Mine to Cherish Read online

  Mine To Cherish

  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/

  Editing done by Jenny Sims Editing4Indies

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

  Proofing by Judy’s proofreading www.judysproofreading.com

  * * *

  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 one-bed-only cabin and 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.

  Created with Vellum

  Southern Family Tree

  SOUTHERN WEDDING SERIES TREE

  Mine To Have

  Harlow Barnes & Travis Baker

  * * *

  Mine To Hold

  Shelby & Ace

  * * *

  Mine To Cherish

  Clarabella & Luke

  * * *

  Mine To Love

  Presley & Bennett

  * * *

  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

  Contents

  Southern Family 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

  Epilogue One

  Epilogue Two

  Books By Natasha Madison

  FREE BOOK!

  Prologue

  Dearest Love,

  Going to the chapel and we're going to get mar—

  Hmm, are they going to get married?

  * * *

  Clarabella will soon be walking down the aisle. The flowers have been delivered, the food is prepared, and the champagne is chilled. Even the groom is on time. But…

  * * *

  The pesky little knock on the door makes all the cards come crashing down. It seems someone is keeping a little secret. An eight-pound, blue-eyed secret.

  * * *

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

  Only time will tell!

  XOXO

  NM

  Chapter 1

  Clarabella

  "This is stupid," I say when the car door opens. I feel someone grab my hand as she helps me get out of the car with a blindfold over my eyes.

  "It's not stupid," Shelby, my sister, hisses, holding my elbow and guiding me down the pathway to the front door of our venue space.

  "It's supposed to be a surprise," Presley, my other sister, says, and all I can do is laugh and secretly start to get hives. If there is one thing I hate, it's being surprised. Like, if I didn't know about this surprise, I would more than likely turn around and hightail it out of here.

  "I helped plan it, for heaven's sake," I whisper but not really at them. The clicking of our heels fills the night air.

  "Well, no one is supposed to know about that,” Shelby says. "But God forbid you let go of control for once in your life."

  I stop walking and look over to where her voice was coming from, even though I still see black. "I didn't want this stupid party to begin with. I wanted dinner and maybe some drinks." I stop talking. "Okay, maybe a lot of drinks. But nowhere did I want a freaking party!"

  "Well, tell that to Edward,” Presley says of my boyfriend of the past two months. "He's the one who wanted this."

  I grit my teeth together. "Why would you even entertain this ridiculous idea from him?" I shake my head. "Out of everyone else, you two should know better." I turn, but I'm still blindfolded, so who knows if I'm actually looking at them or not. I’m pointing at what I hope is one of them. "I'm very disappointed in you."

  I can hear them snickering. "Good to know. Now lift your feet,” Shelby says, and I know we've made it to the four steps. I huff out as my heart speeds up a notch after each step toward the front door.

  "Just remember,” Presley adds, opening the door for me, “we tried."

  "I don't even know what that means." I'm pushed forward, and the blindfold comes off. I blink away the darkness, and all I see are bright lights until the focus comes to me.

  "Surprise!" everyone yells, and I stand here stunned. This is not what I planned at all. My simp
le dinner party for twenty-five was no more.

  It looks like my whole family is here, and as I look around the room, I see Travis, my brother, and his wife, Harlow, standing at the side, rolling their lips while trying not to laugh at me. Harlow's hand comes up to her mouth as she whispers, “Sorry,” to me.

  If I didn't have so many eyes on me, I would whisper back, "You are dead to me.”

  "Oh my God," I say, putting my hand to my mouth when I see Edward coming to me, clapping his hands with a huge smile on his face. His blond hair is pushed back perfectly as he wears a tailored black suit and a white button-down shirt. My mother is right behind him with her hands in the air and a huge smile on her face as if she won the lottery.

  "Happy birthday!" He grabs my face and kisses me on the lips, then brings me in for a hug. My whole body is as stiff as a board, and I push back the anger bubbling over. His blue eyes shine so brightly as he smiles at me. "Are you surprised?" I can't say anything, or better yet, it's safer if I don't say anything. Instead, I just nod my head. "We have one more surprise for you." When he says that, my blood starts to boil, and I have to wonder if this is how the Hulk feels before he turns green and rips off his clothes. "She's stunned," he says, turning around to address the crowd that has now gathered even closer. I try to count the faces, but it stops after twenty.

  "Happy birthday, sweetheart," my mother says, hugging me. I bend to hug her, but my arms stay limp at my sides. Maybe I'm having a stroke, I think to myself when the back of my neck starts to get hotter, and all I can hear is a deep buzzing in my ears.

  "Do you want to say hello to everyone now?" Shelby asks me once my mother lets me go. "Or do you want to change?"

  "I think she should change,” Presley answers for me when I take way too long to respond, and all I can do is smile at everyone and wave awkwardly. I'm literally going to kill them all.

  "Okay," Shelby says, putting a smile on her face. "We are going for a quick change, and then we will be out." She puts her arm around my shoulders and ushers me to the side, where the bride's room is located.

  "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" I look down at the pants and shirt that I thought would match my idea of what I thought my party was going to be.

  "Um," Presley says, “it’s a little more formal.”

  She opens the suite door, and black and white balloons are everywhere with the giant black 3-0 balloons. I walk into the room and see the bottle of champagne in the middle of the table. My feet move at the same time as my head is screaming at me to run. I grab the bottle and just bring it straight to my lips.

  "Is she going to be okay?" Shelby leans over to whisper to Presley, who just looks at me with wide eyes.

  "She'll be fine as long as we just keep feeding her booze.” Presley walks into the room and closes the door, then turns to look at me. "On a scale of one to ten, how bad do you want to freak out right now?"

  "A solid five billion," I reply honestly, then take another five gulps of the champagne as if it's water. Knowing that this is a very bad idea.

  "Okay, well, you can't do anything about it now,” Shelby says, walking into the room and going over to the curtain that blocks the glam area. "So why don't we get you into your outfit and get this over with?"

  I bring the bottle back up to my lips and try to calm myself down when I see the outfit. "Is that a fucking wedding dress?" I shriek, looking at the long-sleeved floor-length white gown.

  "Pfft." Presley rolls her eyes. "No." I just look at her. "Fine, it might have been on the rack, but we were told it could be just a regular gown." I just stare at her. I don't even know if I'm blinking at this point.

  "Are you out of your mind?" I try to keep my voice from rising, knowing that people can probably hear us. “If you say this is a surprise wedding, I’m going to throat punch you both.” I hold the bottle in my hand. “And then shank you both with this.” I move my wrist, looking at the bottle.

  "As if,” Shelby snorts. "If we did that, we wouldn't be telling you with a room full of windows that you could break through."

  "Yeah." Walking to me, Presley grabs the bottle of champagne and takes her own drink. "If we did that, we would do it in a padded concrete cell so you wouldn't be able to run." She winks at me, and I grab the bottle away from her.

  "Get your own," I say, taking another couple of gulps.

  "Just relax." Shelby puts her arm around my shoulders as she ushers me to the room. "We asked everyone to wear black so you would stand out." I look at both of them and take in their black dresses that I should have known were too formal for my dinner. "Now, why don't we get you dressed so we can get this whole thing over with. Then I can drink a lot of booze and take my husband home and have my way with him."

  "I just threw up in my mouth,” Presley says. "I'm going to go out there and make sure everything is set."

  "I don't think this is a good idea." Those words come from me. "I don't do well with being surprised."

  "Oh, trust me, we know,” Presley replies. "It's why we pretended to have you plan it." She walks out the door, slamming it behind her.

  "I hate her." I look at Shelby. "Ever since she gave up carbs, she's been a bitch."

  "She isn't the only one,” Shelby says to me and tilts her head to the side.

  "They say that your weight at thirty is going to be your weight your whole life," I remind her.

  "Who?" She cocks her hip to the side and crosses her arms over her chest. "Who says this?"

  "Google,” I say as she takes the dress off the hanger. "I even sent you the link."

  "Clarabella, do you think I read everything you send me?" she asks as I drink more champagne. "Can you undress and drink at the same time?"

  With a glare, I put the bottle down, undress, and slip into the white dress. The dress goes high to my neck and straight down to the floor. She zips up the bottom, then fastens the button at the back of my neck. It fits me like a glove, and when I turn around to see the back, it's got a diamond shape, leaving it backless. "Isn't it pretty?"

  "It's white," I point out, turning to her. "I look like a bride."

  "I promise you don't," she says, walking to the box of shoes on the counter. "Mom bought you the shoes." She opens the box and gasps.

  "What's the matter?" I look at her as she takes the blue satin Manolo Blahnik shoes out.

  "Fuck no," I say, shaking my head. "I'm keeping those shoes." I point at the shoes. "But I'm wearing my black shoes."

  "Fine,” Shelby concedes. "Now let’s get out there." I grab the bottle and start to walk out. "You can't go out there like that." She points at the bottle.

  "Fine." I shrug my shoulders, bringing the bottle to my mouth and finishing the rest of it. "Is that better?" I ask, and she smirks at me.

  "You ready?" she asks, and my head is starting to get a little dizzy.

  I take a deep breath and tuck my hair behind one ear and nod my head. She opens the door, and I start walking out. "This freaking dress has a train," I state when I look back. "I hate you both." I clench my teeth, but then smile when I see the photographer snapping pictures.

  I walk back into the venue and hear some applause as I look around at the decorations I did not pick out.

  A big 3-0 in bright lights is at the back of the room. Four long tables covered in white tablecloths form a square around the white dance floor and have place settings with black plates and black glasses. Five crystal chandelier candles sit in the middle of each table. High-top tables covered in black tablecloths are scattered around the venue with a black lantern centerpiece and a fake candle. Gold, white, and black balloons are everywhere.

  "You look like you want to kill us all.” Travis comes to stand next to me, and I just nod my head at him.

  "I'm so sorry I was sworn to secrecy," Harlow tells me, kissing my cheek. "But in my defense, I did give you a hint." I look at her, confused. "I said what if they don't do what you say."

  "That wasn't a hint," I hiss at her and pretend to be upset with a smile as I shak
e my head. I grab the glass of champagne from her hand and finish it, then hand it back to her. "How many people are here?"

  "A hundred and twenty-five," Travis answers, bringing his scotch to his mouth to avoid laughing at me.

  "I need a drink." Looking around, I'm about to go to one of the bars set up in the corner when Edward spots me. He comes over to me. "Look at how beautiful you look," he says, kissing me on the side of my lips and then kissing my neck.

  "Thank you," I say. I met Edward two months ago when we bumped into each other in a bar. It was tacky to say the least, but when he asked for my number, I gave it to him. We've grown extremely close in the past two months. "Can I have this dance?" he asks, and I look at him weirdly since no music is playing.

  He holds up his hand, and as soon as he does, the music starts playing. Everyone looks around, and I don't say anything as he slips his hand in mine and brings me to the middle of the dance floor, where the words Clarabella's Thirtieth Birthday are printed on the floor. "Um, people are looking," I say, looking around the whole room as people gather around, smiling.