Never to Hope
Page 22
“Of course it’s okay; it’s a special occasion.” I stopped on the sidewalk outside of the shop. “And even if it wasn’t, you can think of it as supporting a local small business.”
Satisfied with my reasoning, she nodded and reached to open the door, but I beat her to it. A chime filled the store, getting the attention of the person working in the back room.
“Good morning, can I help you find something?” The petite woman looked at our joined hands and smiled. Seemed like everyone in this city was cheerful today, or maybe it was just our happiness rubbing off on them.
Fate was on our side as the woman helped us find and make exactly what Alissa wanted. I paid the woman, who we learned was the proprietor, and gave her a generous tip for her excellent service.
We walked back home to store our purchase, and while Alissa went to look online at the mall’s store directory, I immediately got on the phone and called an old friend of the family, who also happened to owe my dad a favor. I’d tell my father about cashing in his chip later; the important thing was I got what I needed.
When the mall finally opened, we made a quick trip over there. Any other woman would have spent hours, if not days, picking out a dress, but Alissa was in and out in less than half an hour, and most of that time was spent finding something that fit. We spent an hour in the next store we visited, but only because I had to make sure I found exactly the right thing.
Getting our exercise for the day, with shopping bags in hand, we stopped by my office to see Brandy. Alissa filled her in on what was happening, while I stood back and listened to her excitement with a huge smile on my face. Unfortunately, Brandy couldn’t get away, but she lent Alissa the antique sapphire earrings dangling from her ears. I decided this wasn’t something I wanted to share with my parents.
With only two hours remaining before our appointment, we headed back home to shower again, separately this time, and then get ready.
Thankfully, my best suit was pressed and still in the plastic from the drycleaner, and it didn’t take me long to get dressed. I went to Alissa’s room, where she’d already put on her purchase from the specialty shop in the mall. My eyes were transfixed on her radiant beauty as she swept part of her hair up in a sparkly clip and then carefully applied a light layer of makeup.
“Do you think this is foolish?” Alissa asked, carrying our earlier purchases, as I locked the apartment door behind us. “I mean, what will people say?”
“Definitely, but sometimes taking a risk produces the best possible outcome.” Taking her hand, we headed to the elevator. “It doesn’t matter what people say as long as this is what we want. Think of how many people have only known each other a few days before they do this. You just need to have faith this is what’s best for us and we’ll have many more ups than downs. I’ll work hard on our relationship and do whatever it takes to make you happy.”
“Me too,” she said and then leaned over to kiss my cheek.
The trip back to the burbs felt like an eternity. When we finally arrived and got out of the car, Alissa handed me the items she’d carefully held on to the entire drive, took off her shoes, linked the fingers of our free hands, and sprinted down the familiar path.
The changes summer had brought to our spot were staggering. The grass was taller, the trees lusher since the leaves had filled in. Most beautiful of all was Alissa’s poor tree. After being nearly split in half by a storm, a single branch with some fight left in it had sprouted a few leaves. Alissa once told me she related to the tree; they were both outcasts in the society in which they lived. Just like my girl had found new life, so had her tree. This was the reason we waited instead of simply spending a night or two in Vegas.
A few minutes later, my father’s friend joined us in our clearing. “Judge Morrow, thank you for coming on such short notice.”
The older man and I met halfway and shook hands, his other grasping my shoulder. “Call me Henry. I would’ve been here even if I didn’t owe your dad a favor. I’ve known you since you were knee high, and I’m honored to do this for you.”
Alissa came to my side, and I introduced her to Henry. After a brief hug, he took a step away. “Are we waiting for anyone else?” he asked.
“No, it’s just us. The clerk said we didn’t need witnesses,” Alissa explained.
Her mention of the clerk reminded me of our visit this morning. “Here’s our license.” I retrieved the folded paper from my jacket pocket and handed it to Henry. When he examined it carefully, I added. “We just got it this morning, but she said there wasn’t a waiting period.”
“You are both correct; I just needed to make sure it has all of the right signatures.” Using a pen he had pulled from his pocket, he signed the form and tucked it into the back of the book he carried. “Have you written your own vows, or would you like to use the standard script?”
“Standard would be great. Anything you can do to make this short and sweet would be greatly appreciated.” Looking over at Alissa, I gave her my dirtiest smile. “I need to get her home as quickly as possible.”
“I cannot believe you just said that to a judge!” Alissa scolded and slapped me on the arm.
“No worries, young lady. I was young and in love once myself.” He chuckled as he opened the book to the correct page. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
“Wait,” Alissa said right as Henry opened his mouth to speak. “There’s something I need to do first.”
“You’re killing me here, babe.”
“Before we do this, I need to tell you something.” She took one of my hands, and then shifted her bouquet of white lilies until she could link a finger of that hand with mine.
Fuck. I didn’t know if I wanted to hear it. Was she going to tell me she’d slept with Thomas while they were out together? No, I know my girl, and she wouldn’t do that to me.
“What is it, baby?”
“I need to tell you that I love you. I love you, Carter, so much.”
My eyes began to burn as water clouded my vision, and I nearly doubled over. I’d been waiting forever to hear those words, but I hadn’t expected them to hit me so hard. Alissa loved me and freely admitted it. Her confession and my profound reaction proved we were making the right decision. We both truly needed the commitment only this could offer.
“I love you too, Alissa, and I always will.” I ran my fingers over her cheek and looked deeply into her eyes. “The other day, you said other women have had my heart, but it’s not true. My heart has been waiting for you my whole life because it has always belonged to you.”
With that, Henry began. “We are gathered here to unite you, Alissa Leigh Ross, and you, Carter Lewis Smith, in marriage.”
THE END
LETTER FROM AIMIE
Hey Everyone,
I really hope you enjoyed Alissa and Carter’s story. If you want more Lisa and Thomas, check out Madison and Sawyer’s story, Never to Keep, which is available now.
Lisa’s story was never intended to be told. When I wrote Never to Keep, I considered her an extra—a throwaway character, if you will. Then, one day, the awesome Laramie Briscoe asked me to be a part of a box set about hot blue collar men. Since I didn’t have any existing blue collar characters to work with, I started bouncing around ideas with my fantastic editor, Liz Aguilar. It was Liz who suggested writing about Lisa, and based on that suggestion, Part One was born.
When I decided to release Never to Hope on its own after the box set was over, Laramie poked and prodded me to expand the story. I’d already filed Alissa and Carter away in my mental “done” folder, so it took a lot of convincing to get me to dust them off. From that encouragement, Part Two came into existence. Without Laramie and Liz, this story wouldn’t exist. I love you both!
A big thank you to my amazing friends, Laramie Briscoe and Carian Cole. I love you more than words can say. Thank you for allowing me to use characters from your books in Never to Hope. Black Friday, Reaper, Harmony Stewart, Rick, and the “Reaper’s Girl�
� T-shirt are all from Laramie’s Rockin’ Country series. Storm and Ashes & Embers are from Carian’s Ashes & Embers series. I highly recommend both.
I’d also like to express my eternal gratitude to my critique partner, Libby Austin. She has a way of looking at things that would never even cross my mind. I am extremely fortunate to work with her and call her my friend. Be sure to check out her books!
Never to Hope wouldn’t be what it is without the help and support of my wonderful group of friends, beta readers, and advisors. I’d like to send a special thank you and lots of love to Stacey, Lauren, Heather, Andrea, Caroline, Carrie, Ann, Emily, Shawna, Amy, Laurie, the BPE beta reading team, and all of the amazing bloggers who have supported and befriended me over the past year.
Kari Ayasha – Your creativity continues to astound me. Thank you for another gorgeous cover.
Lindsay and Abby – thank you so much for being my final sets of eyes. When I couldn’t bear the thought of reading Never to Hope for the thousandth time, I knew I could count on you to make sure it was perfect.
Last, but certainly not least, I’d like to thank YOU for spending so much of your valuable time with me. I can’t tell you how wonderful it feels when someone enjoys my work. Every note I receive and review I read truly warms my heart.
I’d love to connect with you. You can find me online at:
Facebook like page:
www.facebook.com/aimie.grey
Facebook friend page:
www.facebook.com/aimiergrey
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/AimieGrey
Website:
www.aimiegrey.com
Email:
aimie@aimiegrey.com
Much love,
Aimie
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Aimie Grey didn’t read a single book until 2012, at which time she was in her early thirties. One fateful lunch break, her coworker decided to put an end to the madness and shoved a steamy romance novel under Aimie’s nose. After being forced to read one of “those” scenes, Aimie went home and bought the book, and the next one, and the one after that.
In the few years since, Aimie has read well over four hundred books. Somewhere along the way, she became frustrated with reading repetitive stories revolving around the experienced man seducing the still virginal woman. Aimie decided to take matters into her own hands and wrote her debut full length romance novel Never to Keep.
In addition to her day job as an IT system administrator, and her evening gig as a writer, Aimie’s primary role in life is wife and mother. Aimie lives in Central Ohio with her husband and two teenage daughters.