After everything we’d been through, Alessandro and I chose to be married in May. We took one trip to Charleston, South Carolina and our minds were made up.
Dwizzle, or Darryl Gains, told the police what he knew, in exchange for a lighter sentence. As Alessandro had assumed, Chiara had been behind the kidnapping. They’d tracked her through her phone conversations. She would face charges in Italy. The U.S. was still trying to extradite her, but currently no decision had been made.
Our wedding took place at one of the plantations on the river. The weather was perfect, as if we’d ordered it. It wasn’t large, since it was a destination wedding, and we only invited very close friends and family.
Not being a fancy girl, I chose a simple virginal white silk gown (because I was a virgin of course) with spaghetti straps and a deep V in the back. No lace or sequins for me. Alessandro wore a navy suit with a crisp white shirt, open at the neck, and no tie.
The bridesmaids wore blush pink gowns of any style they chose and any comfortable shoes they wanted. The groomsmen wore the same suit as Alessandro, except their shirts matched the bridesmaids’ dresses.
Our flowers were white and blush roses. They were stunning. The reception barn, and it wasn’t quite a barn as it was elegant as anything I’d ever seen, was decorated with flowers on every table. We were married under a floral arbor on a dock and wouldn’t you know it? I cried. Alessandro and Gabriele, his best man, laughed, along with Emma, my maid of honor. Technically, all the bridesmaids were of honor. Sylvie was my matron of honor and Reynolds was also a maid of honor. But since Emma had saved my life, I’d discussed it with my sisters and they both thought it was an excellent idea to choose her. To see Gabriele escort her was hilarious. By now he’d turned seven, so he thought he was a grown-up. He even asked Emma on a date at the wedding.
When she told me I cracked up.
“He’s a cheeky little bloke, he is.”
“He must have picked that up from you.”
She feigned innocent for a second, but it didn’t last.
My hero, husband, and all-around sexy man, took me out onto the floor for our first dance. When his arm wrapped around me, I tingled everywhere.
“You are the perfect bride, angel.”
I gasped. “You called me angel.” That was a word he had reserved for his daughter.
“Yes, I have come to the conclusion that my sweet Francesca sent you to me. She knew you were my perfect match. You were the one to fit all of my broken pieces back together again.”
He could not have said anything more meaningful to me. “Alessandro, I love you more and more by the minute. There is one thing though. We haven’t discussed more children.”
“With the way you adore your nephews and Gabriele, I didn’t think it was necessary. I figured you could stop taking your shot now.”
“That’s good because I already have. I want lots of babies that look exactly like you.”
“And I want them to look like their beautiful mother, whom I adore. Thank you for loving me. It wasn’t an easy journey for us. But I swear the destination will be worth it.” His lips touched mine for a brief kiss as we danced together. This man was life to me. Thoughts of him had kept me alive when I probably should be dead. He was my heart and soul.
“Oh, the destination will be more than worth it.”
Epilogue
Reynolds
My family left. It was quiet here and I was a grump because I missed them. The wedding… sigh. If only I could find an Alessandro. Sexy, smart, handsome, wealthy, and he wore glasses. There was something about a man in glasses. And did I mention his family was in the wine business. Gah, my sister was a lucky ducky. Quack quack.
“Hey! Reynolds,” a shout sounded from inside the house. I shared it with my friend, Sutton, who had needed a roommate around the time I moved here. She was fortunate to have wealthy parents who’d purchased the place and allowed her to live here. I was renting it for a steal. It was out on Sullivan’s Island, the land of rich, and sometimes famous. That wouldn’t be us.
“Yo, baby!”
“You want a frozen bev?”
“Sure, as long as you’re fixing!”
We always had these shouting matches running when we were beaching it, as we were today. My chair was folded out in the sun as I soaked in the summer rays. Soon, a frozen concoction was touching the scorching skin on my belly. “Youch! That’s freezing.”
“At your service, mademoiselle.”
“Why, thank you, good sir.”
“I’m not a sir, you big dork.”
“Right, ma’am.” I sipped the ice cold drink, and it was delish. “This is perfect and hits the spot. Thank you.” I took another draw on the strawberry daiquiri she’d brought me.
“You get the next ones.” She plopped onto her chair and unfolded her long sultry legs. Sutton had quite the body. From large boobs that were real, to legs that never ended, she scored all the looks on the beach when we took walks. Only she never acted the part. She was a wonderful friend and didn’t flaunt her beauty. I was in heaven living with her and in Charleston. Her salon catered to the wealthy, as she’d promised, and I was already earning excellent money, even after two months.
“Remind me to kiss your parents the next time I see them. This house is amazing and I love living here.”
“They are the best. I was totally shocked when they bought it.”
Since our clientele was who they were, we weren’t like most salons. We were open from Monday through Friday and closed Saturdays unless someone booked us for a wedding or special event like a debutante ball. I loved the hours and we didn’t work late at night either. Our rates bordered on ridiculous, but they never balked at all. Sutton told me to get trained in all the extras like Brazilian hair straightening, keratin treatments, and balayage. I did and it was paying off.
As I doodled in the sand, I noticed a guy walk out of the house next door with a cooler and beach chair. He was alone as he hunted the perfect spot. After a few minutes, he settled not too far from us.
“Sutton, who owns that house next door?”
“I don’t know. Why?”
“That guy over there just came out of it.” He unfolded his chair and took his hat off. “Damn, he’s tall.” Then he pulled his shirt over his head and … “Holy mother cluckers. Would you take a look at that?” I ogled the piece of glorious manhood who stood before me. Rippling muscles, biceps for days, and tanned skin were enough to make my strawberry daiquiri ooze out of the other side of my mouth.
“Girl, wipe that saliva. You’re losing it over there.”
Grabbing the beach towel by my head, I did just that. “Jesus, that man is positively delicious. Look at his hair. Aw, why’d he go and do that?” He put on his baseball hat, covering up his windblown thick waves. “Do you think he’d mind if I ran my hands through it?”
“Are you crazy?”
“Yes. Crazy in lust.”
“Then why don’t you accidentally lose your top in front of him?”
“Hey, that’s not a bad idea.”
“Reynolds West, if you even go there, I’m kicking your butt out. I will not be friends with a ho.”
“No ho, huh?” She eyed me and we both chortled. I guess we were loud because hot dude glanced over at us. Should I have waved and invited him to join us? Too late. He turned back around and sat down. Unfortunately, there went our view. All we saw now was the back of his baseball hat covered head.
I drifted to sleep with the soft breeze willowing over me until Sutton woke me up.
“I’m thirsty.”
“Okayyy.” I went into the house and whipped us up another batch of daiquiris. This time, they were banana. I came prancing out the door singing, “Oh, yes we have no bananas. We have no bananas today.” Except a wasp decided to chase me and I let out a blood-curdling scream that rose the dead in downtown Charleston. By the way, there are some really old dead people over there. Sutton jumped up as I ran past her, nearly knocking her down, yelling, “Was
p.” I didn’t stop until I hit the water and dove under. What she didn’t know was I was deathly allergic to anything that stung. Bees, wasps, hornets, you name it and they terrified me. I carried an epi pen with me, but still.
Sputtering to the surface holding our empty daiquiri glasses, I was met by my friend. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“A wasp chased me.”
“And your point is?”
“I’m allergic!” I pushed tangled strands out of my eyes and handed her the glasses. When I went to stand up, she sucked in her breath and knocked me back down into the water. “What the hell, Sutton.”
“Your top! It came untied and is hanging around your waist.”
Well, fuck my life. I dove under a wave, but got sucked into the curl, flipped around and scraped my stomach on the shells. Scrambling to get some air, I regained my balance.
“You’re still topless,” she yelled.
“Tell that to the wave that nearly drowned me.” I pulled my top halfway up and then she yelled, “Oh, my God! You lost your bottoms!” Now that she’d announced it to the entire beach, everyone glanced my way.
Sure enough, my bottoms were down to my knees, displaying my bare you know what. I dunked under the water just in time to get smacked by another wave. I was surely going to drown today. Rolling around, I washed ashore and Sutton grabbed my wrist. “You’re naked, Reynolds.” Did she actually scold me?
At that moment, hot dude in the baseball hat decided to take a dip in the cool water. I looked up with my bikini top perched on my head, and my bottoms at my knees.
“Nice girls you got there,” he said as he winked and strolled by. Of all the … but wait. I recognized that voice. And that face, now that I’d gotten an up-close view of him.
“Reynolds, would you get dressed for fuck’s sake. You’re attracting a crowd.”
Shimmying my bottoms up and putting my top back on, I finally made a grand exit from the water, waving as I went. At least I didn’t die.
When we made it back to the chairs, I almost sat when Sutton reminded me about the drinks as she handed me the empty glasses. Marching into the house, I remade our daiquiris. This time, I checked to see if the coast was clear when I exited. Then I ran back to our chairs.
“You never told me you were allergic to wasps,” Sutton said as I handed her the drink.
“Yep, I even carry an epi pen. But that dude. Did you recognize him?”
“I don’t think so. Why?”
“I know him from somewhere, but I can’t place him.”
“Maybe it’s from around here.”
“I don’t think so. It’s a nagging memory. I’ll think of it. Give me time.”
It was getting to be my favorite time on the beach—around six o’clock when most people had already gone in. That’s when hot dude decided to pack it up. I eyed him closely and as he walked by, he veered toward us and said, “I liked you better when you were mostly naked.”
Too shocked to respond, I just gaped. But then it clobbered me. “Oh, no. It can’t be.”
“Who?”
It was. I just knew it. It was the way he said naked. Nekkid. There was only one person in the universe I’d ever heard pronounce it that way and I knew with certainty it was him. The man I despised with my entire heart and soul.
“Does the name Braxton Kent ring a bell?”
Her gasp told me everything. “No! Are you sure?”
“Ninety-nine percent positive,” I said through gritted teeth.
“What would he be doing here?”
“No idea, but if he’s as despicable as he was senior year in high school, then he won’t like living nextdoor to me.” He’d shattered me completely and it had taken ages for me to get over the prick. They say revenge is best served cold. Well, he was going to find out exactly how cold it was.
The end … for now. To be continued in One Blissful Night
Thank you for reading One Shameless Night! I would greatly appreciate it if you would kindly leave a review. If you haven’t read One Indecent Night (A West Sisters Novel #1) you might want to read about Sylvie and Evan.
One Indecent Night (A West Sisters Novel #1)
Evan Thomas.
The name alone made me swoon. Imagine the chaos that sleeping with him created. Of all people, why him?
First, he's my cousin's best friend…the cousin who had threatened to murder us both if we ever hooked up.
He’s also the one I'd crushed on since I wore braces and pig tails.
What happens when Evan won’t give up on his pursuit of Sylvie! Laugh out loud hilarious.
One Click One Indecent Night here
To find out more about Reynolds and her love interest, Braxton, check out One Blissful Night.
One Blissful Night (A West Sisters Novel #3)
How much are you willing to trust a liar?
“Promise you won’t break my heart, Brax.”
He promised. I believed. Brax Kent was a liar.
He shattered every possible piece of me. Seven years later, who turns up to be my next door neighbor? And now he wants me back. With flowery words and sworn oaths full of apologies, he begs. Can this man who ruined me be trusted?The choice is mine. Cross the line in the sand, or stay in my safe zone.
Download One Blissful Night here
ACER (A Kent Brothers #1) A Spin Off from One Blissful Night
A Dark Romantic Suspense
She was the one wearing the badge but it wasn’t enough to protect him from his nightmare of evil.
Little did I know the job I’d taken would plunge me into a world filled with illegal acts and mob ties, or bring me face to face with the woman of my dreams. Isla Chambers was a vision wrapped in Kevlar wearing an FBI baseball cap. With the sexy Isla working by my side, I gladly offered my assistance as the FBI’s only tether in solving this crime. The risk seemed small … or so I thought. Not only did it expose Isla to danger, it also placed a huge target on my back.
Find out what happens to ACER in this dark romantic suspense with twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Download ACER here
The West Brothers Novels
From Ashes To Flames
From Ice To Flames
From Smoke To Flames
From Ashes To Flames (A West Brothers Novel)
She was the nanny. He was the boss. Most of the time he thought he worked for her.
Dr. Greydon West had it all … or at least that’s what everyone said. The broody, single father of two was nothing like I’d imagined. Hot-tempered and regimented, with spreadsheets for everything, he had me wondering why he’d ever had kids in the first place. Find out how Marin and Greydon push beyond the limits!
Download HERE
Available in Audible—> download here
From Ice To Flames (A West Brothers Novel #2)
One Rule: No More Men.
Two years ago I walked away from a marriage I thought would last forever and all I got from it was Dick … and I don’t mean the one between my stupid ex’s legs. I’m talking about the one hundred fifty pound furry dog said ex dropped off at my doorstep. But I’d take Dick over any man, any day. So why did I resemble my dog, panting and drooling, whenever I ran into Hudson West, my sexy new neighbor?
What happens when Milly’s new neighbor is Manhattan’s hot, most eligible bachelor?
Download HERE
Available in Audible—> Download here
From Smoke To Flames
To put it bluntly, Rose Wilson’s life sucks.
When she finally gets the courage to divorce her abusive husband, she never imagines his prick of an attorney could be so cold-hearted.
Find out what happens when Rose learns prick of an attorney is her new patient in the rehab center where she works!
Can Rose rise above her hatred—and lust—and maintain her professionalism to help him?
To download From Smoke To Flames, click here.
A.M. Hargrove
/> Reader, Writer, Dark Chocolate Lover, Ice Cream Worshipper, Coffee Drinker, Lover of Grey Goose (and an extra dirty martini), Puppy Lover, and if you’re ever around me for more than five minutes, you’ll find out I’m a talker.
A.M. Hargrove divides her time between the mountains of North Carolina and the upstate of South Carolina where she pursues her dream career of writing. If she could change anything in the world, she would make chocolate and ice cream a part of the USDA food groups. Annie writes romance in several genres, including adult, new adult, and young adult. Her books usually include lots of suspense and thrills and she sometimes ventures into the paranormal, sci-fi and fantasy blend.
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Adult Novels
The West Sisters Stand Alone Novels:
One Indecent Night
One Shameless Night
One Blissful Night
The West Brothers Stand Alone Novels:
The Best of Forevers Page 57