Saving Her

by Mia Ford

I slide the ring onto Serena’s fingers as everyone jumps for joy and cheers around us. I hoped things would go this way but now that they have I feel over the moon. Judging by the happiness on Serena’s face she feels the same way. This is the sort of thing that neither of us expected to happen but here we are living the dream.

  “That isn’t the only surprise,” I tell her as she flings her arms around me. “I have something else for you.”

  She takes the envelope from me and she grins brightly. “More surprises? I don’t know if I can take any more. My heart is already pounding at a million miles an hour.” She tears the envelope open and stares at what’s inside. “You’ve booked us a weekend away? Are you serious?”

  “Yep. I mean it’s just one night and two days because I didn’t think you’d be able to handle more than that away from the kids, but it should be fun, right? And Mom is staying here with the kids during that time so we can have some real me and you time.” God we need that. We’ve done our best considering we have twins, but a whole weekend of just us sounds like absolute heaven to me. “What do you think about that?”

  Serena squeezes me so tight I can barely breathe. “Oh my God, that sounds utterly amazing. Are you sure about this, Iris?”

  “I’m definitely sure. You know how I feel about these two little darlings. Plus, we can start compiling some wedding ideas for you two to think about, I’m sure you’ll want the ceremony soon since you’re doing things the wrong way around...”

  “Alright, Mom.” I have to stop her before she drives me nuts. She’s about to really get carried away. “Don’t dress up your keenness for a wedding on us doing the right thing. We’ll get married when we get married, okay?”

  “Alright, alright, you know I’m just really happy for you, that’s all.”

  As Serena moves over to her girlfriends to hug them, I wonder if she’ll invite her parents. She doesn’t talk about them much and I don’t like to ask her in case it upsets her. The last I heard they sent her away with some money because she was an embarrassment to them for having a baby out of wedlock. But this is a time we might have to discuss it. We’re going to have to plan what we’re doing next.

  Not now though, not today. Today is a happy day and I want it to stay that way. Anything challenging can come later on. This is my proposal day. The first day of the rest of our lives.

  Epilogue – Serena

  “How do you feel?” Ethan asks me, looking about as pale and anxious as I feel. “All good? You okay? I mean, you look great I just want make sure that you feel...”

  “Will you stop it?” I beg as I smooth down my ivory mermaid tail gown, which I pretty much chose for the sweetheart neckline and lace detailing alone. “You’re making me panic here. The last thing I want to do is panic on my wedding day.”

  “Yeah, yeah, you’re right, it’s just... oh God.” Ethan’s eyes well up with tears. “Well I’m just so happy for you. And I’m so glad I decided to move to the city to be near you guys. Getting to reconnect with you and meeting, spending time with my niece and nephew, well it’s just been incredible. I feel so happy.”

  I grip onto his hands and pull him to me for a grateful hug. “I’m so glad that you’re here too and I’m pleased it’s you walking me down the aisle.”

  Mom and Dad are here, it would have been wrong not to invite them, and much as I’m not sure they deserve to know my babies, I need to be a grown up about it and give them a chance. If I think about it seriously, at least they gave me some money to get started with. They didn’t kick me out with nothing. I don’t mind giving them just one shot. It will only be the one though. They can be here, but not part of the wedding party. My very supportive brother deserves that role so much more, he’s never turned his back on me. Not once.

  “I suppose we better get going in a minute. Your husband to be awaits.”

  Luckily, the place we decided to stay in is just a short walk from the church, so I walk arm in arm with my brother and suck in some cool, fresh air which calms me down a bit. I don’t know what emotion is more prominent inside me, the excitement that I’m going to spend the rest of my life with the man of my dreams, or the nerves that this day will end up in disaster. Iris has been amazing in helping everything to run smoothly, but I just want it all to go well.

  “Oh look.” Ethan points in front of him. “There are your bridesmaids.”

  Jenny has Rose with her and Tia has Brandon. No one but me thought it was a good idea to have my children as part of the ceremony while they’re so young, but they’ll soon see. They’re old enough to walk now and they both look utterly adorable in their outfits. There’s no doubt about it, today is going to be incredible.

  “You look great,” Jenny instantly gushes as she spots me. “Really beautiful.”

  “Oh well you two look wonderful too. I love the lilac on you both.” I don’t know if either of them agree, but they don’t complain. “Are you ready? I suppose we better do this.”

  Jenny and Tia both hug me and whisper messages of congratulations and good luck to me, before they start walking with my little ones ahead of me into the church. I hear the music playing, it makes my heart skip a beat, but I manage to chill out just a little bit by thinking about the man waiting for me at the other side.

  We fought hard to get to this place, we deserve this.

  “I think that’s our cue.” Ethan grabs my arm again. “Come on, let’s go.”

  All eyes fix on me as we walk into the church, but all I can see are a pair of hazelnut’s staring back at me with the same smiling look that he had when we first met. I was a naïve young girl waiting for my life to get exciting, dressed in barely anything and handing out drinks. He was the rich stranger who’s handsome good looks and kind nature made my time on the job seem not too bad. Who knew how irrevocably we would change one another.

  “Wow,” he mouths as I get closer to him. “You look beautiful.”

  I’m so fixed on him, loving the look of his moving lips, that I completely misstep and don’t quite keep in time with the music. But I’m sure it doesn’t matter. That isn’t what we’re here for after all.

  Ethan hands me over to Ben who takes me willingly from him. Maybe it’s a bit archaic to be passing me along as if I’m some sort of property to be owned, but I don’t care. I like the traditional aspect of it all, it feels nice. I think I’ll enjoy the sensation of having just one person to care for me forever more.

  “Friends and family of Ben Katch and Serena Jones,” the minister starts in a tone that booms around the quaint small church that’s been made even more beautiful by the pink and white roses decorating it. “Welcome, I would like to thank you for joining us on such a special day.” I don’t look anywhere but at Ben, my eyes already shining with pure love. “We are gathered here today to celebrate the special love between these two people by joining them in marriage. You have chosen to have your wedding here, because it symbolises the union you share and the love in which you wish to indulge in for the rest of your lives.”

  There is a hush in the church, I can even feel myself holding my breath. I knew today would be an emotional one, but I didn’t think it would feel this intense. It’s almost overwhelming.

  “Your marriage today is the public and legal joining of your souls that have already been united in your hearts...”

  That’s it. I’m a mess. The tears stream down my cheeks making me so glad that I put on water proof make up this morning. It’s almost as if I knew that I would fall apart.

  “Marriage will allow you to grow as individuals, as well as together, it will deepen your love and allow you to face the world together, hand in hand. Of course, you will need courage, patience, and a sense of fun to get you through this, but this time will ensure that you fall in love over and over again.”

  Ben’s fingers loop through mine the entire way through the ceremony and I can feel myself gaining a strength from him. We are different, there’s no denying that. Our lives have been unique, we have grown into individual
s, but those differences between us strengthen us as much as our similarities. He is my ying to my yang. I guess, we complete each other in a way. He gives me all the things I didn’t know I needed, and I think I do the same for him. Yes, we have struggled, but the fight we’ve endured now means we know we can tackle anything.

  The only time Ben takes his hands away from mine is the moment he speaks out his vows and he slips the ring onto my finger. Because of how upside down and back to front our love story has been, we decided to stick to the traditional wedding vows.

  “I, Ben Katch, take thee, Serena Jones, to be my lawfully wedded wife. To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, from this day forward until death do us part.” Once the ring is on my finger, Ben cannot help himself. He adds a little bit of his own. “After all, it was only ever going to be you, wasn’t it?”

  Then, it’s my turn. “I, Serena Jones, take thee, Ben Katch, to be my lawfully wedded husband. To respect you in your successes and your failures, to care for you in sickness and in health, to nurture you, to grow with you throughout the seasons of life.” I cope him. Once the ring is on I add my own little bit. I basically say the same but with much less fuss. “Only you.”

  “You may now kiss the bride.”

  Ben spins me and dips me low in an unexpected dramatic fashion before he places his lips against mine, creating a massive whooping and cheering from the crowd around us. As we share our first kiss as husband and wife, I finally feel that sense of excitement that I’ve always been looking for, but this time it’s mixed in with security too, making it the most amazing feeling in the world. With our children beside us and our friends and family watching us and sharing in this moment, I couldn’t be happier. Everything is perfect.

  “I love you,” Ben whispers as we finally pull apart. “Only you.”

  Only you, it seems that is going to become our thing, our mantra to push us forwards when it seems to hard to do so, our motto to remind us that even when it seems that way, it really isn’t that bad. Only you, the words of me and Ben. The glue holding us together.

  “I love you too,” I tell him softly while gently stroking his cheek. “You and only you.”

  Inseperable

  Book Blurb

  She’s meant to be mine, and this time I’m not letting her go!

  I’m done with gold diggers,

  And growing my business is all that matters to me.

  Until…

  I spot her at the bar.

  She ignites that passion in me…once again!

  And I decide to claim her for good.

  I’m gonna make sure she moans my name and begs for more.

  And when life seems so perfect,

  I discover more about her.

  I can’t believe she kept secrets from me.

  She’s a woman I never meant to hurt.

  And now I am faced with a choice:

  Do I let go of the past?

  Or give our relationship a second chance?

  Two lost souls, running from the pain of their pasts, find love, passion, and more than they could have imagined possible, but are they prepared to do the work to have it all?

  Chapter 1

  Amanda

  The waiter glanced at the empty seat across from me at my table as he filled my water glass for the second time. I straightened the fork on the linen napkin in front of me and sighed, putting my hands in my lap. The restaurant was full, and there were people waiting at the front for tables. I felt slightly uncomfortable sitting there without ordering anything, but I wasn’t quite sure what was going on yet. I stopped the waiter before he left my table and requested a glass of chardonnay so that at least I wouldn’t be sitting there empty-handed. I was supposed to be meeting my best friend Lindsey to go over some wedding details.

  Lindsey had been my best friend since before I could remember. We had grown up together and continued our lives in the same place, Los Angeles, California. We were LA girls and that would never change. Lindsey had met her fiancé Jordan Smith at a happy hour event at that very restaurant, and it was all history from there. I liked Jordan a lot, and the two of them fit together so perfectly. At times it made me jealous, but then I remembered what kind of assholes that men could be.

  In any case, Lindsey was supposed to be there to talk about her upcoming wedding. I was the Maid of Honor, and the big day was only a month away with about a thousand things to get done. I loved her, but sometimes, it was like she thought these things would magically get solved if she just ignored them. The wedding planning had started out with a bang after her engagement, but the closer we got, the more exhausted I could see her getting with it all. We were all at the point where we just wanted the wedding to be there. I reached in my purse and pulled out my phone, which was buzzing wildly.

  “Where are you?” I whispered with irritation.

  “I’m so sorry, Amanda,” she said. “I have a photo shoot going on, and I thought it would be over, but things are taking way too long. I don’t think I can make dinner today. We will reschedule really soon.”

  Lindsey was one of those girls with the perfect body, perfect complexion, and curves in all the right places. She was not just a could-be model but an actual one. She lived a luxurious life, and it always made me giggle seeing her on different ads through the city. She was so goofy in real life but so serious when it came to her job. I sighed and took a drink of my wine.

  “It’s alright,” I said. “Call me when you’re done, and we’ll reschedule.”

  “Thank you,” she said sweetly. “I love you to pieces. I gotta go. The photographer is coming back.”

  I hung up the phone, and my smile quickly faded away. I tried to be understanding, but I was a little irritated. I had been sitting there on my own for over twenty minutes. I looked around, feeling my stomach grumbling and decided why not just eat there. I was already sitting there. I flagged the waiter down and whispered to him.

  “My guest is not coming,” I said. “I’m going to stay, but I’ll move to the bar to free this table up for someone else.”

  “Very good, ma’am,” he said with a smile and nod. “I’ll have your check transferred over.”

  “I’m very sorry,” I said, standing up and grabbing my clutch off the table.

  “It’s really no problem,” he said kindly, leading me to the bar. “It happens a lot.”

  I smiled and stood to the side as he turned and headed into the back. I shook my head, slightly embarrassed about having to cancel a table like that, but the last thing I wanted to do was sit alone at a table and eat. I walked over to the bar and smiled, hanging my bag over the back of the chair and climbing up to sit down. I placed my clutch on the bar and looked down, doing a double take at the really handsome man sitting two chairs down. He smiled at me, and I blushed, looking back at the bartender as he handed me a menu. As I skimmed down the list of entrees and placed my order, I could see the hot guy moving over beside me.

  “Do you mind if I sit down?” he asked.

  “Not at all,” I replied, feeling the instant attraction between the two of us.

  “I’m Nathan,” he said, reaching his hand out.

  “Amanda,” I replied with a smile.

  “What brings you here all alone today, Amanda?”

  “I was supposed to meet my best friend, but work kept her away,” I said.

  “Her loss, my gain,” he replied with a charming smile.

  “How about you?”

  “Drinking my problems away,” he said with a laugh. “I’m just kidding. I wanted to get away from the crowds, I guess.”

  “I can understand that,” I said, laughing.

  We sat, ate, drank, and talked through the whole evening. He was really charming, and he happened to own his own tech company, though I wasn’t sure which one. From the look of the Rolex on his wrist and the Louis Vuitton suit he was wearing, I suspected he didn’t do too bad for
himself. The drinks were starting to go to my head, but I didn’t mind at all. I was enjoying this unexpected meeting.

  “I had to talk her out of floral print for the bridesmaids.” I laughed. “It’s been a nightmare.”

  “It sounds like it.” He chuckled, finishing up his drink and looking around the emptying restaurant. “Seems like we might have overstayed our welcome.”

  “Oh, gosh,” I said, looking at the time. “Would you like to come back to my place for another drink?”

  “I thought you’d never ask,” he said, flagging down the bartender. “I’ll take both our checks.”

  “You don’t have to do that,” I said, shaking my head.

  “Please, it would make me feel like I was a gentleman.” He smiled.

  I laughed and picked up my stuff while he paid the tabs. We went outside, and he waved to a black sedan parked down the block. The car drove forward and stopped in front of us, the driver getting out and opening the door.

  “Shall we?” he asked.

  “Well, sure,” I said, impressed.

  When we got to my house, Nathan instructed the driver that he would call when he was ready. I unlocked the front door and walked inside with him trailing behind. I made my way to the kitchen where I kept the liquor and reached for the whiskey on the top shelf. I froze, though, feeling Nathan’s hands slide around my waist, and his crotch rub against my ass. I closed my eyes as he ran his lips over my neck before turning me around to face him. He cradled my face in his hand and pressed his lips passionately to mine, wasting no time. We both knew this was why I’d invited him back to my place, and I knew I wanted to get him out of those clothes and run my hands through his dark hair.