Bonus Scene

JOSEPH

Ten Years Earlier

T he morning sun crests above the mountains, spreading light across the field and through the open spaces between the leaves and branches on the oak tree I’m leaning against. It’s a beautiful early June morning, and I should be smiling. But a frown is the order of the day. At least until she shows up.

I check the time again. 6:05 a.m. She’s thirty-five minutes late and that has every nerve in my body on high alert. It shouldn’t bother me. Mary Beth Strong is never on time. That’s why I told her to be here an hour earlier than is really necessary. I always had to do that with her. Otherwise, we wouldn’t make it on time.

Despite how well I know my girl, her tardiness, today of all days, is driving me a little insane. We talked about this for weeks, months even, and she promised me she wouldn’t be late. We planned out every detail—where we’d go, what we’d wear, what we’d say to each other, where we’d live afterward, and even how we’d tell our parents and siblings. She assured me she was ready for this. Lord knows, I am. There’s nothing I want more.

Yet, she’s not here.

I take a deep breath and try to calm my nerves. She’ll show. I know she will.

I push off the old oak tree—our spot. This tree sits at the edge of my family’s property right near the entrance to a trail that leads to Mary Beth’s family home. It’s the place where I first kissed my girl, confessed my love to her, and then asked her to be my wife. It’s only fitting that we meet here before we take off to Kalispell.

That is, if she hasn’t changed her mind since last night. I know we’re young. I’m twenty and Mary Beth is only eighteen. She just graduated high school last week. We want this, and this is how we want to do it. It’s about us and no one else.

My heart rate picks up as I think about her five brothers and what they’ll do to me when they find out. Hell, even her four sisters scared me a bit. The Strongs are a huge, tight-knit family—ten siblings in all. When you mess with one of them, you mess with them all.

What I plan to do today should terrify me, but it doesn’t. Even with the threat of an ass beating from nine siblings, I’ve never wanted anything more in my life.

I’m sure all our friends and family will say we’re too young, that we rushed into this, but that’s not true. We’re not rushing into anything. Mary Beth has been my girl for two years. I love her, and she loves me. Nothing else matters.

I let myself fall against the large oak tree again and sigh. I squeeze my eyes closed and try not to think about how destroyed I’ll be if she doesn’t show. That’s when I hear a light rustling of leaves from the trail behind the tree.

I whip around and sway a bit from the lightness that fills my head from moving so fast. That lightness gets worse when my eyes land on the vision in white that emerges from the treeline.

A smile tugs at my lips. The sun shines behind Mary Beth, creating a soft glow around her entire body. A halo of deep red surrounds her head of dark brown curls, and the sunlight outlines her figure showing off the curves of her chest, waist, and hips. My mouth runs dry, and when I try to swallow, it feels like sandpaper scratching the back of my throat.

She’s stunning. And she’s about to be mine forever.

When our eyes lock, she takes off in a run and jumps into my arms. I lift her up and spin her around, taking her mouth with mine. As soon as we’re joined, my nerves calm, and everything feels right and perfect. Her lips part and our tongues tangle in a deep passionate kiss. A kiss that says more than words ever could. She’s mine and I’m hers. Nothing in this world can come between us.

We break apart and she drops her forehead to mine. Her fingers thread into my hair on the back of my head and I groan. “Sorry, I’m late. Wyatt was up early asking me too many questions.”

“Honey, if you weren’t late,” I kiss her nose before I continue, “I’d think someone invaded your body and stole my girl. I planned for it.”

She chuckles and playfully slaps my back. “Oh hush, I really tried to be on time today. I hate that I’m late.”

I let her slide down my body to her feet. She wraps her arms around my waist and hugs me tight. I rest my chin on the top of her head. She’s about a foot shorter than me and fits perfectly against my body. I’d keep her right here forever and never let her go if I could.

She releases me and slips her hands into mine. “Let me get a good look at you. I’ve never seen my man in a suit before.”

She lifts my arms out to our sides and scans my body, her eyes widening with each pass. When she lets go of my hands, I groan. I want her back in my arms. She slowly walks around me, gently running her hands up my arms, across my shoulders, and down my back as she checks me out.

“Does this work for you?” My voice is low, rough. I’m struggling to contain myself with the way she’s looking at me. I wore a dark blue suit to compliment my blue eyes. Mary Beth always says this is my best color and makes my eyes look like sapphires. I hope she thinks that today, too.

“Yes. You look good, Joe.” Her words are heavy and laced with desire.

I pull her back into my arms and kiss her again. “You look good too, honey. This dress fits you perfectly. But I have to be honest, I can’t wait to take it off you later.”

Her eyes darken as she melts into me. “Me too, Joe. Me too.”

As hard as it’s been, Mary Beth and I decided to wait until we married to be together. I want her so badly, and tonight I’ll have her. All of her. I’m nervous, excited, and terrified all at the same time. I want this with her, but I also want it to be good. I don’t exactly know what I’m doing when it comes to sex. Then again, she doesn’t either. I guess we’ll learn together—as husband and wife.

“You ready to head out?” I squeeze her hand and kiss the top of her head.

“More than ready.” She smiles up at me, and my heart soars.

I gently press my lips to hers, not wanting to let her go. “Then let’s go, so I can make you my wife.”

Later that day, I married my girl. We shared forty-eight hours of happiness together before everything went to shit.