by Alexa McLean
And yet, I couldn’t stop thinking that maybe she had gotten cold feet and that she had called the whole thing off. I had seen it happen to one of my teammates and now I feared it would happen to me.
My best man gripped my shoulder and whispered something into my ear but I didn’t understand his words.
Get a grip, I repeated in my head over and over again but this was more nerve-racking that batting at the World Series.
It felt like there was a giant rock lodged at the back of my throat. I tried to swallow it back but with little success. It just got stuck somewhere else.
Then came the moment of truth. The organist started to play and the bridal party came down the aisle. The ring bearer and flower girl got a few ‘awws’ from the audience but I could barely appreciate their cuteness because I was much more concerned with laying eyes on my lovely bride.
I held my breath while my heart thumped like that of a wild stallion.
Everyone got up from their seats as Lily walked through those doors.
I couldn’t believe my eyes. She was more beautiful than I had ever imagined she would be. Her dress sparkled with every step she took making her look like a walking star and that’s exactly what she was — my bright and shining star.
It seemed to take her a lifetime for her to reach the altar. I couldn’t keep still as I waited for her to get close enough for me to take her hand and push back the veil that hid her face from me. I knew it wasn’t orthodox for me to remove it so soon but I couldn’t stand not seeing her face.
“Wow... you look beautiful...” I whispered as I trailed my fingertips along her cheek. “How did I ever get so lucky?”
The priest cleared his throat to remind us that we were still in the middle of a ceremony.
It was difficult for me to pry my eyes off of her gorgeous face but somehow, I managed it.
I really couldn’t tell you much about the ceremony itself because I wasn’t paying attention. My eyes were fastened to my soon-to-be-wife and nowhere else.
Then came the part where we were to exchange rings. I said my lines and slipped the golden band onto her ring finger and she did the same to me.
“You may now kiss the bride!” The words I had been waiting for had finally been said.
I took Lily and wrapped my arms around her waist and bent her backward as our lips collided with a fiery passion that signaled the years of happiness that were still to come.
She stuck out her leg for balance and I grabbed it, my hand creeping further and further along the length of it. She slapped it before things could get too rated-R. We were, after all, still inside a church building.
A round of applause was raised when we finally pulled away.
Gripping Lily’s hand, I towed her down the aisle and into the private limousine. Alone with her, I continued our kiss. I wanted her so badly, I thought about sneaking in some action right then and there but that was what the honeymoon was for. I’d wait and the anticipation would only make it a thousand times better.
“I have news.”
“News?” I asked. “What kind of news.”
“Well...”
“Lily?”
“I don’t know whether I should tell you now or after we come home from our honeymoon.”
“Well, you’ve already brought it up. To make me wait a whole two weeks would be torture so you have to tell me.”
She tugged at a loose bead and pulled it off her dress. She was about to do the same to another but I stopped her before she could do any more damage. “Lily, just tell me.”
“Last night, while we were in separate rooms, I decided to take a test.”
I knitted my brows together, not quite following what it was that she was telling me.
“Diana helped me buy it and all that.”
“What are you talking about.”
“A pregnancy test,” she breathed. “I took a pregnancy test.”
My eyes widened. “Wait...”
She nodded. “My period was late and so I figured...”
“What did the test say?”
“That we’re having a baby.” Her voice was incredibly small almost like she thought I would react negatively to such news.
“That’s amazing!” I exclaimed, my smile stretching from ear to ear. “There were three things that I’ve always wanted. One, to become a professional baseball player. Two, to marry you. Three, to start a family.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
She fell into my arms. “I was scared. Since we hadn’t discussed it, I thought...”
I pulled her out to arm’s length and looked into her face. “This is the happiest day of my life, Lily. I got to marry my best friend and now she’s telling me that I get to start a family with her too. I’m over the moon.”
She kissed me and I returned it with a fervor that cannot be described in words.
Breathless, she broke away.
“But, I do have a question.”
“Which is?”
“Is this going to affect our honeymoon? I mean, can I still make love to you with a little peanut growing in there?” I asked as I rested my hand on her stomach.
“I looked it up and it’s perfectly safe — healthy even.”
“Perfect,” I grinned. “Then, yes, this is definitely the happiest day of my life.”
She laughed. “To our happily ever after,” she said as she grabbed the bottle of Champagne from the cooler.
“To our happily ever after,” I agreed as I clinked my glass with hers.
Sample chapter
BOOK 1:- CHERISHING His Best Friend:
A Billionaire Protector Mystery Romance
By Alexa McLean
Chapter 1: Brandi
5:00 A.M.
My alarm echoed its ear-piercing song and it penetrates right through my skull. I groaned and rolled over to the other side of my bed, attempting to drown out the sound with my pillow. Unfortunately, it didn’t work.
The alarm grew louder and louder with each passing minute but I just couldn’t force myself to get out of bed. I was so warm and comfortable – couldn’t the day wait just a little bit longer?
Just then, there was a knock at my door. “Brandi, sweetie, it’s time to get up now.” His tone made me want to gag. Despite my age and my financial stability, he still treated me like a child. But I had a hunch that he would continue to treat me as such until I was sixty-two and collecting retirement checks. “The diner isn’t going to run itself, you know.” And another thing, my father was incredibly chipper, especially in the morning. How someone could be such an early bird was beyond my level of understanding.
“Alright, I’ll be out in a minute,” I called as I finally turned off my alarm. What followed was pure silence. I basked in its peacefulness before raising my head just a tad to look out the window. The sun was cresting over the horizon, casting the town in an orange hue. Most people were still enjoying the sleepiness of their sheets but not me. Living with my father meant waking up at the crack of dawn. You would think that after working with him all my life I would have developed some of his early morning energy but I was never blessed with such luck.
I forced myself out of bed and stretched my sluggish limbs. From there, I shuffled into the bathroom and splashed some cold water onto my face. It helped wake me up but not by much.
By the time I stood in front of the closet, my brain was just starting to defog. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes before grabbing my uniform. It wasn’t anything fancy. Just a pair of black jeans and a shirt branded with the diner’s logo. My father, ever original, had named the restaurant after his only daughter – me. And, for this reason, I was never able to get away from it. Oh, trust me, I had plenty of dreams but with time they were snuffed with the reality that I would be expected to take over the family business whether I wanted it or not. To deny that inheritance would mean breaking my father’s heart and that wasn’t something I could ever bring myself to do.
With a sigh, I looked over
at the guitar hanging from my wall. I couldn’t remember the last time I had picked it up. My fingers ached to run along the cords – to practice the way I did when I was a kid.
The thought did nothing but make me sad so I pushed it away. I squinted against the darkness of my room and managed to find my apron hanging on the edge of my cluttered vanity. I should really find the time to clean that thing but then again, I could never be bothered to put in the effort. It wasn’t like I really needed a vanity to begin with. Jeremy, my boyfriend, never paid attention to what I did so I slowly stopped caring about dolling myself up in the morning. What was the point?
When I finally made my way down to the kitchen, my father was waiting for me at the table. He had a cup of coffee in his left hand and the newspaper in his right. He looked up just long enough to smile at me before sticking his nose back into the sports section. “How is the team doing?” I asked.
“Horrible.” He grumbled. “Their track record this season is absolute trash. I had a hunch that this new coach of theirs would be a good-for-nothing –”
I had a sense that my father would dish out a string of obscenities so I tossed him a reprimanding look that stopped him dead in his tracks.
He chuckled. “You’re so much like your mother.”
“I had to get my good looks from somewhere,” I said with a wink.
“Ouch.” He faked a wince and put down the paper. “But I mean it. She used to look at me with that same look whenever I took a drink too many.” His shoulders sagged with the memories. “I should have strived to be a better husband... she deserved a king and I was nothing more than a pauper.”
“Dad...” I frowned. “Mom wouldn’t want you getting depressed this early in the morning.” I reached into the pantry and pulled out a fresh jar of peanut butter along with some of our favorite crackers. “You always told me that she woke up with a smile.”
“She did.” He nodded. “She was always smiling and it was the sort of smile that could light up an entire room. I tell you, she was the prettiest girl in town. I still can’t figure out how I managed to snag her as my wife.”
“That’s because mom saw that you were a good man.” I pushed a plate of crackers in his general direction. He ignored them. Lately, he had been stuck in the past more and more often. My mother had been dead for over 25 years and yet, he couldn’t move on. He was completely heartbroken and it was only getting worse with age. “You know... maybe you should think of finding a companion –”
“I will not replace your mother.” He said with such firmness that I nearly dropped the knife I was holding.
“I wasn’t implying another woman. I meant along the lines of a dog or something. I think it might do you some good. That way you wouldn’t have to go on your morning runs all by yourself.”
“I don’t need a dog.” He folded his arms over his chest and I knew that the conversation was over. He no longer wanted to talk about it but I wasn’t about to let it go so soon. The man needed a dog.
“We could go down to a shelter. There are plenty of dogs that need a good home.”
“Brandi.” Now he was using his ‘dad voice.’
“Okay, okay, but I still think it’s a good idea.”
“You know what I think is a good idea? That we hurry up and get to the diner before we’re late.” He was up on his feet before I could even blink. A second later, the front door slammed behind him.
I sighed, deposited my empty plate in the sink, and followed him with my purse hanging on my shoulder.
THE DINER WAS QUIET that day. By the afternoon, the booths were empty and only a couple of regulars lingered by the counter, sipping on their coffee.
“Can I refill that for you?” I asked a veteran that spent every afternoon in our establishment.
He looked up and fiddled with his hearing aid. He was about to ask me to repeat myself when he noticed the coffee pot in my hand. So, he nodded and offered a semi-toothless smile. “Thank you.” His hand crept onto mine and he gave it a squeeze. “It’s always a pleasure to see you, Brandi.”
“And you, Mr. Alves.”
When I was finished refilling everyone’s coffee, I busied myself by polishing the mirrors that lined our back wall. I really scrubbed down the surface, wanting to make it sparkle and my reflection shine. I considered myself for a moment and frowned. I had way too many freckles and my nose was slightly crooked. Compared to all the models I saw on TV, I was the epitome of a plain Jane.
Ding!
I turned around, ready to greet our newest customer only it wasn’t a customer at all. It was my boyfriend, Jeremy. He worked as a letter carrier but he sucked at his job. Most of the time, people failed to receive their packages and he was the one to blame for it.
“Hey, toots.” He said with a wink. I hated it when he called me ‘toots.’
“Shouldn’t you be working right now?” I returned with a hand on my hip. “If your supervisor finds you slacking off again, you’re going to be out of a job.”
“Don’t worry about it, baby. He isn’t going to find out. I’m slick.” He boasted as he tugged on his shirt like he was wearing an expensive suit or something. “So long as you’re with me, you’ll never have to worry about anything.”
“In that case, where’s our mail?” I asked.
“Hmm...” He searched through his satchel but it was a complete and utter mess. No wonder mail was always going missing during his shift. “Doesn’t look like you have any.”
“Ah,” I said, unconvinced. “Well, maybe tomorrow.”
“And maybe you should hit me up with some of that delicious coffee. I could really use the caffeine. I was up all night –”
“Let me guess, you were up all night playing that new game of yours.” Jeremy had a video game addiction. More often than not he picked playing a game over spending time with me. Honestly, I didn’t know why I kept him around. He wasn’t doing anything to improve my quality of life. Maybe I was the one that needed a dog. It sure would beat the lowlife I called a boyfriend.
Wanting to get him back through the doors as quickly as possible, I poured his coffee into a to-go cup. Despite this, he still sat down and took his jolly old time drinking it.
“Wanna come over my house tonight?” He asked.
“Um...” Agreeing would most certainly result in a night spent watching him scream at the TV while his bros shot him dead in some shooter game. “I have some stuff I need to work on with my dad – you know, for the dinner.”
“Aww, come on. Can’t you do it some other day?”
“Actually, no.”
“You’re missing out.” He said. “But, suit yourself.” To my relief, he got up and grabbed his bag. “Anyway, I should probably get going. I’ll see you around, toots.”
“See you,” I mumbled under my breath.
As soon as he was gone, my father emerged from the kitchen with a permanent-looking grimace on his face. “Seriously, Brandi. Why do you put up with that guy? I’ve told you time and time again that he isn’t worth your time. You deserve so much more.”
“I don’t need to hear it, dad.” I returned to cleaning the mirrors. “Jeremy isn’t a bad guy. He just needs to get his life together.”
“Get his life together? There’s a better chance of hell freezing over. Is that really the sort of guy you want to spend the rest of your life with? I thought I raised you better than this.” He continued his lecture.
And honestly, he was right. I didn’t want to marry Jeremy. He was more a filler – someone that helped take the edge off the loneliness I felt. It was hard living in such a small town. There really wasn’t much to choose from in the romance department. But the longer I waited, the less chance I had at finding Mr. Right. Time was quickly passing me by and I didn’t know what to do about it.
“You should have stuck with Reis when you had the chance.”
His name was enough to bring an acute sting of pain into the depths of my heart. Reis was my childhood best friend. We did everything t
ogether and I mean everything. All through preschool, we were inseparable. And sometime in high school, I started to like him as more than just a friend but I never acted on those feelings because I was terrified of ruining our friendship. So, I kept my thoughts locked away in a diary and they never came to the surface.
Now, it was too late because Reis no longer lived in town and he had made a name for himself in the world. “I just read that he achieved billionaire status.” Some nights, I couldn’t stop myself from stalking his success. I was happy for him but at the same time, I was insanely jealous. He had accomplished his dreams while I was rotting away in some rural part of Maine. It just wasn’t fair.
“I always knew he was a good kid.” My father nodded his approval. “He’s going places. The sky’s the limit for that one.”
“Can we change the subject, please?” I said. “I can regret passing up on Reis all my life but there’s no point in crying over spilled milk. It’s never going to happen. He’s probably soaking up the sun in Italy with some Venetian babe and here I am cleaning up tables for a living...”
Other Books and Boxset by this Author
The Irresistible Billionaires League Complete Series Box Set
The Irresistible Passion: A Billionaire Bad Boy Friends To Lovers Mystery Romance
The Irresistible Protector: A Billionaire Bad Boy Best Friends to Lovers Mystery Romance
The Irresistible Connection: A Billionaire Bad Boy Second Chance Mystery Romance
The Irresistible Encounter: A Billionaire Bad Boy Friends to lovers Romance
Cherishing His Best Friend: A Billionaire Protector Mystery Romance
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alexa McLean is romance author who enjoys reading, spending time with family and friends, eating pasta and writing romance stories that makes her readers beg for more and keep them well entertained.
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