“You guys are still getting dressed?” Beth pokes her head in, looking frazzled but proud. No force on Earth could have kept her from being Gracie's matron of honor. “It's showtime. Get your asses out there.”
We both swear and hurry down the back hallway to the main chapel. We reach the altar just minutes before the organ belts out its first notes. A wave of nerves hits me, but they're the good kind of jitters. I can’t wait to see Gracie today.
All the guests coo as the flower girl and ring bearer appear: Beth's two preschoolers, Georgia and Austin, looking like dolls in their fancy miniature clothes. They're only four and five years old, so it's a minor miracle when they make it down the aisle without a hitch. Beth bends down, smiling and holding out her hands in encouragement, until they reach the bridesmaids' section and the safety of their mother's arms. Georgia offers a daisy to Melanie, causing another wave of aww's to sweep through the pews.
Then the music holds its breath, Gracie walks through the chapel doors...and I can't see a damn thing but her anymore. As I watch my stunning bride draw closer, every emotion crashes into me at once. She looks like an angel. With her gown's elegant, floor-length skirt, she even seems to float forward on a cloud rather than walk. Her lush chestnut hair spills over her shoulders in a riot of curling waves, natural and not done-up like I was expecting. Her cheeks and lips have been stained the same girlish, kissable pink. Her V-shaped neckline hangs low from wide, see-through straps; I want to bite her delicate exposed collarbones, push my face into the cleavage that just barely peeks out. Damn, I never thought a wedding gown could be sexy as well as beautiful. But I guess that's because the woman inside it is Gracie.
Her eyes latch onto mine as she draws closer, and she gives me a cheeky smile. She doesn’t look nervous or unsure, just ridiculously happy, and I thank my lucky stars she’s mine. All of her. Heart, body, and soul. And seeing her in a white dress right now? It’s pretty fucking surreal.
She'd look even better out of the dress, but I'll get to see that treat soon enough. My imagination drifts ahead to our honeymoon. In less than six hours, we'll be kicking back at a luxury resort hotel in Puerto Vallarta. I can sip a margarita on my beach chair and watch Gracie frolic in a skimpy bikini, the lapping ocean waves as blue as her eyes. And after the sun sets...
I'm especially looking forward to our wedding night. Not because we'll do anything new in bed—it would be hard to find a box we haven't checked yet, at least not without getting into some seriously crazy shit—but because we ourselves will be new people. We'll be making love as husband and wife for the first time. A virginity we'll lose together.
As the music fades to a close, Gracie steps up onto the altar, across the pulpit from me. I lean over to pull her near before the music dies entirely and the minister starts talking. “You still sure about this?” I whisper into her ear. “No backing out now.”
She blinks, half-smiling, as if she's not sure whether I'm joking or she just misheard me. “I'm not going anywhere.”
“Good. Because you're about to become mine forever.”
Her half-smile spreads into that beaming grin I love to see, dimples and all. “There's nothing I want more,” she murmurs.
My heart skips a beat. The minister clears his throat and I step back into place, my gaze still locked with Gracie's, ready to begin our new life.
Acknowledgments
Thank you so much to the readers who supported Screwed – my first attempt at a romantic comedy. I had a blast writing it, and was blown away by your warm reception for Hayden and Emery’s love story. I didn’t anticipate writing Monster Prick, but sometimes the characters decide for you, just as Hudson and Gracie did here. Despite having written more than twenty books, I’d never written a novella before. It made me a little nervous! But it turned out just adorable and I hope you enjoyed the story as much as I did.
A big thank you to Danielle Sanchez, Angela Smith, and Rachel Brookes. You each play a significant role in helping me on my writing journey. Each novel is different, some more difficult than others, so thank you for being there to support me.
To all of the bloggers, fans, and readers who have shared my books with others, who’ve left reviews and made beautiful graphic teasers, my heart is filled with bookish love for you. I hope you know how critical you are to this community. I’m grateful for every tweet, review, and mention. My readers mean everything to me, and I’m blessed to have your support.
To my little family. You’re everything to me.
About the Author
A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of more than a dozen titles, Kendall Ryan has sold more than a million ebooks and her books have been translated into several languages in countries around the world. She's a traditionally published author with Simon & Schuster and Harper Collins UK, as well as an independently published author. Since she first began self-publishing in 2012, she's appeared at #1 on Barnes & Noble and iBooks charts around the world. Her books have also appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller list more than two dozen times. Ryan has been featured in such publications as USA Today, Newsweek, and InTouch Weekly.
Website: www.kendallryanbooks.com
Facebook: Kendall Ryan Books
Twitter: @kendallryan1
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/kendallryan1
Coming Soon
Bait & Switch, Alphas Undone Book 1
Love is a trap, a trick only other people fall for. Former Navy SEAL Nolan has no such illusions. The only things real in his life are his beloved bulldog and the two women who regularly share his bed. One is light—soft, innocent, and tender touches. The other is dark—and gives him all of the wicked things he craves behind closed doors. It’s not cheating when each is aware of the other. But when he begins to feel much more than he ever bargained for, the order of his carefully crafted world is shaken, and he stands to lose everything.
Nolan thinks we met by chance. We didn’t. I sought him out, seduced him, and in return got the sanctuary I needed to survive. But now, impossibly, I’ve fallen in love with him. I don’t care that he has another lover, because when he finds out who I am, it’s going to ruin any chance I ever had with him anyway. She’s the least of my worries.
Bait & Switch is Book 1 in a new contemporary romance series by Kendall Ryan. It will be released on February 9, 2016.
Other Books by Kendall Ryan
Unravel Me Series:
Unravel Me
Make Me Yours
Love by Design Series:
Working It
Craving Him
All or Nothing
When I Break Series:
When I Break
When I Surrender
When We Fall
When I Break (complete series)
Filthy Beautiful Lies Series:
Filthy Beautiful Lies
Filthy Beautiful Love
Filthy Beautiful Lust
Filthy Beautiful Forever
Lessons with the Dom Series:
The Gentleman Mentor
Sinfully Mine
Stand-alone Novels:
Hard to Love
Reckless Love
Resisting Her
The Impact of You
Screwed