And I wanted my dress to be a big, puffy dress—like Cinderella. I would wear a tiara and have diamonds sparkle all over me. That’s what I had always wanted…until the day I realized that the man who stole my heart was a biker.
I never expected Toby to propose to me and I was just fine with that. As long as I could spend the rest of my life in his arms, I didn’t need his last name or a certificate saying I was his or he was mine. I just wanted him.
The night he asked me to marry him, I thought that all those dreams of a big wedding and puffy dress would come back. But they didn’t. I would have been fine if we went to Vegas and were married by Elvis. But Toby being Toby, he wanted me to have my dream wedding. The only problem was, nothing I ever thought I wanted mattered anymore.
I spent only a week planning our wedding, with the help of Dani, of course. Toby said the sky was the limit and I could have anything I wanted for our big day. He still doesn’t know that our wedding cost only a few hundred dollars, but that will be Dani’s and my secret.
The decorations are all handmade. We went to this little craft store a town over and purchased a few dozen mason jars, some glitter, flowers, gems, and candles. Dani helped me make candle holders and we made the flower arrangements ourselves. I couldn’t see spending thousands of dollars for a wedding when my dream was priceless. I was marrying the man I loved and that’s all the mattered.
The wedding is going to be in the backyard of the new clubhouse. After my ex, Rick, had blown the old clubhouse up, a new and improved one was built in its place. To me, it’s the perfect location for where I will become Toby’s wife.
My dress was the most difficult thing to decide on. Since the wedding wasn’t going to be that big and I didn’t really care about having a big puffy dress anymore, I had no idea what to wear. I had told Dani that I just wanted to go to the mall and get a simple white summer dress, but she wasn’t having that. She said that even though it wasn’t a big wedding, it was a wedding all the same. And all weddings needed a wedding dress. I wasn’t happy about her taking me to a bridal boutique, but she promised that they would have the perfect dress for me, and she wasn’t wrong. Who knew that some women were just like me, and didn’t want a big, fancy wedding dress? It only took me ten minutes to find the perfect dress for my wedding and it only cost two hundred and fifty dollars. It was perfect. I can’t wait for Toby to see me in it. I hope he likes it as much as I do. For such a simple dress, it’s beautiful.
Dani interrupts my thoughts by closing the door to Toby’s bedroom in the clubhouse where Dani and I are getting ready. “Are you ready to put your dress on?” she asks as she stands behind me, looking at me in the mirror I’ve been staring at.
I shake my head slightly to come back to the present and smile at her. “More than ready. Let’s do this.”
When I stand up and turn toward her, I notice for the first time that she has a box in her hands.
“What’s that?” I ask.
Dani takes my hand and leads me over to the bed where she sets the box down beside my dress. “First thing’s first. Let’s get you into your dress, then I’ll tell you.”
As I take off my robe, she gets my dress ready to slip over the top of my new bra and panty set that I bought with tonight in mind. My hope is that when Toby takes this dress off of me, it will blow his mind.
After my dress is zipped up and I look in the mirror, Dani walks back over to the bed.
“I have a few things for you, but first, I have something I need to say.” She takes a deep breath before looking at me. “I’ve never been one for long, drawn out speeches, but I feel like this needs to be said, so please just bear with me. For as long as I can remember, I only had my grandmother. My mother died when I was three and my father left when he couldn’t deal with the loss. Gram was amazing, though she was older. I never had any friends, boy or girl, but I didn’t really care. I was just fine staying home and helping Gram out with whatever she was doing. Then Zane and Zeke came along. It was so nice to finally have someone to call a friend. But then Zeke died and the lines between love and friendship were blurred between Zane and me. When he left for college, I was devastated. Not just because I loved him and I didn’t want to be without him, but because I was losing my only friend. Turns out that I could make new friends though. Before I came here, I could count my friends on one hand, but again, they were all guys. Even after coming here, I had more friends and became part of this family, but they were all men. It never bothered me until Harlow came into my life and I realized that I’ve gone my whole life without a friend who was a girl.”
Dani pauses for a moment, looking off into space. I keep quiet because I know that whatever she needs to say, she needs to come by it on her own.
“And just when Harlow and I were starting to build a friendship outside of work, she left. But then you came walking into the shop with Toby. And the first time I saw you with him, I knew you were his forever. I could tell even then that he was in love with you and you with him. You were meant to meet him and fall in love with him, but I think you were also meant to come into my life, Sara. Over the past two years, you’ve become more than just my friend—you’ve been like a sister to me. I love you more than you will ever know.”
By this time, we both have tears in our eyes, but neither of us care if our makeup is ruined.
“I love you too, Dani,” I say, knowing that if I say anymore, I’ll start bawling my eyes out.
Dani smiles and walks up to me and takes me in a long hug before she grabs my hand and leads me closer to the bed, where she left the box.
“I don’t know much about weddings, but I thought you should have these—something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue,” Dani says as she opens the box.
Inside, she pulls out a beautiful diamond pin. “Something old. This was my grandmother’s. She always said that it was special and should be worn by someone special, so I want you to have it.”
“Dani. Oh my God, I can’t take that!” I yell. No way can I take something so special and meaningful that belonged to her grandmother.
“Sara, my grandmother left me everything she had. I have plenty of special things from her. This, I want you to have. Please.” She’s looking at me with tears in her eyes, but I can tell this means so much to her, so I nod my head and allow her to pin it to my dress. I’ve never had anything like this before. I never had a real family until I came here, so this is the first time I’ve been given something that has been handed down. I love it.
“This is your something new. I was at this little shop while I was out looking for some things for the kids. I saw these and knew they were just perfect for your wedding day.” She pulls out a pair of red high heel shoes, and she’s right, they are perfect.
“Oh, I love them, Dani! Thank you so much,” I say as I sit down to put them on. “They fit perfectly,” I gush, loving the way they look with my dress.
“I figured we’re about the same, so I just tried them on to make sure I got the right size,” she says with a smirk.
When she takes the next item out of the box, I know this would be the something borrowed.
“I had no idea what to do for this since I had nothing that could be used for a wedding, but I thought this might work.” She hands me the small box and waits while I open it. “About six months after I moved here, I bought this as a gift to myself. I had gone through so much, but I was still standing. I know you don’t really need this, but I thought today of all days, I want you to wear it to show that you made it through your hard times too. And today will mark the day of a new beginning for you.”
Opening the box, I see a beautiful charm bracelet. Only a few of the charms stand out to me—there’s what looks like a bird, which I figure is a phoenix. There’s a skull, which I assume stands for the club. And there’s a football, which after talking to her more about her past, I know is for Zeke, Zane’s brother.
Having no words for the way I feel about what she’s done for me,
not just today, but since I met her, I take her in my arms and hug her tightly.
When I pull back, I give her a watery smile.
“And last but not least, your something blue.” Dani takes out the last item from the box. “I was clueless on this one, so it’s just a small flower for your hair,” she says a little sheepishly, but what she doesn’t know is that what she just did for me is one of the most precious things anyone has ever done for me. I know that I will remember this day for the rest of my life, not only because it’s my wedding day, but because she’s made it even more special for me.
Dani secures the flower in my hair and then turns me around to look in the mirror.
“You look amazing, Sara,” she whispers behind me.
Turning around, I give her one more hug. “Okay, enough crying. Let’s get your makeup fixed and then we’ll get this show on the road. It’s time for you to marry your man.”
I laugh with her and allow her to sit me down to fix my makeup while I go over the last couple of years. I went through hell, but if it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have found my heaven. So I can’t complain too much.
Once Dani is done, she stands back to look at her work and then asks, “Are you ready?”
Without even hesitating, I stand up and follow her to the door. “Let’s do this.”
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Acknowledgements
I want to thank my family the most. You all have stood beside me through this whole endeavor of me trying to fulfill my dream of being an author. Whether it’s just been encouraging words, brainstorming with me about characters, scenes, and whatever else. Thank you all so much.
I also want to thank my girl, Elaine, for taking a chance on a new author and for sticking beside me. You’ve helped me pimp, got the word out about me and my books, and you’ve been an amazing friend. Whoever said that you can’t make lifelong friendships on Facebook doesn’t know shit. I appreciate all that you’ve done to help me with my books, but most of all, I appreciate your friendship. I love you, girl!
And of course, I can’t say this enough, but thank you to all my readers. I never expected such a huge following, but I’m thrilled that you have stuck beside me through everything. I wouldn’t have gone this far without you, and neither would my characters. Thank you all so much! <3 <3 <3
About the Author
I grew up in a small town in Iowa. I have 2 older sisters and amazing parents. Growing up, I was always a daddy’s girl, hanging out with him in the garage, fishing, and building stuff. I loved to play softball and swimming, but reading, telling stories, and writing were my passion, even at a young age. I took a break from writing for a while, but you could always find me with a book in my hand.
I have three children–two boys and a girl. They are my whole world. Even when I’m having the worst day ever, they brighten up my day and make me smile.
A few years ago, there was this story that would always play out in my head and no matter how many times I went through it, from beginning to end, it would never fade. So I decided to put it on paper. I didn’t plan on publishing it, but when it was almost done, a friend asked to read it. She said it was a story that needed to be shared. And that’s what started my writing career.
I love all genres of books, and even though I started with writing MC Romance, I have a whole book of ideas, so you can expect more from me than just MC, though romance is in my blood.
Even though I currently work two jobs, my ultimate dream is to become a full time author. I want to be able to spend my days filling pages with stories. I want to be the reason people find a reason to smile or laugh from lines on a page. Reading a book allows me to live in someone else’s shoes, even if only for a few minutes. It’s a way to leave my life and troubles behind and I want to be help others do that as well.
Facebook:
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Twitter:
https://twitter.com/Shelly_Morgan34
Website:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10914599.Shelly_Morgan
Join my fan group on Facebook:
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Don’t forget…
If you haven’t already, check out the first two books in the Forsaken Sinners MC Series.
Rewriting Destiny – Dani and Zane’s story and prequel to the series
Fighting Destiny – Toby and Sara’s story
Coming soon…
Defying Destiny – Louie’s story
Owning Destiny – Mack’s story
Born Into Destiny Page 11