The minister proceeded. “By the power vested in me by the state of Texas, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Julian, you may kiss your bride.”
He gripped onto the sides of my face and brought me over to him. I went effortlessly, and we claimed one another’s lips for the first time as husband and wife. We spent most of the evening dancing in each other’s arms, enjoying all the wedding traditions. Wanting to savor every second of our day. Until he grabbed my hand, leading me to the barn where we could be alone for a couple of minutes.
“I can’t believe no one suspects.”
“Julian… stop it.”
He kissed my lips. “Kid, you’re six weeks pregnant.”
“I know! I didn’t want the press to find out and say you’re only marrying me because I’m pregnant.”
He laughed, kissing me again. “I don’t give a fuck what the press thinks and says.”
“I know. It’s one of the things I love the most about you. It’s why you have me as your publicist. I put out the fires you love to start. Well, that and your huge cock.”
He laughed so hard his head fell back. “God, I fucking love you, Mrs. Locke.”
“I love you, Mr. Locke.”
Crouching, he kissed my belly. “I can’t wait to meet you.”
I rubbed his head, and when it disappeared under my dress, I exclaimed, “Julian!” before I could stop him—who was I kidding. Before I could come in his mouth, we were interrupted by Kinley’s voice.
“Christian! I can’t be here! I need to leave!”
“For fuck’s sake, Kinley! You can’t leave my little sister’s wedding!”
“I don’t care! It’s your fault that no one knows the truth, and the longer I’m there, the harder it is to not tell everyone.”
Julian popped back up, staring straight at me. The concern evident all over his handsome face. We were both rendered speechless when Christian announced…
“We’re not ruining their wedding because you want to tell everyone right now that we’re getting a divorce!”
The end.
For Julian and Autumn.
It’s only the beginning or is it the end for…
Christian and Kinley.
I met my soulmate when I was thirteen years old, never imaging our love wouldn’t be enough to save us from circumstances beyond our control.
Dr. Alpha (Standalone/Second Chance Romance)
Releasing November 16, 2021
PREORDER NOW
COMPLICATE ME
GOOD OL’ BOYS BOOK I
SNEAK PEEK
PROLOGUE
<>ALEX<>
“You look beautiful, Alex,” Lucas whispered from behind me, his voice broken and torn. The errors of his ways finally catching up with him, it was evident in his tone. It pained me to hear him sound like that, no longer the carefree boy I grew up with.
“I’m sorry you had to see that,” I replied, trying to keep my own voice from breaking. The physical ache surrounding and consuming me in ways I never thought possible. The gravitational pull we had toward each other wreaking havoc on our souls.
This wasn’t supposed to be this hard. Today was supposed to be one of the happiest days of my life. I should be celebrating, not wallowing in the memories that I hold so deeply in my heart and soul. I hadn’t seen him all night and then he just appeared out of nowhere.
I blinked and he was there.
I felt him from across the room before I even found his stare. I didn’t think he would show up, I should have known better. He always did what he wanted, since we were kids there was no telling him what to do. It’s one of the things I hated the most about him.
“I’m not,” he simply stated, the fervor of his voice radiating from behind me and burning a hole in my back.
“Are you happy?” he added.
I closed my eyes as a single tear fell down the side of my face. I had spent endless nights crying over him.
Over us.
“I just want you to be happy, Half-Pint.” He hadn’t called me that in years. Not since we were kids.
“Are you happy, Bo?” I countered, throwing his question and nickname back at him, knowing it would have the same effect as it had on me.
“Only you would be standing out on the sand in a dress like that,” he brushed me off, changing the subject.
“I was never afraid to get dirty,” I reminded him, digging my feet into the sand and dragging my dress along with it.
“Always trying to be like one of the boys. What are you doing out here on the beach? You looked so happy until you saw me. What took away your happiness?”
I scoffed. “Do you even have to ask me that? Does it make it easier for you? To be here? To see me like this? Is that why you’re here?”
“It’s never been easy,” he softly spoke.
“What did you expect from me? What did you want me to do, Lucas?”
“You know what I wanted. You’ve known since we were kids and I carried you around on the handlebars of my bike. It hasn’t changed, it never changes between us. You know that as much as I do.”
I wrapped my arms around my torso in a comforting gesture, it didn’t help. Nothing was more comforting than his arms around me.
“Why didn’t you use the abandoned house, Alex?” he quickly followed.
I hated that he knew so much about me, our childhood entwined together like the weaving of a tight rope. Our names being synonyms of each other, there was no Half-Pint without Bo. Except now we weren’t kids, we were just Alex and Lucas.
“You know why,” I softly hinted, my voice catching in the wind and the waves of the ocean.
It was a soothing calm to the chaos all around me, everywhere he went he brought his hurricane with him. He was always the eye of the storm. When we were kids I loved it, I wanted to be pulled into his winds and let him take me wherever he wanted to go. I'd follow him anywhere. But as we got older I realized it was too late for me to seek refuge. He was already my destruction and there was no way to get past the heavy gusts of our complicated love.
“Tell me anyway.”
I shook my head. That was Lucas, true to his nature, wanting what he wanted when he wanted it. “It’s ours,” I admitted, giving in to what he needed to hear from me. I could never lie to him.
“Damn, you look so beautiful. So damn beautiful,” he murmured into my ear, engulfing me with his scent. I couldn’t move if I wanted to and he didn’t falter. “I know, Alex, I have to live with the fact that I messed up. I lost you.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“You’re lying, Half-Pint. I know you, so stop pretending like I don’t. Do you love him?”
I took in a deep reassuring breath and nodded, not being able to say the words.
“More than me?”
“That’s not fair,” I argued, trying to control the emotions that were threatening to take over by hugging myself harder.
“I never said life was fair.” He brushed my hair to the side of my neck and softly kissed my bare shoulder. I tried not to shudder from the feel of his lips on me.