Married by Christmas (Sapphire Springs Book 2)

by Angie Campbell

  “Tell me about it,” he said with his own little shiver.

  “Then why were you dating her?” the elder lady asked, eyeing him hard.

  He cringed, shaking his head. “I never dated that woman. She’s as mean as an old rattle snake.”

  “Well, that’s not what she’s telling around town. She says you had promised to marry her,” she snorted, raising her eyebrows at him.

  “I most certainly did not,” he huffed, drawing himself up straight and looking like he was about ready to stomp across town till he found the little lying witch.

  “Oh, don’t worry,” Annie May chuckled, waving a hand at him. “No one believes a word coming out of her mouth. She’s just still mad over Zane marrying Amanda instead of her. If she ever intends to marry, she’s going to have to gain some weight and move away from here. Everyone around here already knows what she’s really about.”

  “Well, that and get a change of attitude,” Jenny mumbled under her breath.

  “You don’t need to whisper that in here. We all know it,” Annie May chuckled. “Now, Brock, what do you need?” she asked again, stressing the last part.

  “A wedding bouquet for Mary Ellen, please,” he said, doing his best to look the woman in the eyes.

  “You do know, I’m closed tell after the first of the year, don’t you?” she asked, giving him a hard look.

  “I know, and if it wasn’t extremely important, I wouldn’t be asking,” he said, starting to feel a little nervous. “I’ll pay double.”

  “Brock, you’re a blundering idiot sometimes. You’re lucky that sweet woman loves you,” she mumbled, shaking her head. “Maybe she’ll be able to keep you out of trouble. And especially out of my roses.”

  “Yes, Ma’am,” he blurted out, not sure what else to say. “Will you, please, make a bouquet for Mary Ellen?”

  “Brock, I don’t…”

  “Please,” he pleaded, actually dropping to his knees in front of her. “I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t extremely important.”

  “Well, come on then. Let’s go get your bride a wedding bouquet,” she grumbled, rising up out of her chair. “I’m going to tell you now, she bettered say yes. Even though, from what I understand, you’re already married. What were you thinking, taking that girl to Vegas to get married?”

  He gave the older woman a confused look and pointed at Jenny. “Mark took…”

  “Don’t even try it,” she huffed. “Now you’re just being a moron. Mark and Jenny’s situation was different. In more ways than one.”

  6:15pm

  Mary Ellen flung the front door open, knowing exactly who had been pounding on it before she laid eyes on him. She stepped back, crossing her arms in front of her. She was afraid if she let him get too close, she might give into the need to wrap her hands around his throat. “What do you want, Brock?”

  “To start with, to talk,” he answered, stepping forward.

  “You’re risking your own neck. I’m not ready to talk yet. After last night, it’s probably going to take a while,” she gasped, taking another step back when he moved closer. “Don’t you dare take another step.”

  “Okay, I won’t,” he relented, throwing his hands up in a form of surrender. “Will you just hear me out?”

  “Why should I?” she snapped back, glaring at him.

  He shrugged his shoulders, giving her an almost shy look. Something that was very out of character for him. “Because you want this marriage as much as I do?” he asked, sounding very unsure of himself.

  “Brock Silverman, you get out of my house, right now. I definitely do not want to talk to you,” she growled, slamming her hands in his chest.

  “Please, Mary Ellen,” he pleaded. “Just let me explain.”

  “Explain?” she hissed. “I think you may be crazier than I even realized. If you think you’re going to be able to satisfactorily explain why you took me to Vegas, got me drunk and married me, you must be. And to top all of it off, you just had to get me out on the dance floor at Zane and Amanda’s wedding and embarrass me like we were a couple of horny teenagers with no better sense than to make out in front of everybody.”

  “I love you,” he blurted in desperation, his eyes growing huge when she picked up a large hardback dictionary and looked like she was going to throw it at his head. “You’ve been making me crazy for three years now.”

  “What?” she gasped, nearly dropping the heavy book on her toe. It thumped to the hardwood floor with a loud thud, forgotten.

  “I love you,” he said again, visibly shaking. “I’ve been in love with you for the last three years.”

  She gave him a bug-eyed look, thinking there was no doubt he’d lost his mind. “Then why did you ask me to find you a wife?”

  He shrugged, giving her a sheepish look. “I was hoping you would suggest we get married.”

  “You know, you could have just asked me out on a date,” she replied, nearly shouting.

  “The one time I said something to you about dating, you said you didn’t date.”

  “That doesn’t excuse what you done,” she stomped. Then realizing she was starting to lose it, she took a step back, rubbing her temples. She took a deep calming breath, continuing. “You asked me if I had a hot date. You know? With another guy.”

  “Which I was terrified of what your answer was going to be,” he grumbled, cramming his hands in his pockets. “However, your answer ended up being, ‘No, I don’t date’. Not the answer I feared, but still not helpful.”

  “Well, that was your fault,” she growled. “You never asked me out.” She immediately blushed clear to her roots and slapped her hands over her mouth.

  “Baby,” he grinned, taking a step forward, like he intended to make a grab for her.

  “Don’t you do it,” she snapped, throwing her hands up between them. “Don’t you dare try to touch me.”

  “Baby, please, tell me how to fix this,” he pleaded, his hands still out-stretched, like he was finding it hard not to touch her. “I want to sleep with my wife at night.”

  “You did all of this for sex,” she growled, stepping forward to punch him in the gut.

  She managed to punch him hard enough, he grunted, bending over a little and taking a step back. “That’s not what I meant. If this was just about sex, do you really think I would have held back the night we got married?”

  “I have no proof you did,” she blurted, then immediately slapped her hand over her mouth again. She was fairly certain he did hold back like he said and if she wasn’t careful, he was going to try and prove it.

  “Sweetheart, if I’d made love to you that night, you would have remembered,” he growled, moving her closer to the wall behind her. “It would have taken long enough, you would have been sobered up by the time I was done, for the night.”

  She rolled her eyes, giving him an incredulous look. “How do you figure that. Considering how drunk I was, I seriously doubt it,” she grumbled, not realizing he was still moving her backwards, toward the wall.

  “I would have gone nice and slow,” he said, taking another step, finally running her into the wall. “And there’s no way I would have stopped with one time. Or twice, for that matter. When I finally do get to make love to you for the first time, I fully intended to wear you out enough, we’ll both need to sleep for a week.”

  She was so shocked by his statement, he managed to press into her, laying his forearms against the wall on either side of her head. When he leaned in rubbing his lips along her jaw, heading for her ear, she shook herself, needing to clear her head.

  She struggled, managing to bring her hands up between them. She shoved hard in the middle of his chest. “Stop that,” she snapped. “Keep your lips to yourself.”

  “Baby, please,” he whispered. “Whatever you want. I’ll do it. I’ll even beg, if that’s what it takes.”

  She swayed on her feet, her knees nearly buckling under her. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to give in before she was sure she should. She w
agged a finger at him, stating forcefully, “No-no-no! It’s not going to be that easy.”

  He nodded his head. “I understand.”

  “If it wasn’t just about sex, then what did you mean by that statement?” she asked, glaring at him. He was starting to feel like, if they didn’t resolve things soon, he was going to develop a complex, with all the glaring she was doing.

  “I want to be able to hold you in my arms at night,” he said, dipping his head with a blush. “I want to be able to spend time with you doing something other than working and fighting. I need you close to me, so I can breathe more freely. I just need you.”

  She shook her head, wondering if she was hearing him right. “Really?” she breathed, feeling like she might pass out.

  “Yeah,” he said, only raising his eyes far enough to look at her. “I mean, I’m not saying I don’t want sex. I am a guy, after all. And it’s hard to work with you day after day and not just absolutely lose it, watching you walking around the office all day. You’re just too sexy for my peace-of-mind. That being said, this is about a lot more than that.”

  She stood there for several seconds before she managed to snap her mouth closed. “You could have tried asking me to marry you while I was sober.”

  “Would you have said yes?”

  “Presuming I believed it was a serious proposal, yes.”

  Finally, able to take his first truly deep breath since he had gotten there, he smiled. “Then why are you angry?”

  “Brock,” she hissed through her teeth. “You know why I’m angry.”

  When she started to bend down like she intended to pick up the dictionary again, he took a huge step back. “Okay, okay!” he shouted. “I should have asked while you were sober. I shouldn’t have basically decided for you.”

  “Basically?” she hissed, taking a step forward, backing him toward the door.

  “Well, I had never intended asking you while you were drunk, but you kissed me, and it slipped out.”

  “I kissed you?” she asked in shock, taking a step back.

  “Well, it was a little more than a kiss, really.”

  “A little more than a kiss?”

  “Okay, it was a lot more than a kiss. You were trying to take my clothes off on the dance floor. I knew when you started to try and take your shirt off, I was going to have to do something.”

  “You could have taken me to my hotel room to sleep it off.”

  “That was my plan. But when I got you to the elevator, we were the only ones on it and you started kissing me again. The next thing I knew, I mumbled something about waiting until we were married, and you insisted we do it, right then.”

  “You still could have waited till we got back home. And asked me again after I sobered up.”

  “Well, I was a little drunk, too. Just not as much as you were.”

  “This whole thing is crazy.”

  “Besides that, I only paid for one hotel room.”

  “You only got one room?” she screeched.

  “Well, by the time I checked in, we were lucky to get that one,” he shrugged sheepishly. He’d have to make sure later and explain all of this in more detail. Like the fact when he originally booked the room, he had intended for them to be married by the time they made it that far.

  “That was your fault,” she growled.

  “I know, I know. I’m sorry. I made a lot of mistakes, or bad choices if you would prefer. But marrying you wasn’t one of them.”

  “We’re not married,” she growled, shooting daggers at him. “We may have a piece of paper that says we are, but no Elvis impersonator is enough for me to be married. I have to have a true church ceremony with a preacher. Pastor Macy, to be more specific. So, until you manage to pull that off, forget it, Buddy.”

  “I understand,” he grinned, reaching out to take her hand. When she smacked his away, he swallowed, taking a step back. “Can you be patient enough with me to go somewhere with me, right now?”

  “What are you up to, Silverman?

  “Mary Ellen, it’s Brock to you,” he growled, slamming his hands down on his hips. “We’re married. I don’t think a wife should be calling her husband by his last name.”

  “We’re not married,” she snorted, raising her eyebrows at him. “I just explained that to you.”

  “I know, I know. Just, please, do me this one favor. Go somewhere with me.”

  “Where?” she huffed, crossing her arms in front of her.

  “It’s a surprise.”

  “Silverman, I’ve about had all the surprises from you I can handle for the year.”

  “Well, I guess it’s a good thing it’s December twenty-six then, isn’t it? The years almost over.”

  “No. Don’t you dare try to be funny right now,” she glared, shaking her head.

  “Okay,” he said, throwing his hands up in surrender. “Please.”

  She rolled her eyes, knowing if she didn’t just go, he was going to keep standing there, begging her. “Fine, let’s just go,” she growled, walking around him, toward the door.

  She was grateful she hadn’t managed to change out of her new white dress she had bought on her shopping spree with Jenny, Lucy and Jessie. She’d even bought a pair of white heels to go with it. They had talked her into putting it on before they left the little dress shop. They had known the woman working there since grade school, and she had let her use the dressing room before they left.

  She had only been home about forty-five minutes when Brock knocked on the door. She had taken the time to put all of her other purchases away and made herself a sandwich. She had just finished eating and was planning on taking a long bubble bath before going to bed early when he got there. If he had been just a few minutes later, she would have already been soaking in her tub.

  6:34pm

  Mary Ellen turned to give Brock a shocked look when the truck finally pulled to a stop. They were sitting in front of the church, in the exact same spot they’d had Zane’s jeep parked yesterday, with all the toilet paper and condoms and various other things all over it, during his and Amanda’s wedding. Their vehicle wasn’t the only one sitting in the parking lot either. There were several cars and trucks already sitting there. She was also pretty sure she could name the owner or owners to every one of them.

  “Brock, what’s going on?”

  “You’ll see,” he grinned, throwing the truck into park and hopping out. She was still sitting there, trying to puzzle it out when he made it to her door. He opened it, taking her hand in his. “Come on. Let’s go in.”

  “Brock, what are you up to?” she hissed, giving him a dirty look.

  “Just trust me, just a little longer, please.”

  She took a deep breath, shaking her head at him. “Fine, but I’m putting you on notice. You’re on thin ice.”

  “Trust me, Sweetheart, I’ve already figured that out.”

  She let him help her out of the truck, but immediately pulled her hand out of his once both of her feet were on the ground. For a split second, he looked like he might protest but he obviously thought better of it and turned to motion her ahead of him.

  When they made it to the door, he opened it for her, giving her a big grin. “Ladies first.”

  She walked through the door, immediately noticing that the big double doors into the sanctuary were standing open and the church was still decorated the way it had been the night before, for Zane and Amanda’s wedding. Most of the guest that had been there the night before were there as well. With a few extras to boot.

  “Brock?” she whispered, turning to give him a confused and slightly panicky look. “What’s going on?”

  “Just stay with me a little longer,” he whispered back, coming up beside her. This time when he took her hand, pulling her down the aisle, she let him. She was too shocked to do otherwise.

  When they came to a stop at the front of the building, she noticed Pastor Macy, along with Jenny, Lucy and Jessie were all standing off to the left. Considering she had j
ust come back from a late lunch and a little shopping with her three best friends right before Brock showed up, they had obviously been in on whatever crazy scheme he was up to. That only slightly reassured her.

  Brock stepped over in front of her, turning her to face the assembled guest. When she had turned, she’d finally noticed Mark, Tyler and Brock’s brother Mitch standing on the other side.

  The second Brock stepped around in front of her, she grabbed the collar of his shirt and hissed, “What’s going on?”

  He didn’t answer. Instead he dropped to one knee, giving her a reassuring smile. “Mary Ellen Edwards…”

  “Brock, what are you doing?” she whispered, tears starting to stream down her face.

  “Mary Ellen, hush up,” she heard one of her brothers say from the front pew. “Can’t you tell the man is nervous?”

  Brock chuckled, some of the tension leaving him, when she glanced first to Adam, then back to him.

  “Brock,” Jenny hissed from where she stood. “Don’t forget your grandmother’s ring. You got yourself in a lot of trouble going to get it. I’d think you would want to give it to her.”

  “Oh, yeah,” he mumbled, pulling a ring box out of his pocket. He took the time to remove the ring from its velvet nest and cram the box back in his pocket. He cleared his throat, starting again. “Mary Ellen Edwards, I know my crazy stunts make you want to strangle me sometimes.”

  “Most of the time,” she mumbled, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

  “Okay, most of the time,” he nodded with a grin, taking a deep breath to try and calm his nerves. “I don’t know how it happened, but I fell in love with you the second you walked into my office at the paper and I’ve been falling more in love with you ever since. I love everything about you. The way you look. The way you smell. The way you talk and walk. And especially the way you think. You’ve been driving me crazy for the last three years. As a matter-of-fact, one could say you’re the reason I’ve been behaving so wacky for these last few years. I love you, Mary Ellen Edwards. And I’d really like to get the chance to drive you crazy for the rest of our lives. Will you marry me?”