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  Contents

  Title Page

  The Bride’s Party

  The Groom’s Party

  The Wedding

  WELCOME TO FOREVER, STARTING TODAY

  (Exclusive content for Book 1 readers)

  Annie Rains

  The Bride’s Party.

  Kat Chandler lay in bed under the pretense of sleep. She needed the rest—purple shadows didn’t go well with white lace—but she couldn’t sleep for a myriad of reasons. Today was her wedding day. She’d planned the whole thing in a month, which was not ideal. A bride who’d taken a year to plan might suffer insomnia the night before her vows, hoping everything was just right. A month? Kat was sure that nothing was going to be perfect.

  Except the groom, Micah. And his adorable son, Ben. They were perfect, and that’s all that mattered today.

  She got up and moved through her home, careful not to wake her sister Julie, who was her temporary roommate these days. Temporary because after today, Kat would be moving in with her new husband, and there would be little sleep for a different reason.

  A smile crossed her lips. Childlike giddiness rode up through her belly.

  “I’m getting married today,” she whispered to herself, patting her hand over her quickly beating heart. “I’m really getting married.”

  “Damn straight.”

  Kat whirled to meet her sister in the dark kitchen. “You’re up.”

  “I’m the maid of honor. It’s my job to stick with you every second, to make sure this day is absolutely perfect. You deserve perfect.” Julie turned the lights on, illuminating the small kitchen. “Sit,” she said, pointing to the dining room table. “I’ll brew the coffee.”

  An hour later, after coffee, breakfast, and the arrival of her best friend Val, Kat began the methodic rituals of a bride on her wedding day. There was hair, make-up, manicures and pedicures. On such short notice, she was lucky to be able to book the best in town—not that the small town of Seaside, North Carolina had many options. Micah had proposed at the beginning of spring when he’d gotten home from his last deployment, and they’d both decided that they wanted to start their happily-ever-after as soon as possible. Ben was in the third grade and his mother had been in and out of his life, serving on her own deployments for years. Ben needed stability. And Kat, well, she’d learned a long time ago that you could plan as much as you like and things could still fall to pieces; she wasn’t willing to wait.

  “Today is going to be the happiest day of your life,” Julie said, reaching for Kat’s hand as they sat beside each other. The living room had been turned into a make-shift salon. All of the dining room chairs were arranged across the floor with long mirrors propped in front of them. Upbeat music streamed through Kat’s sound system, putting everyone in a feel-good mood.

  “And the weather is supposed to be all sunshine. There’s less than a five percent chance of showers.” Kat adjusted one of the metallic curlers bound tightly to her head.

  “Wedding day perfection,” Julie said.

  The doorbell rang and all the women in the room turned and stared. Everyone who needed to be here had already arrived. .

  Val pointed a finger at Kat. “You stay put. I’ll get it. If it’s Micah, I’ll shoo him away.”

  “You don’t have to,” Kat objected and started to stand.

  “If the groom sees the bride before the ceremony, it’s bad luck,” Val told her, with her own dark hair bound to her head by curlers and bobby pins. They looked ready for one of their crazy sleepovers that they still enjoyed every now and then.

  Val crossed the room and opened the door just a crack to shield the visitor from seeing the rest of the wedding party. “Awww! That’s so sweet. Thank you so much,” she said to the person standing behind the door.

  Kat and Julie exchanged a questioning look. Then Val turned back to them holding a crystal vase full of red roses.

  “Are those for me?” Kat stood and went to read the card.

  “Who do you think they’re for, silly? No bridesmaid would dare allow someone to send her flowers on the bride’s wedding day.”

  Julie laughed. “That would be grounds for immediate removal from the bridal party.”

  Val tapped her chin with a manicured finger. “I still think I’d make an awesome maid-of-honor. Maybe I should send you flowers,” she told Julie. “Get you bumped from that position so I can nab it.”

  “I’m Kat’s sister,” Julie said, feigning a look of annoyance. This was the hallmark of her and Val’s friendship, teasing and pretending to only tolerate the other. “I was born with maid-of-honor privileges.”

  Kat looked between her sister and best friend and wiped a tear from her eye.

  Jasmine, the make-up artist, hurried over with a box of Kleenex. “If you cry you’ll smudge your mascara,” she warned.

  Julie laid a hand on Kat’s shoulder. “You okay?”

  Kat smiled, handing the flowers’ card to her sister to read. “I’m fine. Wonderful, actually.”

  Julie looked down at the small rectangular card in her hand and read aloud. “To the woman I love. Forever starts today and I can’t wait to spend it with you.”

  All the women in the room made a collective sigh.

  Forever started today and Kat couldn’t wait to spend it with Micah, either.

  The Groom’s Party.

  Micah wasn’t nervous—not at all. He looked out the window of the dressing quarters in the church. A few minutes ago the sun had illuminated everything perfectly. Now there were clouds gathering. They’d seemed to pop out of nowhere, which was the norm on the coast of North Carolina. The weather could be a bit fickle. By the time he stood with Kat in front of the preacher, though, he was sure it’d be beautiful outside again.

  “Dad?” Ben maneuvered his wheelchair into the dressing quarters of the church, already dressed in a little tux. He was so grown up these days. How had that happened?

  “Yeah, buddy? What’s up?”

  Ben lifted an arm to sweep away a lock of hair from his eyes. He’d gotten a haircut for the wedding, but his hair always seemed overgrown and out of place. “I want to stand during the wedding ceremony. My wheelchair might mess everything up.”

  Micah turned and looked at his son. “Why would your wheelchair mess things up?”

  “It’s big. What if I run over someone’s foot again, like I did at the rehearsal dinner last night?”

  “Just watch where you’re going.” Micah grinned, hoping Ben would catch it. His son frowned instead.

  “I want to stand. I’m your best man and I should stand up beside you.”

  Micah nodded, considering his son’s feelings. He’d always put his son first and that would never change. The fact that Kat got that and insisted it stay true was one of the many things he loved about his bride-to-be. “Okay. When it’s time, you wheel yourself to the gazebo. We’ll park the chair off to the side and you can stand for the ceremony.” Ben had high muscle tone in his legs and low endurance. Standing for a few minutes for him was the equivalent of running a marathon for Micah. “How’s that?”

  Ben’s lips finally curved upward. “That’s good.”

  Micah rustled a hand through Ben’s dark hair. “It’s just been us for a long time, buddy. Might be strange to have a woman around.”

  “We’ve already discussed this, Dad. I can’t wait for Miss Kat to move in. It’s going to be so cool.”

  “Yeah.” Micah swallowed the swell of emotion rising through his throat. He was so proud of his son. “It will definitely be cool.”

  His phone buzzed in his pocket with an incoming t
ext. Lawson Phillips had been Micah’s best friend for years. He should be standing with him today, too. But military life wasn’t always convenient. Lawson had been on deployment this past winter as well. Instead of coming home, however, he’d gotten a one-way ticket to a Veteran’s hospital in Virginia. His injuries were minor, considering some of the other crew who’d been in his accident hadn’t made it out with their lives, but still enough to keep him away for Micah and Kat’s wedding.

  I wish I could be there, Lawson’s text read.

  Micah tapped a response into his cell phone. You’re here in spirit, man. Take care of yourself.

  Another incoming text came in before Micah could stuff his phone back into his pocket. This one from his father.

  I’m proud of you, son. See you at noon.

  Hell, if that didn’t make Micah’s throat tighten again. The old man had Everest high expectations. He was hard to make proud and didn’t usually relay his feelings—not the positive ones at least. Maybe today was a turning point for everyone.

  The wedding.

  So far so good. Nothing had gone wrong. Maybe rushed wedding planning was the way to go, Kat thought, stiffly seated on a cushioned chair in the bride’s quarters of the church. She was afraid to move too much and wrinkle her satin dress. Or worse, trip, fall, and rip a giant hole in it.

  “Problem!” Val said, storming into the room.

  Kat turned toward the group of women surrounding her. “What problem?” she asked, heart suddenly racing. The ceremony was set to take place in five minutes. There was no room for problems.

  “Clouds are moving in on your perfect day. We’ve got to get this show on the road.”

  Kat shook her head. “But the forecast said there was a minimal chance of rain.”

  “Weathermen screw up predictions sometimes. They’re not psychics,” Julie said. “Maybe it'll hold off until the ceremony is over.”

  Kat pulled the curtain back to look out on the crowd of guests already seated outside. The pale pink and white flower arrangements were perfect. The frame of the gazebo could barely be seen through all the flowers and ribbons. It looked like something out of a bridal magazine. The inside of the church wasn’t prepared for a wedding at all.

  Kat’s gaze caught on Micah, who took his place under the gazebo. Ben slowly stood out of his wheelchair and took his place beside him. He’d mentioned to her yesterday at the rehearsal dinner that he wanted to stand by his dad today. With his cerebral palsy, it took so much effort just to stand for a few minutes.

  “My weather app says the rain is about to break loose,” Julie said, holding up her cell phone.

  “It’s not a problem. I'll tell my father to move the wedding party inside the church," Val said calmly, heading toward the door. Pastor Hunt was a prominent preacher in Seaside and had agreed to ordain the vows.

  Kat shook her head, turning back to look at them. “No. That'll take too long. Ben is probably exhausted already.”

  “Well, he can sit in his wheelchair,” Julie suggested.

  Kat shook her head again, watching her husband and stepson-to-be through the window. “Does anyone have an umbrella?” she asked. All the women in the room shook their heads. The forecast had been for sunshine. No one came prepared for rain.

  “By the looks of those clouds, it's about to pour. There is no way you'll get through your vows without getting soaked,” Val said. “What about your hair and makeup?”

  “Ben wants to stand and Micah and I agreed to always put his needs first. If we move the wedding party inside and push things back even another ten minutes, he might not have the energy to make it through the ceremony. This means a lot to him.”

  Which meant that it meant a lot to her, too.

  Julie and Val looked at each other.

  “I'm your maid of honor,” Julie said. “If you get wet, so do I.”

  “I think there’s an umbrella in Dad’s office. We’ll hold it over you if it starts to rain,” Val said. She hurried out of the room and returned with a large blue umbrella that totally didn’t go with the wedding’s color scheme at all. “Okay! Let's go brave that storm!”

  Kat had braved enough storms, though. This was a cakewalk down the aisle that would make her Mrs. Katherine Peterson. She could hardly wait.

  They headed outside as the clouds darkened and the Wedding March began to stream through the speakers. Kat’s eyes locked on Micah's at the front of the gazebo. She focused on him, placing one heeled foot in front of the other—praying all the way that she wouldn’t trip—until she was standing directly in front of him.

  A raindrop hit her cheek. Or maybe it was a happy tear. As Pastor Hunt went through the words that would legally bind them together, Kat thought through the moments that had already done so in her heart. She loved this man with every cell in her body.

  “I do,” she said, without hesitation when Pastor Hunt asked if she took this man to be her lawfully wedded husband. The words leapt from her mouth, and not because she was in a hurry to get to shelter.

  “I do, too,” Micah said, squeezing her hands as he held onto them. His eyes were shining with so many emotions. She didn’t have to wonder if he was as happy as her in this moment. It was evident in the way he was looking at her, like there was nowhere else in the world he’d rather be.

  Pulling her to him, he brushed his lips against hers in their first kiss as husband and wife. Her body melted against his. Then the clouds broke loose. Kat could hear people in the crowd begin to hurry toward the church, squealing and shrieking. She didn't pull away from the kiss immediately, though. She and Micah were sheltered by the flowers on the gazebo and the umbrella that Val popped over their heads. A little rain wouldn't stop her from enjoying this moment, one she’d thought might never come.

  “Use the umbrella and help Ben get inside,” Kat said, turning to Val and Julie. “We’re fine.”

  Her sister and friend nodded, then did as she asked, leaving her and Micah alone.

  “They say rain on your wedding day is good luck,” Micah whispered against her lips.

  “I'm already the luckiest woman alive. And tonight, Mr. Peterson, you're going to get very lucky, too.”

  Micah raised an eyebrow. “Let's get inside then, shall we? You’re a little wet and I need to help you dry off. I’m sure the guests will understand if we disappear for a few minutes and go, uh, take care of that.” His hands anchored along her waist, pulling her body gently against his. His every touch turned her on. She guessed it’d be the same, or stronger, a hundred years from now.

  Removing his tux jacket, he held it over her head to shelter her. Then they ran through the rain toward the church, and a life together that started today. Their forever started from this moment on, and Kat couldn’t wait.

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  Annie Rains, Welcome to Forever, Starting Today

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