by Iris Abbott
The man’s smirk disappeared. The blood drained from his face, leaving him white as chalk.
“Yeah, your time’s come,” Marcus informed Maggie’s ex in a gruff voice. “They say Karma’s a bitch, and you’re about to find out why.”
He spun on his heel and strolled from the small room like he didn’t have a care in the world. With that bit of unpleasant business taken care of, he wanted to get back to Maggie. First, he had a couple of stops to make back in Charleston. He was going shopping, not for a gnome, but another type of figurine.
Marcus eyed the exit and stalked that way with short, jerky motions. His gut churned with nerves, but it was a good kind of nervous. Marcus was ready to take a giant leap forward and cement his bond with Savannah.
****
The smell of freshly brewed coffee and sweet cinnamon drew Maggie to the kitchen. Marcus must have gone out for fresh cinnamon buns. The delicious aroma permeated the kitchen and infiltrated the rest of the house.
A beautiful bouquet of blue, green, and white, her favorite colors, took pride of place in the center of the kitchen island. The flowers were beautiful. She gently touched a couple of the blooms and leaned down to smell them.
Her gaze drifted to the right of the vase and landed on a figurine. She furrowed her brows when she realized it was not the usual gnome. Instead, it was a bride and groom cake topper. The groom was down on one knee, kissing the hand of his bride.
Maggie’s hand flew to her mouth. She stared at the romantic statue with wide eyes. Her skin tingled with excitement. Her heart raced. She felt butterflies in her belly.
“Maggie!”
Her hand dropped to her side, and she spun around. Maggie was so focused on the figurine that she did not hear Marcus join her. He was down on one knee just like the man in the bride and groom cake topper. Her mouth fell open, and she gasped.
Maggie did a double-take when she noticed the small square box he held. She stared at Marcus in disbelief. They had not even been living together for a week. She loved him and believed he loved her, but she hadn’t been expecting him to move so fast.
Marcus cleared his throat. “Magnolia Rains, I need you like the moon needs the darkness to shine bright and strong. Not having you in my life would be like a permanent eclipse of the moon. Will you marry me?”
He snapped open the box. A large pearl surrounded by diamonds glistened in the sunlight that streamed in from the windows.
She sucked in a breath and stared at the ring in awe. Her hands flew to her face. “Yes!”
He slipped the ring out of the box, reached for her left hand, and slid it onto her ring finger.
Maggie stared at the stunning piece of jewelry through watery eyes. She rapidly blinked, trying to hold back the tears of joy that threatened to fall. “It’s beautiful!”
She tentatively traced the perfectly round, lustrous white pearl.
“It’s a South Sea pearl, natural. I know how much you love the ocean.”
“I do! I love the ring, and I love you!” She launched herself at him. Maggie trusted Marcus to catch her and not let them fall.
She wrapped her arms around his neck. He kissed away the tears that tracked down her cheeks. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
“Tears of joy,” Maggie sniffed. “We belong together and have the rest of our lives to prove it.”
His lips crushed against her mouth, hot with desire. He cradled her head in his hands, deepening the embrace. When they kissed, it was crashing waves, shooting stars, and so much more.
FIFTEEN
Marcus stood at the front of the gathering of their loved ones and waited for Maggie to join him. The standing group, they hadn’t bothered with chairs, contained Maggie’s parents, her band members, his mom, and most of his friends from Barrett Security. Unfortunately, Ben was absent. He was still on crutches and insisted it would be awkward for him to maneuver around the beach. Marcus thought it more likely that Ben still felt self-conscious about the incident and wasn’t up for a party.
Water flowed behind him, and the coastline shifted around him. Barefooted, he wiggled his toes in the smooth, warm sand. An ocean breeze offered relief from the warmth of the setting sun. Waves crashed against the shoreline. Gulls soared and squawked overhead.
“You ready for this?” Jeremy, his best man, leaned over to whisper.
“Could not be readier,” he shot back. He breathed deep, expanding his lungs with the fresh air. His pulse beat in a calm, steady rhythm. A sense of peace settled over him.
Holly and Lily sat off to one side. They began to play “Bridal Chorus” on a violin and classical guitar. At the sound of the music, Marcus widened his stance and moved his gaze to the area beyond their gathered guests.
He saw Savannah first. She sauntered to the front. She smiled at him before she took her place and turned to face the group of guests.
Not wanting to wait, he and Maggie decided to have a simple ceremony on a local beach with only family and close friends. Even the attire was casual. He wore a loose-fitting Hawaiian shirt and his usual cargo pants. Jeremy’s attire was much the same.
Maggie appeared in his line of vision and waltzed toward him. She wore a gossamer-thin, lacy, full-length turquoise sundress that personified his gypsy mermaid. She carried a mix of blue, green, and white blooms that closely resembled the bouquet he gave her when he proposed. Her smile was bright enough to eclipse the moon. Her face glowed with joy and love all for him.
His breath caught in his throat. She was so breathtaking. He went weak in the knees and widened his stance to remain standing. His pulse raced. His fingers tingled to touch her with every step she took.
Finally, she reached his side. Her smile widened. He matched her grin, grasped her free hand, and entwined their fingers together.
****
Happiness bubbled through her. Maggie bit the end of her tongue to stop herself from laughing out loud as giddiness overtook her. She could not remember ever being so happy. Her heart was full and bursting with joy.
She noticed everything. The smell of her bouquet, the feel of the warm, soft sand between her toes, the slide of the lacy dress over her skin, the spinning lightheadedness of supreme joy, the utter look of love that brightened Marcus’s face, she tucked it all away in her memories to never be forgotten. She wanted to remember every detail of her wedding until her dying day.
The wedding officiant led them through the short ceremony. They said their vows and were pronounced man and wife. She and Marcus kissed. Cheers and wolf whistles erupted around them. The passionate embrace continued for several seconds until the two of them separated, seeking the air they needed to breathe.
Her parents and sister were hosting a catered dinner and reception at her grandmother’s place. The gathering would break up and reconvene back at the home that once belonged to her grandparents and now belonged to her and Savannah. First, though, Maggie wanted to throw the bouquet. She had plans for the bundle of flowers.
She stepped away from Marcus, clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention, and had her single friends line up in a group. Lily and Holly jumped around in excitement, waving their arms. Rose, engaged with a wedding date set for the end of July over in Alabama, good-naturedly joined the group. Savannah had to be prodded into joining the other ladies and stood off to the side.
Maggie grinned, zeroed in on her target, turned her back, and heaved the bouquet over her shoulder. She heard squeals and laughter. She spun around to see that her aim was true. She smirked at her sister’s glare and innocently shrugged her shoulders before twining her arm with Marcus’s and escaping to his SUV.
****
Savannah sat on the last of the hardwood stairs, staying slightly hidden from the people milling around her new home. She looked around her, still hardly daring to believe the historic house she loved to visit as a child, the place where her grandparents lavished her and Maggie with so much love, now belonged to her. Well, her and her sister, though, she planned to eventual
ly buy out her sister since the now-married Maggie had never taken up residence there.
Maggie fluidly flounced up to Savannah and joined her on the steps. She hummed a joyous tune. The smile on her upturned face was bright enough to rival the sun. She threw an arm around Savannah’s shoulder and hugged her tight.
The two women leaned toward each other. Their heads touched cheek to cheek.
“This is the best day of my life!” Maggie happily exclaimed. “One of them anyway!”
“I’m thrilled for you, sissy! You deserve to be happy, and I’m so thankful you and Marcus found each other.”
“Ivan’s a jerk.”
Savannah scrunched up her face. “You had to go and ruin the day by mentioning my ex.”
“I didn’t ruin anything,” Maggie insisted with a grin. “Ivan is your Caleb. Eventually, you’ll find your Marcus.” She moved away from Savannah and double-tapped her heart. “I feel it in here.”
Marcus entered the foyer and leaned against the wall. He grinned.
Maggie practically vibrated with joy at the sight of her new husband.
“The band is getting ready to play our song,” he told her.
Savannah hugged her sister. “Go! Dance, have fun! It’s your night!”
Maggie bounced to her feet and practically floated across the floor to Marcus. She entwined her arm with his, and they left to rejoin the party. She glanced over her shoulder a second before they turned the corner. “I love you,” she mouthed.
“Love you back!” Savannah whispered.
Several warring emotions struggled to win out over the others. She rapidly blinked, and a few tears dripped from the corners of her eyes. They were tears of happiness for the baby sister she loved more than anything. Maggie was the happiest Savannah had ever seen her, and that did her heart good. Tears of sadness, too, mostly from Savannah feeling sorry for herself. She rubbed her eyes and cheeks, erasing evidence of her crying.
The sound of a popular ballad from their childhood drifted through the air. Savannah imagined her parents, the bride and groom, and other coupled wedding guests slow dancing together. There was no one for her to dance with, not since her ex unceremoniously dumped her. Marcus had good-looking friends, but she wasn’t ready to go there.
Savannah glanced at the bridal bouquet sitting in her lap and shook her head. She knew Maggie purposefully threw it right at her even though her friends Lily and Holly were eager to catch it. The problem was that the thing flew right at her face. Savannah only threw up her hands and caught it as an act of self-defense! Now she was stuck with it because she didn’t want to hurt Maggie’s feelings.
She might have caught the bouquet, but no way was she getting married next. Ivan had not broken her heart, but he sure trampled on her pride. She was going to hide out in the comfort and familiarity of the old house, lick her wounds, dance in the rain, and decide what was next for Savannah Rains. New friends, a shift in her career, maybe even a hobby, the one thing she was not in the market for was a new man.
Thank you. I hope you enjoyed reading Magnolia and Moonlight, the first book in the Barrett Security series. Want to find out more about Maggie’s sister Savannah and Barrett Security’s Ben Galvan? Be sure to read book two, Southern Rain!
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Please visit my Amazon author page https://www.amazon.com/Iris-Abbott/e/B004NJG4EA for a complete list of published books. Also, visit my website irisabbott.com or my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/IrisAbbottAuthor for more information on upcoming releases! I enjoy feedback from my readers, so let me know what you’re thinking at [email protected]. Happy reading!
Table of Contents
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
Thank you.