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  LOVE BEFORE A WEDDING

  Copyright 2010 by Lenise Lee. All rights reserved.

  All rights reserved. Except for brief excerpts to be used solely in a review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part electronically, mechanically or by any means is strictly forbidden without the expressed written permission of the author.

  The unauthorized reproduction of this copyrighted work is illegal.

  Federal copyright law prohibits unauthorized reproduction by any means and imposes fines up to $250,000 or up to 5 years in prison for violation.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and incidents have no existence outside of the author’s imagination and are purely fictitious. Any similarity to actual events, locales, or people, living or deceased is coincidental.

  WARNING: The material included in this work is intended for adult readers 18 years of age and older. Please store this material in a safe place where underage readers will not have access to view it.

  Kerine White and Joshua Somers parted ways over a year ago on less than pleasant terms. The former couple decided that staying as far away from one another as possible was the best option for both.

  Kerine had finally recovered from the break-up and settled on never having to lay eyes on the handsome Joshua ever again. Joshua had resolved not to return to his hometown to face the beautiful woman who still held his heart.

  Now, the impending wedding day of two mutual friends has forced the lovers back into one another’s lives and in to each other’s arms.

  Will the pair be able to get it right this time around or are they destined to be apart for good?

  Love Before a Wedding

  By

  Lenise Lee

  Dear Reader,

  I hope you enjoy this next tale of one of the lovely alumni of Eastern States University. Always remember, love is a bond not easily defeated by time or circumstances.

  Thank you and Enjoy.

  Chapter 1

  My eyes squinted as I focused on the tag. I needed to double-check the price. There had to be a mistake. There was no way a dress this ugly could possibly be worth $500. Flipping the decorate tag, outlined in pink lace and with the designer’s name in stencil writing, I scanned the entire front and back to ensure there were no red marks or stickers indicating this item had been marked down. To my surprise there were none.

  The gown before me was some shade of electric pole dancer pink and was disturbingly short, probably stopping at my upper thigh area, to be of any good taste for a formal wedding. To add mischief to mayhem, an overabundance of tiny bows encircled the hem and then a giant bow clung lopsided to the middle of the cleavage area.

  “This is not for real, right?” I spoke over my shoulder to my best friend since kindergarten Jeanette Bixby.

  She turned her head and eyed the monstrosity. At this point, I was fiddling with the bow, which looked as though it were hanging on by its lasts thread, as I did my best to straighten it. I was trying to kill some time while Jeanette and I waited for her appointment with the boutique’s in-house wedding planner to get started.

  “Ha!”

  Her excited exclamation at the dress’s hideousness was enough to startle me away from my task and I almost pulled the whole thing down off the rack as I jumped in surprise.

  “I wouldn’t have my girls caught dead in an outfit like that! My wedding is going to be done with class and style.”

  Taking a quick survey of Jeanette, she would indeed live up to that claim. Standing no less than six foot, she made my modest 5’6’ height look almost shameful. Jeanette was always on the slim side with a creamy complexion and high-society facial structure. Her tall statuesque physique is what now aided her in making a good living as a catalogue model. She was not gauntly skinny and was still a tad full in the hips and so she came to realize way back when she started going out for test shoots and interviews she would have little to no chance on the runway scene. This fact never deterred her from pursuing a modeling career and now she was booked, seemingly on a regular basis, with gigs for catalogues and home shopping channels. Jeanette never flaunted her income; however, she was always sure dress to impress and made sure her spacey loft here in Timber Hills, NJ had a great interior décor.

  Me, on the other hand, was a completely different story. My butterscotch complexion was nowhere as smooth as hers. The thickness of my long hair and my reluctance to relax it as compared to Jeanette’s corn silk colored angel fine hair had been the cause of many moments of self-consciousness on my part, especially when standing next to her at parties and clubs. Out of habit, my hand went up to the drastically shortened locks I now wore in layers reaching down to just below my chin and tucked the pressed hair behind my ear. I was also, not too long ago, what one may have referred to as “full-figured” for most of my life. Probably the result of over-indulging in too many varieties of fried foods. I smoothed down the size 8 straight black knee-length skirt I was wearing and gave my white form-fitting blouse a once over. A dramatic event in my life a little over a year ago had prompted me to take the leap and get a new hair-do and to drop almost thirty pounds. Still, I have moments of insecurity.

  “Kerine, are you listening to me?”

  “What?” I realized Jeanette had been going on and on about something but all I saw were her lips moving and her right hand casually accentuating her speech.

  “I was saying, you know the wedding is a month from now?”

  “Of course, I am your maid of honor, remember?”

  She rolled her smoky gray eyes at my bluntness.

  “What I mean to say,” she continued while casually poking through the never-ending aisle of disfigured bridesmaids gowns, “is everything is finally coming together. The final preparations are being made. My end is pretty much cleared up; however, Tyler is just now starting to work with his guys and getting them all set.”

  After having had this discussion numerous times over and hearing every other wedding related detail repeatedly and in extreme abundance for the last year, I had feigned interest and moved on to inspect another gaudy dress one rack over. This one was midnight blue and seemed a bit too far on the Goth side for my tastes, yet I was sure there would be some giddy bride all too happy to dress her reluctant friends in this nightmare of an outfit.

  “Yeah, so?” I moved down the row as Jeanette followed.

  “You know that means he’s coming back?”

  My heart instantly doubled its pace and my feet supplanted firmly in the carpet below. I felt the slight brush of Jeanette’s breasts on my back as she collided with me, as she had not expected the sudden halt.

  Making sure to calm my breathing and not trusting my own voice just yet, I responded as casually as I could.

  “Who do you mean?”

  Jeanette stepped around me in the narrow aisle so we stood face to face.

  “Oh, no. You do not play this game with me,” she said with a look of distaste on her classically beautiful face.

  “Who was the one who sat up with you for hours on end while you cried your eyes out over him? Who was the who had to force you to come out of hiding from your apartment? Kerine White, you know exactly who I mean.”

  I immediately dropped my eyes to the floor in shame at the painful reminder. Jeanette softened her stance and put her hand to my shoulder.

  “Oh, Keri, honey, I am so sorry. I didn’t want to bring all this up except time is running out. You know I do care about you. You’re like a sister to me. I had to tell you he was due to come back soon so you could get ready.”

  “Get ready for what?”

  I stepped back from her afraid of what she might say. There was no way she was going to talk me into what I thought she may have b
een suggesting.

  “I don’t mean you two getting back together.”

  I exhaled a sigh of relief.

  “Well, what do you mean?”

  “I know how much the break-up hurt you. I only wanted to make sure you were mentally prepared to see him again. With him being Tyler’s best man, we will all have to spend a lot of time with one another over the next few weeks. Are you ready for that?”

  The look of concern in her eyes along with my sudden light-headedness told me the answer to that particular question was probably an emphatic NO! I chose not to verbally express my doubt; instead, I sent up a silent prayer that we, meaning me, would get through this event unscathed and unharmed because when Joshua Somers blew back into town all hell was liable to break loose.

  Chapter 2

  One week after the news and my thoughts remained jumbled up over anticipation of the dreaded reunion.

  “Bank, Drake, Lyle and Company,” I spoke dryly into the phone upon lifting the receiver from the hook with one quick swipe.

  I was immediately greeted by the voice of my ever hostile employer Ms. Bank – actually Bank, Jr. – himself.

  “Who is this?” he inquired gruffly.

  One would think after working for a man, as his executive assistant for more than two years, he might have learned the sound of my voice by now. I decided it would be best to go along with the charade and humor the humorless man.

  “It’s me, sir. Kerine White.”

  “Ms. White, how many times do I need to remind you to announce who you are when answering the line? I want our company to be represented as professionally as possible.”

  Sucking in a breath as silently as possible, I counted back from five before continuing. I sat up in the leather-rolling chair so I would be able to annunciate every word to his liking.

  “My apologies, Mr. Bank. It will not happen again.”

  “Yes, well, please make sure that it does not. Did I receive any calls while I was away?”

  Grabbing the memo pad I always kept near me during the day, I began to read off the list of messages and return calls, mostly from women requesting urgent responses. I was absolutely sure this day was bound to get worse from this point on.

  ****

  “Thanks so much for coming with us on such short notice,” Jeanette turned to smile at me from the passenger’s side front seat of her fiancé’s sports car.

  This model barely had a full back seat and I had to turn my body so that I was nearly lying sideways just so I was able to expand my lungs enough to keep air flowing into to my brain and major organs.

  “Yeah, thanks,” Tyler smiled at me in the rearview mirror, “You’re a great friend to Jeanette and me.”

  “No problem at all,” I said through strained breaths, “You two may want to consider upgrading this car soon. Especially if you plan on having children right away.”

  The couple looked at one another and smiled. They must have been communicating with that private language only people in a close relationship share.

  “What, what is it?” I was nosy by nature and not likely to change any time soon.

  The message suddenly broken, the pair went face forward and stared out of the front window.

  “Look, there it is!”

  Jeanette began to point excitedly at a large building on the left side. The position I was currently molded into did not allow for me to sit up fully and I would have to wait until I was released from the back seat before I could catch a good look at what had my friend beaming from ear to ear.

  A moment later and Tyler pulled into a spacious parking lot, shut off the engine, and exited the car. He pulled the driver’s side front seat forward. He extended his freckled hand toward me and I gladly accepted. I popped up from the car and sucked in a deep breath when my feet hit the ground. I stood to my full height and thrust my arms in the air.

  “Hallelujah!”

  “Oh, come on, Keri, is wasn’t that bad,” Tyler grinned from beneath blond lashes.

  In that moment, I spotted the same boyish charm, which had won Jeanette over. However, that did not stop me from having a little fun at his expense.

  “Are you kidding me?” I squinted my eyes at him in a teasing manner, “have you sat back there lately? I was fighting to stay alive for the entire ride!”

  By this time, Jeanette had come over from her side and placed a loving embrace around his waste.

  “Hmm, Keri, you may be right. Tyler, we might have to upgrade soon.”

  She smiled into his cheek and he blushed.

  I allowed the happy couple a moment to bask in their love before breaking up the festivities.

  “Okay, okay. Can we get on with this? I had a long day and I am ready to crash on the couch as soon as possible.”

  Our small group walked up to the side entrance of the large church and Tyler rang the bell. A small plaque hanging adjacent to the door requested no one use this entrance or ring the bell on Sundays from 10 AM to 2 PM. A few minutes later and short man with thinning brown hair greeted us with a jubilant smile. Although he was dressed in a pair of pressed slacks and wearing a blue plaid shirt something about the aura of this man had preacher written all over it.

  “Come in, come in,” the man said as he ushered us through the door and right into the worship hall of the church.

  It was a serene site. The entire inside was themed in a calming coloring scheme. While the thirty or more pews themselves were painted in a soft eggshell white, the full cushions on the seats were a neutral beige. The thin carpet was also in a soft beige while the surrounding walls continued with the eggshell color. The roof was domed, again in the soothing eggshell color, and the stained glass windows depicted various biblical scenes being acted out. The dais was a good enough distance from the where the congregation would sit so the speaker could be assertive if needed and still have the people feel as though he or she was speaking amongst them.

  “Alright, young folks, this is where it will all happen only a short time from now.”

  The minister was probably only in his early forties but he had a playfulness in his soft brown eyes that immediately allowed one to relax in his presence. I felt my shoulders drop slightly as I took in his melodic speech.

  “I see you brought a friend with you this time.”

  “Yes, Pastor Smith,” Jeanette began as she turned to me, “this is a close friend of mine and my maid of honor. I wanted her to come and see the inside of this beautiful building so we can start planning the wedding rehearsal.”

  I extended my hand toward the jolly man, who was yet to relinquish his smile. His face only lit up all the more when he spoke, and gently shook my hand.

  “Hello, I’m Kerine. Most people call me Keri, please feel free to do the same.”

  “Hello, Kerine. I’m sorry – Keri. It is so wonderful to meet you. Your friends Tyler and Jeanette are a wonderful couple and I can’t wait to join them in matrimony.”

  As if on cue, the couple embraced and stared lovingly at one another. My mind briefly betrayed me and skipped back to a time when I looked at a certain someone with the same joy and passion. Before the scene could play out any further there was a loud BANG at the back of the church sanctuary. We all turned with startled expressions in that direction. I noted what the wind had blown in and prepared for a battle of wills to begin.

  Chapter 3

  Joshua Somers. All six foot four inches, two hundred and twenty muscle bound pounds of him stood in the double doors and stared back at us. The huge muscles of his calves were on display because he was wearing a pair of wrinkled khaki shorts. The red A-shirt he wore allowed his firm and curved biceps free access to flex once. The deep copper of the straight hair on his head and on his trimmed sideburns reflected off the bright June sunshine filtering in from the vestibule behind him. He was truly a site to behold and when I felt the corners of my mouth start to curve upwards, I forced myself back to alert mode. We were some distance apart but I knew his metallic blue eyes were loc
ked on to me. I could almost feel the daggers being aimed at my head.

  After what seemed like a good five minutes of nothing but silence, he finally spoke up.

  “Sorry about that,” Josh grinned and my heart fluttered.

  “The door must have been a lot lighter than it first looked, I didn’t mean to scare everyone.”

  The pastor stepped forward someone hesitantly, a bit of his happy mood must have been disturbed or perhaps Joshua’s large frame taking up most of the door had the man slightly apprehensive. It was hard to tell because Pastor Smith still held a small smile on his round face.

  “That’s quite all right, young man, may I help you?”

  “Pastor Smith,” Tyler chimed in, “he’s with us. This is the guy who’s going to be my best man. Joshua Somers.”

  Josh had made his way down the aisle and it only took a handful of strides from his long legs to reach where we all had gathered.

  “Nice to meet you, sir,” Josh reached out and enveloped the other man’s hand before he had a chance to offer it.

  “Hey, bro, glad to see you again.”

  Josh reached over and wrapped one muscular arm around Tyler’s shoulder and offered his close friend since high school a manly embrace. Next, he put two arms around Jeanette and pulled her into a chaste hug followed by a quick peck on the cheek.

  “Jeanette, it’s been too long. I’m so happy for you guys. The big day is almost here,” he said as he released her.

  I assumed I was up next and was all too prepared to reject any semblance of physical affection he planned to offer. To my shock and dismay Josh actually stepped back two feet and looked at me square in the eyes and said not one word. Struggling not to let my disappointment show, I did what any woman in my position would do, I stood my ground and faced him down. One bronzed hand went to the right side of my waist, while the other gripped my left hip. My lips full lips thinned out and one eyebrow shot up as my brown eyes stared at his blue ones head on.