Hearts Series Bundle: Books 1-6
Page 46
My mom is in the front row, beaming at me, next to her boyfriend. It’s still a shock to see someone beside her who isn’t Dad, but I’m getting used to it. She told me she felt him here in the church, watching over us, last night during the rehearsal. I hope she’s right, but I don’t really go for that sort of thing. If there is a life after this one, I hope he’s moved on to a happier place where he won’t miss us as much as I miss him.
Manny is in the pew ahead of her and he’s got his new girlfriend, Mercedes, on his arm. This is the first time he’s brought her out to meet everyone and she looks like she can’t be older than twenty. She’s tucked into him and he’s got his arm around her like he just won the Lottery and she was the prize.
The organ starts. Mark nudges me. My spine straightens. I’m ready to lock this down. They don’t teach us men, when we’re boys, to look forward to marriage. We’re taught we shouldn’t want it, to run as fast as we can. But marrying Annie is the thing I’ve most looked forward to ever since we kicked Tommy’s ass. She’s added something to my life that I didn’t know I lacked. She’s on my team, and at the same time, wants my help. She lets me know I’m needed. Frankly, she makes me feel like I’m a king, and what man doesn’t want that for the rest of his life?
Taryn comes down the aisle first, wearing a long, silk, black gown from the same era as our tuxes. Both she and Laura have their hair up and I watch Laura walking up behind her, looking great in that dress. I glance over to Dan and see him stunned by her appearance. She winks at him as she passes. He turns, glued to her as she walks by.
The pipe organ changes to Here Comes The Bride, the vibrating notes filling the room. Everyone stands. Taryn and Laura take their places across from us.
Annie appears, her hand resting on her father’s arm. My heart leaps into my throat at her beauty, the small flowers framing her face like a crown. Her eyelashes flutter and she looks at me, biting her bottom lip in a sweet smile. I walk down the steps to meet her, and see for the first time her mother behind her, fidgeting over the train of her gown. “Mom!” she whispers.
Mrs. O’Brien rises and rushes up to stand in front of Laura and Taryn.
Mr. O’Brien takes Annie’s hand from his arm and hands it to me. “You take care of my little girl.”
“I will, sir.” I bow to him and look at her. The room disappears as I stare at the mother of my child, my beautiful bride, the one I almost let slip away. Somewhere in the back of my mind I know I’m supposed to lead her up the stairs now, but I can’t think of anything but kissing her, so I pull her to me and give her a long, slow, kiss. The room goes into uproarious applause with some crying out in laughter, “Hey! NOT YET!!” and others, “BRAVO!! BRAVO!!”
Annie’s laughing against my lips and I take her hand and turn, walking up the steps to face the priest. He’s looking at us like he hasn’t seen that before. “Well, now! Let’s begin!”
22
Annie
Please, if I’m dreaming, don’t wake me.
If you do, I’ll seriously kick your a**.
(I had to curb the language out of respect to the location I’m standing in. But I have a feeling God thinks my sense of humor, and swearwords, are funny. (S)He did invent them, and me, after all.)
________
As we go through all the nuances and speeches of the ceremony, Brendan and I clasp each other’s hands, casting sideways smiles to each other. When we finally get to the vows, the priest asks us to face one another. I look up at Brendan, so handsome, smiling at me in his tux. He reaches out, touches my protruding belly and whispers to it, “You get to be here for this, Jacob.” That’s when the first tear escapes down my cheek.
“Annie and Brendan have their own vows they’d like to share with us today,” the priest announces to the room.
Into my lover’s eyes, I smile. “Brendan, I vow to be yours and only yours. I vow to tell you I love you, even when we argue. I vow to make space for you to be the man you are, and to be a part of your team, to hold my space proudly beside you. Us against the world. I vow to be loyal to you in words and action. To support you as you grow and change through the years. I vow to love you until death do us part, and even way after that!”
He smiles at my addition, but then gets very serious, looking into my eyes with earnestness and presence. “Annie, I vow to be yours and only yours. I vow to tell you I love you even when we argue. I vow to spend my days making you smile until your cheeks hurt. I vow to stick by you as the years pass and as we grow old. I vow to be loyal to you in words and actions. I vow to hear your take on life, treasure your opinion and contribution as you always treasure mine. And Annabelle, O’Brien soon-to-be Clark, I vow to love you until death do us part and way the fuck after that, too.”
I laugh, tears blurring my vision. “Don’t swear in front of the baby.”
He grins. The priest chuckles and asks, “Do we have the rings?”
Mark steps forward and presents them to us. We both take each other’s ring. Brendan slides mine slowly onto my finger as I stare into his proud eyes. “With this ring, I’m yours.”
I take his and slide it on his finger. “With this ring, I’m yours.”
The priest declares, “I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.” Then he adds, quickly, “Again.”
Everyone applauds as Brendan grabs me and kisses me in a way that would have made past generations blush. He finishes with a dip, holding me firmly under my back as I laugh and receive a million tiny kisses all over my face.
He stands me up and takes my hand to face everyone.
They all go nuts. Nicole, who I’ve come to love, cheers louder than everyone else and I throw a grin her way and mouth, you’re next. Her eyes go round and she shakes her head really quickly.
“Ready?” Brendan asks me.
“Yep!” He guides pregnant me down the steps and brings my hand to his lips as we pass by our applauding friends and family. “I trapped you, Freckles. You’re mine now”
We head for the limo Mark and Bobby have covered with whipped cream and beer cans. In soap, it says, Another One Bites The Dust. As Brendan opens the door for me, people are running out behind us, throwing birdseed. I climb in, carefully, and gaze up at him, outlined above me by sunlight. “No, Brendan Clark. I trapped you. Aren’t I the sly one?”
“What are you going to do with me now that you’ve got me, Mrs. Clark?”
I shrug, and adjust my dress around my ankles, dragging the long train into the car and tucking it near my ankles. “Well, Mr. Clark, I guess I’ll just have to love you forever.”
“I guess you will,” he grins and closes the door, bowing to the audience standing outside the church. “We’ll see you at the reception!” They applaud as he runs over and jumps in the other side of the limo.
The driver asks through the open divider. “We’re going to reception hall first. I’ll make myself scarce until you call. But, after that, where are you headed?”
“After that?” Brendan kisses me with no signs of stopping. I laugh and peek over to see the driver smile and close the divider.
I respond to his kiss, joy filling my heart. “Where are we headed after that?”
He puts his hand on my belly, rubbing it as he whispers against my lips, “To a life now worth living.”
THE END.
Mark’s story was before Brendan’s, an Amazon Bestselling series hitting number 1 in romance, erotic romance and romantic comedy… now available in a delicious box set!
I Love My… Trilogy
~~~
Mark’s traveling to New York City to talk with investors about an app idea he has, when he meets three best friends – Jessica, Amber and Nicole. Jessica works in fashion and hates her job. She’s been cheated on by her live-in boyfriend David, the jerk, and she’s setting on a wild course to heal her broken heart when she meets Mark, who’s more than happy to help. Amber’s relationship with her boyfriend has hit a standstill, and it takes a surprise run-in with Mark,
to jolt it back to life, and in an unexpected way. But it’s perpetually-single Nicole who’s the real surprise, and she’s not ready for the man travelling from San Francisco. He looks at her like he knows her before they’ve even said hello. Is three thousand miles enough safe distance for her to let down her guard?
Available on Amazon – All Three Steamy Stories in One Box Set.
USA | UK | Canada | Australia | Germany
~~~
Fire Nectar 2
(printed with permission of author Faleena Hopkins)
“…Reminiscent of ‘Interview With The Vampire’ and beautifully written…” – Literal Addiction
Called to help Elizabeth and Daniella, they rush to Los Angeles in Fire Nectar 2, but who are the vampires William and Joshua?
WILLIAM
King William The Conqueror did not die as the history books told. Almost a thousand years later, he is the oldest of the vampires. Yet his inner wound has not healed. He is the reason they kill only the evil. It is his rules that govern them for his respect has been earned, his trust unshakable. Fate can deal a crushing blow. It's up to you, what you do with it.
JOSHUA
Turned vampire the same year as Daniella, but in Paris by a vampire named Ludovico, Joshua eagerly learns how to transition from human to immortal, but when the whore Marion sets her sights on him as her ticket out, he sees only the innocence she portrays. Jumping effortlessly back and forth between 1812 and present day, Joshua faces his demons, knowing all to well what Daniella is contending with as he rushes to her aid.
Available on Amazon and in Kindle Unlimited
USA | UK | Canada | Australia | Germany
~~~
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sabrina Lacey used to shoot photography and fashion. She was like Diego, the photographer in I Love My Healed Heart who worked the tents at Fashion Week. It gave Sabrina all the insight she needed to create a fantastical tale about the glamorous lives those people don’t really live. ;) She grew up near San Francisco, went to A.C.T. there – and so writing about Brendan and Annie’s tale has been a fun touch-base with the old haunts. Now she lives in Los Angeles, CA. where she writes and wishes there were more thunderstorms. Who doesn’t LOVE a great thunderstorm with a sexy man, a glass of red wine, and a crackling fireplace? And she uses hearts in her titles because she kept seeing them everywhere right before she wrote her first book, in 2013.