Promising Forever Read online

  Promising Forever

  A Novella By

  Ashley Wilcox

  Copyright © 2012 by Ashley Wilcox

  Edited by Indie After Hours

  Cover design by B Designs

  Formatted by Deana Wolstenholme

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the above author of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Epilogue

  Prologue

  Summer

  “Holy crap! You’re getting married?”

  I laugh, hearing Kat’s response to the big news. She has been my best friend since grade school and always had a tendency towards the dramatics. Even though the plan was to wait a few years, Collin had decided against it, wanting to give me the wedding of my dreams.

  “Yeah, crazy…huh?” I joke, still in shock myself.

  “Wow…when? How? Give me details!”

  “Last night.” Feeling the warmness of my heart invading my cheeks, I can’t seem to remove the smile that has been smeared across my face since yesterday. “It was incredible,” I sigh. “He carved out fourteen pumpkins, all spelling out Will You Marry Me, and had them lined up behind the pond near his high school just after sunset.”

  “Awwww…”

  “I know. It was perfect, Kat. And the ring! Wait until you see the ring he picked out!”

  “Is it huge?” she asks, and I can only imagine her eyes wide with anticipation.

  “Not like gawdy huge, but yeah, it’s a good size. But the way it’s set with and all the tiny diamonds around it…”

  “Text me a pic- I need to see it!”

  Laughing again at her excitement, I agree. “K, I will as soon as we hang-up.”

  “Oh my god, Summer! I’m so happy for you guys! So when’s the wedding?”

  “Well…it depends,” I start, getting an empty feeling in my stomach. “We’re planning on next fall, but…”

  “Your dad?” Her voice changes from excited to sympathetic and helps me finish the sentence that is hard for me to continue.

  Sighing with the realization of it all, I admit, “Yeah…it may need to be moved up.”

  “Well hey, I can plan a wedding in no time,” Kat’s voice turns chipper. She had married Liam this past summer and by no surprise at all, it was over the top huge and beautiful. “Have no worries…you will get the wedding of your dreams, I promise!”

  The side of my mouth curls up into a grin, knowing that no matter where or when or how little the time to plan, between Kat and Collin no detail will go unfinished and every request I have will be at the top of their list. There’s not a doubt in my mind that my wedding won’t be everything I have ever envisioned it being, but honestly, just marrying Collin and having my dad by my side is all I could ever dream it to be.

  Chapter 1

  One Year Later

  Collin

  The thought of waking up to this beautiful woman every day for the rest of my life fills my body with so much love that it’s not even funny. Her hair, her skin, the softness of her breath…it’s perfection at it’s finest.

  As her eyes start to flutter open, I snuggle in closer and push her hair behind her ear, wanting to be as close as humanly possible when those big brown eyes open.

  “Morning, beautiful,” I whisper as I gently kiss her nose.

  A warm smile creeps across her face as a yawn escapes her mouth.

  “Sorry,” Summer says with a sweet little grin, covering her mouth with her hand. “What time is it?”

  Usually I’m up and off to school before she even wakes up, so it’s a rare treat to wake up together, still wrapped in each other’s arms.

  “Nine,” I tell her, playing with a lock of her hair.

  “Ugh…I should probably get up and get ready.” She stretches her arms above her head. “Your mom’s itinerary officially starts at 11 a.m.”

  Summer’s mom passed away when she was younger, so my mom gladly agreed to assist with the wedding planning. Although growing up her job has always been a full-time housewife and mom, she could have easily been an event planner. Planning parties, get-togethers, and now our wedding makes her so fricken giddy that it sometimes can be annoying. Even though it doesn’t seem to bother Summer, it drives me crazy. She has every single detail planned down to the minute. Last night we were ordered to stop over to pick up our itineraries for today and tomorrow. I made the mistake of asking what time our piss breaks were and I got a nice, firm slap on the arm from my stunning fiancé. Apparently I’m not being grateful enough.

  As she starts to push back the blankets to get out of bed, I wrap my arms and legs around her, holding her hostage against my body.

  “No! You’re not going anywhere.”

  “Collin!” Summer squeals, trying to wiggle free as I bury kisses along her neck and behind her ear, knowing the spots where she is most ticklish. “Stop it!” she yells and giggles.

  “Nuh uh,” I tell her, her hands now pinned above her head, my body on top of hers.

  “Ya know, your mom’s gonna get ticked off if we don’t adhere to her schedule,” she says with a raised eyebrow.

  “It’s our fricken wedding!”

  “Collin, she has done so much for us...” Her head is tilted to the side and her eyes are looking at me annoyed, but her lips are curled into a smile and I can’t help but stare at them.

  Her voice tunes out as I lean down and kiss those beautiful plump lips screaming to be savored. She continues to mumble whatever point she’s trying to get across, but I just respond, “Mmhm,” against her lips before sliding my tongue inside.

  Summer’s body instantly melts into the bed, her tongue sliding against mine with a softness reserved just for me. I know in that moment that I’ve got her.

  She’s not going anywhere.

  Summer

  As much as I’m incredibly grateful for all that Collin’s mom has done for us and want to adhere to her schedule as much as possible, Collin knows my weakness and how to make me stray.

  Him.

  So when his mouth touches mine and his tongue slips inside, I’m done. There’s no holding back- I’m completely at bay. As soon as he notices my body surrender, he removes me from his hold, sliding his hands slowly down my arms. Resting one next to my head, the other hand continues down and over my chest. Caressing my nipple with his thumb, my back arches from the sensation. Our mouths separate when Collin pinches my peak with his fingers, overwhelmed with desire.

  Relocating to my neck, he places a mixture of kisses and gentle sucks as he makes his way down my stimulated body. Like his mouth is a stamp, my skin warms beneath every spot his lips press down on. Now just above the hem of my panties, he slips his fingers inside the seams, and slides them down and off my body. Quickly shimmying out of his briefs, he climbs back over on top of me, pushing up my t-shirt as he mo
ves up against my skin. With my arms still draped above my head, Collin slides my shirt up and off with ease. His warm caramel eyes pull me in, leaving me weak and exposed beneath him.

  “I love you,” he softly tells me, looking deep within my eyes. “I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”

  His words catch in my heart and knot in my soul. There’s truth to be told in loving someone so much that it hurts, because with Collin, it does. My heart aches with the amount of love that it holds for no one else but him.

  Completely engulfed in the moment, I slide my fingers through his thick wavy hair, bringing his mouth back down to mine. Before closing the distance between us, I whisper, “I love you so much,” against his lips.

  Once our mouths are locked together, our tongues flow in sync as our bodies rock together as one. With only a lift of his hips, Collin lines himself up before sliding his length deep inside of me. A pleasured moan ripples through my body as he moves rhythmically in and out of my opening. As his pace increases our mouths come apart, too overwhelmed with pleasure to focus.

  “Ahh…” Collin heavily breathes into the fold of my neck, warming my body even more, pushing our bodies closer to the edge.

  With a mind of their own my hands slide from his head down to his back, gripping and caressing every square inch that I can get reach. Like my touch is an added fuse to his desire, Collin thrusts in harder, leaving me no other direction to go but into the light of ecstasy, finding my release.

  “Shit…” is all that escapes his mouth before Collin tenses and spirals into an intense orgasm of his own.

  Chapter 2

  Collin

  “So what are your plans for today?” Summer asks after spitting out her toothpaste and rinsing her mouth with water.

  “Matt and I have some errands to run for my mom,” I answer as I step out of the shower behind her.

  “Oh yeah. Have you talked to them? Did they get in okay last night? Why are you grinning like that?”

  I try to fight back my knowing smile, but I’m terrible with keeping secrets.

  “I’m not supposed to tell you.”

  “Really? We’re getting married tomorrow and you’re already keeping secrets from me?”

  “Well played, my dear, but I’m not supposed to tell you until after this weekend.”

  “Collin Michael West! Tell me now!” She puts her hands on her hips and gives me “the look”.

  Decision time. Either stay true to my word and not tell Summer until after the wedding or tell her Matt and Leah’s news and be able to keep my balls?

  “Matt asked Leah to marry him last night.”

  “Really! Oh my god, that’s awesome. Wait, why am I not supposed to know?”

  “Leah doesn’t want to take away from your weekend. She wants all the focus to be on you.”

  Although I feel the same way, this weekend is all about Summer, I like to put extra emphasis on the fact that everyone only cares about the bride. You know, try and make her feel a smidgen bad that nobody cares about me, the groom. But I honestly don’t care- I’m just kidding around. Yes, I’m getting married too, but I’d be fine with going down to city hall to say I do. At the end of the day, I just want Summer to be my wife. That’s all I care about.

  “Seriously?” She totally bypasses the fact that I care about her being the center of attention- she knows me all too well. “They were going to go the whole weekend and not tell me? I’m going to smack her!”

  I knew she wouldn’t be mad that they got engaged this weekend. Summer is so down to earth and simple that she would never worry about someone else stealing her thunder. Hell, she doesn’t even like to have all the thunder to herself. I’m actually anxious to see how she handles it all this weekend.

  “I told him they didn’t have to worry about it, but Leah insisted.”

  “How’d he ask?” Her eyes light up with curiosity.

  “It was an “in the moment” proposal,” I tell her, doing air quotes. “The plan was to actually ask her this spring on her birthday.”

  “Aww…how sweet.”

  Wait a second…

  “What? I spent an entire day carving pumpkins and making sure everything was perfect when I asked you. Matt does nothing, yet it’s still sweet?”

  She tilts her head and grins.

  “It was perfect.” Summer takes a step towards me and wraps her arms around my neck. “I still get a rush of butterflies when I think about it,” she continues, kissing me gently on the lips. “But it’s also sweet that Matt was so full of love that he had to ask her right there, on the spot.”

  Rocking my head back and forth, I agree. There were so many times that I could have asked Summer to marry me, but bit my tongue instead, wanting to wait until that perfect moment. Knowing how much Matt cares for Leah, I get it. Leah is witty, not the lovey-dovey kind of girl, so having a simple, spur of the moment proposal is perfect for her.

  “Well, he feels bad that he didn’t have a ring so that’s what we’re doing today.” I figure since I already told her half of it, I might as well just spill it all.

  “You guys are going ring shopping?” Her eyes light up a few shades brighter and she smiles from ear to ear. I can’t help but chuckle- she’s so damn cute.

  “Yeah, our itinerary doesn’t start until one.”

  Her smile fades and I know just what she’s thinking.

  “Ya know…you could be badass and blow off the first two hours of your itinerary?”

  Her eyes widen and she looks like I just told her to skip school or do something equally as awful.

  “Your mom would absolutely kill me!” she says, but I can also see a hint of wonder in her eyes, wondering if she could really do it.

  “Oh, whatever…she’d get over it.”

  Biting down on her lower lip, I can see the rebel inside peeking out.

  “What’re we gonna tell her?” she asks quietly, like it’s a secret.

  I inch my face down closer, like we’re on a secret mission. She’s moves in closer too - totally playing along. The only thing is, she’s not playing - she’s totally serious.

  God, I love her!

  I whisper in her ear, “Tell her to fuck off.”

  Pissed at my statement she pushes me away from her, giving me the head tilt and the infamous “look”.

  “You’re such an ass!” she tells me, trying to be mad, but the smile on her face says otherwise.

  Not wanting to really make her mad, I answer more seriously.

  “I’ll call her. Don’t worry about it.”

  “Thanks, babe, but be nice…will ya?”

  “I’ll be on my best behavior,” I assure her, giving her a confident smile.

  Chapter 3

  Summer

  I feel bad that we’re sneaking around behind Leah’s back today while she’s laying low at the hotel, but I’m so stinking excited to be a part of picking out her ring - so excited that I’m blowing off my soon-to-be mother-in-law for it. Really, there wasn’t much for me to do. According to the itinerary we were confirming the seating arrangements and the band’s playlist. I’m not quite sure why it needs to be triple checked or why it’s scheduled for two hours, but I’m not about to argue. Mrs. West is putting together a day that only a princess could expect, so my mouth is shut. I just appreciate all that’s she’s doing and all she has already done.

  Matt’s face is priceless when he gets into the car.

  “Seriously?” he says to Collin. How he thought that Collin would keep this a secret is beyond me. Collin pretty much sucks at keeping his mouth shut. Matt should know this by now.

  “Come’on, bro. She’s practically my wife. I can’t not tell her. Besides, look at this face…” He cups my cheek, putting me on display. “Try telling this beautiful face that she can’t know something.”

  “Leah’s gonna be pissed at you,” Matt sighs.

  “I’m pissed that you think I’d care!” I interrupt. “I’m so stinking excited for you guys!”
<
br />   Matt’s body visibly relaxes as a warm smile spreads across his face. He’s so madly in love with Leah- it melts my heart to witness.

  “Thanks, Summer.” He rubs his hands down the top of his jeans once he’s seated with a goofy grin. “I can’t believe we’re finally engaged. God, I’m fucking engaged!” Matt shouts.

  Collin and I both smile and laugh at his excitement. Matt deserves Leah just as much as she deserves him. They’re beyond perfect for each other and I’m over the moon ecstatic for them.

  *****

  After stopping at three different jewelry stores, Matt finally finds the one. Of course, he has to pick it up later because Leah’s so darn tiny that he has to have it resized. After some discussion and convincing on my part, Matt’s going to give it to her tonight at the rehearsal dinner. I couldn’t be more relieved- it will be nice to move some of the attention onto someone else for a little bit, and Leah will be shocked…maybe mad for a minute because I’m not supposed to know, but at least she’ll be surprised!

  Once they drop me off after getting a bite to eat, I high-tail it over to Collin’s parent’s house. As I pull into the driveway, my stomach drops and knots in two. A zillion people have already arrived, tents are up, a crew is assembling the dance floor…it’s all too much to take in at once.

  “Oh, Summer. Honey…isn’t this exciting?” Collin’s mom greets me at my jeep, putting her arm around my shoulder and squeezing me into her side. “It’s already looking so beautiful! And the weather…did you see how perfect tomorrow is supposed to be?”

  Taking a deep breath, I remind myself to breathe. When did marrying your soul mate become such a production? Instead of freaking out, I calm my nerves as I look over to where the ceremony is going to be held…where I’m going to marry the man of my dreams. The square arch that Collin’s uncle built is perfectly placed on the edge of the backyard with the breathtaking view of the lake behind it. The pristine view was the selling point for having our wedding here. It’s stunning…and in the evening with the sun setting…