With a smile on his face, Brad locked lips with Katie, and the crowd went wild, confetti flying everywhere. Hercules even got in on the excitement, running from person to person, looking for attention.
Victoria smiled at me while clapping, and I made my way over to her, grabbing her hand. “I’ve never seen a best dog at a wedding before,” she said as we made our way to the punch bowl.
I rolled my eyes. “He’s cute, but don’t even get me started on that one.”
“I think I might want one just like him.”
“That’s going to take some serious convincing,” I said with a grin.
Victoria laughed, her eyes sparkling. “I was just kidding. Kind of.”
It was time for my speech. At first I was nervous as I got up onto the stage, not sure what I was going to say. I’d originally prepared a speech, but then I decided against it because I was usually good at talking off the top of my head. The words seemed to flow right through me and I found myself enjoying it, making light-hearted jokes about Brad and causing the audience to laugh.
“To Brad,” I said as I came to the conclusion of my speech, raising my wine glass to toast the audience, “and his new wife.”
The crowd went wild.
“That was a great speech,” Victoria complimented, coming up and wrapping her arm around my waist. She smiled up at me, and my heart jumped in my chest at the sight of her. She looked so beautiful and so happy. I was proud that she was mine.
“Wasn’t it?” I asked.
Victoria’s eyes sparkled as she looked up at me. “So, um, I think I have a little surprise of my own.”
I arched an eyebrow curiously. “Oh yeah? What’s that?”
Victoria bit her lower lip in a teasing manner. “Well, you remember that deposit you made?”
I frowned in confusion. “Huh? What deposit?”
“The one you made after pounding me into submission,” Victoria replied with a mischievous grin that I daresay rivaled one of my own.
“Oh,” I said. “That.” I thought for a second before I grasped her meaning. “You mean I’m going to be . . .”
“A daddy,” Victoria said in excitement.
She ran her fingers up my shoulders coyly. “Are you ready?”
Sweat beaded my forehead, and I actually felt dizzy for the first time that evening—and I hadn’t even started drinking yet. Not from nervousness, but from the whirlwind of emotion now hitting me all at once.
“I am,” I said, smiling, picking Victoria up into an almost bear hug and planting a deep, passionate kiss on her.
PREVIEW: Relentless - A Bad Boy Romance
By Lauren Landish
Relentless will be Book 1 in the Bertoli Crime Family series. It will release approximately mid to late April, and there will be 3 books in this series. The first two chapters are included here as a preview!
Chapter 1
Adriana
“Hey honey, you wanna party with an APE?”
I rolled my eyes, looking at the idiot standing in front of me, a young guy who looked like he was maybe nineteen and wearing a fraternity t-shirt. He was obviously approaching me as part of some sort of frat thing, although at least he had some taste. After all, he did have his choice of women to choose from — I don't go to a tiny school. “Are you doing this as a rush or something?”
The idiot's eyes wavered for a moment. He'd probably seen my paint-streaked clothes and mussed hair and correctly pegged me for an art student. Sadly enough, art students at my school have a bit of a reputation for being an easy lay, and I guess he'd picked me out as an easy target. It took him a moment before he reassumed his false bravado. “Come on baby, you know APE's got the best parties and the best time for your weekend! Besides, you look like you could use a real APE, if you know what I mean.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at him, raising an eyebrow. This idiot certainly didn't know who I was, nor what I'd been through the past six months. Still, his grin didn't waiver, and I pulled out an old nugget I'd picked up somewhere when I first came to campus. “You do realize that the average male gorilla has a penis size of only one and a half inches, right? Trust me, if I needed some dick, an APE's the last place I'd go looking. Run along, monkey boy.”