Protect Me: Oakville Series:Book Three (30 page)

Amber starts to tap her foot harder, causing it to make a loud clicking sound against the wooden flooring. This tells me her patience is wearing thin. I can’t help giggling at her. She really has turned into a mini me.

“This is a day you’ll remember forever. It needs to be perfect. If I have to wear your usual shoes for a night and be the party planning drill sergeant, then so be it. You’ll be thanking me later,” Amber pleads. As if I’m going to tell her no and get up and leave. No matter how much I’d rather skip the normal traditions, I couldn’t do that to her. She means so much to me and if going through all the typical wedding reception hoops is what will make her happy, then I’m all for it.

“Okay. Okay. Geesh,” I concede. I’m not sure if I should be insulted by her referring to me as the party planning drill sergeant or flattered that she’s trying so hard to make this the perfect day for me. For now, I’ll go with flattered, but you can be sure I won’t let the drill sergeant comment go. “You’re in charge, boss. Just tell us what to do.” A huge smile graces her face as she claps her hands and jumps up and down like an excited child.

We’ve just finished dancing and all I want to do is sit. My poor feet are protesting. They were just not meant to support my fat pregnant ass. The chair looks like an oasis in the desert to me right now. Right as I’m about to plop down into the chair, Amber grabs my arm, announcing it’s time to cut the cake. I groan as I’m dragged farther away from the comfort that chair can provide.

“Can I do it sitting down?” I ask, even though I know her answer will be no. She looks over at me like I have two heads.

“Um...NO!” she snaps. I look at Paul, pleading for him to do something. He just grins and shrugs. Well, that was a big help. Not! Married only two hours and he’s already leaving me to fend for myself. Or…maybe not. He looks at me sympathetically then scoops me into his arms. When we catch up to Amber, she shakes her head with a smile.

“We’ll cut the cake, but only if I can hold my bride,” he tells a laughing Amber. And this is one of the reasons why I love him so much — his need to make sure everyone around him is happy. He’s making both Amber and I happy at the same time without worrying about how badly my fat ass is probably killing his back.

“I expected some amount of crazy from you two, so if this is the worst, I’m good,” she states, still laughing. Paul follows behind her toward a table set up with a large three-tiered cake. It’s absolutely gorgeous. It’s decorated with pink bows just like the ones on the backs of all the chairs. Sitting on top is a bride and groom decoration. I smile when I notice the bride on the cake has red hair.

Paul lowers his lips to my ear, and whispers, “I had to paint the hair on her. A blonde or brunette just wouldn’t do.” With his words, my heart melts. The lengths he’s gone to in order to make this night perfect has me in awe.

“It’s perfect and so are you,” I whisper softly, afraid if I say it too loud, I’ll break out in happy tears. He smiles wide at me and I can see the love he has for me in his eyes. Normally, this would have me weak in the knees, but since he’s carrying me, I’m safe.

As we reach the cake table, all of our guests are gathering around to witness this tradition. Amber places a beautiful crystal-handled cake knife in my hand. I recognize it as the same one I bought for her and Kyle. This one has, “To our best friends, we wish you all the happiness in the world. Love, Kyle and Amber,” engraved on the blade. I can feel the tears building up in my eyes. These two people are amazing. When I first moved here, I intended on living a life alone. Never did I imagine I’d find such wonderful friends and meet the man of my dreams. The whole thing feels too good to be true. I give Amber a smile and mouth, “Thank you” to her. Smiling back, she nods then wipes tears from her eyes.

Paul sits down in the chair Kyle places in front of the cake table. I reach over, slice a large piece, and set it on the plate Clark holds out to me. Taking the cake knife from me, he hands me the plate and a fork. I laugh to myself as I try to decide whether I should be nice or smash the delicious looking cake in his face. When I look over to Paul, his eyebrow is arched and a slight smile is on his lips. He knows exactly what I’m debating. Behind him, all the guys are making hand gestures, telling me to smash the cake into his face. Well, I can’t let everyone down, now can I?

I pick up a chunk of the slice of cake and slowly move it toward his lips as I give him a sweet and innocent smile. I don’t want him to see it coming. A relieved look crosses his handsome face and I know I have him fooled. I just hope he doesn’t drop me accidentally. Just as the cake touches his lips, I shove it into his mouth. Using my palm, I smoosh it all over his face. I can feel his chest vibrating against me from his laughter. The crowd behind us explodes into fits of laughter. I bite my lip, trying to contain my own amusement over the situation. He has cake everywhere, even in his nostrils. The sight is hilarious.

Paul picks up the other chunk of cake with a wicked smile. Suddenly, I’m nervous. My heart is racing, but I have nowhere to run. He has me held tightly in one arm, ensuring I cannot leave his lap. He turns and looks behind him at the cheering crowd, encouraging him to copy my actions. I should have made him feed me first. He slowly starts to move the cake to my lips. I brace myself and wait for the impact, but it never comes. He runs the cake along my lips and when I open my mouth, he gently feeds me the cake. I take a nice big bite. It smells so good and I am eating for two, after all. After I’ve taken my bite, Paul drops the rest of the cake back onto the plate. Some of the guys are booing. They wanted a show and to my surprise, they get it. As soon as the plate is on the table, Paul grabs my face and smashes his lips to mine. He sprinkles kisses all over my face, spreading the smeared cake from his face to mine. At this point, I don’t mind. As long as his lips are kissing all over my face, I’m a happy girl.

Both of us are laughing hysterically by the time Amber hands us napkins. While we clean ourselves off, the gang heads back to the dance floor. A yawn escapes my lips and I realize I’m exhausted. Keeping my eyes open at this point is a fight. Paul notices and leans in close to my ear.

“Lay your head on my shoulder and get some rest. I promise to wake you when we get home,” he says in his sexy, husky voice. The thought has my lady bits all tingly. I decide it’s probably not a bad idea to get myself rested before we get home. I plan on taking my sweet ass time with him.

“I think I will. I’ll need to be rested for the things I have in store for you later,” I tell him as I snuggle into his hard, warm chest. A groan escapes his lips and I can feel him harden beneath me. It makes me smile.

Amber trying to slip my bouquet into my hand wakes me. I have no idea how long I’ve been sleeping, but I know this is not how I expected to be woken up.

“Please, Holly, just toss it over Paul’s shoulder before you go,” Amber pleads with me. If I didn’t love this girl as much as I do, I’d be telling her where she could shove this bouquet. Because I do love her like a sister, I decide to appease her.

“Okay, Amber, but then I get to go home to bed,” I state, and she nods her head in agreement. Paul steps in front of all the awaiting single girls. I toss the bouquet over his shoulder and watch the girls reaching for it. No one stands a chance against Chelsie. She’s taller than all of them and catches it with ease. I’m glad. I’d really like to see her find what Amber and I have. She’s such a sweet girl.

“We thank you all for being here with us. We love you all. But it’s time I get my exhausted pregnant bride home to bed,” Paul announces with a wicked little smile. Oh, I can’t wait for him to take me to bed. I have a feeling my exhaustion will be nonexistent by then. Paul carries me over to the truck with all our friends saying their congratulations and goodbyes in tow. Best. Wedding. Ever.

I
ROLL
over and see my handsome husband. The view causes a warmth to fill my insides. So, this is what happiness feels like? I know now that even the few times in my life when I believed I was happy, I wasn’t. Life couldn’t get any better than it is right now. I never knew it was possible to be this happy. The last few weeks being Mrs. Paul Walters have been beyond my wildest dreams. I still have no idea how I got so lucky.

A week ago, I called Tanya, the only friend I had when I was with Ray. I figured now that Ray already knows where I am, it’s safe for me to reach out to her. I asked her to come for a visit. I’ve missed her so much. She seemed so excited to hear from me and even more excited when I asked her to come see me. She was my only light during a very dark time in my life. The two of us instantly connected when we met. It felt like we had known each other for years.

“Good morning, doll face,” Paul says in his husky voice. With his eyes still closed, he rolls over and pulls me securely into his arms. His hands instantly gravitate to my swollen thirty-week belly. He can’t seem to keep his hands off my belly. Not that I mind. I love that he wants to be close to our daughter. “What are you thinking about?”

“Tanya. I’m so excited she’s coming for a visit. I can’t believe I’ll get to see her tomorrow,” I tell him excitedly. He looks at me with a grin that makes me think he has a secret. And, of course, he does.

“I have a surprise for you,” he says with a sly smile. He knows I hate surprises, and he’s enjoying that he knows something I don’t.

“You know how much I hate surprises,” I whine, running my hand up and down his muscled chest. Maybe I can seduce him into telling me what’s up. “Maybe you should just tell me now.” He closes his eyes when I begin running my hand along the waistband of his boxers.

“Not going to happen, doll face. But nice try,” he laughs as he jumps up out of the bed and out of my reach. Damn him and his willpower. “I promise. It’s a good surprise. You’ll love it.” Rolling over, I bury my head into the pillow and groan. “Let’s go, woman. Amber and Kyle are waiting,” Paul yells from the bathroom. I should have known those two would have a hand in any type of surprise. I roll out of bed so I can get ready, wondering what the three of them have planned this time.

After getting ready, we drive to the bar. Paul gets out and walks around to my side. Opening my door, he helps me out of the truck. When my feet hit the gravel, my vision spins a little and I lose my balance. Before I can fall to the ground, Paul’s arms are around my waist, holding me up. This has happened a couple times over the last few days.

“Are you okay, doll face?” Paul questions, fear lacing his voice, concern evident on his face.

“I think I’m just going too long without eating and it’s causing me to get lightheaded,” I explain to him, but it doesn’t seem to ease his worry. “We have a doctor appointment tomorrow, I will mention it then. I’m fine. Let’s go inside so I can see what you’ve planned,” I say, hoping to get him focused on something else. He looks at me for a moment longer and then takes my hand and leads me into the bar.