Lovestrong

by Nikki Groom

  “Ari, I know you’ve probably planned your perfect wedding in your head since you were five years old, and I know you need to have every detail planned to military precision, but you know me, I don’t do normal, or traditional. Nothing about Spike or me is traditional. I have everything sorted, okay? Marriage license, dress, flowers, all sorted. Trust me. Just be here in an hour. Actually, you now have fifty-six minutes to get ready.”

  “Shit. Shit. SHIT. Oh my god, Lottie, I’m so happy for you, babe.” Her voice wobbles and I shake my head, wondering how she’s going to compose herself at the actual ceremony if she’s started to get emotional already. “You’re getting married.”

  “Yes. I’m getting married,” I answer, smiling from my head to my toes.

  She sighs, “I love you, Lottie. I’m so happy for you and Spike.”

  “Thanks, babe. I love you too. And Ari?”

  “Yes?”

  “Fifty-five,” I giggle, knowing just how much she’s going to be panicking right now.

  “Shit. Okay, I’m going. Oh, do you need me to bring anything, shoes, flowers?” she asks hurriedly.

  “Nope. Just you and D.”

  “You know I’m cursing you for making me rush my choice of attire right now?” I hear clothes hangers being scraped across rails and she huffs down the phone line.

  “Well, I’ll be cursing you if you’re not here in time.”

  “I’ll be there, don’t you worry about that.”

  “Good.”

  “Bye Lottie. You’re getting married!” she screams before I hang up on her knowing that she has so much to say to me, and if I don’t cut her off she definitely won’t get here in time.

  Spike looks up at me and grins widely. “You’re still good with this? I mean, if you want to wait”

  “I don’t want to wait,” I silence him with my answer. I slide my cell into the back pocket of my jeans and place both my hands on his knees before bending down so my face is just inches from his. “There’s no doubt in my mind that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. There never was.”

  “It’s not always going to be easy,” he grimaces.

  “I know. It wasn’t always easy before the accident,” I shrug.

  My life has never been easy. His physical disability doesn’t faze me. In fact, it’s made me realize just how lucky I am to still have him in my life. I nearly lost him. He was nearly taken from me and a more powerful reasoning kept him on this earth and I refuse to waste another minute.

  “We haven’t even talked about where we will live and,” he looks down and sighs deeply, “What about children, Lottie? We haven’t talked about any of this. What if I can’t … you know.”

  I wish there was something I could do to make him see just how simple it is in my eyes. “Do you want children, Spike?” I ask quietly. He shakes his head before lifting his eyes to mine.

  “I always thought we would have three or four children. I imagined we would have a big house out of the city with a tree house and a swing set in the yard. But now, I don’t even know if that’s a possibility for us.”

  I shake my head out of frustration. “I want to marry you. You, Preston King. I don’t want to marry you for what you can give me. All I need from you is your love. Anything after that is a bonus. Now, are we going to stand here talking about ‘what ifs’ or are we going to go and pick up my dress and your suit and go and get married?”

  His pained ‘boy lost’ expression melts away and the look in his eyes softens. “I love you, Lottie Miller.”

  “Lucky that. Seeing as we are getting married in less than forty-five minutes.” I grin, a huge, face splitting grin.

  “Shit,” he mutters under his breath. “Let’s get going, wife-to-be.”

  Why is it that time moves as fast as lightning when you have so much to cram in to a few small minutes? Dress, suit, rings and flowers, all collected in twenty minutes, leaving just twenty (give or take a few, as I can always be fashionably late) minutes for me to get dressed. And now as I stand in front of the full length mirror, I can hardly believe how far we’ve come. The picture that stares back at me is a wonder after the rollercoaster we’ve ridden to get here. It’s been one hell of a ride. A knock at the door snaps me out of my reverie. “I’m coming,” I call out before taking one last look in the mirror. I smooth down the front of my dress before opening the door.

  “Oh my god. Lottie!” Arianna greets me with a squeal. “You’re getting married. You’re really doing it!”

  “Yep. We’re really doing it.”

  “You look gorgeous. You’d look gorgeous in a paper bag, but you look stunning. Spike is a lucky guy.”

  I laugh, twirling around so she can see the whole dress. I chose a pastel blue, retro, sixties style dress, with a corseted bodice. Spike knows I don’t conform to the norm, and this occasion is no exception. The dress feels very Alice in Wonderland. Very fairytale. Very happily ever after.

  “You like it?” I ask.

  “I love it! It’s so you. I still can’t believe you’re getting married today, in a few minutes. Are you sure about this? You don’t want to wait and plan and” She rushes to get the words out, knowing that time is ticking away faster than ever.

  “No,” I answer definitively and without hesitation. “I don’t want to wait. Not a month, or a week, or even a day. This is what I’ve wanted since Spike and I met. It’s always been him.”

  “I know it has.” She steps forward and takes my hands in hers. “You’re so perfect for each other. I just wanted to give you the option.”

  “Thanks, but I’ve never wanted anything more.”

  She releases my hands and flings her arms around my neck. “I’m so happy for you. We’re actually going to be officially related now!”

  “That clearly means there’s no getting away from you,” I say dryly, rolling my eyes in jest.

  “Yep. You’re stuck with me.” She releases her tight monkey grip.

  “Well, that’s good, because I want you to be my best woman.” She gasps and clasps her hand over her mouth and her eyes start to glisten. Good thing I have tissues at the ready. “My dad obviously isn’t around any more to give me away, and my mom probably couldn’t care less if I’m getting married or doing a sky dive, so that just leaves the next most important person in my life bar Spike,” I chirp nonchalantly.

  “Of course I’ll give you away.” Her words burst out with a sob.

  “You’re the best friend a girl could ask for, Ari. I love you.” I kiss her on the cheek and her bottom lip starts to quiver.

  “I love you, too,” she cries, grabbing a tissue from me and blowing her nose loudly. “Ugh, you guys are going to ruin my makeup, I just know it.” She takes a deep breath, composing herself and I laugh. “Okay. You ready for this, babe?”

  “You bet. Oh, shoes. I need my shoes.” I grab my heels from the box and slip my feet in to them. Ari comes to stand next to me and holds out her arm for me to link with mine.

  “Let’s go.” She marches forward, taking me with her and the butterflies take up flight in my stomach. Not because I’m having doubts or second thoughts, there’s nothing I want more, but I’m so excited, and the happiness that I feel at the prospect of marrying Spike is quite overwhelming, even for a badass like me.

  We make our way up to the private balcony on level 112. It’s as high up in the clouds as you can get in Las Vegas, and I can’t imagine a more perfect setting for us. The elevator opens and I see Spike immediately. He has his back to me, with Denham, Tara, who’s dressed in bike leathers ready to take off after we’ve tied the knot, and their mom, Dana, all standing by his side. The minister, who stands directly in front of Spike, smiles when he sees me and Arianna come out on to the balcony, and Denham grins and flashes Ari a wink before nudging Spike with his elbow. It takes a second for him to lift his bowed head, and he turns in his chair slowly. It feels surreal, like it’s all happening in slow motion and by the time he’s fully turned and looking directly at me, I h
ave tears rolling down my cheeks. His lower lip quivers as he smiles and holds out his hand. I glance up at Ari who walks me forward and happily unlinks my arm with hers, taking my hand to give to Spike.

  My skin is ablaze with feeling, my eyes full of happy tears, and heart is bursting with love. I’m surrounded by the only people that matter to me. My family. My future.

  The minister speaks in a dulcet tone, putting everyone at ease, and pulling us together with his words about eternity and family. He recites the legalities then gives me a nod to tell me that the next part is all mine.

  “Wait,” I say, and I feel everyone tense around us which makes me laugh. “These have to come off.” I slip off my shoes and kick them to the side of us. Standing barefoot in front of Spike, meeting his eyes, level, equal, it feels right. With my hands joined with Spike’s and our gazes locked, I swallow hard before the words come.

  “When we first met, I thought you were crazy. I know what you’re thinking, I’m the crazy one in this relationship. But to put up with me, you have to be mental, right?” This draws a laugh from everyone around us, but I stay locked on Spike, his gentle gaze, his handsome face. “You know me better than anyone else in the world and somehow, you still manage to love me. You are my best friend, my one true love, and there is still a part of me that cannot believe that I’m the one who gets to marry you. I love you, Spike. I’ve always loved you and there’s nothing in this world that could change that. I promise to hold your hand every night, and always make sure you know how much I love you. Through whatever obstacles we might encounter, I promise to be by your side, always.” My words come through a wall of tears, and I know my makeup will be ruined, but I don’t care. Spike lets go of one of my hands to wipe tears from my cheek with his thumb.

  “Don’t cry, baby,” he whispers, fighting to hold back the tears in his own eyes.

  “I love you, Lottie. So damn much, it actually hurts. I thought I couldn’t be enough for you. I thought I couldn’t give you all the important things in life, to be what you needed from a man, from a husband. But you made me realize that all we need is our love. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I’m going to spend every day showing you how happy you’ve made me. We’ve got a lifetime to look forward to, and if I know you at all, it’ll be a crazy ride.” I laugh, sniffing tears back and wiping my cheek with the back of my hand. “Say goodbye to yesterday, Lotts, and look to tomorrow. I can’t wait to see what our future holds together. We see the same sky. You were right. We are Lovestrong.”

  There’s not a dry eye in the house as we exchange rings. It’s the most beautiful moment in my life. I don’t know how we got lucky enough to find each other in this world. But I do know that we are meant to be. The finer details of our future may be uncertain, but we have each other and that’s worth everything.

  “You may kiss the bride,” the minister announces as everyone cheers. Spike pulls me into his lap and I pull his face to mine, pressing my lips against his, solidifying my vows, and promising to love him forever.

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  Acknowledgements

  Spike and Lottie’s story was a journey for me. I went through a tornado of emotions with these two and this story would never have been written if it wasn’t for one person…

  My secret squirrel. Zoë Lowdon. You were the nagging voice that brought Spike and Lottie back to me, that chewed my ear off wanting their happy ever after and that made me listen to those crazy voices in my head. Thank you for being a pain in my arse!

  To my hubby, thanks for putting up with not seeing me for weeks, and also for my iMac, it’s a dream to write on even if I can’t always remember how to start a new document or where the hash key is!

  T-Bird, NJ and Squirrel, don’t ever leave me. I almost don’t want to tell the world what wonderful, dedicated beta readers you are as I want to keep you to myself.

  Hang Le. Your creations. My covers. Perfect. Every damn time.

  To Mandy Smith, for ironing out my terrible punctuation. Brenda Wright for being so patient and clever! Natalie Catalano for organising reveals and blitzes. I’m lucky to have you ladies!

  To all the bloggers and readers, thank you for reading, sharing, and loving this crazy book world with such passion.

  To everyone that has embraced the world of The Kingdom stories so far, and that has encouraged and supported me along the way. Every whisper of belief and excitement makes me want to push harder and write more stories.

  Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

  Other books in The Kingdom series.

  (Available to read on Kindle Unlimited)

  Holding Aces - The Kingdom #1

  Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1Ff0HNS

  Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1hBrF0X

  High Stakes - The Kingdom #2

  Amazon US: http://amzn.com/B00OSDWCPG

  Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00OSDWCPG

  Other books by Nikki Groom

  Against the Tide

  (Also available on Kindle Unlimited)

  I was happy until I met him.

  I was content until I met her.

  That's a lie. I was lonely.

  That's a lie. I was incomplete.

  He was nothing but a handsome distraction.

  She was nothing but a pretty pastime.

  That's untrue. He changed my life.

  That's untrue. She altered my world.

  I blame him.

  I blame her.

  I blame myself. He wasn't to know.

  I blame myself. It wasn't her fault.

  I don't want to need him.

  I hate that I want her.

  There's no easy solution.

  There's no going back.

  “IF YOU’RE not ready in ten minutes, I’m leaving you here,” Damien yells up the stairs of his three story townhouse. It’s not the first time he’s called up to me and I’ve managed to ignore him until now. “Megan!” he yells louder.

  “Alright,” I yell back with annoyance. “Keep your fucking hair on.” I huff and mutter expletives under my breath, he’s only been back an hour, barely gotten through the door and already he’s ordering me about like I’m one of his monkeys. I take one last look in the mirror and decide I need another blast of hairspray to keep my mane of hair in place for the whole evening. I also want to make him wait and antagonise him a little more, because at the moment he pisses me off that much. We’ve been together for five years, college sweethearts. He was the quiet, unassuming geeky kid that sat at the back of the class, and I was the loud, mouthy girl that didn’t study hard enough and fell for his shy, untouchable persona. Little did I know that I wouldn’t need a ton of A+ grade exam results to find my dream job as a tattooist’s assistant and chief piercer in the Skin Deep studio in the heart of Brighton city centre. I also didn’t know that there was a drug dealing, megalomaniac control freak underneath Damien’s quiet exterior. It took a couple of years for that person to rear his ugly head. I actually think it happened by chance but by then we had lived together for so long, and I had adapted to him and his ways without seeing the road we were stumbling down. I don’t even know when it really happened. We morphed from a young couple in love with our future ahead of us, to what we are now. I don’t know how long it can go on like this, going nowhere. Something is changing, maybe it’s already changed.

  I spray my hair in place, gloss over my lips with a rich red stain, and take a deep breath before grabbing my leather jacket from the hanger and slipping in to it as I walk downstairs.

  “Fuck me, girl. You take longer to get ready every fuckin’ week,” Damien grumbles as I negotiate the narrow stairs in my five inch spiked heels. He has showered and is ready to go in just a half hour. He’s dressed in his trademark jeans, shirt and a blazer. His blonde hair is styled so the top falls over to the side, and he’s so cleanly shaven, his skin looks softer than mi
ne. Despite being pissed off with him, I can’t deny that he’s pretty damn gorgeous. Such a handsome exterior with charm to match, but I can't deny that I don't get those tingles in my belly when I look at him anymore. I don't feel the flutters that I used to when he says my name.

  “Well, you’ve been away for three weeks, so I’ve got a lot of nights out to make up for,” I mumble bitterly as I walk. When I’ve touched down at the bottom of the stairs he grabs my waist and pulls me to him, pushing his face in to my neck and inhaling deeply.

  “Jesus, Megan,” he sighs. “You look fuckable. It feels so long since I was inside you. I want to mark that perfect pale skin of yours. Who cares if we’re late?” He growls and bites my neck hard enough to make me wince. Pushing away from him, I pull up the collar of my jacket in an effort to cover at least some of my skin. He’s high, and when he’s high, he’s rough with me. It’s usually cocaine. The purest cocaine he can get his hands on, uncut of course. He wouldn’t take something that was mixed. Cocaine is a clean drug as he would call it. Clean, pure, uncut and the best shit you’d find throughout most of the country. Unlike the ecstasy and ketamine he has his minions selling. Who knows what the fuck is mixed in with that. As I walk away, he laughs to himself “You wanna line before we go, baby? Might take the edge off that shitty attitude you’re giving me.”

  I stop with my hand on the door frame and sigh, part of me loves to stay sober and watch what goes on around us. He loses some of the control he likes to have when he’s buzzed, he doesn’t know it, and it’s the only time it happens, but the other part of me can’t handle a whole evening of him high and arrogant and rough, without being buzzed too. I stride back toward him and snatch the rolled up fifty out of his hand. “You know, I wouldn’t be so shitty if you hadn’t been gone so long,” I huff, scowling at him. He responds by lifting the mirror off the side cabinet and holding it up for me with a cocky smile. He knows I’d struggle to resist. I press my finger to my nostril and sniff sharply, moving along the pure white line of oblivion, savouring the last piece of total control I have over myself this evening.