Daring Brides

by Ava Miles

  ~ Dare Valley ~

  Meredith & Tanner

  Jill & Brian

  Peggy & Mac

  Abbie & Rhett

  © 2015 Ava Miles

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  Your favorite Dare Valley characters have survived betrayal, secrets, and tragedy to find true love. Now, watch each of these daring brides walk down the aisle to their happily ever after with the man of their dreams. You know, the hero who fires up all their engines. And, of course, the town of Dare Valley comes out to throw these fabulous couples quite a party.

  From NORA ROBERTS LAND, Meredith Hale and her own hero, Tanner McBride, embark upon the journey into their new life, Marriage Land. See what makes Meredith's wedding day so daring, and meet Tanner's best man, international news correspondent Asher Harrington. Then, there's Grandpa Hale's priceless advice about what makes a long-lasting marriage.

  Jill Hale from FRENCH ROAST has wanted to marry Brian McConnell since she wore pig tails in grade school. Brian has come around-finally. Sure, she got pregnant before they tied the knot, but it doesn't matter because they're going to live happily ever after. Find out what makes Jill a daring bride besides her wish to rent a pink circus tent for the wedding reception.

  Peggy McBride from THE GRAND OPENING never imagined getting married again, especially to hotel magnate and poker champion, Mac Maven. See what Mac gives her to make their wedding day daring, and watch as her cute-as-a-button son binds their new family together in the most adorable way ever.

  Abbie Maven from THE HOLIDAY SERENADE resisted her love for bad-boy Rhett Butler Blaylock, not only because he's a poker player, but also because that Southerner knows how to start a ruckus wherever he goes. Now, it's their wedding day, and Rhett's friends from Dare River show up as well as his mama, Eugenia Lynn, and his cousin, Charleston. Of course, a ruckus breaks out, making Abbie feel more than a little daring, but it's all in good fun and makes this couple's wedding the most memorable one in Dare Valley for some time.

  To my sister, Michelle Khamis, wedding planner extraordinaire-here's to following our dreams, being successful entrepreneurs, living a joyful and abundant life, and supporting each other throughout the journey.

  And to my divine entourage, who helps me see the joy and beauty of marriage all over again.

  Acknowledgements

  Team Ava is the absolute best: Sienna, Angela, Louisa, Em, Hilary, Leigh, Beth, and my Angels. They support me in all the ways I need with absolute efficiency and joy. Yeah!

  As I said, my sister, Michelle Khamis, helped me envision all these weddings so they'd be top notch and true-to-life. She went from being my inspiration in NORA ROBERTS LAND to starting her own business and being named Best Wedding Planner of the Year. Thanks for the vision boards for each wedding and for adding to the Daring Brides Pinterest board to give a canvas to this story.

  T.F. My favorite mental image right now is of you standing at the end of the aisle.

  And finally, to all my readers, who wanted to see the weddings of our favorite Dare Valley couples-so far. This one is for you.

  Meredith & Tanner

  Meredith Hale’s first wedding had been packed with so much pomp and circumstance that it wouldn’t have seemed out of place if the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey had joined the melee with elephants. Of course, her then-groom was the one who’d insisted on the spectacle. She should have seen Rick-the-Dick’s wedding egomania for what it was—another indication they weren’t truly suited, that they wouldn’t truly last. Five hundred people had packed into St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. Their reception had been sumptuously hosted by The Plaza on Fifth Avenue. She hadn’t known over half of the guests.

  When she and her own Nora-Roberts-hero fiancé, Tanner McBride, had sat down to plan their wedding—her second and his first—they had been in complete accord. A small gathering. Only family and friends. Not super dressy, but with a great band and awesome food.

  As she stood in front of the full-length mirror in the church’s bridal area, watching her mother fluff her veil, she realized how different she felt from the last time she’d worn a wedding dress. Before, her chest had been tight with pressure. Today, she felt all gooey inside. The kind of gooey that could only come from true love.

  She’d returned to Dare Valley to prove that heroes like the men in Nora Roberts novels really existed—despite what her ex-husband, Rick-the-Dick, had said to the contrary.

  She’d more than proved it. She’d found one for herself. And all because of that quality her grandpa called daring.

  “Mom,” she said softly. “I think my veil is fluffy enough, don’t you?” It was lace trim, matching her dress, and trailed to mid-back. There was no way she was covering her face.

  “Any more fluff, and it would be cotton candy,” her sister said from her perch on the small sofa, smoothing a hand over her red silk dress.

  Jill was her only bridesmaid today, whereas last time she’d had seven. Seven. What had she been thinking?

  “I’ll fluff it all I want, thank you very much,” their mom, Linda, responded with an exaggerated eye roll.

  “You’re a lot more chill this time,” Jill commented, unscrewing the perfume bottle Meredith had brought and taking a sniff. “Of course, that’s mostly because you’re marrying the best man in the world this time and not an asshole.”

  Leave it to Jill to put it out there. “I couldn’t agree more. What’s the time?”

  Jill dabbed some perfume behind her ears and then reached into her bold purple purse for her phone. “We have a bit of time yet. How about a mimosa? I smuggled the fixings into one of my bags. I brought enough to fuel an army, and there are even special wedding straws so we won’t mess up our lipstick.”

  She held up a bunch of straws decorated with red hearts on a white background. Where did her sister find such things?

  “The church doesn’t allow alcohol inside, Jill,” their mother said, looking toward the door as if they were doing something naughty. “But I won’t tell if you won’t.”

  Jill stuck her free hand out, and they shook on it. “Deal.”

  Wonderful. The party was going to start early. “Okay, why not? I am duly made up and everything.”

  “Tanner looks pretty hot,” Jill said, waggling her reddish-brown eyebrows. “I peeked earlier when I went to confer with the vocalist. She and the piano player seem cool.”

  “They are,” she told her sister.

  Her cousin, Caroline Hale, had helped her find the vocalist in Denver. “Where are Natalie, Caroline, and Moira, by the way?” Even though it was a small wedding, she was still trying to keep track of everyone and be a wonderful hostess. Her cousins had arrived early this morning with her aunt and uncle from Denver, but had disappeared after Meredith changed into her wedding dress. Tanner’s sister, Peggy McBride, was off with the guys since such a profusion of dresses and makeup and tears would give her hives.

  “Grandpa Hale is holding court in the vestibule,” Jill told her. “He was showing Danny his disappearing-coin-behind-the-ear trick. Do you remember when he taught that one to Andy and Matt when we were kids?”

  Her uncle and aunt had five kids, two boys and three girls. They were about the same age as Meredith and Jill, but they’d moved to Denver fifteen years ago so her uncle could take a more prestigious position at one of the hospitals there.

  “Matt pretended to swallow the coin,” she said, touching up her pink nude lipstick at the corners. “Aunt April was halfway to the emergency room by the time Matt confessed it was a gag.”

  “April was mad enough to see red that day,” her mom said, shaking her head. “I ne
ver envied her for raising boys. Now, it seems like your grandfather is passing on his tricks to the next generation. We’ll all need to watch out.”

  “Danny is only four, mom,” Meredith said. “And it’s good to see him learning something as silly as one of grandpa’s magic tricks after losing his mom.”

  Andy’s wife had passed away from breast cancer just last year, at the tender age of thirty, and the whole family had been devastated. This was the first family event since Kim’s funeral, and she wanted everyone to have a good time.

  “Andy still looks gaunt to me,” her mom said, clucking her tongue. “And Natalie worries me too. She’s looked so unhappy ever since things fell apart with Blake.”

  Jill heaved a deep sigh. “I know. It’s still a bit of a shock. I loved that guy.”

  “We all did,” Meredith said, thinking about her own divorce. Blake Cunningham, the quarterback for the Denver Raiders, was nothing like Rick-the-Dick. Sure, they were both powerful and famous men in their own right, but Blake had a huge heart and Richard Sommerville… Well, he’d captured her by being at once mesmerizing and aggressive. Thank God her taste in men had changed.

  “All right,” her mom said. “Enough of the past. Today’s about new beginnings. Your father and I couldn’t be happier for you, honey. Tanner is the best man in the world, just like your sister said. For you.”

  “I know it,” she said, feeling that warm glow in her heart expand at the mere thought of him.

  The door to the room opened, and her three cousins and Aunt April bustled inside.

  “We told the men it was girls only,” Moira said with a small smile. “Your grandpa huffed and puffed like the big bad wolf, but he looked mostly relieved.”

  “He’s a big faker,” Caroline said, setting down her clutch purse on the sofa’s arm. “Earlier, he kept teasing us about dolling up our faces with sparkles and saying women in his day never bothered with such nonsense.”

  “What a load of crap. Grandma Harriet wore makeup all her life,” Meredith said with a slight pinch to her heart. “I wish she were here today.”

  “She is, honey,” her mom said, taking her hands. “Now, let’s do one last inspection now that the rest of the girls are here and then have those mimosas Jill is making for everyone.”

  Moira gave a cat-call whistle, and a few of them joined in with squeals, which made Meredith laugh.

  She stepped in front of the full-length mirror again. Her gown was made of lace and pearl beads, which were stitched into a coronet pattern at her waist. The dress had the most delicate straps imaginable, and the bodice was an understated sweetheart. It fell to her feet, snugly fitting her body, and didn’t have a train. She’d decided to let her veil convey that touch of whimsy.

  “You look beautiful, Mermaid,” Jill told her as she poured orange juice and champagne into pink Here Comes the Bride plastic cups.

  “You really do,” Aunt April said, to which her daughters all nodded in agreement.

  If the tight line of her mouth was any indication, Natalie was more than a little uncomfortable, and Meredith wondered whether she was thinking about her own wedding to Blake. It had been a casual beach wedding in Santa Cruz.

  “Everything looks under control in here,” Natalie said, walking over and kissing her cheek. “I’m going to find the boys and make sure we get a good seat. If you need anything, just remember, I have the wedding emergency kit.”

  “Jill’s acting like a drama queen,” she told her cousin. “Unless things go horribly wrong, we shouldn’t need anything that’s in there. What’d she stock it with, anyway? Stain-removal wipes, safety pins, and—”

  “Static cling spray,” her sister finished with a glower. “You never know what could happen. I saw a wedding episode once where the bride’s veil got so much static cling her hair ended up looking like the bride of Frankenstein’s.”

  Everyone chuckled as Natalie gave a wave and headed out. Meredith’s heart went out to her. She knew all too well how much divorce could hurt, and it was even worse for Nat because of how devoted she and Blake had been to each other before Kim died.

  “She’s thinking about Blake,” Moira said, echoing her thoughts.

  “She’s just not over him,” Caroline murmured. “I wish we could help her.”

  Aunt April wrapped her arms around them. “I know you do. We all do. But your sister’s stubborn, and she’s going to have to decide to do something about it on her own. And that’s enough talk about that.”

  “Jill, why don’t you pass those mimosas around?” Meredith asked, sensing everyone wanted to focus on happier things. “You’re being remiss in your bartending duties.”

  Her sister wiggled her hips. “I’ll show you some action.”

  When everyone had a mimosa in hand, Jill raised her glass. “To finding your Nora Roberts hero.”

  Everyone gave a heartfelt sigh.

  And as she drank her fruity concoction, Meredith took a moment to bask in gratitude and happiness once again for the quest that had brought her to Dare Valley, and subsequently to Tanner McBride.

  ***

  Tanner McBride had never imagined he would get married. When he was covering war zones and hopping across the globe from Burma to the Democratic Republic of Congo as a war correspondent, the possibility of meeting some girl and settling down had seemed impossibly distant.

  Then again, he’d never imagined coming to Dare Valley, and to be fair, he hadn’t come willingly at first. He was man enough to admit there was something bigger than him guiding his steps at times—call it fate or destiny—and he was sure glad it had brought him here, to Meredith.

  He and his party were hanging out in a room usually reserved for church meetings and Bible studies. It was presided over by a stained glass window depicting a rose garden and a lone sheep, the meaning of which he couldn’t divine.

  “I can’t wait to sneak away and roam through the Hale School of Journalism during the reception,” Asher Harrington, his best man, said in his perfect upper-class British broadcast journalist accent.

  Tanner had been delighted his buddy could make it. They’d met years ago in war-torn Beirut at the famous Commodore Hotel over a game of poker, and their paths had crossed several times more in other places riddled with bullets and blood. Women swooned over Asher wherever he went. Fortunately, Tanner’s sister, who had opted to spend the pre-wedding hour with him rather than with Meredith and the other Hale women, was immune to the journalist’s accent and looks. Peggy McBride was the new deputy sheriff in town, and she looked as tough on the outside in her black pantsuit as the perfectly coiffed Asher was on the inside. While Tanner’s debonair friend never had a hair out of place, his looks were deceiving. Tanner had seen him stand down a tank in Afghanistan once.

  “I’m sure Arthur Hale will give you a tour if you ask him,” Peggy said from one of the brown-clad chairs in the room.

  “Can I come too?” her son, Keith, asked, bouncing on the chair next to hers.

  Tanner swept the seven-year-old into his arms for a quick hug. “You bet.” If he hadn’t been so eager to spend every moment of the reception with his bride, he would have offered to give them a tour himself.

  Because he was an adjunct professor at the Hale School of Journalism, he’d struck upon the idea of holding their wedding reception there. Didn’t they host banquets for award-winning journalists and other events? Why not a wedding reception?

  Meredith, being a journalist herself, had loved the idea, and her cousin, Natalie, had agreed to cater the event. Arthur had been preening like a peacock from the moment they’d announced their engagement, and the news that the event would be held in a school of journalism had only amplified his excitement. He was imagining all of the baby journalists Tanner and Meredith would create together, ensuring his famous newspaper, The Western Independent, stayed in the Hale family for generations to come.

  His phone rang, and he checked the display. His brother. David hadn’t been able to make it to the wedding due to
his wife’s advancing pregnancy, and it was probably for the best. They weren’t on good terms right now, which he hoped would change.

  “Hi, David,” he said when he answered.

  “I know you’re busy since it’s getting close to the ceremony, but I was thinking about you and wanted to wish you congratulations on your big day.”

  “Thanks,” he replied. “I’m just hanging out with Peggy and Keith and my best man.”

  “Tell them all hello,” David said. Then, abruptly, “Well, I’ll let you go.”

  “It was nice of you to call, David.”

  “Bye, Tanner,” he simply said and clicked off.

  Peggy didn’t say anything, but she didn’t need to. The frown on her face said it all.

  “Peggy, weren’t you going to show me your version of the chokehold?” Asher asked. The note of forced cheer in his voice told Tanner he hadn’t missed the tension in the room.

  Leave it to his best man and his sister to bond over chokehold techniques.

  “I still can’t believe someone as pretty as you even knows what one is,” Peggy said with some sauce in her tone.

  “Many have been fooled by this face,” Asher said, holding up a hand to the profile Tanner had seen dozens of women drool over.

  “All right,” Peggy said, standing up and planting her feet. “Show me what you’ve got.”

  As Peggy and Asher circled each other, Tanner extended his hand to Keith. “How about you and I go find Arthur?”

  The boy simply nodded. “I like our new family.” Hearing that was like feeling warm sunshine pour into his heart.

  “Me too,” he replied and escorted his nephew out of the room before things got too crazy. Peggy was already wrapping her arm around Asher’s neck.

  Arthur was being his endearing, curmudgeonly self when Tanner and Keith found him in the vestibule with the rest of the males in the Hale family and their single female representative, Natalie. Tanner had met Meredith’s Denver cousins already, and they all seemed to be cut from the same cloth as their Dare Valley counterparts.