Fall For You: A Reverse Grump Romantic Comedy (A Season's Detour, Book 2)
Page 28
“It’s just so…surreal. I never thought I’d get married, never really wanted to.”
“And now?”
Her head tilted against mine and she squeezed my arms with hers. “I can’t imagine anything I want more in this world than to marry Noah today.”
I gave her a little rock and squeeze of my own, before releasing my hold and leaning back to smile at her. “Well, I’d say you’re ready then. Shall we get up and make it happen?”
Glancing at the clock on her bedside table, Tracie shook her head. “We’ve got time. Let’s just lie here and enjoy the last few moments of freedom.” My eyebrows went up and she laughed. “I meant before a bunch of women show up to do my hair and makeup. I suspect it’s about to get very noisy in here.”
For someone who’d been staring unblinking at the ceiling a few minutes ago, Tracie was surprisingly calm about getting married in a matter of hours. That didn’t surprise me, though. It was who she was.
We chatted about the night before, dinner with the two families, the inn and its quirky owners, who’d made a brief appearance for dessert. And, naturally, her brother.
“So you two are really a couple now?”
I couldn’t have stopped the grin spreading across my lips if I’d wanted to. “Looks that way.”
Tracie sighed happily. “Good. I knew you’d get there.”
“You did?” I said on a disbelieving chuckle. “God, I didn’t.”
“Well, I’m very smart. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I’m kind of a big deal.” She grinned that sly smile that was so similar to her brother’s. I wondered if he was awake yet, if he was thinking of me too.
Ashley texted and, once she discovered we were lazing about, marched herself to the bridal suite Tracie and I had shared on her last night as a single gal. Over breakfast, Ash was in full wedding–planner mode, giving us the rundown of the morning’s schedule. Tracie’s relaxed attitude toward the whole thing seemed like something she was unused to dealing with, but we had her laughing and chilling with us over mimosas in no time.
As all brides should be on their wedding day, Tracie was radiant. Jasmine, our favorite photographer, circled and snapped, commenting that every shot was better than the last. It sounded almost like she was annoyed that there’d be too many beautiful images of the bride to choose from.
Tracie and Noah had arranged an exclusive interview, complete with photo spread they had final approval over, just like they’d wanted. Today would be the private, intimate wedding that suited them down to the ground.
Once the moms joined us, Ashley and I took turns checking on the fall–themed decorations and flowers, the caterer and staff, who’d just arrived, and the guys. I knew I looked good in the dress I’d chosen, but Garrett’s lingering perusal and secret smile bumped up my good to bombshell.
He was in his tux, minus the jacket, and he strode across the room to greet me with a kiss that hinted at his plans for us tonight.
“Beautiful Bailey,” he said in a low voice next to my ear. “Do I really get to call you mine?”
Sweet mother of hotness.
His words, and the appreciation I heard in his tone, made my skin tingle as I held onto his broad shoulders for support I suddenly needed. Inhaling the beachy scent of the gorgeous man I could call mine in return, I nodded and kissed his smooth neck. Because it was right there, and so was he.
Kevin cracked a joke that made Noah laugh as boisterously as the deliverer. The groom seemed to have a little nervous energy to burn as he kept fidgeting with his cufflinks and the knot of his tie. He looked good, though. Like he was eager to see his bride, not like he was about to do a runner. I hugged him, told him how handsome he was, how perfect his bride looked, and that I was happy he was marrying my friend.
I even meant it.
The officiant was Noah’s older stepbrother, who I’d met the night before. At Tracie and Noah’s request, he’d gotten certified online to perform weddings and had flown from his home in Japan to be here for the weekend. Apparently, Nathan and Noah had always been close, despite the ten–year age gap, and Tracie had video chatted with him enough that she’d thought he was the best person to marry them.
I had to agree with their choice. The ceremony was heartwarming, funny, and sweet, with the kinds of special personal touches the bride and groom would remember.
Bucking tradition, Tracie and Noah didn’t do a receiving line or make a grand entrance to the reception. There was no tossing of the bouquet or the garter—good thing, because I’d forgotten to supply her with a spare and the one she was wearing had taken an hour and numerous blood–drawing pinpricks to make—and no forcing their guests to wait to eat while the bride and groom posed for photos.
The bride was in the traditional white dress because, “Eh, why the hell not. It’ll make Mom happy,” as Tracie had put it.
A relaxed vibe, good food, even if Garrett hadn’t been the one to prepare it, and laughs with family and friends were the elements that made the day special. And there was dancing.
Looking around the room from my cozy spot in Garrett’s arms, I rated the wedding a resounding success. Mainly because Noah and Tracie were happy. They ignored everyone else as they swayed with their heads bent close together, not on the dancefloor with us, but in a darker corner of the room by the DJ’s equipment. Tracie laughed at something her husband said and he kissed her temple. Noah’s arms were wrapped so tight around her, it looked like he’d never let her go.
When Tracie had first told me she was getting married, I’d been convinced she was making a tremendous mistake she’d come to regret. Now I saw she’d known what was right for her all along.
But maybe that was the potent influence of my own new romance. A sigh escaped my smiling lips.
“Is that a happy sigh or a these–shoes–are–killing–my–feet sigh?”
How nice that Garrett would know, and care enough, to ask. “Happy sigh, though the feet are going to start complaining soon, I can tell.”
“Should we sit?” He pulled back to look down at me but I didn’t let him get far.
I shook my head. “Not yet. I like this.”
He smiled and his arms swallowed me up again. I wondered if we looked like Tracie and Noah. In our own world, perfectly content to just hold on for a while.
“Remember when you thought I was using a line on you in the coffee shop?” Garrett’s hand ran lazily up and down my spine as we swayed to—what else—Etta James singing At Last. It was a wedding standard, as clichéed as Wonderful Tonight, but I wasn’t thinking that way.
I nodded and nestled my head on my guy’s chest. It was the perfect height for my ear to rest in the dip between his pecs and his shoulder.
Puzzle pieces, the soft and squishy part of me I thought I’d bricked over long ago, offered.
“If I promise it’s not a line, can I tell you how good it feels to hold you like this? To dance at my sister and best friend’s wedding with you in my arms. You just…fit.”
“Will you think I’m a goober if I tell you I was just thinking the same thing?”
He chuckled and kissed the top of my head. “Never a goober. And definitely not the prickly grump you like to pretend you are.”
That was good to know. I might be a work in progress when it came to trusting a man with my heart, but I was well on my way to falling hard for this one.
And I was okay with that. Garrett would catch me.
FREE BOOK
Hi there, fabulous reader! With so many excellent books out in the world, I’m delighted you found this one, and I hope you fell as hard for Bailey and Garrett as I did.
Curious about what happens next for Maya, Bailey, Emma, Lisette, Holly, and Simone? You might want to click on over to Amazon’s series page for A Season’s Detour.
Summer Flame features Maya and the sparks that fly when she runs into an old flame on a much needed vacation.
> If you want to make sure not to miss news about upcoming releases, you can join my SolMates crew at www.hayleighsol.com, where you’ll also receive exclusive bonus content, including a FREE download of Before the Detour, the prequel to the Season's Detour Series. I bet we’ll have way more fun than 99% of the emails you open—whew, that’s a bold claim; hope I can back that up! ;)
About the Author
Growing up, I dreamed of a job that would allow me to sit quietly and read all day. Stacks and stacks of books, all for my greedy little eyes to devour. Anyone else have this dream?
I haven’t figured out how to achieve this lofty goal—yet—but I think I’m one step closer. In my day job, I’m a practicing physician, but I always hoped to try my hand at writing fiction someday. Probably when I retired. When my practice temporarily closed at the beginning of the COVID–19 pandemic in 2020, I knew even I would grow tired of reading all day for more than a month. So, I wrote a book.
Since publishing that first book baby, I’ve become addicted, and write every morning before work and every day off. Poor Mr. Hayleigh. When not treating patients or writing, you’ll find me reading (of course), or working out with my hubby in the friendly rivalry we've enjoyed since our second–date hike.
Like so many of the strong, independent female protagonists I write, I’m a reluctant romantic who loves animals, usually more than people. From my home in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon, I drink far too much vanilla chai tea in my writer’s cave while pining for the weather (but not the traffic) of where I grew up in Southern California. My new dream is to write all day on a warm terrace in Biarritz, France. Jamaica or Costa Rica would be pretty great, too.
Other Books by Hayleigh Sol
Silver Falls Series
An Unexpected Find (Book 1)
More than Friends (Book 1.5, a novella)
Preconceived Notions (Book 2)
A Season’s Detour Series
Summer Flame (Book 1)
In the Off Season (Book 3, release December 2021)
Spring Training (Book 4, release March 2022)
Winter Break Away (Book 5, release November 2022)
Spring Breaking (Book 6, release March 2023)