I loved him. God, I loved him.
I was so far gone on this man, I felt drunk from it.
I moved over to him, straddling his thighs, gripping his shoulders.
His eyebrows rose, blue eyes twinkling with intrigue.
“I can’t wait,” I whispered against his lips. “I need you. Right. Now.” My finger found the button for the privacy window, shutting it before Kline could refuse.
It was just the two of us in the back seat, Frank’s eyes in the rearview mirror no longer visible.
“Fuck, I’ve missed this.” Kline’s hands found their way to the hem of my skirt, moving it up my thighs and over my hips. “I was afraid we’d never be here again.”
“I’ve missed this too. I missed you so much.”
His heady gaze moved up my body until they found mine again. “You’re going to marry me?”
I nodded.
“You’re going to move in with me?”
I nodded again, smiling this time.
His cock grew hard and strained beneath me.
“You mean, I get you, every day, for the rest of my life?”
“Yes,” I said, a giddy laugh bubbling up from my throat.
“I get live-in Georgia. And beautiful, sleepy Georgia waking up next to me. And singing in the shower Georgia. And dancing around my kitchen Georgia,” he rambled, eyes bright with excitement and adoration. “And I get—”
I stopped him with my lips, pressing my mouth urgently against his.
We kissed until we were out of breath, our bodies instinctively moving against one another.
“Baby,” he moaned into my mouth. “Not here. Not like this. I want you in our bed.” But he didn’t stop kissing me, his perfect lips never leaving mine.
Our bed. I smiled, unable to control the love I had for this man.
He chuckled, pulling back to look at me.
“What?” I asked, a crazy, ridiculous smile still consuming my face.
“I love it when you do that.”
“Do what?”
“Smile while I’m kissing you. It’s like you’re too happy to control it.”
“I am.” My cheeks burned, the goofy grin still intact.
He kissed my nose. “It’s like I’m kissing a jack-o’-lantern.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You calling me a pumpkin?”
“Yes.” His teeth found my bottom lip, tugging gently. “Baby…Georgie…Benny…pumpkin. Mine. All fucking mine.”
“Oh, no,” I groaned, head falling back in defeat. “Not another nickname.”
“Get used to it.” He laughed, his tongue soothing the bite. “Remember? I’m Big-dicked Brooks, baby. And I’ll call you whatever I want while I’m driving you crazy with my fingers…my mouth…my cock.”
And then I was moaning. My eyes rolled back as he kissed down my jaw and sucked at the skin on my neck.
“God, Kline, I ache. I ache so bad right now,” I whimpered when his hands slid up my thighs, fingers sliding my underwear to the side.
“Don’t worry, soon-to-be Mrs. Brooks.” I felt his grin against my skin. “It might hurt, but I’ll always make sure it only hurts good.”
Epilogue
Cassie
“Wheorgie, we need to go!” I exclaimed, grabbing our bouquets from the table and moving toward the door. We were sitting in the bridal suite, waiting for the ceremony to begin.
“Pretty sure you shouldn’t be calling me Wheorgie on my wedding day,” she retorted, her eyes still focused on the paper towel her pen was quickly scrawling across.
I stomped my heel, my flower-filled hand going straight to my hip. “Well, you’re being a bit of a Wheorgie, considering you’re going to be late for your big bridal entrance.”
She held up one finger. “Hold on, I have to finish these.”
I walked back over to her, glancing down at what she was writing.
“For real? You’re writing your vows…like, three minutes before you’re supposed to walk down the aisle?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m writing Kline’s vows.”
“He’s too lazy to write his own vows?”
Talk about a broke-ass motherfucker, having his bride write his vows.
“No, we’re writing each other’s vows.”
Oh, never mind.
“God, you guys are so cute that it literally makes me throw up a little in my mouth.”
“Ew.” She scrunched her nose. “Stop being so gross on my wedding day.”
Three hard raps on the door startled us both. “Goddammit, Georgie! Get your ass out here. It’s time,” her father shouted from the other side.
“Just a minute, Dad!” she called back.
“Ah, shit. You’ve even got Dick mad,” I teased.
“He’s just mad because I’m marrying the man of his dreams.”
We both laughed. It was one hundred percent the truth. Dick Cummings was in love with his soon-to-be son-in-law. He thought Kline walked on water. And after Georgia accepted his proposal, we later found out when Kline had asked her dad for his blessing, Dick had responded,
“Are you sure you want to do that, son? Georgie’s a bit of a ballbuster.”
Not, “You better protect my baby girl.” Or, “If you hurt her, I’ll kill you.”
Nope. He had basically given him an out, or tried to keep Kline for himself, however you wanted to look at it.
“Finished!” She tossed the pen down and stood up, fluffing her dress. “How do I look?” she asked, taking one last glance at herself in the floor length mirror.
“Like the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen.” Because she did. Georgia was absolutely stunning.
She turned toward me, pointing an accusing finger in my direction. “Don’t start. If you start crying, then I’ll start crying.”
“I’m not!” My face contorted into that awful expression you get when you’re trying to hold back sobs.
“Goddammit, Cass!” Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears.
The processional music started to filter into the bridal room, and we both looked at each other with Oh, shit! expressions.
“Georgia! It’s time!” her mother sing-songed from the other side of the door.
“Am I really getting married today?” she asked, bewildered, taking the bouquet of white lilies from my outstretched hand.
“Yeah, sweet cheeks, you’re really getting married. My little, virginal best friend is all grown up. Marrying the man of her dad’s dreams.”
She giggled, flipping me the bird in a way only my best friend could pull off in a wedding dress. It was a beautiful dress—elegant mermaid cut with a small train. And it was simple yet blinged out with tiny clear crystals sewn into the bridal-white material.
Georgia had found it at a vintage store—big surprise—in Chicago, when we went there for a girls’ weekend. It was Vera Wang, which was all Kline’s doing. He’d made sure she spent a boatload of money on her dress, refusing to let her come back in the house unless she had drained at least several thousand dollars from their bank account.
Yes, their bank account. Even though she refused to sign his ridiculous contract and was adamant on keeping her new job with the Mavericks, he’d made sure to add her to all of his accounts right after she’d said yes. And he’d done this without the cushion of a prenup.
If that didn’t tell you he was more than sure she was the one, I didn’t know what would.
Before we walked out of the bridal suite, I wrapped her up in a tight hug.
“I’m so happy for you. You deserve all of this happiness and then some.”
“I love you, Cass.”
“I love you too. Now, let’s go get you hitched!” I hooted, opening the door.
* * *
The wedding party was small, but it was perfect for them. Wes, Thatch, and Will were Kline’s groomsmen, while Dean and I were Georgia’s bridesmaids.
I walked down the aisle with Dean and took my place on the opposite side of the groomsmen. I couldn’t h
elp but notice the intrigued yet slightly salacious smile I received from Thatch. I assumed it was my tits’ doing because my cleavage looked pretty damn fantastic in the little black dress Georgia had chosen for me.
And I didn’t miss how delicious Thatch looked in his tux. I eye-fucked that Jolly Green Giant for a moment, moving from his brown eyes, to the broad shoulders filling out his jacket like they fucking owned the joint, to the noticeable bulge—not, I’m the weirdo with a boner at a wedding bulge, but I’m packing bulge—in his pants, and then back to his mouth.
Man oh man, those lips looked like they could do things (to my puss-ay).
Hey, cool your jets. It doesn’t count as wedding inappropriate if it’s in parentheses.
Seriously, I’d Thatch that.
The quartet of violins and harps Georgia hired for the ceremony music abruptly stopped. I glanced around, not sure what was happening. This definitely wasn’t on her schedule.
Kline looked toward the side of the room and nodded at a woman with a guitar. She smiled, adjusted the microphone near her mouth, and started to strum a song that wasn’t the planned “Bridal Chorus.”
The crowd stood, turning toward the back doors.
And when they opened, there stood my beautiful best friend, her arm tucked into her father’s, her mouth morphed into the biggest smile I’d ever seen.
Every wedding I had ever been to, while everyone was watching the bride, I always snuck a glance at the groom. When my eyes found Kline’s face, my heart damn near skipped a beat. Though a sight far more masculine, his smile mimicked Georgia’s in all the ways that counted. He looked like a man who had just received everything he’d ever wanted. And it was obvious that everything was Georgia, walking straight toward him without looking back.
I had never seen a man look so in love.
The woman started to sing, softly playing her guitar, and that’s when I put the pieces together. It was a slowed down, acoustic version of “Some Kind of Wonderful.”
Their song. The song Georgia would always associate with Kline. And he’d done it, knowing how much that song meant to her, to them. Somehow, that sneaky bastard had arranged it on the sly.
It took every ounce of strength for me not to start crying. I was overwhelmed by them. My best friend and the man who’d swept her off her feet. They were happy. They were in love. And God, they were so perfect for each other. The world wouldn’t be right if they weren’t together.
As Georgia got closer, she was mouthing the words to the song, gazing at Kline.
And when she reached him, Dick hugged them both, and Kline pulled her into his arms. She whispered something into his ear and he nodded, his face pressed against her neck. And then he leaned back, staring down at his bride, and said, “You’re so beautiful.”
I’m pretty sure every woman in attendance swooned. I sure as hell did.
They stood before the minister, hand in hand, ready to profess their love and the rest of their lives to one another.
The minister greeted the attendants and proceeded to say nice, beautiful things about the happy couple. He was actually one of Dick’s closest friends, which was probably a good thing, considering most of the people at this wedding tended to toss out the F-word more often than not.
And when the minister announced it was time for the vows, Dick cheered, “Hell yeah! Let’s do this!”
See what I mean? Good thing he knew the kind of room full of morons he was walking into.
Kline pulled a neatly folded piece of white paper from his inside jacket pocket while Georgia slid the balled up paper towel out of her cleavage.
They handed each other their vows.
He glanced down at his tattered version and started laughing. “You finished these about two minutes before you walked down the aisle, didn’t you, Benny?”
“I’ll never tell,” she said through a giggle.
He chuckled again. “God, I love you.”
“It’s not time for that!” Thatch yelled behind him. “Vows first!”
The crowd laughed.
“Okay, I guess I’ll go first,” Kline announced, unwrinkling the paper towel.
“Georgia Rose, I promise to trust you even when you deviate from our grocery list and convince me to buy six boxes of Dunkaroos and three bottles of wine I know you’ll never drink.
“I promise to give you all of the love and support that I don’t give Walter. Also, I promise to be nicer to Walter.” He paused, glancing up at her and shaking his head with a giant grin.
“I’m not saying that.”
She tapped the towel. “You have to. They’re your vows, remember?”
He turned toward the attendants, letting everyone else in on the secret. “We wrote each other’s vows, if you couldn’t already tell.”
“I warned you, Kline!” Dick shouted toward him. “Ballbuster.”
“Daddy!” Georgia scolded. “There will be no talk of balls during my wedding ceremony.”
The room filled with more laughter.
Once everyone settled down, Kline cleared his throat and continued, “He’s a really good cat. The best cat. Man, I sure love Walter.” He rolled his eyes, but said it nonetheless.
“I promise I’ll never keep anything from you because there are no secrets between us. I vow to love you through the difficult and the easy. I promise to never put you or myself in danger. This includes me never drinking lime juice with my scotch ever again.” He winked at her.
“I vow to never change from the amazing man that I already am. I promise to never lose my huge, strong, kind, and determined heart. I will never stop teasing you, making you laugh, or flashing smoldering blue eyes your way. I will always greet you with the smile that’s only yours. And when it’s just the two of us at home, I vow to only wear boxer briefs around the house. No matter what I’m doing, I’ll either be naked or just wearing boxers.” His blue eyes found hers, his brows waggling in agreement as a few women in the crowd hooted some catcalls.
“And I vow to listen, for as long as it takes for you to feel heard. I vow to be your unrelenting cheer squad on the days it feels too much. I vow to pick the important fights with you, especially when I know you’re selling yourself short or not being treated with respect.
“I vow to spend the rest of our lives laughing, smiling, going on crazy adventures, and most importantly, loving each other through the good times and the bad. And if there are bad times, I promise the kind of makeup sex that has your blouse buttons hitting the floor.”
And on the last sentence, he stared deep into her eyes. “I vow that I will love you, Georgia, every day, for the rest of forever.”
Georgia sniffled a few times, and I handed her a tissue to wipe her eyes.
“Don’t cry, TAPRoseNEXT,” Kline whispered, brushing away a few tears. “You may have written those vows, but I’ll stand by every last word.”
She giggled at his sincerity, but I wasn’t used to it, and therefore, found myself completely ill prepared. I dabbed at fresh tears with the back of my hand as she unfolded the paper in her hands.
“Kline Matthew, I stand before you today to become your wife.” She paused for a second, looked up at him and then back at the paper. “I think everyone here knows that already, but I’ve got this feeling that you really wanted to hear me say it.”
She turned to the crowd and remarked, “I’m not improvising.” She turned the paper toward them. “It really says that.”
Everyone laughed and he nodded. “Keep going, Benny.”
She looked back to the scrawl of his words.
“From this day forward, I am yours and you are mine. I promise to remind myself of this most important fact every day and smile when you do it for me. I promise not to give up or run away when you make the kinds of mistakes that every man makes, and I promise to use my heart, rather than my ears, to really hear you.”
Sweet cookies and dildos, this guy had a knack for saying the right thing.
“I promise to rap my way through ou
r days and beatbox for you each night because it’s times like those when I’m so…” She paused and glanced to the crowd. “I’m so…effing…adorable you can’t even stand it.”
Her amused eyes met his again. “You really wrote the F-word in my vows?”
He shrugged. “Adorable wasn’t enough.”
She shook her head, smiling, and continued, “I promise to keep you on your toes with my hair and my words and always stand up for myself with the backbone you love and expect.”
“And, I promise to be late as often as I want because you’ll always be waiting. But when it comes to lovin’—” Georgia stopped midsentence, giggling at her groom. “Kline, I’m not saying that in front of the minister.”
“Baby, you have to. They’re your vows, remember?”
She leaned forward, whispering something into his ear. His mouth twisted into a devilish grin and he whispered back.
Georgia turned toward the attendants. “Please feel free to cover your ears during this part.”
She cleared her throat, cheeks pink, and said, “I’ll come early and I’ll come often because the power of Big-dicked Brooks compels me.”
“I knew it!” I shouted. “I told you!”
Pfffft. I knew my cockdar wasn’t on the fritz.
Everyone in the crowd was a mixture of laughing, clapping, and wolf whistling.
Once we settled down, Georgia gazed at Kline like she would happily crawl inside him and stay there and said the rest of her vows.
“But most of all, I vow to love you with everything that I am, no matter the circumstances, because I know, from the very depths of my tiny, perfect being, that you will be there, doing your best to love me more.”
And when the minister told Kline to kiss his bride.
He motherfucking kissed his bride so good it made my toes curl.
* * *
Cassie
“Congratulate me, boys,” Kline toasted with a glass of scotch in the air, the happiest I’d seen the fucking sap in ages.
Beach Reads Box Set Page 224