Barefoot Bay: Hold On To Forever (Kindle Worlds Novella) (9 page)

Chapter Ten

Jack was always up earlier than anyone else in the villa. Usually, his mornings began at five, when he woke up to a cup of coffee, followed by an hour of answering emails, and then a three mile run. Except for the morning he’d woken up with Felicity at The Fourway Motel, he’d kept to his usual routine even here at Casa Blanca. This morning had been no different.

But running twice in the same day? For one thing, he was simply too busy for it. Besides, running in the middle of the afternoon in late July in Florida was asking for a case of heat stroke. But it was the only way he knew to blow off this aggression pumping through his veins.

He slipped in his earbuds, turned the volume up on his iPhone, and tuned everything out. It felt good running on the hard packed sand with the late afternoon sun on his back while listening to Coldplay.

Felicity had practically stolen his office right out from under his nose
. He didn’t know whether to be happy for her, or mad as hell for himself.

He picked up speed, running till his lungs burned. He was on the other side of the island now, away from the resort. Away from all the happy people.

He’d told Felicity that he wasn’t unhappy. But that wasn’t really the truth. Could he be happy going back to his office in Miami, working fourteen-hour days, eating take out, and collapsing into bed at night too tired to even watch a simple TV program?

Abuela was right. He was almost thirty-four and he’d never brought a girl home to meet the family. All he did was work. He was like that cardboard version of himself on all those billboards Felicity disliked so much.
One dimensional
.

He slowed down and bent over to catch his breath. A lone figure came running toward him. It took him a few minutes to figure out that it was Mitch. He pulled the buds out of his ears and waited for his brother to catch up to him. “It’s your wedding day. Shouldn’t you be getting your hair done or something?”

Mitch grinned. “How’s it going, big brother?”

“What do you want?”

Mitch raised a brow. So he was grumpy. His little brother was just going to have to deal with it. “I want to talk.”

“About the wedding night? I thought dad covered that already when you were back in fifth grade. But if you need a refresher, I guess I could give you a few pointers.”

“Stop being an asshole, will you? I want to thank you.”

“For what?”

“For whatever you did to make Felicity invite her mom to the wedding. Nicki can’t stop talking about it.”

“That wasn’t me. That was all Felicity’s idea.” Come to think of it, though, he did have a bone to pick with his brother. “Why didn’t you tell me who Beth was? It’s obvious now from the way you were acting the other day you’ve known for a while. Why the big lie?”

“That was Nicki’s idea, not mine. You have to understand, in some ways, Felicity is more like a mother to Nicki. Lots of expectations, that kind of stuff. She didn’t want to hurt her. Or let her down.” He paused. “That’s why when Felicity tried to pressure her into law school, Nicki seemed to go along with it.” He shook his head like he wasn’t sure he understood it himself. “It’s complicated.”

Mitch might not get it, but Jack knew all about parental expectations.

Mitch stopped walking and looked him in the eye. “Look, I love you, bro. You’re the best big brother any guy could have, and I know you’re disappointed that I’m not going to law school and that I’m not going to work for the firm. But in a few hours I’m going to marry Nicki, and she’ll be my family, which makes her my first priority. And she and I have to do what’s best for us and what’s going to make us happy. We’re joining the Peace Corps and then we’re going to grad school and we’re going to teach. It’s not sexy, and it’s not going to make us rich, but it’s what we both want. Sorry if I don’t meet your expectations, but frankly, I don’t really care.”

Jack let his brother’s words sink in. It was the nicest
fuck off
he’d ever heard.

He was eleven years older than Mitch. He’d held his hand when he’d taken his first steps. Read him bedtime stories. Taught him to ride a bike, how to throw a football, how to drink without getting sloppy ass drunk. Before Mitch had gone off to the dorms at U of M, he’d reinforced (strongly) their father’s talk on how to keep it in his pants. And if he couldn’t do that, he reinforced (even stronger) how to wrap it up to keep both him and his partner safe.

In Jack’s mind, Mitch would always be that baby brother who needed looking after. But today Jack was looking at a grown ass man. And he couldn’t have been any prouder.

“Got it?” Mitch asked.

“Got it.” Jack slapped his brother on the back. “How about we go get ready for your wedding?”

Mitch smiled. “Now that’s what I’m talking about.”

* * *

Felicity peeked out the dressing room window and looked out toward the beach. Everything was even more beautiful than she could have imagined. From the rose covered archways (four of them!) to the elegant white silk covered chairs, to the three-piece string orchestra softly playing Vivaldi’s
Four Seasons
, it was everything she could have hoped for Nicki’s wedding. The Barefoot Bay Brides had outdone themselves.

“I think Daddy would have loved this,” Nicki said softly.

Felicity’s throat swelled with happiness. “I think so, too. I think this is exactly what he would have wanted for you.” She had never seen her sister look lovelier. Mitch was going to pass out from pride when he saw his bride walking toward him.

Mom wore a pale blue silk dress that emphasized her light eyes, and today of all days, it was eerie how much Nicki resembled her. The three of them were quiet for a minute, not quite sure what to say to one another at this moment.

Gussie came flying into the dressing room with an industrial-looking can of hair spray. “Any last minute repairs needed?” she asked, inspecting them all with a critical eye. She let out a breath. “Nope, you’re all perfect. Dang, this is one good looking family! Felicity, I
love
that dress. Can I borrow it when you’re done today?”

“It’s not too much, is it?” Felicity asked, still a little uncertain.

“Not unless too much means looking absolutely gorgeous.”

Felicity remembered the expression on Jack’s face when he’d seen her in this dress. She hadn’t seen him or talked to him since this morning, when they’d quarreled outside his villa. Would she get a chance to talk to him privately today? Was he still planning on visiting her next weekend in Orlando? Now that Felicity and Aubrey were going to be starting all over again in Mimosa Key, things were going to be hairy for a while. Maybe it was best if she and Jack cooled things off a bit.

Ha
. She’d keep telling herself that in the hopes that maybe she’d believe it.

Gussie glanced at her watch. “Okay, Willow says we need to be in our places in ten minutes.”

“Just one thing,” Nicki said. “I’ve changed my mind. Instead of my mother walking me down the aisle, I’d like Felicity to walk me down too. On the other side.”

“You mean, instead of walking in front as your maid of honor?” Gussie asked.

Nicki nodded. “Technically, she’s still my maid of honor, but, and I hope you don’t mind, Mom, it’s really only fitting that Felicity give me away too.”

“I would love to,” Felicity squeaked.
Damn it
. She was going to cry. And it was going to be ugly crying. The kind where her mascara ran down her cheeks and made her eyes swell.

“I think that would be perfect,” Mom said. She pressed a kiss on Nicki’s forehead. “You look lovely, darling.” She automatically went to kiss Felicity, then hesitated, and instead, patted her on the shoulder, but then,
ugh
, it was so awkward, that Felicity took the initiative herself and kissed her mother on the cheek, making Mom flush.

“Well, no one turned into a frog, so I guess we’re okay,” Felicity joked and they all laughed. After years of holding on to the past, it actually felt good to look toward the future.

There was a knock on the dressing room door. “Can I come in?” asked a male voice.

“Go away, Mitch! You can’t see the bride before the wedding,” Gussie fussed. “What are you thinking?”

“It’s…not Mitch,” Felicity said, feeling her stomach start to roller coaster.

The door opened a crack. “Not the groom. I promise,” Jack said. “Is everyone decent?”

“Oh, everyone here is beyond decent, but that still doesn’t mean you can just waltz on in,” Gussie said.

“I just need to talk to Felicity. It will take three minutes. I swear.”

“Okay, everyone out,” Nicki said. “Now.”

“What? But—”

Mom patted her hand. “Good luck,” she whispered.

Gussie made a show of looking mightily displeased at this peculiar interruption, but Felicity got the impression that it was more of an act than real displeasure. “You have three minutes! Don’t forget, you’re the best man,” she scolded Jack. “And you’re the maid of honor slash bride giver-away-person,” she said to Felicity. “We can’t start anything without you two.”

The three of them walked out and closed the door behind them.

“Jack, what are you—
oh
.” If Felicity thought Jack Martinez looked good in a suit or a bathing suit, or in nothing in all, it was peanuts compared to the way the man looked in a black tux. She was suddenly very glad that she’d opted for the lime green dress. “You look beautiful,” she whispered.

He laughed a little. “I think I’m supposed to say that to you, but I’d use the word gorgeous.”

The huskiness in his voice made her shiver. “Thank you, but, shouldn’t we get outside and get this wedding going?”

“I have to tell you something first.” He suddenly looked very serious and the roller coaster in her stomach went off its tracks.

“I’ve been thinking about what you said this morning,” he shook his head, “I have to admit, I was a little angry at you.”

She gulped. “I’m sorry, Jack.”

“Don’t be. Then Mitch came along and I got even madder. But then I realized the person I was really angry at was myself, because everyone around me was reaching out for the thing they wanted. Everyone except me, that is. And I thought about what you said, about talking to my dad, and I realized, it wasn’t Dad I was worried about. He started the firm to take care of me, and to fill a void in his life, but he doesn’t need it anymore. He’s got Mom, and they want to travel and enjoy their life. It was
me
who needed the firm. It was me who didn’t want to let go of it. But I don’t need it anymore. Not now.”

“You don’t?”

Please say you love me
…
Please say you love me
…
Please say you love me…

He took her hand. “I’m going to move here to Mimosa Key and we’re going to share that office together. And we’re going share a whole lot more, too. Like the rest of our lives.”

Tears blurred her eyes. Maybe they’d blurred her ears too. “
Now
? Not a few years from now? Or—”

“I mean right now. I love you. I couldn’t wait till the wedding was over to tell you.”

“Oh, Jack.” She sounded like a hobbit on helium but she couldn’t help herself. “I love you too.”

“Time’s up!” Gussie yelled. She barged through the door, took one look at them and grinned. “Oh my God. I knew it the moment I saw you two together! Reed-Martinez wedding part two, here we come!”

Jack grinned at her. “I know we haven’t known each other long. But I know that you’re it for me, Felicity. So, I’m game. What do you say?”

Felicity laughed through her tears. “I say,
yes
!”

As far as she was concerned, marrying Jack couldn’t come soon enough. Because her baby sister was right. When you found the person you wanted to be with for the rest of your life, you wanted forever to start right now.

THE END

Dear Readers,

Thank you so much for reading HOLD ON TO FOREVER. I absolutely loved writing this book and bringing my own special twist of romance to Roxanne St. Claire’s world of Barefoot Bay. If you enjoyed the book, (pretty) please consider leaving a review! And I’m thrilled to announce that you haven’t seen the last of Felicity and Jack. I’ll be doing another novella set in Barefoot Bay featuring Felicity’s best friend, Aubrey Adams. For information on upcoming books, contests, and other fun stuff, please subscribe to my author newsletter at
http://mariageraci.com/subscribe/
. You can also visit my website at
www.mariageraci.com
.

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