Club Thrive: Vendetta (The Club Thrive Series Book 2)

by Alison Mello

  “Baby, this is your big day. You can have whatever you want,” he says with a big smile.

  “No, it’s our big day and it should be planned out the way we want it,” I tell him, stressing the our and the we.

  “Yes, it is, but what you need to understand is all I want is for you to be happy. I will give you whatever you want.”

  I giggle. “I think I want a beach wedding, but it’s too hot right now. We’ll have to plan it for when the weather will be nice. I don’t want us melting while we stand out there saying our vows.”

  “That’s fine as long as you don’t make me wait years to marry you.”

  “Nah, I’m thinking an early fall wedding, but I need to find a place that we can get married at outside. I do want an indoor reception. I don’t want the food out on the beach. It’s way too messy.”

  “That I agree with. I’m sure Sky and Sadie will help you.”

  I gasp. “Do my parents know?”

  He laughs. “Yes, I asked your dad a while ago. I was just waiting for the right time to ask you. He doesn’t know that I asked you this weekend though, and I don’t know if he told your mom.”

  “If I know my dad, he said nothing.”

  “He told me he wouldn’t be telling your sister. He told me she has a big mouth, and that I shouldn’t tell her if I wanted to keep it a surprise.”

  I burst out into laughter. “He’s right. She’s never been good at keeping a secret.”

  We finally pull up to my mom and dad’s house and I instantly jump out of the truck to stretch my legs. Shane meets me, takes my hand and we walk toward the house together. We walk into the house and I announce that we’re there. “How was your trip?” my mother asks as she greets us in the living room.

  “It was beautiful, but too short.” My father comes over to give me a hug and shake Shane’s hand. “You guys should have seen the place Shane got. It was directly on the beach. Like walk off the back deck onto sand.”

  “Sounds nice,” my mother says.

  “It was amazing. I mean seriously, it had a tub that could fit four.”

  We all make our way into the kitchen so my mom can finish making dinner while we talk. My father hands Shane a beer and he pours me a glass of wine. “We spent all day yesterday relaxing in the sun and…” my voice trails off. “Taking dips in the water.” I wiggle my brows at Shane, who just shakes his head.

  I continue. “The best part of the weekend, though, was this morning.”

  “Why what happened this morning?” my mother questions, confused.

  I walk over beside her hold up my left hand and say, “This,” showing her my engagement ring.

  “Oh my, you mean.” She stumbles. “You’re getting married?” I nod at her excitement as she holds my hand looking at my beautiful one and a half carat diamond engagement ring.

  “Welcome to the family, son,” my father says, shaking his hand.

  “Thanks, she was very excited when I asked her this morning.”

  “What’s all the excitement?” my sister asks as she comes running down the stairs.

  “I’m engaged,” I shout, showing her my ring.

  “Holy shit,” she says, taking my hand to look over my ring. “Nice job, Shane,” she says, praising Shane for picking such a beautiful ring. In true Kara fashion, she starts jumping up and down.

  “Thanks, I designed what I thought she’d like.” He shrugs like it’s no big deal.

  “Oh my God, oh my God, this means we get to plan your wedding,” she says, clapping excitedly.

  “Yes and of course you’ll be in it,” I tell my sister. She jumps at me and wraps me in a hug.

  “That’s awesome. I can’t wait.”

  “Have you two talked about when you’ll marry?” my dad asks.

  I go into what we know we want so far, and they both listen as I talk about planning my wedding. My mom announces that dinner is ready, so we continue the conversation in the dining room over dinner.

  “I think a beach wedding is totally romantic.” Kara swoons like it’s her wedding.

  “It is, but we’ll have to be prepared with a tent in case of rain,” my mother says, full of concern. I give my mom a look, because it seriously hardly ever rains here in the fall.

  “Mom, I only want the ceremony on the beach and we’ll do it in September when it hardly ever rains. If it makes you feel better, we can have a tent as a backup.”

  “It would make me feel better. I would hate for your day to be ruined by the one rainy day we get during the entire month of September.”

  “If it makes you feel better.” I give my mom a warm smile over her concern.

  “Are you going to make us wear tuxes out on the beach?” my father asks in a panic.

  “We haven’t gotten that far in conversation, but I can tell you I have no desire to wear a tux on the beach. We’ll have to come up with something that looks nice but fits the theme of a beach wedding,” Shane says.

  “But you said you’d do whatever I wanted. You said it was my wedding.” I pout at Shane.

  His brows shoot up. I can see he’s freaking out over how to handle this. “Are you serious right now, with the puppy dog eyes?” I continue my look. “You want us to wear a tux on the beach?” He looks to my father for help but gets nothing. My father turns his head and begins eating.

  I can’t hold out any longer. I burst into laughter, as does everyone else. “No, I don’t want you to wear a tux on the beach, but it was fun to watch your reaction.”

  “Oh, wait until we get home.” Shane finally caves and starts laughing along with us.

  “Yeah, what are you going to do?” I challenge him.

  “Nothing your parents want us to discuss at the dinner table, so how about you drop it for now?”

  I gasp and blush at his words, immediately standing to begin clearing the table. My mom and sister join in to help get everything from dinner cleaned up. My dad and Shane walk into the kitchen with the remainder of the dishes from the dining room. He says to Shane, “It’s nice to see my daughter so happy. Please be sure it stays that way.”

  “You have my word.” Shane and my father shake hands. Shane turns to Kara. “Hey, Kara, now that you’re twenty-one, I may have a job for you.”

  “No way.” She turns to him, excited.

  “I’ll be hiring an assistant manager and if it’s one of the members of my staff, I may end up needing someone to replace them. I can give you a job as a cocktail waitress, but the big money is in bartending. You’d have to go to school for that.”

  “I’m so down with going to school for that. I love the club life. It’s so much fun. I bet it’s a blast working there.”

  “We have a good time, but we work hard and I’m telling you now you won’t get off easy because you’re my sister-in-law. You still need to pull your weight.”

  “I will, I promise. I need a job so I can get out of this house.”

  My father growls at her statement. “Daddy, you have to let her grow up,” I say as I rub my dad’s arm in comfort.

  “I know and I will as soon as she does,” he says, obviously pissing Kara off. She crosses her arms over her chest.

  “Did I miss something?” Shane asks.

  My father looks at Shane. “She told you she wanted a club job, but I told her I’d like her to go back to school for something and I didn’t mean bartending,” he turns to Kara and giving her a dirty look.

  Kara takes off up the stairs. I can see Shane feels bad. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you disagreed with her choice of jobs.”

  “I think it’s time we get going,” I say, and Shane nods in agreement.

  My father sighs, “Shane, I don’t mean to knock what you do. You work hard and I know you’ll take good care of my Katie.” He sighs. “As a dad, I just…” he trails off.

  “I know I don’t have any kids yet so I can’t say I understand, but it seems you have to let her decide how hard she wants to work. One of two things will happen. She’ll bust her ass
and make good money, or she’ll come to you and say ‘Dad, you were right. I need a better job.’” Shane stands, putting his hand out to shake hands with my dad.

  My dad looks up at him, shakes his hand, and says, “You’re all right.”

  I hug my mom and dad good-bye, and we head for home. I had fun talking about our wedding and I can’t wait to start planning things out, but right now I’m anxious to see what Shane has in mind for me. I’ve been wet since his dirty little threat at the dining room table. I glance over at him, realizing I’m one lucky woman. I cared a great deal for Collin and I was devastated when he passed, but it made me realize just how short life is. I love Shane and I’m looking forward to spending the rest of my life living it to the fullest right by his side.

  The End

  Epilogue

  Katie

  There is absolute chaos going on all around me. I can’t believe the day is finally here, and I’m so excited. My mother has been busy planning my wedding with me since the night I told her about my engagement, and my poor father’s wallet has suffered greatly. Shane and I offered many times to help, but of course, being the stubborn man that he is, he wouldn’t hear of it. My mother found the perfect spot for the wedding. It’s a few hours from home so we all drove down yesterday. We’re at a beachside resort not far from the villa where Shane and I stayed. This place is perfect because we can get married on the beach, and then we’re moving to the resort’s ballroom for the reception. The room faces the ocean and has glass walls, so we will be able to watch the sun set. We had the rehearsal dinner last night, and Shane and I stayed in separate rooms. My mother said it was one tradition we couldn’t break. That meant I had to spend the night with my mom in her suite with my father and sister.

  “Are you getting nervous?” my sister asks as I devour my breakfast.

  “Heck no, I’m about to make one of the best decisions of my life. I’m thrilled and I can’t wait to celebrate after.”

  “Aren’t you even a little nervous? I’m nervous I’ll fall and it’s not even my wedding.”

  I shake my head. “You can be nervous for the both of us. I’m fine.” I shove more of the pastry my mother had room service deliver into my mouth.

  Kara shakes her head. “You’re so gross. I can’t believe you’re eating like that.”

  I furrow my brows. “I’m hungry. Just because it’s my wedding day doesn’t mean I’m not supposed to eat.”

  My mother comes walking in the room from the shower. “Kara, leave your sister alone. It’s her day and she needs to eat. It’s going to be hot out there today. We may have avoided rain, but I swear it’s the hottest day of the season and I don’t need her passing out.”

  Kara shakes her head in frustration and because I’m in a giddy mood, I stick my tongue out at her in a very childish manner, but she gets pissed and flips me off, not knowing my mom was right behind her. “Kara Lynn Cooper,” she scolds and I burst into laughter. My sister growls and walks off to see who’s knocking at the door.

  “Where’s the bride to be?” Sky asks as she, Sadie, and Miranda come into the room, giddy and full of excitement.

  “She’s in the living room being a brat,” my sister says, and I only laugh harder.

  I shout, “I love you, Kara.” Kara shakes her head and goes into our bedroom.

  “How’s the bride?” Sky gushes.

  “I’m awesome. My sister is grumpy because I’m not nervous and she got in trouble.”

  They begin to giggle when my mother announces that the girls from the salon are here to get us ready.

  The girls set up and as they do, my mother walks around with her camera in hand snapping pictures of us chatting and getting ready. I’m in one chair and my sister is now in the other. She seemed to get over her little fit because she’s now joking around with us.

  My hair doesn’t take too long because I’m wearing it in loose curls hanging down my back with one side pinned off my face, and a flower in my hair. As soon as my hair and makeup are done, I jump down from the chair and Skyler jumps in so they can start working on her.

  It takes a few hours to get all of us done and my mother has taken a ridiculous number of pictures capturing the process. She lines us up, snapping a few more of us wearing our button-down shirts and our leggings with our hair and makeup done to perfection.

  “I have a snack being delivered so you girls can eat something small before it’s time to dress.” As soon as she finishes speaking, there’s a knock on the door. It’s room service with our snack.

  ***

  Shane

  “You better get in the shower. Katie will kill you if you’re late to the wedding because we decided to play a round of golf this morning.”

  “I know, right? It was fun. I haven’t played in ages,” I say to Stone as I walk off to the shower.

  I’m sweaty from the morning sun beaming down on us. Logan, Stone, and I all played golf this morning. We invited Jonah but he said he isn’t a golfer. We all laughed because none of us are golfers. We tried to tell him we’re hackers who just go out to have a good time, but he wasn’t hearing it. He said he’d meet us at my room when it was time to get dressed.

  I walk out of my bedroom to find Jonah has arrived and the guys are standing around eating sandwiches. “What’s all this?” I ask, grabbing a sandwich.

  “Lilly had them delivered.”

  “Nice.” I grab another small sandwich, devouring it.

  I have a small room that’s just big enough for Katie and me. We’re spending the night here tonight and taking off for our honeymoon in the morning. We’re all standing around eating when there’s knock at the door. Logan opens it. “Hey, Cooper,” he says, shaking hands with my soon-to-be father-in-law.

  “What’s up? I thought you were getting ready in your room.” I look at him, confused.

  “It’s been taken over by girls, and my youngest is all pissed off and pouty because the bride isn’t nervous and wants to eat.”

  “Wait a minute. Kara is mad because Katie isn’t nervous and is eating?” Stone asks, totally confused.

  “That’s what I said, and I’m not putting up with it. I tried to stay in my bedroom, but I was tired of hearing them all giggle and go crazy. I needed some testosterone and food.” He picks up a sandwich and we all start laughing.

  We’re finally dressed and I’m happy that Katie was in fact joking about making us wear a tux. We have lightweight khaki pants with white button-down shirts rolled at the sleeves, and we’re wearing aqua blue ties.

  We all head out to the beach for our photo session with the photographer. Lilly was adamant that we take lots of pictures. She even hired the top photographer in the area. As soon as we step foot outside, Cooper starts complaining that it’s too hot.

  The priest is here and people have started to arrive. We’re not having a huge wedding, just our closest friends and family. I even invited my parents. It’s a long ride for them and although they never responded, I’m still holding out hope that they’ll be here.

  It’s finally time for the ceremony to start. I’m standing on the beach with Logan, my best man, by my side. The rows of chairs set up in the sand look great. They have white covers with aqua blue ribbons tied around them and there’s an archway set up as a backdrop with the waves crashing up on the beach behind us. Everything looks great.

  The music starts, and Sadie appears wearing an aqua blue dress and flip-flops. Next is Skyler, Miranda, and then Kara as the maid of honor. There’s a shift in the music, letting everyone know that my beautiful bride is coming. I’m getting antsy because I can’t wait to see her.

  She finally appears, walking up the beach holding her father’s arm. She looks stunning wearing a beautiful strapless white dress. It flows down to her lower legs in the back, but barely reaches her knees in the front. Her hair is pulled back and curled, and she has a white-and-blue flower in her hair.

  When they reach me, the ceremony begins and when it comes time for her father to give her a
way he shakes my hand and pulls me into a hug. “Take care of my baby girl or I’ll kill you.” I burst into laughter because I know he’s kidding. He knows I will never let anything happen to his daughter. I love her too much and will always keep her safe.

  The wedding ceremony is short and sweet. We used traditional vows and since we were on the beach, we had a sand pouring instead of candles. We were married and being introduced as husband and wife within twenty minutes.

  Our guests all start to head inside while we take pictures on the beach. I look over to see Noah still sitting in his chair waiting for Kara. Noah’s the EMT who took her to the hospital the night of her birthday party. They went out on a date after she was released and have been seeing each other ever since. I look over to my left and in the far end of the last row I spot them. I’m frozen in place and my jaw drops.

  “What’s wrong?” Katie asks full of concern. Without answering her I run through the sand to them. My mom stands just in time for me to pick her up in a big hug and spin her around.

  “We couldn’t miss it,” she said. “We wanted to surprise you.” A tear runs down my face as I place her back down on the sand and reach over to hug my father.

  “I’m so glad you guys are here. Come on, come meet my wife and her family.” I take my mom’s hand and escort them over to my waiting wife and in-laws.

  “Everyone, I’d like you to meet my mom and dad, Carroll and Jonathan.” I smile at my mom. “Mom, this is my wife, Katie,” I say, beaming with pride.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” My mom hugs Katie and my dad follows. I finish our round of intros and then the photographer grabs our attention to continue our photo session. As soon as we’re done, Kara runs off to her new boyfriend. She hugs him and they walk off hand in hand. Her father growls at the sight, and we all laugh as Katie says, “Daddy, she’s not a baby anymore.”

  He puts his arm around her and tells her, “Don’t remind me.” He kisses her on the temple and says, “Let’s go enjoy your party.” We all walk off to the reception for a night we’ll never forget.