A gentleman cleared his throat and Holly turned to see Kevin’s father, her mouth dropping open in surprise.
“Mr. Vandemeer. What are you doing here?” She and Kevin had both agreed not to tell either of their families, since it would be impossible to get everyone together. They would break the news after the fact. Had Kevin gone against their agreement?
He took her arm in his hand and gently tugged her away from the curious bridesmaids. “Nicole called me and told me to get here right away.”
Her breath caught as she her hands turned icy. “So you can stop the wedding?”
“No. So I can give you my blessing. And you if you’re marrying my son, then you need to call me Bart. Or Dad.”
“What?”
“I would never think of trying to replace your father, and I would never try. But I would love to be the best damn father-in-law I possibly can.” The grin spreading across his face filled her with as much reassurance as his words. “Once you marry into this family, you’re as much a part of our family as Megan or Kevin or Josh.”
“But Nicole—”
“Will come around.”
But what if she didn’t? Would that eventually cause a rift between Holly and Kevin? “But how did you even know what was going on?”
He laughed. “Apparently the bride’s mother called Nicole to come take over the wedding-planner responsibilities. To say Nicole was surprised is an understatement.”
Unbelievably, for the first time since saying yes, she was having her first doubt. And over Kevin’s mother, no less. “Is she furious?”
Bart chuckled. “No. Confused and blindsided, but not furious. She just needs to adjust to the idea.”
Holly had always hoped to marry into a warm and loving family but was willing to accept a belligerent mother-in-law as part of the package if it meant marrying Kevin. Nicole’s reaction was more than she could have hoped for. “Thank you.”
He smiled. “You make Kevin very happy. I can love you for that alone.” He kissed her cheek. “You ready?”
Was she? She was getting married in front of a bunch of strangers, but the only thing that mattered was the man waiting for her at the end of the aisle. She smiled, her heart bursting with happiness. “Yes.”
“Then I’ll go cue the music.”
“Not yet,” Nicole said in her no-nonsense voice from behind Holly.
Bart gave Holly a hug, then disappeared toward the guests.
Holly’s knees began to shake as Nicole moved next to her, giving her a tight smile. “Let me fix you up,” Nicole said, lifting a makeup brush. “We can’t have you walking down the aisle and having photos taken with a shiny nose.”
Was this some kind of trick? “Nicole…I…”
Her boss kept her focus on her task. “Since the original wedding planner is getting married,” she said in a tight voice, “I obviously need to step in.”
“I…”
Nicole’s gaze locked on hers. “Kevin and I just had a chat. There’s no doubt that he loves you, and that you’ve made him happy. And while I’m still upset that you two hid this from me, he deserves someone who fills him with such joy. And…” She paused, giving Holly a warm smile. “You’re a sweet girl. The sweetest woman he’s ever dated…as far as I know.”
She stared at Nicole in shock.
“Just promise you won’t steal my party and shower clients when you start your own shop, and I won’t plan any weddings.”
“What?”
She lifted her chin and said in a controlled voice, “I think it’s best if we split our businesses. We don’t want any nepotism. And I can’t very well compete against my own daughter-in-law, now can I?”
“I don’t know what to say.”
Nicole smiled. “Say you’ll try your best to make my son happy.”
“I love him. I want him to make him as happy as he makes me.”
Nicole gave Holly’s nose one last swipe and nodded. “I’ll cue the musicians to play the bridal processional.” And then she was gone.
The music changed, the violins of the small orchestra playing the classical piece Holly had picked out, and the first bridesmaid headed down the aisle. The other two bridesmaids whispered in hushed, nervous tones until the second one followed the first.
The third bridesmaid—Coraline’s younger cousin—glanced back at Holly. “You’re much more beautiful than Coraline in that dress.” She grinned. “But if you ever tell her I said that, I’ll deny it.” Then she left, too.
Holly released a nervous laugh, telling herself she only needed to ignore everyone else and focus on Kevin.
The music changed and the door opened. Nicole graced her with a warm smile as she walked by. “May you have a beautiful future.”
The large crowd made Holly pause, but she focused on the man waiting at the end of the aisle, standing under the white-and-pink-rose-covered arch that opened to a long vineyard row. The look of happiness in his eyes was nearly her undoing.
They may have been surrounded by a sea of strangers, but all she heard was the soft sounds of the violins and the cello. All she saw was Kevin—the one person who made her feel alive and loved. The man who believed in her enough to convince her to believe, too.
And in that moment, of all the decisions she had ever made, she knew this was by far the best.
* * *
When Holly appeared in the open doorway, Kevin was overwhelmed with gratitude. He was sure he’d never seen a more beautiful woman in his life—both inside and out—and she was walking toward him. She wanted to marry him.
Her gaze locked on his as she glided toward him, her silk-and-lace wedding dress floating around her and trailing behind like a billowing white cloud. She gave him a shy smile and he beamed, eager for her to reach him.
When Holly stopped in front of him, he reached out to her. She took his hand and he gripped it gently as she moved to his side.
Holly kept her gaze on him the entire service, as though she were ignoring that anyone else existed except for the two of them.
When the minister got to the vows, he cleared his throat. “The original bride and groom wrote their own vows. Would you like me to use the traditional vows?”
Holly’s eyes widened, but then she leaned closer to him and whispered, “I don’t. Do you?”
He shook his head. “There’s nothing traditional about us, so why start now?”
She laughed and nodded, her face flushing a pretty pale pink. “Then I’ll go first.”
He nodded, unable to wipe the smile from his face as he took her hands in his.
“Kevin, I never wanted to open my heart to love until I met you. I was never even tempted. But you make me feel light-hearted and adored. You fill me with more joy than I ever thought possible. We may have only known each other for a month, but we could wait a thousand months and I would have no doubt that there is only you.”
He’d never wanted to kiss her more than he did right now, but instead he squeezed her hands and smiled. “Holly, I wasn’t looking for love. In fact, I was determined to avoid it. But then you showed up on my doorstep with your reheated lasagna and your sweet, shy spirit and I was hooked. I knew my life would never be the same. I know you’re worried that I feel pressured into this, but I have no doubts—not a single one—and I am so honored that you agreed to be my wife. You’ve just given me the greatest gift I could ever hope to get in my life.”
She blinked back tears as the minister said it was time to exchange rings, and then suddenly her eyes filled with worry.
He gave her a reassuring smile and whispered, “I’ve got it covered” as he pulled two rings from his pocket. “Grams and Gramps’. Dad got them before he came.”
After the wedding, they took photos for the magazine with the bridal party and then alone, setting up exaggerated shots for the magazine layout. The writer from the magazine asked Kevin and Holly endless questions about their relationship and what spurred them to agree to an impromptu marriage. Then a local newspaper heard
about the wedding on social media and showed up to take photos and interview them as well.
As soon as they had fulfilled their obligations, Holly found Miranda Johansen to let her know they were leaving. She grabbed both of their hands and smiled. “Thank you both for what you did. I realize it was unfair of me to put you on the spot like that.”
Kevin put an arm around Holly’s back, his hand resting on her hip as he pulled her close. “You helped make me the happiest man alive, so thank you.”
She smiled at Holly. “I guess we have Holly to thank for that, don’t we?”
Holly looked up at him with eyes so full of love he wanted nothing more than to take her home and make their wedding official in the biblical sense. Kevin turned to Miranda. “If you’ll excuse us, I’m ready to take my wife home.”
“Of course,” the woman said. “And congratulations to you both.”
Kevin took Holly’s hand and stared into her eyes. “I meant what I said. You have made me the happiest man alive, Holly Vandemeer.”
“You’ve made me happy, too.” She looked into his eyes. “I know you said we were going home, but where is home? Your house? Mine? Where’s home for us, Kevin?”
He smiled and lifted his hand to her face and gave her a kiss. “That’s simple, Holly. Home is wherever you are.”
Look for the next book in the
Bachelor Brotherhood series, Until You.
A preview follows.
Chapter One
Tyler Norris… this is the last place I ever expected to see you.”
Tyler leaned back in his patio chair and sipped his beer, hiding his annoyance with a smirk. This was the fourth woman to approach him tonight, and while he was used to women hitting on him, this seemed to be a bit much given he was a single man at a couples wedding shower.
Still, he was in the middle of a self-imposed dry spell from women, and over the last few weeks, he’d been dying of thirst. For a man who was used to having sex on a regular basis, going five months without it had been torture. However, after the disaster with his last girlfriend, he couldn’t bring himself to take the plunge again. Even for a simple one-night stand. But he was safe from temptation with the blonde eyeing him like he was the last the last margarita on Ladies Night at LaFeunte Bar and Grill.
“How’d you get roped into it?” she asked, her right hand on her hip.
Theresa Fink. He hadn’t seen her since high school, but the look in her eyes told him she was very happy to see him. She lifted the wine glass in her left hand, spotlighting her bare left ring finger, even going so far as to slightly wiggle it to catch his attention.
She continued studying him with lust-filled eyes, apparently expecting an answer. He finally shrugged his nonchalance. “Turns out being groomsman means the bride can strong arm you into anything she wants.” That wasn’t entirely true—he had a soft spot when it came to the Brittany—but no need to tell Theresa that.
Her eyes lit up. “Maybe she can spill some of her secrets. Your legend precedes you, Tyler Norris.”
Chuckling, he took a drag of his beer. “And which legend is that? I hear there are many.” He winked. “And the ones about my size and endurance are all true.”
Theresa flushed, pressing her hand against her chest and fluttering her eyelashes.
Jesus. Why did he tell her that? Old habits were still hard to break, but now she looked like a barracuda ready of gnaw off his leg. Or more specifically another body part in very close proximity.
“Tyler,” a deep voice said behind him. “Holly needs your help with the ice.”
Tyler tried not to look so relieved when he jumped to his feet and turned to face Kevin Vandemeer, one of his two best friends. “Yeah. Be more than happy to.”
Disappointment washed over Theresa’s face, but he ignored her as she called after him. “Want to get drinks later?”
Tyler walked through the suburbian backyard, feeling like he was about to break out into hives just being here, let alone sitting outside in the Missouri hot and humid August evening for the last hour. He tugged at his collar, regretting his decision to leave on his tie.
“Thanks for the save,” he said as he followed Kevin to the back deck, then stopped to grab another beer from a bucket of ice water.
“The save comes at a price,” Kevin said with a chuckle. “You’re refilling the drink tubs with ice.”
“Me?” Tyler asked, standing upright and turning to face his friend. “Shouldn’t that be your job since your wife is in charge of the party?”
Kevin’s wife. Damn, that was hard to spit out. Not that he had anything against Holly, he actually liked her, and if Tyler was honest, she was a good fit for the ex-marine. But of his two best friends, Kevin had been more like Tyler when it came to women. Lots of girlfriends that never lasted. So when Kevin moved back home two months ago after his last tour in Afghanistan, the three friends had commiserated on their extremely unlucky love life and decided to give up on marriage, imposing a ban on women and forming the Bachelor Brotherhood.
Kevin Vandemeer had lasted one fucking day.
“My wife,” Kevin said in a warning tone, “was the one to suggest I save your ass, you dickweed. So get your ass out to the garage and grab a couple of bags of ice out of the freezer or I’ll tell Theresa Fink that you want to leave the shower and go out for a candlelight dinner. Just the two of you.”
“You suck, Vandemeer,” Tyler grumbled.
Kevin’s answer was a shit-eating grin.
Tyler would have loved to kick his friend’s ass right then and there, but Brittany would have killed him. And while he considered doing it anyway, instead he went into the dark, cooler garage, deciding this wasn’t such a heinous task after all. It had to be ten degrees cooler in the two-car garage and he was alone. Maybe he could hide in here for ten minutes or so, then tell Britt a work emergency had come up and he needed to go.
Only her fiancé worked at his law firm and pretty much knew every case Tyler was working on. Randy would bust his ass in a New York minute.
Shit. He was stuck.
Tyler had been at Randy’s house enough times to know the garage refrigerator was stocked with beer, some of which were Randy’s precious import beers. Tyler opened the door and grinned. Jack pot. He replaced bottle in his hand with a Stella and screwed off the top, then took a long drag, letting the cold beer coat his dry mouth.
“I see you found Randy’s import stash,” a woman said in the darkness.
Caught off guard, he choked, spitting beer down his shirt. He spun around and found her sitting on Randy’s workbench with her own bottle of Stella. She leaned to her left side, bracing her body with her outstretched arm. Unlike every other guest at the shower with the exception of him, she was still dressed in business attire—a light gray, nearly sleeveless dress with tiny pleats from her hips that ended just above her knees. Her legs were crossed and she bounced her black three-inch pump as she watched him, lowering the bottle from her mouth. Long dark hair hung down her back, several strands lay over her shoulder and covering her breast. He forced his gaze to rise to her face.
“Didn’t mean to startle you,” she said, her dark eyes dancing with amusement.
She was gorgeous, and damned if he wasn’t intrigued. “I didn’t see you over there.”
She grinned. “Obviously.”
He moved toward her, unable to stop himself. “Looks like we both have the same idea.”
She laughed. “If your idea is hiding from Brittany and drinking Randy’s import beer, then we do.”
He gestured to the empty spot on the workbench next to her and she lifted her shoulder into a half-shrug invitation. Tyler hopped up on the bench and perched next to her, leaving a few inches between them. “So what’s a nice girl like you doing in a musty garage like this?”
She laughed again, uncrossing her long legs and turning toward him, her eyes full of mischief. “I bet you use that line on all the girls.”
“Only the ones I find in musty gara
ges.” Up close like this, he could see that her dark eyes were a milk chocolate brown and framed by long, sexy eyelashes. She lifted her beer and took a sip, and he suddenly found himself jealous of the bottle in her hand.
“I know why you’re hiding,” she said as she set the beer next to her on the table.
He smirked. “Okay, tell me why I’m hiding.”
“Brittany. She’s playing matchmaker again.” His eyes widened and she gave him a knowing smile. “It wasn’t that hard to figure out. For the last hour, she’s been sending women to you like they’re going through the turnstile at a ride in Disneyland and you keep sending them away.” She flicked her fingers to demonstrate.
He lifted his eyebrows as he studied her face, then teased, “You’ve been spying on me?”
She cocked her head to the side, rolling her eyes. “Amateur. You obviously haven’t known Brittany for long.”
“About a year.” And while that was true, it had been about six months ago when he’d really gotten to know her. When he’d gone through his ordeal with his last girlfriend, she and Randy had shown him more support than he’d expected.
She laughed again. “I have about thirty years on you.”
Thirty years? Tyler had graduated with Brittany, which meant Britt had to have met her when they were babies.
She gestured to his beer. “Since you have exceptional taste in beer and hiding spots, I’ll be generous and give you a few pointers.”
“Should I be taking notes?” he teased. While she was flirty, she wasn’t coming on to him, and it only intrigued him more.
She shrugged. “It wouldn’t hurt, but I suspect we’ll be seeing each other again in month so I can give you a refresher course at the wedding.”
Finally. Something to actually look forward to at the wedding.
“First,” she said in a conspirational tone. “Britt comes across as this sweet and unassuming woman, but don’t let that fool you.”
Only You Page 29
