Trial by fire a florida.., p.24
Trial by Fire: A Florida Glaze Hockey Romance, page 24
Stepping into the room, my breath catches. The lights are dimmed and there are white candles of all shapes and sizes everywhere. In the places there aren’t candles, there are white flowers—lilies and roses and gardenias. It’s simple and gorgeous and… us.
“Oh wow. Bayleigh did an amazing job.”
My favorite work friend, who is now the Director of Catering thanks to a fabulous interview and my brother who is smarter than he looks sometimes, takes that moment to get closer with her camera and snap a few pictures.
“Of course I did,” she says as she clicks away. “This is why I’m in charge of event planning. Did you think I was going to slack off on the biggest wedding of the year?”
“I’d hardly call it the biggest,” I say with a smile and squeeze my groom’s hand. “There’s what… six of us here?”
“Just the way we like it.”
Nick leans down to kiss me, but Delaney puts her hand over his mouth. “No sir. I let it slide all night, but you are officially inside your wedding venue. You go take your place at the front. You can kiss your bride in about ten minutes.”
He shakes his head with a smile, but does what his sister says, leaving me alone with her. Well, as alone as you can get in an open room with a few other people taking their places next to the floor to ceiling windows.
Gavin follows behind and they both shake hands with the minister who was paid handsomely to not only perform the ceremony on a very late Saturday night, but to also keep the fact that we’re getting married on the down-low until we’re ready to announce it to the world.
We’re getting married.
I have to shake my head, hardly able to believe that this is happening. A year ago Nick and I met for the first time. Ten months ago, we worked through our issues and figured out that what we wanted was right in front of us and we weren’t going to take it for granted. Then two weeks ago, Nick asked me to be with him forever and I said yes. On one condition—that we tell no one except my brother, his sister, and Bayleigh.
Not surprising, he agreed and we quickly decided tonight was the perfect night to elope.
Delaney pulls a small bouquet out of a vase and quickly wipes the excess water drips off before handing it to me. “It was sneaky of you to wear a white dress for the gala. You’ve been sitting in your wedding dress all night, and no one even knew.”
“It wasn’t sneaky, it was strategic,” I reply. She reaches for my hair and sweeps some straggling locks back into place. “Saves time so I don’t have to change and that way when the team gives Nick grief over not being invited, he can say they were practically there.”
“It’s no wonder you fit right in with that environment.” Delaney nods and grabs a small tube of lip gloss from her clutch purse. “You’re just as cunning as they are.”
She dabs a few spots of color on my lips while Bayleigh buzzes around taking pictures. In a matter of seconds, Delaney deems me wedding worthy and grabs her own bouquet.
Bayleigh grabs her phone and quickly starts the music that will serenade me into my future.
Taking a deep breath, I steady my nerves, which is surprisingly easy to do considering I’m about to walk down the aisle. Well, I’m just walking across the room, but the furniture has been moved out of the way and more candles and flowers are strategically placed so I couldn’t get lost on my way to my groom if I tried.
Gavin stands next to Nick, looking dapper in his tailored black suit, a huge smile on his face as he represents my side of the family in welcoming Nick.
Delaney moves to the other side to stand next to me, representing their family doing the same.
I hand Delaney my bouquet and grab the hands of the man who holds my future. The pastor Gavin hired looks back and forth between the two of us, a smile on his face.
“Friends, you wanted a very intimate affair with just the two of you and your witnesses. In line with that, we’ll save all the pomp and circumstance for a different time. I’m told you wrote your own vows so Nicholas Williams, would you like to begin?”
Nick clears his throat and nods. I can see the nerves as he fidgets, but they’re not nerves of anxiety. Only excitement. It reminds me of how he is on the ice before a game when adrenaline is coursing through him, when he just can’t hold it in. It’s flattering that he’s that pumped up for us to be married.
“The golden gates of Sleep unbar
Where Strength and Beauty, met together,
Kindle their image like a star
In a sea of glassy weather!
Night, with all thy stars look down, -
Darkness, weep thy holiest dew, -
Never smiled the inconstant moon
On a pair so true.
Let eyes not see their own delight; -
Haste, swift Hour, and thy flight
Oft renew.”
I smile, my heart filled by his romantic words. “Did you come up with those words on the fly?”
He chuckles lightly and squeezes my hands. “It’s called “A Bridal Song” by Lord Byron. And I thought it was fitting for today.”
Nick shifts closer to me as he continues with his words of love for me. “Prestyn, I never claimed to be the smartest man in the world.”
I giggle and if I was paying closer attention to her, I could swear Delaney mutters, “No shit.”
“I’m also nerdy, superstitious, and spook easily when there are cameras around.” Bayleigh takes that exact moment to accidentally use the flash on her camera making Nick jump. His lips quirk to the side. “See?”
We all laugh and I’m grateful for the distraction from my own nerves. I feel more settled now that we’ve started and we’re just being us.
“But for all my flaws, the only thing you seem to see in me is good. You encourage me when I’m down. You hold me accountable when I’m being an idiot. And you make all my fears disappear when we’re together. You are the strongest woman I know with one of the biggest hearts. There’s a reason everyone who works in this hotel loves you. But none of them love you like I do. I don’t ever want to imagine a day in my life where you aren’t in it. So I vow not just to be your husband, but to be your partner, your biggest cheerleader, and your safe place to land when things don’t go as planned. I love you.”
My heart swells at his words. This man I’ve loved like he’s my other half committing himself to me alone for a lifetime. It is both the sweetest and sexiest thing I’ve ever heard.
“Prestyn Caine,” the pastor says. “You have also written your vows.”
“I don’t have any beautiful poetic words for you,” I say with a watery laugh. “But I’ll do my best.”
I take a deep, cleansing breath and focus on putting all my love into the most important words of my life.
“I didn’t grow up seeing a solid marriage. I’ve been told my parents were deeply in love, but we lost my mom when I was so young I never really experienced being around it.” Nick squeezes my hands gently in support. “Maybe that’s why it’s not something I ever thought I’d have, not something I was necessarily looking for. But then I got catfished by a man who had the most wonderful wife.”
Nick drops his chin and shakes his head at the reminder.
“I think she’s the first person who showed me how to look at people deeper than just face value because that’s how she looked at me. It gave me the confidence to look at you that way, too, in spite of how rocky our relationship started. Nick, I love you. I love that you read poetry and do yoga and pummel people on the ice for a living. I love that you value your privacy as much as I do and believe some things are better when they stay between those who are the most important to you. I love that you encourage me to be strong and aren’t afraid when I feel weak. There is no one I’d rather spend the rest of my life with. Not one person in this whole world. I can’t wait for our forever to begin.”
“Can I kiss her yet?” Nick asks quietly, eliciting chuckles around the room.
“Almost,” the pastor assures. “Let’s exchange rings first.”
Nick slides the simple platinum band on my finger, immediately followed by my princess cut diamond engagement ring. I felt naked not having it on tonight and already feel better with it back on.
Nick’s ring doesn’t go on as easily. After much debate, we decided to get him a silicone ring so he doesn’t have to take it off for practice or games. It also means our secret marriage probably won’t stay secret for long, being that he has a home game tomorrow night and he won’t be able to hide it in the locker room, but it’s a price we’re willing to pay.
Once the rings are secured, we get back to holding hands, anxiously awaiting the official announcement. Thankfully, the pastor doesn’t wait long.
“By the power invested in me by God and the State of Florida, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Now you can kiss your bride.”
Nick wastes no time, grabbing me around the waist and dipping me low to the floor, my hands cradling his face as we kiss for the first time as a married couple.
I hardly register our siblings clapping or the soft clicks of the camera, only focusing on the man holding me, trusting him not to let me fall, but I know he never will.
He sucks on my bottom lip, fully engaged in our kiss and I can’t help but notice his taste. It’s mint and wine and Nick…
And pomegranate.
The End.
BONUS EPILOGUE
BECKER BELL
One month earlier
It seems like hundreds of people are jostling around the tiny space, even though it’s probably only a couple of dozen. I know airport restaurants don’t have a lot of space, but when flights get cancelled, it doesn’t make things easy.
Feeling something tap my foot, I look down. A small, wrapped package is next to my stool.
All the warnings about unattended packages race through my brain. I’m probably being dramatic, but I can’t help it. I’ve flown so much, it’s practically engrained in me to assume anything and everything is either a bomb or drugs.
I glance around the area, trying to figure out who it belongs to, but no one seems to be searching for anything. What do I do? Do I need to alert someone official that a random package has shown up at my feet?
Before I can make a decision, the package is snatched up off the floor.
“Sorry. My bag broke.”
I glance up and almost rear back at the sight of the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Her straight, auburn hair is pulled back in a haphazard ponytail that looks like it could fall out at any moment. What looks like a knit hat is hanging out of the pocket of her giant coat, dangerously close to falling onto the floor. And sure enough, she’s holding a paper sack with a tear down the side.
Good thing I didn’t overreact about her package or anything.
A random feeling of concern runs through me. She looks so disheveled and there’s a hint of frustration hidden in the back of her blue eyes. I can’t help but try to offer assistance. “Did you get them all? All the packages?”
“I think so,” she says, barely making eye contact. “I’ll have to count.”
I watch as she navigates her way back to the table she’s claimed, past a couple assholes who glare at her when she accidentally bumps their chair. A random surge of anger runs through me at the way they look at her like she’s the problem. Yeah, because she can help the fact that they jammed too many tables into this tiny room.
Unable to tear my eyes away, I continue to watch as she puts the presents on her table. She looks so frazzled, and I can’t help but wonder if her flight was cancelled, too. Her long fingers point up one at a time as she appears to go through a mental checklist, as if making sure all the gifts are accounted for. Her teeth gnaw on her bottom lip as she picks up the ripped bag and inspects it to see if it can be fixed.
That’s when an idea hits me out of the blue.
“Hey, excuse me,” I call out, flagging down the unlucky bartender that gets to deal with a packed house of stranded travelers.
She does her best to plaster a smile on her face. “Need another?”
“No. Well, yes. But what I really need though is to see if you have a to-go bag. A large one.”
She looks a little surprised by my request probably since I haven’t ordered any food. “Let me see what we have in the back. I don’t have any up here.”
“Thanks.”
I turn back to my fellow passenger and catch her expression the moment she realizes there is nothing that can be done about the bag she was carrying. With a frustrated puff of breath, she picks up a backpack, it looks almost like a computer bag, and starts inspecting the presents, clearly trying to see if any of them will fit without crushing the gift.
Fortunately, the bartender returns with a large plastic bag. “Will this do?” She holds it up for my inspection.
It’s huge and white and reads “Airport Bar and Grill” on the side in blazing blue letters.
“It’s perfect, thank you.”
She hands me another beer, like originally requested and I hand her two twenties, tipping her as much for the bag as for the beer.
“Thanks for your help.”
She nods and gives me a real smile this time as she rings up my order and shoves the change in her apron.
Grabbing my duffle and the bag in one hand, beer in the other, I leave my spot at the bar and maneuver around the same group of assholes I saw before.
When I bump into one of the chairs, one of the douchebags cusses.
“The fuck?”
I glare down at him, daring him to get in my face. As soon as he looks up and sees my size, he backs down.
That’s what I thought. Asshole should learn some respect of other people and maybe I’d apologize. But I don’t.
Instead, I approach the table where the beautiful woman is still struggling.
She doesn’t even notice when I place my beer on the table, until I hold up the plastic bag in offering. “Will this work?”
She blinks up at me, the expression in her wide, blue eyes shifting from one of frustration to delight. And then she smiles and the breath is knocked right out of me.
His chestnuts will be roasting on an OPEN FIRE this holiday season! Don’t miss Becker and Sloan’s story. Preorder it here!
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
As always, it takes a village to raise a book baby, and this one was no different. I’ve never been a hockey player, nor have I worked in a hotel, so it takes a bunch of research and extra eyes to make sure I get it right.
To be fair, I may have still missed the mark on a few things. I’m only human, after all. But these people did their best to help me nor screw everything up.
Amber Higbie gave me the skinny on hotel jobs and how this story could incorporate all of Prestyn’s dreams with the reality of the structure. Renita McKinney also hooked me up with some people who currently work in a giant conglomerate of a conference center and they were able to verify the many details that go into the job. Those people don’t want to be named, but you know who they are, Renita! And they were wonderful.
Nikki Becker continues to be beta reader extraordinaire. And let’s not forget the amount of time we spent on that poem!! Your honesty about the original is exactly what I needed!
Andrea Johnston fell into the role of… beta? But maybe it was Charlie reader this time? Whatever the exact roll was, you always find the wonky sentences. Always.
Kathryn Perez and I chatted for an hour about poetry and she pushed me in the direction I needed to find public domain poems. If y’all don’t already know, you can’t just publish snippets of other people’s work. It has to be on the legal up and up, but figuring out whose work is public domain and whose isn’t can be daunting! Kathryn worked through it with me to help find what I needed. And let’s not forget my fellow author Nicole French! As soon as I said, “I need a poem like this,” she not only knew where to look, she had the EXACT POEM in mind. It was brilliant!
I can’t forget Brenda Rothert who always lets me “borrow” her teams and characters to give me some fictional locations and characters for my players to complete in/against. It makes writing that much more fun. (And as a side note, that reality show that Maksim Ivanov ended up on is Brenda’s brain child. You can read about Maks’ naked participation in Exiled! Trust me. You don’t want to miss it.)
Gemma Brocato does amazing editing. My mother does amazing proofreading (go figure). Jena Brignola makes those beautiful teasers you see. And don’t forget Becca Manuel. That trailer is… GAH!!
And of course, Carter’s Cheerleaders and the Nerdy Little Book Herd for always cheering me on.
I couldn’t do any of this without all of you, so with my humblest gratitude, I thank you.
ALSO BY M.E. CARTER
The Florida Glaze Series: Hockey Romance
Playing with Fire
Under Fire
Trial by Fire
Open Fire (Coming November 2022!)
The Hart Series: Football Romance
Change of Hart
Hart to Heart
Matters of the Hart
Matters to Me
Matters to You
Matter of Time
Matter of Fact
The Texas Mutiny Series: Soccer Romance
Juked
Groupie
Goalie
Megged
Deflected
#MyNewLife: Over 40 Romantic Comedy with a Sports Twist
Getting a Grip: Getting a Grip Duet Part 1
Balance Check: Getting a Grip Duet Part 2
Pride & Joie
Amazing Grayson
Little Miss Perfect (exclusively in the Getting a Grip Duet Complete Box Set)
Cipher Office Series: Romantic Comedy Set in the Weight Expectations Gym
(Part of the Smartypants Romance Imprint)
Weight Expectations
Cutie and the Beast
Weights of Wrath
The Charitable Endeavors Series: Romantic Comedy co-written with Andrea Johnston
