I Choose You Read online

  I rose up on my knees. Putting one hand between my legs, I moved the thin strip of lace panty out of the way. With the other hand, I positioned the head of his cock at my entrance and sank down.

  Liam moaned so loud that a very distracted part of me wondered if they could hear him up on the porch. It didn’t matter. I moved over him, riding the waves of pleasure and the feel of him within me.

  He untangled his hands from under my dress and yanked down both the neckline and the cup of my bra, exposing one breast and nipple. His mouth closed over the pink tip, sucking it hard until I cried out, holding his head in place. Liam freed the other breast without lifting his head, using his fingers to tease and rub.

  “Babe, I’m so close.” His lips moved against me, the vibration of his voice making me shiver. “I’m going to come.”

  “Touch me.” I almost growled at him, my head thrown back. “Here—” I caught his hand and thrust it between my legs.

  “I know.” Liam’s fingers fumbled to reach my slick core. “I know. Come for me now. Come apart around me so I can feel you. Let me feel you.”

  I cried out his name as every sensation in the world swirled to center at the movement of his hands. Nothing else existed to me but the point where his thumb met my clit and just below where his thick, hard cock slid into me, joining us, connecting us. And then it all exploded, and there was nothing beyond the bursts of light behind my eyes, the sound of Liam’s voice, low and hoarse as he said my name over and over, like a litany. He arched up one more time, pumping into me as my body clenched around him.

  When I fell down against his body, Liam wrapped his arms around me, pulling me as tight as he could, as much of our skin touching as we could manage. Both of us were breathing hard, our exhales mingling as he kissed every part of me within reach of his lips.

  “Do you know how much I love you?” He caught my ear lobe between his teeth, worrying it lightly as he murmured into my ear. “I’m a lost cause, Ave. With you gone this week, I was a mess. I just worked, came home and walked around the house. And every night, I thought about how damned lucky I am that you took a chance on me, and how even more damned lucky I am that you stick around. I don’t deserve you, but I don’t care. I’m keeping you anyway.”

  My lips curved into a smile against the rapid pulse in his throat. It was our mantra to each other, something Liam said to me or I said to him at least once week, borne out of our early days together.

  “I love you, too, and I’m keeping you right back.”

  He sighed then, long and heavy into my hair. “I guess we should probably go inside.”

  I giggled. “I thought you already did.”

  “Funny.” He straightened both my bra and my dress, covering me, and then smoothed the skirt down as I lifted myself off him. Liam hitched his hip up and pulled out a handkerchief. “Here you go. Want me to help you clean up?”

  “No, I got it.” I pivoted over into the passenger seat and managed to use the hankie as discreetly as possible while Liam zipped up and tucked his shirt back into the waistband of his pants.

  “Ready to do this?” I opened my door and smiled back at him.

  “Yeah, I guess. I think I know what the martyrs felt like before they went to the flames.” He slammed the driver’s side door and met me by the back of the car. “Pretty sure Mrs. Cole wouldn’t mind seeing me roast.”

  “She’ll be too busy dealing with Jesse’s mom to even think about us. And if she says anything to you, just smile and nod. Don’t let her get under your skin.”

  We followed another couple into the country club. Just beyond the foyer, the main room was filled with people standing with drinks and small plates while wait staff circulated trays.

  “Look at that. It’s utter chaos, and she’s serving skewered meatballs. Meatballs. Kill me now.”

  I turned toward the lowered voice at my shoulder, grinning. “Giff! I’m so glad you’re here.”

  “Well, peaches, that makes one of us.” He scooped me into a massive hug. “But look at you. Goooorgeous.” He held up my hand over my head, checking me out with narrowed eyes. “But maybe . . .” Giff tugged the side of the dress down. “There you go.” He shot Liam a glance, one eyebrow raised. “Do you happen to know anything about why Miss DiMartino’s dress was rucked up on one side, beetle?”

  Liam grinned. “I’m pleading the Fifth here, buddy. And claiming immunity since I’m in a hostile environment right now. Oh, and we’ll pull in extraordinary circumstances, too, since I was forced to be away from my girlfriend for an entire week. How does that work for you?”

  “Hey, man, I’m on your side. If I were you, I wouldn’t even be here right now. You got guts, my friend.” Giff let his eyes wander back toward the other room. “And you might need them tonight.”

  “Aren’t you on duty?” Liam slung his arm around my shoulders, pulling me against him. I slid my hand over his back and laid my head on his chest.

  Giff looked pained. “No. I’m here strictly on a guest basis. Jesse’s mother didn’t want to use me for her shindig, because she wants it to be completely different from the wedding itself. Read: she wants it to be better than the wedding.”

  “Which, of course, is impossible since tomorrow is going to be the best wedding ever.” I squeezed Giff’s arm.

  “At least the best wedding to date.” He glanced from Liam to me. “Until the couple of the decade decides to make it official, and I get to plan their amazing day.”

  I shifted under Liam’s embrace and changed the subject as subtly as I could. “Julia’s so grateful for everything you’re doing, Giff. She knows it hasn’t been easy, dealing with her mom and putting up with Jesse’s mother, too. You’ve got the patience of a saint.”

  Giff shook his head just a little, and I knew it was because I’d dodged his last comment. Planning my own wedding was a slightly sensitive topic these days. When Liam and I’d first started dating, he’d talked about our eventual marriage easily. We both had, comfortable with the fact that it was out there in the future, something we’d get to sooner or later. But ever since his parents’ marriage had imploded, he’d stopped mentioning it.

  Oh, he still talked about the future—our shared future. I didn’t have any doubts about his feelings toward me or his commitment to us as a couple. But I had a hunch that the idea of marriage scared him now. For the first twenty-something years of his life, he’d thought his parents had a picture-perfect union. He’d believed it right up until the day he walked in on his father in bed with another woman . . . and found out that it wasn’t just a one-time indiscretion. Turned out the Senator’s attitude toward marriage was a lot more liberal than his political stance on anything else.

  Liam pulled me a little tighter into him now. “Ava’s right, buddy. You’re rocking this event-planning gig. So you’re sure this is what you want? I mean, you were a poli-sci major. Have you thought about politics? Public service?”

  Giff straightened his tie. “I choose to think that planning perfect weddings and other parties is a public service. Imagine if everyone had to put up with this all the time.” He circled one finger in the air.

  “It’s not that bad.” I waved to Courtney, who was helping her daughter with a plate of hors d’oevres.

  “Honey, she’s serving mini hotdogs in puff pastry. Better known as pigs in blankets. That’s what you give ten-year olds at a camp out, not guests at a rehearsal dinner.” He sniffed.

  “You’re getting dangerously close to sounding stuffy, pal.” Liam punched his friend in the arm. “Keep it up and you can start catering parties for my dad.”

  “Thanks, but no thanks. I prefer not to work for the stiff upper crust. I’m sticking to the fun stuff.” He was about to say more, but we were interrupted by Mrs. Fleming’s high-pitched voice, calling us all to move into the dining room.

  “Dang, guess no pigs in blankets for me.” Liam winked and took my hand. “Come on, Giff. You’ve got to be my bodyguard tonight. Make sure no one stabs me in the bac
k or anything.”

  “Hey, what about me? I’ll be with you all night.”

  “You’re the distraction. If Mrs. Cole comes at me with verbal barbs, it’s your job to parry those.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Glad to know I’m useful for something.”

  Liam leaned over to whisper into my ear. “Babe, you’re useful for a lot more than that. Just wait until tomorrow night, and I’ll remind you.”

  I shivered, and he laughed as we took our seats and prepared to get through the evening.

  THE DINNER ITSELF WAS not as bad as Giff had predicted. Yes, the food was bland, but it was edible, and since we were allowed to choose our own tables, Liam and I were able to eat with Giff as well as Courtney and her husband. Her daughter Nala was at the table with us, too, and she entertained us with stories of her twin brothers and their puppy. Liam laughed at her as she demonstrated how the babies’ heads bobbed around before their necks were strong enough to hold them up.

  “Do you have any babies?” Nala, a born flirt, tilted her head and batted sweet brown eyes at my boyfriend. I raised an eyebrow and smirked at him, wondering how he was going to deal with this question.

  Courtney took pity on Liam and came to his rescue. “Nala, behave. Ava and Liam aren’t married.” She raised her gaze to me. “Yet.”

  Nala wasn’t going to be discouraged. “Do you want to have babies?”

  Liam looked over at me. “Of course. Some day. If they were guaranteed to be as pretty as you.” He winked, and by the way her cheeks pinked, I knew he’d made another female conquest.

  “Check you out, beetle. Who knew you were so good with the kiddie set?” Giff nudged me. “Are you keeping your eye on him, peaches?”

  “Okay, I have to ask.” Courtney stirred her coffee. “What’s up with the nicknames?”

  Giff grinned. “I’ve called him beetle since we were freshmen in high school. You know, like Beetle Bailey? The cartoon character? And peaches . . . well, just check out Ava’s complexion. Peaches and cream. Especially when you embarrass her and she blushes.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Thanks, Giff.”

  A clanking sound drew our attention to the front of the room, where the two families sat at a long table with Julia and Jesse in the center. Danny was standing up, looking vaguely uncomfortable as he held a flute of champagne.

  “If I could have your attention . . .” He glanced down at Sarah and then across at his ex-wife. “On behalf of Beth . . . and Sarah . . . and our family, I’d like to thank you all for joining us tonight. For being part of Jesse and Julia’s wedding.” He turned his head to look at his son, and all at once, the stress, tension and discord in the room melted away in the wake of the love in Danny’s eyes.

  “Most of you know that the last ten years or so haven’t been easy on our family. We’ve had our struggles, our ups and downs. There were some tough times for Alison and Jesse. About five years ago, I went to visit Jesse at school. He was at SUNY at the time, a sophomore, and like many college guys, he’d started to go a little wild.” Danny grinned out at the room. “I’m sure no one else in here has any experience with that.” Laughter broke out at more than one table.

  “I went to see my son that weekend because I was worried about him. So was his mother.” His eyes rested briefly on Beth, and for the first time, I saw a softening in her expression. “I wanted to tell him in person that he was going to be a big brother, and he needed to pull it together.” He laid a hand on Jesse’s shoulder. “I wasn’t sure what was going to happen after I left that weekend. Plenty of kids would’ve been mule-headed enough to keep on partying, to ignore what I’d said. But I’m proud to say that wasn’t our boy. Jesse turned things around, and he worked damned hard to be the man we knew he could be.”

  Julia leaned closer and rested her head on Jesse’s other shoulder. He brought his hand up to touch her cheek, but his eyes stayed fastened on his dad.

  “So two years ago, when Jesse decided to come live with Sarah, Desmond and me, I was thrilled. We all were. It was going to be a chance for us to be a family again. And it was great, don’t get me wrong. But on the very first day he was with us, he met this girl who’d been babysitting for us. I’m pretty sure he fell for the lovely Julia that same day.”

  Jules closed her eyes, and even from our table I could see her blush.

  “If I’m going to be honest, I’m going to have to say that Jesse stole Julia right out from under his brother’s nose, since Des was actually the first Fleming male to lay claim on her.” There was more laughter, and Julia sat up, reaching over to pull the blond little boy into her lap. “But Sarah and I couldn’t have been happier when those two found each other. We’d known what a wonderful girl Julia is for a long time, and I don’t think there’s a more perfect couple than the two of them.”

  A chorus of ‘awwws’ rose up around the room. Danny motioned both Jesse and Julia to stand as he lifted his champagne high. “Please raise your glasses in honor of my son, Jesse, and the woman who’s making him the happiest man on earth, our new daughter, Julia. To Julia and Jesse!”

  Everyone echoed the toast, and glasses clinked around the room. Liam smiled into my eyes as we sipped our champagne. At the front table, Danny hugged Julia and Jesse, before passing them along to first Beth and then Sarah. To my relief, no bloodshed or even pointed looks ensued. It appeared a truce had been drawn. For now, at least.

  There were a few more toasts, from Jesse’s best man, who was a friend of his from college, and from some other family members. Finally, Danny reclaimed the microphone.

  “We’d like to thank you again for being with us tonight. I’d like to especially thank Jesse’s mother, Beth, who put this amazing evening together.” He bowed his head in her direction, and Mrs. Fleming’s mouth dropped open before she recovered and smiled. “Now it’s time to say good-night, and we’ll see you all tomorrow at the church.”

  A cheer sounded as chairs scraped. Liam took my hand, and we meandered out with the rest of the crowd. Giff grabbed his arm as we stepped into the night.

  “You staying at the hotel?”

  Liam nodded. “Yeah. You need a ride?”

  “If you don’t mind. I rented a car to drive up and to use this past week, but Jeff’s coming up tonight, so I returned it this afternoon. I snagged a ride here with one of Jesse’s cousins. I’d rather drive back with you.” He tugged on a strand of my hair. “Are you coming with us, peaches?”

  I shook my head, grimacing. “I’m heading back to bridal central with the giggle twins. Pray for my soul. Or maybe for theirs, since I might not make it one more night without smothering them.”

  “And I’m liable to be her partner in crime.” Courtney came up behind me. “You coming with me, chick? I just sent the husband and Nala on their way home, and I even managed to pawn off Sandra and Ellen on Alison. We can have an absolutely silent ride home.”

  “Think anyone would miss us if we just kept driving?” I sighed. “I’ll be there in a minute. I just want to say good night to Liam.”

  “That translates to lots of steamy kissing and maybe even some groping.” Giff spoke in a loud whisper to Courtney. “It’s our cue to gaze up at the stars and pretend we don’t notice anything.” He made a production of steering her to turn so that their backs were facing us.

  Liam slid his arms around my waist. “I wish you could come back with me.”

  “I wish I could, too. Tomorrow night.” I laced my fingers together behind his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. “Dream of me tonight. I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon at the church.”

  “Hmm. Good luck getting sleep. Don’t let the gigglers drive you to do anything rash. I’d hate to have to come bail you out.” He lowered his mouth over mine again, his tongue making me wish all the more desperately that I didn’t have to say goodbye.

  “All right, you two. It’s one more night.” Giff dragged me away, planting me next to Courtney. “Off you go.” He kissed my cheek and patted my back. “I’ll be by the hous
e tomorrow morning to make sure everything’s running on schedule. Try to keep Jules calm, okay?”

  “Will do.” I waved my fingers at Liam and blew him a kiss behind Giff’s back as Courtney began pulling me toward her car.

  “It was actually a decent rehearsal dinner.” She unlocked the car, and we both climbed in. “Seems like Jesse’s parents managed to pull it together at the last minute.”

  “Let’s hope it lasts through tomorrow.” I yawned as I relaxed into the seat. “I don’t get why people can’t act like adults, especially when they know their actions hurt people they love. Like their children.”

  Courtney shrugged. “It’s seldom that simple. Jules told me Jesse’s parents had a rocky marriage and an even worse divorce. Beth blames Danny for the whole thing. He’s moved on, and she hasn’t. Alison and Jesse are in the middle. It sucks.”

  “Yeah.” I was quiet for a few minutes, watching the lights as we passed by them. “Are your parents still married?”

  “Yep. Thirty-five years and going strong. Like, disgusting strong. They still hold hands at the dinner table sometimes. But you know what? I love it. It’s what I want to give my kids, that kind of example.” She glanced at me. “How about yours?”

  I smiled. “Yeah, my parents are still married. I think they’re more likely to kill each other than talk divorce. I mean, we’re Italian, you know? They love each other, but they yell, too. Every now and then, I remember how close they really are. They gave my brothers and sister and me a good strong base.” I paused, my mind wandering. “Liam’s parents are in the middle of an awful divorce though. It’s hard on him.”

  “I heard a little about that.” She shot me an apologetic smile. “Sorry. It’s been in the news, and since Julia dated Liam, I feel like I know them a little. But it’s got to be rough on you.”

  “On both of us. Liam’s relationship with his parents . . .” My voice trailed off. “It’s complicated. That’s his favorite word to use about it. They had expectations that he’s no longer interested in meeting. And instead of trusting him to know what he wants, they act like he dropped out of college to join a garage band and tour. So whenever we see them, it’s tense. And now we almost never see his dad, and he won’t return his mom’s phone calls, so then she calls me—” I broke off. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to unload on you.”