Always and Forever Read online

  Drew Reynolds asked Ryan out but she was afraid she’d be too loud for him since he’s so shy. I told her opposites attract and to have fun. She called me the night of their date after he’d taken her home and told me they decided to just be friends because he was just too quiet for her.

  I’ve scheduled Darby to work thirty hours a week which thrilled her. I’m thrilled too because it means I get to have a few evenings off every week.

  Today is Valentine’s Day and tonight we’re going to the VD Bash that Mags and Jen put on. They started this about five years ago where people make reservations to have dinner at Mags’ then go a few doors down for a party at Jen’s. Patty’s Petals jumped in with them a year later giving people the option to have flowers or candy sent to their Valentine.

  I’m excited to give Brody his presents one of which is the usual silly pair of boxer briefs that are black with red hearts on them. But his real gift is the two tickets to an Orioles game along with hotel accommodations for him and two others, be it Kade and Jeremy or whoever he wants to take. I know he’s going to be so excited.

  I’m dressed in the cutest outfit for tonight which is a strapless scarlet dress that hits me mid-thigh with a sweetheart neckline that has a thick, glittery red belt sewn to it. The best part is the red tulle under the skirt that makes it really poof out. I’m wearing my matching scarlet satin stilettos that will add five inches to my height so my head will be right at Brody’s chin. I’ve got my hair pinned up in a messy bun, so it might add another inch. Whoopee.

  “Damn,” Brody says at the door of my bathroom. I look at his reflection in the mirror as I put on the deep red lipstick that’s just right for my coloring. A lot of red shades clash with my strawberry blond hair but this one was picked by Ryan for me specifically. When I finish applying it, I turn to look at him and suck in a breath.

  “Damn yourself. You look hot!”

  He grins and holds the lapels of the dark blue suit he’s wearing and attempts to model for me which makes me laugh. The white shirt underneath with a tie that’s a darker blue than the suit looks excellent on him. A black belt and black shoes finish his look. My word, my man is handsome.

  “Thanks. You always look hot but tonight you look especially gorgeous,” he says, coming into the bathroom and leaning down to kiss my bare shoulder which makes me shiver.

  “Brody Kelly, you stop this instant before I’m tempted to throw you on the floor and have my way with you hence messing up our outfits not to mention making us late to dinner.” I point a finger at his reflection in the mirror as he stands behind me.

  He holds up his hands in surrender. “Far be it from me to make us late for Mags’ roast beef.”

  “Where’ve you been?” I ask as I use a brush to dust powder over my face. He’d left a couple hours ago telling me he needed to see a horse about a man making me give him a weird face at which he’d chuckled.

  “Had to take care of some business.” He waggles his eyebrows at me and I shake my head as I look at him in the mirror.

  “So mysterious.”

  “That’s me, mystery man. You ‘bout ready?” He grins into the mirror at me.

  I finish with the powder then smile at him and tell him, “I am. Let’s go!”

  ~~~

  We’re seated at a table for two and have already placed our orders. Mags has gone all out this year with the decorations. Everything’s either red or pink and glittery or sparkly.

  “Looks like Russell Stover threw up in here,” Brody remarks before taking a drink of his beer.

  This makes me laugh. “God, I so totally love you,” I announce.

  His eyes go warm as he looks at me but there’s also a bit of wicked intent in them which is just Brody. It’s how he’s always been, easygoing but there’s always just a bit of orneriness behind his sweet smile.

  “Back atcha, gorgeous,” he says and raises his beer mug out to me. I pick up my wine glass and hold it out to him, clinking it against his mug when he says, “To us. Always and forever.”

  Dinner is fantastic, as was to be expected, and after we thank Mags for it, we walk hand-in-hand down to Jen’s. Once inside, we see that Jen, too, has covered every available space in Valentine décor but she’s added streamers and balloons to the mix.

  “I see Russell Stover’s brother, Whitman’s did a drive-by upchuck,” Brody comments making me laugh yet again.

  We find Ryan and Drew (yes, she agreed to go out with him “just one more time”) and sit at their table. Brody helps me up on my barstool because my heels are a bit hard to maneuver in.

  “What’s up, you lovely people?” Ryan asks.

  “What’s up with you, beautiful people?” I say right back with a laugh because they do look great together. She’s wearing her blond hair down in soft curls and has done her hazel eyes in dramatic evening shades. She’s wearing the forest green, clingy, very short and very low V-necked dress she bought on a shopping spree we made to Richmond right after Christmas. It looks fabulous on her, making her look like the model that she once was and should still be. Her four-inch black stiletto pumps make her almost as tall as Drew but she loves her height and never shies away from heels of any length.

  Drew has on a black suit over a white shirt that he wears casually with no tie and unbuttoned. His blond hair is spiked and he looks very hot.

  “You two look like movie stars,” I gush.

  Ryan bursts out laughing and looks at Drew whose face is turning every shade of red. “Who should we be, Drew? Bogey and Bacall? No, wait, he had dark hair.”

  “I, uh, don’t know who that is,” he replies and she stares at him as do I. “What?” he asks, his face turning an even darker red.

  Ryan looks at me, all, See? as if proving her point about him. I snort and look up at Brody who looks down at me, amusement on his face.

  “Who would we be?” he asks me.

  I look back at Ryan. “Who would we be?”

  “Hm. Actresses who’re redheads. Nicole Kidman and…”

  “Swear to fuck, you say Tom Cruise…” Brody warns.

  There’s an impish glimmer in Ryan’s eyes and I wait for her to say it but she surprises me and answers, “Keith Urban.” She looks at me. “He’s been through enough shit lately. Thought I’d cut him a break.” She winks at Brody then grabs Drew’s arm. “Let’s go dance!” and pulls him toward the dance floor as he looks back at us with a desperate look on his face.

  Brody snorts. “He’d better be careful. She just might find she likes bossing him around and decide to keep him.”

  Everything’s going great. Cassie and Jeremy stop by to say hi and Kade and Amelia join us. Before Cassie and Jeremy go, we all share a toast of the free champagne that Jen’s is serving. Around eleven o’clock, we hear a commotion out on the dance floor and I hear Brody and Kade mutter a “Fuck” in unison then they both run toward the floor.

  “What in the world?” I ask Amelia who shakes her head, as clueless as I am. And that’s when I hear Ryan scream out a “Hey!” I hop off my barstool, which isn’t pretty, mind you, and push my way through the crowd.

  Ryan and Drew have been dancing almost the entire time because, well, Ryan loves to dance. And she’s good at it but she can also get a little dirty while she’s at it. Right before the disturbance, Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It” was playing and I can only imagine the moves she was making to it.

  “I said back the fuck off,” I hear Drew warn and look over to see him in Mike’s face when I get by the people standing floor side.

  Shit! I mean, I’m entirely impressed that Drew’s being so forceful, but Shit! no less.

  Ryan’s standing at his side, arms across her chest looking supremely pissed off.

  “I just wanted to dance with the lady,” Mike slurs. Oh, great. He’s drunk. Nice.

  I’d seen him come in with Stacia (who was dressed to the skanky nines tonight… not meaning to judge but her a
ss was seriously hanging out of her dress) and he wasn’t looking very happy. Then I’d watched her leave him at their table as soon as they sat and she’d been flitting around the bar ever since, flirting with everyone who carried a Y chromosome.

  Curiously, I haven’t seen Peyton anywhere which is unusual for her because she’s at Jen’s almost every night, but this is a holiday meant mostly for couples and maybe she didn’t want to do the couple thing tonight. Whatever.

  “And she’s told you no ten times. So back the fuck off,” Drew repeats.

  Mike narrows his eyes on Ryan which makes him look sexy as all get out, standing there in his black suit. He wears a light gray shirt under it with a dark gray with light gray stripes tie that he’s loosened and a dark lock that’s come loose from his David Beckham hair hangs on his forehead. Yep. Totally sexy. “You’re fucking beautiful, Ryan. I know I blew it with you but I’d like another chance.”

  This makes me suck in a breath and my mouth hangs open. Oh, my God! How romantic is this? I look at Ryan and see her still shooting him a “Go right to hell” look. She looks around and when she spots me, she stomps over, grabs my hand and jerks me along behind her heading toward the restrooms in the back.

  “Can you believe that drunken asshole?” she snaps as we walk.

  “Well, I kinda thought it was romantic to tell you the truth,” I reply.

  She stops and looks at me. “You’re kidding. Look, Pipe, I know it’s Valentine’s Day and everyone’s over the moon with all the love bullshit, but c’mon. That wasn’t romantic it was annoying!”

  I shrug. She’s not going to convince me otherwise because it was romantic.

  And then I hear Brody talking on the microphone. Now what?

  “Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, but I’d like your attention, please, since everyone’s looking this way already.” He chuckles. “As most of you know, Piper Knowlton and I dated for almost twelve years…” The crowd lets out a few whoops at that. “And then we broke up.” Now the crowd boos.

  I look at Ryan, my eyes great big. “What’s he doing?” I whisper.

  She grins at me. “I don’t know, but he’s definitely doing it in style.” We turn and start making our way back to the dance floor where I see him standing on the raised platform where the local bands set up when they play.

  “But now, the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen has decided to give me a second chance. Guess I’m luckier than you were, huh, buddy?” I see Mike flip him off as everyone laughs. “Piper? Where are you, baby? Come on up here.”

  “Go,” Ryan says, pushing me in the back toward the dance floor.

  Holy shit. When I get to the floor, everyone starts clapping and whistling. Holy shit!

  “There you are. Come here,” he demands in what I swear is his sex voice. Gah!

  I bite my lip and make my way up to him. He reaches a hand down and helps me step up onto the platform. “Isn’t she gorgeous?” he remarks and now my face looks like Drew’s does most of the time.

  “What’re you doing?” I mumble out of the side of my mouth.

  “She asked what I’m doing, folks.” He looks at me, his eyes all glittery and green on me. “I’m doing what I should’ve done a long time ago.” Then he drops to his knee in front of me and I die.

  The end.

  …

  Just kidding.

  My hands go to my cheeks because I’m freaking out, my heart’s about to pound out of my chest and tears fill my eyes turning him into a handsome blob of man kneeling at my feet.

  He looks up at me. “Piper, I’m a fuck up.”

  That gets the crowd going.

  “But I’m a fuck up who loves you, and with your help, I’m getting better.” More laughs with a few “Awwws” thrown in. “I think I’ve loved you my whole life to be honest with you. It’s just that up until I finally realized that fact when I turned sixteen, I was an ass whose only focus was working on perfecting my resting dick face.”

  This makes me choke out a laugh.

  “You’ve stood by me through everything and I want you standing by me for the rest of our lives. I promise to make you laugh every day. I promise to make you feel like you’re the most beautiful woman in the world every day, because you are, and I promise to give you my heart, body and soul, all of me, every day for the rest of our lives. You’re my always and forever, Piper.” He reaches into his jacket and pulls out a ring box, flipping it open with his thumb and my mouth falls open at how gorgeous the ring is, vintage style with a two-carat square diamond in a white gold halo setting with pavé set diamonds surrounding it. Holy wow! I look at him in awe as my hand trembles in front of my mouth.

  “Piper Elaine Knowlton, would you do me the very highest honor of being my love, my life, my wife, my everything from here until forever?”

  I close my eyes as the tears stream down my face. When I open them, I look at him and nod.

  “She said yes, everyone!” he announces. Taking my hand, he slips the ring onto my finger then pulls me down into his arms giving me the hottest kiss yet while the whoops and hollers become background noise. I give him an even hotter kiss right back and he pulls away and grins then murmurs, “Fuck me.”

  Chapter 19

  I’m face down on Jen’s desk, my arms stretched out in front of me, as Brody pounds inside me from behind.

  “God, yes! Brody, please!” I cry out. It’s not like anyone’s going to hear us with how loud the music’s playing in the bar.

  “Please what, baby?” he says all husky and gravelly and command-y, pushing in deep then grinding hard against me.

  “Please make me come! Please!” I beg shamelessly, panting because I’m right there. I’ve been right there three times already and he’s pulled back which has been driving me insane. And I can’t take it anymore.

  He pulls out and now I whimper. God!

  “Look at you,” he says, flipping my skirt up higher to my lower back as he runs his hands over my bottom. He squats behind me and slowly runs his hands down the backs of my thighs, over my calves and brushes his fingers over and around my ankles then moves them back up. “Most beautiful backside I’ve ever seen,” he mumbles. Then one of his hands goes between my legs where he rubs his fingers over my swollen core making me gasp when he slides a finger inside. “So fucking wet… and all mine.”

  His other hand slides to the front where he pushes his fingers against my clit and I’m done for, crying out his name as my body stills yet shakes at the same time. I’m at once inside myself yet floating outside my body. Dear God.

  He stands and grabbing my hips, his fingers digging into them hard, plunges inside powerfully, rocking his hips against mine so forcefully the heavy oak desk under me makes a squeaking noise as it starts moving across the floor with each of his thrusts. Damn. Then with a violent surge, he comes with a groan. He retreats and powers back inside with a grunt, doing this twice and then he’s still. Holy smokes.

  His head falls to my shoulder and I feel his quick breaths against my skin. “You fucking… undo me…” he says between gasps for air.

  After we make ourselves presentable I’m searching everywhere when I hear him say from behind me, “Looking for this?”

  I turn to see him swinging my Valentine’s Day red thong back and forth on his finger. I swipe for it but he holds it too high for me to reach. “Nuh uh. This is mine,” he informs with an impish grin and puts it in the breast pocket inside his jacket.

  “What if I go on the dance floor and spin and everyone sees my hoohah?” I protest, eyebrow up.

  He barks out a laugh. “I’ll kill every motherfucker in here then.”

  And that settles it. We walk out of Jen’s office and down the hallway. When we get to the doorway that goes into the bar, Brody pulls me to him and lands a big one on me.

  “What was that for?” I say, dizzy from his kiss.

  “To keep you honest.”

&
nbsp; “What the hell does that mean?” I ask with a frown.

  “I don’t know. I’ve heard it in movies and always wanted to use it.”

  I throw my head back and laugh. “God, you’re a goofball. But you’re my goofball.” I smile and tiptoe up and brush my lips against his. “I love you.”

  “I love you too,” he says, taking my hand as we walk back into the bar… to the claps of our family members standing there waiting on us.

  Oh. My. God.

  There’s my mom and dad, Greer and Clay, Carolina and Lucas, Kade and Amelia, Cassie and Jeremy, and Ryan and Drew all smiling at us and I know they know what we were just doing. I bury my face in Brody’s jacket and they all laugh.

  Kill me now.

  ~~~

  “And you all got to see it?” I ask my family about Brody’s proposal.

  “We did. That’s where Brody was this afternoon, if you were wondering. He was asking my permission,” Dad answers.

  “Our permission,” Mom corrects, giving Dad a look.

  Ah, so that’s where he’d disappeared to.

  “Our,” Dad emphasizes.

  “We called Greer right away so they could be here too,” Mom adds which makes me hug her.

  Dad takes a drink of champagne. “What is this shit?” he says with a grimace.

  “Henry!” Mom scolds.

  “Emma, you tasted it? It tastes like that fingernail polish remover stuff you use. I need a real drink. Anybody need anything?” he asks the table.

  Everyone shakes their head but Mom says, “Get me something that has fruit on a skewer that sticks out of the glass.” She looks at Greer and me and giggles. “I’ve always wanted to have a drink like that.”

  “One chick drink coming right up,” Dad announces, giving her a wink then leaves the table.

  We’ve pushed several tables together and the Kellys and my family are all having various conversations. And it’s really cool.

  “You happy?” Mom asks.

  “Very,” I declare with a smile. “I love him.”