Mine To Hold Read online

  Mine To Hold

  Natasha Madison

  Copyright © 2022 Natasha Madison. E-Book and Print Edition

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used factiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons or living or dead, events or locals are entirely coincidental.

  The author acknowledges the trademark 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 owner.

  All rights reserved

  Cover Design: Jay Aheer https://www.simplydefinedart.com/

  Photo by Regina Wamba

  Editing done by Jenny Sims Editing4Indies

  Editing done by Karen Hrdicka Barren Acres Editing

  Proofing Julie Deaton by Deaton Author Services https://www.facebook.com/jdproofs/

  Proofing by Judy’s proofreading www.judysproofreading.com

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Are you ready for The Southern Wedding Series?

  Wedding Series Tree

  Southern Tree

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Epilogue One

  Epilogue Two

  Books By Natasha Madison

  FREE BOOK!

  Are you ready for The Southern Wedding Series?

  MINE TO HOLD

  Things are supposed to go smoothly on your wedding day.

  Aren't they?

  Shelby

  I got a love letter the night before I was supposed to marry the love of my life.

  Except the letter wasn't for me.

  My future husband had written it to someone else.

  Weston (Ace)

  Standing at the altar to watch my best friend get married was an honor.

  Finding out that he was sleeping with my girlfriend was a nightmare.

  Everything I knew was a lie.

  When the opportunity came to get out of town and leave my ex behind, I took it.

  Umbrella drinks and broken hearts don't mix well.

  I shouldn't want Shelby for myself - but I do.

  I want her more than I've ever wanted anyone.

  Maybe, she was just mine to hold.

  Coming July 2022!

  Pre-Order Here!

  * * *

  MINE TO CHERISH

  Clarabella

  Did I want to get married today?

  It's hard to say when he proposed in front of over a hundred people.

  Everything happened so fast, and I thought it was just nerves.

  It was not.

  The knock on the door showed me that what I was feeling was more than just cold feet.

  I was a runaway bride.

  Luke

  The whole town was busy attending her wedding.

  She was the one I let get away when I told her our night together was a mistake and then left town.

  So I planned to spend the weekend getting drunk.

  When she ran out of the church looking for a hideout, I opened the car door for her.

  My cabin has one bed, and my longing looks don't mix well.

  Somehow, I have to keep my heart intact and her reputation together.

  Maybe she was just mine to cherish.

  Coming September 2022!

  Pre-Order Here!

  * * *

  MINE TO LOVE

  Nothing says forever like two pink lines!

  Presley

  After my sisters’ disastrous weddings, I’m never going to get married.

  I’ll just stay single forever.

  It doesn’t matter that I’m in love with my brother’s best friend.

  Or that Bennett and I shouldn’t even be friends with benefits.

  Until the positive sign tells me I’m pregnant.

  Bennett

  I fell in love with Presley when she was eighteen and asked me for a favor.

  She didn’t want to go to college a virgin.

  I said no, but she kissed me, and I was lost in her.

  Years later, I’ll take her with any rules she gives me.

  She thinks this is just a fling. She’s wrong.

  Because she’s always been mine to love.

  Coming October 2022!

  Pre-Order Here!

  Wedding Series Tree

  Southern Wedding Family tree

  * * *

  Mine To Have

  Harlow & Travis

  * * *

  Mine To Hold

  Shelby & Ace

  * * *

  Mine To Cherish

  Clarabella & Luke

  * * *

  Mine to Love

  Presley & Bennett

  * * *

  Mine To Take

  Mine To

  * * *

  Mine to Hold

  * * *

  Shelby

  I got a love letter the night before I was supposed to marry the love of my life.

  Except the letter wasn't for me.

  My future husband had written it to someone else.

  * * *

  Weston (Ace)

  Standing at the altar to watch my best friend get married was an honor.

  Finding out that he was sleeping with my girlfriend was a nightmare.

  Everything I knew was a lie.

  * * *

  When the opportunity came to get out of town and leave my ex behind, I took it.

  Umbrella drinks and broken hearts don't mix well.

  I shouldn't want Shelby for myself—but I do.

  I want her more than I've ever wanted anyone.

  * * *

  Maybe, she was just mine to hold.

  Southern Tree

  Southern Family tree

  Billy and Charlotte

  (Mother and father to Kallie and Casey)

  * * *

  Southern Chance

  Kallie & Jacob McIntyre

  Ethan McIntyre (Savannah Son)

  Amelia

  Travis

  * * *

  Southern Comfort

  Olivia & Casey Barnes

  Quinn (Southern Heat)

  Reed (Southern Sunshine)

  Harlow (Mine to Have)

  * * *

  Southern Storm

  Savannah & Beau Huntington

  Ethan McIntyre (Jacob’s son)

  Chelsea (Southern Heart)

  Toby

  Keith

  * * *

  Southern Sunrise

  Emily & Ethan McIntyre

  Gabriel

  Aubrey

/>   * * *

  Southern Heart

  Chelsea Huntington & Mayson Carey

  Tucker

  * * *

  Southern Heat

  Willow & Quinn Barnes

  * * *

  Southern Secrets

  Amelia McIntyre & Asher

  * * *

  Southern Sunshine

  Hazel & Reed Barnes

  Sophia

  Prologue

  Dearest Love,

  So much has happened since we last spoke. Travis and Harlow got married and could not be happier.

  But it's that time again. The wedding season, when everyone is finding their best outfits to be worn.

  Shelby will soon be walking down the aisle. Or will she?

  It seems a pesky little email was sent to her the night before her wedding. A sort of declaration of love. Some would swoon, except was she the intended woman?

  Will they get their happily ever after, or was she always meant for someone else?

  Time will tell!

  XOXO

  NM

  Chapter 1

  Shelby

  "Happy day before your wedding day!" Clarabella shouts as she comes into my office with her hands in the air, one of them with a clipboard and the other with her phone. "You look so pretty." She takes me in as I stand in front of the mirror in another new outfit I bought for the day.

  "You don't think it's too much?” Looking back into the mirror, I smooth down the dress. "Should I have had it in white instead?" The dress is a blush pink and has a sweetheart neckline with small cap sleeves attached to the dress, all ruffled. A ruffled piece goes down the middle of my chest, showing off my boobs and then to the side, and zigzags back until the floor. The slit in the front shows off my legs that I've been working out to get for the past six months.

  "I don't know about that," Presley says, coming in right behind Clarabella. "But your body is banging." She shakes her head. "All that work in the gym, and you went with a Cinderella-style dress. Pity."

  "Hey," Clarabella snaps at her. "No negative talk on the day before the wedding." She glares at Presley, who just shrugs her shoulders.

  "Are you ready to go over the last-minute list?" Presley asks, and I nod my head.

  "This I can do," I mumble to them, walking over to my desk to grab my list. I ignore the way my stomach flip-flops all over the place. "It's probably going to calm me down." I pull out the big white chair from in front of my white desk and sit down. My hands shake just a touch, and I look up to see if my sisters noticed but find them looking down at their phones doing something. They are dressed in pantsuits, one is a light yellow, and the other is a light blue. If I wasn't the bride, I would probably be wearing the same thing as them.

  My desk is perfectly organized, with the middle of the desk clear with just one folder on it, and it's the one for this weekend. A picture of Joseph and me taken when he proposed to me is on the side of my desk right next to my computer screen. Another photo is of my sisters and me when we officially opened our wedding service, Happily Ever After. "Are we going to start?" I look over at them, and they look up from their phones.

  "This is going to be amazing," Clarabella says, coming over and sitting on one of the two white chairs that face my desk. "Wedding of the decade."

  "I mean, let's be honest, it’s going to be a lot better than Travis's first wedding." Presley sits in the chair next to Clarabella. "We've already set the bar higher on that one with the kitchen not catching on fire."

  I gasp. "Why would you say that and put it in the universe?" I squeeze my hands together in fists. "It's like out there now. Ready to come back and boom. Kitchen on fire."

  "Since when are you superstitious?" Presley just eyes me. "Out of all of us, you are the last person who's even remotely superstitious."

  I just look at them, trying to mask all the things going through my head right now. I shouldn't be this nervous. I’ve done this a thousand times. Yes, but not personally. With each bride, I leave a little bit of myself in their shoes. "There was that one time that the mirror in the bride's room shattered." Clarabella looks over at Presley.

  "That was because she was having sex against it," I point out, "with the groom's father."

  "Oh, yeah, that should have been a sign." Presley taps her phone that is on her lap with her finger. "We must have done something right. She’s coming back for her second wedding."

  "Nothing says I really loved what you guys did with my first wedding than to come back for a second time," Presley says, looking down at her notes and starting. "Everything has been reconfirmed." I look down on my list that is all blacked out with check marks beside it. "We have them setting up for the rehearsal dinner right now."

  "Which looks amazing," Clarabella says, and I just stare at her. "What? You know the rules. We plan each other's wedding."

  "The only thing I've been able to do is book the food and the waitstaff," I huff, not used to not being the one in control.

  "That's not true. We let you choose the dress," Presley retorts, leaning back in her chair when her phone beeps.

  "And be happy we even let you handle that." Clarabella smiles at me. "And if I'm being honest, I would have chosen the other one." She gets up. "It's just a couple more minutes, and we will call you to come out, and you can take it all in." She looks over at Presley. "It gives us a chance to change."

  "You're changing?" I ask, and they just look at me.

  "Of course, we are changing. You aren't the only one who gave up carbs for the last six months," Clarabella says. "Also, would never recommend." I just laugh.

  "But we felt so much better." I point at her.

  "And I'll feel so much better tomorrow when I shove doughnuts down my pie hole," Presley says. "Pie . . . that sounds so good. I think I just drooled." She brings her hand to her mouth. "When you get married." She looks at Clarabella. "I'm not doing this carb-free shit."

  "As if." Clarabella pffts at her. "You will be married before me." They walk to the door, then she looks back at me. "Only come out when I call you." She points at me and walks out of the room.

  Getting up, I shake my head, looking down at the four-carat princess-cut ring sitting on my left hand. A smile comes to my face when I think of when he gave it to me. I don't know if I was expecting it or not, but deep down inside, I was more surprised than I thought I would be. Married. It was a big deal, especially with seeing the things I've seen doing my job. My stomach does a little flip, and I walk to look out the window as the florist truck pulls up.

  When my sisters and I decided to go into business together, we got the idea from our mom and aunt, who ran a small wedding planning business. But the three of us didn't just want to plan weddings. No, we wanted to be the best event planners in the business, and with that came the idea to build our own event space. We bought a huge piece of land and slowly built it up.

  Our main offices were in a nice little bungalow we built with three offices upstairs where the bedrooms would be, and the downstairs was a little setup of things we have done along with pictures of all our events. I look off toward the right and see the food truck as well. The main thing that took the longest to build was the event building.

  It looks like a barn from the outside, but once you get inside, the wooden floors are rustic with exposed wooden beams that can be dressed up. It can fit up to five hundred and fifty people. Right behind the barn is a kitchen where the caterers can set up.

  My eyes see another truck arriving and heading toward the little house adjacent to the event space. It's what usually sells the brides on this place. It's a massive three-bedroom bridal suite. I see white flowers being carried in as well as my dress. The dress that I spent about three months designing. The dress that I was sure in my heart was my dream dress. So what if when I tried it on, I didn't get that little butterfly feeling that everyone says you get, but I think it was just nerves.

  I put my hand to my stomach, waiting for the butterflies to flutter and come up empty. "
It's going to be fine," I tell myself. "It's just nerves because I haven't done anything."

  My phone rings on my desk, and I walk over to see that it's Clarabella. "Hello." I put the phone to my ear, and I hear her walking somewhere.

  "You may make your way down," she says, and I walk over to the shoes in the corner and slip them on. They are mesh with white diamond studs on them. I'm also wearing them tomorrow, and I've counted them as my something old. "Happy day before your wedding, Shelby," she says, and I can hear the smile in her voice. "It's going to be amazing."

  "I know it will," I say to her. "No one knows me quite like you two," I say, smiling. "I'm on my way." I walk over to the mirror and take a final look at myself, tucking a piece of black hair behind one ear. The curls are still holding from this afternoon. My makeup is very natural, just like I wanted it. I take a deep breath. "Here we go."