LOVE on The Horizon (Breaking The Rules #1) (27 page)

“Marco, is she drunk?” my father asked, causing another fit of giggles.

“No, sir. Um…I really don’t know what she’s talking about. What she wanted to say was…” He paused and I actually heard him gulp a loud swallow in his throat. I’d left my poor husband with the horrible task of breaking our news.

Sobering at the possibility my daydream could end up being real, I reached over and placed a hand on his thigh, stopping him from continuing. The look of relief on his face almost had me cracking up all over again.

“Okay, sorry. What I was about to say is Marco and I are married.”

“I knew it,” Cooper announced with a huge smile. “I saw the rings,” he added proudly. “That’s awesome, Becks! I’m so happy for you guys.”

My hopeless romantic of a brother instantly crossed the room to pull me into his arms, making me feel a tiny bit of optimism. I loved this man so much, and I wished my other brother had an ounce of the sensitivity Coop possessed. He sloppily kissed my cheek much the same way he would when we were kids, making me forget the other five sets of eyes that were still staring, dumbstruck.

I snuck a glance around the room as Cooper congratulated Marco, officially welcoming him to the family. So far one point for the positive members of my family, five points for the pessimists.

“Without us?” My mom was the first to speak of the opposing team.

“It was a very simple ceremony on the beach,” I explained. “We both agreed it made sense now, and we plan on having a vow renewal with a reception once our business is up and running.”

“But that could be years away.”

“Then pretend we are on a long engagement.” Knowing my mom, she was more focused on all the traditions I robbed her of rather than the fact we were actually married.

With the visual of the flying angel still fresh in my mind, I was determined to immediately kill any negativity thrown at us. My dad stared down at his slipper-clad feet, refusing to make eye contact.

Janis and Dean congratulated us next, causing my mom to reluctantly do so as well making the score now — four to two.

Déjà vu to our first visit, and the tension that continued to circulate around us was at my dad and brother Sam’s doing.

Screw them,
I thought and another giggle escaped.

Marco leaned over and asked, “Have you lost your mind?”

“Nope.” I raised my chin defiantly, smiling at my apprehensive husband.

“Let’s see!” Janis said, grabbing my hand. “Oh, it’s so pretty and classic. I love it. Do you have pictures of the day?”

God love my sister, who was the female version of Coop. I retrieved my phone and showed my mother and sister the pictures Ricky insisted on taking, flipping through them as they both oohed and aahed through tears.

As I did, I alternated glances toward my dad and Sam. The two were seriously engaged in some kind of internal battle. I could literally predict their inner dialogue as they decided whether to freak out or not.

Dad stood and walked over, causing my mom and sister to step away dramatically. He stood directly in front of me, staring at me with a mixture of…

Before I could put my finger on it, he pulled me into a crushing hug and said, “Every single new gray hair on my head is thanks to you, Becks. So, thank you for that.”

“You’re welcome?” I said through my happy tears.

Score — five to one.

My eyes connected with Sam’s, waiting to see which reaction he would choose.

The room quieted, Sam slowly walked closer, and Sinatra’s voice filled the dead air as we waited for my brother to react.

“You’re making a mistake, Becks,” he said quietly.

“I’m not, Sam. When you know, you know. You’ll see that someday.”

“What do you mean?” my mom asked squeakily. “He’s about to marry Ginny.”

“He knows what I mean.” I eyed my brother, and a look of complete and utter confusion crossed over his features. I waited for him to process my insinuation, and I could literally see the light bulb go off inside his head.

He turned his gaze to Marco, and in slow motion, I watched his arm reach toward my husband.

My heart stopped beating as I waited for the punch to land on my Marco’s face.

Shit, he’s gonna hit me
.

My mind tried to warn me, but I wasn’t listening. In the millisecond it took for his arm to reach me, I had plenty of time to duck or even beat him to the punch. But instead, I stood frozen, waiting to accept his retaliation for Thanksgiving like a man.

Time suspended, voices hushed, lights stopped twinkling, and Christmas music halted.

That was until Sam’s arm circled my neck in an affectionate chokehold, and he said, “Welcome to the family.”

In a dreamlike state, I watched her entire family react to Sam’s reaction.

Congratulations, hugs, kisses, champagne bottles popping all filled the room with a noise level that could easily compete with one of my family’s Sunday dinners in Florence. The worst was over, and now I could move forward with my new bride into our happily ever after.

Rebecca circled her arms around my waist, looked up into my eyes, and said, “Merry Christmas, my husband. Thank you for forcing me to do this.”

I kissed her nose, reciprocating her wide smile, and said, “Merry Christmas, my wife…and you’re welcome.”

And then we both watched in shock as the Christmas tree fell over.

Why must I do everything around here?

The lovebirds were seriously getting on my nerves. I get it, they were in love, blah, blah, blah… But we had a friggin’ ship to run, and a shitload still to do!

Everything I worked toward was coming to fruition today.

It was the maiden voyage of
Bella Viaggi
.

Our baby. One year almost to the date since we signed our lives away.

After the holidays, life became a whirlwind. Thanks to me, Rebecca and Marco made peace with her family. When Marco shared his idea of surprising Rebecca with a trip to Jersey last Christmas, I urged him to do it. He was right; she needed to relieve herself of the guilt she carried, and that was the only way. Their trip turned out to be a success, and even her brother Sam behaved himself. Although, Rebecca shared he still didn’t trust Marco. I kept that to myself. No need to upset my ex-boss with trivial nonsense like Sam being a prick.

Regarding the Puglias, again thanks to me, they finally woke up and smelled the coffee. That bitch Clara had them snowed for far too long. One call to Gianni and her jig was up. He accused them of losing their minds, reminding them of the evil things Clara did, from sleeping with one of Marco’s closest friends to digging up dirt on Rebecca.

Once they all received the proverbial smack in the head, with his sister Isabella getting the hardest smack of them all, I arranged a huge Skype chat where Marco and Rebecca were able to share news of their marriage. His family reacted just as Rebecca’s had, with stunned silence. By the end of the call, they were back to yelling animatedly while sending their congratulations and best wishes over the screen. Marco and Rebecca had promised they’d visit soon, but with all that was going on, they simply couldn’t make the trip back to Florence during this past year.

Enter Ricky…

My business partners had no clue what I arranged to happen today. And let me tell you, it wasn’t fucking easy. Besides all that I had to handle regarding our debut in the luxury cruising world, I also arranged for an entire fucking wedding to occur tomorrow. Sometimes I seriously had to question my intellect. Why the hell did I put myself in such situations? Who had time for a love life when every waking moment was spent being the puppet master who worked everyone’s strings?

I flitted through each stateroom, ensuring everything was just perfect. The guests had no idea they were attending a wedding, the bride and groom had no idea they were hosting a wedding, and I really needed a nap…a long one…like a month-long while lounging on a beach in Hawaii. Oh, and a raise.

After my inspection of the cabins, I flew through the galley with a critical eye. Everything gleamed in preparation for our debut. Marching myself into the dining room had pride swelling in my already puffed out chest. Uniforms were starched crisply, crystal and china were set out on small, romantic tables for two, the smell of wood varnish hung in the air, and the sound of classical music filtered through the speakers. Our baby was beautiful, tasteful, elegant, but most importantly ours.

We were ready.

The
Bella Viaggi
was a beauty, truly a vision. We’d chosen well, although we didn’t have many options to choose from. The day we signed the papers was a day I wouldn’t soon forget. All the casual discussions, the hesitant mentions, and even the late-night panic attacks were all worth the trouble.

She was ours and she was gorgeous.

We decided once we had several months of smooth sailing, we’d hire a management staff to take over, enabling us to have somewhat of a life. Until then, this big beautiful mega yacht would be our home.

I missed sailing and looked forward to running things my way, our way, without some corporate suit telling us we couldn’t, or without some twat like Dina causing problems.

I quickly glanced at my watch, finding we had minutes before boarding began. Where the hell were they?

Circling the deck in a harried, frantic manner, I saw them standing at the bow wrapped around each other.

Did these two ever stop?

“Hey! Can you separate long enough to help me welcome our guests?”

Rebecca turned her gaze toward me as I stormed across the deck. “Sorry, Ricky. I was just telling Marco something.”

“Well, tell him later. We have to be on the gangway in three minutes.”

Marco grinned widely, unfazed by my ire. “Did you remember to finally print the guest roster? We’ve only been asking you for days. I’d like to greet our guests by name.”

I had stalled long enough. It was time to let them in on my secret. As I pulled the roster from the inside of my suit pocket, my eyes focused on Marco’s hands. He stood behind Rebecca, with his arms wrapped around her and his hands placed possessively on her…

“You’re pregnant?” I shrieked.

She nodded with a smile as tears pooled in her eyes. “Surprise!”

I rushed toward them, pulling them both into a crushing hug. “When?”

“August.”

She was brand-new pregnant. “What a wonderful Christmas gift,” I said out loud.

“I know.” Marco beamed, kissing her on the cheek.

“I meant for me. If it’s a boy, Ricky. If it’s a girl, Rikki—with two k’s.”

They exchanged a look before Marco said, “Um, we’ll see.” He held out his hand for the roster that I had forgotten in mine.

Releasing his wife, he scanned the paper and frowned. “What’s this?”

“The roster.”

“Ellen and Kevin Stanton, Griffin and Lily Stanton, Janis and Dean Tanner, Cooper Stanton and guest, Sam Stanton and guest.” Rebecca’s eyes bulged as she snatched the roster away from Marco.

“Lina and Vito Puglia…” She continued, until she completed the names for the rest of Marco’s family plus my mother.

“That’s right. Surprise!” Confused, they continued to gawk at me as they processed what I had done. “Your families are our maiden voyage. Oh, and by the way, you’re getting remarried tomorrow.” I flashed the biggest, cheesiest grin I could muster, just in case they weren’t feeling the same excitement I was.

Rebecca slowly put a hand over her mouth. “I can’t believe you did this.”

“Consider it my wedding gift…a year late.”

“Ricky.” Marco shook his head from side to side. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Say thank you. And move your ass. It’s time to welcome our guests.”

As we quickly made our way to the gangway, Rebecca suddenly stopped short, causing a pileup between us.

“
Bella
, what’s wrong?”

She looked at her husband in a daze and said, “We need to tell them we’re pregnant. They’re going to freak out!”

And the crazy-ass cycle continued…

The End

Stay tuned for Sam Stanton’s story in

Hostile Workplace, A Breaking the Rules Novel

…and a novella on Ricky Burrows as well as Cooper’s book all coming in 2016.

This book came to be because of my parents, how they met, and the fact they are celebrating their fiftieth anniversary this year. I am a hopeless romantic and I believe I’m a product of where I come from. So, Mom, Dad, thank you for making me who I am, a romance junkie who loves everything about love.

Wow, this is book number eight for me! Crazy!!!

I want to thank my family. I say this at every release, but they have sacrificed the most, yet they continue to cheer me on. I love my three men more than anything on earth. I’m blessed to have them in my life, and in my corner. J~A~R you are my lifelines.

My beta readers, my chicks, my hos, my backstage chicks, and my groupies have all become a huge presence in my life. Some I’ve met, others I haven’t yet. I feel as if I’ve known you ladies for years and years. We chat daily, we have fun, laugh, and lift each other up. I am so fortunate to have met you, and I love you all very much.

Angel, we are #boundforlife. #non-negotiable.

Mia sorella, JoJo, te amo.

Sommer Stein ~ Cover Artist, you made a cover I fell in love with the moment I saw it. It represents Marco and Rebecca perfectly. Thank you!

Lisa Hollett ~ Editor, you’re awesome! #Cantleaveme.

Brenda Wright ~ Formatter, thank you for once again adding your finishing touches before it’s off to publishing. Love when I say, “Okay, all done.” And you respond with “Whew.” xo

Thank you to my Ena at Enticing Journey, Kiki and Ruth at Next Step PR, and Rosa Sharon for plowing through my books and giving me some of the best reviews I’ve ever received. I’m so happy I found you all.

So, I’ve said this before, and I’ll keep mentioning it with every release. The indie community is growing by leaps and bounds on a daily basis. Readers who once loved jumping into a great book are now writing their own great books. Bloggers who once supported authors are now authors needing support themselves. We are all intertwined in this awesome world of romance. Let’s keep it real, let’s be supportive, let’s build each other up and not tear each other down. There’s room for everyone, and we all need to play nice in the sandbox.

You, as readers, have one job and that is to support your favorite authors. Contact us, talk to us, and let us know you’re there. I, for one, appreciate each and every email, tweet, or private message I receive. I respond to each one. Your most important job as a reader is to leave a review. It’s very important to a self-published indie author, and it’s what gets us noticed. So, after you’ve read a book, please take a few moments and leave a review. It’s the single best way to thank your authors.

xoxo

A.M.