I stepped into the suite’s closet and pulled the black velvet tuxedo out of the garment bag, where it had been hiding almost in plain sight. It was a little much for a night at the theater, but not for a secret garden wedding.
Georgie’s jaw literally dropped when I walked out of the bedroom.
“Oh, my God,” she breathed out. She stepped toward me and ran her hands up and down the soft fabric. Then she smiled wickedly. “You look like sin in a suit, Jameson.”
“I’m glad you approve. Let’s go; we’re going to be late,” I commanded.
I grabbed her by the hand and practically dragged her out of our room and down to the front of the hotel. A shiny black vintage Rolls Royce limousine waited for us in the hotel’s portico. This wasn’t standard protocol for the president, but I might have made a few calls to the royal family to secure one. Luckily, we weren’t going far because my plans included shutting down streets and public spaces.
“Where are we going, really?” Georgie demanded as we both settled against the luxurious leather seats in the back.
“You’ll see. It’s not far.”
“So it’s not the West End, then?”
“No, sadly, we are not going to see a play.”
Georgie kept squirming around, trying to get a peek at where we were going, but it was almost impossible to see anything through the tinted windows.
The car pulled up in front of a set of impressive iron gates that effectively kept the secret in place until the moment Georgie stepped through them. A gasp escaped her lips, and the bottom one trembled slightly as she turned toward me.
“What have you done?”
“I’m keeping my promise, little darling.”
The coordinator that I hired stepped through the bushes and wordlessly handed Georgie a bouquet of lilies of the valley. There was no need to explain to Georgie what was happening. She figured it out the moment she saw my parents, Sean, DeWayne and Avon, and Elias and Esme seated in front of a lighted archway.
She looked around, confused. “Where are Lewis and Jenkins?”
“Right here,” they said in unison, stepping out from behind the same bushes.
“I thought you might like to have them walk you down the aisle,” I said in a low, hushed voice.
There was no stopping the tears that began to stream down her cheeks. She nodded, and I left her side briefly to jog down to the opposite end of the makeshift aisle. Georgie linked arms with Lewis and Jenkins and took a hesitant step forward. The moment she did, the small quartet hired to play what I considered “our song” began performing. Her eyes lit up like sparklers the moment she recognized the first chords.
“Okay, I forgive you,” Sean muttered next to me. I couldn’t help but laugh.
“I’m glad to hear it,” I replied, my eyes still firmly locked on Georgie.
There was no minister, since we were already married. All I planned was to speak to Georgie from my heart.
Lewis and Jenkins stopped in front of me and released her arms. I reached out a hand toward her, and she took it. I pulled her underneath the canopy of lights and flowers and began.
“I didn’t know it, but I’ve been waiting my whole life for you. When we met, I wasn’t ready to admit that. I wasn’t ready to admit a lot of things, especially that I was falling in love. But I’m ready to admit a few things to you right now. I’m in love with you. I was made to love you. You make me feel everything when we’re together. You make me forget I had a life before you because all that matters now is this.”
I tugged on her hands, bringing them up to my lips, brushing her knuckles with light kisses. “I have a very important question to ask you, Georgie.”
“Yes, Jameson?” she asked shyly.
“Do you want to spend forever with me?”
“Absolutely.”
THE END
Rebecca Gallo was first indoctrinated into the romance genre by her babysitter who watched hours upon hours of daytime soap operas. She harbored many inappropriate crushes on fictional characters such as John Black from “Days of Our Lives,” Orry Main from the mini-series “North & South,” and Edward Fairfax Rochester from Jane Eyre. She is still in love with Davy Jones from The Monkees.
Rebecca currently lives in the Southwest with her husband, tiny four-year-old terror, and a tuxedo cat with a limp. When she isn’t swooning over book boyfriends or dreaming up romances, she can be found educating the youth of America. Or eating tacos.
Connect with Rebecca Gallo
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I want to begin by saying that I didn’t think I’d ever finish this book. When I wrote Presidential Bargain, Georgie and Jameson’s story came so easily to me. The words flowed from my fingers quickly. When it came time to write Capitol Promises, I had a title and a few scenes strung together with the thinnest of cords. I wanted to make sure that I gave you (my readers) an amazing story and I wanted to make sure that as a writer, I pushed myself to become better. So, hopefully, I achieved those accomplishments. I hope you all love this book and feel like Jameson and Georgie’s story is now complete. ‘Cause I’m not writing a third book!
Which brings me to thanking the one person that truly helped me through this process – Melissa Pascoe, my amazing alpha reader. You took my puzzle pieces and helped me glue them together. You talked me through every idea and read every incarnation of Capitol Promises. I am eternally grateful to you for all of your support and for just being there when I needed you. Thank you thank you thank you thank you.
My Honey Bunny and my Peanut—thank you so much for giving me the time to write a second book. Thank you for putting your faith in me to produce and publish not only one book but then to do it all over again. I plan to keep on doing it and hope you’ll continue to support me. You’re letting me turn my dreams into reality so that our family can live an amazing life.
Amy Daws—you are an amazing role model. You have accomplished everything that I want to achieve and when we talk about who we look up to, your face is right there. It’s kind of annoying sometimes. Thank you so, so much for supporting me as a debut author. I appreciate every question you’ve answered and all of the time you’ve taken just to talk with me.
My Soul Sisters—Thank you yet again for your amazing support. For helping me with names and for listening to me complain and engage in some serious self-doubt. You are my biggest and loudest cheerleaders. Thank you for sharing the heck out of Presidential Bargain and for helping make its release much more than I ever expected.
My beta readers Amanda, Cara, and Jennifer—thank you so much for reading Capitol Promises when it was finally complete and for offering up your honest feedback. You helped make this story what it is and I couldn’t have done it without your support.
Maria—Thank you so much for being a wonderful example of what it means to kick ass and take names while being a new author. You are rocking it and I am so happy to call you my friend. Thank you for answering all of my questions and for checking all of my teasers and for just being pretty awesome in general.
Thank you to the amazing people who helped polish Capitol Promises—Jenny Sims, Jenn Wood, Tiffany Black, and Letitia Hasser. You not only helped make my words shine but you put them together in a very pretty package.
I feel lucky enough to be a part of an amazing network of authors so thank you to everyone in: Harlot Authors, Alessandra Torre Inkers, Indie Tea, and Write or Die. I appreciate all of your insight, encouragement, advice, and support.
Mullets.
Presidential Promises Duet:
Presidential Bargain— http://amzn.to/2wHjAqa
Capitol Promises (The Presidential Promises Duet ) Page 24
