by A. J. Pryor
The ceremony continued, the rings were passed, the vows were said, and the kiss happened. But all I paid attention to was Jessica. I’m sure Casey looked beautiful, but I didn’t notice.
Once the ceremony ended, I pulled Jess into my arms. “You are very distracting, Locks. I almost dropped Casey’s ring.”
She laughed and batted her eyelashes. “I’m so sorry to hear that, Mr. Anders. How can I ever make it up to you?”
She was teasing me with that accent and she was lucky I didn’t pull her into the nearest bathroom and lock the door. If her parents hadn’t been present, I may have done just that.
We sat down in the ballroom with the other three-hundred guests. “We are not having this big of a wedding, Locks. I’m thinking Vegas.” She stared at me wide-eyed, a look of shock on her face. “Okay, maybe not Vegas, but do you really want so many people at our wedding?”
“I don’t know, Roan. When did we get engaged? I don’t ever remember you proposing to me and I’m pretty sure that’s somethin’ a girl wouldn’t forget.” She cocked an eyebrow at me daring me to contradict her.
I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her in for a kiss. “Just keeping you on your toes, Locks. That proposal could come when you’re least expecting it.”
I felt a presence approach us and turned to see Jaxon walking our way with a pixie-sized brunette on his arm.
“Jaxon! Ashley!” Jess squealed as she threw her arms around both of them. I didn’t know Ashley, but I was happy to see Jaxon distracted by another woman. Jaxon had been nothing but amazing in helping me get Jessica to understand that video had not been filmed recently. But I also saw the way he looked at her and it was the same way every other fucking guy looked at her. Being a guy, I knew what those looks meant. Seeing he’d found someone else to throw his dimples at made me relax a little more around him.
“Roan, glad to see I don’t need to kick your ass.” He held his hand out and I grabbed it and pulled him in for a man-hug.
“Seriously dude, I owe you. Thanks again for all your help.”
“Anytime.”
“Roan, this is Ashley. Casey and I went to college with her.”
I shook Ashley’s hand and listened to them recount a few stories from years past.
Jessica and I danced. We talked with her parents, ate the steak and lobster, gave our speeches and danced some more. It was a beautiful night for two amazing people. The evening was winding down and I had one more thing to do before I could take Jess home.
“I’ll be right back.” I kissed Jess and went looking for her Dad. I found him smoking a cigar out on the beach and staring at the Santa Monica Pier where the Ferris wheel was lighting up the night sky.
“Don’t tell my wife. She doesn’t like it when I smoke.”
I laughed and stood next to him. “Your secret is safe with me.”
“Let me guess, you want to know if you can marry my daughter?” He took a puff of his cigar and looked at me sideways.
I nodded.
“I like you, Roan. Thanks for asking,” then, as I turned to leave, he added, “I just hope she says yes.”
I stopped in my tracks. It never occurred to me she’d have any other answer. He pointed his cigar at me and winked. “Gotcha!”
hat do you want for Christmas, Locks?”
“My Surfer Boy.” She said as she ran her hands over my back.
I laughed and pinned her beneath me. “I’m pretty sure you already have him.”
“Then there isn’t anything else I want.”
I kissed her and moved next to her, taking her hand in mine. “What do you want to do today?” I asked.
“I don’t know. When is Blake arriving?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Do you want to go surfing?” She stretched her arms above her head exposing her naked breasts.
“No waves. I already checked,” I answered, as I reached up and cradled one of her breasts in my hand.
“Well, that leaves only one other thing,” she said, giggling at what I was doing to her nipple. I moved my other hand between her legs letting her know I was on board with riding her instead.
She pushed my hand away and laughed. “Christmas tree! Christmas is in three days and we need to get a tree!”
She stood up and clapped her hands. “We can finish this in the shower, but then, we’re getting a tree.”
After an epically long shower, I stood in the middle of the tree lot watching Jess walk around taking it all in. She stopped and I knew exactly which one she had in mind.
“Here. This one’s perfect.” She was standing by a six-foot tree that would never fit in my house.
“It’s a little big, don’t you think? My ceilings aren’t that high.”
She took a step back and looked at it from a different angle. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Oh, what about that one?”
It was like watching a child open her presents on Christmas morning. Each one as exciting as the one before.
“Now, that one is perfect,” I said. An hour later our tree stood tall in my house, cider was brewing on the stove, and Jessica was rummaging through her box of ornaments.
“Are you sure you don’t want to get a tree for your house too?” I asked.
“I’m sure. I want to enjoy this one.”
I had finished stringing the lights, and she was hanging the ornaments in some sort of perfect order that only she knew.
The front door swung open, allowing a blast of cold air in. My brother was the only other person who had a key, but I wasn’t expecting him yet. My guard was instantly up.
“Roan, you home?”
It was Blake. “We’re in here!” I yelled.
My brother barreled into the house with his bags over his shoulder and a shit-eating grin on his face. “Hey, guys. I decided to come a day early.”
Jessica jumped up to hug him. I looked around my house. It was filled with decorations, and the two most important people in the world to me. For the past ten years, the holidays sucked. At least now I could see what all the hubbub was about Christmas. There was literally joy in the air.
Christmas morning arrived before I knew it. For the first time, Jess was awake before me. I walked into the kitchen before the sun was up to find her surrounded by pots and pans, bowls and spoons.
“What are you doing, Locks?”
“I’m makin’ Christmas breakfast.” It smelled of cinnamon and sugar. There was coffee brewing, and she was assembling some sort of egg dish.
“It’s early,” I said. “Come back to bed. I want to give you your present before Blake wakes up.”
“I thought you gave me my present last night.” She winked at me.
“That was only a preview.”
“You’re bad, Roan. Let me get this in the oven, and I’ll be there in a minute.”
I couldn’t help but grab her and kiss the side of her head. “Okay.”
I had two presents for her. One I didn’t want Blake to know about. The other I had needed his help with.
She walked into the room and stood in the doorway. I had made the bed, and had a gift wrapped, and waiting for her.
“This was not what I expected,” she said.
“You thought I’d be naked except for a Santa hat?”
“Somethin’ like that.”
“Come here, Jess.”
She sat down on the bed, and I put the small gift in her hands.
“Roan is this—”
“No. When I propose to you—and I will propose to you—it won’t be in my bedroom with my little brother next door. Open it.”
She meticulously unwrapped the box, pulling the bow so slowly it was killing me. Once she finally had it opened, she gasped. Inside was an antique sapphire and diamond band. It wasn’t a wedding ring, and it wasn’t an engagement ring. It was a ring of eternity.
“It was my grandmother’s,” I explained. “She gave it to me before she died and told me to give it to the girl who became my entire existence.
I never thought I’d find someone who fit that description.”
“It’s so beautiful.” She put it on her finger and it fit! Tears welled up in Jess’s eyes, and I put my arms around her.
“You are the sun, the sand, and the sea all wrapped up in one perfect package just for me. I love you, Locks.”
An hour later, the timer on the oven went off. We were both naked and sound asleep. Blake came pounding on my bedroom door.
“Hey, guys, I think the house is about to burn down.”
“Oh, no. The eggs!” Jess yelled. “Blake, can you turn the oven off and take them out?” She threw some clothes on and ran out to the kitchen.
Christmas was in full swing. Presents were opened, food was eaten, and Jess couldn’t stop staring at her ring. I figured it was time to give Jess her last present. I went into the garage and when I returned, I put her gift—Hadley, a chocolate lab puppy—on the floor and let the dog do her thing, which was to go right up to Jess and jump in her lap.
“Oh, my gosh,” said Jess. “Is this my second present?”
I laughed. “Well, she isn’t for Blake.”
There was a big green bow tied around the dog’s neck. Blake picked her up from the breeder yesterday afternoon and had been doing his best to make sure Jess didn’t know she existed.
“She’s adorable!” Jess squealed excitedly. “Thank you, Roan.”
Over the next few days, Jess took Hadley everywhere and clearly loved this dog more than life. She thanked me repeatedly for getting her.
Jess was also making a permanent mark on my home. While she hadn’t moved in, she also hadn’t gone to her own house since Blake arrived. The two of them bonded in a way that warmed my heart. Jess was teaching him how to make cookies, and he was showing her how to throw a football. It was one of the warmest winters on record in Los Angeles, getting up to eighty-five degrees. Today, we were heading to the beach, Hadley in tow.
“Grip it here.” Blake had shown Jess no less than one hundred times where to hold the football in order to get the perfect spin, but her hands were too small.
“Okay, I think I got it,” she said. “Back up.”
I watched as her knuckles turned white from gripping the ball with all her force. She lifted her hand back and hurled that thing as hard as she could, even grunting as the ball left her fingertips.
Optimistically, Blake had run fifteen yards away. The ball fell significantly short. I saw the disappointment on Jess’s face.
“Come, surf with me,” I called. I had just gotten out of the ocean and walked right up to her, dripping wet and holding my board.
“Now? You just got out. Don’t you want a break?”
I shrugged. “I want to help you catch your perfect wave, since I’ve already caught mine.” I kissed her hard.
“That’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
I winked. “What can I say? Sometimes I can be a charmer.” I grabbed her hand and we walked toward the water.
“Watch Hadley for me, Blake?” she asked.
“Will do.”
Jess and I had bought Blake a camera for Christmas. He’d let it slip last time we were together that he was taking a photography class at school and loved it. Since I was all into getting him interested in something other than football, it was an ideal gift. Grabbing his camera, he focused his lens in Hadley’s direction.
Jess and I made it out past the breaking waves to an area that had thinned out. We sat on our boards gazing over the vast expanse of the ocean, side by side. When I looked out at the horizon, I saw how small we were in comparison to it all.
“Want to travel the world with me?” I asked.
“When do we leave?” she answered without hesitation. A small smile played at her lips, and her eyes locked on to mine.
I laughed. “We’ll have to take it in pieces, but let’s plan a trip soon.”
We continued to sit on our boards peacefully swaying in the surf.
I reached over, squeezed her hand, and caught her eye, then asked, “Jessica Baker, will you marry me?” I had planned to propose to her next month at the X Games in Aspen. However, sitting next to her in the ocean where our adventure started, I knew no other time or place would do.
She looked me in the eyes a huge smile on her face. “Oh my God, yes I will marry you!”
I was about to lean in and kiss her when I noticed the wave coming our way. “Look!” I pointed, “Get ready, Locks, I think you can ride this one.”
Her head snapped around and her mind focused back on the ocean. She got on her belly, turned her board, and kept her eye on the incoming wave.
“Okay,” I prompted. “Start paddling!”
I watched her take off, determination on her face. She was staying in front of the wave, exactly as I’d taught her. As it hit her board, she placed a hand on either side, and then she was up—and she stayed up. She rode that wave all the way in to shore!
I put my fingers in my mouth and whistled. I was so proud of that girl. Her smile was huge. Blake ran up to her; he must have gotten the ride on film because they were staring at the camera. The joy on Jess’s face was something I always wanted to see. I sat on my board and watched as my family bond strengthened. I loved those two people standing on the beach so much it overwhelmed me at times.
I rode the next wave into shore and picked Jessica up, swinging her around in my arms and kissing her.
“Blake! We’re getting married!” Jess yelled while her mouth was still attached to mine.
Blake came up and group-hugged us. “That’s awesome! When?”
“Tonight! In Vegas. You comin’?” She asked him.
I threw my head back and laughed; I couldn’t think of a better way to get married.
“Of course I’m coming.” Blake picked up Hadley and said, “Let’s get packing then, Vegas is a four-hour drive!”
Jess wrapped her arms around me one more time, kissing me gently on the lips. Then she grabbed my hand and followed Blake. “Come on, Surfer Boy, let’s go ride this epic wave of life together.”
he past year has been a whirlwind with ups and downs and lots of typing. Two books in six months is not something I ever thought I would accomplish and I couldn’t have done it alone.
My husband and my children are awesome for putting up with me on a daily basis. I can’t count how many times they all went with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner because I was distracted typing on my computer. Often, I would text myself the details of a scene because if I didn’t get it down right then, I wouldn’t nail it.
Donna, you are so cool. Thank you for telling me when something isn’t working, when you don’t like a character or a situation is just unbelievable. Also thank you for reading my books at least four times each. My iPhone wouldn’t be the same without a daily text from you.
To my amazing friends, who offered (or at least didn’t say no) when I asked if they wanted to read this second book before I had it edited: Alicia, Erica, Denise and Erica. Some of you read it more than once and I can’t thank you enough. I know it is hard to be brutally honest, but I couldn’t do it without you.
Debra, I had already sent the final version to the editor when you put the red light on everything. After your notes, I re-wrote the book four times until I finally got it right, at least I hope I did. Thank you for your sincere honesty, even though I know how hard it was for you to deliver the message.
Jenny, thanks for being my last set of eyes!
To all my cheerleaders (you know who you are!), who constantly remind me that I am writing for me and no one else. Thank you for keeping me going and helping me enjoy the process, even when I do get a bad review . . . or two.
Thank you to all the bloggers for their reviews and all their hard work. Authors couldn’t do it without you guys.
My editor, Christine Van Zandt, went above and beyond to not only do a great job making this story the best it could be, but for her constant information stream on how to make me into an author a
s well as a business owner. She rocks!
And, of course, my mom and my aunt who challenge me every step of the way. This is not your genre and you probably cringe when I ask you to read another one of my books, but you do it with a smile and your constructive criticism goes a long way.
Last, but not least, a big THANK YOU to my readers. Your support means so much!
If you liked this book, please take a moment and post a review on Amazon or GoodReads. Online reviews are critical for the success of a book.
OTHER BOOKS
Wall of Trust
.J. Pryor lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two daughters. When she’s not writing, you can find her at the beach, the yoga studio, or the soccer field with her girls. An avid reader of Adult, New Adult and Young Adult novels, her Kindle is always an arm’s length away. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
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