The Bridal Squad Read online

  “So you never canceled anything after we talked about this two weeks ago.” It wasn’t a question.

  “I did not,” she admitted proudly.

  “Jules…” he whined, stepping away, and she knew he was hoping to trip her up in some way and prove that they should stick to the plan of canceling the wedding. “You’re killing me!” He said it, but with laughter.

  Walking over to him, Julianne wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “What do I have to do to prove to you that I’m serious? Because I totally am and I think if you just try to see it my way, you’ll agree. Plus…you’ll be so happy when we have this beautiful wedding and all of the pictures afterwards. It’s going to be great. I swear.”

  Gavin bent slightly, picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder as he strode from the room.

  “Gavin!” she squealed. “We’re talking! Come on!” But he didn’t stop until they were in their bedroom. Throwing her down on the bed, Julianne bounced a couple of times and was laughing the whole time. “Be serious!”

  By now, he was laughing with her. Pulling his shirt up and over his head, he looked down at her. “I’m sorry, but I’m not changing my mind,” he said and his tone was light but firm.

  Dammit.

  Sprawled out on the bed, she let out a long sigh. “You’re really serious about this, aren’t you?”

  He nodded. “I’m thinking of your own well-being here. I think you should still get your dress and all that, but the party that we’ll have will be scaled way back and we’ll both be happier for it.”

  “I can’t get the dress for that,” she said with a pout. “And you don’t even know what you’re missing. It was spectacular.”

  His smile was patient. “I’m sure it was and I know you would have looked beautiful in it.”

  Another sigh. “Fine. We’ll do it your way, but…”

  “But…”

  “You’re coming with me to Enchanted Bridal to talk to Hailey tomorrow so that I don’t cave. Deal?”

  He nodded and then leaned down and kissed her. “Deal.”

  Epilogue

  Maui – Three Months Later…

  As the minister was giving some last-minute instructions, everyone nodded when they needed to and made sure they understood where they needed to be and when.

  Brady leaned down low and whispered in Harper’s ear, “What do you say we give this a go?”

  “What? Finding our spots?”

  He laughed softly. “No. Getting married. Here. Today. Now.”

  Harper faced him as she gasped. “Are you serious?”

  Cupping her face in his hands, he smiled. “Harper, I love you. And I think this would be the perfect place to start our lives together.”

  “But…but…we don’t have rings…”

  “There’s a jewelry store inside the resort.”

  “We need a license!”

  “I’m sure the justice of the peace could help us with that.”

  “My parents would freak out,” she whispered when everyone turned to look at them.

  He rested his forehead against hers. “All the more reason to do it. After all those digs from your mom about not getting married, we can do it now and have all of the pictures to show her without dealing with all of her griping.”

  “Ooh…I do like the sound of that…”

  “What are the two of you talking about?” Julianne huffed. “You’re missing all the instructions!”

  “Oh please, there’s only eight of us here. I doubt it’s going to be too hard to figure out who’s on the bride’s side and who’s on the groom’s side. I think we’re good.”

  “Okay, but if you step into one of my shots, I may have to smack you,” Kayla said with more than a hint of warning. “The sunset is going to be stunning and I plan on getting some spectacular shots of the bride and groom.”

  “Look at my little wedding photographer,” Adam said, kissing her on the temple. “You know you could have let the resort photographer do this, right?”

  “I know but…it’s kind of my gift to the happy couple,” she replied. “Plus…it turns out that wedding photography isn’t quite as dull as I thought it would be.”

  “You stumbled upon one wedding here yesterday,” Adam said with a laugh, “and you took some pictures from a distance. That hardly qualifies you for being an authority on wedding photography.”

  “Just trying to be optimistic,” she countered.

  “What were the two of you talking about, Harps?” Julianne asked.

  “Well, Brady and I were just thinking…”

  “I just asked Harper to marry me,” Brady finished for her and everyone began to congratulate them.

  “Wait, wait, wait…” Harper interrupted. “That wasn’t a real proposal. All he did was suggest that maybe we get married here today too.”

  Julianne grinned widely. “You know that would make Mom crazy! I love it!”

  “I know, right?” Harper said giddily.

  “Um…ladies, gentlemen, I think we need to reel it back in and focus on this particular bride and groom for the time being,” the minister called out.

  “Oh, right,” Julianne said as she blushed apologetically. Gavin took her hand and pulled her close to his side.

  “Okay,” the minister began again, “Natalie and Jayce, we have all of your paperwork and you’ve chosen your music, did you write your own renewal vows?”

  For the next several minutes, everyone stood back and watched as their friends prepared to start a new chapter of their lives. Julianne rested her head on Gavin’s shoulder and marveled at how much had changed in the last several months.

  Three months ago, they were all certain that Jayce and Natalie were heading for a divorce. Now, after some intensive marriage counseling, they were doing great. Natalie swore their relationship was stronger than it had ever been before and they wanted to do something to mark their renewed commitment to each other.

  And she said they owed it all to angry sex.

  Go figure.

  Beside her, Kayla was snapping pictures. She never took the job with the archaeology dig and finally seemed content with her newfound settled life with Adam. She was doing more local work for the magazine and didn’t seem bothered at all by the fact that she wasn’t traveling as much as she had been for the last several years.

  Although she had been snapping pictures of everything ever since they’d gotten off the plane two days ago. So maybe she missed the traveling just a little bit.

  There was going to be a whole lot of crying when they got home if Harper got married and their mother wasn’t there to witness it. But the thought of being there to see it happen – if it happened - had her feeling beyond giddy.

  Gavin kissed her on the forehead. “Are you sorry that it’s not us up there talking to the minister?”

  She couldn’t help but smile.

  In the end, Julianne had won the argument about the big wedding. After taking Gavin with her to meet Hailey and the girls at Enchanted Bridal, they managed to convince Gavin that having the big ceremony and reception would be a great thing for them – especially since all of the details and misunderstandings were under control.

  “Not even a little bit,” she whispered.

  “I know but…how cool would it be to get married here and still have the big party? Think of the pictures…”

  “Mmm…they would be nice…”

  “And it would sort of be like we both got our way for our wedding,” he teased.

  She swatted his arm playfully. “Stop.”

  “I’m just saying…we could have it both ways and then tonight we could have one hell of a wedding night.”

  That sounded even better, she thought.

  The minister addressed them all again. “So we’re going to meet back here at five to get started. Any questions?”

  Gavin raised his hand. “Um…yeah. Do you give any discounts for multiple weddings?”

  And they did.

  ****

  North
Carolina – Same Day…

  Hailey was doing some invoicing when there was a knock on her office door. “Come in!” She looked up to see Becca, Ella, Angie and Penny walking in. She looked at them in confusion. Did she have a meeting scheduled that she had forgotten about?

  “Look at the sheer panic in her eyes,” Angie said with a laugh.

  “Knock it off,” Becca chided. “She was obviously in the middle of something.”

  “Okay, what’s going on?” Hailey asked as she closed the computer program.

  Penny stepped forward with a tray of cupcakes. “Happy Anniversary!”

  “Um…what?”

  They all groaned.

  “For crying out loud, Hales, it’s our six-month anniversary here at Enchanted!” Becca said excitedly. “We officially opened the doors as the new owners in this new building six months ago today! I can’t believe you didn’t remember!”

  So was she. Normally she was a little more on top of things than this. Exhaustion was clearly taking its toll. Standing, she came around the desk and hugged them all. This business had not been her dream; it had been her mother’s dream. But somewhere along the way, Hailey made it her own and with the help of her friends, and now business partners, they were completely making a success of it.

  Penny stepped aside and poured them each a glass of champagne – except for Ella. For her, Penny poured some sparkling cider. When they each had a glass in their hands, she stepped back again.

  “Oh no you don’t,” Hailey said. “You’re one of us now.” She raised her glass. “I wish I had more time to prepare something poignant to say, but I think that it’s more than enough to say that I am so happy to be sharing this journey with the four of you.” She looked at Penny and smiled. “I can’t believe it’s been six months already and I know we are booked up for at least the next six so…yay us!”

  “Cheers!” they all called out.

  After enjoying their double chocolate ganache cupcakes and glasses of champagne, it was time to get back to work. Everyone walked out of the office except for Penny.

  “Hailey…um…can I talk to you for a minute?”

  “Sure. What’s up?”

  “I wanted to let you know that Mrs. Burke’s gown came in and so did the gowns for Julianne’s squad,” she said with a smile. “Oh! And the sparkly sneakers! I totally love them.”

  “They were a really great idea and I think they just…well…they fit for this particular…squad.”

  Penny nodded in agreement. “They really do. Between the Zumba and fitness stuff, I think it was a fun way to put a creative and personal stamp on their bridal party. She’s going to be so excited to see them.”

  “Excellent. I’ll give Julianne a call on Monday and let her know. Thanks, Penny.” But when she looked up, Penny hadn’t moved. “Was there something else you needed to talk about?”

  “Well…actually, I wanted to ask you about a different position here at Enchanted.”

  Hailey sat back down at her desk and studied her young employee. “You don’t like doing the sales end?”

  “I do, but…I kind of like what you’ve done with the whole business. This is a one-stop place for weddings, but you’re still missing some key vendors.”

  Hailey knew this. She and the girls talked about adding a salon and a tuxedo and suit shop…but there weren’t enough hours in the day.

  “I just wanted to put it out there that I do have a cosmetology license and I happen to know an amazing tailor who has expressed an interest in opening his own business doing men’s suits.”

  Nodding, Hailey studied her. “Would you be willing to introduce us?”

  Penny nodded.

  “And were you thinking of having a salon of your own?”

  She shrugged shyly. “It’s…it’s something I’ve thought about but…nothing’s for sure yet.”

  “Well…why don’t you put together a proposal and we’ll see what we can do. You know we love having you here with us and I can’t think of a better person to help us grow than you, Penny.”

  Running around the desk, she hugged Hailey and thanked her profusely before going back out on the sales floor.

  Once the door was closed, Hailey couldn’t help but smile. She’d not only taken the reins from her mother and followed her plans for the business, but she was taking the steps to truly make it her own. It was scary and exciting and…exactly what she wanted.

  Her phone dinged with an incoming text and she smiled when she saw Jack’s name. In six months, she’d get to be the bride. Tonight after they closed up, she and the girls were going to start trying on dresses for themselves. And as crazy as it seemed, she was excited.

  It didn’t matter that she had grown up trying them on and modeling them; this was the first time it was for her. She was going to be the bride.

  And she had her own squad.

  And she couldn’t wait for that walk down the aisle in her own sparkly shoes.

  Also by Samantha Chase

  The Montgomery Brothers Series:

  Wait for Me

  Trust in Me

  Stay with Me

  More of Me

  Return to You

  Meant for You

  I'll Be There

  The Shaughnessy Brothers Series:

  Made for Us

  Love Walks In

  Always My Girl

  This is Our Song

  Sky Full of Stars

  The Christmas Cottage Series:

  The Christmas Cottage

  Ever After

  Mistletoe Between Friends

  Snowflake Inn

  Silver Bell Falls

  Christmas On Pointe

  Christmas in Silver Bell Falls

  Band on the Run

  One More Kiss

  Life, Love and Babies

  The Baby Arrangement

  Baby, I’m Yours

  Baby, Be Mine

  The Life, Love and Babies Trio

  Preston Mills

  Roommating

  The Protectors

  Duty Bound

  Honor Bound

  Forever Bound

  Home Bound

  Standalone Novels

  Jordan’s Return

  Catering to the CEO

  In the Eye of the Storm

  A Touch of Heaven

  Moonlight in Winter Park

  The Wedding Season

  Wildest Dreams

  Friday Night Brides

  Going My Way

  Going to Be Yours

  Waiting for Midnight

  Seeking Forever

  About the Author

  New York Times and USA Today Bestseller/contemporary romance writer Samantha Chase released her debut novel, Jordan's Return, in November 2011. Although she waited until she was in her 40's to publish for the first time, writing has been a lifelong passion. Her motivation to take that step was her students: teaching creative writing to elementary age students all the way up through high school and encouraging those students to follow their writing dreams gave Samantha the confidence to take that step as well. When she's not working on a new story, she spends her time reading contemporary romances, playing way too many games of Scrabble or Solitaire on Facebook and spending time with her husband of 25 years and their two sons in North Carolina.

  Connect with Samantha:

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