“Where’s my veil?” I shouted, spinning in a wild, frantic circle.

I was standing in the back room of a very fancy event hall, surrounded by aunts and cousins and my best friend, Anna Kate. One of my cousins rushed out of the room to go searching for my veil, and Anna Kate hurried to my side. She grabbed my arm and began patting it reassuringly.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” she said, shushing me. “We’ll find it.”

I turned to her, my heart racing. “What if we don’t? What if it’s gone forever?”

Anna Kate smiled and kissed me on the cheek, then quickly wiped the lipstick mark off with her finger. “Calm down. Seriously, it’s fine. Just a veil.”

I shook my head vigorously. “No, you don’t get it, Anna kate. That’s not just any veil, that was my mother’s veil. And it was her mother’s wedding veil before that. It’s been passed down in my family.”

“For generations and generations,” she filled in. “Yeah, sweetie, I know. But you have to take a deep breath. You’re going to give yourself an aneurysm. For someone who’s used to dealing with a lot of stress from work, you sure are keyed up.”

“It’s my damn wedding day,” I shot back, laughing. “How could I not be terrified?”

“Jillian. Don’t do this.”

“No,” I argued. “A million little things could go wrong at any moment. The music could be wrong. The guests could start arguing. Someone could drop the cake. The priest could forget his sermon,” I rambled, making myself crazy overthinking everything.

I knew I was being ridiculous, but I couldn’t help it. This was the most important day of my life thus far, and I was desperate to have it go off without a hitch. Well, except for the part where I get hitched.

“Yeah, but think about who you’re marrying,” Anna said, pushing the hair back out of my face and smiling. “Think about your fiancé. Think about Bruin.”

“I am thinking about him,” I replied. “And I want everything to go smoothly for him.”

“Oh, hon. He doesn’t care how the wedding goes. He only cares about you and your happiness. You know that. You don’t have to work to impress him. He’s not one of your snooty clients, babe. He’s going to be your husband. He loves you, no matter what,” she reassured me. I nodded slowly, finally actually listening to her words.

“You’re right,” I relented. “I know you’re right. Bruin couldn’t care less how the wedding goes. And nothing stresses him out. He’s always cool. Always.”

“Which is another reason why you’ll balance each other out so well,” she remarked.

I smiled. “I know. That’s true.”

“Come on now, let me fix your mascara. You have got to stop getting all teary-eyed. This mascara is supposed to be waterproof but it’s not, apparently.”

“Anna Kate. It’s not just about walking down the aisle, but I’m also pregnant. Everything makes me cry right about now. I can’t help it.” I laughed, shrugging. “My hormones are going totally bananas. Especially today.”

“I know. I know.”

“You look pretty, Jillian,” declared a small, babyish voice to my left.

I looked down to see little Emma smiling up at me. I bent down and scooped her up into my arms, giving her a kiss on the nose. She giggled.

“You look pretty, too,” I told her. “Are you ready to be a flower girl?”

She nodded, bouncing up and down in my arms excitedly. “Yeah, yeah! Flower girl! I’m going to be a flower girl!”

Anna Kate reached over and tickled her stomach, making her erupt into high-pitched giggles. “You remember how I taught you to do it? How to toss the flowers on the ground and make it look nice?” Anna asked her. She grinned.

“Yes. I practiced at home,” she announced. “Daddy let me throw flowers in the living room all day.”

“Wow, I bet that was really fun to clean up,” Anna snorted.

I chuckled. “Oh boy. It was awfully fun.”

“When do I get cake?” asked Emma, always full of the most important questions.

“After the ceremony, sweetheart,” I told her.

“How long is the ceremony?” she asked suspiciously. I hugged her tightly.

“Not too long. I’m hungry, too,” I admitted honestly.

Emma poked at my stomach. “Is the baby hungry for cake?” she asked. Anna and I both burst out laughing and I nodded.

“Oh yes. The baby wants some cake, for sure,” I giggled.

“Let’s have cake now,” Emma suggested, putting her fists up in the air.

“No, no. Not yet. Soon, but not yet. You remember what we talked about?” I asked.

She sighed. “Yes. I have to be patient.”

“Good girl,” I said, kissing her on the chubby cheek. “Okay. I’m going to let Aunt Anna Kate fix my makeup, all right? Be good and get ready to be a flower girl.”

I set her down and Anna Kate got to work dabbing at my eyes. When she was done, we had to hunt down my lipstick for a touch-up, and then I realized I was still missing something.

“And where the hell is my damn veil?” I asked again loudly.

“Right here. One vintage wedding veil, coming through,” bellowed a deep male voice.

I turned around to see my big brother rushing through the crowd of women, holding my veil up in the air. I grinned and ran to him.

“Oh, thank you. You’re a lifesaver.”

He put the veil on my head and beamed at me, joy in his eyes.

“Aww. Sis, you look gorgeous. Bruin is going to flip when he sees you,” he said.

“Oh, stop. I’m pregnant. I look like a white balloon. Or a snowball,” I giggled.

“Nah. You look radiant. The baby’s giving you a nice glow. I promise,” he said.

“Is everyone ready out there?” I asked, more seriously this time. Jeff nodded and leaned forward to kiss the top of my head through the veil.

“Yep. Everyone is seated and waiting for the ceremony to begin,” he told me.

“How does it look? How are the flowers?” I asked, biting my lip. I was dying to see the final plan.

“Beautiful. The lilies arrived just in time and the head florist showed with them to arrange them and oversee it all herself,” he said. “The band is playing soft music, everyone is quiet but whispering to each other. Aunt Nancy hasn’t tried to throttle Uncle Mark yet, so all is well on that front,” he added, laughing.

“Ugh, our family better keep their shit together at least for one day,” I said, rolling my eyes. Then I turned to my cousins, my Aunt Brenda, and Anna Kate, who was my maid of honor.

“Are you all ready?” I asked.

They nodded, grinning happily. Aunt Brenda was already crying, which was to be expected. Just then, I heard the sound of the bridal march starting up outside. I let out a squeal of nerves and excitement.

“Okay, everyone. Places,” announced Jeff. Everyone rushed out of the room to start walking, and Jeff took my arm. He looked down at me happily. “You ready, sis?”

I nodded, desperately trying to keep my emotions in check. “Let’s go.”

Jeff walked me down the aisle, and of course, as soon as I saw the love-struck look on Bruin’s face, I burst into tears. Oh well. It was to be expected. After all, I was marrying the love of my life.

* * *

Two days later, we were adrift on the Pacific. Mirabella had been sold to my brother, and in her place, Bruin had bought an even bigger, more impressive yacht. I had told him that it was too much, that with Emma and the new baby we didn’t need something so big and luxurious. We were going to be so busy. When would we get the chance to go sailing? But Bruin was stubborn, and he bought the boat just the same. We named it Cassandra Hope, after my mother. I wished that she could have been there on my wedding day, to see me marry the man of my dreams. But I had a feeling that wherever she was, she was watching me. Happy. Proud. Smiling down at us and the little family we were building together.

“I’m so torn,” I said, looking over at Bruin. We were lying on the top deck together, snuggled up close under the stars.

“About what?” he asked.

“On the one hand, I miss Emma and I wish she was here with us. But on the other hand, I’m going to enjoy having a whole week to ourselves here,” I told him. He smiled and kissed me.

“I know what you mean. But I can’t wait to have you all to myself. It’ll be just like that first week we spent together at sea. You remember?” he said slyly. I blushed.

“How could I ever forget?” I said, grinning. “That was only the hottest week of my entire life. No big deal. Sorry this time around I’m all big and pregnant.”

“Sorry?” he said, raising an eyebrow. “Sweetheart, don’t be sorry. You’ve never been sexier to me. That baby is proof of our love. Our passion.”

“If you say so,” I said, laughing and patting my stomach. He leaned over and kissed me harder, his hands roving down my body, caressing my swollen breasts.

“Oh. I definitely say so,” he growled. “And don’t worry, we have forever to spend together. We’ll take Emma with us on the next sailing trip. But for now? I’m going to make the most of this honeymoon.”

“I love you,” I said, tracing his powerful jaw with my finger.

He kissed me. “I love you, too, Jillian. More than anything in this world.”

* * *

Thank you so much for reading My Playboy Crush!

I have a some special surprises for you. I have a bonus book, Holding On ONLY available here, as well as an awesome treat from my friend Violet Paige. She has included two of her amazing books here for you. She’s the best!

Keep reading for these special bonuses and don’t forget to click at the end of the book for an EXCLUSIVE free copy of My Two Cops, just for my readers. I hope you love it!

xoxo,

Katerina