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  The Wedding

  Finding Love—THE OUTSIDER SERIES

  By

  Lorhainne Eckhart

  A man who’s always planned everything, and a woman who’s struggled alone—The Wedding will change their lives forever.

  In THE WEDDING, Candy McCrae has everything she could ever want, and she’s about to marry the one man she’s always loved. He has money, he’s powerful, he’s drop-dead gorgeous, and he has a very close, attentive family with babies, nieces, and nephews running everywhere. For the first time, Candy has someone making decisions for her. So why is she so nervous?

  Candy is the one woman Neil has always wanted, a woman who doesn’t care about flash and glitter and status, and he can’t get her to the altar fast enough. He has plans for his bride-to-be. He wants a family, lots of children, and for her to be a part of his world, with all its money, power, and million-dollar deals. He’ll look after her so she’ll never have to struggle again, and he’s planned and organized everything.

  She goes along with it until the wedding, when she takes Neil’s hand to be his wife, and what she’s refused to share will change their lives forever....

  The Wedding © Lorhainne Ekelund, 2013, All Rights Reserved

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.

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

  ISBN: 978-0-9917910-4-0

  Cover Design: Steven Novak

  Contact Information: [email protected]

  Editor: Talia Leduc

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  Afterword

  Other Works by Lorhainne Eckhart

  About the Author

  Copyright Information

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  “Wake up, sleepyhead.” Neil slid his hand under the satiny sheet and over the inside of Candy McCrae’s thigh. He was a rascal in the morning, and Candy was tired and could still feel the effects of being well loved the night before.

  She rubbed her knuckles over her tired eyes and pressed into the corners, wiping the sleep away, then shoved her long, dark hair back. She hissed when he slid his hand higher and then pressed a kiss into her bare shoulder. “Neil, oh my God. I’m tired. What are you doing?” She gasped as his touch sent a jolt of pleasure through her.

  He moved under the covers, touching her skin to skin, his hand skimming over her rounded cheeks and then across her flat stomach, up over her breasts. His touch was like a brand, saying to her without uttering one sound, “You’re mine, my woman, and every part of you is mine alone to touch.” She loved it! What woman wouldn’t?

  Candy tried to roll over to face Neil, but he stopped her with his body as he cupped her breast and pulled her against him. She slid her hand over the flexed muscles of his thighs, rubbing hair that was a mix of soft and masculine. He wouldn’t let her turn to face him.

  “Neil, I don’t know if I can stand this. Let me touch you,” she said, gasping when he nipped the back of her neck.

  “Soon enough, but I mean to have you and taste every part of you,” he murmured before running his tongue over her earlobe and nipping it with his teeth. Before she knew it, he’d rolled her over and draped her legs over his shoulder, sliding into her. The light from the morning sun highlighted gold flecks in the deep brown of his short hair, which was amazingly neat for a man who had spent most of the night inside Candy, doing all kinds of things to her that had her screaming out his name half a dozen times. It was a wonder she could still walk; the man was insatiable, and she stared into his brown eyes, which appeared to simmer the color of whiskey and burned into her as if he could read everything she tried to hide.

  He held her head between his hands, pinning her down to have his way with her again. She couldn’t move as he slid in and out, holding himself just above her, watching her, and she knew he could do anything to her and she’d let him. He loved it when she called out his name, and he’d wait until he knew she was nearly breaking apart before he’d tell her, “Say my name. Who do you belong to?”

  She could never hold back. She couldn’t stop herself as she screamed out, “Neil, oh my God, I’m yours!”

  He filled what felt like every part of her, possessing her in a way that made her think she’d go mad, and in that same moment she knew that if he never touched her again, something inside her would slowly die.

  After a moment, maybe two, they lay together; he was still inside her, his heartbeat matching the rhythm of hers and their breathing synchronized as one. She thought she heard voices outside, the sound of a car door slamming, but Neil didn’t move. She ran her hands over his back, smoothing his tanned skin and taut, sculpted muscles with her fingertips. Still he didn’t move, and she realized by his deep, relaxed breathing that he’d fallen asleep.

  Candy glanced up at the window behind the bed and listened to the familiar voice of Maria, Neil’s housekeeper, and two voices she’d never heard before. When Maria said, “How was your flight back, Señor Friessen, Señora?” Candy couldn’t make out anything else, because she went into a full-blown panic. Neil’s parents were here—now! A knot tightened in her stomach, a building anxiety, as she worried about what they would think of her. After all, she had nothing, and she wasn’t sophisticated or worldly. Maybe they’d hate her, look down on her. She’d never said one word to Neil about her worries, because she knew he wouldn’t have taken them seriously, but she couldn’t help it. She stopped herself from waking Neil. Avoidance was sometimes a good thing. She decided she’d just hide out there and avoid them for as long as possible.

  A loud, squeaky, braying and a crash as if something had shattered outside made Candy’s blood turn to ice, and she shut her eyes. “Oh no, Ambrose,” she muttered. Neil stirred, blinking just as a shout sounded below:

  “What the hell is a donkey doing in my garden?”

  The worst thing possible had just happened, and Candy widened her eyes in horror. She’d accomplished the one thing she had never wanted to do—start out on the wrong foot with Neil’s mother.

  Chapter 2

  Candy had managed to wiggle out from under Neil and throw on a skirt and tank top before racing out of the bedroom and outside, barefoot, only to see a wide-eyed Ambrose bolting with a bright red geranium sticking out of his mouth. Neil had shouted behind her to wait, but Candy hadn’t listened as she raced down the orange concrete steps, taking in the horror and shocked expression on Neil’s mother’s face as the woman surveyed the yard. Even though the debris from the storm had been cleaned up—well, mostly—the lawn still bore the tire tracks from Neil’s SUV, and for a moment, as she stared at Neil’s mother, Candy couldn’t help but feel responsible for the damage to the once immaculate grounds. This was ludicrous, she realized, except she couldn’t make herself believe otherwise.

  Stung by an overwhelming sense of insecurity, Candy reached out with shaky hands and grabbed Ambrose. As she lifted him, she sniffed an off scent, though whether it was her or Ambrose or both she wasn’t sure. Her tangled hair drooped in her eyes, and it was then that it registered; she had not one shred of underthings on under her clothes, which had been piled in a crumpled heap before she pulled
them on—the same clothes Neil had peeled off her last night.

  “Candy, what are you doing?” Neil yelled again as she held Ambrose. He was shirtless and barefoot, wearing just a pair of jeans, and he needed to shave. He looked like a wild man, which was so unlike him.

  “Neil, I’m sorry he got into your mother’s flowers. I’m so sorry, Missus Friessen. I’ll move him,” Candy said, stumbling. “He didn’t mean any harm by what he was doing….” She wanted to find a hole and jump into it, and she just stopped talking as Neil’s mother started to say something, staring at Candy as if she’d lost her mind before glancing over to Neil, obviously seeking help or an explanation. When Candy spotted Neil’s father watching her in a way that had her face burning a nice, bright red, she really panicked. She began dragging and carrying Ambrose back toward the corral he had escaped from, out of sight, where she could somehow swallow her pride and gather back the dignity she’d lost in the mere seconds she’s spent in front of Neil’s parents.

  ****

  Neil watched Candy as she dragged away that floppy-eared donkey, who behaved more like a rambunctious, untrained puppy than the barn animal he was. Candy was flustered and beautiful as she stammered, carrying on in a way he’d never seen before. No, he was seeing an insecure and vulnerable woman, a side of her he was positive she hadn’t allowed anyone else to see. He had suspected it was buried somewhere underneath all of her little quirks, but she’d hid it well until he’d managed to peel away the thick layers that surrounded her. He also knew darn well that she’d gone off to hide from his parents for now.

  His mother was staring at him, gesturing with her small hand to the garden, where Candy had disappeared. “That was Candy, your fiancée?” she said, stepping toward him in flat shoes, beige slacks, and a light green shirt. Her graying brown hair was cut in a short bob.

  “That was Candy, yes.”

  “She seems a bit high strung there, son,” his dad said as he came up behind him, patting his shoulder. “We obviously woke you two.”

  His mother gazed upward and shook her head. Neil didn’t want to talk with either of his parents about what he’d been doing with Candy moments before they’d arrived, so he cleared his throat roughly and felt his face warm. Both Rodney and Becky exchanged an odd look, one that Neil didn’t miss.

  “Hey, so how’s my nephew? Did Diana and Jed pick out a name for the big guy yet?” Neil said, crossing his arms as he realized he was bare chested. This modesty was so unlike him.

  “Christopher Angus, after your grandfather,” Becky said. Her gaze swept over Neil again in a puzzled sort of way, and she glanced in the direction Candy had scampered off to. “Maybe you should go after her, and after you two are, uh…” His mother cleared her throat and then lifted her chin before continuing. “We’ll have lunch on the verandah. Go get dressed.”

  Neil’s father raised his eyebrows, and there was a flicker of amusement in those light blue eyes. He followed his wife into the house, and Neil sighed before starting across the freshly clipped grass in the direction Candy had gone.

  “Candy!” he called out, but she didn’t answer.

  Chapter 3

  Candy leaned against the concrete wall of the garage that backed onto the house, overlooking the rough corral that currently housed her horse, Sable. Ambrose toddled over to Sable and acted as if the commotion a moment ago hadn’t happened. Candy stared at the corral, wondering how he had gotten out. Later, she would walk around the perimeter, but for now she was barely decent and had no intention of coming out of hiding any time soon. She knew she was being cowardly, and, as she wrapped her arms around her thin shirt, she hoped some wisdom or inspiration would suddenly fall from the sky. She prayed it would—something, anything to help her as she listened to Neil’s shouts, which she had no intention of answering. She had no doubt he would just drag her back into the house to face his parents.

  Neil Friessen was a hot, sexy, drop-dead gorgeous and confident man, the man she was going to marry, the man she had fallen for hard and fast. Oh, she realized now that she had always loved him, even when she thought she hated him. That had always been a big old lie, one she had told herself to protect her heart. Candy had learned the hard way that sometimes it was easier to pretend, and she still had a hard time understanding how Neil could love her when he could have any woman he wanted. She wasn’t sophisticated, a polished debutante who could schmooze politicians and corporate billionaires. She didn’t have soft, silky hands or long, painted fingernails. No, she had short, stubby nails, always with dirt under them, her hands were rough in spots, her face was tanned, and she burned her nose on a regular basis when she refused to wear a hat. Candy was used to hard, backbreaking work, and she would rather shovel out a barn than sit in some five-star establishment in a gown that cost more than she’d make in a lifetime, worrying the entire evening about spilling something on herself. Her clothes were modest, simple, and comfortable.

  “Why didn’t you answer me?” Neil said, appearing beside her. She hadn’t heard him coming; she’d been so twisted up with worry and dread that she jumped.

  “You scared me,” she said, putting her hand over her rapidly beating heart. She wrapped her arms around her narrow waistline, feeling naked in her thin top and skirt.

  Neil stepped closer and put both hands on her shoulders, sliding his palms down over her bare skin, holding her still. He put his fingers on her chin, tilting it up so she’d look at him and see the impatient, hard look he wore at times. She knew he wasn’t about to be pushed around by anyone, even her—not that she was the manipulative type who would stoop to something like that. No, Neil Friessen had an inner strength. He liked to arrange, handle, and control. Candy had become intimately aware of how dynamic a force he was. He knew what he wanted, he had a clear vision, and he didn’t let much stand in his way. She had lost everything in the storm, and he had even purchased brand-new clothes for her, picking the color and style of everything right down to her underwear. She’d have preferred to wear a pair of jeans that morning, but for some reason Neil liked her in a skirt.

  Before Neil swooped in and rescued her when the storm pinned her down, she had handled everything: buying feed for her horse, bringing in the hay, maintaining the property her dad had left her, even trying to manage her lack of credit and bare-bones bank account. She had eventually lost her property to the bank, and Neil had taken over everything.

  “Candy, aren’t you listening to me?” Neil said, sounding somewhat annoyed. “What the hell are you doing, hiding back here? Come on. Let’s go inside, get cleaned up. Mom and Dad want to meet you. We’re going to have lunch together.” He didn’t give her time to answer, just took her arm and started leading her back to the house, but she dug her heels in and gripped his arms when panic started to lick the back of her throat.

  “No, I’m not going back in there. I can’t face your mother right now. What must she think of me? Did you see how she looked at me? She must think I’m an absolute idiot,” Candy said, glancing over her shoulder and putting her hand on Neil’s bare chest. She loved the feel of his pecs and abs, his magnificent body, the chest hair that trailed down, disappearing into the waistline of his jeans. She could stare at his body all day and never tire of it, and the man knew how to use it, too.

  “Candy, you’re being ridiculous. Stop freaking out. I can see the way you’re retreating into yourself, and you need to stop it. Mom and Dad want to get to know you, and they’re going to love you like I do. Just give Mom a chance. She was caught off guard. Ambrose surprised her, is all.” He was so warm as he stepped to her, pulling her closer. She loved the way he surrounded her with his body and made her feel as if nothing could ever harm her. He touched her forehead and slid his thumb over her furrowed brow. “You’re worrying about something. I can see it. Just trust me, okay? I’m not going to let anything happen to you. We’re going inside, getting showered and dressed, and everything is going to be fine.”

  She didn’t know how he had done it, but bef
ore she could speak, Neil was guiding her across the lawn. “Neil, did you see what Ambrose did? He didn’t know any better,” she said, feeling a bubble of laughter burst out. She slapped her hand over her mouth as she pictured Becky’s face and Ambrose, wide-eyed, with her geraniums dangling from his mouth.

  “That wasn’t your fault, and that naughty problem child we have… well, I’ll make sure I take care of the corral so he can’t slip out again,” Neil said, hugging her closer as they both stepped barefoot into the house and slipped quietly upstairs, back to his room.

  Chapter 4

  “Candy, have you put any thought into what kind of wedding you want?” Becky, Neil’s mother, asked. She sat across from them at the round table, which was set with a white tablecloth, on the covered patio just off the main dining room.

  They’d just been served a lush salad filled with fresh greens and topped with goats’ cheese, and Neil watched as Candy picked at her dish. He didn’t think she had put one bite in her mouth, and she kept sending nervous glances first to his mother and then his father. He could tell that everything he’d said upstairs to calm her down had done little to ease her anxiety, and he’d reached under the table and patted her leg a number of times to remind her. The last time, she knocked her knife to the ground.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry,” she said, scooting back her chair and bending over, scrambling to pick up the knife.

  Neil’s mother shot him a look across the table as if she was at a loss. Candy was wound so tightly, a ball of nerves, and there was little he could do at this point to calm her that wouldn’t add to her acute embarrassment, so he took a breath and scraped his chair back, taking the knife from Candy when she went to set it back beside her plate. “Don’t worry, honey. I’ll get you another,” he said, sliding her chair in.

  She darted him a glance with smoldering brown eyes that pleaded with him not to leave her, and he could tell she was also fighting the urge to bolt, so he put a hand on her shoulder to steady her.