“No choice now, princess. Let’s go.” I grabbed her by the hips and pulled her upright.
She gasped as her eyes widened into saucers.
“What’s wrong?” I searched her eyes, watching her face flush an even darker shade of pink.
“Everything just gushed out of me. Oh my God, it’s running down my leg.” She looked down. “I can’t go down there like this.” She glared at me.
My body shook from the laugh I couldn’t hold in. “Sugar, go get cleaned up. I’ll wait for you and we can go down together.” I smiled, watching her move from one foot to the other.
“Ugh, this is so not sexy,” she whispered, turning toward the bathroom. Her walk reminded me of the marshmallow man from Ghostbusters–her arms far from her side as she took large steps on spread legs. She stalked to the bathroom in the most ungraceful way, but that was my girl. I wouldn’t change a thing about her.
As the bathroom door closed, I collapsed on the bed, placing my hands behind my head. She’d be feeling me in more ways than one for the rest of the night. She’d be my wife soon. My wife. It still felt foreign to think, let alone say, but there had been no other person in the world that had me the way Suzy did. I was hers completely, maybe more than she was mine.
I closed my eyes. I never knew life could be this f**king fantastic.
Chapter 5 ~ T-Minus Two Days and Counting
“Izzy, what did I tell you about tonight?” I looked at her as we entered the hotel suite. I couldn’t pin it on her alone. She had help planning my bachelorette party. The girls in the wedding party plotted together to send me out of singledom in style. I knew that Izzy and Sophia would be a wicked combination.
The hotel suite was stunning. I’d never seen anything like it. It was larger than my first home and overlooked the ocean. The exterior walls were glass from floor to ceiling. The sunset made it look like an ever-changing picture hanging in a gallery. The reds, purples, and orange shades reflected off the water as the sun kissed the horizon.
Izzy stepped in front of me, breaking me from my sunset trance. “I heard you, Suzy. We were good. Sophia helped me and you know that she always has your best interests at heart,” Izzy said with a laugh.
Sophia was my best friend. She was my opposite though, living life a little more carefree, taking chances, and was a little too much like Izzy for my liking. She may be a librarian, but the girl partied like a rock star. Fuck.
“What’s wrong, Suzy?” Sophia asked, touching my arm.
“You two,” I said, shaking my head.
Sophia’s lips parted as she laid her hand against her chest. “What did we do?” Her innocent act wasn’t convincing. Motherhood had softened her a little. She had more weight on her body and looked healthy. The happiness that had now filled her life was clearly evident when looking at her.
“I don’t trust you and Izzy individually, and I sure as hell don’t trust you together.” I glared at her, watching a small smile creep across her face. My stomach filled with knots. The two of them didn’t follow any of the normal rules, let alone mine.
“Suzy, would I do anything to upset you?” Her brown eyes twinkled as a large smile spread across her face. Crossing her arms, she tilted her head and waited.
I studied the look on her face. “Yes, yes you would. Just the girls tonight right?” I asked, watching her reaction very closely.
She nodded, her brown hair bobbing against her br**sts that peeked out from her V-neck dress. “I only invited the girls. I swear.”
The knot in my stomach loosed a bit with her statement. “I just don’t want there to be any trouble tonight.”
“Oh, there won’t be.” She shook her head and wrapped her arms around me, drawing me against her body. “I’m so happy for you, Suzy. Do you think I would do anything bad and have to deal with Kayden’s bullshit?”
“No,” I whispered as I hugged her.
Kayden was her man and the father of her son, Jett. Their love was complicated. The road they traveled to happiness had been filled with bumps, but they made it through and never looked back. Kayden was a man I could rely on, a friend that would lay down his life for me. Sophia had told me that he could be ‘wicked jealous.’ Her words for him, not mine.
“Okay then, let’s grab a drink. The girls are all about to arrive.” She held me at arm’s length, smiling and squeezing my hands. “We’re here to celebrate before you become Mrs. Joseph Gallo.”
“I don’t want to drink too much, Sophia,” I mumbled as we walked toward the already prepped bar area.
Izzy was pouring herself a hefty glass of Jack Daniel’s as we approached. “What’ll it be, ladies?” she asked as she set the bottle on the counter.
“Just a glass of wine,” I said, looking at the dozens of bottles on display.
“No wine tonight, Suzy. Pick your poison.” Izzy smiled, waving her hands over the liquor.
“Bahama Mama,” I winced, my stomach rolling at the thought of getting drunk. “Light on the liquor though.”
“Honey, it’s your bachelorette party and if you don’t get shit faced drunk and party your ass off then I haven’t done my job as a bridesmaid.” She smiled as she started pouring the rum in the glass.
I watched, my eyes growing wide as she poured and poured. “That’s enough, Izzy,” I said, placing my hand on her arm. “I want to make it until at least ten.”