by Abby Knox
She opened the fridge and sucked in her breath.
There it was. Finished. The ivy vines, candied ferns, and royal icing flowers from the tiny hanging balcony baskets were all attached. There were gorgeous orange and purple and white sugar butterflies alighting on the delicate little balcony railings. There was beaded piping around the base. And there, filing down the little street, was the parade of tiny people, tempered to the highest shine she had ever seen. And on top of the white chocolate cake float was a tiny white chocolate version of Rosemary and Ash, down to the right colored hair. It was hands down the most beautiful cake she had ever seen.
Vann had saved her ass but good.
But where was he? She checked her phone again. He would probably be overseeing the food delivery to the reception venue by now.
She sent him a text. All it said was, Thank you. I love you so much. I’ll thank you in person during the reception if you can get away.
Just then, a Land Rover from the DuChamp mansion arrived to pick up the cake. The reply came, You’re welcome, Peaches. I’m only sad I didn’t get to see your face when you saw the cake. I hope it is up to your standards. I hated seeing you suffer.
How did you manage to do the chocolate?
You left the molds in your office, in a box. On top of your desk. I think you were so tired you had forgotten you never put them away after they were delivered.
Prepare yourself, Buster. I’m gonna suck you dry.
GiGi and the cake arrived at the wedding venue, a huge riverboat, just in time to help Rosemary pull on her wedding dress, along with help from cousin Chastity and Pen.
She had been worried all the way to the dock that Rosemary would be mad she had missed the friends’ breakfast that morning.
“Oh, honey, you’ve been working yourself to death on that cake. Vann told me you worked all night putting on all those little flowers and that I should just let you sleep. So don’t even worry about it.”
So Vann not only saved her ass, he wasn’t even going to take credit for it. Wow.
When Vann took her arm as the band began to play, she whispered, “Thank you.”
“For what?” he muttered as they made their way up the aisle.
“You know what.”
“No need to thank me. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Flowers. Chocolate. How did you do it?”
“Let’s just keep it a mystery until the wedding night.”
“Huh?”
“You need more sleep. You’re not catching my drift. I’ll tell you all of it after I get your clothes off later.”
The thought of having Vann between her legs again made her swoon so hard she almost stumbled up the aisle. Her mind was finally so at ease she could not have cared less what anybody thought if she had decided to nail this man right here in the middle of the ceremony.
Thinking about what she was going to do to him later seemed to make the ceremony last forever. No offense to her dear, sweet Rosemary and the dashing groom.
The ceremonial kiss was so good GiGi could not help but cut her eyes at Vann, who stared at her with all the subtlety of a bull in a china shop.
She had to look away so she wouldn’t blush beet red in front of everyone. Ash looked deep in Rosemary’s eyes with the slightest grin on his lips. As if he was looking forward to ravishing her later, and every night for the rest of their lives.
Vann’s powerful energy, much like the night of the engagement party, kept drawing her gaze back to his. With his eyes, he silently communicated to her what was going to happen later. His eyes drifted down to her neck, her chest, all the way down her body. The stare was so intense she could almost feel a slight pressure. When his eyes drifted back up to meet her gaze, she licked her lips. His nostrils flared.
At the reception, everyone stopped her to say how they could not wait to taste the beautiful cake. But GiGi was less interested in hearing about how it was the most original cake anyone had ever seen or tasted, and more interested in seeing her fiancé Vann. She liked the sound of that word. Wait, no she didn’t. She liked the word “husband” better.
When she finally found him, sweetly signing autographs for some distant aunt of hers and Rosemary’s, she waited patiently while he allowed the woman to take a selfie with him.
And then GiGi proceeded to drag her blond Viking god down below deck.
“You be a good girl now!” called the auntie as they left.
“Probably won’t!” she replied.
Chapter Twenty
Vann
He had no idea how long they had been locked in this tiny closet below deck on this wedding riverboat. It had to have been at least a couple of hours. He did the math in his head: there had been at least four incredibly lewd sex acts (one briefly interrupted by his buddy Gavin, who’d evidently been looking for a private nook to make out with another one of the bridesmaids), and then a nap, and then some truly tawdry behavior, followed by more napping. And his amazing angel female did not have a single moment of seasickness. Now, he was thirsty as shit.
It wasn’t the most comfortable rendezvous in the world, but he would strongly recommend this closet for any couple needing to go nuts on each other in public.
Someone opened the door who Vann did not recognize. The person standing outside the closet stumbled backward and then dashed off.
GiGi and Vann laughed and helped each other get fully dressed before exiting the closet. Pretty soon they were breathing in the fresh air and looking around for something to drink. Vann eventually procured two large glasses of water from a different bartender than he had seen at the beginning of the reception. They both drank their waters down gratefully, but then GiGi stopped and looked around.
“Vann?”
“Yeah, babe?”
“Everyone is staring at us.”
“Oh, they’re just jealous.”
“No, I think that’s not it.”
Vann looked around and discovered she was right. There was not a single person on this deck who he recognized from the wedding.
“Excuse me,” he stammered. “Have any of you seen Ash Boudreaux or the new Mrs. Rosemary Boudreaux?”
Everyone stared at them blankly.
“Babe,” GiGi said. “I’m not always the brightest bulb, but I gotta say, I don’t think we’re at the same wedding anymore. I think we slept through the end of the Boudreaux wedding and now we’re crashing the next one that was scheduled on this here fancy bucket of bolts.”
Vann scanned all the faces. “I think you might be right.”
GiGi grasped his hand. He looked over at his girl. She was starting to get a panicked look on her face again. He took a deep breath and told her to do the same. She did, and he breathed with her, in and out.
Then Vann smiled and explained, calmly, exactly what would happen next.
“We’re going to let it go, Peaches. And have a hilarious story to tell our grandchildren one day.”
She kissed him as all the strangers looked on, but soon they all seemed to disappear. They could think what they wanted, the two families could think what they wanted, but nothing—not work, not weddings—could stand in the way of his time with his kitty cat.
Epilogue
July
GiGi
Few things were better than the Gulf breeze in her hair, a book in her lap, and a drink in her hand. Most cats are not a fan of water, but GiGi was not most cats.
She took a deep breath and was reminded that nothing back home was falling apart without her. Her days of micromanaging were over.
It was going to take a while to get used to this.
Only true love—and a ridiculous mishap at her cousin’s riverboat wedding last month—could have persuaded her to let it all go for a little while.
GiGi stood and gazed over the railing of the vessel she now co-captained and wondered what everybody was up to back in New Orleans.
The wedding had gone smoothly enough for a couple like Ash and Rosemary. More o
r less.
Sure, shit had gotten a little weird. But in the end, they were married, and Uncle Lionel had shown up to walk his daughter down the aisle. Whether the old man had shown up because of Ash’s smelly voodoo stunt — he had performed a spell involving burning crystals from a high priestess and family friend — or Vann’s way with words, nobody could be sure. GiGi was sure of one thing only, and that was that all of the groomsmen wolves were individually taking the credit for that caper.
Best of all, GiGi’s masterpiece cake had been the hit of the reception.
Or so she had heard. GiGi had not been available to receive the accolades, as she had spent the bulk of the reception below deck.
She looked up from her book as Vann appeared from below deck with a pitcher of water to freshen up her glass.
“What part of the world are you off to next, Mr. West?” GiGi asked.
“Don’t know,” Vann replied. “It’s entirely for you to decide, since the streaming service won’t be deciding anything for me for a good long while.”
She cocked her head. “What do you mean?”
“I mean the show is on sabbatical. I’m not leaving to go anywhere without you ever again. I hated every second of it. Name the place and we’ll go. Right now.”
Shocked that he’d managed to negotiate this break with the showrunners, but touched all the same, GiGi didn’t know what to say. Eventually, she found the words.
“I only have an overnight bag. I don’t have enough clothes to take off on a long trip right now,” she said.
“Already taken care of. I told you when we first got together that I was going to take care of you, and that’s what I’m doing.”
“You went through my apartment and packed a suitcase full of dirty clothes from the floor?” GiGi asked, laughing.
“No,” he said. “I bought you all new items, and I’ve already stowed them below deck. We have food for a couple of weeks. The world is our oyster, GiGi. What is it you want? Name it.”
GiGi set her glass down and pulled Vann’s arm until he was seated next to her, allowing her to slink into his lap and kiss his neck slowly, sensuously.
“I think we should turn around and go home, then, because what I think I need is a pregnancy test.”
Vann pulled back; it was his turn to be shocked. “Really?”
GiGi laughed. “How are you surprised? You do know how these things happen.”
Without another word, Vann went below deck and fetched a life preserver, fastened it around GiGi despite her protests, and ordered her to get out of the sun. Then he was at the wheel, firing up the engines and steering the boat back to their home port.
“What’s gotten into you?” she asked.
“No baby of mine is going to be born on a boat, and no wife of mine is going to give birth at sea without a doctor.”
“Baby, you do know the normal gestation period is eight months? Let’s not go overboard.”
But Vann was determined.
She normally didn’t like being given orders. She didn’t enjoy being coddled. But now that she saw the motivation behind it all, she went with it.
She watched the blue waves of the Gulf gently bounce the yacht back and forth. She might end up seasick by the time they reached the shore.
Vann pulled her into him while he drove the boat back to the harbor, his grip on her tightening with every wave that rocked the vessel.
It seemed like he knew what he was doing.
She wasn’t sure what a child would look like between the two of them. Or how to tell if they were born with the same curses as either of them.
But they’d been children themselves and navigated life pretty successful up until now. She had faith in her captain, and she had faith in herself. As always, she would wait and see, certain that her patience, his good heart, and their families’ acceptance, would help seal an even better fate than any shifter curse could dictate.
The End
About the Author
Abby Knox lives a dual life. Fantasy Abby would love to live on a farm with goats, bees, chickens, donkeys and alpaca, making her own soap, yarn, honey and cheese. Reality Abby has no desire to do actual farm work. So, the ever-pragmatic Reality Abby keeps Fantasy Abby happy by putting her into adorable little works of romantic fiction with her pretend hobbies. Both Abbies hope you enjoy her sweet, sexy — sometimes a little over the top and weird — storytelling.
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Also by Abby Knox
Book One in the newly revised five-party Big Easy Shifter Series, Taking the Belle, is now available!
Need more stand-alone short reads and novellas?
Check out Abby’s other titles!
Butter Queen
Pumpkin King
Fighting For Dylan (book four in a six-author MMA series!)
Hot Off The Press
The Halloween Bet
The Christmas Pickup
From the Small Town Bachelor Romance series
Take Me Home
Game Face
Written in the Stars
Walk With Me
Stay the Night
Come and Get It
Nephilim’s Captive: A Divine Giants Romance. (Book One of seven in the paranormal romance series Sons of Earth and Heaven.)
Duets
Pumpkin and Spice
Comfort and Joy
***
Marrying Up
Shacking Up
***
Maid for the Billionaire
Made for Marriage
***
Doctor Dave
Officer Max
***
Saved for Me
Matched for Me
***
Off-Season Stud
Midsummer Fling
***
His Vinyl Vixen
Her Hi-Fi Hunk
***
Fencing Her In
Doing Him Good
Need more stand-alone short reads and novellas?
Check out Abby’s other titles!
Butter Queen
Fighting For Dylan (book four in a six-author MMA series!)
Hot Off The Press
The Halloween Bet
The Christmas Pickup
The Greenbridge Academy series
Swim Coach (book one)
Grumpy Dad (book two)
Benefactor (book three)
Headmistress (book four)
Queen Bee (book five)
Bake Sale Queen (book six)
An excerpt from book three…
Chasing the Night
By Abby Knox
Book Three in the Big Easy Shifter series, release date TBA!
Chastity, 8:30 a.m.
The bride’s cousin from Baton Rouge was having a rough morning.
Chastity DuChamps opened one sleep-crusty eye. She shouldn’t have done that. The sunlight streaming through the blinds instantly seared right through her eyeballs and into the back of her skull.
Whenever she visited her cousin Rosemary in New Orleans and slept overnight in one of the many guest rooms overlooking the lake, she always woke with a slight bit of confusion over where she was, at first. But that feeling would dissipate in a few seconds as wakefulness took hold. There was always the lovely four-poster bed, and a huge window seat with lush pillows and blankets. She would often be awakened with the aroma of coffee and fresh beignets made by Aunt Betsy.
This morning was not anything like that.
This little room was not becoming more familiar to her the more she woke up. She peeked around for clues. The only thing 100 percent certain was that she was definitely not in her aunt and uncle’s mansion in the Garden District. This room had a fucking popcorn ceiling, for starters. And these sheets were not Egyptian cotton.
How she got here was another mystery. The only clear memory was she had started the evening at Rosemary’
s bachelorette party last night, which had begun at the mansion with a five-course dinner. Having been excited to get the party started as early as possible, Chastity had picked at her food and drunk mass quanitites of champagne. The hours following that were a haze of tipsy, silly giddiness. And then the bar hopping started, at which point things got hazier, more silly and possibly wandered into the territory of downright poor judgment. And what was a bachelorette party without some breathtakingly stupid choices? Chastity was sure there were plenty of other families’ bachelorette parties that were nothing more but tea and cake, but those people were not the kind to celebrate her cousin Rosemary.
Rosemary, like Chastity, was a panther shifter and a constant source of headaches for the DuChamp clan. She liked to do things her own way and not be controlled by her daddy’s money. Judging from Chastity’s current state of not knowing where she was, and feeling like a live jazz band was hoofing it through her skull at full volume, she’d say the party was a roaring success.
Chastity gingerly rolled to one side, stood up and realized she had been asleep in her party dress. She had a pattern of its sequins embedded into the skin of her arms. Those arms were now searing with the pins-and-needles sensation of having been slept on for a very long time. Shaking them awake, she thanked god her legs were working, if a bit wobbly, because she had the urge to pee more than she had ever had in her life. She looked around. There was a door to a small room in the corner. That had better be the bathroom, she thought, because either way she was going to pee in it.
It was indeed a bathroom, and after she had relieved herself, she checked her reflection in the shabby little wall mirror.
This was the one day she was thankful for bad lighting. Never mind that she had obviously skipped her nightly makeup-removal-and-moisturizing routine, because the real story here was the giant hickie peeking out of the neckline of her dress.
