She looks down at it, touching it reverently, then looks over my shoulder and smiles. I glance back in time to see Mama smile back, and nod, proudly surveying the table where her family is all gathered, and so much happiness lives.
I wish Daddy was here to see it. He’d be bursting with pride.
Chapter Twenty-One
Six Months Later…
~Callie~
“Oh my God, I’m so damn nervous.” I’m standing in a room in the inn, shaking my arms out at my side. “I can’t feel my fingers.”
“You’re going to be great,” Savannah says, smiling as she adjusts my veil. All of the girls are in the room with me, helping me with hair and makeup and keeping my nerves at bay. Charly offered me a cocktail, but I want to be one hundred percent sober when I walk down the aisle.
Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea, because I sure could use that drink now.
“You’re a stunning bride,” Mama says and pats my hand. “You chose the perfect dress.”
I smile and look into the mirror, surveying the simple style. It falls to my ankles. There is no train. I figured that with an outdoor wedding, it would just get mucked up, so I went with a simple, mermaid style dress, but it’s all lace, and rather than white, it’s a light, barely-there shade of pink. The neckline is heart shaped around my breasts, and lacy straps hold it all up.
“The shoes are the best part,” Charly says with a grin and passes me the black lacy Louboutin shoes that the girls all gave me as a wedding shower gift. The heels are high, and thankfully the aisle is the brick path in front of the house, between the massive oaks, so I won’t sink when I walk to my groom.
“I think the whole package is pretty great,” Adam says from the doorway. None of us heard him come in.
I grin and turn around and hold my arms out at my sides. “What do you think?”
“I think Declan’s going to faint dead away when he sees you,” Adam says as he walks to me, wearing khakis and a white button-down.
“You look very dignified,” I say and play with a button on his chest.
“I’m just relieved you didn’t make me wear a tux,” he replies and glances around the room. “Do y’all mind if I have a few minutes with her?”
“It’s about time for you to walk down the aisle anyway,” Gabby says. “So just come on down when you’re ready and we’ll get this show on the road!”
The girls all file out and close the door behind them, and Adam sighs as he takes me in, from my hair to my shoes.
“Nice shoes.”
“This is why we’re friends,” I say, trying to keep it light. “Because you understand the importance of shoes.”
He smirks and nods his head. “Okay, before I walk you down the aisle, I want you to tell me. Why Declan?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why, out of the billions of men in the world, did you choose to marry him?”
I frown and blink at Adam. “Are you saying I shouldn’t?”
“Not at all. I just want to know, before I hand you over to him, what it is about Declan that makes you ready to commit to him for the rest of your life. That’s all.”
“Well, aside from the whole I love him thing…” I reply and chew my lip, thinking.
“You’re eating your lipstick off,” Adam says with a smile.
“Damn it. Don’t let me forget to put it back on before we go down.”
He nods and waits. “It’s really pretty simple, Adam. I can’t imagine my life without him. He fits. Every part of him fits into my life, as if he was a puzzle piece that was missing. He’s the only piece that will ever fit.” I shrug. “He’s just… mine.”
“Okay.” He smiles.
“I want you to feel this someday,” I murmur quietly and Adam immediately shakes his head. “I know, you don’t think you want to settle down with one woman, but I hope that someday you meet a girl that just fits you, and you know that you’ll never be the same.”
“It’s a romantic thought.”
“It’s much more than romance,” I reply. “And I think I get now why Daddy never really got over losing Mom. She was his piece, and when he lost her, he just couldn’t deal with it.”
Adam frowns and looks down, then back up at me. “You’re in such a better place now, Cal. When I think of where you were when you moved back home more than a year ago, to now, it’s like you’re a new person. You’re you, but you’re…”
“Better,” I reply for him and he nods.
“You are. You were always great, but you’re better.”
“And Declan is the piece that makes me better, Adam.”
Adam grins and pulls me in for a big hug, clinging to me. “I’m so happy for you, Cal. Really happy for you. I like him, and I couldn’t love you more if you were my sister by blood. So, thank you for letting me have the honor of walking you down the aisle.”
“There’s no one else I’d rather have do it,” I reply. “And speaking of, we’d better get down there.”
“Put your lipstick on,” he says and steps aside to watch me primp.
“Okay, I’m ready.” I grab the bouquet of pink roses and cala lilies that were my mother’s favorite and lead Adam out of the room and down the stairs.
It’s evening. The sun is just beginning the set, sending a riot of color through the sky. The trees are adorned with white lights, and pink fabric that matches my dress is draped among the limbs. Tables are set up for eating later, and for now, enough white chairs are gathered in a semi-circle for just Declan’s immediate family, my Uncle Bernie, and Adam to witness the ceremony.
I wanted a very small wedding, and that’s what Declan and his family are giving me.
Adam takes my hand, loops it through his arm, and escorts me down the steps of the porch and down the brick path as a simple piano version of When A Man Loves a Woman that Declan recorded plays on the sound system.
I can see his family, all smiling, some wiping at tears, watching me make the journey to my man, but all I can see is him.
He’s in black slacks and a white button-down, tucked in, with a blue tie that belonged to his father. But it’s his eyes, holding mine, that I can’t look away from. He’s saying everything with those eyes: I love you. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you. Thank you for being mine.
I can’t wait to marry him.
Finally, we approach, and Adam passes my hand to Declan’s, kisses my cheek, and takes a seat.
“Dearly beloved,” the justice of the peace begins. “We are gathered here, on this beautiful spring day, to join Declan and Callie in matrimony. It was their wish that only those who are closest to them be here to witness this sacred day, and it’s also their wish that they take over from here, reciting their vows and exchanging rings. So I’m going to let them get to it.” He winks at Declan and takes a step back.
“Calliope,” Declan begins, earning a mock-glare from me, but he simply smiles and squeezes my hand. “I love you. Nothing, not even time, will ever change that. You don’t complete me, because we’re both complete on our own, but you compliment me in ways that I didn’t even know I needed.
“Your love is like a song, and our song is an easy melody that plays, over and over, in my heart. Some days it’s slow and sweet, and other days it’s fast and loud, but it’s always love. It’s my favorite song.”
And, cue the tears, damn him.
“I promise you today to always be your partner. To never forsake you, or be unfaithful. I will respect you and I promise to do my best to listen and have your best interests at heart, even in times of anger. I’m going to screw up, Callie, but I will always be here, ready to fight for us.” He swallows and squeezes my hands, three times. “Our family will always be my only priority, for as long as I live.”
He kisses my forehead, then steps back and gives me a moment to catch my breath and wipe the tears from my cheek, not even caring that I’ve already ruined my makeup.
“I wasn’t expecting you, Declan Boudreaux,” I b
egin and grin at him. “You were not a part of any of my plans, but you were the best surprise I’ve ever been given, the piece of my puzzle that I didn’t know was missing.” I sniff and nod a thank you at Beau as he passes me a handkerchief. “I thought that I’d walk through life taking care of myself, and I’d done a pretty good job of it. But, then I met you and you taught me a few things.
“First, I learned that it’s okay to lean on someone who loves you. You are my greatest supporter, my fiercest advocate, and I know that when I can’t speak for myself, you are there to help me.” He nods, his beautiful hazel eyes smiling down at me.
“Second, I learned what true unconditional love is. It’s saying, I don’t care what happened yesterday, I’m going to love you today, and every day. No matter what.
“You’ve shown me patience, and loyalty, and you’ve shown me what it means to be truly safe with another person. Loving me isn’t always easy, but then, I guess the best loves aren’t. And ours is the best love I’ve ever been in.”
Declan’s eyes fill as he watches me, listening intently to every word.
“I promise to always value our love, and hold it in the highest regard. I promise to respect you, be faithful to you, and support you in every endeavor, at your side, for as long as we both live.”
He smiles, wipes a tear off his cheek, and pulls my rings, the engagement ring and a matching wedding band that he had made for me, out of his pocket, slipping them on my finger. “These rings represent my love for you.”
I’ve been wearing his band on my thumb, and I slide it onto his finger, repeating the same words back to him.
“I now pronounce you man and wife. And now, ladies and gentlemen,” the justice of the peace says happily, “it is my pleasure to introduce Mr. and Mrs. Declan Boudreaux.”
***
“It was such a pretty wedding,” Gabby says with a wistful sigh and leans on the table, resting her chin in her palm.
“Did you write your vows ahead of time?” Charly asks. The sisters and I are all sitting at a table, enjoying some girl talk, while the boys are standing nearby, laughing and giving each other shit about something.
“No, they were spur of the moment,” I reply. “That’s one of the reasons that I didn’t want a lot of people here. I knew I’d get stage fright.”
“Well, they were perfect,” Van says. “You and Dec had us all blubbering.”
“Are you leaving on your honeymoon right away?” Kate asks, taking a bite of cake.
“No, we leave in a couple of weeks,” I reply. “We have some work to do on the house still, and it just worked with our schedules that way. But don’t you leave tomorrow, Charly?”
She rolls her eyes and nods. “Yes. Van talked me into going to this retreat.”
“All I’m saying is, Simon is one hot man. There are worse things than having to look at him all day for two weeks.”
“Two weeks?” Kate asks. “That’s quite a retreat.”
“It’s in Montana,” Charly agrees with a nod. “I’ve never been up there, so it should be interesting.”
“I’m sorry, ladies,” Declan says, reaching over my shoulder from behind me to grab my hand. “I’d like to dance with my bride.”
“Take her,” Gabby says with a wide smile.
“I plan to,” Dec says, a mischievous grin on his handsome face as he guides me onto the brick path so my heels don’t sink into the ground.
“We don’t have dancing at this wedding,” I remind him.
“Is there music?” he asks, cocking a brow and leading me into a simple slow dance.
“You know there is,” I reply.
“Then, my lovely wife, there is dancing.” He pulls me against him and tips his forehead down to rest on mine. “How are you, Mrs. Boudreaux?”
“I’m great,” I reply with a laugh. “How are you?”
“Couldn’t be better. This dress is a work of art. Of course, so are you.”
“A work of art?” I reply with a smile.
“Yes. You never just look good, you look like art, and just like a piece of art, you make me feel things, Callie.”
I sigh. The words that come out of this man’s mouth never fail to surprise me.
“That’s a lovely thing to say.”
He spins me around and dips me deep, kissing me soundly as our family claps and laughs around us.
“When are we going to start filling that nursery we finished last month?” he asks.
“As soon as possible.”
“How do you feel about getting out of here and getting a head start on it?” He leans in to whisper in my ear. “I need to get you out of this dress, and my hands on you.”
“I think that’s the best idea you’ve ever had.”
“Oh no, darlin’, my best idea was telling you to go to dinner with me.”
“I’m so glad you’re bossy.”
He grins. “I know.”
Epilogue
~Simon Danbury~
“This is going to be an amazing two weeks,” I tell my staff, getting us pumped up for the first day of the Know Your Worth Women’s Retreat. I only put one of these in-depth retreats on each year, fitting it in between weeks of touring all over the UK and the United States, speaking to women about how to make themselves a priority, and to get what they want out of life.
I can hear the roar of the one hundred women filling the ballroom of the host resort here in Montana, along with the music we have pumping through the room, getting the women ready for a fast-paced day.
“Let’s make a difference in these women’s lives, friends.”
“Let’s do this!” my best friend and business partner Todd exclaims as my staff of ten hurry out of the room and into the ballroom to mingle with the girls.
I stay behind and take a few deep breaths, preparing my body for being on my feet all day, speaking to a room full of women of all ages and ethnicities, all here for their own very personal reasons. It’s going to be a fun, and sometimes difficult, journey for all of us.
I jump in place, shake my hands, and join the others, walking out on stage. The room breaks out in applause, and I smile and wave, checking to make sure the mic attached to my ear is securely in place.
“Hello, ladies!” More applause. “Are you ready for the best experience of your life?”
Applause.
“I can’t hear you! Stand up and tell me that you’re ready for your life to change!”
I watch a sea of women all stand, clap, whoop and holler, and smile.
“I’m so ready for this week with you! We are going to laugh and cry, and I’m going to give you the tools to make your life everything you’ve ever wanted. Are you ready, you beautiful women?”
I crank the music, and to their surprise, I begin to dance. I want the energy in this room to be electric. I want the women to be excited to make changes in their lives.
And, just as they always do, most of them start to dance with me. My staff, out in the audience, engage each of the women, dancing and laughing, and as I watch, one woman in particular catches my eye.
I glance at the name on her seat. Charly.
Charly is a beautiful woman, with her long dark hair, and almost golden hazel eyes. She’s thin, and her lips are full.
And she’s standing, but not dancing. And her eyes are saying, I don’t buy it.
Challenge accepted, darling.
THE END
Don’t miss Simon and Charly’s story in EASY KISSES, releasing in the Spring of 2016!
Other Books by Kristen Proby:
The Boudreaux Series:
Easy Love and on audio
Easy Kisses (preorder)
The With Me In Seattle Series:
Come Away With Me and on audio
Under the Mistletoe With Me and on audio
Fight With Me and on audio
Play With Me and on audio
Rock With Me and on audio
Safe With Me and on audio
Tied With Me and on audio
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Breathe With Me and on audio
Forever With Me and on audio
Easy With You
The Love Under the Big Sky Series, available through Pocket Books:
Loving Cara and on audio
Seducing Lauren and on audio
Falling for Jillian and on audio
Baby, It’s Cold Outside and on audio
An Anthology with Jennifer Probst, Emma Chase, Kristen Proby, Melody Anne and Kate Meader
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Epilogue
Kristen Proby, Easy Melody
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