by M. Malone
All through the ceremony, Bennett held her eyes, sometimes making faces that caused Katie to blush because she knew it meant he was thinking something dirty. They watched with affection as his brother and Kaylee were led through their vows before it was time to say their own.
The minister looked at Bennett. “Repeat after me. I, Bennett Mark Alexander, take you, Katherine Anne Mason…”
Bennett repeated the sacred words in a strong, clear voice. They’d opted for the standard vows because he’d been stressed about forgetting what he wanted to say. But even though she’d heard the words before, Katie would forever cherish the memory of Bennett reciting those iconic words to her and the unbelievable thrill of saying them back to him.
After the exchange of rings, the minister faced the assembly of family and friends with a huge smile. “And it is with great pleasure that I present to you, Elliot and Kaylee Alexander and Bennett and Katherine Alexander. Gentlemen, you may now kiss your brides!”
There was an explosion of cheers and whistles but Katie couldn’t hear anything. Her entire world condensed to the moment Bennett’s lips met hers. She didn’t close her eyes, wanting to see and commit to memory every moment of this special day.
Bennett ended the kiss with a little nuzzle against her nose before he opened his eyes. “I love you, Katie.”
“I love you too, Bennett.” She held on to the lapels of his tuxedo, wishing they were already alone but then suddenly he was pulling back and the noise of the crowd permeated.
They turned to face their family, hands entwined and hearts full. Eli and Kay stood next to them with their arms around each other’s waists. Katie immediately noticed Ridley and Jackson in the front row clapping and cheering. Next to them, Mark and Julia beamed, looking as proud as any parents could. Behind them Olivia sat with her boyfriend, King. They'd had dinner a few nights ago and Katie could already tell she'd found a new friend.
A sharp whistle cut through the air and Katie’s eyes swung to the opposite side of the yard where her family was. Mari was wiping away tears, arm in arm with their mother. Her husband Dennis was beside her, clapping heartily. Nelson whistled again, before pumping his fist in the air.
Everyone was happy.
Bennett grinned down at her. “Our family can get a little crazy. Are you ready for this, Mrs. Alexander?”
It was ridiculous how much she loved hearing that. Especially since this time around she had no doubts that this was the name she’d carry for life. As she looked into her new husband’s eyes, the entirety of their lives flashed through her mind: birthdays, anniversaries and several babies with her dark skin and his hazel eyes. A lifetime of joy and pain, successes and failures, and a bond that would transcend it all.
“I am now,” she whispered back.
♥
As the music changed to something slow and heartfelt, Mark Alexander held out his hand to his wife. As his wife looked up at him, her eyes reflected the same love as when they’d first married over thirty years ago.
“Dance with me, my love?”
Julia had been running around all day, seeing to this and that, heading off disasters and doing whatever was necessary to make sure her two oldest sons had the perfect wedding. He’d helped as much as possible but the bulk of the credit went to Julia. But now that the cake had been cut, the bridal bouquets thrown, and the newlyweds seen off in a shower of rice and well-wishes, his responsibility was making sure that his lovely wife enjoyed the event she’d worked so hard on.
“I thought you’d never ask.” Julia accepted his hand and together they walked out to the dance floor.
The music flowed over them and Mark pulled his wife into his arms. She settled against him with a happy little sigh. It had been a truly beautiful day. It was also a bittersweet day as a parent. He looked around the land that had been passed down through generations of Alexanders and saw the results of a lifetime of hard work and community. Family, friends and everything in between was gathered together to celebrate the start of a new life for his two oldest sons. And Mark couldn’t help feeling a sense of accomplishment.
“We did it, my love. All of our boys are married and happy with wonderful families of their own.”
Julia patted his chest affectionately. “Did you ever think that all of this would come from flirting with your little sister’s friend while on summer break?”
Mark chuckled at the memory. He’d suspected as soon as he saw Julia that she was something special. And he’d known for sure when she’d put him in his place with her sharp tongue and fierce determination.
“I was smart enough to recognize a priceless gem when I saw it. Pretty good for a young country boy from Virginia, I’d say.”
As he spun her around, Mark caught sight of his brother on the other side of the dance floor. He’d called his brother the same day he’d told Bennett he would and they’d come to a tentative truce of sorts. When Stewart caught his eye, he nodded respectfully and then glanced away.
And Mark made a decision.
“I’m going to go say hello to Stewart and Lily.”
Julia raised her head in surprise. “You are?” When he nodded, she beamed at him. “That’s wonderful. I’ll come with you.”
Hand in hand, they walked across the makeshift dance floor to where Stewart and Lily danced, looking slightly uncomfortable. Lily caught sight of them first and tapped her husband on the shoulder. Steward turned and froze when he saw them approaching.
“Hello, Stewart. Lily, it’s lovely to see you again,” Julia greeted them both.
Mark squeezed her hand in appreciation. Considering their history, she had plenty of reason to hold a grudge but that wasn’t his wife’s way.
Lily held a hand to her mouth in surprise and glanced at Stewart. “Hello. Thank you for inviting us.”
“Of course. Why don’t we go say hello to Mama and Papa Alexander and let the boys talk?” Julia said, referring to Mark and Stewart’s parents, in town from Arizona for the wedding. She held out her arm and Lily took it gratefully.
Once alone, Mark and Stewart eyed each other awkwardly. Since he was the one who’d initiated the conversation, Mark pointed toward his nephew. “I heard Grant was profiled in The Virginia Chronicle for his volunteer work on burn victims. You and Lily must be so proud.”
Steward relaxed slightly. “Yes, we’re very proud of him. He works too much, which worries Lily, but he’s doing great things.”
Mark nodded. “We messed up along the way but our kids came out pretty great.”
Stewart laughed. “I can’t argue with that.” He hesitated before he extended a hand to Mark. “Hopefully we’ll do better going forward. Agreed?”
Mark accepted his hand gratefully. “This is going to be a new era for the Alexanders. I have a feeling great things are coming.”
They turned to see Lily and Julia motioning to them from across the yard. Mark had spent some time with his parents in the week before the wedding but he knew they were excited to see him and Stewart getting along.
“Let’s go make Mom and Dad happy.”
Stewart followed along as he started across the yard. “So all of your boys are married now. Maybe you and Julia can give us some pointers on how to get ours to settle down. It’d be nice to have some grandchildren.”
Mark smiled at that. It was a great thing that they’d made peace with each other of course. But his nieces and nephews might not think so once they understood what having their aunt and uncle back in their lives would mean. He met Julia’s eyes as they got closer.
“Don’t worry, big brother. Once Julia hears that, I don’t think you’ll have to wait too long.”
♥
I hope you enjoyed Just One Thing, the sixth book in the USA TODAY bestselling Alexanders series! If you want to read Olivia's side of the story, turn the page for an excerpt of her book, Bad King.
*special bonus content
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Bennett has been invited to the bachelor party of family friend Tank Marshall. If you think Ben's awkward now, imagine how he'll react in a strip club. LOL :)>
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Bad King (Olivia + King)
is available now!
Thane Carter Kingsley IV lives for business. So when his parents threaten to turn over control of the Kingsley empire to his younger brother if he doesn't settle down, he decides to find the fiancée of his parents' nightmares.
And where better to find a wife than a place like Club VIP…
Olivia Reyes is a proud business owner and finally almost out of debt. She hasn’t convinced her childhood sweetheart they belong together… yet. But she will.
After she takes one last job.
BUY NOW
EXCERPT of Bad King
© May 2016 M. Malone
Olivia leaned against the bar in Shiney’s Pub. It was crowded, which wasn’t unusual for the wee hours of a Saturday morning. Dupont Circle was known to be one of the hubs of D.C. nightlife and tonight was no exception. Girls in short dresses and guys in jeans and tight muscle shirts milled on the dance floor and around the pool table on the other side of the room. Shiney’s was known for loud music, dim lighting and strong drinks. The perfect place to meet a date when you weren’t sure if they were a psycho yet.
What the hell are you doing?
Olivia raised her eyebrows at the bartender and he nodded, indicating that he’d bring her another cranberry juice. It wasn’t her favorite after work beverage but she was already walking on the wild side tonight. If she was going to do something as foolish as meet a strange man after work, she definitely wasn’t going to do it with alcohol in her system.
But what a man.
She squirmed, remembering how intense he’d been leaning over her, blue eyes fixed on her ass. It had been a really long time since she’d experienced pure, high-octane desire. This was no civilized thing. She didn’t want him to take her out for dinner and a movie with a polite kiss at the end. Oh no. She wanted his big hands on her breasts, his tongue in her mouth and to find out if that bulge in his pants was as big as it appeared. He made her want sex, pure and simple. Sweaty, rough, dirty sex. Sex that made her feel naughty and liberated all at the same time.
It had been so long since she’d wanted a man. Truthfully, that was probably the only reason she’d said yes. It would probably be a shock to others since she dealt in fantasy but her own desires had been curiously dormant for years. Maybe it was because she was surrounded by eroticism at the club and she’d become immune to it. Nothing really pushed her buttons anymore.
She was bored.
“A whisky. Neat.” An arm, lightly covered in dark hair, landed on the bar right next to her. King raised an eyebrow at her drink. “Please tell me there’s vodka in that?”
She raised her glass, eyeing him over the brim. “Hoping to get me drunk?”
“Of course. What kind of pervert would I be if I wasn’t trying to get you drunk?”
Olivia shook her head, charmed in spite of herself. She snuck a glance at him, taking in the custom tailored suit and the watch that she identified as an Audemars Piguet. Expensive but classy. He was definitely their typical member. Wealthy, entitled and demanding. However, she hadn’t been expecting him to have a sense of humor.
“So are you going to tell me about this personal matter now or do you want to ask for a background check first? Maybe take me to an underground bunker and interrogate me?”
He accepted his drink from the bartender and took a long sip. “I get the sense that you think those are overkill? But once you find out about the job, you’ll probably prefer the bunker.”
Intrigued, Olivia leaned toward him so she could hear better. “You want to offer me a job?” Then her common sense kicked in and she understood exactly what type of job a guy like him would offer to a girl like her.
She pushed her drink away and pulled a twenty-dollar bill out of her pocket, more than enough to cover her drinks and the tip.
“Wait, you’re leaving?” King put his hand on her arm but pulled it back when she glared at him.
“Yes. I’m going home. Despite what you probably think after meeting me at the club, I don’t fuck for money. I’m not interested in your job offer.” She made exaggerated quotation marks with her fingers.
His eyebrows shot up. “Whoa! That’s not what I was getting at. I swear. This is a legit job offer. Nothing … inappropriate.”
Olivia sat back down, feeling a little foolish. With her luck, he’d turn out to be a potential investor in the club or something else completely legitimate and she’d feel even worse. What was it about this guy? He tied her in knots and made her feel like a teenage girl with her first crush. It was mortifying.
“I’m sorry if I overreacted.”
“No apology is necessary. I should have realized how it would sound.”
Olivia laughed and then propped her head on her hand. “Regretting this yet? In case you can’t tell, I don’t get out much.”
King smiled. “Not at all. You’re perfect. A woman who isn’t afraid to state her mind.”
There was something in the way he said it that wasn’t exactly a compliment but Olivia was too tired to look for hidden meaning. This entire thing was likely a mistake. Her libido had always gotten her into trouble. That was how she’d ended up a pregnant, single, college dropout before she was even twenty years old.
She sat up straight and fixed a polite smile on her face. Whatever King wanted, she’d find a way to shut him down politely and then go on with her life. He was a VIP member so she couldn’t afford to alienate him but it was high time she stopped letting her panties lead her around.
Men had always been the root of all her troubles but Bennett was going to save her from all that. It was time to stop playing games and go for the right kind of man. Ben was her best friend and she already loved him.
The rest would come with time, right?
* * *
King couldn’t stop staring at her mouth.
He took another swig of whisky, relishing the smooth burn as it traveled down and settled in the pit of his stomach.
She sat up slightly and smiled at him, a wooden smile that didn’t reach her eyes. He’d seen that particular look plenty of times on his mother’s face when his father was droning on about something or other.
“You’ve already decided you’re going to say no.”
Surprise flickered in her eyes before she glanced away. Her fingers wrapped around her glass but there was nothing left but ice.
“Look … King. I don’t want to be rude but I have a feeling whatever you’re going to ask me probably isn’t something I want to do.”
“Oh really? You don’t like parties? Or eating exquisite cuisine? Or shopping for clothes and shoes that you don’t have to pay for? The job comes with a clothing allowance.”
She dipped her head. “Go on. Not that I’m interested or anything.”
King pressed his lips together to stifle a grin. “My parents have decided that I need to settle down. I’m the CEO of the family business and as a result, I haven’t had much time to meet anyone.”
“They’re probably just worried about you,” she said.
He grimaced. “That may be the case. But they’ve also decided that they’ll hand control over to my little brother if I don’t settle down. My little brother who at this very moment is probably out drinking, sleepi
ng with anything on two legs and generally being as much of a spoiled brat as possible.”
Olivia didn’t say anything but he could tell she was listening because she’d angled her head closer to him. It was impossible not to notice how long her eyelashes were or how the tips of her long, wavy hair brushed her lower back. She’d changed into street clothes but he could still see her sweet curves even beneath jeans and a leather jacket.
“So, you need me to pretend to be your girlfriend? Come on. That only works in the movies. You don’t think your parents will find it suspicious that you suddenly have a girlfriend? They’re going to know you’re just pretending to placate them.”
“I know.”
Her mouth puckered into the most adorable little pout. Damn, he was going to enjoy this. His parents would be appropriately scared off by her smart mouth and would leave him, and his position at Kingsley International, alone. Meanwhile, he was going to enjoy having that smart mouth all over him. He’d never been so happy about his parents meddling before.
“Okay, maybe I’m just tired or perhaps there actually was vodka in the cranberry juice but I don’t get the point of this. Why bother having me pretend to be your girlfriend if your parents are going to know what you’re doing?”
He couldn’t resist anymore so he tapped her softly on the end of the nose. She gasped softly and a faint flush covered her cheekbones.
“Because, my sweet angel, my parents know me well. They aren’t expecting me to fall in love. They just want me to marry for appearances sake. My parents aren’t in love either. My mother’s family had some corporate holdings that my father’s family was interested in. So they married and now Kingsley International is one of the biggest banking and investing firms in the world.”