by Molly O'Hare
“I got tired of coming in here after hearing him whine.” Holly looked at him with her brow raised. Ben continued, “He’d somehow managed to get himself stuck on the top of the cat tree. He think’s if he can reach the cat’s treats, that means they are his for the taking. I only placed them that high for Twitch thinking they’d be safe.” Ben shook his head. “He climbed up there and ate them fine, but Lord Waffles has no idea how to get back down.”
Holly burst out laughing before she called Waffles into her lap. “That so, little guy? Is your daddy tired of you stealing all the cat treats?”
“No,” Ben answered. “I’m tired of having to put his ass on the ground.”
“It’s not his fault he has short legs.” She scratched Waffles’ belly.
“He gets up onto the tree fine, doesn't he?”
“We all have our talents.”
“And, his revolves around food.”
Placing her hands over Waffles ears to shield him. “Hey, be nice!”
“I am being nice. I didn’t say I didn’t love him.”
Holly’s mouth broke into a smile as she laughed. “What a crazy family we are.”
“And we wouldn’t have it any other way.” Ben plucked Holly from her spot on the ground and placed her into his lap. “Now, let’s celebrate.” He didn’t give her a chance to say anything before he kissed her lips.
Chapter Twenty-Three
One Month Later
Holly paced around the living room of her father’s house. As she let her mind wander, she realized how much work Ben had accomplished. The house looked just as it did when she was younger. If not better. Ben with her father’s watchful eye, really did a great job of restoring the bungalow.
Shaking her head, she scolded herself. Right now, the status of her father’s home shouldn’t be on her radar.
No, she had bigger things to focus her attention on.
In less than ten minutes, she was supposed to walk out of the back door and down the porch steps and into Ben’s arms…. to become his wife.
His wife.
Holy shit, Holly Flanagan was about to become someone’s wife.
Ben’s wife.
She never thought she would be here, she never thought it was even possible. But, here she was, about to marry the man of her dreams.
“You okay, Pumpkin?” Henry asked, as he walked into the living room. She was momentarily taken aback by her father’s appearance. She’d forgotten how handsome he cleaned up. He stood before her with bright eyes and a lopsided grin. He looked completely dashing.
She looked down at her dress. Oh god. If her father looked this good, Ben would look ten times better. She’d never be able to compare. Biting her bottom lip, she looked at her dad. “Do I look okay?”
“Well, if the hole on the floor from your pacing is any indication of your state of being, I would say no.” He moved to sit on the couch, before focusing his attention on her. “What’s got you all up in arms?”
Before she knew it, Holly started pacing again. “This is really happening, Dad.”
“It is.” He nodded his agreement.
“I’m about to marry the love of my life.”
“That is a good thing, Pumpkin. If you are going to marry someone, you want them to be the love of your life.”
At his words, she stopped pacing and glared at him. How could he not comprehend her dilemma here? Didn’t he understand what was going on? Crossing her arms over her chest, she asked, “What if I make a fool out of myself?”
When she saw Henry bite back his smile, her eye started to twitch.
When he realized she was being serious, he stood, slowly moving in front of her. “How so?”
That’s when she started pacing again. “I don’t know. What if I’m at some veterinarian function with Ben and I do something stupid like spill red sauce down the front of my dress? Or, what if I try to make chicken tenders again and I burn down our house?”
Before she could continue, Henry chimed in. “Well don’t make chicken tenders anymore. “
“Dad,” she warned.
Before she could say anything else, he continued, “And as for you spilling red sauce on your dress, do you really think Ben would care about something like that?”
“No.” She shook her head. “He wouldn’t. If he knew it bothered me, he would probably spill red sauce on his shirt to match.”
“Exactly.” Henry clapped his hands together. “So, then what’s the problem?”
She bit her bottom lip.
“Tell me, Holly. What’s got you freaking out?”
She lifted the bottom of her wedding dress. “What if I fall? I have no idea why I thought it would be a good idea for me to get married in heels, and in the backyard at that. I’m gonna break my neck before I ever say I do!”
Henry threw his head back as he barked out a deep laugh. “Well damn.”
Holly glared at him. He might be her father, but no one laughs at a bride on their wedding day. She calculated how fast she could get Mildred to speak to one of her contacts.
“Put those daggers away, little girl. I’m only laughing because I now owe Ben ten bucks.”
Holly’s eye started to twitch. “What do you mean you owe him ten bucks?”
Henry started moving away from her shaking his head as he walked over to a spare bag on the floor. “Ben bet me ten dollars you would freak out about your choice of footwear. Something about your stubborn ways and demanding you wear heels like every other bride.” He pulled out a pair of her favorite work flats. “He packed these for you.”
A part of Holly wanted to yell at him for not believing she could walk in the heels, but a bigger part of her sighed in relief. See, this just proved how perfect Ben truly was for her. Not only did he know she would freak out, but he brought her an option to change into. She was one hundred percent marrying the right man. However, she still planned on giving him shit for it regardless. A small smile appeared on her face. She knew a way he could make it up to her.
“Put these on, and let’s get this party started,” Her father remarked while handing the shoes to her. “I’m gonna make sure Waffles is in place.”
After Henry left the room, she sat on the couch smiling as she slipped on her favorite pair of work flats. Righting herself once she was done, she fixed her dress before making her way to the back door.
When she made her way outside, Henry held out his good arm so she could hook her arm with his.
“Better?” he asked, before kissing her on the cheek.
“Much.” She turned away from him and started down their makeshift aisle.
Ben stood under the archway he’d built only a few weekends ago. He took her breath away. He looked every bit of the Adonis as she thought he was the first day they’d met. She felt pure happiness rush through her body. Ripley sat by his side in a pink dress. John stood behind Ripley, as Ben’s human best man.
Holly laughed when she saw that Ripley had a thin leash in her mouth that attached to one sleeping Twitch at her feet. She looked at Ben who winked at her.
Leave it to him to somehow include the whole family. A smile spread across her face.
Perfect.
It was a small wedding. Only a few people were in attendance. In the chairs on either side of the pathway sat some of the board members for Richman Industries that Ben had become good friends with as he helped with the transition. On the opposite side sat Mildred and her husband.
Holly had to laugh at Mildred’s outfit. She wore one of the biggest hat’s she’d ever seen. Her poor husband kept getting hit in the head with the thing.
Typical Mildred.
Then sitting only a few feet in front of Holly in the middle of the aisle was Lord Waffles. He looked so handsome in his doggie tux, as his tongue flopped out of the side of his mouth. She had to fight the urge to run for her phone to take a picture of him. Her heart melted as she realized, he even had on a black bow tie.
“You ready to marry that man waitin’ ove
Her eyes once again went straight to Ben. His grin spoke volumes as he watched her from afar. The love that poured from him, made her feel like everything was going to be okay. Always.
She had to stop herself from running into his arms.
Holly couldn’t wait another second to be by his side. “Let’s do this.”
Henry squeezed her hand before he signaled for Waffles to start walking. Once he was a few steps ahead of them, they followed suit.
Through the entire time the music played, she couldn’t take her eyes off Ben.
Who said real life wasn’t like romance novels? She’d love to beg to differ.
Her life was a romance novel come to life.
Score one for the big girls!
They stopped a few feet from Ben where her father leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Go get your man, Pumpkin.”
She smiled brightly. “I plan to.” Stepping out of her father’s embrace, she started moving towards Ben, her full focus on him.
Unfortunately for her, she never noticed Waffles had stopped walking. Before she knew it, she found herself stumbling through the air. She placed her hands out in front of her, trying her best to cushion her impact.
Closing her eyes, she cursed her clumsiness, ready for the hit.
The impact never came, though.
Instead, Holly found herself in Ben’s arms before she hit the ground, just like all the times before. She heard his laugh, which made her open her eyes. She was neatly tucked in Ben’s embrace.
He shook his head as he chuckled before he moved in to kiss her. “What am I going to do with you, Grace?” His face glowed with happiness, as he smoothed some of her hair behind her ear.
Holly gave him a half smile, as she watched his eyes filled with love that she was sure matched her own. “Always catch me.”
***
Also by Molly O’Hare
Hollywood Hopeful Series
Hollywood Dreams
Risking It All (Danny and Lexi’s Story) – Coming soon
Stumbling Into Him – This book
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Check out the Fun Facts on the next page
About the Author
Much like any author out there, sleeping does not come easily to me. It turns out I have the worst insomnia of anyone I have ever met. Since I was a little girl, to help myself fall asleep, I would recite stories. Each night I would pick up where the story left off previously until the tale was complete. One morning, after I finished a particularly fun story, I decided I wanted to start sharing them with others. A few months later, here I am, sharing my lack of sleep with all of you. Who says the stories in our heads can’t be fun for others?
I think I will bestow upon you some fun facts about me.
Fun Facts for Stumbling into Him:
I have a Corgi
I love pickles
I am a savory rather than sweet person
I got to pet a goat in March. (I am still riding this high!)
I get lost in the rabbit hole which is makeup tutorials, but I have zero idea how to do makeup
I tripped up the stairs this morning… Don’t worry, this a normal occurrence for me
I want to live in a log cabin somewhere it snows
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