“I’m sorry,” I said as I tried to calm him.
“Don’t apologize for this, Manda. This shit was because of me. Not you.” He finally eased back enough to kiss me softly. “Just you, pretty girl,” he said against my mouth.
“I know,” I assured him.
“Gonna marry you, pretty girl.”
I smiled at that reminder. “Yeah.”
“I need you now, pretty girl,” he said as he trailed kisses down my neck and started making quick work of my clothes. “Hate that you’ve been crying. I don’t want you to cry. I hate it. I want you smiling,” he said against my collarbone. “Only crying you need to do ever is my name when you come.”
“Mmmmm,” I agreed as his attention moved to my br**sts , which he was very happy with. He didn’t seem to mind their small size. He made me feel perfect and beautiful.
He was my one.
Preston
My phone had been swiped from the table last week, when I was dancing with Amanda while Rock went to get a beer. The waitress Rick had sent me was a friend of Jill’s, so she did the dirty work. Jill’s plan was to send naughty texts until either Amanda saw it or I called the number, and if I called, she was going to try to talk me into meeting up with her.
The other waitress had sung like a bird when Rick called all the waitresses into the office and asked about it. Jill was fired, and so was the waitress who had helped her.
Marcus no longer wanted to kill me, and we were now back to being happy about becoming family. Not that we weren’t family before. Dewayne, Rock, and Marcus had been my family since second grade.
I hadn’t been allowed to see Manda all day. All damn day. Willow said it was bad luck. I tried telling her that nothing about Manda was bad luck. Willow had laughed at me and gone back to guarding Manda.
The wedding pictures that could be taken without me seeing my bride had been taken, and we had one hour before the wedding started.
I wanted to see my pretty girl. I didn’t like waking up to find a note on the pillow explaining that Willow had come and taken her away in the middle of the night. I wasn’t liking my future sister-in-law very much right now.
“Where are you going?” Dewayne asked with a smirk when I turned down the hall of the chapel toward the bridal room.
“Exactly where you think I’m going,” I told him.
“Just got an hour. Can’t wait until then?” he asked, amused.
“You’re next. When you’re wanting to see Sienna and they won’t let you, you’re gonna need help. You cover for me and I’ll pay you back.”
Dewayne nodded, then chuckled. “Yeah, I got this. Go see your girl.”
That was an easy sale.
I ducked behind the corner when the door to Manda’s room opened. Willow said she needed to go check on Eli and she’d be back soon to help her. Smiling, I waited until Willow was out of sight and I made a run for it.
The knob turned and I slid inside the room, closing the door and locking it behind me.
Amanda sat with her back to me, wearing a white lacy bra and matching panties, and—God help me—she had on a frilly garter belt and thigh highs. Jesus . . .
I must have made a sound because Amanda spun around.
“Preston,” she said in a surprised whisper. Then she started giggling. “Willow will be furious.”
I could give a rat’s ass what Willow was gonna be. “Stand up,” I said as I took the three long strides that got me to my bride.
She stood up, and the shiny white heels I’d missed with all those other things—now I saw them.
“How the f**k am I gonna get through the ceremony knowing you look like that underneath?”
She shrugged playfully. “Maybe that’s why you weren’t supposed to see me.”