Eleven
One year later…
“Welcome back to Barefoot Bay!”
Emily smiled as Lacey, the owner of the Casablanca Resort and Spa, greeted them just like she had a year ago. Giddy anticipation swirled within her. She glanced down at the diamond that adorned her finger, a modest setting that resembled the cubic zirconia ring that she’d worn here when she and Chance had come for Brad’s wedding, the both of them ready to commit to a fake relationship. This time, the relationship was real, and she wasn’t here to watch someone else say their vows. Emily was here for her wedding. It had seemed only fitting to marry Chance at the place where she’d finally realized her love for him.
“Thanks so much.” Emily was sure she was smiling like a fool, but she couldn’t help it. She hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep in a week. Way too excited to rest. “We’re so excited to be back.” If she didn’t watch out, “excited” would be the only word she uttered for the next three days.
“Are you sure you don’t want the Bay Laurel villa? That’s where the bride and groom should be staying.”
Emily didn’t want a fancy, two story villa or a honeymoon suite. “Nope. The Rockrose villa is perfect.” She wanted the room they’d fallen in love in. The room where Chance had made love to her for the very first time.
“If you change your mind…”
“Thanks,” Chance said from beside Emily. “But I think we’ll be fine.”
Emily didn’t want to waste another second. They finished checking in and loaded their bags onto a luggage cart. Her feet couldn’t move fast enough. Her heart hammered in her chest. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” Emily said, breathless. “You’d think this was my first vacation.”
Chance laughed. “Vacation? You say that like you actually think we’ll be leaving the villa.”
Emily’s lower abdomen clenched at Chance’s heated words and a riot of butterflies took flight as they rose to her throat. They’d been officially dating since Brad’s wedding. Living together for the past six months. But the prospect of being shut up in that villa for a few days with nothing but the sheets between them swamped Emily with heat. She hoped this feeling never went away. Every time with Chance felt like that first night together. New and exciting.
#
The best part of a destination wedding was not having to deal with any of the details. After settling into their villa, and reacquainting themselves with the king-size bed for a couple of hours—Emily and Chance had met with the amazing ladies who ran the Barefoot Brides. Ari, Willow, and Gussie knew their business and had planned the wedding down to the very last detail. There was nothing for Emily and Chance to do but sit back and enjoy the ride. Totally worth every penny.
Dinner had been spent at Junonia. The resort’s chef had prepared a special meal for Emily and Chance, one that had make her break out into laughter that sent tears streaming down her face. “Pizza?” She’d given a rueful shake of her head as they dug into the gourmet pizza margherita. Chance had put in the request. Luckily, the pizza had been more of an appetizer. She knew now that pizza wasn’t his favorite food and Chance had been much more appreciative of the sea bass and risotto he’d been served afterward.
Emily was full and content as she walked along the beach hand-in-hand with Chance. The only sound was of the water kissing the shore and a wonderful calm settled over her. There were no pre-wedding jitters. No cold-feet. No second thoughts or doubts. She was right where she was supposed to be with who she was supposed to be. In two days, she’d be Emily Jean McCall. Her only regret was that it had taken so long to realize that her love for Chance.
“It’s warm tonight, isn’t?”
Emily smiled at Chance. “It is, but it feels good.”
The early June temperatures were definitely warmer than when they’d been here last year. Emily liked the heat, though. She couldn’t get enough of it. In fact, it would be tough to leave here on Saturday and return back to northern Idaho’s cooler temps. She wandered down into the surf and Chance followed. The water cooled her feet but it was still warm enough she could dive right in if she wanted to. It surprised Emily just how much she’d missed the beauty of Barefoot Bay and the magic of the Casablanca Resort.
She’d live here if she could.
“Let’s swim.”
The magic of Mimosa Key must have gotten to Chance as well. He usually only swam if it was a life or death situation. He even shied away from water rescue situations if it was at all possible. Just like the pizza he’d eaten regularly over years’ worth of lunch dates, offering to go on a late night swim proved just how much Chance loved her.
“You don’t want to swim,” she teased.
Chance scooped her up into his arms. Emily squealed with delight as he carried her out into the surf. He leaped into the air and spun, his back hitting the water first as he took them both down. When they surfaced, they were both laughing.
“Get naked,” Chance said, all humor gone.
“I thought we’d already knocked skinny dipping off our bucket list.”
He gathered Emily in his arms and she hooked her legs around his waist. His mouth found hers in the darkness. The kiss set Emily on fire and only made her greedy for more. She shrugged out of her shirt, and shucked her bra, tossing them both up to the beach. A moment later, her shorts and underwear joined the rest of her clothes and Chance’s shorts and t-shirt formed its own pile beside hers.
“I think it’s totally okay to revisit that list,” Chance said against her lips. “Especially in Mimosa Key.”
Emily kissed him long and hard. “I couldn’t agree more.”
#
“Time to get this show on the road.”
Chance stood under a white wooden arbor laden with bright mimosa flowers. The wedding planners really had gone all-out. The sand sifted between his toes as he shifted his weight from one leg to the other. He glanced over at his brother and best man, David.
“I’m not doing anything until I’m told.” The ladies of Barefoot Brides had everything under control. They had the wedding organized down to the tiniest detail and Chance had a feeling that if he went off script, at least one of them would have his ass in a sling.
David flashed Chance a mischievous grin. “Then I’m having another beer.”
Chance laughed. “Whatever does it for you, brother.”
Today couldn’t have been more perfect. The weather had cooperated and after a storm last night, the clouds cleared away to reveal a bright blue sky. A light breeze stirred the air, bringing the salt tang of the gulf to his nostrils. Chairs had been set up along the beach for the handful of guests he and Emily had invited to their intimate destination wedding and he was happy to see some of their friends and family mulling along the beach while others had already begun to take their seats.
“Hey. You want a beer?”
Chance turned to David. “Nah. I’m good.”
“Dude. It’s not natural how laid back you are right now.” Leave it to his brother to give him a hard time. “If this was my wedding I would have been drunk about an hour ago.”
“Which is probably why you’re not even close to getting married.”
David held up his bottle in a silent toast. “True that.”
Chance didn’t have anything to be nervous about. Cold feet? No way. He’d never been so sure about anything in his entire life. When he’d told the guys at the fire station he’d proposed to Emily they’d told him it was about damned time. Everyone had known how he felt about her. Hell, he’d wanted to marry her since they were kids.
Nerves didn’t exist when something felt this right. He and Emily were meant to be together. Today would only make it official.
Not far from the arbor, a string quartet played. His own wedding had shaped up to be far classier than he was. Chance wouldn’t have cared if they’d gotten married at the courthouse with no one present but them, a couple of witnesses and a judge. But he’d wanted this day to be perfect for Emily. She deserved the world and he was more than ready to give it to her.
The quartet changed its tune to something that Chance actually recognized. His pulse kicked up a notch and a smile grew on his lips as one of the wedding planners—Ari, he thought Emily had called her—approached, a wide smile of her own answering his.
“Showtime!”
Her excited tone rubbed off on Chance. This was it. In a couple of minutes Emily would be walking through the sand, down the aisle made by the chairs. In a couple of minutes, she’d finally be his wife.
“More than ready,” Chance replied. “Let’s do this.”
Ari spoke into a small microphone that was connected her earpiece. “Tell Emily we’re ready.”
Chance turned to David. “Lose the beer, dude.”
He tipped the bottle and guzzled what was left before tucking it behind the arbor. Chance laughed. At this rate, the reception was bound to be an absolute blast.
Chance reached down to straighten his linen dress shirt and smoothed out his khaki slacks. They’d agreed on a casual wedding, but he still felt underdressed. Emily had kept her dress top secret. He had no idea what to expect. When she appeared down the beach and began to walk toward him behind her bridesmaids, Chance’s heart nearly stopped.
He’d never seen a more beautiful woman in his entire life.
And she was about to marry him. How did he ever get so damned lucky?
Chance watched in a daze as Emily walked to him. Her smile was more brilliant than the sun shining overhead. She wore a gauzy white strapless dress that floated on the breeze and gave her an ethereal appearance. Her hair had been gathered high on her head and a few of the dark strands escaped to frame her face.
She handed her bouquet over to the maid of honor and Chance leaned toward her as he took her hands in his. “Damn,” he murmured close to her ear. “You look beautiful, Em.”
When he pulled back to look at her, tears glistened in her eyes. “You don’t look too shabby yourself, Mr. McCall.”
Chance grinned. “Whaddya say we get out of here and go somewhere a little more private.”
“In a second,” Emily teased. “I have to get married first.”
“If it’ll help speed things up, we can just cut straight to the ‘I dos.’”
Emily laughed. He’d never get tired of that sound. “Give me ten minutes, and I’m yours.”
His. “I like the sound of that.”
She squeezed his hands. “Me too.”
The officiant stepped up to them and began a short speech to welcome everyone and lay the groundwork for the ceremony. Chance didn’t hear a word of it. He was too preoccupied with Emily. She was his entire world. The guests broke out into quiet laughter and Chance looked at the officiant, confused. “Did I miss something?”
Another bout of laughter erupted and this time Emily joined them. “Just your vows,” she said. “But we’ll let you slide.”
He loved that he could laugh with her. There was no one more perfectly suited to share his life with him. Chance turned to the officiant. “Pressure’s on.”
He responded with a wide smile. “Just read from your cheat sheet and you’ll be fine.”
Chance dug the paper with the vows he’d written from his pocket. His attention was for Emily alone as he said the vows he’d written from his heart.
“Emily, you are my best friend. I promise to laugh with you, support you, and tell you when you have ketchup on your shirt. I will love you whether we’re together or a million miles apart. I promise to support your dreams—and taste test all of your cupcakes—and to give you space when you need it. I promise to take you on vacations where there’s water and to feed you pizza and ice cream whenever you want it. But most importantly, I promise to love you and be by your side through all the days and nights of our lives.”
His vows garnered a few laughs, but every word was spoken from a place of love. Emily beamed at him. Tears glistened in her eyes as she gave his hands a light squeeze.
“Chance, I promise to be a loving friend and your partner in crime—I mean marriage. I promise to talk and to listen, to trust and appreciate you. To respect your uniqueness and your dislike for excess sugar and peperoni pizza. I promise to share you with the fire service because I know how much it means to you. I promise to support you, to share in your hopes and dreams. To build our lives together and to grow with you.”
Chance’s chest swelled with emotion. There weren’t words to express how much he loved Emily. The officiant turned to Chance and said, “Chance Evan McCall, will you strive to build a marriage with Emily that is compassionate, full of respect and honor, filled with peace, happiness, and love? Do you promise to always be open and honest with Emily and cherish her for as long as you both shall live?”
Chance turned to Emily. His gaze drank in her soft beauty as he said, “I do.”
The officiant turned to Emily and asked the same of her, “Emily Jean Proctor, will you also strive to build a marriage with Chance that is compassionate, full of respect and honor, filled with peace, happiness, and love? Do you promise to always be open and honest with Chance and cherish him for as long as you both shall live?
She turned to him. A tear slid down her cheek and Chance wiped it away. “I do.”
There wasn’t a single moment in Chance’s entire life that compared to this one. He turned and accepted the ring from David and Emily turned and took his ring from her cousin’s hand.
“By exchanging rings, a symbol of eternity, you both agree before your family and friends to pledge your love to one another.”
The officiant gave a nod of his head and Chance slipped the ring onto Emily’s finger. He held out his hand as she slipped his ring on she murmured, “You’re stuck with me now, McCall.”
He sure was, and Chance wouldn’t have it any other way. “And you’re stuck with me, Miss Proctor.”
“That’s Mrs. McCall,” she corrected. Emily looked to the officiant for confirmation. “Right?”
He laughed. “By the power invested in me, I pronounce you husband and wife.” He looked at Chance and winked. “You may kiss the bride.”
Chance gathered Emily into his arms and lowered her into a dip as he laid a kiss on her that he hoped she’d never forget. The crowd of their family and friends whooped and hollered, and applause broke out to join their cheers.
“How was that?” he asked as he pulled away.
Emily’s expression was so full of love it took his breath away. “Perfect.”
Chance couldn’t agree more. “Perfect.”
THE END