He shrugs and sets me back down. Laughter from our small audience reminds me that I’m supposed to refrain from kissing him until we’ve said our vows. Sneaking a glimpse out into the small chapel, I see Joyce and my dad holding hands with tears already falling as they watch us. Brody and Breanna sitting closely together on a bench behind them, and Brandon, Seth’s best man, standing a step below, sending a wink at the girl behind me.
“When in Vegas, right?” Seth says.
I love you, I mouth, calming myself down enough to take a step back from him. He gives me a sexy half-grin, and takes my hand back in his.
“Welcome,” the Dumbledore officiate drawls.
I want to pay attention to the pretty words, I really do. Something about magic and love and always loving that one person no matter what happens in life. The words fall on deaf ears, though. I only care about one thing—sealing this marriage with a long kiss.
Brooke taps my arm at one point and trades my bouquet with Seth’s wedding band. Seth turns and gets mine from Brandon.
This is it.
Seth takes my hand and slides the ring down my finger slowly.
“Josie,” he says, starting his vows. “I’ve had a taste of what life would be like without you in it. It’s dark and bleak and I’ve never felt so incomplete than in that time. I’ll never be prefect. I’ll continue to make mistakes, I’ll always be an ass, and I’ll probably never stop blaming myself for every bad thing that happens to you, but I promise that I will always love you.
“I vow to kiss you when you’re sick, so I can be sick with you. I vow to stand by your side through every dark road we travel and celebrate every success we have. I vow to hold your hair when you puke out your guts, cuddle with you while you’re reading even when you try to push me away, and remind you that you are the worst singer and driver I’ve ever seen. I vow to never stop loving you, in this life or the next, and I promise to always strive to be the man you deserve. Give me your heart, and I’ll give you the moon,” he promises.
The tears start in my eyes, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop them for my vows. He slides the ring the rest of the way and catches my falling tears with the pad of his thumb. Trying to catch my breath over the lump of tears building in my throat, I reach for his hand. My hand shakes as I poise the ring at his finger.
“Seth,” I start, voice tinny with my emotions. “There are a thousand ways to fall in love, and I’m sure that I’ve found a thousand and one ways to fall in love with you. I’ve fallen in love with the way you kiss me in the morning and the way you hold me at night. I’ve fallen in love with your loyalty and dedication to anyone you hold close to you. I’ve fallen in love with the way you sing to me, take pictures, and paint. But more than anything, I’ve fallen in love with you.
“I vow to love you even when you think you don’t deserve it. I vow to fight for us no matter how dreary life gets. I vow to eat your burnt food and pretend I like it, throw your shoes at you when you leave them in the hallway, and distract you from getting work done every chance I get. I vow to never stop loving you in this life or the next, and I promise to always strive to be the woman you deserve.” I slide the ring down his finger, keeping my eyes firmly on his. “Through fate or changing of time, I will always choose you.”
Our Dumbledore officiate claps his hands together and says the words I’ve been dying to hear since Seth asked me to marry him.
“I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride!”
And he does … Oh, boy, does he kiss me.
Epilogue
Seth
1.5 years later
I’m in a sea of black. The beautiful May evening mirrors the lightness and bliss I feel in my core. The crickets chirp, and the fields of grass swish with the breeze—music that helps me concentrate on my art.
“Would you just take the damn pictures?” Josie grumbles in front of me. “My butt is killing me.”
I smile even though she can’t see it in the pitch black. “You do realize that getting the perfect shot takes more than just clicking a button, right?”
“Yeah, yeah. You’ve told me.”
Lying on my stomach, I tilt my camera to the cloudy sky, adjust the special night lens one more time, and take six consecutive shots, the flash brightening the space in front of me. Reviewing the pictures on the small display, I feel satisfied and hop back to my feet.
“Perfect.”
“Finally. Go turn the lights back on.”
Jogging over to the porch, I flip the switch that turns on all our outside lights. I look back out into the front yard and smile as I watch my wife reach into the pack and play to grab the fussy little monster inside. Bringing my camera back to my eye, I snap a few more shots.
Josie turns her head to look at me and grins. “Are you going to show me?”
I walk up to my two girls and give our ten-month-old a sloppy kiss on her cheek. Her tiny hand pushes my face away, but she can’t stop the tiny giggle. I never thought I’d love another human being as much as I love our Natalie, but I do.
I really fucking do.
Much like Josie’s first pregnancy, we didn’t have much time to discuss the possibility of getting pregnant again before we found out we were expecting. Three weeks after the wedding. It was a shock, and honestly, a really emotional time for us. It took about four months before we were able to bury the fear and pain of the past and get excited for this new blessing in our lives.
That’s not to say we got over everything in four months. No. Definitely not. We bared our ugliest secrets to each other and it took a long time to heal. As soon as we moved to Washington, we found a therapist who helped us cope and mend the scars of what happened.
We learned to trust each other again. We held each other through the nightmares that still plagued our sleep. We cried over our loss together. We moved on.
When Natalie was born, we felt fear in a whole new way. Josie’s pregnancy was smooth and perfect in spite of our constant fear that something would go wrong. But then we were suddenly holding this fragile, beautiful little girl, and we realized the worry would continue for the rest of our lives.
I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.
Turning my head, I lean in to lay a sloppy one on my wife, but she smashes her fingertips against my puckered lips. “Nope. You need to brush them again or I’ll barf.”
“I seriously just brushed my teeth ten minutes ago.”
“Baby don’t care,” she says, patting her very swollen pregnant belly.
Oh, yeah … We were very shocked when we found out we were having another baby barely two months after we had Natalie. I’m pretty sure we weren’t even cleared to have sex yet.
“Is it wrong to call him a cock block?” I mumble.
Josie laughs, throwing her head back. I want to freeze that image. So I do. I pull my camera up and take the image right before she stops laughing to glare at me.
Natalie throws her arms out and starts bouncing in Josie’s arms to reach for me. Feeling an overwhelming sense of pride every time Natalie chooses me over her mommy, I smile and pick her up. She lays her head down on my chest, her thick, dark-brown hair tickling my throat.
I kiss the top of her head and put the camera between Josie and me. I’ve become a pro at doing things one-handed. “I’ll show you,” I start, pulling the camera away before she can see it, “if you promise to not make any comments about being fat and swollen and hideous.”
She rolls her eyes. “Fine. Let me see.”
I page through the pictures until I find my favorite and hold the camera out so she can see it. Josie lies on the grass in her long blue dress that fits snug around her belly, leaning back on her elbows with her long chestnut hair cascading down her back and looking up into the branches of the willow tree. Willow’s willow tree.
When we first moved here, we agreed to plant a tree to honor the daughter who was taken from us too soon. It’s a memorial that has helped us cope with the nightmare
of that day.
The flash of the camera in the dark night illuminates her face in a way I couldn’t have gotten if I had taken the same picture during the day, and she is fucking gorgeous. Her belly pops, and the tattoo I designed for her peeks through the top of her dress. Thoughtful and provocative at the same time.
“Oh, Sethy,” Josie says, looking up at me. “That is really pretty.”
I shoot her a cocky grin. “I know. I’m good.”
She blows a long breath from her pursed lips and starts to say something when her phone beeps. She reads the message, then looks up at me. “Brooke wants to know if we’re still on for watching the game here tomorrow.”
We start making our way up the porch steps and into the house. “As long as she doesn’t bring Alec in a Seahawks jersey again, then we’re all good.”
Josie laughs and relays the message on her phone. “Go put her to bed so I can have you all to myself.” She throws me a seductive smile, and heads to the back porch.
“Hey, babe?” I call after her.
“Yeah?”
“Your tits look fanfuckingtastic in that dress,” I say, winking and turning toward the nursery.
I lay Natalie down on her pink sheets, tensing and squeezing my eyes shut like it’ll stop her from waking up when she starts fussing. I peek an eye open when it gets quiet and blow out a breath to find her fast asleep.
I find Josie on the back porch, leaning against the rail, looking up into the night sky—into the same stars I fell in love with her under. I come up behind her, and wrap my arms around the top of her belly, pulling her against my chest. Her hair gets swept away with the wind, and I bend down to kiss her exposed neck.
I’m just a moody, southern artist who fell in love with the independent, fragile nerd.
We are two damaged souls. Both of us missing pieces that the other had. We are two souls entwined to create something united and beautiful.
We’ll never be whole while apart, but together … Together we are strong.
“C’mon, Mrs. Montgomery,” I whisper into her ear. “Time to get you to bed.”
The End
Acknowledgements
Really, this book is for all my readers. I wouldn’t have been able to finish That’s a Relief if it wasn’t for your support and inspiring words. So many of you wanted more of Seth and Josie’s story, and that kept me writing. Kept me motivated, even when life became a struggle and I didn’t know if I could write this book anymore.
My mom deserves a huge thank you. If it wasn’t for her help, I wouldn’t have been able to get That’s a Relief refined and perfect for release. She never let me give up on my dreams.
My two girls, Alexis and Nora. You are my inspiration. Always. I only know what love is, because I have you.
Stephen, my wonderful husband. We’ve been together seven years and you seem to get better and better with time. Thank you for believing in me and my work.
Echo Reed, my wonderful, beautiful best friend. I love you so much. I couldn’t ask for a better sidekick. You have stuck by me, even when I’ve been a terrible friend in return, and I will always love you for that. You made me believe in my work when I wanted to throw it in the trash.
My editor, Wendi Temporado at Ready, Set, Edit. I really appreciated your input and work to refine and polish That’s a Relief. I’m so glad you messaged me that day about your editing services. And I’m extra glad we’ve become friends in the process.
Finally, I’d like to thank all the blogs who have stuck with me and have been part of the release for my books. Maine Book Momma, Brittany’s Book Blog, United Indie Book Blog, Stephanie’s Book Reports, Butterfly Book Blog, Reflections of a Book Geek, Hello Cupcakes Book Blog, We Read With a Glass of Wine, Naughty Smutty Book Blog, Leave Me Alone I Am Reading, Reel Ladys Love, Why Not Ask Us Book Blog, Hello Cupcakes Book Blog, A Hopeless Romantic’s Booklandia, Kricket’s Chirps, Sweet & Spicy Reads, The Biblio-Files: Confessions of a Book Whore.
About the Author
Victoria Klahr lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia with her dreamy husband of four years and their two beautiful daughters. She is a self-proclaimed book-nerd who likes to sniff books before she reads them and fantasizes about book boyfriends. She is the author of the Promises, Promises series, including That’s a Promise, That’s a Lie, and That’s a Relief. She writes happily-ever-afters one heartache and tragedy at a time, and won’t apologize for making you cry.
Contact:
Send E-mail
Facebook
Goodreads
Blog
Join the Pussycat Street Team
That's a Relief (Promises, Promises Book 3) Page 31