad. And it was my revenge as well. Never piss an author off if you didn’t want to end up as a bad guy in a book.
“Were you going to?” Skye said. She and Lucy were my bridesmaids. And they were in hot pink dresses—my favorite color.
“Of course she wasn’t,” Lucy said. “Look at her! She’s gorgeous. Very bridal. And brides don’t work on honeymoons. It’s totally illegal. Now come here,” she said to me. “We need to take a picture.”
Lucy gestured to Skye and Mom, then took a selfie with the four of us.
“I wish we could have rock star weddings all the time,” Skye said. “You wouldn’t believe how well the kids behaved after I told them that if they didn’t, they weren’t coming.”
I laughed. “Well. I don’t know if there are going to be more weddings.” The other three members of the band weren’t anywhere close to matrimony. Even Cole, who’d been engaged for a while, hadn’t set a date.
“It’s time!” Mom said, checking her phone. She handed me a bouquet made with pink and purple roses. “You look amazing. I’m so proud of you.”
Since my dad was in a snit about me and Killian helping Mom with the divorce, he had claimed he wasn’t coming. But I suspected it had more to do with the fact that Killian had already told him he wasn’t welcome at the ceremony the day after I accepted his proposal. So Mom was walking down the aisle with me. Which thrilled me. Unlike Dad, she wanted nothing but the best for me and Killian.
She and I strolled out together onto the huge field. Killian stood in a tux at the altar, his hair falling around his stunning face and his even more beautiful blue eyes shining with love.
As Max and Devlin began a rock version of “Here Comes the Bride,” I walked to the man who would show me what true love was every moment of our lives.
Chapter Forty-Seven
Emily
–three months later
I worked on my new book while Killian screwed around on the Internet, feet propped on the table and phone in hand. The band had just finished recording all their new songs, and were chilling until they could figure out the best time to release the singles.
Killian’s shoulders started to shake. Since I was typing away, he pressed a hand against his mouth to keep quiet.
I saved the latest chapter, then looked at him. “What’s so funny?”
“This.” He showed me his phone, then started laughing.
It was a Facebook feed. And it had a live video of Devlin drumming away inside a high school gym. Even through the small screen, the excitement from the high school kids and parents was palpable.
Devlin had promised he’d make it up to me for bringing the Barbie Sextet to Killian’s place. So when Skye moaned about the candy selling and additional fundraiser for her daughter’s band, I had him volunteer to play at the school, with all proceeds to be donated to the band.
He’d grumbled, but finally caved. Then grumbled some more, but he honored his promise.
“The band director almost shit his pants,” Skye had told me over the phone. I’d thought she sounded like she was about to shit her pants, but I kept that to myself because her enthusiasm was so cute.
Not only did the tickets sell out in a second—mainly because they were only twenty bucks each—but Devlin had also raffled off “a selfie with a rock star” and “a kiss from a rock star.” (Not his idea, but mine, ha ha ha.) He’d actually objected to the second one due to worry about whether the winner might be underage. But apparently his lawyer had worked it out so that only people eighteen or older could collect that particular prize.
I had to give Devlin credit, though. Although this was just a high school fundraiser he was forced into, he didn’t perform like he was coerced. He played like he wanted to give everyone the concert of their lives.
We must’ve caught the end of the performance, though, because Devlin soon put his sticks down. The band director came out and pulled out one ticket from each of the two huge bowls they’d set up on the stage.
He said something, which I missed. Somebody screamed close to the phone that was doing the livestream. Something hot pink flashed by. A woman rushed out, her body encased in a tight white top showing her midriff and a pleated pink skirt and silver heels.
Before Devlin could even properly stand up, she grabbed his face between her hands and kissed him.
“Oh my God, is she pushing her tongue into his mouth?” I asked, torn between amusement and horror.
“I think so. Dev looks like somebody’s feeding him a hairball.”
I laughed. “He doesn’t look that bad.” Okay, his eyes were slightly bugged out, but maybe he was just shocked at the level of enthusiasm coming from the woman who won the kiss.
The kiss went on and on, and Devlin started to get into it. Probably to give the woman her money’s worth. The kiss raffle tickets were five bucks apiece. And who knew how many tickets the woman had bought?
Killian smirked. “Devlin’s never going to bring his harem around again after this.”
“Good. He’s welcome to all the women in the world.” I’d heard about Devlin’s ex, Ashley. She was currently starring in my work in progress as a bad guy because I hated that she’d hurt him, and that he was still acting out. He’d denied his playboy ways had anything to do with her, but I could tell. It was definitely a case of the laddie doth protest too much.
I looped an arm around Killian, snuggling against him. “You’re mine.”
He kissed my temple. “And I’m always going to be, my pretty novelist wife.”
Chapter Forty-Eight
Killian
–two years later
I wal
ked down the frozen foods section in Sunny’s. Come on… Bouncy Bare Monkeys should be in. I’d bribed Jenny to text me the second they got some.
Ah ha! There! The final tub! I opened the door, then reached inside to grab the prize I’d been seeking…
What the fuck?
A hand with long, manicured red fingernails gripped my ice cream and refused to let go.
“Hey, I put my hand on it first!” I said.
“No you didn’t!” Molly Patterson said, her eyes narrowed.
“Wanna check the security footage?”
Her face turned red. “Who do you think you are, Killian?”
“An expectant dad. You?”
“I have a birthday party to plan.” Her nostrils flared and she breathed out like a bull ready to charge.
Time for a new tactic. I flicked my gaze to the floor. “Oh shit! Is that a cockroach on your foot?”
“What? Ack!” She jerked back while screeching like she wanted to shatter every piece of glass in the surrounding counties.
“Ah ha!” I took the ice cream and dashed to the cashier.
She quit screaming and started yelling. “Hey, stop!”
“Grabbers keepers, losers weepers.” I swiped my plastic, then took the tub and ran to my car.
When I walked into our home—formerly Emily’s home—Emily jumped to her feet. “You get it?”
“Of course. I’m the man!” I started to sing the Rocky theme, holding the ice cream over my head with two hands like a trophy.
“I love you, honey!” She rushed over with a spoon she’d probably been holding since I’d left.
I gave her the ice cream and watched her dig in like she hadn’t eaten in ages.
She was in her first trimester. She couldn’t keep anything down except ice cream. And not just any ice cream, but Bouncy Bare Monkeys.
Sitting down on the couch, I pulled her on my lap and kissed the side of her neck. “That good, huh?” I teased.
“Yes.” She sounded a little teary. “You don’t understand how cravings work.”
“It’s too bad pregnancy doesn’t make women crave more bedroom action.”
She snort-laughed. “If I craved any more sex, I’d never leave the bed.” Then she looked at the tub…and me…and considered. “Hey…”
“Yeah?”
“Do you, um…want a bite?” she asked.
She was so freakin’ adorable. I laughed. “Nah. Let the baby have it.”
She relaxed, then grinned at me. “I knew there was a reason I loved you.”
“I love you too, Emily.” Then, since it was Bouncy Bare Monkeys, I kissed her for a sweet taste.
——
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Want more laugh-out-loud funny romantic comedies?
Then check out Stealing the Bride!
About Stealing the Bride:
When the hottest woman I ever slept with leaves me fifty bucks and sneaks out of my bed, I’m completely stunned and left feeling a little…dirty.
Most men might let it go. But I’m not most men. This woman has left her mark and I have to track her down.
Imagine my surprise when I discover that she’s getting married…
So I do what’s most logical: steal the bride. Except…am I even at the right wedding?
Stealing the Bride is a standalone full-length romance novel with a sexy AF billionaire, smart geeky heroine, identical twins and mistaken identity. No cheating, no cliffhanger. Just lots of heat, heart and humor. Grab it today!
★★★★★ Excerpt ★★★★★
The bride is over my shoulder, wriggling like a trout caught between a bear’s paws. And it’s true: my paw is on her butt, so maybe she feels like a trout, even though we’re on a beach and there are no bears in Maui. And she’s screaming like a banshee.
I sprint down the aisle, past the tropical flowers lining each side, feet churning the sand. Somewhere a Chihuahua is barking insanely. The bride’s head bounces on my back, the white veil brushing my thighs and knees. The guests in semi-casual beachwear are too stunned to move. They just stare, their mouths open. It looks comical--like something from a third-rate chick flick.
“Stop!” comes from behind me. The groom’s finally pulled himself together.
Sissy. I didn’t even push him out of the way that hard. I look over a shoulder to give him a superior smirk.
He’s started after me, his feet pounding the sand. But the guy’s not fast enough. Even with a struggling woman over one shoulder, I can outrun him. I didn’t get my muscles from one of those jiggle dumbbells that simulates you-know-what.
Oh yeah. You aren’t getting married. Not until pigs win the Super Bowl.
Besides, he’s going to thank me. As soon as the fact that his intended and I slept together only two weeks ago sinks into his microscopic brain.
My getaway Maserati convertible is waiting. Yeah! Stealing this bride in style.
I dump her in the passenger seat. Cursing, she struggles against the tangled veil and a small sea of white fabric.
I start the car. The engine roars like a lion, while the bride screams like I’m Hannibal Lecter coming off a month-long fast. The Hawaiian breeze ruffles my hair. I smack the wheel in triumph and give the car some gas.
Someone in red runs right in front of the car. Crap! I slam on the brakes.
“You crazy?” I shout, my heart knocking hard against my chest. The Maserati could’ve turned her into a bloody human pancake. “I almost ran you over!”
A tall, slim brunette places her hands on the hood of my car, almost like she’s daring me to run her over. Then she lifts her chin.
What the…?
The familiar aquamarine eyes send a jolt through me. I blink. The bride is right next to me, still cursing. What is she doing over there in that red dress? Am I seeing things? I’ve been thinking entirely too much about her over the last two weeks.
“Skittles?” I say.
“Yeah.” The same husky voice.
Whoa… It is her.
I glance at my kidnapped bride…who has finally gotten her veil out of the way and has the exact same face as Skittles. What is going on?
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Titles by Nadia Lee
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Standalone Titles
Mister Fake Fiancé
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Marrying My Billionaire Hookup
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Faking It with the Frenemy
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Marrying My Billionaire Boss
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Stealing the Bride
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The Sins Trilogy
Book 1: Sins
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Book 2: Secrets
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Book 3: Mercy
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The Billionaire’s Claim Duet
Book 1: Obsession
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Book 2: Redemption
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Sweet Darlings Inc. Series
Book 1: That Man Next Door
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Book 2: That Sexy Stranger
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Book 3: That Wild Player
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Billionaires’ Brides of Convenience Series
Book 1: A Hollywood Deal
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Book 2: A Hollywood Bride
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Book 3: An Improper Deal
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Book 4: An Improper Bride
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Book 5: An Improper Ever After
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Book 6: An Unlikely Deal
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Book 7: An Unlikely Bride
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Book 8: A Final Deal
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The Pryce Family Series
Book 1: The Billionaire’s Counterfeit Girlfriend
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Book 2: The Billionaire’s Inconvenient Obsession
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Book 3: The Billionaire’s Secret Wife
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Book 4: The Billionaire’s Forgotten Fiancée
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Book 5: The Billionaire’s Forbidden Desire
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Book 6: The Billionaire’s Holiday Bride
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Seduced by the Billionaire Series
Book 1: The Billionaire’s Revenge
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Book 2: The Billionaire’s Pursuit
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Book 3: The Billionaire’s Baby
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Book 3.5: The Millionaire’s Crush