by Mia Kayla
When his breathing slowed, he turned to flip me until I was lying on his stomach. When my heartbeat began to descend to a normal pace, he let out a low laugh.
“This night didn’t turn out like I’d planned,” he said, running his fingers through my hair. “It was supposed to be romance, candlelight, and dinner first.”
I lifted my head to look at him and raised my eyebrows.
“I wanted to give you the movie version.”
“Oh,” I said, realization setting in. “Well, this is much better than the movie version. If this were the movies, I’d be watching the love story happen on the screen. In this version, the good stuff happens to me.” I said, resting my chin on his chest.
He peered down at me and brushed a strand of hair away from my face. “Yeah, this is so much better than the movies.”
He kissed me long and hard until I forgot my name, forgot where I was, and even forgot how to breathe.
“Here,” he breathed, “I get the girl.”
I felt his length harden below me against my stomach. I guessed if this were our movie, part two was going to start real soon.
One Year Later…
Warm kisses woke me up from my sleep. I smiled, feeling kisses on my eyes, on my cheeks, on my nose, and eventually my lips.
“Wake up, baby,” Kent whispered. “Wake up, beautiful girl.”
“No,” I said, playing coy and turning over to my other side.
I didn’t dare open my eyes as I placed the pillow over my head. My silk nightgown ruffled against the down comforter. Puppy pajamas had been long gone, and had been replaced with silk and lace nightgowns. Kent, being the shopper that he was, had brought home presents almost every day. They had usually consisted of designer clothing or nightwear. Plus, I’d been added as a client on his personal shopper’s list. I’d told him that the way to this woman’s heart was food, so sometimes, he would bring home dinner instead.
“Baby, don’t make me get you up,” he said.
I knew he was smiling.
“I want to see you try,” I said teasingly as I turned over onto my stomach.
He straddled my back and started poking my sides, left and then right and then left again, tickling me. I bucked him off my back and faced upward.
“Stop, Kent. Don’t you start,” I said, giving him a playful look.
He continued to tickle my sides.
“Please. Please. Okay. I’m up, I’m up.” I cried.
His hands slowly came to a stop, and I gazed up at him, taking in his every feature that I’d memorized over time. His chestnut eyes were full of emotion, and his residual smile faded as he gazed at me intently.
He lowered down on top of me and placed his hands on each side of my face. “God, you’re beautiful,” he said before kissing me passionately. He slowed his lips to a painful halt and closed his eyes while resting his forehead against mine. “Although I’d love to wake you up in a much more pleasurable way, I have plans for us today. Therefore, we must get up, or I swear, we’ll be in bed for the rest of the day.,” He opened his eyes with a more serious look now, and the passion was gone.
“There’s nothing wrong with that.” I smiled and wrapped my legs around him to bring him closer.
When I slowly kissed his neck, he stilled.
“Kent, are you saying no to your wife?” I trailed kisses from his neck back to his lips.
“Baby, when do I ever say no to you?”
He shook his head, disentangled himself from my hold, and pushed himself off the bed. “You are forever going to be my weakness, but I have plans for today. I’m going to take a very cold shower, so I can get ready. Breakfast is right here by the bed.” He gave me one last peck on the lips and sauntered toward the bathroom.
The muscles on his back moved with each step he took, and his biceps flexed as he took off his shirt and threw it on the floor before stepping into the bathroom. I was momentarily tempted to jump in the shower with him, but then I smelled the eggs, bacon, and toast beside me. My stomach growled, and food won out. I scarfed down the food and waited for my turn to hop in the shower.
“Okay, here’s the first surprise for the day. Close your eyes,” he said, both dimples appearing.
I squeezed my eyes tightly shut, smiling the cheesiest smile ever. Butterflies were in my stomach as I felt a cold chain being placed around my neck. This wasn’t the first time he’d slipped jewelry around my neck, but I got excited every time he did it.
“Open your eyes.”
I touched my neck to feel a heart-shaped locket. I looked down, and my hand automatically flew to my mouth in shock.
“Kent, where did you get this?” I whispered. “Pete told me he’d sold it all.”
“He did—to me. I picked up all the stuff in Bowlesville when you left me. I needed all the ammunition to win you back. I wasn’t going to let you leave me without a fight.” He tucked an escaping strand of hair behind my ear. “Picking up Nana’s stuff was the first step. Getting my shit together was the second.”
He cupped my chin with his palm, brushing his thumb against my lips. “I remembered how you used to look at Brian, how your eyes would fill with admiration. I remembered you telling me once that you wanted your happily ever after, that you wanted it to be with him.
“When I was alone, I would wish that maybe someday, I could live up to those expectations, be that man who deserved you, be the man you’d be proud to have. I would think that maybe you could have that same look in those pretty green eyes just for me. I thought maybe I’d get lucky one day, and at the end of it all, I would be the one to give you that happily ever after ending. I wanted to be your other half, your better half. I wanted to be the man who made you happy.
“Because you believed in me, I took a chance. I took a leap of faith in myself, believing that I could be that guy you deserved. I wanted to be the one you could look at every day, wake up to every morning, and be proud of. That’s why I got it together, and I took the job.”
A small smile touched his lips. “Who knew that my whole world could be changed by one unbelievably beautiful girl? You’re the one girl who occupies my dreams, who lives in my heart, and who owns my very soul. You’re that one girl who has changed my everything, everything that I thought was all right to everything that is better. You’re the one girl who I’m so in love with that I can’t see straight.”
He bent down to brush his lips against mine. It was a soft kiss, but nevertheless, it was a kiss that stirred butterflies in the pit of my belly.
He pulled back and brushed his hand against the gold on my neck. “I told Pete not to let you know that it was me. I have the rest of the stuff in our storage.”
I opened the locket of Nana and Papa. He had given her the locket on their twenty-fifth anniversary just before he’d passed away. They looked so in love. My chest ached at the memory of them.
“This is the best gift I’ve ever received,” I said, wrapping my arms around him. “Thank you.” I kissed him lightly on the lips.
“You’re the best gift I’ve ever received.” He placed his arms around my waist. “And there are better things to come.”
When I got into the car, Kent blindfolded me. I had no clue where we were headed. I was as giddy as a little girl, anticipating what could top Nana’s locket.
I knew we reached our destination when the car stopped. When I stepped out of the Bentley, I felt the gravel under my heels and leaned into Kent for support.
“I’m afraid I’ll fall,” I said, concentrating on walking straight.
“Don’t worry. If you fall, I’ll always be there to catch you.”
I could feel the smile on his face.
I pinched his side. “Just so you know, you’ve turned into a cornball on me ever since we got together.” I laughed.
“You’ve changed me. What can I say?”
I no longer felt the wind against my short white linen dress, and that was how I knew we’d stepped into someone’s house. I heard hushed chatter arou
nd me. Kent stopped and released my hand, and a moment later the chatter ceased. I couldn’t help my cheeks from hurting from my smile. My heels clicked on the floor and as Kent lead me down more stairs, I felt the warmth of the sun once again and smiled at the anticipation of my surprise.
We stopped, and I felt Kent’s hands move me to face him.
He kissed me lightly on the lips and lifted the blindfold from my eyes. “Surprise,” he whispered.
My eyes scanned the area, and once again, I was speechless because of this man. Hydrangeas, roses, and lilies filled Kent’s parents’ backyard. A trail of rose petals created an aisle leading farther down to a twelve-foot arch outlined with pink and white garden roses and green ivy. At the end of the aisle, four wooden chairs were occupied with the people I loved the most in the world. An officiant stood at the center.
When I glanced down, Kent was on bended knee, and the look on his face took my breath away.
“This year has been amazing. You’ve made me the happiest man, and I never thought I could love anyone as much as I love you.” He reached behind and presented me with a bouquet of wildflowers. “Bethany Marie Casse, will you marry me…again?”
I nodded once, tears forming at the corner of my eyes.
He stood, and I wrapped my arms around him. I pressed my lips against his before he handed me the bouquet.
Walking down the aisle, I closed my eyes briefly and smiled. To everyone else, it was a renewal of our vows, but to me, it was my perfect wedding day.
This day, I felt Nana’s presence beside me, around me. It was in the chirping of the birds, the scent of the flowers in the air, and the warmth of the sun on my cheeks. I saw the crinkle of her eyes when she smiled and the wisps of gray and white locks on her head. I felt her wrinkled hands upon me where the breeze brushed against my arms. I felt her surround me, and as tears slowly fell down my face, I realized she would be proud of me today—for what I’d become and for what I’d overcome.
Everyone said they married their soul mate. Not only could I say that, but today, I was truly marrying my best friend.
He reached for my hand at the end of the aisle. Seeing the tears under my eyes, he framed my face with his hands and wiped them away. This time, I didn’t pull away.
I looked into the eyes of the man that I loved, and I answered his question before he even had a chance to ask. “I’m crying because I’m so very happy.”
THE END
I hoped you enjoyed the story of Kent and Beth and their journey to finding love in a place they least expected it. I hope you continue to follow them because they have one more story to tell, which is going to be one helluva ride.
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Ah! It's done. First and foremost I'd like to thank my God. I thank him for my eyes for reading, my mind for creating, my hands for typing and my heart for loving. I fall in love when I see my children's faces, when my husband holds my hand and every time my fingers hit the keyboard and I'm writing about people falling in love. I have a super cheesy smile every time I'm writing about these characters and I'm glad I am finally able to share this story with readers.
When I started this journey, it was a lonely road at first. I didn't know a single writer so I joined every writer group out there trying to connect on a level my friends didn't understand. When I finally met my first writer friend, Mary, I clung to her in an almost stalker-like fashion trying to retain as much as I could about the craft and the whole business side of things. She was the first to read my manuscript before it was even in beta ready form and I'll never forget her kindness.
To all the beta readers after that, Jade, Cynthia, Sue and Teri. Thank you for your constructive feedback and your second glance that has helped me get this story out to the world.
To Kerianne, Jennifer, Joy and Amanda. Thank you for giving this manuscript one last look before it went to copy editing and formatting.
The writing community is such a welcoming and helpful community. To all the online communities that I've stalked for knowledge. To the Divas and Divos on RD, it's because of you that I've met some wonderful people, one being, Sera Bright. Even though every writer's journey is their own, it's great to have someone who is going through a similar process at the same time, where you are able to vent and bond over the same struggles.
I cannot forget the bloggers. Bloggers are the key to readership and these bloggers have helped me dearly. To the people I've coined as the Awesome A's. To Autumn from The Autumn Review and Andrea from The Bookish Babes. Where do I even begin? Thanks for helping me through the whole promoting process, answering all my questions and pimping out my book. Autumn, thanks for reading my story and giving me the feedback needed to take it to the next steps. Seriously, both of you have been the greatest.
To my editing team, I stand and applaud you. Because of you, my manuscript is polished and ready for the world to see. Jovana Shirley, you are truly a rock star at what you do! You don't miss a single thing with your super-sonic eyes. Thank you for having the patience with me and answering every single one of my questions.
To Kayla Robichaux, I thank you. The first time I ever corresponded with Kayla through FB, I was freaking out on the train. True Story. She added me as a friend and I totally went crazy-writer on her. I think I was suffering my first ever panic attack about the whole book thing. All my friends were nowhere to be found and my husband was busy with the kids. I believe the first thing she wrote was “Team Kent” and I responded with an “OMG, I'm freaking out here. Did you read it? Is the story okay?” She calmly said, “I want you to take your earlobes and rub them,” and even though I was on the train, I did. Ha! I think because it was such a silly move, I ended up laughing. Anyways, thanks Kayla for your kind words that day because I needed that boost of confidence at that exact moment to keep me going. To all you readers, just so you know, Kent and Beth's love scene at the end was not originally in my first version. I added it because Kayla specifically said, “You're leaving your readers hanging. Trust me on this one.” And I did.
I cannot forget Becky Johnson and her flipping awesome team at Hottree Editing. Thanks for all you do. Your team rocks to the utmost degree. You're just so sweet and thorough. Your team doesn't miss a thing. I think you're one of the very few editors that sends the manuscript for post beta reads and let me tell you, I needed those post beta readers.
Only a writer would be able to understand the insecurities and struggles of the journey of writing. There are very few people in the world that I believe have the kindest of hearts. Someone who's not friends with you to get something in return, but someone who wants to help you because she'd been on a similar journey. Elisabeth Grace, I like “heart” you in the biggest way. Your books are amazing but even more than that, you're an amazing person. I hope all good things in life happen to you, because I truly believe that good things happen to good people. Just your kind words and your willingness to answer all my many questions is amazing. You're just a great person who is continually giving back to this writing community. Thanks for introducing me to the Indie Chicks. You've introduced me to a great group of girls and for that I am forever grateful.
I have a great support system behind me. Women bond with other women on a level that men will never understand. Although I have my husband, wh
o is for real- Mr. Mom, my rock and my best friend, he just can't empathize with my womanly issues.
To Nui, thank you for being the very first one of my friends to read this. Thanks for your feedback but most of all thank you for your support. I can always count on you and your positive outlook on every situation. You are the friend that understands my love for food. I have brought some of that into Beth's story. I can always count on you to help me search for the best brownie ice cream sundae and then be the one to initiate a diet the next day. Ha! I love you girl.
To Debbie, words can't explain how much I owe you. I know I'm an “askhole” most of the time but know your advice on business and on life is very important to me. You're a whiz on branding and social media and I value your advice. Thank you for reading my manuscript, your feedback, and most of all, your friendship. I love you in ways no words can express and I hope to grow very old with you and party like rock stars way into our sixties when our kids are off on their own.
To Melanie, thanks for your feedback and reading my book. As I continue on this writing journey, I know you'll be my number one fan. You make me laugh so hard to the point of almost peeing in my pants as a grown adult. You're the greatest Mel. Not only are you one of my BFFs you are also my BBF (best book friend). You're the friend who took me to Forks, to see where Twilight began and I will never forget that trip, ever. I love our bonding over books and over the hot humana men that play our fictional characters on the big screen. My heart will forever belong to Edward Cullen but today, I'm a Four whore.