Chapter Six
There were a lot of hitches on the way to getting hitched. It was now late Friday afternoon, approximately twenty-four hours before the wedding, and Josh hated to admit it, but his pregnant bride was falling apart right along with the wedding. He was partially responsible since he’d impregnated her and the hormones were surely messing with her head. Jake had said Claire had been snappish and a wee bit aggressive during her pregnancy. Hailey went the opposite route. She was currently in the bathtub, bawling her eyes out.
He paced their suite. Snappish and aggressive would’ve been so much easier to handle, but no. He got tears, which got him all riled up because they were much harder to fix, and her pain was his pain. So yeah. He was up to bat. He got it, he really did. She’d put so much work into the wedding and it had been one thing after another. When they’d arrived at the dock this morning to make sure the flowers arrived, it had been a raging disappointment to find not tulips, but mismatched wilting whatever they were. It looked like the flower shop had delivered every single bouquet they hadn’t been able to sell and pawned it off on them.
He did an about-face and paced in the other direction. Max and Rose were curled up on the bed, ears perked toward the closed bathroom door.
“I know,” he told them. “I’m trying. You two weren’t much help.”
On the walk back from the dock, the dogs had finally given up the rings. And while Hailey was happy the dogs wouldn’t require surgery, she couldn’t stomach actually using those rings. Kind of a shame, too, because he’d had them engraved. Hers said Warrior Princess, and his said Warrior Beast. That was what she liked to call him. In any case, Mad had taken the ferry back to France with her husband, Parker, this morning to buy two new gold bands. Not engraved. Whatever. Hailey would never know she’d missed out on that. He’d figured problem solved, but Hailey didn’t bounce back like he’d hoped.
She’d taken her sour mood and tried to work through it by supervising everything being set up correctly for tomorrow. Bonnie wasn’t appreciative of Hailey’s interference with her job and let her know it. That didn’t stop Hailey, and why should it? So far Bonnie had made a mess of things. Hailey insisted on helping while Bonnie just seemed to bumble everything, screwing up the most basic requests. Hailey had given him an earful back in the room, beside herself over the gross incompetence.
He’d backed her up, agreeing with everything she said in regard to Bonnie being an idiot. Hailey soldiered on through a welcome reception in the palace gardens, which included the locals. The furries showed up, too, helping themselves to the offered drinks and snacks. Josh couldn’t even kick them out since the welcome reception was open to the public. Next Hailey went through a full photo shoot in her gown. No one cared about his tux and he was glad. There’d be plenty of pictures of them as a married couple, which was the important part.
She’d returned from the photo shoot and took to the tub in their private suite without a word, which was worrisome. She always had something to say. Then he’d heard the sobs.
He opened the bathroom door and poked his head in for the third time. “You okay?”
“Go away. I’m wallowing.”
He shut the door behind him and went over to the huge soaking tub on a center platform with a surrounding ledge that doubled as a bench seat. He took a seat and tested the water, lukewarm. She’d started it only warm, not hot, mindful of her pregnancy, which she’d announced to the baby the moment she’d turned on the faucet. She was a planner and had already read a lot about pregnancy. Still, he needed to get her out soon before she went in the opposite direction and got a chill. “You’ve been in here a long time.”
She flicked water at him. “I’m not up to talking. Everything is shit. Even the rings are shit. This is beyond awful. It’s hideous. It’s horrible. It’s cursed!” More tears leaked out.
“Hailey.”
“Go away.”
He kicked off his shoes and slid into the tub with her, fully dressed, the water sloshing over the side of the tub.
She stopped crying and gaped at him. “Josh! Are you crazy?”
He grinned and maneuvered himself behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. “You left me no choice. I can’t just leave you in the tub all day.”
“It hasn’t been that long.” She leaned her head back on his shoulder and sighed. “Woe is us.”
He sank his teeth into the side of her neck and heard her sharp intake of breath. “You taste even more delicious now that you’re pregnant.” He kissed his way up her neck, gentler now. Sometimes she needed a little edge to get out of her head; sometimes a tender nuzzle to soften her up.
She turned to look at him over her shoulder. “Are you trying to sex me out of my mood?”
He held her by the jaw and nipped her lower lip. “Would it work?”
“No.”
He spoke against her lips. “Well, let’s see.” She smiled. Yes. She turned in his arms and kissed him. He fisted his hand in her hair, claiming her mouth in a fierce possession, needing her soft and pliant, letting go of her worries. Her nails dug into his shoulders and she straddled him, pressing herself against him.
She tore her mouth away, tugging at his wet T-shirt. He helped her take it off him and set it dripping wet on the ledge of the tub. She leaned over the side and turned back to him. “There’s a huge puddle.”
“Later,” he muttered, kissing her again.
She moaned in the back of her throat, her fingers sliding down his bare chest to the button on his jeans. It would take too much effort to peel off the soaking wet jeans. Besides, she needed this way more than him.
He broke the kiss, cupping the back of her neck, and whispered in her ear, “Leave it.”
She struggled with the button. “No. I want you.” He stilled her hand, and she looked up at him in clear frustration. “It’s weird how much I want you since I’m pregnant. You’d think biology would’ve shut it down. Mission accomplished.”
He smiled, loving when she picked up on some of his vocab. He often spoke of the mission. “Guess I’m irresistible. Let’s get out of the tub.”
“No. I can’t wait.”
She kissed him roughly, and he took over the kiss, the fire igniting between them. Fuck. He couldn’t safely carry her out of the tub, both of them soaking wet with water sloshed all over the floor. She wanted it here, then he’d give it to her his way.
He broke the kiss. “Turn around. You know what I like.” He lowered his voice to a guttural growl that always got her attention. “Tell me what you need to do.”
Her pale blue eyes dilated, her lips parting. “Spread my legs and surrender.”
“Yeah, sweetheart.” He brushed his thumb over her bottom lip and jerked his chin at her. “Turn around for me.”
She huffed. “Pulling out the sweet words just to make me agreeable.”
He waited, biting back a smile.
She turned around as requested, leaning back against him and spreading her legs. He didn’t touch her until she lifted her arms, resting them over his shoulders.
His cock surged painfully against his jeans. “Beautiful,” he growled in her ear, his hands cupping her breasts, brushing his fingers over the hard peaks. She arched her back, asking for more. He pinched her nipples and she cried out; then he soothed her with soft caresses. She relaxed against him. He rolled and tugged her nipples, sucking and nipping her neck, until she was writhing against him.
“Josh, please, I’m so turned on. Let me have you.”
He cupped one breast, strumming her nipple while his other hand delved between her legs. She sucked in a breath, quiet now as he stroked up and down her. He wouldn’t take her, only pleasure her. She needed to let go.
He made slow lazy circles that had her hips rising to meet him. With his other hand, he flipped the switch to open the drain on the tub.
“Josh!”
“Let’s see if I can make you come before the water runs out.”
She tried to turn around, but he kept her clamped in place, one hand between her legs, the other around her chest. “You tricked me into getting out of the tub.”
He increased the pressure, circling in on pleasure central. “Maybe I just enjoy a challenge. Now lie back and take it.”
She let out a shuddering sigh and relaxed against him again. He was seriously regretting wearing his jeans in the tub. He was about to bust the seams with his blue steeler.
He stroked his fingers down her throat and she tipped her head back, resting on his shoulder, her arms loose now at her sides, completely relaxed. He took his time bringing her through her pleasure in stages, listening to her breathing. Her breath always caught when she was close.
The water slowly drained.
Her hips rolled, her breath in short pants. Finally, her breath caught, and he shifted his hand away. She grabbed his wrist and shoved it back, but that wasn’t the way this game worked. It was his command, his control, and she knew it. When she released his hand and shifted her arms to her sides, giving him open access, he rewarded her with more. He took her close to the edge of release and pulled her back, over and over and over, making her crazed.
The water was nearly gone when he got her to begging, out of her mind, unaware of anything but his fingers. She whimpered mindlessly, her hips lifting, her back bowing. He wanted her so fucking bad, wanted to drive deep inside, but he held on. Her pleasure, her need, was what mattered. He was steering her away from the abyss and over to bliss. He drew on every ounce of willpower to see it through.
“Josh,” she whispered. “Love.”
She was close. The water was gone.
“You want to come now?” He stroked her more firmly and then gently again, drawing lazy circles.
“Yes, please, please, please.”
He increased the pressure, stroking over and over as his fingers closed over her nipple in a hard pinch. She went off with a throaty cry, bucking against his fingers. He stayed with her, slowing it down, letting her soak in every last wave of pleasure until she collapsed against him.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
He tugged her by the hair, turning her for his kiss. “You’re welcome. Tub’s empty.”
She twisted, curling into his lap and resting her head against his shoulder. He reached for the towel she’d left on the ledge and covered her with it. Then he just held her, all of him alive and aware, filled with the need to protect her, to make good on his promise to safeguard her happiness. He’d never loved anyone the way he loved her. Fiercely. With every cell in his being.
He tightened his arms around her. “I love you so damn much.”
No response.
He looked down at her, eyes closed, cheeks flushed, pink lips parted in sleep. At least he’d given her some peace. He kissed her hair and kept her close, where she belonged.
~ ~ ~
Hailey walked to the dock with her mom and Mad for her bachelorette party, feeling refreshed. Josh’s bachelor party was on a rooftop garden only royalty had access to. Phillip had suggested it and wanted to be part of it too. She let out a happy sigh. She’d had a nice nap thanks to Josh, though the poor man had sat in wet jeans for way too long. She’d taken care of him just as soon as she was fully awake, bringing him to the bed for their last time making love as an engaged couple. She’d gotten a little emotional thinking about that, and Josh had been super tender with her, his dark eyes full of love, his touch reverent.
She turned to Mad once they arrived at the dock. “So what’s the plan? Party at the dock? Did you get some royal strippers?”
Her mom clapped. “Ooh!” Her mom was fifty-one with the libido of a twentysomething. A fact Hailey wished she didn’t know.
Mad’s brown eyes gleamed. “Better! I got us a party boat!”
Hailey turned at the sound of her friends screaming to her from the back deck of a small white boat bobbing in the water a distance from the dock. There was an open captain’s perch on top for steering it, a tiny enclosed cabin below it, and a small deck. That was it. She would surely barf up a lung on that thing. “Couldn’t you have gotten a bigger boat? This one seems so unstable.”
Mad waved to their friends. “It can hold fifteen people. We’ve got ten sisters from another mister, your mom, the captain, first mate, and those tagalong reporters and the girl photographer. Oh, and, of course, Frank. Come on!” Frank was Claire’s bodyguard, a constant shadow, who rarely spoke. It occurred to Hailey that they probably should’ve included Rob, the male photographer from Bride Special, too, since it wasn’t exactly ladies only at this point. Oh well.
“Isn’t that seventeen people?” Hailey asked.
Mad waved that away. “So we’ll throw a few people overboard when we need space. Ha-ha. Don’t worry. It’ll be cozy but fun.”
Her mom rushed ahead, waving and calling to the women.
Hailey dug her heels in. “Mad, I can’t. I get seasick.” She couldn’t tell her about her queasy pregnancy stomach. She and Josh had agreed to keep it secret until after the wedding. She didn’t want the big story from the reporters to be Pregnant Bride Weds Just in Time!
Mad planted her hands on her hips. “It’s not moving that much. It’s anchored here. Come on, I got sushi and champagne, a keg, and some of that fancy French wine you love.”
Hailey stared at the dock. Those were all off-limits to her now that she was pregnant. “Maybe we could shift the party back to land? There’s a cute beach just around the corner.” Sure, the sun was setting and it would likely be pitch black soon, but who cared?
Mad scowled and shoved a hand in her dark brown hair. “Did I screw it up? It’s my first time as matron of honor. I just wanted it to be perfect. Is it the sushi? You’re sick of fish, right?” She shook her head. “I should’ve thought of that. This place is all seafood all the time.”
“No, Mad, it’s great. Really. I’m sure it’ll be a blast.”
Mad lifted her brows over worried eyes. “You sure I didn’t screw up?”
She hugged her. “Not at all. It’ll be wonderful.”
Mad blew out a breath. “Great. Let’s go.”
Hailey followed her down the gangplank, where a crew member helped her on board a rowboat. Her mom and Mad joined her, and they were rowed to the party boat, where the captain helped them on board.
Hailey stood on the deck of the unsteady party boat. “Hey, everyone!”
“Congratulations!” her friends shouted.
“Thank you!”
She was determined to make the best of it. After all, Missy, Lauren, and Carrie were pregnant too. She’d just have whatever they were having and pray she kept it down. Barfing bride was not how she wanted to be remembered in the many pictures she was sure her friends would take. Not to mention the Luxury Weddings photographer. Her stomach rolled at the thought.
She set her purse under the long wraparound bench seat, where her friends’ purses were stashed. She looked around. Twinkling white lights decorated the captain’s perch above. She waved and smiled at the captain and Frank up there. The captain gave her a hearty salute. Frank nodded almost imperceptibly, looking like a muscled no-nonsense badass. He was all about staying on guard for Claire.
A clothesline strung from a rail of the captain’s perch to a hook below held several pairs of risqué panties. There was also a large inflatable banana on a stand for some reason, one folding chair decorated with streamers, and a couple of skinny tables with the food. Coolers were stashed underneath the tables. A very efficient use of the small space. The planner in her was impressed.
She turned to Mad. “Wow, I’m…” She trailed off as Mad took off her shirt to reveal another shirt underneath. And then the rest of her friends and her mom took off their shirts too, like a wave of T-shirt reveal. She slapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes hot. They all wore white T-shirts that read Happy Endings Book Club with a red heart in the center that had pages like a book. It was the romance book club she’d started that had brought them all together.
“You guys!” she exclaimed.
Mad signaled and they all turned. The backs read Get Your Happy Ending!
She squealed. “I love it!” She rushed over to her friends. “Group hug!” Everyone huddled close. She glanced over her shoulder. “You too, Mom!”
Her mom demurred. “I’m not a member of the club.”
“You’re family,” Mad barked. Hailey’s mom had married Mad’s dad.
Her mom joined them, squeezing in next to Hailey, beaming at them. A moment later, her mom said, “Let’s get a picture.”
“Wait!” Mad pulled another shirt from a giant tote she’d stashed to the side and gave it to Hailey. “Put yours on.”
Hailey put it on over her white dress.
Her mom spoke to Lucy, the photographer from Luxury Weddings, and gestured to them. A moment later, Lucy got a fun photo session going with them in a bunch of different poses.
After they’d finished, Mad told everyone, “There’s matching Happy Endings Book Club mugs too. Everyone gets one as a parting gift filled with naughty party favors.”
Hailey laughed. “That is awesome.”
Ally piped up. “I’m dying to know what we’re going to do with the inflatable banana.” Ally was queen of the unconventional wedding and enjoyed the odd and unusual.
“Any guesses?” Mad asked.
The women answered in a chorus of replies—
“Blow job tutorial!”
“Get the banana in the hole!”
“Banana volleyball.” That last one was from sweet Lauren. They all turned to Lauren, who blushed. “It is inflatable.”
Ally laughed. “Omigod, Hailey, wouldn’t a blow job tutorial be a great add-on for our business?”
“No!” Hailey said with a laugh. Imagine the press with that!
“It’s banana ring toss,” Mad said. “But don’t worry, if you’re looking for a penis, we have penis cake for dessert!”
Everyone laughed.
Mad gestured to the tables of food. “Okay, everyone, eat up, drink up; then it’s on to games.”
Hailey stuck to water and some plain crackers to be safe. She was especially glad she did when the wind picked up, rocking the boat so much they had to tuck the food into the coolers so it wouldn’t tip off the tables. She tried keeping her eye on the horizon, but it was difficult to focus on with her friends pulling her in different directions. By the time they finished banana ring toss, guess-who-got-you-the-panties (not too tough for her to figure out, she knew her friends well), and moved to the last game, Hailey was just praying for any excuse to get back to land.
She found the first mate circling the deck, offering drinks. “Is there a ladies’ room on board?”
“Yes, it’s below deck. Fair warning, the boat rocks more below, so hang onto the rail.”
She nodded and quickly went below, carefully making her way to the bathroom. Oh God, it smelled so bad in here. She threw up in the sink, quickly rinsed her mouth and the sink, and got out of there. She made her way back to the upper deck, where Mad promptly dragged her to a chair.
“Time for the next game,” Mad said cheerfully. She stepped behind Hailey and tied a blindfold over her eyes.
“What kind of game is this?” she asked weakly. With her eyes covered, the boat’s motion felt worse.
“We all got you a stylish accessory or piece of clothing,” Mad said. “You have to put them on blindfolded while sitting in a chair, and then you can see the whole thing put together at the end. You’ll love the stuff we got you. Claire was in on it.”
That meant designer, possibly haute couture. She battled nausea and held her hand out. “How many pieces?”
“Ten! Here.”
Hailey felt something lacy. “Tell me I’m not supposed to put on lingerie blindfolded.”
Mad laughed. “Nope!”
She felt the lacy thing, giving it a tug. “It’s stretchy.”
“Try your head,” Claire’s throaty husky voice called out.
Headband. She slipped it on. “Next, hurry!” She didn’t want to miss out on the cool stuff, but she didn’t want to barf all over it either. She was sure Lucy was taking pictures, along with her friends.
“What’s the hurry?” Mad asked, handing over something silky.
“It’ll be funnier if I put it on in a hurry.” She tied the silky thing around her neck. “Next!”
She moved as fast as she possibly could without standing, putting everything around her head, neck, shoulders, and wrists while battling nausea. “Is that everything?”
The blindfold was ripped off. Mad grinned. “That’s everything. Stand up and model it.”
She stood, felt the telltale lurch of her stomach, the burn in her throat, and dashed for the rail, tossing her cookies into the sea. Then she just stood there, leaning over the rail and panting, hoping that was the last of it.
“Hailey,” Mad said and knocked into her when the boat suddenly rocked.
Hailey tipped right over the rail and into the water. It happened so fast she didn’t have time to yelp. One minute she was panting through nausea; the next she took a dunk.
She came up sputtering. Are you fucking kidding me? It was frigging cold, her clothes were heavy from being soaked with water, making treading water difficult, and Mad was laughing.
“Are you okay?” Mad called, still laughing.
Hailey smacked the water, furious after a long line of bridal things gone wrong. “You don’t throw a pregnant woman overboard!”
“Oh my God, you’re pregnant!” Mad hollered.
Everyone rushed the rail, gaping at her. Lucy snapped pictures.
The first mate tossed her a life preserver, and she kicked back to the boat and made her way up the ladder. Then she just stood on the deck, soaking wet and spitting mad.
“Are you really pregnant?” her mom asked, a hand to her throat.
“Yes, Mom, I really am,” Hailey bit out. Like she would just go around telling everyone she was a pregnant bride when she wasn’t.
“I need to sit down,” her mom said in a shaky voice. She retreated to the bench seat and stared at Hailey. “I’m going to be a grandmother?”
Hailey wrung out her dress. Ruined. Everything was ruined. The reporters had gotten an earful, she’d let Josh down by blabbing their news when they’d said they’d wait, and now her mom was freaking out. “That’s how it works, Mom.”
“Congratulations!” Mad exclaimed.
Her mom smoothed her hair and looked up at Hailey. “How did I get to be so old?”
“That’s right, Mom, it’s a-a-all about you. No one worry about the pregnant bride with the wedding from hell!”
Dead silence. Everyone stared at her in shock.
Mad broke the silence. “Just because you fell overboard doesn’t mean your wedding is ruined.”
Hailey lifted both hands and ticked off on her fingers all the ways it had gone horribly wrong. “I’m on my second wedding gown! Furry wedding preempt! Flowers are shit! Rings are literally shit! Caterer is on strike! And now my secret is out. I’m the pregnant bride, everyone! There’s your headline! The wedding planner’s wedding is falling apart!” The absurdity of it hit her all at once and she just started laughing like a loon. “This wedding is cursed!”
The women spoke all at once.
“Someone call Josh.”
“Get her back to shore!”
“Holy crap!”
Somehow Hailey got from point A—soaked and shivering on a party boat—to point B, tucked into bed in her pajamas. Claire commandeered her, though the details were fuzzy between the nausea, the chill, and the sinking despair of knowing not just the wedding was cursed, she was cursed. And her career was sunk right along with it. No one would ever hire her again after this disaster of a wedding.