You May Kiss the Groomsman: A Meet Me at the Altar Novel

by Samantha Chase

  “Already done,” he assured her. “Tyler and I went over there last night and explained everything to them. And it’s safe to say they were extremely relieved with the way it all worked out.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yeah. It turns out they weren’t buying your engagement to Ty and were hoping you and I would get together.”

  “Wow…that’s…um…”

  He nodded. “That’s exactly how I felt when they told me. Either way, they’re thrilled, and I told them not to bother you with wedding questions.”

  “Oh, you didn’t! Your mom must have been devastated!”

  “Nope. If anything, she was happy to just sit back and hear what we plan. The thought of both her sons getting married was more than enough for her.”

  The remainder of the drive was spent with him telling her about the conversations with his family and he was relieved when they finally pulled into her driveway.

  “Your place or mine?” she asked seductively.

  “Yours. Definitely yours.” And then he remembered he’d left out one fairly important bit of information. “Um…speaking of yours…I gave up the lease on my place,” he admitted. “I have a month to move out.”

  Her eyes went wide. “Um…why? Why did you do that?”

  “Well…I acted a little rashly and when I thought you and Ty were going to…you know…I knew I wouldn’t be able to handle living across the street from you. I didn’t want to be an obstacle for the two of you, so…”

  Reaching over, she cupped his face before silencing him with a kiss. When she lifted her head, she was smiling.

  “So…I’m going to have to find a place…”

  “No. No, you won’t,” she told him firmly. “We’re fast-tracking, remember? So for the time being, you’ll move in with me.”

  “For the time being?”

  Shrugging, she told him, “I’m sure you’ll want us to move and get a place of our own, right?”

  He thought back to the conversation he had with his mother. “But…I thought you loved this place and wouldn’t want to move.”

  Her smile turned sweet. “I do love this place, but it’s just a house. As long as you’re with me, I don’t care where we live.” Then she paused. “But I hope it’s someplace fabulous.”

  This girl…

  With one last kiss, he urged, “Let’s go inside,” before they ran like two little kids, laughing all the way to the door. Once inside, however, there was nothing childlike about their behavior. There were deep and wet kisses, roaming hands, and touches that made them both wild. The last time he was here, they lost all control and ended up naked on the living room couch. That wasn’t what he wanted tonight so he broke their kiss long enough to scoop her up in his arms and walk up the stairs.

  When he had Josie on the bed, she smiled up at him. “I really like when you do that,” she said softly, caressing his jaw. “I never thought I’d be the kind of woman who likes being carried around, but…”

  “Believe me, I never thought I was the kind of guy who would go carrying a woman around, but with you, I find that I like doing it.”

  Josie arched one perfect brow at him. “What else do you like doing?”

  If that wasn’t a loaded question, Daniel wasn’t sure what was.

  “Would you rather I show you or tell you?” he growled as he leaned down to nip at her shoulder.

  “Show,” she panted. “I am all for showing.”

  It was tempting to lose control and do everything hard and fast to take the edge off, but this time, he wanted to take his time–savor every touch, every kiss, every sigh–because it was important to show her how much he loved her.

  Sex with Josie had always been explosive and satisfying. Hell, Daniel thought that’s the way all sex should be. He’d never been so happy to be wrong. There was something to be said about the fast and frantic, but being slow and thorough definitely had its perks. He could make love to her like this all night.

  And he planned to.

  It was barely eleven–not late at all–and Josie was curled up beside him sleepily. His hand was gently rubbing up and down her arm and he marveled at the softness of her skin. “Thank you,” he said softly.

  “For what?”

  “For forgiving me.” Pausing, he kissed the top of her head. “I was afraid I’d ruined everything and I had no idea what to do to make things right.”

  “What would you have done if I walked out of the restaurant?” she asked, looking up at him with an impish grin.

  “I’d like to think I would have respected your decision and let you go, but I have a feeling I would have either followed you out or started coming around every day in the hope of wearing you down.”

  “Can I let you in on a little secret?”

  He nodded.

  “I probably would have come up with an excuse to come and see you.” Her hand smoothed over his chest as she let out a soft little hum. “I missed you.”

  It humbled him that this fiercely strong and independent woman loved him enough to admit that and he was beyond grateful.

  For most of his life, Daniel felt like an outsider in his own family–like he didn’t belong. But lying here in Josie’s arms, he found everything he ever wanted…needed.

  He was home.

  Epilogue

  “Here's to love, laughter and happily ever after.”

  Unknown

  Two months later…

  “Does it feel weird?”

  Josie looked over at Lea and frowned. “Does what feel weird?”

  “The fact that we’re here for Bella’s christening in the same place you’re getting married next week?”

  “Oh, that,” she said with a slow smile. “Actually, it doesn’t feel weird at all. I’m just looking around the church and envisioning it with all the flowers. I think it’s going to look amazing.”

  “I’m sure it will,” she said pleasantly.

  Skylar walked over and stood beside them. “You want to know something weird?”

  “Sure,” Josie said.

  “I’m not even a little freaked out about your wedding next week. Daisy has really been a blessing and she’s a fast learner. I think having her with us will mean we can mostly just relax and enjoy being part of the bridal party.” She paused and grinned at Josie. “Of course, if you had maybe taken a little time and opted to get married say…three months from now, we probably could have relaxed and enjoyed it a little more.”

  All Josie could do was shrug. “If things hadn’t fallen into place, we might have considered it. But the gown I wanted from Enchanted was in my size…”

  “I can’t believe you picked the one Daniel already saw you in…” Lea murmured.

  “Yeah, but he doesn’t really remember it so it’s not a big deal,” she reasoned. “All of our vendors were very agreeable to working with us on short notice, and the venue I wanted had an opening so…why wait?”

  “You maybe could have waited until after Lea and Brody’s wedding,” Skye suggested.

  “Oh, stop,” Lea said with a small laugh. “The fact that Brody has such a large family has made us take longer to plan everything. Plus, we’re both just enjoying being engaged and don’t feel the need to rush.” Looking sheepish, she glanced at Josie. “No offense.”

  “None taken. Believe me.”

  “Hey, Elliott and I kind of rushed down the aisle. Why didn’t you say that to me?” Skye asked.

  “You two are exhausting,” Lea whispered before walking away.

  When Lea was out of earshot, Skye moved closer. “Are you happy? I mean genuinely happy with Daniel?”

  Smiling, Josie nodded. “I never knew I could feel like this. Next week can’t get here soon enough.” And as if on cue, Daniel stepped in close behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

  “Hey, beautiful,” he said before kissing her cheek. “Glad to hear you’re thinking the same thing I am.”

  “I’ll just leave you two alone,” Skye said with amusement bef
ore walking away.

  Turning in his arms, Josie kissed him properly on the lips as her arms wound up around his massive shoulders. “One more week. Can you believe it?”

  “Nope, but I’m not going to lie to you, the part of us getting married is definitely the biggest perk, but never having to talk about wedding plans again is running a close second.”

  Laughing softly, she nodded. “I get that. I’m just thankful everything fell into place and that Daisy is working out so well with us. It’s made everyone relax a lot more.”

  “Not everyone…”

  Looking up at him, she frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “Apparently she had a run-in with Xander last week at the venue and…let’s just say he hasn’t shut up about it since.”

  That was brand new information. “Oh no! She never mentioned it. Should I talk to her?”

  “No. Don’t even think about it. Focus on us, our wedding, and then honeymooning down in St. Thomas.”

  “Mmm…that does sound really good.” Smiling up at him, she said the words that she found herself saying dozens of times a day. “I love you.”

  “Love you more,” he told her–just like he always did–and she melted against him.

  It was more than she ever expected to hear.

  More than she ever expected to feel.

  And she was so glad she had been disappointed in every other relationship before because it caused her to wait for him.

  Her forever.

  Go back to where it all began…

  Chapter 1

  Love is like a hole; once you fall in, it’s hard to get out

  Unknown

  “We have wilting sunflowers over here!” Skylar Jennings called out. “Wilting sunflowers, people!” She looked around frantically. “Can someone please replace these with cheery, non-wilting ones!” With a huff, she continued to scan the large banquet room and felt a sense of pride. The theme for the wedding had been country chic–lots of mason jars and sunflowers. It was very rustic and charming. The colors made it feel like you were walking in the mountains during the fall foliage. Very trendy. It was the only thing the bride had contributed to the plans.

  Wedding planning was her life–even though she had gone to college and graduated with a psychology degree–but it didn’t take long for her to realize it wasn’t her passion. Luckily, she had a Plan B to fall back on. After starting up the business three years ago with her two best friends, Josie and Leanna, Meet Me at the Altar Wedding Services had finally started to become a success. Skye loved helping couples plan their big day, and it was always so rewarding to see the look on their faces when they saw how she brought their vision to life and made their day exactly what they wanted.

  Today was the first time she found zero joy in it.

  “Why are there wilted sunflowers?” a voice called out, and when she turned, she saw one of her partners, Josie, walking toward her.

  “I’m already working on it,” Skye assured her. “We have plenty of extras in the cooler so we’ll just swap them out. No big deal.” Then she looked at Josie and started to smirk. “Nice outfit.”

  Looking down at herself, Josie frowned. She was in a pair of purple sweatpants, an oversized white buttoned shirt, gray slipper booties, and there were several large rollers in her hair. “We’re in the middle of getting ready and I was too fidgety to stand still so I figured I’d come out and see how things were going.”

  “You’re a bridesmaid today,” Skye gently reminded her. “And not one of the wedding planners. We’ve been over this a million times. I’ve got it all under control.”

  Another frown from Josie. “This isn’t right.”

  Skye looked around frantically. “What? What isn’t right? This looks exactly like the picture Tracy printed out for us that she found on Pinterest!”

  “That’s not what I mean. This wedding as a whole. It’s just…it’s wrong.” She sighed and looked at Skye sadly. “My brother is making a huge mistake.”

  Actually, her brother was on his fourth mistake, but who was counting?

  This wasn’t a topic Skye wanted to particularly discuss, so she simply nodded and let her friend talk.

  “Think about it,” Josie went on. “We’ve dealt with dozens of brides in the last few years, and when did one ever hand us a picture off of the internet and say, ‘Do this’ and then have no interest in anything else, huh? It was weird and it’s wrong and…I just can’t believe he doesn’t see it!”

  “I get why you’re concerned, and yes, it was a little strange, but…not every bride is all about the details. Plus, Elliott was more than happy to fill in the gaps and had enough enthusiasm for the both of them.”

  “Elliott is an idiot.”

  Skye fought a smirk. “That’s your brother you’re talking about, and you know he’s not an idiot. He’s a borderline genius.” She shrugged. “He just happens to be in love with being in love. You can’t fault him for it. Isn’t that something we all want? To be in love and have someone love us back?”

  I know I wouldn’t mind that…

  “Skye, this is his fourth engagement…”

  “But only the first to get to the wedding day, so…”

  They were silent for several minutes as they watched their staff scurry around putting finishing touches on the room–including replacing the wilting flowers. “I just don’t like seeing him get hurt.”

  “He’s not going to get hurt,” Skye softly replied. “This is what he’s always wanted. If anything, he’s floating on a cloud of happiness right now. This is his day and you need to be happy for him.”

  “Maybe.”

  “No maybes about it. Now go and change out of that outfit, put on your gown, and let’s do this.”

  And with a small groan, Josie agreed and made her way out of the room and back to the bridal suite.

  “Okay, another crisis averted.” And she prayed it was the last.

  So far, it had been a fairly uneventful day; and by uneventful, she meant just the usual mishaps. Staff being late, a lost batch of linens, a few broken glasses were the norm. It seemed like today everyone was on their best behavior since Elliott was family. Everyone knew and loved him and were excited to be a part of his big day.

  Except Skye.

  Right now, she’d give anything to be anywhere else in the world.

  It was a good thing she was the one in charge today and could easily distract herself from having to stand and watch the man she’d been in love with since she was twelve years old marry someone else.

  Yeah, today was definitely going to suck.

  When Josie suggested them bringing in someone else to handle overseeing everything so Skye could be a guest, she had shut it down fast. There was no way she could sit in a chair and watch Elliott and Tracy say their vows to promise to love one another and all that other crap without either standing up and speaking her peace or sitting there and losing her mind.

  Neither were great options, so playing the part of the too busy to be a guest wedding planner was her role for the day.

  And she planned on spending a lot of time in the kitchen.

  Or crying in the coat closet.

  Forcing herself to focus on the wedding as an event and not the people getting married, she made her way to the kitchen to check on everything there.

  As expected, it was controlled chaos. The catering staff was amazing and their head chef Patricia was famous for her signature dishes. Skye knew she never had to worry about the menu when Patricia was in charge. With a smile and wave, she continued to walk around and check on progress, and back in the far corner of the kitchen was her other partner, Leanna, who was also their on-staff baker.

  “If you’re coming over to steal some frosting, I’ve already set a bowl aside for you over there,” Leanna said without looking up from the cake she was decorating. Honestly, the woman worked magic with cakes of all shapes and sizes, and it never ceased to amaze her.

  “Is it chocolate?”

  This
time Leanna stopped and shot her a patient stare. “Would I put anything else aside for you?”

  “You’re right. Sorry.” And because it would be rude to not try it, Sky settled onto a stool in the corner with her bowl and let out a small sigh.

  “You doing okay?” Leanna asked as she went back to work on placing delicate sugar flowers on the cake.

  “Of course. Why?”

  “The sigh, for starters.” She placed another flower on the cake–an edible sunflower this time–before she straightened and turned around to face Skye. “And the fact that this is Elliott’s wedding.” Leanna was the only person in the world who knew how Skye really felt and it was good to have someone to talk to about it.

  “I’m not loving it,” she admitted. “I thought I was okay with the whole thing. I mean, it’s not like he’s ever shown any interest in me at all, ever, so…” She sighed again and it was longer and louder. “But now that the day is here? I just don’t know what I’m going to do when I see him. Them. All of it.”

  Leanna walked over and gave her a hug. “I’m so sorry. I can’t even imagine what you’re feeling.” When she pulled away, she grabbed one of the other stools and sat down beside her. “I think once the ceremony starts, you should go. I can handle things. I’ve got a change of clothes with me and I can walk around and make sure everything’s under control. My assistants can handle setting up the cake and desserts.”

  “I can’t ask you to do that. I’m a grown woman and I’ve accepted the fact that Elliott is getting married.”

  “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean you should have to stay and watch it happen. Seriously, Skye, don’t torture yourself. If it were me, I would have called in sick or taken advantage of hiring someone else to oversee this event like Josie suggested.”

  “Maybe I’m just a glutton for punishment and figured by being here and seeing it all happen that I’d force myself to get over him.”

  They sat in silence for several minutes before Leanna stood. “I have to finish getting the flowers on this cake. Eat your frosting.”