My Salvation (30 page)

OLM Yachts was closed for the week. That was the
first time the whole company had shut down for a long period of
time. He would close for holidays or if the snow was bad in the
winter, but never for a week. The employees were given the time off
in celebration of his marriage.

They threw him and Cali a party before leaving.
It was a huge surprise and he wished he could have taken all of
them on the trip. Each and every one of them were considered part
of his extended family.

Walking down the aisle toward the arbor, he
still felt like it was all a dream. Ethan and Steven stood waiting
for him. Ethan was his best man and Steven was like a brother to
him. He was happy to have both men standing by his side.

Ethan clasped him on the shoulder and asked,
“Doing okay?”

“Yeah, just nervous. I know I’ll be fine once I
see her.”

“Thank you for having me stand by you. It means
a lot.”

“There was never a doubt in my mind who I would
want by my side on my wedding day.” Owen said.

Ethan smiled before he saw him scan the area
like he was nervous as well.

“What’s going on with you?” Owen asked.

“Me? Nothing, just excited for you.”

“Uh huh, sure. It wouldn’t have anything to do
with Piper being in the wedding would it?” Cali couldn’t decide
between Avery and Piper so she asked both to stand with her as her
maids of honor.

Ethan rubbed his hand over his face. “I don’t
know what it is about her, but I get stupid when I see her. I
forget how to talk when she’s in front of me and when I finally do
find my voice, I end up stuttering. This isn’t me. I’ve never had a
problem talking to women.”

Owen laughed and said in a childish voice, “You
like
her.”

“Real mature.”

“You need to ask her out, see where it goes.
I’ve seen the way she looks at you.”

Ethan’s eyes widened. “She looks at me? I didn’t
notice.”

“Yes and my wedding is the perfect chance to see
if there is anything between you two. You’re in Hawaii for fucks
sake. Make a move.”

He didn’t say anything. Just stood, staring into
the distance. Owen thought maybe this was the little push he
needed.

The music started and Owen’s eyes focused on the
aisle before him. First to walk down was Avery. She wore a blush
colored, floor length, chiffon gown. The dress was strapless and
the material bunched slightly over her chest. The chiffon wrapped
under her bust and was positioned to the side, held by a small,
white flower. The material flowed down from the side to her feet.
She carried a small bouquet of white calla lilies.

Next down the aisle was Piper. He didn’t miss
the way Ethan sucked in a breath next to him. She wore the same
dress as Avery, but where her hair loosely hung down her back,
Piper’s was piled on top of her head. She had few pieces hanging
free that were curled around her face.

The wedding march started. He straightened and
prepared himself to see Cali. She appeared with her dad by her
side. Her white dress was strapless with a sweetheart top. Organza
wrapped over the bodice, was bunched and layered all the way to the
sand. There was a mauve sash tied around her waist in a bow with a
crystal broach at the center.

She reached the aisle and when she took a step
forward, he saw the dress parted down the left side, letting her
tanned, toned, leg show through. Her bouquet was varying shades of
pink calla lilies with long green leaves scattered throughout and
wrapped into the bouquet in a loop.

Her long hair was curled, the sides and top
pulled up, swept away from her face. She was stunning. He didn’t
think she had ever looked so beautiful. The blush pink diamond
teardrop earrings he had given her as a wedding gift hung from her
ears.

He felt a lump in his throat as emotions swirled
within. If he went back in time and told his younger self he would
be marrying her, he wouldn’t believe it. That one day, the woman he
dreamt about and took a chance on kissing once, would become
his.

Cali and her dad stopped when they reached the
arbor. After kissing her on the cheek, he placed her hand in
Owen’s. Looking into her eyes, Owen saw nothing but love and trust.
He nodded to her dad and turned to face the woman who was
performing the ceremony.

They decided against writing their own vows. She
didn’t think she would be able to speak through them without
sobbing. He was relieved, because he didn’t know if he could
express his feelings in words. Every day he said how much he loved
and cherished her, but the wedding was something they would
remember the rest of their lives. He didn’t want to fuck it up.

The ceremony went by in a blink of an eye. They
said their vows, exchanged custom made rings they designed together
and kissed a long, deep passionate kiss. Everyone cheered when they
parted and she waved the bouquet over her head in excitement.

They walked down the aisle slowly, letting the
photographer and videographer capture each step. Neither one of
them ever wanted to forget a single moment of the day. They posed
for pictures with the bridal party and their family before joining
the rest of the guests at the reception.

He said they could have had it somewhere else,
but she insisted on it being at his house. He had plenty of land to
hold the ceremony and reception. Whatever she wanted, she got.

A huge white tent was set up and was open all
around to allow the ocean breeze to flow through. White lights
lined the entire edge of the tent while round lanterns were hung
within. A wooden floor was laid down and white linen covered tables
and chairs were spread throughout with floral centerpieces on each
one.

She didn’t want to do a traditional reception
where there was a first dance, father-daughter dance, et cetera.
Instead they were going to serve dinner, have the band play
throughout and guests could dance whenever they liked.

After dinner and a slow dance, she asked if they
could step inside quick. She wanted to give him his wedding gift.
They went to the bedroom where she handed him a long, silver box
with a yellow ribbon wrapped on it. He shook the box, trying to
figure out what was inside.

Cali was beaming. “Just open it.”

He untied the ribbon and pulled the lid off.
Inside, nestled among white tissue paper, was something that caused
him to stop breathing. Looking from the box to Cali and back again,
he couldn’t believe what he saw. One more glance at her and she
nodded with a huge smile on her face.

In the box in the palm of his hand was a white
pregnancy test with two very pink lines. Next to the lines was a
picture stating that two lines meant pregnant. He couldn’t believe
it.

“How … when?”

“Do you remember about a month ago when I was
sick and the doctor gave me an antibiotic?”

“Yeah,” he said.

“The antibiotic makes the birth control
ineffective. I forgot and well, here we are.”

Sitting the box on the bed, he dropped to his
knees and rested his cheek on her stomach. His hands held her hips
and thumbs rubbed the delicate fabric of her dress

“I take it you’re happy?” she asked.

Leaning on his feet, he looked into her eyes. He
was choked up again, for the second time that day. Not trusting his
voice, he nodded and hoped the expression on his face conveyed his
emotions. She combed her fingers through his hair and his cheek
returned to her belly.

“I went to the doctor before we left to confirm
the pregnancy and make sure I could travel. He said flying isn’t a
problem and confirmed I am pregnant. I had blood drawn. So far
everything looks good.”

He stood and kissed her, their tongues meeting.
She pushed away from him. “Don’t start,” she said with a smile on
her face. “We will have plenty of time for that later. Right now we
have a yard full of guests who are probably wondering where we
went.”

“They’re fine. They have music, food and liquor.
Nothing else is needed.”

“Yes, the bride and groom are. Now let’s go Mr.
Matthews.”

Trailing behind her through the house, he
groaned. Before going outside, he spun her in his arms. “It just
occurred to me that you are no longer Ms. Crawford. You are now
Mrs. Matthews and I fucking love how it sounds.”

He kissed her again. She mumbled against his
lips, “I love the sound of that, too.”

“Now you’re officially mine.”

“Yes I am.”

They returned to the tent and went to the dance
floor. Taking his bride into his arms, he kissed her and swayed to
the music. He knew he couldn’t say anything about the pregnancy
yet, but still wanted to grab the microphone the band was using and
shout it to everyone. Excited didn’t even begin to describe how he
was feeling.

It truly was the best day of his life. He had
the most amazing woman and she was carrying his child. Inside of
her was a tiny life that would feel love like no other. A little
baby who would be cherished and never want for anything. He
couldn’t wait to spoil their child and knew without a doubt Cali
was going to be beautiful pregnant.

They said goodbye to their guests in the early
hours of the morning. Only a handful of people were staying at
their home. The rest had rooms at a resort nearby.

He swept her up into his arms before walking
through the doorway of the house. He carried her to their bedroom
before gently placing her on the bed.

“You, my beautiful wife, are going to be made
love to until you are no longer able to stand. I want you screaming
my name all night long.”

“Mmm … sounds like a great idea to me.”

She asked him to help get her wedding dress off
and went into the bathroom to unpin her hair. He heard her brushing
her teeth, but then another noise was heard. He opened the door to
see her on the floor huddled over the toilet, throwing up.

“And so it begins,” he said, before walking to
her side. Crouching on the floor next her, he gathered her hair
from her face and rubbed her back.

Once she had emptied the contents of her
stomach, he carried her to bed. Stripping down, he lay beside her.
She lifted the blankets to cover them and cuddled against him.

“You are always rescuing me, Owen. From the time
we started dating, you have always been my salvation. The one
constant in my life. The person I could rely on that has been with
me through every high and low. Thank you for always being
there.”

“You have that wrong, Caliana. You are the one
who saved me.”

He placed a gentle kiss on her lips before she
fell asleep in his arms. It wasn’t the way he had thought his
wedding night would end, but it was perfect nonetheless.

~ Acknowledgements
~

I wrote a book! I can’t believe it! There is no
way I would have been able to do so without the love and support of
my family and friends.

My husband, children and family have been an
amazing support system. My husband has put up with so much from me.
Long nights, taking care of the kids, encouraging me to keep going,
he’s done it all. I wouldn’t have been able to write this book
without him. I love you all and thank you for everything!

My friends, you have been AMAZING! You’ve been
by my side, cheering me on, answering my questions, being the best
friends I could ever ask for. Angel, Ann Marie, Kim, Shannon,
Alexis, Erica, Kelley, Steph S., Jen, Lea, Dana, Rebecca, Rachel,
Karen, Estella, T.K., JM, Tricia D., Kelli and Stefanie L., I love
you all and thank you for everything!

T.J., thank you for everything. You have taught
me so much and I am very grateful.

Sara, thank you for the beautiful pictures on my
cover. You are fantastic!

Sommer, thank you for your amazing design skills
and putting up with me.

Ellie, Riane and Shannon, thank you for all
you’ve done for me. I truly appreciate it. You swooped in and saved
the day.

Bloggers, what you do helps authors beyond
measure. Thank you for supporting me and every other author out
there. I know how hard your job is, I’m a blogger too. Thank
you!

Oh and Shannon, Owen is yours.

~ A note from Michelle Dare...
~

Thank you for taking the time to read my book. I
hope you’ve enjoyed it. Indie authors value the support of our
readers. Word of mouth and book reviews go a long way. Please leave
a review when you’ve finished reading. Not just for my book, but
every book. It doesn’t have to be long, a few sentences will do.
Every single review helps and is appreciated.

~ About the Author
~

Michelle Dare is a Jersey girl living over the
border in Pennsylvania. She started out as a reader, then became a
book blogger. She loves the book community and thought to try her
hand at writing. Her first book, My Salvation, is a contemporary
romance.

She is a married mom with two wonderful children
and a German Shepherd, who she considers her third child. She is a
lover of books, music and movies. Her favorite band is Maroon 5 and
has too many favorite movies to list. Paranormal romance is her
favorite genre to read.

If you would like to connect with the author,
you can find her at the sites below.

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/authormichelledare

Website: http://michelledare.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/michelle_dare

Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/michelledare