That's a Relief (Promises, Promises Book 3)

by Victoria Klahr

  I cross my arms over my chest, but don’t say anything.

  He sighs and looks back at the bar. “I could have never made her as happy as she is with you.” He looks back at me and runs a hand over the black stubble at his chin. “I sold the house. When she came and saw me before I ended up in the hospital, she made it clear that she would always choose you. I told her I’d let her go, and I have.” He looks out into the crowd of gyrating dancers.

  “Thanks,” I mumble. A weight that I didn’t realize I still had lifts at his confession. I guess there was still a small part of me that feared she would run back to him. That she still loved him.

  A grin starts on his face and he nods his head at me. “No problem.” He scans the crowd again. “By the way, don’t be too mad at her for that kiss. I was the one that kissed her,” he throws out absentmindedly.

  I straighten and step up to him. “What the fu—”

  “Fucking cocksucker,” he mumbles, eyes narrowing on someone in the crowd. He starts making his way into the mass of people before I can finish the long string of threats I had prepared to say. I follow his line of sight to see Brody dipping Breanna back in a lavish display of dancing. They look like they’re having a good time, but Blake looks like he’s going to murder someone.

  I turn to the bar and watch Josie laugh at something Brooke says.

  She kissed him?

  Chapter 48

  Josie

  When I turn to make sure Seth isn’t reacquainting his fists with Blake’s face, I’m shocked still, a bucket of ice crashing through my chest.

  A woman runs her hand up the front of Seth’s black All Time Low t-shirt, smiling seductively up at him. He doesn’t touch her, but he doesn’t push her away, either. He catches my eyes and I swear he fucking smirks before looking back down at the petite, voluptuous blond in front of him.

  I leave the bar without my drink, ignoring Brooke calling out my name, and march up to our table.

  “Excuse me,” I say, landing my hand on her bare shoulder and tugging her away from Seth’s chest. “You can go now.”

  She whips her head to me and yanks her shoulder away from my hand. “Back up, bitch. I was here first.”

  I take a surprised step back at her aggressiveness, my eyes widening as I look up at a smug Seth. I narrow my eyes and get downright pissed. I grab the thick ponytail on the girl and rip her body away from Seth’s.

  “Maybe you didn’t hear me,” I said, letting go and stepping up to her. “I said you can fucking go. He’s mine.”

  Forgetting her like she’s yesterday’s news, I turn my fiery eyes to Seth’s darkening blue-green ones. I run my hands up his neck. “You’re mine.”

  His hand splays in the middle of my back, pushing me hard into his chest. His other hand grasps the base of my neck, and he starts pushing us away from the table. The bass of the music thumps through my body the further into the crowd we get.

  “That was really fucking sexy,” he breathes into my ear.

  I try to pull away and not roll my eyes in the back of my head when he starts kissing my neck. But I suck, and fail miserably. “Why did you let her touch you?” I ask, trying my hardest to put as much anger behind my words as possible.

  His hand grips a chunk of my hair at the base of my neck and pulls until he’s nose-to-nose with me. “Why the fuck did you kiss Blake?”

  “Shit,” I mutter under my breath. I’m going to kill him. I soften my features and stroke my thumb along his jaw. “I was going to tell you. I just haven’t had the chance.” His eyes grow harder. “I swear it meant nothing, Seth. He kissed me because he realized he would never have a chance with me and … god, there is really no good explanations for that.” I reach up and kiss his full lips. “Just know it meant nothing and it will never happen again.”

  He searches my eyes, and I watch him deal with his anger, hurt, insecurity, and acceptance in the matter of a minute before his lips crush into mine. He kisses me hard, dominant and possessive in a way I’ve always loved about him. He continues to guide me backward until I feel a wall pressed against my back.

  I pull away to breathe, though I’d rather not, and moan when his knee slides between my thighs. He drops his forehead against mine and growls.

  “I really want to fuck you right here.” I moan again and desperately seek out his lips. He obliges, kissing me until I’m useless standing on my own two feet. He pulls away and I hear him swallow hard as he looks down at me, a needy puddle in his arms. “And I really fucking want to marry you.”

  This causes me to regain composure and pay attention. “You do?” I ask. My heart flutters rapidly in my chest and the butterflies in my stomach go wild.

  He grins and kisses the side of my mouth. “Yeah. Like right the fuck now.”

  Maybe it’s the alcohol in my system. Maybe it’s the aftereffects of that kiss. Or maybe it’s just my confidence in the love we share, but that sounds like a really freaking good idea.

  “Me too,” I say softly, searching for sincerity in his eyes. Could this still be on the table after all the bullshit we’ve been through? I mean, I never wanted to break up with him in the first place, so marrying him is definitely still something I want.

  His smile widens and he spins me around in a circle, kissing my wildly. When he plants my feet back on the ground, he gets down on his knee and takes my hand in his. “Josie Sommers, we’ve been through hell. And even though it’s only been thirty-six hours since we worked out our shit, I have never stopped loving you.” He pauses, and slides me a wicked grin. “Pussycat, will you hop on a plane with me to Vegas right now and marry this desperate fool who is madly in love with you?”

  “Yes! Yes, yes, yes!” I cry, jumping up and down. I throw my arms around him when he gets back up, wrapping my legs around his waist and pulling his head to my mouth. He carries me, still wrapped around him to the table where Brody and Breanna sit playing a card game, Brandon watches as a drunk Brooke makes out with another girl, and Blake and his fiancée sway to the music.

  Brandon’s glazed eyes barely pull away from his wife when we step in front of them. Then he frowns suddenly and looks around at all of us.

  “Hey,” he says, offense dripping in his tone. “How come Josie’s kissed three out of the four guys here, and I’m not one of them?”

  Seth sets me down on the ground as everyone’s mouths drop open and look at Brandon. Heat swarms my cheeks. Seth looks really close to punching his best friend in the jaw when Brooke rolls her eyes and smacks him on the back of his head.

  “You’re such an idiot,” she grouses, but settles into his lap like it doesn’t matter that he complained about being left out from kissing his wife’s best friend. “Where have you two been? We’ve had like three—”

  “Four,” Brandon corrects.

  “Right, four, more shots since you left.”

  “We’re leaving,” I announce.

  Brooke pouts. “You can’t leave! This might be the last time we can go out before I have to move to stinky old Washington.”

  I smile and look up at Seth. He nods his head without me even having to ask. “First of all, we’re moving to Washington too, so this won’t be the last time you see me.” Brooke gasps, perking up immediately, and Brandon looks up at Seth and smiles knowingly. “And second, I need you to come with us.” I look at Brody and Breanna. “You too, if you want.” I look at Blake and purse my lips to the side. “But maybe not you two.”

  Brooke snaps her fingers in my face to get my attention. “What for? Where are we going?

  “We’re about to go catch a flight to Vegas and get married,” Seth says for me, slipping his hand in mine and squeezing. He pulls out his phone and does a quick search of flight information. “The next flight out isn’t until six in the morning.” My shoulders sag slightly. The determination in his eyes doesn’t waver. “That’s fine. We’ll take that flight, and when we get there, we’ll get our marriage license and then get married. We’ll have the rest of the day to party a
nd gamble.”

  Brooke hops up and down and claps her hands. “Yay! This is the best news I’ve heard all weekend!” She tries to hug Seth and me both, and even though she fails miserably, she still breaks away giddy.

  She pulls on Brandon’s hand, tugging him out of the booth. “Go pay the tab. We’ve got a lot to do before we leave.”

  Brandon mumbles something under his breath and messes Seth’s hair up on his way back to the bar. Seth smacks his hand away and turns to face me. He rests his palm against the side of my neck, smiling down at me. “All you need to do is get whatever you want to wear for the wedding and your ID. I’ll take care of everything else.”

  “You are perfect,” I say, reaching up to kiss him.

  He pulls back and shakes his head. “None of that until tomorrow, pretty girl.” His brows crease into a frown and shrugs. “Never mind,” he says, pulling me back up to his mouth.

  I’m a giggling mess of excitement when we pull away. In twelve hours I am going to marry that sexy beast of a man.

  We make our way outside, minus Blake and Echo who decided to stay a little longer, all of us talking at once, trying to figure out when to meet up at the airport. We get to the cars when Brooke, god help us, the voice of reason, blurts, “Wait. We’re all fucking smashed. We can’t drive.”

  “I’m not,” Breanna’s soft voice says, breaking through our conundrum.

  “Great,” Brooke chirps, skipping to Breanna’s side. “Breanna will drive us girls around and you boys can take a cab. We’ll meet y’all at the airport at five. That gives us five hours to get everything ready.” She links her arm through Breanna’s, who smiles just a little.

  Seth grabs me before I get into the car, his calloused hands holding my face tenderly. “I love you, Pussycat.”

  He steals my breath away as he kisses me, letting go reluctantly when a cab pulls up and Brody and Brandon start hollering for him to get in.

  “I love you too, Sethy Poo.”

  Seth howls loudly and runs up to his cab. A crowd walks out of the club. “That girl is about to marry me,” he tells them, pointing in my direction.

  I slide into my seat and close my eyes, smiling.

  “I’m going to marry the fuck out of that man.”

  Chapter 49

  Josie

  I’m not nervous.

  Those butterflies wreaking havoc inside of me have nothing to do with nerves.

  Nope. Not nervous.

  Except maybe I am a little bit. All the plans we made for the wedding we were supposed to have last month are lost in the wind of another time. Now? Now we’re saying fuck it and getting married on the Vegas strip!

  So not how we envisioned our wedding day to be.

  In fact, a week ago, I was pretty certain this day would never come.

  Maybe that’s why I don’t feel any loss at not having the traditional wedding we had planned. Because we were given a third chance to be together and we’re seizing it as tightly as we possibly can.

  This is more our style—random, spontaneous, and fun.

  I haven’t seen Seth since we applied for our marriage license about an hour ago, and I’m feeling a little anxious to be with him again.

  “Okay, I’m done,” Brooke says, laying the curling iron back down on the vanity. I open my eyes, and examine my hair in the mirror. Large barrel curls surround my head, long and buoyant with a crystal and lace ribbon keeping it pulled away from my face.

  I spin once in my wedding dress and have to work very hard not to tear up. My dress isn’t a traditional gown, but it’s exactly what I wanted. The bodice is made of white lace, showing enough skin for a sneak peek while still remaining elegant, and a fluff of tulle starts at my waist and stops at the middle of my thighs. This dress was made for me.

  “Thank you,” I say, getting up and hugging my best friend and maid of honor. “It’s exactly what I wanted.”

  Her finger grabs a curl and lets it spring back into place. “I’m always here for you, Josie,” she says in an uncommon display of seriousness. Her eyes light up and she holds up a finger. “Okay. I have something for you from your soon-to-be husband.”

  I bite my lip and grin. When he said he would take care of everything, he meant it. I was pleasantly surprised at the airport when he had my dad and his mom in tow. Brooke lays a small square box in my hands, a blue ribbon tied neatly around it.

  Untying the bow, I let the silk ribbon fall to the floor and open the lid. A note rests in a nest of tissue.

  Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.

  I’ve got you covered, Pussycat.

  Meet you at the end of the aisle … I’ll be the one who can’t take his eyes off you.

  — Seth

  I place the note in Brooke’s waiting hands and open the tissue to see what he got for me. The first thing I notice is the ring box. My heart races, hoping it’s what I think it is. Of course, it is. Something old and borrowed—he gave me back his engagement ring. Sliding it back on my finger, I promise silently that I will never take it off again.

  Next to the ring box is a garter, and upon closer inspection, I see its significance. Something new and blue—Seth found a blue satin and lace garter that has the Ravenclaw crest at the center of a blue and gold bow. If I wasn’t excited to marry him before, I sure as hell am now.

  Brooke snatches it from my hands. “He didn’t!” she exclaims, examining it.

  I smile so hard my face hurts. “He did.” I grab it back and slip it on under my dress. “And I get to marry him, Brooke. Marry him!”

  She rolls her eyes and picks up both our dark-blue bouquets. “Well then, let’s not keep him waiting. He is dreadfully impatient. He’s already texted me five times to hurry up.”

  That makes me chuckle. After taking a deep breath, I take the bouquet from her hand, and follow behind her as we walk up to a set of double doors that leads to a tiny chapel.

  The nerves settle and full-on eagerness erupts in my belly.

  Dad, looking not at all a mechanic in his nice suit, comes up behind us and inhales deeply when he sees me. He wraps me in a tight embrace and kisses my cheek. “You look so beautiful, Josie Bean. Daddy would be so proud.”

  Brooke cuts in and pushes on his chest. She fans her hands in front of my eyes and scolds my dad. “Don’t you make her cry before she gets down that aisle. I spent way too much time doing her makeup.”

  I laugh despite my throat tightening. “I’m good.” I take a deep breath and make the tears stand down. When she’s satisfied with my composure, she nods and peeks inside the room to let them know we’re ready.

  She closes the door quickly and looks at me, eyes wide. She covers her mouth and starts cracking up, bending at her waist in her elegant champagne-colored dress, laughing so hard she snorts.

  “What?” I ask, starting to get nervous.

  She waves a hand in front of her face and takes a few deep breaths. “Nothing. Oh, man … nothing. You’re going to love this.”

  Turning to Dad for some kind of explanation, I get nothing but a shrug and a barely-there smile under his scruffy beard.

  “Well, let’s go, then,” I say impatiently.

  Dad opens the door and links his arm through mine, patting my hand affectionately. Brooke starts her march, and we follow close behind. My heart goes wild as Dad leads us down the aisle. I barely take notice of the three people standing to the side watching me walk to my future husband.

  Because, as soon as my eyes find his blue-green ones, I can’t breathe. My heart is a loud bass drum thumping harder and faster than it ever has before.

  God, he is so beautiful. He wears a perfectly tailored charcoal tuxedo that hugs every muscle in his arms, chest and thighs. His vest is the same color as my bouquet, dark-blue, and his tie matches Brooke’s champagne-colored dress. Once I’m finished checking out his magnificent body in that suit, I look back into his eyes. His blond hair is slicked back and his face is freshly shaven.

  He
looks as desperate for me to reach him as I am to get there, bouncing from heel to toe in his black Chucks. I try to speed up, but Dad tightens his grip on my arm, forcing me to take it slow and savor dread every second I’m walking to him.

  He watches my every move, and I watch him.

  My heart feels so full I think it might burst.

  Someone says something about giving me away, and I hear my Dad say something back, but I don’t care. All I care about is Seth and this moment. I want to freeze time. I want to live in this instant for the rest of my life. Seth’s hand reaches out to take mine and he pulls me up to small platform he’s standing on.

  “Hi,” he whispers, eyes roaming down my body, silently taking in every stitch of fabric covering me and every inch of skin I’m still showing. When his eyes move back to my face, he swallows hard, his Adam’s apple moving up and down. “You are so fucking beautiful.”

  “So are you,” I whisper back.

  “Sexy,” he corrects.

  “That too.” I shrug and smile.

  A deep cough from behind us grabs my attention, and I finally take my eyes off Seth long enough to absorb the room. Even though it’s early in the afternoon, the room is dark. Hundreds of cream-colored candles illuminate the space, burning in chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and along every empty space in the chapel.

  I gasp in awe. My own tiny version of Hogwarts. I turn back to Seth, and that’s when I notice the older officiate dressed in long purple robes, with long silver hair and a matching beard, and half-moon spectacles sitting on his nose.

  My eyes about pop out of my head. I look back at Seth, gasping louder. Turning back to our Dumbledore look-alike, I release a surprised laugh. “Excuse me one sec,” I say, and fling myself into Seth’s arms.

  He laughs but shuts up as soon as I pull his head down to meet my mouth. “How did you do this?”