“Swear to God I have no idea how that number got in my phone, and I’d never, ever f**king ever touch anyone but you,” Preston swore, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me up. “I don’t f**king know that bitch. I just know that’s what Rick called her when I asked him to keep her the hell away from me. She got to my phone somehow. I’ll figure it out, but I need you to believe me. Never, baby. God, I would never do that to you.”

The desperation in his voice as he held me so tightly that it was hard to breathe was all I needed. He was telling me the truth. This was the man I knew. The one who loved me. The one I trusted with my life. My happiness.

He was mine.

“I believe you,” I said, reaching up to touch his long blond locks. “But I can’t breathe.”

His arms loosened a little, and he continued to stand there breathing hard. “Swear to God,” he said again.

“I know,” I assured him.

He was rocking me now as we stood there. I could feel his heart slamming against his chest. This had scared him. All my pain was now replaced with sympathy for him.

“Did Marcus touch you?” I asked, trying to pull back to look more closely at his face, but he wouldn’t give an inch. He buried his face in my neck.

“No. But only because Dewayne and Rock held him back while he yelled.”

“I’m sorry,” I said as I tried to calm him.

“Don’t apologize for this, Manda. This shit was because of me. Not you.” He finally eased back enough to kiss me softly. “Just you, pretty girl,” he said against my mouth.

“I know,” I assured him.

“Gonna marry you, pretty girl.”

I smiled at that reminder. “Yeah.”

“I need you now, pretty girl,” he said as he trailed kisses down my neck and started making quick work of my clothes. “Hate that you’ve been crying. I don’t want you to cry. I hate it. I want you smiling,” he said against my collarbone. “Only crying you need to do ever is my name when you come.”

“Mmmmm,” I agreed as his attention moved to my br**sts , which he was very happy with. He didn’t seem to mind their small size. He made me feel perfect and beautiful.

He was my one.

Preston

My phone had been swiped from the table last week, when I was dancing with Amanda while Rock went to get a beer. The waitress Rick had sent me was a friend of Jill’s, so she did the dirty work. Jill’s plan was to send naughty texts until either Amanda saw it or I called the number, and if I called, she was going to try to talk me into meeting up with her.

The other waitress had sung like a bird when Rick called all the waitresses into the office and asked about it. Jill was fired, and so was the waitress who had helped her.

Marcus no longer wanted to kill me, and we were now back to being happy about becoming family. Not that we weren’t family before. Dewayne, Rock, and Marcus had been my family since second grade.

I hadn’t been allowed to see Manda all day. All damn day. Willow said it was bad luck. I tried telling her that nothing about Manda was bad luck. Willow had laughed at me and gone back to guarding Manda.

The wedding pictures that could be taken without me seeing my bride had been taken, and we had one hour before the wedding started.

I wanted to see my pretty girl. I didn’t like waking up to find a note on the pillow explaining that Willow had come and taken her away in the middle of the night. I wasn’t liking my future sister-in-law very much right now.

“Where are you going?” Dewayne asked with a smirk when I turned down the hall of the chapel toward the bridal room.

“Exactly where you think I’m going,” I told him.

“Just got an hour. Can’t wait until then?” he asked, amused.

“You’re next. When you’re wanting to see Sienna and they won’t let you, you’re gonna need help. You cover for me and I’ll pay you back.”

Dewayne nodded, then chuckled. “Yeah, I got this. Go see your girl.”

That was an easy sale.

I ducked behind the corner when the door to Manda’s room opened. Willow said she needed to go check on Eli and she’d be back soon to help her. Smiling, I waited until Willow was out of sight and I made a run for it.

The knob turned and I slid inside the room, closing the door and locking it behind me.

Amanda sat with her back to me, wearing a white lacy bra and matching panties, and—God help me—she had on a frilly garter belt and thigh highs. Jesus . . .

I must have made a sound because Amanda spun around.

“Preston,” she said in a surprised whisper. Then she started giggling. “Willow will be furious.”

I could give a rat’s ass what Willow was gonna be. “Stand up,” I said as I took the three long strides that got me to my bride.

She stood up, and the shiny white heels I’d missed with all those other things—now I saw them.

“How the f**k am I gonna get through the ceremony knowing you look like that underneath?”

She shrugged playfully. “Maybe that’s why you weren’t supposed to see me.”

That was bullshit. I didn’t like that rule at all.

“Manda, you’re wearing a thong,” I said as her ass cheeks flashed me.

She nodded.

“Sit on that table,” I said, stalking her as she backed up and sat down on the table behind her.

“Now, pretty girl, spread those legs for me,” I demanded, and she did exactly as I told her.

“Put those heels up on the table, but keep those thighs open wide.”

My bride did just like she was told. Grinning, I went down on my knees, watching her face while I did it. She had known while I was telling her what to do exactly what I was planning on doing to her. She wanted it.

I had a naughty bride. “When my pretty girl walks down that aisle toward me wearing white, her thighs will be wet from my mouth,” I said, then pulled the thong aside and began tasting the sweetest candy in the world.

“Preston,” she moaned, reaching for my head. Her hands grabbed fistfuls of my hair. I glanced up at her—her knees up high, legs wide open, arms reaching down to hold my head between her thighs—and it was the most f**king erotic thing any groom had ever seen on his wedding day.

“Sweet pu**y,” I said with a smile, and she watched me with her mouth open. Those lips of hers had been perfectly painted the pink I’d helped her decide on. I wasn’t going to mess that up until I got to kiss her in front of everyone.

There was a knock at the door, and her eyes went wide as her attention shifted from me to the door.

“It’s locked,” I assured her.

“But—”

I didn’t give her a chance to stop me. I played dirty and began sucking on her cl*t like a lollipop.

Her eyes rolled back in her head, and she kept her hands on my head to hold me there.

“Yes, yes, yes, there, just . . . like . . . that,” she panted, then squealed as she tried to keep from being loud.

I lapped at her until she laughed and pushed me back.

Grinning up at her, I wiped my mouth on my sleeve and stood up.

“Don’t clean that up. I want to say my vows knowing how wet you are. That little slip of satin you’re calling panties is drenched. I like it.”

Amanda was gasping for breath.

“Oh, for GOD’S SAKE! Preston, you have the rest of your lives for that!” Willow called through the door.

Amanda started giggling again.

“I get to taste you all night,” I said, licking my lips. “Before the reception I’m gonna need to f**k my wife.”

She puckered her lips like she was thinking, then sighed. “I guess I can manage letting my sexy husband have his way with me before we go dance and celebrate.”

“That’s good to hear,” I said, then pressed a simple kiss to her nose so as not to mess up her makeup. “I’ll let you get dressed. See you in a few. I’ll be the handsome guy at the end of the aisle. Come get me.”

Amanda

Preston blew me a kiss, then opened the door and walked out.

“I can’t believe you,” Willow said to him as she walked past him into the room.

Preston shrugged, and Willow burst out laughing.

When she closed him out of the room, she turned to look at me. “I guess if a bride is going to have wild, hot sex with her groom minutes before the wedding, it would be Preston Drake’s bride,” she said, then shook her head and laughed again.

“I’d say I’m sorry I let him stay, but . . . I’d be lying.”

“I know you would. I walked up on the end of that and heard enough to know I didn’t want to stand too close to the door. I backed up and kept everyone else away. You can thank me later for saving your mother the horror of hearing you get off.”

My face flushed and Willow laughed. “Girl, it is too late for blushing now.” She turned and got my dress, which I had taken off after pictures so I could use the restroom and touch up my makeup. “Time to get this back on you. It’s almost time for you to marry Sea Breeze’s very own reformed playboy.”

Oh, he was still a playboy. He was just my playboy.

I lifted my arms and let Willow drop the dress over my body.

“Sadie, Eva, Trisha, and Jess are all ready to go line up. I made sure before I left them to come back and check on you.

“Thank you.” I wasn’t sure how I would have done all this without Willow. My mother had her hands full with my little sister, Larissa. The idea of that just made me happy.

Willow had stepped up and been the best matron of honor on the planet. My maid of honor was Sadie, but Willow had left Sadie to take care of the bridesmaids while she took care of me.

“You’re welcome. I loved being a part of this,” she said, smiling at me in the mirror. “Let’s go do this thing.”

Larissa met me in a dress full of white tulle as I opened the door. “You look like a princess,” I told her as she spun around for me.

“Daisy May has a dress just like mine. Just like you said.” She beamed at me.

“I’m sure you both will be the prettiest princesses these people have ever seen.”

Larissa held up her basket. “It’s empty. Daisy May is keeping my petals until it’s time. I kept spilling ’em on accident. She didn’t want me to lose them, so she said she’d keep ’em for me.”

“Come with me. I’ll get you and Daisy May ready to walk down the aisle, and you can toss those petals all you want then. Just wait until it’s time,” Willow said, grinning at me as she moved Larissa back to the lineup.

The bridesmaids had already started to head inside as the music played. Sadie smiled at me. “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you.”

Her eyes flashed with humor and she leaned close to me. “Is it true you had a little pre-wedding activity?”

I blushed again. Apparently, they all knew what had happened.

“Figured it was. You are marrying Preston Drake, after all,” she said, then turned to walk through the doors.

“Girls, you two go once you see me get to the front,” Willow told them, and they both nodded.

“I got this,” Daisy May informed her.

I bit back a laugh. She really did know what she was doing. She’d done this a few times already.

Daisy May nudged Larissa. “Your turn. I’ll be behind you.”

Larissa shot me a toothless grin and headed down the aisle too fast, and she tossed all her flowers out before she got halfway there. But she was happy and adorable.

My dad walked up beside me and held out his arm.

“He makes you happy, right?” he said, staring down at me.

“Yes, Daddy. More than anything in the world.”

He nodded. “Then it’s time I gave you away.”

I patted his arm and held on as we walked toward the man of my dreams waiting on me.

Jason and Jess from Misbehaving

Jess

I stood in the mirror and looked at my stomach. It was at that point where I looked fat but not yet pregnant. I was not liking this phase of pregnancy. My boobs were bigger, and Jason loved that. Until today I hadn’t minded. I loved knowing I was carrying Jason Stone’s baby.

He had classes all day, and I wanted to surprise him at lunch. But when I texted him, he said he had to go to the library and get some research pulled from some blah, blah, blah stuff I didn’t understand.

By the time he had responded to my text, I was already on the Harvard campus and had to turn back home. Girls my age in tight tops and cute little skirts were all over the place. They were all smart and brilliant like Jason.

They looked like everything I wasn’t, and I hated them. I hated that he was there every day with girls like this. I was at home, pregnant, taking online college courses because my nausea had kept me from actually attending college in person.

While I’m at home, he’s here living this life of a college guy, seeing everything I took away from him. Tears welled up in my eyes as I stared at my own image in the mirror in front of me. I was ruining his life. I was nothing like what he deserved. I had my body and looks before, but now I was losing that. And what did I have to even compete with those girls?

I had nothing. I was exactly what his mother said: a weight around his neck.

“Jess, baby, are you crying?”

I jerked my head up to see Jason coming in the bedroom door, moving directly toward me with a purposeful stride. Seeing him dressed in his white oxford shirt and slacks, looking like one of those elite people I will never be, sent my tears into a full-blown sob.

I hadn’t made friends here because no one liked me. I wasn’t like them. I was different. Jason had even distanced himself from his friends at school, and I knew why. They didn’t like me. I wasn’t classy and rich.