It's Our Time (Carolina Rebels Book 4)

by Lindsay Paige

  It’s still too close for my comfort, but if that dog ends up having to attend my wedding, then so be it. I’ll be marrying Sydney Jarvis Saturday one way or another.

  “Daddy, we keep him?”

  Meredith is here to pick up Leo and Savannah does not want him to leave. Ian glares at me for a quick second before clearing it off his face as he crouches in front of Savannah.

  “No, little Miss. He’s not ours. Leo is Meredith’s dog.”

  “But…but he’s cute.” Her eyes begin to water and I can already tell she’s going to be crying about this for a while.

  “I know. We were only watching him while Meredith was on a trip, remember? This isn’t his home. Leo wants to go home. Don’t you want him to go home with his family?”

  Savannah quickly shakes her head. Ian sighs, asks to hold Leo, and I’m surprised when she hands him over. Ian gives Leo to Meredith and Savannah’s cries begin.

  “Come here, little Miss. It’s okay. I’m sure Meredith will let you visit Leo or he can come back for a sleepover again sometime.”

  “I wanna keep him,” she sobs into his shoulder.

  Poor Meredith looks lost. I pat her shoulder and mouth that it’s okay. I’m going to miss the little guy too. He liked to curl up in my lap and rest his head on my stomach. It was so sweet and cute. He’s so well-behaved. He slept with Savannah every night and she did what she could to “help” me take care of him. Ian bitched about letting him out, but we have a fenced-in backyard. All he did was open the door and stand outside with him. I think he liked the little guy too and just didn’t want to give me any ideas about getting a dog.

  Every night he reminded me that if we get a dog, I’ll be the one taking care of it most of the time because once the season starts, he’ll be traveling and working. I reminded him that it wasn’t that different than taking care of Savannah. He didn’t like that comparison, but it’s a bit true. When he’s gone, I’ll be the one here taking care of her.

  Savannah is all-out bawling now, mumbling incoherently about the doggie, and my eyes are starting to water. Before I can stop myself or think it through, I blurt out, “Maybe we’ll get our own dog, buttercup.”

  Ian’s head snaps over so fast, I’m surprised it doesn’t pop off. “Babe!”

  “Really?” Savannah asks, her voice full of hope.

  “Maybe.” I nod.

  “Babe,” Ian repeats with more force.

  Her tears are all dry now and she’s smiling. She waves. “Bye, Leo!” She wanders off to find Z, her seahorse.

  “You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?” Ian asks with a shake of his head.

  Meredith laughs. “I think that’s my cue to go. Thanks so much for taking care of him. Whenever that baby boy comes and you guys need a night to yourselves, call us and we’ll babysit.”

  “You can count on that,” Ian says. “Especially if these two con me into getting them a dog.” Meredith thanks us again and Ian helps her carry his things out to her car. When he comes back inside, he glares at me. “What the hell, gorgeous?”

  “Ooh, bad word, Daddy!” Savannah chirps from her spot on the other side of the coffee table.

  “Sorry, little Miss,” he immediately says.

  “It worked, didn’t it? She stopped and I got caught up in the moment. It doesn’t have to happen.”

  “I think two kids will be enough on our plate, don’t you?”

  I shrug. The dog was so damn cute. Ian sighs and pulls me into his lap.

  “Table it for another month at least. You ready to marry me tomorrow?”

  “Yes,” I whisper, resting my forehead against his.

  “Have you tried your dress on lately?” He rubs my belly with an evil grin.

  “Don’t be an ass, Ian.”

  Savannah gasps. “Mommy!” It’s rare for her to hear me cuss, so I’m not surprised at her surprise.

  “Sorry, buttercup. Your daddy is a bad influence. Are you ready for the wedding tomorrow? Excited to wear your dress?”

  “Yes!” Savannah might be the most excited of us all. We’ve told her that Mommy and Daddy love each other so much we’re getting married and that means she gets to wear a dress. Then, we’re spending a week at the beach. She’s also excited about that.

  I turn back to Ian. “Are you sure you don’t want Mom to keep her so we can honeymoon alone?” He’s been insistent from the beginning that wherever we go, she’s coming with us. It’s been so odd that I keep asking if he’s sure.

  “Yeah. She’s never been, right?” I nod. “Then no way am I not taking her. Honeymoon or not. It’s not like we can’t still have us-time.” I must look skeptical because his voice lowers. “It’s my first summer with her, babe. I’m not leaving her behind, even for a week completely alone with you.”

  That turns my heart to goo. My eyes water and I lean forward to kiss him softly. “I love you.”

  “Hope so. You’re stuck with me, remember? If you change your mind, you become my hostage.”

  I laugh. He knows as well as I do that I’m not going anywhere.

  Today, we’re getting married.

  When deciding where to have our wedding, we discovered that EJ had a gorgeous backyard. He is letting us use it for the day for our small and short ceremony. The only people here are Savannah, my dad, Chris, Mom, Logan, Carey, Zane, and Ian’s dad, Jimmy. He still hasn’t been able to get on good enough terms with his mother, and he didn’t want anything to taint today, so he made the decision not to invite her or his sisters. She’s yet to meet Savannah as well, but Ian said she hasn’t asked either.

  I’m standing just inside the house, which is ridiculously beautiful, and I’m peering through the sheer curtains. Everyone is watching Savannah, laughing and smiling, as she dances around and tosses her flower petals up into the air.

  This moment reminds me of a plane taking off, which reminds me of first kisses and how Ian described them both to me. It’s like a first kiss you’ve been waiting for and it’s finally happening. Our entire relationship has been building up to this moment. There’s nothing but anticipation and excitement for what’s to come. My heart is beating a million miles an hour, and I’d bet that Ian’s is too. If not, it will the moment I start to open this door.

  I’m nervous, but not worried because it’ll be perfect and we’re beyond ready. Not to mention that Ian looks yummy in his tux. EJ has a large tree, which is providing some relief, but it’s still hot, even though it’s late afternoon and there are fans outside that are aimed at everyone. Even from here, I can see his hair sticking to the edges of his face.

  All of a sudden, Zane pulls Savannah over to him and they all look to the door. That’s my cue. I can hear the soft music playing, but it’s louder when I open the door. My eyes are on Ian as I reach behind me to close the door. He’s grinning the biggest grin I’ve ever seen.

  His arm moves, my eyes drop, and his hand is out, waiting for me. My feet move faster until I’m standing in front of him, my hand in his. My dress flaps against my legs and I realize there are two fans aimed right at Ian and me. They don’t want either one of us getting overheated.

  Ian leans forward to whisper in my ear. “Fucking gorgeous, babe.”

  I beam a smile. “You’re handsome, too.” I reach up to push some of his hair away from his face. He’s probably even hotter with that beard.

  The officiant clears his throat and begins to speak. That triggers my tears. It’s taken so much for us to get here. So many mistakes. So many arguments. But so many right things. So much love. We’ve been resilient, even when we didn’t realize it. Thank god for this man in front of me because he’s definitely held us together.

  “Ian,” I blurt out. Tears are steadily streaming down my face.

  He eases his hands onto my cheeks, flicking a quick glance at the surprised officiant since I just interrupted him, and then focuses on me. “You okay, gorgeous?” he asks carefully.

  “I love you so much.”

  He puffs a laugh and pulls
me against him in a hug. “I love you too, babe, but you’re being rude. Let the man finish talking and you can tell me you love me all you want during your vows, okay?”

  “All right. I’m sorry. I just couldn’t help it.”

  Ian kisses my forehead. The officiant begins to talk and then Ian starts reciting his vows. This day is too perfect. Every moment, I wonder if I’m going to fall apart with a happy sob that this moment is finally here. It’s happening. We’re together once and for all. The moment we say I do and have our first kiss as husband and wife, we’ll be soaring. Flying high, coasting, savoring, and enjoying our life and the fact that it’s finally our time.

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  Acknowledgements

  Thank you, Kristalyn Thornock. At this point, I don’t know what I’d do without you! Thanks for answering all my long emails, listening to my ramblings, and having just as much excitement for my characters as I do.

  Thank you, Shannon Page, for editing my work. It’s a pleasure to work with you!

  Thank you, Robin from Wicked by Design, for working with me and always giving me a cover that I absolutely adore! I especially love the covers for this series, and I have you to thank for that.

  Thank you, Julie from JT Formatting. You’re by far one of the best to work with. You and your work? Amazing!

  Thank you, reader, for taking the time to read this story. I hope you enjoyed Ian and Sydney’s story.

  Lindsay Paige is the author of multiple Young Adult, New Adult, and Sports romances. She has also coauthored sports romances with Mary Smith. Along with writing, she loves reading, watching hockey, especially the Pittsburgh Penguins, and finding funny terrible puns and recipes on Pinterest. All the while, she is also focused on completing college.

  Lindsay resides in North Carolina and is inspired by the world around her and the people in it. She is currently working on numerous solo works.

  If you would like to hear news before anyone else, interact with Lindsay, and have a place to discuss her books with fellow fans, join Lindsay’s League on Facebook.

  If you’d like to talk about hockey with fellow fans and readers of hockey romances as well as other hockey romance authors, join The Sin Bin on Facebook.

  Author Links:

  Website: lindsaypaige.com

  Twitter: twitter.com/lindsaypaige11

  Facebook: facebook.com/authorlindsaypaige

  Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/lindsaysleague/

  Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/authorlindsay/

  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorlindsaypaige/

  Lindsay has written the following books/series:

  Bending Under Pressure

  Bold as Love series

  Bracing for Love series

  Carolina Rebels series

  Don’t Panic

  Sanity series

  Without a Doubt

  You Before Me

  She has cowritten the following series:

  The Penalty Kill Trilogy

  Oh Captain, My Captain series

  The Ninth Inning series

  Coming Soon

  Ever wonder what it’s like to be married to Sylvia Boyd? You’ll find out because Scott Boyd is the next Rebel to get a story. This next installment in the Carolina Rebels series will be a novella, which will release August 30, 2017.

  Learn more here.