I Choose You (Perfect Dish Romances Book 3)

by Tawdra Kandle

  I smiled. “I do know, Jules. You’ve been very understanding about Liam and me, when I know it wasn’t easy in the beginning.”

  “You know, I don’t even think about that anymore. Liam’s just . . . your boyfriend. Your fiancé, now, I guess. It never even occurs to me to remember that we dated.” She reached over the table to squeeze my hand. “It’s so clear to anyone who looks that Liam is head over heels in love with you. I can’t wait to see you two get married.”

  “SO JULIA WAS SURPRISED?” Liam held the door for me as we walked into the department store that night.

  “Yeah, I’d say so. I had to practically force her head down to see my ring. I guess she’s still got that honeymoon glow thing going.” I glanced around. “We need to go to customer service, I think.”

  “How long do you think this is going to take? I’m hungry.” Liam’s stomach growled, backing up his statement.

  “Shouldn’t be too long. I mean, how much stuff do we need?” I led him to the desk in the back and smiled at the woman standing there.

  “Can I help you?” She was flipping through a pile of receipts.

  “I hope so.” I leaned on the counter. “We need to open a wedding registry.”

  The woman’s eyes flickered from me to Liam, and her eyes grew appreciative as she checked out my fiancé. I cleared my throat.

  “Oh, sure. Just a second.” She stapled together a few receipts and dropped them into a drawer. Opening another one, she pulled out a scanning gun. “I’ll take your information, and then you use this to register your preferences. Just scan them, and they’ll show up on the registry. If any of your guests buy something on the list, it’ll be automatically taken off, provided they inform us they’re shopping for you.”

  She took down our names, wedding date, address and phone number, and then she set us loose with the gun. I grinned up at Liam. “Ready?”

  It turned out that registering for gifts was a lot more fun than I’d anticipated. We started in the kitchen section. First I found a set of pots and pans that I loved. And then Liam insisted on a new set of knives. We cruised over to the bed and bath area next.

  “Oh my gosh, feel these sheets.” I held out the package to Liam. “They’re like butter.”

  He rubbed them between his finger and thumb. “Nice. Scan ’em. Make it king-sized, though.”

  I frowned. “But our bed is a queen.”

  Liam kissed the top of my head. “It is now, but I’m getting us a new one. A king.”

  “It won’t fit in our bedroom. And why do we need a new bed?”

  “Because we do. The one we have now was mine since I started high school. New wife, new bed.” He snaked his arms around my middle. “Bigger playground.”

  I shivered. “I can get behind that, but it still doesn’t change the fact that our room is too small for a king-sized bed.”

  “It might be a little tight for a bit, but when we move, I’m going to make sure we have a big bedroom.”

  I craned my neck to get a good look at him. “We’re moving?”

  “Well, eventually.” He picked up a hand towel. “I’ll never get why people need so many towels of every different size.”

  “You just do. And don’t change the subject. Why do we need to move?”

  He moved onto the soap dishes. “Because we’re renting right now, and I’d like to buy a house. And I’m assuming we’ll need something bigger at some point.” Liam cupped my cheek and kissed me, hard. “For when I knock you up.”

  “Hey.” I linked my fingers behind his neck. “You mean when we get pregnant.” I giggled, knowing how much he hated that phrase.

  “Honey, if you get me pregnant, we’ll never have to worry about money again. I’ll be a medical miracle.” He traced the side of my face. “I’m not in a rush for anything. I want us to take our time, enjoy being married for a while. But practicing for making babies is something we can do now. And I want a bigger bed for all that practice.”

  “I like this plan. I’m a hundred percent behind this plan.” I stood on tip-toe to kiss his chin. “Okay, that finished bed and bath. Ready for china and silver?”

  Liam made a face. “Why do we need china and silver?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know, it’s just what you do when you’re registering. I guess so we can pass it onto our children. You know, the ones we’ll be making in that king-sized bed you’re going to buy me.”

  “But my mother has all that shit, and since I’m an only child, she’ll be passing it onto us.” He pulled me tighter against him. “So I say we return the scanner doohickey, get takeout, and go home to start practicing.”

  I snuck my hands down to give his ass a squeeze. “I think that’s why I love you. You have the best plans.”

  He traced the shell of my ear with the tip of his tongue. “Oh, baby. You have no idea.”

  115 days to W Day

  I KNEW IT WAS probably a sign that I was not an enlightened male, but I couldn’t help staring at Ava’s tits. She was standing in the bathroom, washing her face and brushing her teeth, getting ready for bed. The same thing she did every night. But it never failed to fascinate me.

  And tonight, she was wearing a little number she’d picked up earlier this week at her favorite lingerie boutique. It was black, so it set off her creamy skin to perfection. The neckline dipped deep between her breasts so that I got a really good view of them. And damn. I’d been looking at these boobs for over two years. Shit, I’d been groping these boobs for that long. But it never got old. Seeing her like this, getting ready to come to bed with me, made me hard and made me want.

  She leaned over the sink to rinse off her face, and the silky little number rode up so I got a good look at her ass, too. I gripped the edge of the bed to keep from reaching out to touch her. Not yet. I knew from experience that making my move while she was still talking was a no-go. Which meant that I should probably be paying attention to what she was saying.

  “I’m so glad we let your mom throw the party tonight. It was fun.” She reached for a towel to blot her face.

  “Yeah, it was.” Surprisingly, it was true. My mother had listened to our requests, paid attention to our boundaries, and thrown a lovely dinner that our friends and family all enjoyed. My father had been a significant no-show. Ava worried that I was hurt, but honestly, not having to worry about him was a huge relief. I hadn’t heard a word from the Senator since the disaster of the wedding-planning brunch, and my mother claimed she hadn’t, either. She’d told me the only communication they had was between their attorneys handling the final details of the divorce settlement.

  “What was going on with you and Vincent? I saw you two huddled together for quite a while. I hope he wasn’t giving you the big-brother intimidation talk.” Ava smoothed cream onto her face.

  I laughed. “No, it wasn’t that. He was just . . .” I paused. The topic of my talk with Vincent was something I wasn’t sure he wanted shared with his little sister.

  The party had been going on for about an hour when Ava’s brother caught me in a brief moment by myself. He’d grabbed my arm in that steely DiMartino grip and pulled me aside.

  “Hey. What’s the situation with your friend Amanda?”

  I frowned, confused. “What do you mean?”

  He jerked his chin in her direction, and I followed his eyes to where she stood, talking to Giff and Jeff. Amanda had cut her hair some time in the last few months, I realized. It hung around her shoulders, and for once, she’d dressed up for tonight. As long as I’d known her, jeans had been her preferred wardrobe, and I remembered battles she’d fought with her mother over dressing up for the political events we’d been required to attend.

  But tonight, she was stunning. The red dress she wore clung in the right places, showing off her slender height to its full advantage. And because she was Amanda, she’d dared to wear heels, too, which put her eye-level with Giff.

  I turned back to Vincent and repeated, “What do you mean, her deal? She’s a friend
of mine. We went to high school together. Her mom is on the governor’s staff.” I shrugged.

  Vincent’s eyes stayed riveted on her. “Does she live around here? And you never, uh . . .” He slid his gaze back to me briefly, the question clear.

  “No, Vincent. Not that it’s any of your . . . well, okay, yeah, I’m marrying your sister, so I guess it is your business. But no. Just friends. And yeah, she lives in the city. She’s in law school.”

  Vincent’s mouth tightened. “Law school. No shit.”

  “What’s the deal, man?” I put one hand on his shoulder.

  “No deal. Just curious. She seeing anyone? Boyfriend?”

  I shook my head. “She was dating someone in college, but they broke up a while back. Nothing bad, just going in different directions, far as I know. But Ava might know more. They’re pretty good friends. And you know how girls talk.”

  “Uh, no.” Vincent smirked. “This isn’t the kind of thing you want to ask your sister about. I’ll talk your word for it.” He punched me in the arm. “Hey, good party, man. If I don’t see you again, thanks. I’ll catch you later.”

  When he’d walked away from me, I was pretty sure he was walking in Amanda’s direction. I wasn’t positive, but I thought I’d spotted them leaving together a little while later. And I had a feeling they weren’t going outside to discuss politics.

  “He was just what?” Ava turned off the light in the bathroom and approached the bed. Her boobs jiggled just enough that my mouth went dry.

  “Who?” All the blood in my body had rushed in the opposite direction of my brain, and I’d forgotten what we were talking about.

  “Vince. What were you talking to him about?” She sounded a little exasperated.

  “Oh. You know, just guy stuff.”

  “Hmmm.” Ava stepped closer to me so her knees were nearly touching mine and those luscious tits were right in front of my eyes. “He was staring at Amanda all night. I thought he might be asking you about her.”

  “Amanda?” I willed my hands to stay by my side and not meander. “Really? I hadn’t noticed.”

  “No?” She parted her legs slightly so that she stood nearly straddling my knees. “So he didn’t say anything to you about her?”

  “Uh . . .” I swallowed. “Maybe. Yeah, now that you mention it, he might’ve asked me where she lived. And how I knew her.”

  “Ah.” She came a breath closer and sank down, lining up the heat between her legs with the throbbing between mine. I think my eyes rolled back into my head.

  “Baby . . . God, you feel good. And you look . . .” I finally lifted my hands to span her rib cage. “So damned sexy.”

  “I’m glad you like it.” She brushed her lips over mine, the touch as light as a feather. “So why did my brother want to know where Amanda lives?”

  I struggled to hold onto enough of my control not to rat out my soon-to-be brother-in-law. “Curiosity?”

  Ava laughed softly. She brought her hands up to cup her boobs, lifting them together. “Really?” She circled both thumbs around her nipples until they stood stiff against the material of her nightie.

  “Yeah.” My mouth dropped opened, and my eyes never left her hands.

  “Okay.” She began moving against me, sliding her center over my erection. “If you say so.”

  “I do.” I covered her hands with mine, taking on the weight of her breasts.

  “Fine.” She began to ease away, off my lap.

  “Wait a minute. Where’re you going?” I grabbed her hips.

  Ava laid her hand alongside my cheek. “I’m going to bed. Since you don’t want to tell me the whole story . . . I guess this doesn’t mean much to you.” She swept her other hand down her body.

  I pulled her closer. “He didn’t tell me anything else, just asked me if Amanda had a boyfriend. And . . .” I took a deep breath. In for a penny, in for a pound. “I think they left the party together.”

  “Seriously?” She wound her arms around my neck. “Wow. My big brother and Amanda.”

  “Babe, I don’t think either of them left tonight looking for a relationship. At least, nothing long-term. Maybe not any longer than tonight.” I palmed her breasts again, this time with my skin directly against the warmth of her body.

  “So you think it’s just a hook-up?” Ava wriggled a little, fitting herself closer to me.

  “Right now, your brother and my friend are the last thing on my mind. The only hook-up I’m interested in is . . . here.” I moved one hand to her ass, and with the other, I eased down one side of her nightgown, exposing her breast. Lowering my head, I sucked the taut nipple into my mouth.

  “Oh, yes . . .” She writhed, trying to get the part of her that needed me most closer to the hard ridge beneath my zipper.

  “I love this.” I hooked my finger under the other cup and dragged it down. Now both tits were bared to me, pushed up and just begging for me to enjoy them. Since I was never one to miss an opportunity like that, I didn’t hesitate to indulge myself.

  “I remember the first time I noticed what a beautiful body you have.” I moved my lips against her nipple, and Ava pressed at the back of my head, as though holding me in place. Like I’d ever willingly let go of her.

  “Yeah? When was that? That first night in my dorm?”

  I shifted to the other side, replaced my mouth with my fingers and pinched that nipple as I licked around the other. When it was hard and wet, I blew softly, smiling when she shivered.

  “You won’t like it, probably, but it was before . . . before my birthday that year.”

  To her credit, she didn’t even flinch. It made me glad that we’d moved beyond that part of our past. “Mmmhmmm.”

  I kissed the top of her breast. “I’d come over to meet Julia. She was running late—as usual—but you were there. The door was open, so I went inside to wait. You were asleep on your bed, with one arm over your head and the other to the side. Your shirt had ridden up a little, so I could see the skin on your stomach. I just . . . stood there for I don’t know how long, watching you.”

  Ava wove her fingers through my hair. “Little bit creepy, that.” But she kissed me anyway, slanting her open mouth over mine, darting her tongue between my lips until my own tongue wound around hers.

  “Maybe.” I nipped a kiss at the corner of her mouth. “But it was then that I decided I had to end things with Julia. I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

  “Sometimes I wish we’d had a different start.” Ava lifted up my shirt and pulled it over my head. She tossed it to the floor and then brushed her palms over my chest. “I think about when we have kids, and they ask how we met. But then I realized how we began made us what we are, too. I don’t have any regrets.”

  I dropped back onto the bed, pulling her down with me so that her boobs were crushed into my bare chest. When she lowered her fingers to the button of my pants, I lifted my hips so she could ease off my pants and boxers.

  “No regrets.” I ground out the words as she took my stiff cock in both her warm hands. “Never. I’d do it all again, and then some. You’re worth it all.”

  She raised herself above me, kneeling, and rubbed the head of my dick against her slick folds. I reared up to take the rosy tip of her breast into my mouth again. I sucked until I had to fall back onto the mattress, and then covered both her tits with my hands, watching her face as she brought herself to climax with my erection, gasping as her back arched.

  Just as she hit the peak, she positioned my cock at her entrance and sank down. The spasm of her inner walls pulsed around me as she moved up and down, establishing the rhythm that drove me crazy.

  “Liam, I love you.” She dropped her lips to my mouth again for one searing kiss before she lifted her head. “What you do to me . . . how you make me feel . . . it’s incredible.”

  “Ava . . . babe . . . I love you. Love you, baby. Oh, God, how you feel. So tight. So fucking good. Not going to make it much—”

  And then she cried out, pushing her
self down onto me as she moaned my name over and over. It was enough to trigger my own release, and I grasped her hips, bucking madly until the world stopped spinning.

  I rolled to my side, holding her against me as I breathed in the scent of her hair. “You know, I thought proposal sex was the best, but I’m thinking now it’s got nothing on engagement party sex.”

  “I’d have to agree.” Ava kissed my chest. “Does it always keep getting better, do you think? Or is that just for you and me?”

  I grinned as I nuzzled her neck. “I’m not sure it can get any better than this, baby. But I’m more than willing to keep on practicing to find out.”

  87 days to W Day

  “LIAM, I’M LEAVING!” I stood at the bottom of the steps and called up. “See you tonight, okay?”

  He leaned over the railing, his hair dripping with water and a towel draped loosely around his hips. “Yeah. Have fun, I’ll meet you at the church at six for pre-Cana, right?”

  “Right.” I blew him a kiss. “Wish me luck.”

  “You don’t need luck. Your only problem is going to be choosing from all the dresses that look perfect on that gorgeous body.” He grinned down at me. “Oh, and not being driven nuts by your mother or mine. So . . . yeah, good luck.”

  I made a face at him and waved. “Thanks so much. Love you.”

  Giff and my mother had been pestering me to choose a wedding dress for the last three months, but their panic and persistence had ratcheted up another notch within the past three weeks. I couldn’t help it that work had kept me busy, or that the few shopping trips I’d made had been less than fruitful. But now they’d made it clear that time had run out. Today was the do or die day, and to that end, they’d pulled out the big guns: my mother, Liam’s mother, Angela and Julia were all meeting me at the store. Giff had threatened to come, too, but I’d persuaded him to spend the day with Liam instead.