Always Loving You (19 page)

Ava stood still in a bubble of complete bliss as a flurry of activity hummed around her. She was getting married in Vegas just two days after she and Mac had coproposed to each other. She hadn’t seen him at all today, as her friends and torturers were insistent that she not see the groom before the ceremony. That didn’t mean that they hadn’t texted each other like crazy for the last twenty-four hours.

She finally looked around the room where they were all busy changing clothes to see a sight that she’d never expected. She had friends, good ones who had worked tirelessly for two days to give her a dream wedding. Suzy, the party planner extraordinaire, had refused to even entertain a trip to a drive-through wedding chapel. She’d paled alarmingly when Mac had jokingly suggested it. Instead she had opened her bag of tricks and secured them a beautiful outdoor venue with a breathtaking view of Red Rock Canyon in the distance. She had handled every detail, and despite their protests, Brant had insisted on paying for the wedding, stating it was his honor as head of their family. God,
she loved her uptight brother. Finally, she and her brothers felt like a family.

Truthfully, she had been more than happy to hand over all the planning to Suzy, who seemed to do it so effortlessly. Ava just wanted to get married, and a justice of the peace would have been fine to her. Now her dear friends Suzy, Emma, Claire, and Beth buzzed around her, seemingly overjoyed to be part of her special day. She missed Ella and wished that she could have been there.

A knock sounded at the door and Emma rushed to answer it. When Emma didn’t return after a few moments, Ava looked over at the door to see the other woman passionately kissing Brant, and for once, Ava didn’t want to shudder in horror from seeing her brother making out with his fiancée. Actually, she’d never been happier that both of her brothers had found their forever persons. Despite years of doubt, it seemed as if there was a happily-ever-after on the horizon for all the Stone siblings.

Brant’s face was flushed when Emma finally pulled him into the room after ensuring that everyone was decent. He stopped in his tracks, just looking at Ava for a moment. She had chosen a simple white gown with a square neckline and delicate spaghetti straps. Tiny seed pearls were sewn on the white material, giving the dress a fairy-tale look. She had known it was her dream gown the moment she saw it. Suzy had given her an enthusiastic high five that she’d found her wedding dress within an hour.

“You look beautiful,” he said as he reached her. Emma ushered everyone from the room, seeming to
know that Brant wanted a moment alone with his sister. He looked at her almost shyly before pulling two boxes from his jacket pocket. “I . . . um . . . think I can help you out with two things you might need before you get married.” He set one box on the table before holding a long, thin box in front of her. “You know that most of Mom’s jewelry has been in a safe-deposit box since their death.” When she nodded, he continued, staring at the box he held. “When you told me you were getting married, I remembered this one necklace. Mom always wore it to every party that she and Dad attended. It’s the only piece of her jewelry that I can remember seeing her wear on a regular basis. I . . . well, I thought you might like to have a part of her here today. I know it’s not the same, but . . .” Without finishing his sentence, he popped open the box, showing her the platinum pearl and diamond necklace nestled within. She choked on a sob as she too remembered it adorning their mother’s neck on several occasions.

Brant removed it from the box, walking behind her to gently move her hair aside before fastening it around her neck. Her hand automatically flew up, feeling the cool weight against her skin. His eyes were bright as he moved back in front of her. “I, um . . . had someone send this to me for you. I thought this could be your something old.”

“Oh, Brant,” she cried, “I don’t know what to say. I never knew how much I needed a part of them until now. Thank you for always taking care of me.” When she went to hug him, he held her off, setting the empty box down before picking up the other, smaller one.

“Wait. There’s another one, and I don’t want you crying more than once, so try to hold it until—” As a knock sounded on the door, Brant smiled and went to open it. Ava’s mouth fell open as her other brother walked in, looking equally emotional as he looked at her.

“Sorry, guys. I . . . got tied up. Oh, sis, you look beautiful.” As Declan leaned over to kiss both her cheeks, he whispered in her ear, “Mac is one lucky bastard.” Brushing an errant tear from her cheek, he pulled back, taking the box from Brant’s hand. His eyes softened as they lit on their mother’s necklace. “Looks beautiful on you, Av. I know she would have wanted you to wear it today.” Clearing his throat, he held up the velvet box in his hand, saying, “Ella and I wanted to give you something new for your day.” Opening the box, Declan turned it for her to see a bracelet very similar in design to the necklace that she wore. As he put it on her wrist, he continued talking. “I’m sorry if I haven’t always been there when you needed me, Av, but please never doubt that I love you. There is only one man that both Brant and I would ever pass your hand along to without reservation, and you’re marrying him today. He’s always loved you, Ava, and I know that he always will.”

After that, they all exchanged emotional embraces and just enjoyed the moment of togetherness with their feelings unguarded. As the rest of the gang filed back in, Suzy shook her head while the other women ushered the men out. “I’m not even going to bother fixing your makeup until your last visitor comes in, because I know you’ll just cry again.” Then in an uncharacteristic
display of emotion, Suzy gave her a side hug, saying, “And you know what, you cry as much as you need to. If we can’t fix it, then screw it. Mac will only see your beauty, not your makeup.”

When Suzy moved back, Ella stood there holding her newborn baby, Sofia Grace, and doing a mixture of laughing and crying. They all gaped at their soft-spoken friend when she covered the baby’s ears and said, “Now, would I miss the wedding of my favorite whore?” Laughter rang out in the room, and they all knew they’d never forget Ella’s multiple-personality delivery and the laughs that it would bring to them for years to come. Ava smiled, thinking that now she knew how Brant had managed to get their mother’s necklace here so quickly.

“Now I believe we’re missing the borrowed and blue items, right?” Claire asked while holding a hand behind her back. When Ava agreed, the other woman brought her hand back around, showing Ava the pearl and diamond ring there. “My mother gave this ring to me when I got married and I thought it would go perfectly with your necklace and bracelet.”

Ava wanted to protest, not sure about wearing something so special to Claire, but the other woman seemed so excited. When the ring actually fit Ava’s finger, she found herself hugging Claire while trying to hold back her tears.

Next, Suzy and Beth stepped forward, holding out a long white box. Ava looked at it suspiciously, before shaking her head. “Please tell me that isn’t the Channing Tatum that you bought.”

Beth started laughing as Suzy winced, rubbing her lower back. “Um, no, Gray buried that at the bottom of the trash can. I think he may have stabbed it a few times for good measure.”

“Then he buried something else, right?” Beth joked, holding her sides while she laughed.

Suzy, never one to be embarrassed, gave a smug grin. “Yeah, he sure did, again . . . and again. God, I love pushing that man’s buttons.” Beth finally had to nudge Suzy to shake her out of what appeared to be some vivid memories. “Oh, right, so, anyway, Beth and I took care of the something blue.” When Ava hesitated, Beth opened the box, showing her the light blue garter belt nestled inside it. Ava sighed in relief before donning the last item.

Her friends left to join the rest of the wedding guests, while Brant and Declan returned and took their positions on each side of her. Strangely, she was barely nervous. Nothing had ever felt this right. The only thing she needed now was to be standing next to the man she loved. “Ready?” Brant asked, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.

Before she answered, she hugged both of her brothers once again. “I’m ready,” she said softly. “I’m finally ready.”

All three of them knew that her words had little to do with the ceremony and everything to do with where she was in her life.

*   *   *

“A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri was played by a pianist and cellist as the love of his life walked down
the canopy-covered aisle holding the arm of each of her brothers. Lights on the surrounding trees twinkled against the darkness, giving the whole setup a storybook feel. As Mac stood waiting for her, he truly understood that all the heartache of the past had led them to this one defining moment.

Since their group of friends and family attending the wedding was so small, they hadn’t bothered with giving anyone in the wedding party formal titles. Instead everyone circled the altar, leaving just a small opening for Ava, Declan, and Brant. Mac’s mom and dad, Dominic, Gage, Ella, and Sofia Grace had been able to make the last-minute ceremony thanks to the generosity of Mark DeSanto. He was a friend of the Stone family as well as a business associate to Danvers. When Brant told him about the wedding, he had insisted on helping in any way possible. His private jet had picked up their guests from Myrtle Beach earlier, and they had arrived in plenty of time for the wedding. Mac’s parents were so thrilled that he and Ava were finally getting married that they wouldn’t have held a grudge over missing the wedding, but he could tell they were happy to be here.

When both Declan and Brant arrived at his side, placing their sister’s hand in his, they clapped him on the back, signifying without words their trust in him. He swallowed a huge lump in his throat as he nodded once to the men he thought of as brothers. Beside him, Gage whistled low under his breath as he glimpsed Ava. Dominic elbowed him in the stomach, causing the other man to let out a low groan before giving Dominic a dirty look. Mac was so grateful to have his friends there
with him as he took the step he had always dreamed of with his forever girl.

He took advantage of the fact that Ava wasn’t wearing a veil to lean in and give her a quick kiss on her neck. “I love you, baby,” he whispered for her ears only. She mouthed the words back to him as the officiate started the ceremony. Both he and Ava had opted to have a simple service, including traditional vows. They had already said everything that was in their hearts to each other earlier in private. They answered the questions that were asked of them and repeated their promises when prompted, but their eyes never left each other. The world faded away as they were pronounced husband and wife. As Mac pressed his lips to hers, he felt the pain and sorrow of the past slip away and out of the ashes arose a beautiful commitment that staggered him with its perfection. Because he knew that, no matter what happened in the future, as long as Ava was at his side, life would be beautiful. And he intended to spend the rest of his life loving her—always loving her.

As always, a special note of thanks to my agent, Jane Dystel, and my editor at Penguin, Kerry Donovan. None of this would ever be possible without you both and I appreciate all that you do.

Also, thanks to Jenny Sims for all your help.

A huge thanks to all the readers and bloggers who continue to embrace the Danvers series. It always touches my heart at how much you love the characters that I’ve created. Thank you for making them as much a part of your lives as I have.

To my special friends: Amanda Lanclos and Heather Waterman from Crazy Cajun Book Addicts, Catherine Crook from A Reader Lives a Thousand Lives, Shelly Lazar from Sexy Bibliophiles, Marion Archer, Lorie Gullian, Stacia from Three Girls and a Book Obsession, Shannon with Cocktails and Books, Sarah from Smut and Bon Bons, Andrea from the Bookish Babe, Jennifer from Book Bitches Blog, Tracey Quintin, Melissa Lemons, Lisa Granger, Chantel Pentz McKinley, Nicole Tallman, Stefanie Eldrige-O’Toole, Tara Thomas, Lisa Salvary, and Jen Maxner.

Sydney Landon
is the
New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling author of
Weekends Required
,
Not Planning on You
,
Fall for Me, Fighting for You
, and
Betting on You
. When she isn’t writing, Sydney enjoys reading, swimming, and being a minivan-driving soccer mom. She lives in Greenville, South Carolina, with her family.

Read on for a special preview

of the next sexy romance

in the Danvers series,

WATCH OVER ME

Available in September wherever books and e-books are
sold.

“Well, this officially goes down as my crappiest birthday ever . . . hands down,” Gwen Day moaned before looking back up into the sympathetic eyes of her friends Mia Gentry and Crystal Webber. “I’m finished with men. I mean, what do you even need them for anymore?”

Her friend Crystal, who was newly divorced, nodded her head in agreement. “You got that right girl. I have a vibrator that’s always hard, doesn’t talk back or leave the toilet seat up or dribble toothpaste in the bathroom sink. I’ve come more in the last six months with my plastic boyfriend than in the last six years combined with my ex. If I’d had one of those suckers when I was twenty, I’d have never gotten married.”

Beside Crystal, Mia gave them a sheepish look. “Um . . . well . . . I like my man just fine, and trust me . . . he’s always hard whenever I want it.”

“You suck,” Crystal grumbled. “The rest of us don’t have a perfectly wonderful, hottie alpha male like Seth Jackson. You could at least share him, you know. Have you two considered broadening your horizons with a threesome because I’d totally be up for it?” Wiggling
her brows, she added, “I seem to remember you mentioning a certain threesome fantasy featuring Suzy Merimon and her hubby, Gray.”

The conversation between her friends distracted Gwen momentarily from her pity party before she went back to brooding. She had no interest in her vibrator, but she agreed with Crystal that men were completely overrated. She had thought all of that was changing for her when she met McKinley Powers. His company handled the security for Danvers International, where she worked. He was drop-dead handsome with his short military hair, which he still favored even after leaving the Marines, and his rock-hard body, which never failed to make her heart race and knees squeeze together. The fact that he was a genuinely nice guy was an added bonus.

When they had first started dating, Mac had been more than content with her “taking things slow” request, which maybe should have been her first red flag. After they’d been going out for a month, he still hadn’t put any type of pressure on her to go beyond kissing. By the end of the next month, she was horny and frustrated. It seemed like he was the one wanting to take it slow, and by then she was ready to rip the clothes from his buff body.

They had engaged in some make-out sessions that never progressed past second base, because he always pulled back when he got too close to third base and dammit . . . crossing home plate had become just a distant dream.

Gwen knew all of the books said never let a man determine your self-worth, but she had been really struggling
with that one after Mac’s silent refusal to have sex with her. Until she finally put all of the pieces together and figured out that it might not be her who was the problem, but more important who she wasn’t—Ava Stone.

Mac was good friends with the Stones, who also worked for Danvers. There was Declan, whom Mac had served with in the military; Brant, who was Declan’s older brother; and then there was Ava. She was an attractive blonde Gwen had seen in the lobby on several different occasions. She had come to understand that there was possibly something more than friendship between Mac and Ava when she witnessed Mac completely losing it because his coworker and good friend Dominic Brady had given Ava a ride on his Harley. Mac had been so upset that warning bells had gone off in Gwen’s head.

From that point on, her relationship with Mac was on borrowed time, and she knew it. He had become even more distant. He forgot to call her, didn’t return her calls, and was just generally unavailable physically and emotionally.

So one evening, she had gone to his house to talk and just to spend some time with him, and he’d taken off almost immediately after receiving a call concerning Ava. Gwen had decided to wait it out and see if he came back home. When he finally did, hours later, they had ended it. There was no fight, no ugly words or insults. It was very civilized. Gwen might not be happy with Mac for dating her while he was hung up on Ava, but he had been honest with her, and she knew that it had really upset him to hurt her.

Her self-esteem had been limping along since that evening until Mia had dropped her bomb this morning. Her friend Suzy had told her that Mac and Ava had gotten married over the weekend in Las Vegas. It had been a blow that Gwen hadn’t been expecting. She figured she would just be tortured for a while seeing them as a couple around the office. She had never expected Mac to break up with her and then almost immediately tie the knot. God, was she now the one whom men dated right before they found “the one”?

Gwen had been so lost in thought that she almost jumped from her seat when Mia’s hand landed on her arm, shaking it excitedly. “I know, let’s have a girls’ night tonight! Seth’s leaving this afternoon on business for a few days, so I’d love to go out. How about you, Crystal?”

Gwen was secretly hoping that the other woman would veto the whole thing because she wasn’t really in the mood to socialize. She just wanted to go home, eat herself into oblivion, and watch some man-hating movies on Lifetime. Of course, she’d probably run right into Dominic in the apartment complex where they both lived. Geez, she needed to move now. Wasn’t it just her luck to live doors away from Mac’s friend? Dominic was already so annoying . . . okay hot—completely smoking hot—but still annoying.

It was no one’s business if she peeked through her blinds every time she heard his boots in the hallway. Yes, dear Lord, she could admit to herself that she could pick out the sound of his tread from the rest of her neighbors. He just looked so good in his cargo pants and those tight
T-shirts. And some evenings she was even lucky enough to catch him in all of his masculine glory after returning from a run. Shirtless . . . and wearing low-hanging shorts. She loved the sight of him with those rippling muscles, glistening sweat, the tattoos, the . . . “Hmmm?” Gwen looked around to see both Mia and Crystal staring at her.

Crystal smirked.”Honey, where was your head at? You just moaned and your eyes went crossed.”

“And you have some drool on your chin,” Mia pointed out helpfully.

Gwen felt her face flush as she quickly ran a hand across her mouth. Darn it, there was drool there. Freaking Dominic Brady! “I . . . er . . . was just thinking about dinner.”

“Yeah, sure.” Crystal grinned. “Whatever you say. So anyway, how about drinks at Hawks tonight?”

Mia rubbed her hands together. “Ohhh, going the sports bar route tonight. I like it. Seth would hate it, so it sounds perfect to me.”

Gwen found herself agreeing. Surely, an evening out with her friends was better than sulking at home. After all, her ass was big enough, and adding another pint of ice cream to it wasn’t going to help things any. Tonight she would have fun and forget all about Mac. How hard could that be?

*   *   *

Dominic Brady sprawled back on his sofa with a big sigh of contentment. Jet lag was a real kick in the ass. Maybe he was just getting old, but flying to Vegas and back in less than forty-eight hours was not something that he cared to do often. When he had been in the
Marines, he and his friends had lived for quick trips like that. They’d get a few days off and make the most of it. Sin City was a frequent destination back then. Now just being home in his apartment in Myrtle Beach was much closer to heaven than the bright lights and the scantily clad women on the strip. Yeah, hell, at thirty-three he officially sounded old.

The trip this weekend had been for a good cause, though. One of his best friends had gotten married to the woman he’d loved all of his life. It had been a long, rocky, and uncertain road for them, but Mac and Ava had finally worked it out, and Dominic couldn’t have been happier for them. He, Mac, and Gage owned a company called East Coast Security. They monitored and provided security for many high-end companies, including Danvers International, where their headquarters was located.

The job and the location fit Dominic perfectly. His family lived in Georgia, so he was close enough to visit when he wanted to and far enough away to keep his nosy mother and sister out of his business. He loved them dearly, but they had been trying to find him the “right woman” since he had been potty trained. If he still lived near home, they’d be herding single women past him like they were on an assembly line. The fact that his sister had married her high school sweetheart and promptly popped out two kids only put that much more pressure on him.

He had just started on his second Corona and was watching
SportsCenter
when he heard a sound at his door. It was more like someone moving against the
frame than knocking. Biting off a curse, he reluctantly put his beer down on the coffee table and went to check. It was likely no one coming to visit him. His neighbor at the end of the hall liked to party, and even though he always tried to keep the noise down, occasionally there were a few lost strays in the hallway.

Dominic checked the peephole, then pulled back in surprise. This was a new one. He could make out the crown of someone’s head, and that was about it. He stood there for a few moments, hoping that the person would just move on. When he heard nothing but silence, he came to the resigned conclusion that he was either going to leave the person there all night or open the door and encourage her to move on.

Swinging the door open suddenly might not have been the best idea, Dominic concluded when a soft body landed against him. He heard a feminine giggle, then a “Whoops!” He froze when hands started roaming his chest and then his torso. “Mmmm, you are sooo hard. . . . I knew you would be.”

What the hell?
Just as he registered that what he thought was brown hair through the peephole was actually dark red, his interloper looked up, and he gasped in shock. “Gwen?”

“Dominic,” she purred back, blinking at him like an owl. Her hands continued to roam, and he didn’t know whether to be thrilled or sorry that he was wearing nothing but a pair of basketball shorts. Her hands on his bare skin were having a direct effect on his cock, and the silky material wasn’t doing much to contain it. On the other hand . . . it felt good. . . . No, amazing.

Maybe he was asleep, and this was a dream. There was no way Gwen, the woman he’d wanted from the first moment he’d seen her, was here now, touching him . . . damn near everywhere. “Er . . . Gwen . . . babe, did you need something?” He almost groaned aloud when her hand dropped to cover the bulge in his shorts.

“You could say that,” she moaned as she pushed him back a few steps before shutting the door behind her. Just when he thought this encounter couldn’t get much weirder . . . or hotter, she leaned down, grabbed the hem of the slinky black dress that she was wearing and pulled it over her head in a move that would have made a stripper proud. Then she stood before him in nothing but a black lace bra, tiny matching panties, and strappy black sandals. He was completely and totally screwed.

Still trying to be the voice of reason for some crazy reason, Dominic held out a calming hand and said, “Babe, what’re we doing here? I mean . . . God, you’re gorgeous!” All right, maybe that last line had slipped out, but holy hell, how was he supposed to stay calm when Gwen was standing in front of him practically naked, with a come-hither look in her eyes that was making him pant like a dog in heat?

She began to prowl forward, and he walked uncertainly backward, which he figured out was a big mistake when he tripped over his coffee table and landed in a heap on the sofa. “Oh goody.” She rubbed her hands together as she stopped a few inches from where he had landed. “It looks like we’re both on the same page.”
Then . . . she dropped down to straddle his waist, and it was all over for him. When she grinned before pulling a strip of condoms out of her bra, he almost professed his love on the spot. Who was this woman? She looked like his beautiful neighbor, but that was where the similarities ended.

He’d caught her checking him out on more than one occasion, and yes, in his fantasies, he had wanted to believe that she desired him as he did her . . . but she’d never given him any outward reason to believe that was true. He had certainly never imagined her showing up on his doorstep like a wet dream. He forced himself to ask one last time, “Are you sure about this?” In answer, she ground herself against him before licking his neck. Well . . . that meant yes in his book.

He put his hands on what he had come to think of as the Holy Grail: her ass. It was firm and round and drove him to distraction. Dominic had never been one to desire a skinny woman. He loved soft, lush curves, and to him, Gwen had the perfect body. His only problem was deciding where he wanted to lavish his attention first.

“I need you inside of me,” Gwen murmured as she bit his ear. As if to prove that point, she plastered her body against his chest, freeing his hips, before saying urgently, “Shorts off, condom on.”

Dominic had always been something of an alpha male, so this role change was not only different for him, but surprisingly sexy as hell. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been this uncoordinated as he did his best to push his shorts down and then fumbled to
put the condom on his throbbing erection without causing it to blow early. At this point, he was hanging on to his composure by a mere thread.

After what was probably seconds but felt like hours, he was sheathed and past ready to feel her around him. “All right, baby, let me take care of you.”

“Yes . . . God, yes,” she breathed throatily. “I need to take my panties . . .” Refusing to let her up, he ripped one side of her flimsy excuse for panties and then the other. She lifted her hips slightly, and he pulled the fabric free, sending it sailing somewhere nearby. He ran a finger through her cleft, finding it wet and swollen. “Dom . . . I’m ready. Please now!”

Putting a supporting hand under her ass, he raised her body before bringing her down onto his waiting shaft. He held himself still as she screamed, afraid that he’d hurt her by going too fast. “Okay, baby?” he asked as he stroked her hip soothingly.

Gwen rose to her knees, sliding him almost out of her wet heat before bottoming out once again. “Move . . . harder, Dom!” Her demands broke what little control he had left. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close enough to devour her lips, while pumping his hips at a ruthless pace into her tight passage.