Chocolate Goodies

by Jacquelin Thomas

  She grinned. “That has such a nice ring to it.”

  Moments later, Coco floated down the aisle on her father’s arm toward the man she would love forever.

  They stood facing each other as they said their vows.

  Coco spoke first. “Ransom, you are my one true love and I take you to be my husband. I will cherish our union and love you more each day than I did the day before. I will trust you and respect you, laugh with you and cry with you, loving you faithfully through good times and bad, regardless of the obstacles we may face together. I give you my hand, my heart and my love, from this day forward for as long as we both shall live.”

  “Constance, I love you. You are my best friend and today I give myself to you in marriage. I want you to know that I eagerly anticipate the chance to grow together, getting to know the woman you will become and falling in love a little more every day. I promise to encourage and inspire you, to laugh with you, and to comfort you in times of sorrow and struggle. I promise to love and cherish you through whatever life may bring us. These things I give to you today, and all the days of our life.”

  Coco could hardly contain her excitement as she waited to hear the words that would make their union real to her.

  “I now pronounce you man and wife…”

  Ransom exhaled a long sigh of pleasure. He felt as if he had been waiting a very long time to hear those words, but in reality it had been only four months. Neither one of them wanted a long engagement.

  He pulled Coco into his arms, drawing her close. He pressed his lips to hers for a chaste, yet meaningful kiss.

  Grinning, Ransom escorted his bride down the aisle and through the double exit doors at the back of the church. They escaped into a nearby room, waiting until it was time to go back into the chapel for the wedding photographs.

  His eyes traveled down the length of her, nod ding in obvious approval. “You look so beautiful, sweetheart.”

  Coco broke into a big smile. “We’re married.” She held up her left hand to show off the wedding set. “I can truly say that this is the happiest day of my life.”

  After the photographs, they were driven to La Maison for the reception.

  In continuing with the chocolate theme, there were several chocolate fountains throughout the room surrounded by bowls of fresh fruit.

  Their wedding menu consisted of duck with chocolate sauce, chocolate-dusted scallops with vanilla butter sauce, chicken mole, and seared pork tenderloin with cocoa spice rub. Guests had a choice of two of the four entrées, mixed vegetables, yellow rice and an assortment of rolls.

  On each table were stacks of elegantly designed boxes of chocolate truffles in a variety of flavors that had been created just for their wedding.

  “Do you think we got a little carried away with the chocolate theme?” Ransom asked in a low voice.

  Coco looked up at him. “Honey, chocolate has always been associated with love. What better way to celebrate one of the most memorable days of our lives than with chocolate? It’s not just a girl’s best friend. It’s the food of love.”

  Ransom guided Coco over to their table and pulled out a chair for her.

  They had preselected their meals, so their plates arrived shortly after they sat down.

  Ransom dined on the duck with chocolate sauce and the scallops, while Coco enjoyed the chicken mole as her entrée.

  Her eyes bounced around the room. “This is the same room where you asked me to marry you.”

  “This is where you made me the happiest man alive.”

  Coco smiled. “And here we are. We’re married.”

  Ransom nodded. “We’re starting a new life together.”

  After they finished eating, the bride and groom stood up and headed to the middle of the room to dance for the first time as husband and wife.

  The song ended and another began while they were still on the dance floor. Ransom only had eyes for Coco. “I love you, sweetheart. With every fiber of my being, I love you.”

  “I love you back,” she told him. “I still can’t believe that we pulled this together in four months.”

  “I didn’t want to go on that cruise with you and have to sleep in separate cabins.” He bent his head and whispered in her ear, “I am ready to make you mine completely.”

  “I’ve been waiting for you to say those words for such a long time.”

  Jerome walked up and cleared his throat, letting them know that they were no longer alone. “Congratulations.

  I guess I have to get used to calling you Mrs. Winters now.”

  She hugged him. “I’m so glad you were able to come. How are things?”

  “Great. I’m liking Florida a lot.”

  “See, I told you.”

  “I’m playing football next year for my high school. Can’t believe that I’m going to be a sophomore. Coach said he thinks I’m good enough to maybe get an athletic scholarship for college. He was driving by and saw me playing with my cousins in the street. He says I have natural ability.”

  “Now look at that,” Ransom said. “Tell your coach that you have something else. Heart.”

  The teen grinned. “Thanks for flying me in for the wedding.”

  “We wouldn’t have had it any other way, Jerome. Enjoy the party.”

  Benjamin came up next. “Mr. and Mrs. W. Congrats. Y’all look good together and I hope you know that this is serious. You can’t get mad and go running off. You stay and fight. Two very special people in my life told me that once.”

  Coco embraced him. “I will always remember this. Oh, I hear that your mother is off the chemo and doing well.”

  He nodded. “She’s cancer free. I give thanks to the Lord for that. And one more thing. I got accepted into California State University Long Beach. The letter came right before I left for the wedding. It’s out in the car.”

  “That’s great,” Ransom said, looking like a proud parent. “Congratulations. I’ll be on my honeymoon for two weeks, but as soon as I get back, we’ll sit down and take care of tuition.”

  “Benjamin’s tuition is going to be covered by me.”

  They turned to find Coco’s father standing there. “He’s a Stanley employee and we have a scholarship with his name on it. You have great potential and we’re all proud of you, son.”

  Benjamin hugged the newlyweds and then walked off with his benefactor.

  “Your boys are becoming men,” Coco told Ransom.

  He nodded. “Yes, they are.”

  “Now you’re really my sister,” Elle said when she walked up to them. “I’m so happy for you both.”

  Ransom placed his arms around his bride. “I love this woman more than my own life. I never really understood what that meant until now.”

  Brennan joined them. “I feel the same way about Elle. She’s the better part of me.”

  “All this love in the air is sickening,” Ivy murmured as she brushed past them. She met Michael and they made their way out of the hotel ballroom.

  “Ivy and your brother sure have been spending a lot of time together,” Elle said. “What do you think is going on there?”

  Coco shrugged. “I don’t know, but you’re right, Elle. They were together on Valentine’s Day, then last night at the rehearsal dinner, and now they seem inseparable.”

  When the two of them returned, Ivy was laughing at something Michael was saying.

  “Hmm…” Coco studied her brother’s face. “He’s really animated. Look at him.”

  “They look good together,” Elle said.

  Ransom grabbed Coco by the hand. “C’mon. Let’s just enjoy our day. No matchmaking.”

  Brennan laughed. “That includes you, too, sweetie.”

  “Well, they would make a great couple,” Coco said as they walked back to their table. “Michael needs somebody like Ivy in his life. All he does is work.”

  Ransom kissed his bride to quiet her.

  “I know what you’re trying to do,” she told him. “But it’s not going to work. My brother
is a good man, and besides, they used to date and—”

  He kissed her again.

  “You are really trying to shut me up.”

  “No,” Ransom responded. “I just love kissing you.”

  Coco grinned. “Okay, I like that answer, so I’ll leave it at that.”

  He laughed, then asked, “Are you ready to leave?”

  Her lips turned upward as she thought of what was to come. “Yeah. Let’s get out of here. You go say goodbye to your family and I’ll say goodbye to mine.”

  Ransom shook his head. “You’re my wife now, sweetheart. We’ll take time to say goodbye to our combined family together. We are all family now.”

  “You’re right.”

  “Are you ready to make the first of our babies?”

  Coco smiled and nodded.

  “Auntie Coco, are you leaving now?”

  She turned around to face her niece. “Yeah, sweetie. We’re getting ready to leave.”

  “Can I give my new uncle a hug?”

  Ransom nodded. “You sure can,” he told her.

  Cinnamon embraced him. “You smell so good,” she exclaimed. “When I get married, I want the groom to wear that cologne. Can you save a bottle?”

  Coco chuckled, while Ransom held back a smile. “I’ll do what I can, cutie,” he promised.

  Giggling, Cinnamon looked up at her aunt. “Auntie, I’m gonna love him. He called me cutie.”

  Coco hugged her. “We’ll see you when we get back from our honeymoon, Cinna.”

  “Can I come over and stay with y’all for, like, two or three days when you get back?” she asked, her eyes full of hope.

  “Of course you can, sweetie,” Coco and Ransom declared in unison.

  “She’s so adorable,” he said when Cinnamon ran off to find her mother. “Oh, and honey, I know how much you love chocolate, but we are not naming our children Mocha, Caramel or anything like that.”

  “Caramel is not a chocolate, but point taken,” Coco told him. “We’ll find meaningful names that don’t include anything in the chocolate family.”

  “You’re really okay with that?”

  She nodded. “I think what you name your child should have special meaning to the parents.”

  They said their goodbyes and headed out of the room to a suite upstairs that had been reserved for them. Ransom and Coco would spend their wedding night there and then fly out the next morning to Antigua for the first leg of their honeymoon. From there, they would fly to Europe.

  In the suite, Ransom unbuttoned the back of Coco’s wedding gown.

  “I’m going to have a bath.”

  “How about I join you?” he whispered.

  She flashed him a sexy smile. “I was so hoping you’d say that.”

  He followed her into the bathroom.

  After a long, sensual bath together, Ransom dried her off with a soft fluffy towel.

  Coco gloried in their shared moment, wrapped in a silken cocoon of euphoria. If time stopped right this moment, she wouldn’t complain. Life just couldn’t get any better for her as far as she was concerned.

  They slipped on matching terry robes.

  Munching on grapes, Coco sat down on the edge of the king-size bed, while Ransom opened the bottle of nonalcoholic champagne Matt and Kaitlin had sent to their room.

  Ransom prepared a plate of cheese, grapes and crackers, which he carried over to the bed. He sat down beside his wife. “I never thought I could be this happy.”

  Coco glanced up at her husband. “I feel the same way. I never really thought I’d get married. I was fine with that, but I am glad to have you in my life.”

  “You make me so happy.”

  “Enough talking,” she told him. “If we’re serious about starting our own family, then we need to get busy.”

  Ransom grinned. His deepest desires had come true. He had a relationship with his siblings and he was married to the gorgeous woman in bed with him.

  He sent up a quick prayer of thanksgiving before giving Coco his full attention.

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-4822-3

  CHOCOLATE GOODIES

  Copyright © 2010 by Jacquelin Thomas

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