Four Weddings and a Break Up (25 page)

N
othing said loser
like being stuck at the reject table at a wedding. And this dress was her absolute favorite of them all. Rachel had brought over the dress this morning. She and Rachel had formed a friendship since that day her mom had bought her the 1920s dress.

“Now, this is a va-va-voom goddess look,” Rachel had said. “And it’s a Rachel Ambrose original.”

Ginny watched as people danced and ate another piece of cake. Her dress was another strapless number and went to her knees. Rachel said the design was late 40s/early 50s. It was a sleek, sexy piece in a deep plum silk. With her hair pulled back into a chignon, and a carmine mouth, Ginny felt like she could have been a movie star.

Thinking about what she wore didn’t take her mind off Wes completely, but it was a distraction. And thinking about the dress, the food, the music was better than thinking about him, her broken heart, and how he was leaving.

She loved him. She always would. But he didn’t love her.

Tears filled her eyes, and she dabbed a napkin, wiping up the wetness and traces of mascara. So much for the waterproof mascara. How would she live without him? How would her heart go on?
Screw you, Celine Dion.

Now she was cursing at a taped recording of music. Great. Just great. She sniffled. Looked up. And gasped.

Wes.

He was here, dressed in a black suit with a silver tie. He stood in the entrance to the ballroom, searching the crowd, until his gaze landed on hers. And when their eyes locked, her whole world stopped.

What she saw in his expression made her hope. Made her believe that perhaps all wasn’t lost. That her heart
would
go on.
I love you, Celine Dion
!

Her pulse skipped, then started racing, and her whole body vibrated with tension, with anticipation, with love. She watched him stride across the ballroom to the table where she was sitting, stuck in the corner chair.

He gave a cursory glance at the other people. Then his gaze returned to hers. “No one puts my Ginny in the corner.”

He held out his hand.

There was no hesitation on her part. She took it.

He led her out onto the floor, brought her close, and she heard his sigh of relief when her body met his as they started slow dancing. Her heart was beating strong and fast against his, and they spoke without any words, moving to the beat.

She loved him. She loved him. She loved him.

The music drew to a stop, and so did they.

Wes stared down into her face, searching her gaze. “Ginny. I need to show you something. Come with me. Please.”

She stared at his outstretched hand and she decided to risk it all again.

Because love was worth the gamble.

W
es brought
her to the house where they had skipped stones that day. It was fully repaired now, restored to its former glory. Still a dusky blue, the white shutters gleamed against the surface of the wood. The yellow brick road had been fixed, and the rainbow above the archway had been repainted. There were two rocking chairs on the porch. A SOLD sign was on the front lawn.

Ginny had no idea why he’d brought her here, or even why she’d agreed to come with him. Hadn’t he made himself perfectly clear? He was leaving. For good. She wasn’t going to hold him back.

She got out of the SUV and followed him up the pathway. “You’re showing me the house again?”

“Not just any house.” He jangled the keys.

It dawned on her. “You bought it.”

“Yes.”

But why? It didn’t make sense. Unless . . .

“You’re staying?” Her heart pounded in her chest.

“Yes.”

What was with his one-word answers? “For how long?”

“Long.”

“Can you speak in more than one syllable?” she asked, irritated.

“Yes.”

She frowned at him, at a loss and frustrated. “Wes. I . . . this place is nice, but I don’t get it. I don’t know why I agreed to come out here with you.”

“Let me explain. I’m not doing this right.” He paced back and forth. “I should know better than anyone when to tease and when not to.”

“I like your humor,” she said softly.

He stopped pacing and came back to her. “Good. Because you’re the only one who seems able to put up with it. Ginny, I bought this place for us.”

She couldn’t have heard him right. “Us?”

“You plus me equals us.”

“Your math skills astound me.”

“I have to show you something.” He grabbed her hand, and they walked to the man-made pond where swimming on the water, despite the late hour, were . . .

Ducks. Four of them.

Despite her mood, she laughed. Ducks had been their safe word until they did away with it, and now he’d bought ducks.

She shook her head, a smile still on her lips. “You bought ducks?”

“Yup. Well, really, I bought a family.”

“Why?”

“Don’t you see, Ginny? Isn’t it clear?”

She searched his gaze, the kernel of hope growing and growing within her. “But . . . but . . . but . . . you don’t believe in love. You said—”

“I was wrong.”

“What?” And there that kernel went, exploding. Hope and love spread through her body, a beacon of light shining in her.

“I was wrong. Please don’t make me say it again, sugar. Although I would, over and over again. Just like I’ll say this as many times as you want me to. I love you.”

“Wes.” Her voice broke.

“I thought I’d be happy with make believe and pretend for the rest of my life. You’ve changed me.”

“I don’t want to change you!”

“Too late. You have.” He grabbed her hands. “But I will remind you about that when you yell at me when I don’t put the toilet seat down, or forget to put my dirty clothes in the hamper, or some other thing that messes up your life.”

“I love when you mess up my life.” Her eyes watered. “I love you just as you are.”

Wes pressed his forehead against hers. “Ginny, I’m trying to propose to you here and be romantic.”

“O-okay.” She sniffled.

“When you cry, I’m going to be there to brush the tears off your face.” He did so now. “When you wake up from a nightmare, I’ll be there to hold you. When you need to wait in a doctor’s office, I’ll be in the waiting room, holding your purse. I’m going to be there for you whenever you need me. You never have to hold back from me. You don’t have to be afraid that I’m going to run away, or that you don’t have a place to fall. And when we fight, I’ll say sorry when it’s my fault.”

“It’s always going to be your fault.” She thought about it. “Sometimes.”

“Regardless, I’m going to say I’m sorry. Love means having to say you’re sorry. Love means I’m going to be there, no matter what. Ginny, what I feel for you . . . my love for you . . . it’s like breathing to me. I can’t do without you. I want you. I need you. Say you’re mine.”

“Does this mean you’re mine?”

“You know it does.”

“And for how long will this deal last?”

“Forever.”

“Forever. That’s quite a long time.” She pressed her mouth together, as if she were thinking about it. “But I don’t think it’ll be enough.”

He closed his eyes.

She moved closer to him, cupping his strong jaw in her hand. “Forever isn’t enough time to spend loving you. However, it’ll do for now. I love you, Wes Dalton.”

“Ginny, I love you. So very much.”

“Wes, it’s my turn now.” She looked up at him, his eyes intent on her. “I love you. I’ll put up with your jokes. Even when they’re corny.”

“Now that’s true love.”

“But, most importantly, it’s not about what you can give me, or what I can give you. This is about us, and our life together. All that matters is that we love each other, and that we remember that every time life becomes difficult. We’re certainly going to remember how much we love each other when we’re happy and life is full of laughter.”

“Ginny.” He kissed her soft and sweet. “There will be a lot of good times.”

“Is that a deal?”

“It’s a deal. And a promise. I don’t break my promises. I also insist on sealing deals with you in a very particular way.”

“Except this is a promise
and
a deal,” she pointed out.

“You’re right. This calls for something more.”

His mouth claimed hers, kissing her senseless, and they lowered themselves to the ground, shedding clothes until he slid into her, loving each other with only the moon and stars as witnesses. And as for the ducks . . .

They didn’t dare make a sound.

T
hank
you for reading
Four Weddings and a Break Up
! I hope you enjoyed it!

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If you’d like to read an excerpt from
As You Wish
, book one in the
Rock Stars in Love
series, please turn the page.

L
ove doesn’t always follow
the sheet music . . .

T
his Christmas
, Portia Jackson needs a miracle to save her family’s generations-old florist shop. What she gets instead is a car that breaks down during a blizzard. Help arrives unexpectedly when the infamous Aubry Riley pulls over. She only expects him to drive her to the gas station . . . she never expects
that
kiss. But Portia lives in the real world—she knows this is only a holiday fling for Aubry. Except it doesn’t feel so temporary, and the last thing she wants is a broken heart.

S
ometimes you have
to sing some different notes . . .

R
ock star Aubry Riley
has no secrets. Thanks to the media, everyone knows about his troubled past. Six years have gone by since his world crashed, and now he’s ready for a comeback. But first he needs to reconcile with his family—starting with his six-year-old daughter. A month-long vacation at a Vermont lake house affords him the perfect opportunity to take a step in the right direction. He doesn’t need any other emotional entanglements, especially not with the bright-eyed florist he can’t stop thinking about. But no matter how hard he tries to resist her, he can’t. Now all he has to do is to convince Portia that there is nothing temporary when it comes to love.

A
n excerpt from Chapter 1
:

V
ERMONT WAS A WASTELAND
.

Trees were stripped of leaves, their branches curved upward to the sky, as if pleading for salvation. There was none to be found in the dark night. White, crystallized snow-covered pastures, meadows, and hills. The stark nakedness of the state showed all its flaws, none of its beauty.

Welcome to hell.

Aubry Riley tightened his hands around the steering wheel. The car wound through the roads in the direction of the highway. According to the GPS system, it was seconds away. The bad weather had forced his private plane to land at a smaller airport a couple hours away from Burlington. He was supposed to be at the lake house by dinner, but he’d be lucky if he got there by midnight.

Normally, he wouldn’t care how late he arrived, except he had promised his daughter he’d be there. At six years old, Roxie was too young to be disillusioned. With a father like him and a dead mother, the cards were already heavily stacked against her. It made him even more determined to make sure the next month went smoothly.

He turned right onto the highway, and the road smoothed out into a straighter path. Aubry grabbed a bottle of water. Taking a sip, he tasted the bitter tang of lemon. All he wanted to do was to crawl in a warm bed and fall asleep.

He opened the window a crack. The freezing wind whipped across his flesh. It was a welcome relief, and he inhaled clean air and fresh pine. There were fir trees of varying sizes lining the highway like an army waiting to open fire.

Shoot me
, he thought.
Shoot me and put me out of my misery
.

As if someone upstairs, or rather, downstairs heard his thoughts, little pellets of hardened snow pinged against the windshield and through the open window. A couple of shards struck the side of his face. Closing the window, he brushed off the ice that had pelted his shoulder. Already, in the heated cavern of his car, the balls of hail melted on his fingertips.

It was as if he was in a snow globe, and someone had tipped it upside down and shook all the loose flakes around. Snow was falling everywhere, making it hard to see beyond all the white.

Then, he saw red. A bright spot of red off to the right some ways ahead of him. Slowing down as he drove closer, he could finally make out what it was—a car.

A very beaten up car with the backdoor on the driver’s side dented inwards, rusted with age. Smoke blew upward from the propped open hood.

He was late. Tired. And he didn’t want to stop.

A woman in a poppy-red coat slammed the hood down. Relief washed over her face, and she waved her gloved hands around, clearly hailing him down.

He pulled his car in front of hers and stopped. Pocketing the keys in his leather jacket, he braced himself for the cold, and got out. His eyes immediately stung from the numbing temperature, and his teeth clattered together. He walked over to where she stood.

The woman was bundled from head to toe. Poppy-red coat. White gloves, scarf, and hat. Tousled golden blonde hair dusted with snow and bright pink cheeks.

“Thank you so much for stopping.” There was no mistaking the relief in the young woman’s voice, either. “It feels like I’ve been here forever. I know that’s not the case, but it got darker and colder. And I thought I heard wolves, which is ridiculous. It’s probably only the wind, right? Then, I started thinking about
The Donner Party
—”

“
The Donner Party
?”

“Yes, the movie where people froze to death, and the ones who didn’t resorted to cannibalism. See, this is why I shouldn’t watch horror movies. I only remember all the bad parts and… Oh, God. I’m dreaming.” Her hazel eyes widened, and her right hand clapped over her slackened jaw. “I
must
be dreaming. You’re—you’re Aubry Riley!”

“’Fraid so.”

She touched his arm with one gloved finger, as if he were some damn Pillsbury Dough Boy. “You’re really Aubry Riley.”

He should have gone with his instincts and not pulled over. “Did you knock your head or something?”

“No. I’m sorry. It’s just that this is Vermont.
Ver
.
Mont
. Nothing ever happens here. I never expected my car to die or that I would meet you.” She unwrapped the scarf from around her neck, and exposed a pale, slim throat. “Here,” she said, handing the scarf to him. “You must be freezing. It’s the least I can do for you helping me out.”

Numbly, he took her scarf and draped it loosely around his neck. The gesture surprised the hell out of him.

“I still can’t—”

Aubry held up his hand. “If it’s anything along the lines of
you can’t believe it’s me
, save it. Why don’t you move away from the hood, so I can check it out?”

She turned to the side, her brow furrowing as she studied the billowing exhaust. “I think it overheated. Or, perhaps underheated. Maybe it’s gone to Car Heaven.”

Car Heaven? This woman couldn’t be for real. “You’re odd.”

“You think so?” A wide, delighted smile appeared on her face.

“It wasn’t meant to be a compliment.”

“It’d be so much worse to be called ordinary or…nice.” Her small, slightly upturned nose scrunched up in distaste. “
Nice
,” she said with a shudder, “is the kiss of death.”

“Really? All this time I considered
odd
to be the kiss of death.” He popped open the hood of the car and studied it for a few minutes. “It looks like you blew a radiator hose.”

“That’s not good, is it?”

Despite himself, his lips twitched in amusement. “It’s not good.”

“Can I have your—”

“Autograph? Picture?” He straightened and closed the hood. “It’s a blizzard right now, and—”

“I don’t want your autograph. Or picture for that matter. Truth be told, I really don’t like your music. That’s not to say you aren’t talented. I just don’t get all that rock star stuff when you throw things around or wear those tight leather pants.”

This woman was a bad LSD trip. Kookiness didn’t even begin to describe her. She talked way too much and seemed a bit…ditzy. “You really
do
talk a lot.”

“I know. It’s one of my many faults.” She shivered. “I wanted to ask you for your cell phone so I can call a tow truck. Dead car. Snowstorm. You’re freezing. I’m freezing. Plus, I’m sure you want to get back on the road.”

He reached into the pocket of his jacket and handed over his cell. She soon started talking to someone on the other end of the line.

It gave him the opportunity to study her. She looked to be in her late twenties, possibly early thirties, and was petite; the top of her head barely reached his shoulders. She was bundled up in a huge, puffy jacket, her body hidden from his view. He was curious.

That didn’t mean he was interested.

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nterested in reading more
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As You Wish
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