by Webb, Peggy
But both of us want another ceremony at home so my family and our friends can help us celebrate! Oh, do say you’ll come! Joanna, I know you can’t fly all the way from Madrid, and Cat, you might not be able to get make it because of school, and oh, Bea, I know you and Russ are a long way off in Florida, but we’re planning a weekend wedding. Michael said if anybody needs a ticket, just let him know. And do tell me if you can come. I’ve picked out bridesmaids dresses for all of you on Rodeo Drive, no less! They’ll be waiting in Peppertown!
Oh, I never knew it was possible to be this happy!!!
Clemmie
From: Bea
To: Clemmie, Joanna, Janet, Molly, Belinda, Catherine
Re: Your wedding
Of course, we’ll be there!!! Are you kidding me? Russ and I were just talking about driving that way anyhow to visit Mother and Jedidiah over in Florence!
Bea
From: Janet
To: Clemmie, Joanna, Molly, Belinda, Catherine, Bea
Re: Bridesmaid
Wild horses couldn’t keep me away. Not even the hospital! I’m so happy everything worked out for you, Clemmie! You deserve every happiness! I can’t wait to meet the man who got every one of our panties in a wad!
Janet
From: Belinda
To: Clemmie, Joanna, Molly, Bea, Catherine, Janet
Re: Fabulous!
Doing the happy dance here!!! Oh, I do hope you’ll be as happy as I am. If I were any happier I’d levitate straight to the moon! I’ll be there with bells on!
Belinda
From: Joanna
To: Clemmie, Bea, Molly, Janet, Catherine, Belinda
Re: Jealous
OH, I’M JEALOUS! I wish I could be there, but I can’t take that much time from school, especially since this is my last year! Yay!!! I’ll be so happy when I can leave Madrid and the nuns and that RAVING PIG behind, I’ll jump OVER THE MOON! I’m going to drink champagne from my gold shoes and then sit on the rooftop and send happy thought flying your way, Clemmie! Go, you!!! And send details. I want to hear every little thing, who said what and what the dresses look like and what the honeymoon was like. TELL ALL!!! At the rate I’m going, the nearest I’m ever going to get to a wedding is hearing second hand information! Still, I’m glad to be rid of that PIG WITH THE BLOATED EGO!
Joanna
From: Molly
To: Clemmie, Bea, Janet, Catherine, Belinda, Joanna
Re: Weekend
How fabulous!!! Sam and I will be there, and I can’t wait to meet your Mr. Right!
Molly
From: Catherine
To: Clemmie, Bea, Janet, Molly, Belinda, Joanna
Re: Flying Trip
I’m going to fly out Friday night and back Sunday morning, but I’ll be there, sweetie!!! Did you get cute shoes, too? If not, I’ll find some in New Orleans and bring them? I was thinking silver, with rhinestone buckles.
OMG, this is so exciting! Five of us have landed Mr. Perfect!!! Joanna, take heart. The two of us are bound to get lucky soon!!!
Joanna
From: Clemmie
To: Catherine, Bea, Molly, Joanna, Belinda, Janet
Re: Shoes
Bring the silver shoes, Cat. Joanna, I won’t tell all, but I will say that when Michael discovered Virginia, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven!
Clemmie
o0o
They flew back to Peppertown eight days after their marriage in L.A. In that length of time, Michael had spent enough time on the phone to plan a wedding extravaganza in Peppertown, and he had finally called all his friends and invited them to his wedding—his second wedding.
“I figured I’d waited so long and been so scared of this, I might as well do it twice,” he’d told Rick Love.
Now they were all assembled in Clemmie’s yard—Rick Love, Jay Wilkins, Lonnie Bobo, Miss Josephine, Harvey, Glen and the other schoolteachers, David and Daniel—waiting for the bride and groom and the Dixie Virgins in their pink satin dresses and silver shoes. A full orchestra was playing, the gazebo was draped with white roses and orchids, a white carpet was laid upon the browning grass, and the weather was cooperating beautifully. The temperature was a mild sixty-one, and the early December sun was outdoing itself with brilliance.
Spirits were high. And this crowd, loving a good show the way they did, was whispering and murmuring its pleasure. Suddenly a hush came over them.
An array of five beautiful young women marched toward the altar smiling – Cat, Janet, Molly, Belinda and Bea, glowing in their bridesmaids dresses and their love for the bride. Behind them came a white stallion bearing two riders. The saddle and bridle were the finest leather, trimmed with real gold. Riding double were Michael and Clemmie. He wore the loose white shirt, black pants and black boots of the buccaneer, and she was dressed in a fairy-tale wedding gown of white satin and tulle, trimmed with white sequined roses. They looked as if they had stepped straight from a lavish Cinderella castle.
And they almost had. The week in Michael’s plush mansion in Hollywood Hills had made Clemmie feel almost like Cinderella. Almost, but not quite. Her head might have been in the clouds for a while, but she had her feet firmly planted on the ground. She was married to a real man, a prince, to be sure, but a man of flesh and blood and passion. And she planned to be married to him for the rest of her life.
She smiled as he helped her from the horse, and there beside her gazebo they pledged their vows a second time. It was a wedding to remember, with music that rivaled heaven’s choirs, color photographs taken from every angle, a videotape made that would be shown over and over, well wishes of family and friends, and flowers to press in a scrapbook.
And when it was over, when the last crumb of cake had been eaten and the last glass of champagne drunk, all the guests slipped quietly away, leaving the Victorian house to the almost newlyweds.
Michael carried Clemmie over yet another threshold and up another set of stairs. The brass bed waited for them, the white sheets turned rosy by the glow of sunset that washed through the windows.
“Remember what you once told me about this brass bed, Clemmie?”
“Yes. From the first day you arrived in Peppertown, I imagined us there together.”
“I love it when you blush.” He cupped her cheek, pulling her close with gentle pressure. “Tell me, love, what did you imagine?”
She bent forward and whispered in his ear. He lifted one wicked eyebrow in mock surprise.
“No,” he said, chuckling. “You don’t mean it.” Her face getting pinker and pinker, she continued to whisper. “Not that, too. Why, Mrs. Forrest, I’m positively delighted with you.”
He unbuttoned her satin gown, slid it down and kissed her slim, firm shoulders. She shivered with pleasure.
“If we live to be a hundred, Michael, I will never get enough of you.”
“Nor I of you.”
The bedsprings squeaked as he lowered her to the sun- painted covers. She circled her arms around his neck and pulled him close. He slipped inside her, and it was as if they had always belonged together. They lay still a moment, savoring each other, building the anticipation.
“Do you know what Miss Josephine said the first day you came here?”
“Tell me, my sweet.’’
“She said you were a philandering man and we would all be pregnant as a house if you stayed.”
He chuckled. “The first part is over and done with. But I think I can do something about the second part.”
Clemmie smiled a secret smile, and then she forgot everything except the joys of being Mrs. Michael Forrest.
-The End-
While Carrie Bradshaw was looking for Sex in the City, the Dixie Virgins were looking for love, marriage and a baby carriage! Sassy, funny and charming, The Dixie Virgin Chronicles is a seven-book series that follows the feisty, independent women who met at a summer camp for girls, and live by the rule Never let the boys from Camp Geronimo get close enough to see your Virginia. Get all seven book
s!
The Dixie Virgin Chronicles: Belinda (Book One)
The Dixie Virgin Chronicles: Janet (Book Two)
The Dixie Virgin Chronicles: Molly (Book Three)
The Dixie Virgin Chronicles: Bea (Book Four)
The Dixie Virgin Chronicles: Clemmie (Book Five)
The Dixie Virgin Chronicles: Joanna (Book Six)
The Dixie Virgin Chronicles: Catherine (Book Seven)
o0o
Don’t miss Joanna’s story, coming in late October!
o0o
About Peggy Webb
Peggy Webb is a USA Today best-selling author from Mississippi with 70 books to her credit. She writes romance and the hilarious Southern Cousins cozy mystery series starring Elvis, the basset hound who thinks he’s the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll reincarnated. Her peers call her a “comic genius.” She also writes literary fiction under the pen names Anna Michaels (for Simon & Schuster) and Elaine Hussey (The Sweetest Hallelujah, MIRA, July 30, 2013). Pat Conroy calls her literary work “astonishing.” This critically acclaimed author has won many awards, including a Romantic Times Pioneer Award for creating the sub-genre of romantic comedy. Several of her romances have been optioned for film.
Peggy is a member of Novelists, Inc., Authors Guild, International Thriller Writers, and Romance Writers of America. She is excited about bringing her romance classics back to readers as E-books. The award-winning Touched by Angels and A Prince for Jenny, as well as the Donovans of the Delta series, have all been Kindle Top 100 bestsellers.
Follow the author on her websites: www.peggywebb.com, www.elainehussey.com and www.annamichaels.net and on Facebook and Twitter.
o0o
Other E-Books from Peggy Webb
Classic Romance
Dark Fire
Touched by Angels (RT Reviewer’s Choice)
A Prince for Jenny, sequel to Touched by Angels
The Edge of Paradise
Duplicity (Rave review, RT Reviewer’s Choice)
Where Dolphins Go (RT Reviewer’s Choice, women’s fiction, optioned for film)
Night of the Dragon (time travel romance)
Christmas in Time (time travel, prequel to Only Yesterday)
Only Yesterday, (time travel, sequel to Christmas in Time)
Summer Jazz
Taming Maggie (#1 on romance bestseller list)
That Jones Girl (sequel to the Mississippi McGills series)
The Donovans of the Delta Series:
Donovan’s Angel (Paul Donovan’s story)
Sleepless Nights (Tanner Donovan’s story)
Hallie’s Destiny (award winning book, Hallie Donovan’s story)
Any Thursday (Hannah Donovan’s story)
Higher Than Eagles (Jacob Donovan’s story)
The Mississippi McGills Series (spin-off from Donovans of the Delta)
Valley of Fire (Rick McGill’s story)
Until Morning Comes (Jo Beth McGill and Colter Gray Wolf’s story)
Saturday Mornings (Andrew McGill’s story)
Forever Friends series
Can’t Stop Loving You (Book 1, Helen’s story)
Only His Touch (Kat’s story, Book 2)
Bringing Up Baxter (B. J.’s story, Book 3)
Angels on Zebras (Maxie’s story, Book 4)
Romantic Suspense, originally published as Bantam Fanfare
Witch Dance
From A Distance
E-books Coming Soon
The Secret Life of Elizabeth McCade
Southern Cousins Mysteries, Peggy Webb (available in print and e-books)
Published by Kensington
Elvis and the Dearly Departed, 2008
Elvis and the Grateful Dead, 2009
Elvis and the Memphis Mambo Murders, 2010
Elvis and the Tropical Double Trouble, 2011
Elvis and the Blue Christmas Corpse, 2012
Coming SOON
Jack Loves Callie Tender (prequel to the series, digital only)
Elvis and the Bridegroon Stiffs, Book Six of the Southern Cousins Mysteries
Novels written as Anna Michaels (available in hardcover and e-book)
The Tender Mercy of Roses ( Gallery, Simon & Schuster)
The Language of Silence (Gallery, Simon & Schuster, coming December of 2013)
Novels written as Elaine Hussey (available in trade paperback, e-book, and audio)
The Sweetest Hallelujah (MIRA, July 30, 2013)
