Sweet Indulgence (A Charleston Harbor Novel Book 1)

by Debbie White

  Jack came up from behind and whispered in her ear. “I know this wouldn’t be possible if you didn’t organize this.” He kissed her earlobe.

  “It’s bringing such pleasure to them. It was the least I could do. They feel sometimes that getting old has them tossed aside. I didn’t want them to feel like that.”

  “Agreed. I’m so happy you love them as you do. Makes me hopeful for when I get old and grey.”

  Annie whirled around. “I will love you no matter what. And just for the record, I think you’ll be one handsome old man.” She leaned in and kissed him on the mouth.

  “Well, if I’m going to be one handsome old man, you’re going to be one hot old lady.” He patted her on the bottom.

  “Jack Powell, this kind of behavior can get us into trouble.” She wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “Good. That’s exactly what I want it to do.” He found her mouth and devoured it, kissing her passionately.

  Chapter 33

  After a long and very exhausting day of visiting everyone, Annie finally had Jack to herself. She turned on the lights to the tree, lit some candles, and made sure soft music played in the background. She’d just taken the quiche out of the oven, but something told her they probably wouldn’t be eating. The Powells had offered a spread of food that could have fed an army and then Grandmother and Auntie Patty had gone overboard, too.

  “Your family was so generous with gifts,” Annie said.

  “I told you they loved you.”

  “I hope they liked mine.”

  “Are you kidding? That’s one of their favorite restaurants.” Annie handed Jack a mug of eggnog. Jack put his nose to the glass mug with the Santa stencil on it. He raised his brows. “Brandy?”

  Annie nodded. “Just a splash.” She snuggled down into the sofa cushions, pulling her legs underneath her. “New Year’s Eve is the next hurdle. I’ll be happy when all the celebrations are over with, and I can concentrate on our wedding.”

  “Me, too. I have to get over to the property and check on a few things.”

  “Oh, what sort of things?”

  “The well, for one. It probably will require some work.”

  “There is electricity, right?”

  “Yes, but that’s another concern. We have a lot of trees on the property, and it has become quite overgrown. I need to hire some guys to go over and clean out all the underbrush and make sure the power lines are not tangled up in a bunch of branches. It’s been on my to-do list for some time. When we went out there during the summer, I got a chance to look around. It’s been lurking in the back of my mind since then. It has to be done, and well before the wedding.”

  “A bad winter storm is predicted for next week. I hope everything will be okay,” Annie said, concerned for the first time that something might ruin their perfect plans and future.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll get out there. And that’s another thing … we need to get the road paved. Right now it’s just gravel.”

  “Maybe we’re pushing this too fast. Do you really think we can be ready by May tenth?”

  “Baby, I’ll do everything in my power to make sure we are more than ready.” He leaned over and waited for her kiss.

  Annie leaned in and kissed his warm mouth. She playfully licked her lips. “Tastes pretty good on you,” she said, laughing.

  He took her mug and set it down, then placed his mug next to hers. He pulled her onto his lap. She wrapped her arms around him, enjoying the view of his gorgeous smile and eyes. “It’s not really safe to be alone with you, considering how I feel about you.”

  “Why do you say that?” She teased him, knowing full well what he meant.

  “Because, when I’m with you, I’m my happiest, and well, my happiness spills over to desire. I know we’re not kids and we’ve both been around the block …”

  Annie pulled back her shoulders and frowned.

  Jack play smacked her arm. “Okay, some of us have been around the block a few times. But, I can’t stop thinking about your gorgeous body and how long and lean your legs are. And how the touch of your skin tantalizes me and stimulates my every desire to be with you. It’s like a drug, and I can’t get enough.” He pulled her head down to his. “I love you, Annie. I love you so much.” He kissed her lips, and she melted into his arms, inviting him in, teasing him with her tongue, and yearning for more.

  She pulled herself away from Jack and rolled off of the couch. The look in her eyes told him she wanted him and so much more. Annie’s prediction that the quiche would not be eaten until much later came true.

  Ravenous from their time together wrapped in each other’s arms, the quiche satisfied their hunger while thoughts of being in each other’s arms warmed her soul.

  “Thanks for being a trooper about going to Vicky’s New Year’s Eve party.”

  “Why do you say that? I like Vicky and her husband, what’s his name again?” Jack laughed out loud.

  “Major Scott Collins.”

  “Oh, that’s right. He’s an officer in the Air Force.”

  “Yup. I hope she realizes what she’s getting into. I see a move in her future.”

  “Surely she knows that with marrying someone in the military a move is not only possible but probable?”

  “I think she’s just so much in love with him that she has blinders on, but let’s not worry about their marriage. Let’s concentrate on our upcoming wedding. So, New Year’s Eve party at Vicky and Scott’s and then full steam ahead for the McPherson and Powell wedding.”

  Jack pursed his lips and tilted his head to the right.

  “What? Why are you looking at me that way?”

  “We haven’t talked about it before, but the way you said McPherson and Powell, I wondered if you were planning on not taking my last name.”

  Annie squared her shoulders and focused on Jack’s eyes. “Well, to tell you the truth, I was contemplating doing a hyphen.”

  “Oh, Annie and Jack McPherson-Powell?” Jack said, mulling it over. “I think it has a nice ring to it. Sort of like Vicky and Major Scott Collins,” Jack said as he puffed out his chest and bellowed their names.

  “No, silly, just Annie McPherson-Powell, you’ll still be Jack Powell.”

  Annie leaned over, placing her elbows on the kitchen table and cupped her face. Jack leaned in and kissed her full mouth. “I’m still going to call you Annie Powell.”

  Chapter 34

  Annie turned one way and then the next as she admired her trim figure in the mirror. If she said so herself, she looked hot in the red dress she’d bought especially for the New Year’s Eve party at Vicky and Scott’s. She ran the brush through her golden red locks, slipped her feet into the black shoes with three-inch heels, and gave herself one last look in the mirror. “Oh, my jewelry,” she said as she made her way to the leather case that sat on her dresser, the one she’d received from her father when she was a teen. It belonged to your mother, she recalled him saying. She pulled the bottom drawer out and peered inside—touching the pearl earrings, moving to the gold hoops, and lastly putting her fingers on a pair of silver dangly ones with a touch of bling. “These will be perfect with this dress,” she said as she put them on. She opened the top of the jewelry box and pulled out the matching necklace. She gazed over at the picture of her parents and thought about how pretty her mother must have looked with the jewelry on.

  A light rap at her front door brought her back to reality—the harsh reality that both of her parents were gone.

  “You look hot in that dress!” Jack said, pulling her in for a kiss.

  “You look dashing in your tuxedo,” Annie said.

  “Well, we are going to Major Scott Collins’ house,” Jack said.

  “Will you stop it? You haven’t gotten a chance to know him yet.”

  “Well, I got the impression he thought his you-know-what didn’t stink.”

  “Jack, that’s not nice. He probably has a lot on his mind. He’s in the military with a lot of responsibility. Stuff
is happening all over the world.”

  “There’s my girl, defending even strangers. Your love of humanity is special.” Jack kissed her on the cheek.

  “I just think we need to give him a chance. He’s married to one of my best friends, and most likely, we’ll be socializing with them.”

  Jack cut her a wide-eyed stare. “Wait a minute. You didn’t tell me that. I didn’t sign up for any of that.”

  Annie swallowed the lump down in her throat. It concerned her that maybe they’d just had their first fight.

  Jack softened his stare and broke out laughing. “I had you.”

  Annie swatted his arm. “Jack! That’s not funny. I thought we were having our first argument.”

  Jack pulled Annie into his arms. He ran his hand down her back and left it resting just above her butt. She liked the way his hand felt and it reminded her of their closeness earlier that week. “I love you, Annie, remember that. Never let go of that. No matter what the storm, we’ll weather it. I promise.”

  She batted her lashes a couple of times as the words resonated with her. A tear formed in her eye. Not because of sadness but because of so much love and happiness. “Jack, I never knew that love like this was possible. You fill my heart with so much goodness. I love you, too.”

  A mingling of aromatic scents wafted throughout Jack’s car. She made sure she’d spritzed on hers and now his, favorite perfume, Beautiful. She tried to figure out what he wore but finally gave up.

  “Okay, I give up. What cologne are you wearing?”

  “You like it, huh?” He gave her a quick look before steadying his eyes back on the road.

  “I love it. It makes me want to …”

  “Pull over to the side of the road?”

  Annie sighed loudly. “Yeah, that, too.”

  Jack laughed. “Man, you just can’t keep your hands off me, can you?”

  “What about you? You can’t resist me either, right?”

  “Oh, don’t even get me started on that. I didn’t even want to let you out of the apartment. Pulling over to the side of the road is an option, though.” He gave her a quick wink.

  “Turn right at the next light,” she said, giving him directions to Vicky’s.

  A song came on the radio that intensified the romantic feeling she’d already tried to suppress, making it even more difficult to concentrate on directions or anything else, for that matter. Her stomach tightened and then relaxed. Chills ran up and down her arms. A tingling sensation traveled all through her body as she recalled Jack’s loving embrace and tenderness. She studied him as he drove; the lyrics to the song driving her wild inside.

  “Okay, copilot, how much longer?”

  Annie puffed a short blast of air out. “Oops! We passed the street we were supposed to turn on.”

  Jack pulled over to the curb and put the car in park. He turned his body slightly in the seat with one hand on the steering wheel. Annie focused hard on his face.

  “Annie …”

  Annie unbuckled her seat belt and slid across the seat, wrapping her arms around his neck. She pulled her hand up and ran it through his wavy hair. She found his mouth and devoured it, not letting him say a word or come up for air. She kissed him with all the passion she had stored up and then some. He groaned softly low in his throat, and she felt his desire building. He put his hands squarely on her shoulders and gently pushed her away.

  “Wow. Okay, that was way better than I expected.” His breathing was heavy and labored.

  She brushed her hand across her hair and lifted it off her neck. “You can say that again. I don’t know what came over me.”

  “You only did what I was thinking.”

  She leaned in and kissed his warm mouth. “I love you, Jack. I can’t say it enough, and I can’t show it enough.”

  “Oh, baby, you’re doing a great job on both. And as much as I’d like to continue our make out session, I think we have a party to get to.”

  Annie slid back over to her seat. “Okay, make a U-turn. We’re just a few minutes away.”

  Jack followed her directions, and they arrived at Vicky and Scott’s just a few minutes late. When Vicky opened the door, she found them holding hands and sneaking kisses.

  “Well, well, well. Glad you guys made it. I was beginning to worry about you.”

  “We’re only a little bit late,” Annie said.

  “Looks like you guys made a detour.” Vicky motioned to Jack’s face.

  Annie placed her hands on his face and turned him toward her. She laughed and then took her wetted finger and wiped the lipstick off his cheek. She turned back toward Vicky and giggled.

  Jack leaned over and whispered in Annie’s ear. “What? What did I have on my face?”

  “Red lipstick.”

  “Oh.” Jack squeezed her hand and then leaned over and kissed her. He whispered in her ear as he made his way to her mouth, “I hope there weren’t any cameras on that street.”

  It was a lively party full of good cheer and the winding down of the holidays. Jack and Scott, or as he liked to call him, Major Scott Collins, developed a friendship that night that would only get stronger as time went by. Annie smiled when she saw them huddled in the corner, talking about sports, boating, and more. On the way home, Jack told her all about his new friendship and Annie couldn’t have been happier. After all, Major Collins was married to one of her dear friends.

  At midnight, the group toasted to many years of happiness and love. When Jack turned to Annie to give her his special toast, he laced his arm with hers, while each held a flute of champagne. He stared into her eyes and like another moment she’d experienced with him before, she felt as if they were the only two in the room.

  “Happy New Year, Annie. I can’t wait for our special day when we become husband and wife. I promise to love you until the end of time.”

  “Happy New Year, baby. I love you, too, and I promise to make you the happiest man on earth. Please know that I might get a little stressed over the next few months while I plan our wedding.”

  He leaned in at the same time she did, and they kissed as confetti flew over their heads, horns blew, and in the background, “Auld Lang Syne” played, followed by Three Dog Night’s “Joy to the World.”

  Chapter 35

  Over the course of the next few months, there were baby showers, baby welcoming parties, and wedding showers. Not to mention bachelorette parties. Wedding parties had been decided long before the date. In fact, while they were in college dreaming of the big day, it’d been decided. The four of them would be in each other’s weddings and no matter what part of the country they lived in, no matter what was going on in their lives at that moment, they’d agreed—more like pinky swore, they’d be there.

  For someone who wore pretty much the same thing during her days at the bakery, shopping for wedding dresses was about as high on her list as going out on one her Grandmother’s setup dates.

  They took turns being the supportive girlfriend. You know—the one that says every dress looked good and it was the one. Mary was the only one with the kahunas to tell her the truth.

  Shaking her head, Mary scowled. “Nope. That makes you look bigger than you are.”

  Annie patted her tummy. “I think I’ve been indulging in one too many cupcakes.”

  “Try on this one,” Mary said, running her hand down the off-the-shoulder, silhouette A-line dress with just a little bling gathered at the waist. Annie took the dress and entered the dressing room.

  Annie’s smile lit up the entire dress shop when she stepped up on the raised box and twirled. “I like this one!”

  “Yes, that’s the one. You look stunning in it.”

  “Yay, I’m done with wedding dress shopping,” Annie said, stepping down and making her way toward the dressing room.

  “Wait! Shoes—you might as well try on shoes, too,” Mary called out with a glimmer of tease in her eyes.

  “Okay, I’m going over my list here,” Annie said, looking at her phone.
“I think we’ve completed everything or at least it’s in the stage of being completed.”

  “What’s left to do with the reception?” Mary asked as she bit into her hamburger.

  “Betsy is making the cake and the cupcakes. Rebecca’s folks are providing the catering, and well you already know that Jack’s cousin Danny is providing the music. By the way, how are you two doing?” Annie asked, looking up from her phone.

  “Just perfect. He makes me laugh, makes me hot …”

  “Mary McPherson!”

  Mary giggled. “Hey, I’m just keeping it real.”

  “Well, you better keep that little part from your grandmother and auntie, or before you know it, you’ll be going out on dates that they’ve set up for you!”

  Mary threw her head back and laughed. “Oh, please. I put a stop to that right away. I told them that if they didn’t stop setting me up, I’d bring back Jeremy.”

  Annie and Mary laughed so loud that people began to stare. Annie lowered her voice. “I’m so happy to have you here, Mary. You make my life that much better. I mean it.”

  “Don’t go getting all sentimental on me. But, yup, Sis, I love ya too.”

  Annie called a meeting at Sweet Indulgence with the key players involved with the wedding and reception. A task of this size required supervision.

  “Okay, everyone. Pull up a chair. I’ll try not to keep you long,” Annie said to the crowd who gathered around her.

  “Rebecca, do you need anything from Jack or me regarding transporting the food to the island?”

  “I think we have it covered. We’ll be bringing two food trucks that are equipped with everything we need to make the food, and what we can’t prepare on site, we’ll be bringing up already made.”

  “Okay, now remember, it’s a narrow road coming onto the property. We have to make sure we’re not causing a traffic jam. We’ll be having tables and chairs delivered, too. Let me check … yes, chairs, tables, and canopies will be delivered on Friday at ten o’clock.”