by Glines, Abbi
Shaking my head, I turned away from my reflection and focused my attention out the window of the beach house my dad had rented for the occasion. Ashton had said she wanted a wedding on the beach and my dad had made sure she had a prime location. I’d been so damn proud the day I’d brought her here to show her. She’d squealed and clapped her hands as she ran out onto the white sandy shore.
If I’d still held any bitterness toward my dad, it had all melted away the moment Ashton twirled around in the sand with excitement, proclaiming that this was the perfect spot for our wedding. He’d made Ashton happy. He was forgiven.
“Lana said she looks gorgeous and she’s deliriously happy. Stop worrying. This is the day you finally make Ashton Gray completely yours.”
The simplistic beauty of the decorations were so Ashton. She’d said she wanted to complement the natural beauty of the location, not overtake it with other things. Everything was perfect, just like her. And she’d chose me.
“Why me? She could have had you. Why did she choose me?”
Sawyer chuckled behind me and I glanced back over my shoulder to see him grinning. “That’s a question that haunted me once. I couldn’t figure it out either. I mean, I am a pretty damn good catch.” He shrugged and slapped me on the back. “You’re her other half. Not me. Never was me. I have my other half now. I know what that feels like. She just found hers before I found mine.”
“What was God thinking making someone like me Ashton’s other half?”
“He was thinking she deserved someone who would love her no matter what,” Sawyer replied. The conviction in his voice eased my fear somewhat.
“I’ll love her until the day I die. She really is my world.”
Sawyer nodded, “Figured that out the day you chose her over me.”
My lips curved up into a grin, “Yeah, I guess you did.”
ASHTON
“Okay girl, this is it,” Lana whispered, reaching down to squeeze my hand tightly.
“I can’t believe it’s almost time,” I replied, staring straight ahead at the door leading out onto the beach. The groomsmen had all followed Beau outside while I’d stayed hidden upstairs. I didn’t have to look outside to know that to the right of Beau stood Sawyer, his best man. Then Harris Vincent stood beside his oldest son. After Harris stood Ethan and then Jake.
Lana had brought me downstairs before the bridesmaids had made their way out the door so they could all wish me luck. Lana was my maid of honor. Beside her, Leann would be waiting up front. Then Jessica and my roommate from college, Crystal.
“You are absolutely stunning. No bride has ever been this gorgeous in the history of the world.” Lana beamed at me before stepping up to the door and blowing me a kiss as she walked outside.
“She’s right, you know. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a lovelier bride.” The emotion in my dad’s voice caused my eyes to tear up.
“Daddy, please don’t make me cry.”
He held out his elbow for me to take. “Never. Think of them all in their underwear. I hear that helps.”
A startled laugh quickly dried my tears and I turned to look up him. “That is what you’re supposed to do when you’re nervous,” I told him.
He grinned. “It worked, didn’t it?”
I squeezed his arm. “Yes, it did.”
“Let’s do this, baby girl. That boy looked so scared before he walked down the aisle I thought he might break free and run upstairs to make sure you were still there. No need to leave him waiting. He may tear the place up coming in here after you.”
Giggling at my father’s very accurate description of my future husband, I nodded and we stepped up to the door. Taking a deep breath, I followed him out into the perfect light of the setting sun.
The moment my bare feet touched the cooling sand, I lifted my gaze to find Beau. The awe and relief on his face as I made my way slowly toward him sent my heart into a wild frenzy. Being near him still made me light-headed. I doubted that would ever go away.
His perfect mouth moved and I read his lips as he said, “I love you.”
The world around me faded away. All that was left was me and Beau—my past, my present, and my future.
ABBI GLINES is the author of The Vincent Boys and The Vincent Brothers in addition to several other YA novels. A devoted book lover, Abbi lives with her family in Alabama. She maintains a Twitter addiction at @abbiglines and can also be found at AbbiGlines.com.
JACKET DESIGNED BY JESSICA HANDELMAN
JACKET PHOTOGRAPH COPYRIGHT © 2012 BY MICHAEL FROST
AUTHOR PHOTO BY KEITH GLINES
simon pulse • Simon & Schuster, New York
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ALSO BY ABBI GLINES
The Vincent Boys
The Vincent Brothers
The Vincent Boys—Extended and Uncut
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
SIMON PULSE
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First Simon Pulse paperback edition December 2012
Copyright © 2011 by Abbi Glines
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