by J. P. Comeau
That beach-side bar with the best seafood in town had quickly become a favorite of mine.
And Karina’s.
“Going my way, handsome?”
Her voice made me smile as I turned to face her. I found myself speechless as my jaw dropped open. The spaghetti-strapped dress she wore molded to her curves, and the dainty string-bikini I bought her for the excursion of ours teased me from beyond the silken fabric. She looked spectacular in leopard print. The browns and blacks and cream colors swirled about, drawing my eyes effortlessly along the sloping curves of her body.
They were curves that had grown before my very eyes with the food we took in from our adventures.
“It’s getting a bit tight, you know,” she said as she kissed my cheek.
“My God, you’re breathtaking.”
She blushed. “You’ve always had a way with words. You know that?”
“You bring that out in me.”
She sat down in front of me. “I’ve always loved this little beach shack. But, why are we staying at the bungalow resort when we could be--?”
I took her hand. “I thought a redo of this place was in order. You know, since we had such a rough start here.”
“A do-over, of sorts?”
I nodded. “Of sorts.”
Her eyes turned toward the water. “I love the view from this place.”
I kept staring at her. “Me, too.”
“I could sit here all night and watch those waves.”
I saw the ocean reflecting in her emerald eyes. “Me, too.”
“I know you’re still staring at me.”
“Me, too.”
She giggled. “You’re crazy, you know that?”
“Crazy for you.”
She looked back at me. “I love you too, Zane.”
Nerves gathered in my gut as I held her hand across the table. The bartender winked at me as he placed our drinks down. A Pineapple Doozy for her, and a whiskey on the rocks for me. I watched her sparkling eyes turn back out toward the ocean. Witnessing, her worries melt away with every sip of that drink brought me a great deal of pride. I knew both of us needed to get away. After all the stress of moving her into my place and helping her on board with her new position, things had been crazy.
It felt nice to simply relax.
“How do you like your new job?” I asked.
She giggled. “You mean, how do I like heading up your H.R. department?”
I shrugged. “I mean, you were well-qualified for the position.”
“And your former head of H.R. was embezzling from you.”
“I’m sure you won’t do that, though.”
“To be honest? She didn’t strike me as the kind of girl that was smart enough to embezzle. I’m a bit impressed.”
I chuckled. “Brenden was too, to be honest.”
“I think you guys went too easy on her.”
I shrugged. “She only embezzled a thousand bucks.”
“Still! I think you should’ve pressed charges.”
“I made that money back thirty minutes after she was fired.”
“Go ahead. Boast about it more, handsome.” Karina rolled her eyes.
“I mean if you’re giving me permission.”
She barked with laughter. “This is the most relaxed I’ve felt in weeks. Let’s not ruin it with work talk.”
I didn’t feel relaxed. “Take a walk with me.”
She looked over at me. “Do you ever ask for anything?”
I stood up, her hand still in mine. “Get your drink, and take a walk with me.”
I picked up my whiskey and threw it back as I helped her stand from her seat. Nervousness racked my gut as we walked away from the beachside cabana-restaurant and along the wet shoreline. I slid my free hand into my pocket as Karina mindlessly sipped her drink. The firelight came into view, and I saw her eyes narrow, trying to figure out what it was.
A voice wafted over the ocean waves. “Karina!”
She paused. “Is that--?”
“Girl! Finally! We were wondering when you’d get here!”
“Kelly? Roxy!?”
Karina looked up at me, and I smiled.
“Go get ‘em,” I said.
She handed me her drink before she gathered up her dress. She took off toward her friends, who wrapped her up tightly and spun her around. The closer I walked to the bonfire, the more nervous I became. Just as I had suspected, everyone had shown up. Brenden. Kelly and Roxy. Karina’s parents. Traditional Hawaiian music played in the background as the bonfire crackled with a pig roasting on a spit over its flames. A bartender had already doled out drinks to everyone, and I walked over to him, watching him slip me the little red velvet box.
As Karina hugged everyone’s neck, I turned to face her, drinking her in one last time before I made a decision that would either make us or break us.
“Zane? What in the world?” Karina asked.
She trotted up to me in the sand, and I decided now was the best time. So, as she approached me, I sunk to my knee.
Her hands flew to her mouth.
“Zane,” she gasped.
I held up the small red box and cracked it open, revealing a sparkling canary diamond surrounded by emeralds that sparkled like her eyes.
“Oh, my--.”
I swallowed my nerves down. “Karina Rosehill, I love you. In some ways, I’ve loved you since the moment I laid eyes on you in that club. I’ve loved you since the moment our lips first met. And even through the moments when we both wanted to walk away, I’ve loved you still. More, and more, with each passing day. The truth is, I can’t be without you. I can’t live this life without you. I want you to have everything you’ve ever wanted in this life. I want you to have your white picket fence. I want you to have your perfect home. I want you to have the average two-and-a-half children with a rocking chair on the front porch. I want you to have everything you’ve ever needed from this life, and then some. And I want to be the one to give it to you.”
I saw tears dripping down her cheeks as the entire world silenced itself.
“So, Karina Rosehill. Will you marry me?”
She didn’t even hesitate. “Of course, I’ll marry you!”
She threw herself at me as everyone clapped and cheered for us. I held her in my grip against my body, feeling her fluttering heartbeat in time with mine. I kissed her cheek and her neck. I kissed her shoulder and her arm. I kissed any patch of skin I could until she leaned up, and then I captured her lips.
“I love you so much,” she whispered.
I plucked the ring from the box and let the box drop into the sand.
“Let me at that finger, gorgeous.”
Karina giggled as she held out her left hand to me. I slid the white gold band against her skin, watching it settle perfectly beyond that second knuckle. It sparkled in the setting sun, casting soft rainbows in the expanse of her gorgeous green eyes. I cupped her cheek, softly tilting her head so she could find my gaze again. As I wiped away a tear threatening to streak her cheek, I kissed her forehead.
“Are you happy?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said breathlessly. “I can’t remember a time when I was this happy.”
“Good.”
She swallowed hard and looked back up at me. “But, there’s something I kind of have to tell you.”
I paused. “What is it?”
Her eyes danced between mine. “I’m going to need the bartender to make my drinks virgin for a while.”
I blinked. “Why?”
As she shook her head with a smile on her face, it finally clicked. “Wait. You don’t mean…?”
She nodded. “I had to tell the bartender at the shack to make me a virgin of whatever you ordered for me once I sat down.”
I stood up, bringing her with me. “You’re pregnant, Karina?”
She cupped my cheek. “We’re pregnant, Zane.”
“Oh, my God!”
I wrapped my arms around her and picked her up. I
swung her around as people clapped and cheered, showering us with love and excitement. I settled her back down into the sand and captured her lips, letting my tongue flood her mouth. She cloaked me with her arms. I bent her back as I kissed her slowly beneath the setting sun. And as nighttime streaked itself across the sky, the stars came out to applaud us.
To applaud the journey we were taking together.
“I love you so much, you beautiful, perfect, outstanding woman.”
She laughed. “I love you too, handsome.”
As I gazed into her eyes, bringing her back upright, I saw my future rushing behind them. I saw the children we’d have. The home we’d build on the twenty-something acres I owned. I saw her swollen with my child and rushing around behind them in the mornings. I saw her body beneath mine, sagging with age and still as beautiful as the first time I’d ever laid my eyes on her.
Karina was the one for me. Despite everything that had happened. Despite everything we had endured. Despite everything we had been through, and experienced, and fought over.
She was mine for the rest of it. A true Happily Ever After.
_______________________________________
Preorder Here
This is how my story was supposed to go…
Get over my crush on Brenden.
Graduate college.
Never look back.
But instead, this is what actually happened…
I never got over Brenden.
My friends set me up with his brother.
And for some reason, he just couldn’t handle it.
Turns out, my college crush and best friend always had a thing for me too.
And we were in the most dangerous of places.
Vegas.
Sipping on crazy drinks.
And coming up with insane plans.
Losing my V-card to Brenden after a drunken night was acceptable.
But waking up married to him?
What in the world was I thinking?
Was I even thinking?
I thought this was my biggest nightmare.
But the worst part of my story?
That was yet to come.
Click Here to preorder Mr. Big Mistake
