I Choose You Read online

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  I Choose You

  Copyright © 2014 by Tawdra Kandle

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

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  Cover by Once Upon a Time Covers (https://www.facebook.com/Onceuponatimecovers)

  Interior Formatting by Champagne Formats (http://thewineyreader.com/champagneformats/)

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  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgements

  About the author

  Other books by the author

  In memory, with love, of my mother, Jeanne Murray Thompson, and my mother-in-law, Josephine Furfari Kandle.

  They were both on my heart as I wrote this story, remembering my own wedding day . . . I am grateful that, for a time even as short as it was, I had these two strong women in my life.

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  GOOD MORNING, FABULOUS FOLLOWERS! So glad you stopped by to visit the most happening event planning blog in the cybersphere. And do I have some goodies for you today . . .

  For those of you who read Time of Your Life regularly, the Sebastian anniversary shindig went off like a dream. It was a privilege and honor to be part of this couple’s celebration of fifty happy years together. We put together a menu that was built around old family recipes and served it on china that Evelyn and Harry had received as a wedding present fifty years ago. Go check out the pictures on our Events page. Seeing their expressions will make you believe in forever again.

  So what’s next? So glad you asked. This weekend, I’ll be large and in charge at the wedding of the year. You heard it here first, folks. My good friends Julia and Jesse are finally tying the knot. Let me give you a sneak peek into their love story.

  I met Julia during our sophomore year in college, when she began dating my roommate—yes, you remember him, the very popular ladies’ man, Liam Bailey. After their—ahem—tumultuous breakup, Julia and her best friend (also her roommate) the lovely Ava, hatched a plan for revenge. I was involved too, but at the time, I didn’t realize what the endgame was. I probably would’ve been caught in the crossfire if Julia hadn’t met a certain good-looking guy—with dimples, no less! Hubba, hubba.

  Jesse was a grad student in the SLP program at Birch and the son of Dr. Danny Fleming, our favorite science prof. The two met while Jules was working as a part-time nanny for Dr. Fleming’s younger son, Desmond. And while sparks flew from the get-go, Julia hadn’t abandoned her plot to get back at Liam . . . which nearly derailed the budding romance of this weekend’s bride and groom.

  In the end, our heroine decided true love was more important than getting her own back. All together, now, everyone say, “Awwww . . .”

  These two love birds moved in together at the beginning of senior year, and our boy Jesse popped the question the Christmas before Julia’s graduation. They had the world’s longest engagement, because Julia wanted a June wedding, and Jesse was in the middle of his clinicals last year. But now . . . let the good times roll!

  The whole affair is taking place in Julia’s hometown. Cliveboro is a sweet little burg nestled in the heart of South Jersey. If I had to choose the perfect setting for a picturesque early summer wedding, this would be it. The ceremony will be held at the bride’s home church, St. Philip’s Anglican. We’re keeping the sanctuary classic and simple, with an abundance of tea roses and baby’s breath. After the I-do’s are exchanged, everyone will decamp to Haverty House, a local landmark and historical home, where we’ll first indulge in the chicest of cocktails before the evening gives way to dinner, dancing and dalliance.

  My fellow lovers of love, I’m just crossing my fingers that yours truly can hold back the tears of joy. Because everyone gets a happy ending here. Remember my old roommate Liam, who played the villain in the Julia/Jesse love story? As it happens, he’s knee-deep in the mush with Julia’s bestie, Ava. Jules gave the pair her blessing, so no hard feelings there. This Italian princess made the man work for her, no doubt, but when I’m around them now, I need flame retardant clothes, because these two are H O T. Will they be the next couple to stroll down the aisle? Both of them are mum on the topic, but I can’t imagine Liam would let this precious gem slip through his fingers.

  For now, I’m working hard to make sure Julia and Jesse have the wedding day of their dreams. Stay tuned, my friends. Next week every pic you want to see will be splashed all over this site . . .

  Until then, stay fabulous. And have the Time of Your Life.

  I grinned, shaking my head as I finished reading Giff’s blog post. He never failed to amaze me. He’d stumbled into event planning during our last year of college, when he’d put together a few small weddings for friends and acquaintances, but Liam and I were both stunned when he’d announced that he was opening his own business after graduation. Liam was a poli-sci major, and we’d all thought he’d end up doing PR for politicians. He was perfect for this new role, though: he had an eye for detail and some innate knowledge of what would work and what wouldn’t when it came to social affairs.

  “Ava, we’re ready to leave.” Julia buzzed into the room, coming to a sudden halt when she spotted me at the desk with my laptop open. “Oh, sorry. Were you video chatting with Liam?”

  “No.” I turned from the computer, trying not to be annoyed at my friend’s tone. If I wanted to video chat with my boyfriend, I was damned well not going to feel guilty about doing it. After all, I hadn’t seen him in a week, thanks to all the pre-wedding festivities that apparently required my presence in Julia’s hometown. “I was reading Giff’s post. He just updated the site about your wedding.”

  Julia squealed as she came to my side, and I tried not to wince. My friend had never been a squealer until the last six months. I was beginning to think that being a bride brought out the worst in people.

  “Let me see!” She bent to look over my shoulder, her lips moving as she scanned the screen. “Oh my God, Giff is such a sweetheart. Wedding of the year. Jesse’s mom’ll love that.” Her voice held more than a touch of resentment.

  “Aw, come on, Jules. She hasn’t been that bad.” I closed the computer as Julia straightened. “I think she’s really starting to like you.”

  “Yeah.” She rolled her eyes. “I could tell when sh
e called to remind me for the fiftieth time that she doesn’t want ‘that woman’ sitting in the front row at the church. Just how am I supposed to tell Sarah that she can’t sit with her husband at his son’s wedding?”

  “I’m sorry.” I rubbed her arm. It was easy to forget how much pressure Julia was under when she was in full bridezilla mode, but I had to admit she’d had her hands full, navigating the delicate balance between Jesse’s mother and his father’s new family. Since Julia had worked for Danny and Sarah before she even knew Jesse, naturally she was closer to them than she was to his mom, who lived in New York and was uber-sensitive about anything involving her son.

  She lifted one shoulder. “Whatever. Jesse said he’d deal with it. He gets pissed when she goes around him to get to me, because she thinks I’ll give in.”

  “And lucky us, we get to go spend two hours with her at the nail salon.”

  “That’s the beauty of having a huge wedding party. There’s so many of us that we can make sure she’s at one end of the pedicure row while I’m at the other. Plus, Alison promised she’d run interference today.”

  Jesse’s sister had been slow to accept that Julia was in her brother’s life for good, but once she had, the two had become good friends. She was a bridesmaid, and according to Jules, Alison was sometimes the only voice of reason between Jesse and their mom.

  “It’ll be fine. We’re all going to make sure nothing happens to upset you before the wedding. That’s our job as bridesmaids, right?” I slid my feet into my black flip-flops. “So . . . we’re off for mani pedis. Let me grab my handbag from your room.” The Coles’ house was full to bursting with family in town for the wedding and the bridal party, but I’d somehow scored a prime spot, sleeping in Julia’s room. Not camping out in the living room meant I got a little peace and quiet at night. It was probably the only thing keeping me sane.

  “You’re riding with Courtney. She’ll meet you outside. Mom and I are heading over now so we can make sure everything’s ready for us.” Julia headed toward the front door as I turned the other way to make a stop in her bedroom. My purse was on top of a pile of clothes and make-up bags in the corner of the room. I dug it out and made a quick stop in front of the full-length mirror on the closet door. My hair was up in a ponytail, with loose tendrils curling around my face. I’d been make-up free all week, mostly because getting mirror time in a house full of women was like fighting a pack of wolves for the last bite of meat. I pulled my baggy T-shirt tight against my stomach, frowning.

  I’d always fought the battle of the bulge. It was genetics; I was the short Italian girl with big boobs and ample ass, built just like my mom and both my grandmothers. I’d kept things under control by watching what I ate. When Liam and I started dating, he’d sweet-talked me into trying out running. While I still didn’t love it like he did, I appreciated what it did for my body. And okay, I liked the sweaty make-out sessions that almost always followed.

  Over the past few months, we’d been so busy with jobs, school and events leading up to our friends’ wedding, I couldn’t remember the last time we’d run together. Liam sometimes fit one in between classes, but my schedule was tight. I missed it, and my body did, too, apparently, judging by the extra little jiggle I saw in the mirror. I stuck out my tongue at my reflection and turned off the light as I left the room.

  Julia’s cousin Courtney was waiting for me in the driveway, leaning against her car. I saw two other girls in the backseat, their mouths moving a mile a minute. Courtney caught my eye and made a face, eyes wide as she mimed gagging.

  “I couldn’t take it another second. They’re driving me nuts.”

  Laughing, I walked around to the passenger side. Out of all of Julia’s family and friends I’d been in close quarters with this week, Courtney was the one I liked the most. She was older than us, and though she had a wicked sense of humor and dry wit, I could tell her patience was wearing thin.

  “At least you get to go home at night. Think of me, being with them round the clock. They never shut up.”

  Courtney shuddered. “Thank God for small blessings. Let me tell you, my house of chaos, even including the six-month old twins, feels like a day spa after hanging out here. Jules owes us so big.”

  We both sighed as we climbed into the car. I fought the urge to cover my ears at the sound of Sandra’s high-pitched voice. She and Ellen were Julia’s best friends from high school, and even though their parents lived here in town, they’d insisted on staying at the Coles’ house this week.

  “We’re bridesmaids! You might need us for something.” Ellen stood firm, and Sandra backed her up. “Besides, it’ll be fun. Like a week-long sleepover!”

  “They’re just afraid they’ll miss something,” Julia had told me when I’d gotten to town last Saturday. “But what can I do? I’m trying to keep the drama to a minimum. Anyway, they aren’t that bad.”

  I had a feeling Courtney would’ve disagreed with her just now as she backed out of the driveway, her mouth set in a firm line. Ellen finished telling a story that set them both off into peals of laughter, and I hunched lower in my seat.

  There was a nanosecond of silence, and then Sandra leaned forward, putting one hand on my shoulder. “So Ava, Julia says you’re in advertising. That must be fun.”

  Courtney cut her eyes to me, and I bit back laughter at her expression. “Uh, yeah. It’s good. You know, it’s a job.”

  “Do you, like, make TV commercials? Or write them? What kind of stuff do you work on?”

  “Actually, I handle the social media part of our business. So I coordinate blog posts, create content to be posted on the clients’ social media pages and come up with campaigns with bloggers to help promote products using word of mouth marketing.”

  “Oh, so you don’t get to meet the cute guys on the ads? You know, like, the models?” Ellen was losing interest.

  “No, I don’t have anything to do with that process.”

  Courtney turned the car into a parking lot and pulled into a spot, turning off the engine. “We’d better get in there before Aunt Heather blows a gasket. We’re already running late for our appointments.”

  I lagged behind just enough to let Ellen and Sandra go in ahead of me, hoping we’d end up in pedicure chairs far apart from each other. But of course, that didn’t happen. Instead, the young woman who greeted us pointed Courtney to an empty manicure station before she directed the rest of us to the last empty massage seats in the row of pedi bowls.

  Julia waved to me with her free hand from the table where a guy was working on her fingers. He grunted something, and she turned back around, shooting me a quick apologetic glance as she spotted her friends sitting next to me.

  I climbed into the first empty seat, which put me between Julia’s mom and Sandra. The pedicure whirlpool bath was already filled with water, and I tested the temperature, nodding at the nail tech to show it was perfect.

  I was just beginning to relax, settled with my feet in the tub of swirling scented water, when Sandra turned to me. I stifled a groan of frustration. The last thing I wanted was more chit-chat with her when I was trying to unwind. I guessed she’d decided our conversation wasn’t over, since she spoke as though we’d never been interrupted.

  “Of course, you don’t need to work with hunky models, do you? You’re dating Liam Bailey, right?”

  Her words carried, high and clear, and I wanted to crawl under my chair. Next to me, Mrs. Cole shifted, and I didn’t need to see her face to guess at the expression. To say that she was not Liam’s biggest fan would’ve been a gross understatement.

  Dating my best friend’s ex was a tricky business. I hadn’t set out to fall in love with Liam, and I’d fought those feelings for as long as I could. Hurting Julia was the last thing we wanted to do. But my friend had been long over Liam by the time he and I’d gotten involved. We’d both made our peace with the situation. In the past two years, there’d moments of awkward, sure, but Julia was so obviously in love with Jesse that I hardly
thought about the past anymore.

  At least, until the wedding crap had kicked into high gear. At Julia’s shower a few months ago, I’d overheard the whispers among her family. Julia laughed it off, but there was no denying that even though she’d moved beyond what’d gone down with Liam, her mother had not. Mrs. Cole got a pinched look on her face any time we mentioned his name. I had the feeling she hadn’t wanted to invite him to the wedding at all, but she really couldn’t get around it, with me being a bridesmaid. She’d put her foot down at allowing him to sit with me at the head table, though, and I was a little nervous about what would happen tonight at the rehearsal dinner, when they would be in the same room for the first time since Liam had staged his public breakup with her daughter.

  I swallowed hard and tried a smile as I answered Sandra. “Yes, Liam and I are a couple.”

  “That’s got to be weird, right? I mean . . . didn’t you meet him through Julia? I can’t imagine going out with a guy who used to be my friend’s boyfriend.”

  “It was after. A long time after they broke up. And it was . . . complicated.” Why was I trying to justify myself to this girl? I kicked myself mentally. “Julia was already with Jesse by the time Liam and I started dating.” I glanced across to where Julia’s nails were being buffed with such intensity she was gritting her teeth. “And isn’t Jesse wonderful? He and Julia are so perfect together.”

  Sandra sighed. “They are. I just want to cry when I see them. The way he looks at her is what I want someday.” She shook her head. “But all the good ones are taken, I think.”

  “Nonsense.” Mrs. Cole reached around me to pat Sandra’s knee. “You’re young. The right one’s out there. Look at how many frogs Julia had to kiss before she found her prince.”

  My face burned. The arch tone of her voice left no doubt that Julia’s mom included Liam in the frog category. I bit my lip and schooled my expression to remain as neutral as possible. Two more days. I only had to make it through the rehearsal dinner tonight, the wedding tomorrow . . . and I’d be done. I could go home and put this behind me.