Bolted (30 page)

An old guy with bushy eyebrows and silver hair that may have been inspired by Albert Einstein whistled and shot his finger up into the air, before it took a steep dive. He mimicked the sound of an explosion.

“Crashed and burned with Hayls? Nice homecoming.” Matt slapped Jackson on the back. “You look like you could use a drink.”

“Wasn’t your sister all Goth back in high school?” Now that he had her name firmly in place, he clearly remembered the dark clothing with skulls she favored, her jet-black hair and nails painted to match.

“It was a phase.” Matt leaned on the bar, his expression curious, and just a little protective. “Since when are blondes your type?”

“They’re not.” Never had been. So why was he still thinking about that smile of hers?

And she thought the bridesmaids dresses were her biggest problem…

Hitched

© 2013 Erin Nicholas

Promise Harbor Wedding, Book 4

Allison Ralston would rather be anywhere other than this wedding. Even if the wedding is hers.
Especially
since the wedding is hers.

But Allie's determined to restore her family's happiness, and if tying the knot with longtime family friend, Josh Brewster, is the way to do it, then she'll walk down that aisle, toss that bouquet and drink that champagne.

Oh, she'll definitely drink the champagne.

There’s only one thing that could get Gavin Montgomery back to Promise Harbor. And she’s about to say I do to another man. Now he’s back to claim what’s his—even if he has to do it in the middle of her wedding.

Allie is shocked—and okay, a little turned on—when Gavin literally sweeps her off her feet. Safe in his arms, she succumbs to fatigue, stress, and yes, the champagne, only to wake up in his bed. In
Alaska
.

Now that he’s put four thousand miles between Allie and all her responsibilities, Gavin’s determined to show her that they can make a life together. If he has his way, the next wedding Allie will be planning will be theirs.

Warning: Contains a guy so in love he’s willing to break up the wedding of the season, a bride who just needs to get to, well, anywhere else, and enough hot sex to take them from New England to Alaska and back again.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Hitched:

“Let’s do a blow job.”

Crystal grabbed Allie’s hand and towed her to the bar. A moment later, a shot glass filled with a creamy brown mixture and topped with whipped cream appeared magically before her.

Whipped cream was a good sign.

Allie shot the drink back, sighing as the sweet liquid went down. That was good.

“You like a good blow job once in a while?” Matt asked with a wink.

“Of course,” she said, winking back. Or at least she thought she winked. She might have blinked at him instead. She giggled and Matt laughed.

“Josh is a lucky guy,” he said.

Yeah, Allie thought. Josh was a lucky guy. She was a catch.

She stumbled as she turned and started back for the dance floor.

“Whoa, babe.” Crystal caught her by both elbows. “You okay?”

“I’m great!” Allie announced. She was sure her words sounded slurred only because it was so loud in here. “I’m getting married tomorrow!”

Crystal laughed. “I heard that somewhere.”

“And he’s the best,” Allie insisted. She pivoted and grabbed a beer from the waitress as she passed. Allie hated beer. But she was more afraid of the good-feeling-I-love-Josh buzz wearing off than she was of the taste of the beer.

“He is, definitely,” Crystal agreed.

Allie drank, then shuddered, then spread her arms wide. “Gavin is the only man I’ll ever want.”

Crystal froze, her eyes widening. She was still holding onto to one of Allie’s arms, which was fortunate because Allie felt a little off-balance.

“Al?” Crystal said, getting closer so she could lower her voice. “What did you just say?”

Allie frowned at her. “I said Josh is the best.”

“And then you said
Gavin
is the only man you’ll ever want.”

Allie shook her head. “No. That’s not funny.”

Crystal squeezed her arm. “I know. It’s really not funny. What are you talking about?”

Dammit. She should have never pulled that letter out last night. Allie closed her eyes and groaned. She’d been so pissed at him, so hurt. Her mom had died, it was absolutely the blackest time of her life, and Gavin hadn’t even called. He certainly hadn’t showed up. He hadn’t done a damned thing.

Then two weeks after the funeral she got a letter. Handwritten. Seeing his writing again had made her
almost
crack. She’d been holding everything together just fine. She hadn’t cried, she hadn’t broken down, she hadn’t thrown anything, she hadn’t told anyone to just leave her the fuck alone and quit asking if she was all right. She’d been composed and calm, she’d gotten everything taken care of, she’d gotten
everyone
taken care of.

She’d been fine. Until that letter came.

She’d
almost
lost it.

Instead, she’d read it once, folded it up, stuck it in her bedside table under some old CDs and a box of stationary, and she’d forgotten about it.

Except that wasn’t true. She’d pulled it out three times. She’d put it back without reading it twice. But last night she hadn’t been able to resist. She’d read it. Four times.

And now he was so on her mind that she was screwing everything up. Of course.

“I didn’t mean it,” she told Crystal, shaking her head.

Allie immediately regretted that. Her head swam and she grabbed Crystal to keep from tipping over. She should have worn flats tonight instead of the high-heeled boots.

“Allie, you just…you can’t be thinking about him,” Crystal said. “What about Josh?”

“It’s normal for people to think about their exes,” Allie told her, hoping it was true. “We’re getting married. That’s a huge deal. It’s natural to think about your past relationships. I bet Josh is thinking about Devon.”

Devon Grant was Josh’s most serious ex. He’d been completely in love with her. If she would have been willing to move to Promise Harbor he’d be married to her right now. For sure.

Devon Grant.

She was actually perfect for Josh.

“Even if he is, he’s probably not announcing it to the bar. You need to take it down a notch,” Crystal said with a frown. “Let’s go dance.”

Allie went along, mostly because Crystal was still holding on to her and Allie wasn’t sure she could stay upright on her own. She drank more of the beer and liked that it was bitterer than the blow job or the pink stuff. She was feeling a little bitter herself.

Crystal was mad because she liked Josh. Everyone liked Josh. Josh was the best. He was a catch and they’d be very happy together. Looking at Josh Brewster over the breakfast table every morning for the rest of her life was not exactly a hardship. He was very good looking, had a killer smile and would be good to her.

He’d never cheat on her—she knew that. Josh always did the right thing and not cheating on his wife—true love or not—was the right thing.

Even if he wanted to.

She drank again, swaying to yet another love song. This one was “Amazed” by Lonestar. Her bridesmaids were just going down the list of the sappiest love songs of all time. But she found herself singing along. And thinking of Gavin. They’d danced to this song.

They’d gone to high school together. They’d graduated in the same class and had known each other. The Harbor wasn’t big enough to not know everyone in your graduating class. They’d even flirted.

He and Jason Simpson had sat behind her and Devon in chemistry senior year. He’d cut in on her date at the Homecoming dance and at Prom. Every weekend from January until May he’d asked her to a party on the weekend. She’d always said no.

But he’d never asked her out on a real date. Which was fine. She would have said no to that too. He was a bad boy, a rebel. She was a good girl who followed all the rules. He dated casually, if at all, and was just out for a good time. She dated nice boys, one at a time, and never did more than French kiss.

It was so cliché—the good girl fascinated by the bad boy—it was pathetic.

Then they’d gone away to college and hadn’t seen each other again.

Until that party their senior year of college.

She’d been in love with him since then. She was now twenty-eight. That party had been just before she turned twenty-two.

Pathetic.

She tipped the beer bottle up, but found it was empty. How had that happened?

Suddenly the music died, there were shouts, then she could have sworn she heard, “Move. Police!” followed by a loud crash.

“Oh my god!” Bernie gasped. “Jackson Knight just hit Hayley Stone.”

Oh, that was just perfect. Allie felt her head throb. The best man in her wedding tomorrow had just hit a police officer. That was fantastic.

“What do you mean he
hit
her?” Crystal demanded.

“He was swinging at someone else but she stepped in. And she
cuffed
him,” Bernice said with delight.

Crystal went up on tiptoe, trying to peer over the crowd. “Man, I’d love to have Jackson Knight in handcuffs and at my mercy for an hour.”

“People are gonna be
so pissed.
” Bernie’s eyes were practically sparkling with the juicy news. “Jackson Knight is like a god.”

“But he hit a cop,” Crystal said. “She has to take him in.”

Allie straightened. Hey, wait a minute…

“Take him in where?” she asked.

Crystal rolled her eyes. “Jail. Duh. You can’t hit a cop.”

“
Jail
?” Allie repeated. “The best man at my wedding tomorrow is going to
jail
?”

Hey. Maybe that
was
fantastic. They couldn’t get married without a best man, could they?

“I’m sure he’ll just have to pay a fine or something,” Crystal reassured her. “It was an accident. And it’s
Jackson Knight.”

Allie sighed. Yeah, yeah, Jackson Knight. The hot hometown hero. She was sure Crystal was right and Jackson would be out in plenty of time for the wedding.

So, that wasn’t going to help her.

The music came back up and the bridesmaids squealed and started shaking their stuff, the mini-drama with Jackson and Hayley forgotten.

And Allie went right back to wishing for more liquor and thinking about Gavin. Not necessarily in that order.

“You know, maybe you should call him or something,” Crystal said over the music.

Allie turned from looking for a waitress to face her friend. “What?”

“Maybe you should call him. Just, you know, check in. Get your mind focused.”

“You think I should call Gavin?” Why did that sound like a great idea?

Crystal frowned. “Of course not. You should call
Josh
.”

“Oh.” She definitely shouldn’t feel disappointed about that idea. Josh was the man she was going to be calling for the rest of her life.

Gavin hadn’t even called her after her mom died.

She should
not
want to talk to him now.

And now that she was getting married? She definitely hadn’t heard from him. Did he know? Did he care? Obviously not. Obviously he’d moved on.

But if
he
were getting married—she felt a sharp stab in her chest at that thought—she’d call him. She had no idea what she’d say, but she would call. Maybe say something like “congratulations” or “I wish you the best” or “Is she anything like me?” or “Do you ever think of me?” or “Don’t do it!”

Allie covered her face with her hands. She would
not
call and say any of that stuff if he were getting married. If he were getting married, it would mean that he was over her. Obviously.

But…what if it didn’t? Her getting married didn’t mean she was over him. It just meant that a really great guy wanted to make a life with her, a life that would benefit them both and make their families really happy, and she couldn’t think of a good reason not to do it.

Josh would help her. Now that her mom was gone—another stabbing pain caught Allie in the chest, and she had to stop and breathe through it for a moment—her dad and brothers needed her more than ever. Almost too much. Someone had to help her with that and Josh was the perfect one. He knew her family, knew their secrets, knew how to help. And he was
here.
Gavin sure as hell wasn’t.

Yeah. That’s why Josh was the best.

And
everyone
should know that.

Allie pulled her phone from her pocket and thumbed through her contacts. Gavin was the first G. She pressed his name and
Call
and waited for it to ring. She didn’t even know if this was still his number.

It went to voicemail. But it was definitely his voicemail.

His deep, familiar voice swept over her and she felt like crying again.

Then the beep sounded and she got mad again. It was the middle of the night and she was calling him. Shouldn’t he at least be
curious
? If he’d called her she would most definitely be curious. She’d pick up for sure.
If he was screening her calls she was going to be pissed. Not that she would know. But still…

“Gavin,” she said. “This is Allie. I want you to know that you should be here. That’s what I need. You to be here. And I just thought you should know that. And you should know…all the other stuff too.” She felt like she was trying to see through fog. Nothing was clear. She wanted him to know…something. Something about…someone. Who? Crystal? No, he didn’t know Crystal. Maybe it was about her. Yeah, probably. “I want you to know that…” She frowned, wracking her alcohol-soaked brain. The next song started and Whitney Houston’s voice floated over her. Oh, she loved this song. It was old. She remembered it from high school. It was a classic love song, though. She started to sway, the phone still against her ear. She pulled the phone away and stared at it. Gavin. She’d called Gavin.

The man she wished was here, the guy who she wanted to be at the end of the aisle tomorrow.