Destination Weddings: Books 1-3 Page 6

  “Now, don’t get too excited.”

  “Okay…” She popped it open.

  He watched her face to see how she liked the diamond earrings. They were simple studs, not even huge, but he thought they looked perfect for her. “I figured when you wear your hair up, these would add a bit of glamour without stealing attention from your beautiful face.”

  Bree took out the earrings she wore and put the diamonds in. “That has to be the most poetic thing anyone has ever said to me.”

  “Really? Then you’ve been hanging around with the wrong guys.”

  “Yes, but I gave up that bad habit for a good one.” She stretched up to kiss him.

  He pulled her closer, running his hands over the silky fabric on her back, then the warm, naked skin lower down. He squeezed the smooth roundness. As his tongue slipped between her teeth, he tasted mint.

  Bree’s arms wrapped tightly around him, pressing on his shirt as if he wasn’t close enough. If he were any closer they’d be one person.

  When he began to each lower down her back, tracing the spot where her ass met her thigh, she stepped back, breathing hard. “We’d better stop.”

  Ash looked at the food she’d dished up. “That does look great. Let’s eat so we can get to the good part of the night.”

  “That’s all you want me for?”

  They sat at the small glass dining table and she poured two glasses of wine. Ash took a bite of the pasta dish. “No, your cooking is pretty good, too.”

  “Pretty good?”

  He met her gaze. “Pretty damned good.”

  “All right, then.”

  After dinner they carried their dishes into the kitchen and set them by the sink. Before Bree could walk away, Ash put his hands on the counter on either side of her.

  She pushed on his shoulders. “Wait, I have garlic breath.”

  “So do I. And I happen to like garlic.”

  Turning her head to one side, she said, “I can’t kiss you. Not until I brush my teeth.”

  He stepped back. “Then you’ll smell great and I’ll still reek of garlic.”

  A slow, sensuous smile spread on her full lips. “Hang on a sec.”

  He waited while she disappeared in the bedroom and made a mental note to get breath mints to keep in his pocket.

  Bree returned with a gift bag in her hand. She offered it to him. “It seems kind of cheap compared to yours.”

  He forced himself to pull the tissue out slowly, like she had. In the bag he found a toothbrush, a razor, and a bottle of his aftershave. He looked up at her. “Is this…”

  She nodded. “I want you to stay the night. Any time you come over.”

  Setting down the bag, he reached for her and she came into his arms. “Are you sure?”

  “Positive. I love you, Ash. I hope you feel the same.”

  He nodded. “Hell yeah, I love you. I planned to tell you tonight, but wasn’t sure when to do it. You know, if I wait until after sex it seems kind of cheesy.”

  “I don’t care when you say it, just as long as you say it often.”

  “I can handle that. I love you, Bree.”

  Her hands clenched his arms. The look she gave him made him as hard as a rock. “Prove it.”

  He lifted her up and carried her to the bedroom to do just that.

  Epilogue

  Sitting in the sand at County Line beach north of Malibu, Bree shivered in the damp, cool breeze. It was awfully cold for Memorial weekend. She shoved a wisp of her hair back behind her ear. Her eBook reader lay beside her on the blanket as she watched Ash paddling his surfboard out to find another swell.

  Who would have thought, six months ago, that she’d be on the beach at the crack of way-to-early, watching this handsome gamer boy ride the waves? A smile came from deep inside her and she sighed. It was easy to change some of her habits when she saw how much it delighted her man.

  A few other surfers were out in the water, but no one else was on the beach. The quiet was just plain amazing. This had to be the best getaway ever. Ash had rented a small motor home and a space at Leo Carrillo State Park just for the two of them. Campfires at night with the sounds of the campers around them, the smell of the ocean, and the fog that greeted them in the morning. It couldn’t get any better.

  Ash came trotting up from the water, the leash on his board still attached to his ankle. When he neared the blanket, he propped his board in the sand, unbuckled the ankle cuff and walked over to Bree. Before he sat, he shook his wet hair, spraying droplets of water everywhere.

  Bree squealed. “That’s cold!”

  He grinned and dropped onto the blanket. “Enjoying your morning?”

  She met his gaze, reading the gleam of satisfaction there. It sent currents of happiness through her. “I am.”

  “That’s good. I really hoped you wouldn’t be bored.” He looked out over the water as if deep in thought.

  They sat quietly for a few minutes, then he grabbed his small duffle bag and dug around in it before sitting back, his hand fisted. “You know…” He cleared his throat. “I know we’ve really only been going out a few months, but I feel like I’ve known you forever.”

  He paused. Did he expect her to speak? To agree? They’d worked together for a few years, so yes, it felt like she knew him well.

  “You get me. You know my passion and don’t think less of me. It feels as if you like me better because of it.”

  “I do. I’m in awe of your talent.”

  He smiled, but looked out over the water again. Bree’s stomach tensed. Where was he going with this? It didn’t sound like a break up. He seemed to be enjoying the getaway as much as she was. It wasn’t like him to hedge around what was on his mind like this.

  “I like your talent, too.”

  She raised an eyebrow to tease him as though he was talking about her dancing abilities.

  “What?” His eyes widened and he grinned. “Oh, wait, no. I didn’t mean that. Although I do appreciate the way you move that gorgeous body.” He leaned over and nipped at her shoulder where her cover-up had slipped off. “I mean your way with words. You make it look so easy.”

  “Well, I have been talking for a while now,” she said, returning his smile.

  “Smartass.” He cleared his throat again. Had he swallowed some salt water when he’d been out in the ocean?

  “Ash, what is it you want to say? You can tell me anything.”

  He exhaled hard through his lips. “Yeah, okay. You might not think it’s been long enough, and we can take it slow if you want. But I know what I want, and it’s you.”

  She frowned, then quickly relaxed her facial muscles before he could think she was turning him down. She wasn’t even sure what he was saying. They were already dating exclusively. That had happened from the start. Neither one of them had any interest in other people.

  Did he want to move in together? She could handle that. As long as they moved into her place. Not that his place was awful, but she really loved sitting in the dark in her living room at night and looking out at the lake.

  “Bree?”

  She blinked and focused on him. His face was pinched with worry. “What, exactly, are you saying?”

  He reached out his hand and opened it. As he did, the sun broke through the fog, causing the diamond on his palm to twinkle. She gasped. “Ash?”

  “Marry me. I know it sounds corny, but make me the happiest guy in the world.”

  That part was a given, she’d do anything to make him happy. Nothing gave him more pleasure. But was spending the rest of her life with him what she wanted?

  Yes! screamed the voice in her head. Why are you even thinking this out? Tell the man the truth. Her throat tightened. “I think you’re the first guy in the world to see past the ‘girls’,” she said, cupping her breasts. “You don’t care that I like talking about work. Or my flamingo pink Alexander Wang sandals. Or the Louis Vuitton bag I saw. Or anything. You laugh at my jokes even when I screw up the punch line. I fell in lo
ve with you long before we ever went out. Even before Greg’s wedding.”

  “Me, too.” Ash’s eyes were filled with the same sort of softness she usually saw after they made love. “So?”

  “So, I’m surprised you even question my answer. Yes, I’ll marry you. Yes, I’ll wake up next to you for the rest of my life.”

  He held the ring out for her to slip her finger inside as if they were exchanging vows.

  The cold metal looked perfect on her hand. The giddiness inside couldn’t be contained. “Yes, I’ll freeze my ass off just to watch you ride that board of yours.”

  Now it was his turn to raise an eyebrow. “Oh, yeah? That sexy little ass of yours is cold?” He reached around her back, slipped his hand under the hem of her cover up and worked his way to the string of her bikini.

  “You’d better not start something you don’t intend to finish.”

  “Oh, I intend to finish. Eventually.” That spark she loved appeared in his eyes. He lowered his head and pressed his cold lips against hers. And his hand slid beneath the string.

  She pulled away. “Not here.” Glancing around, she made sure no one noticed them.

  “You? Afraid of letting someone see some skin?”

  She made a face. “Seeing skin and watching me make love are two different things.”

  He sat back. “Yeah, you’re right. Thank you.”

  She tipped her head to one side. “For what? Turning you down?”

  “No, for telling me you really do think of me differently than the other guys.”

  “I do. I always have, even before we went out.”

  He began to lean again, his gaze aimed toward her mouth, then suddenly jumped to his feet and held out his hand. “Come on.”

  The sudden heat between her thighs matched the speed of her nipples tightening. “Yes, sir. Anything you wish.”

  “Anything?” He shook out the blanket and folded it over his arm.

  “You mean there’s something we haven’t already tried?”

  He licked his lips and she shivered. “Maybe. You’ll have to hurry up if you want to find out.”

  She grabbed her sandals, tucking her eBook reader into her purse. “Right behind you, babe. Show me how much you love me.”

  “I plan to spend the rest of our lives doing just that.”

  The Rock Star’s

  Wedding

  Ari Thatcher

  To my amazing daughter Andi, beta reader, grammar police and co-lyricist extraordinaire. I couldn’t do it without your help.

  Chapter One

  Her first cup of coffee had never tasted so good. With the warmth of the tropical early morning sun beating down on her, Kenzi Packard inhaled the rich hazelnut aroma while watching the rolling waves in the distance. After several years of vacationing locally, she and the girls had splurged and dusted off their passports.

  Sitting at a hotel on St. Thomas with a view of the ocean, she had her best friends there to share this week in heaven, and no work phone calls to deal with. What more could a girl want?

  “Chaz Marino is here,” Jasmine Wright said with a gasp. “On the island.”

  Kenzi rolled her eyes. “Where did you get that info?”

  Jasmine held up her smartphone. “It’s all over Gossip Ho’s website. He and Vanessa Edwards are getting married Saturday.”

  Bree Simmons stretched her arms in the air and yawned. “How can you read that crap? Do you really think if Chaz was getting married he’d have told anyone?” She tipped her face up to the sun, closing her eyes with a sigh.

  “The part that I don’t get is why he’d marry her after she and Harry Cabrera were so hot and heavy on the set of Drifting 3. Talk about foolish. I mean, he should have dumped her ass when those naked pictures first appeared.” Jasmine tapped and scrolled her way to who knew where on her phone.

  Kenzi rose to refill her coffee from the little hot-drink maker the hotel provided, pausing with one hand on her hip. “I have two things to say about that. A, there’s no proof they actually slept together, and B, maybe he’s the forgiving type who believes in second chances. Isn’t that sort of romantic?”

  “Romantic, or door mat?” Bree questioned back.

  Kenzi walked away before she could hear what else they said about Chaz. She wasn’t about to admit she still had feelings for him-she hadn’t even admitted to knowing him, much less dating. When he’d dropped out of college at the end of their sophomore year to pursue his music career, she’d been sad, but not heartbroken. They’d talked and accepted the fact they wanted different things from their careers. She loved programming, anything to do with computers, really, and he lived music. Ate, slept and dreamt it. Now she had a job she loved, working for a gaming company, and he…well, he was Chaz Marino.

  Her friends would freak if they ever found out she and Chaz had been a couple long before he and Joey Hughes formed their band, Marino. It wasn’t something she could just throw out there in the middle of a conversation, like, “Oh, you know, I used to do him.” And when they talked ex-boyfriends, there’s no way she could bring him up. He wasn’t some creepy-ass, cheating schmuck she wanted to forget. On the contrary, he’d been so good, he still showed up in a lot of fantasies. And damn, he was superhuman there!

  Yeah, she definitely was not mentioning her relationship with him.

  After her second cup of coffee, she was ready to run. Moving through her stretches in their room, she called out to the balcony, “Who’s running with me?”

  Her question was met with groans and gripes, but they both came in to stretch with her. They took the elevator to the lobby and stretched again when they reached the street. The air smelled so good, clean and salty. The air in Oakland was probably just as clean, with it being so close to the Pacific Ocean, so maybe it was just the idea that she was in the Caribbean that made her think it smelled better here.

  The three were silent as they gained their stride. Then they broke into the usual complaints.

  “You’d think on vacation we could give up the routine,” Bree said.

  “Sure,” Kenzi replied. “As long as we give up eating.”

  “And drinking,” Jasmine added.

  “Not likely.” Kenzi sidestepped some broken glass on the road without breaking stride. “Just think, running in the morning, snorkeling in the afternoon and dancing at night. We’ll actually lose weight!”

  “And sleep for the entire week when we get home.” Bree jogged ahead so they could move single file as a car passed.

  They followed the narrow road all the way out to the point before turning back. In the distance, Kenzi noticed a single runner coming toward them. A tall, slender guy, to be more precise. Creamy dark skin. Closely shaved hair. He had on large sunglasses, so who knew what he really looked like, but the rest of him was drool-worthy. Broad shoulders tapering to a narrow waist, chiseled upper arms. She could easily picture that body poised above her on the sheets.

  He swiped the butt of his palm on the side of his face in a move worthy of an exotic men’s cologne commercial. His teeth flashed in a smile before disappearing behind full lips. Kenzi’s heart rate sped up. No way, it couldn’t be him. She only had Chaz on the brain because Jasmine mentioned him. This guy was leaner. Not scrawny, but wiry. Definitely buff.

  And he was wearing Spandex running shorts. The Chaz she knew would never be caught dead in those.

  The closer he got, the tighter her stomach muscles knotted. It was Chaz. Did he even remember her? Should she acknowledge him as a friend or play it cool? He was probably trying to avoid attention. Avoid cameras and shrieking fan-girls. She voted for cool. “Hey.” And kept jogging past.

  “Lady K?”

  Oh, shit. She turned and jogged in place. “Omigod, Chaz!” She sounded like a nerd. She felt like one. She had no makeup on. Her hair had last night’s mousse in it, yanked back in a ponytail to keep it from flapping in her face. And, her running shorts showed every ounce of the five pounds she’d gained since college.

  �
��I thought that was you. It’s so cool to see you.” He stopped running and put his sunglasses on top of his head. “Are you staying long?”

  “Until Sunday.”

  “Cool. Maybe I’ll run into you again and we can catch up.”

  “Sounds great.” She ignored the piercing stares her friends were giving her.

  “Great.” He turned and jogged away.

  Kenzi did the same. Hopefully she could outrun the questions she knew were coming.

  “Do you know who that was?” Jasmine nearly squeaked, her voice was so high.

  Here it comes. “Um, yeah, I did call him by name.”

  Bree trotted in front of Kenzi, spinning to jog backwards. “I’ve known you four years and not once did you mention him. He calls you by a nickname! ‘Lady K.’ What’s up with that?”

  Jasmine punched her arm playfully. “You didn’t even say anything when I said he was on the island.”

  Kenzi looked up at the crystal blue sky in frustration. “Will you guys keep it down? He can hear you. And how was I to bring up something like that without sounding like I was name-dropping? It’s not that big a deal.”

  Bree turned around again to jog forward. “Not that big a deal. Hello. Chaz-freakin’-Marino.”

  “Did you sleep with him?” Jasmine always got straight to the point.

  “What kind of question is that?”

  “I thought it was pretty straightforward,” Bree said.

  “All right. We dated in college. He moved away and I stayed to graduate. That’s it.”

  “Dated. Are we talking Cokes in the coffee shop or dinner followed by a little headboard banging?” Jasmine had such class at times.

  There was no way they were just going to let this die. Rolling her eyes, Kenzi spilled the truth. “God, you guys drive me crazy! Okay, it was a real relationship. Could have turned out to be something if we hadn’t been traveling different paths. Do I need to remind you he’s engaged to Vanessa? I have no intentions-nor do I think I could accomplish-stealing him from her. There’s no point talking about what might have been.”