All of You (A Well Paired Novel Book 7)

  All of You

  A Well Paired Novel

  Marianne Rice

  Published by Marianne Rice, 2020.

  First Edition Published 2020

  Copyright © Published 2020, Marianne Rice. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

  Editor: Silla Webb

  Cover Artist: Just Write Creations

  This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.

  Also by Marianne Rice

  A Well Paired Novel

  At First Blush

  Where There's Hope

  What Makes Us Stronger

  Here With You

  Finding Our Way Back

  All of You

  A Wilton Hills Christmas

  Marshmallows & Mistletoe

  Cocoa & Carols

  The McKay-Tucker Men

  False Start

  False Hope

  False Impressions

  Standalone

  Smoke & Pearls

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Also By Marianne Rice

  All of You | A Well Paired Novel | By Marianne Rice

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  EPILOGUE

  Acknowledgements

  Also By Marianne Rice

  About the Author

  All of You

  A Well Paired Novel

  By Marianne Rice

  CHAPTER ONE

  Carter Marshall lifted his chin and stared at his reflection in the mirror as he made his fourth and final attempt to fix his bow tie. “It’s your fault Mia and Ryan are making us wear these penguin suits,” he grumbled to his brother, Brady, who was struggling just as much as Carter was.

  The peanut gallery behind them laughed. He glanced at the guys, who hung out at the bar top behind him sipping a pre-wedding beer while they waited for their cue to head out to the gazebo. Coastal Vines Winery had been the hot spot for weddings with his friends.

  “I didn’t make you wear one,” Brady grumbled back at him.

  Carter glanced at his brother and saw he was fairing no better with the damn thing. “You could have told Grace no. Mia wouldn’t be making us wear these if you’d have manned up last year for your wedding.”

  Brady lifted an eyebrow and snorted. “Right.” While his brother lived the stereotypical farmer life, Carter’s sister-in-law was anything but, and somehow, they fit together like apple pie and vanilla bean ice cream. “I’d talked her down from the tux. You’re lucky she settled for just the shirt and bow tie.”

  It was Carter’s fifth time standing up for his friends in less years than he had fingers on one hand. Damn. All his friends had the marriage bug up their butt lately, and now Mia, his best girlfriend, the one he could always count on to go out for a beer or hit up a bar outside of town, was walking down the aisle with her FBI agent, Ryan Thorne.

  It wasn’t jealousy that stabbed his chest, but he was starting to feel his age; not that thirty-three was old. Most of the guys he’d served with overseas were still single. Joining the military hadn’t been on his radar until he’d graduated from high school, worked another year on the family’s farm, and decided farming wasn’t the life for him. He didn’t mind the physical labor; he enjoyed it, actually. But he wasn’t a lifer.

  Nor was he a lifer when it came to a military career. He’d played around with computers while overseas and sort of fell in love with technology. Building his graphic design company had been a slow start, and he was thankful to have the farm as a fallback while he built his career and his home at the back end of his family’s land.

  Close enough to be part of Marshall Farm and to check in on his mother from time to time, but private enough to start his own life as well. Only he hadn’t really started his life. His friends sure had, though.

  “Mia said you’d be bitching the loudest. Allow me.” Ryan stepped between Carter and the mirror and tugged on the tie.

  “You wear a lot of these, double-oh-seven?”

  Ryan’s lip quirked. “A few.” The groom-to-be appeared cool and calm, like always. Being an undercover agent, the man was pretty damn good at masking his emotions.

  “You’ve got the sleek car and the girl, figures you have the monkey suits to go with the package.” Carter had fun giving Thorne a hard time. Mostly because he knew how much Thorne hated it. It was all in good fun, though. “And don’t think because you pack heat on a regular basis that me and my brother won’t kick your ass if you ever hurt Mia.”

  “So you’ve said.” Thorne tugged on the tie, nearly choking Carter. “A hundred times.”

  “Take it easy.” Carter rubbed his neck and coughed. “You’re forgetting I’m military trained as well and can take you down in two-point-two with my bare hands.”

  Thorne lifted an unamused brow and then went to work on Brady’s tie. “You’ve said that before as well.”

  “Lighten up, Carter. Don’t mind him,” Brady said to Thorne. “He’s just jealous because you took the last available woman in town, and they’ve all passed Carter by.”

  “It must suck to be the ugly one.” A rare joke escaped Thorne’s lips.

  Brady and the rest of the guys belt out a round of laughter. The bridal party consisted of Mia’s friends since Thorne didn’t have many. Any, actually. They knew a little about his past. There was once a wife and baby. Both were murdered by a serial killer Thorne had been tracking. His story sucked. Carter could understand why the man put up a cement wall topped with flaming barbed wire around him.

  After Thorne put his life on the line and saved Mia’s life, Carter and the rest of the guys had no reason not to trust the man. He was of good stock, if not a bit aloof.

  “Everyone ready?” Ben came in from the side door, making eye contact with Carter. Ben was in charge of the men, making sure they showed up on time and didn’t look like fools. The other guys had been through this before, and their wives would skin them alive if they did anything ridiculous. Carter was the only loose thread.

  It wasn’t like he’d given them cause to worry at any of the other weddings, but he was the only single guy, minus Thorne, who by the looks of it, was eager to put an end to that role.

  “Let’s go.” Thorne didn’t look back to see if they followed and headed out the door.

  “Guess we don’t have to worry about cold feet with that one.” Cameron laughed on his way out.

  The ceremony was short and sweet, as Mia had wanted. Carter hadn’t paid much attention to the guests or the flash of the cameras. Instead, he watched in amazement as his number-one party girl blinked away tears as she said her vows.

  And because he was a glutton f
or punishment, Carter glanced over at Jenna whose gaze darted from the bridal couple to Tristan in the second row, who hadn’t taken his eyes off his wife.

  A wave of melancholy crashed through Carter and left as quickly as it had come. He didn’t want this—the tie, marriage, commitment. Not that he was opposed to it, but he couldn’t imagine spending the rest of his life with one person.

  Waking up to the same person day after day. Crowding each other, being responsible for each other, checking in with someone else before going anywhere. No, he liked his freedom. He kept his relationships monogamous when he was in one, but didn’t keep them for long. As soon as the woman hinted that she wanted something more—the checking in part, the toothbrush next to his—he tapped out.

  “You may kiss the bride.” The whoops and cheers from the crowd had Carter grinning. He couldn’t help but be mesmerized by Mia’s happiness when Thorne took her in his arms. It was sweet. Nice. Good for her.

  The flashes of phones and cameras were blinding. He waited his turn and escorted Jenna down the aisle. Tristan had taken it pretty well when he’d learned his wife’s ex-boyfriend would be her groomsman. Okay, so he wasn’t exactly an ex-boyfriend. They’d dated and shared a handful of sweet kisses, but that had been the extent of his relationship with Jenna until Tristan showed up on her doorstep.

  The testosterone battle had been raging in his head, and at the time, he was kind of disappointed Tristan stepped back to allow Carter a chance at Jenna. He didn’t want to like him, but Tristan had consistently put Jenna’s needs first and, low and behold, won his former bride back.

  Carter didn’t resent him. They were a good match, and Jenna had kept her word, and they’d remained friends. Even Tristan had become a friend over the past year.

  He hugged Jenna close to his side and, just for fun, tossed Tristan a mischievous grin as they walked by and followed the wedding party to the barn for pictures.

  “Congratulations!” they shouted as they circled around the bride and groom. Hugs and kisses on the cheeks were shared from the crazy crew. Been there, done that. It seemed like every year they were celebrating another marriage. Then it was pregnancies. Babies. Life moved fast and furious for his friends.

  “You look beautiful, Mia.” Carter kissed her on the cheek and slapped Thorne on the back. “Don’t forget my warning.”

  “Seriously, Carter.” Mia rolled her eyes. “My husband can totally kick your ass.” She leaned into Thorne like he was her lifeline, which Carter supposed he was. Once upon a time, Carter was the guy she leaned on. He’d been the one Brady had come to, and even Grace hung out with him back when they were in high school.

  Swallowing back his pity party, he grabbed one of the bottles of champagne they had chilling on ice and popped it open. “To Mr. and Mrs. Thorne.” He took a swig from the bottle first—because he was classy like that, and damn if he didn’t want to have a little fun—and poured glasses for the bride and groom and the rest of the bridal party.

  “Wow. I don’t even have to ask for you to pose. These candid shots are perfect.”

  Carter looked over the rim of his plastic champagne flute, and for the first time took notice of the woman behind the camera. Dressed in black pants and a black shirt, her face hidden behind the Nikon, all he could see was a high, dark ponytail on the top of her head.

  She lowered the camera and flashed a smile at the group, and damn if his heart didn’t skip a beat in his chest. “Mia and Ryan, you said you wanted the posed pictures to be quick. Still want the gazebo shots or here in front of the barn? The lighting is really great, but there’s another spot in the vineyard that I found earlier that will capture the sunset beautifully later on tonight if you want to do some more pictures later.”

  Her voice drew him in like a honeybee to sweet clover.

  “We can do some wedding party pictures here. I’d like the sunset ones of Ryan and me, though. That would be great,” Mia said.

  For the next twenty minutes, Carter moved as directed and focused more on the woman behind the camera than where she said to look, even when that included Jenna. The wedding party got along easily, enjoyed a few laughs, and made their way into the function hall for dinner. Even the kids, toddlers, and babies joined in the big group shot at the end.

  After dinner, when the bridesmaids and groomsmen joined Thorne and Mia on the dance floor, he took one quick spin with Jenna then handed her off to Tristan. “Would you do me the honor?” he asked his mom, making an elaborate spectacle on one knee so she’d feel more embarrassed to turn him down than to dance. If he was being honest with himself, he was also hoping to catch the attention of the photographer with the beautiful smile.

  “Carter, you know dancing isn’t my thing.”

  “Bullshit. I see you rocking out to country music all the time.”

  “Language,” she warned with a laugh as she stood, taking his hand. “And no funny business out here.”

  He twirled her around the dance floor, eliciting laughter from not only his mother, but from the entire bridal party. It was good to hear her laugh considering she had seen too many sad days between the death of his father almost two decades ago, and her bout with cancer.

  It was no secret his brother hated to dance, a trait he’d inherited from their mom, and Grace loved to groove. Rubbing it in to his brother that his wife preferred to dance with Carter than him was always a highlight when they all went out together.

  When the romantic ballad ended and a more upbeat song started, he handed his mom off to Brady and stole his sister-in-law. “You’re welcome,” he said to her, loud enough for Brady to hear.

  “You know he only pretends to be annoyed with you, but deep down he’s grateful he doesn’t have to dance to the fast music,” Grace said as she took Carter’s hand in hers.

  “In that case, I should hand you back to my boring brother.”

  She tipped her head back and laughed. The mood was light as the dance floor filled up, and they moved around to popular eighties music. A few songs later, he stepped off the dance floor and made his way to the bar.

  The pretty photographer sat at one end by herself. He took the stool next to her and nodded to the bartender. “I’ll have an IPA, and you can refill whatever the beautiful woman is having.”

  “Water with lemon,” she held her glass up, “and I’m all set, but thank you.”

  Without the camera in front of her face, Carter was finally able to get a closer look at her. She had piercing green iridescent eyes that made him think of a witch. Not one of those who cast evil spells and tossed rat tails and frog legs into a kettle in the middle of the woods. More like the good witches from the books he’d read to Sophie when he visited Ben and Alexis. Their daughter was adorable and had pretty much everyone wrapped around her little finger.

  The photographer kept her gorgeous gaze focused on the dance floor. Her eyes were clear and had a kind softness to them. More like sea glass. Bright turquoise sea glass.

  “Carter Marshall, longtime friend of the bride, as you probably figured from the monkey suit.” He stuck his hand out followed by his signature grin known to find its way to a woman’s ... soft spot.

  She set her water down and slid her small hand into his, giving him a firm shake. “Hailey Webster, photographer, as you could probably tell by the camera.”

  His lip tugged even higher. He liked this one. Fiery with a little sass.

  While he wouldn’t have minded her hand staying in his a bit longer, he relaxed his hold when she started to pull away. “Are you from around here?” Carter picked up his glass and took a healthy pull of beer.

  “Yeah. I was gone for a while but am back now, trying my hand in the wedding and family photography world.”

  “First gig?” He pointed to the bag hanging on the back of her barstool.

  A mischievous smile escaped her lips. “No, not my first.”

  There was meaning behind her words, but he had no idea what it was. He wanted to ask more questions like where she liv
ed, if she was single, and how the hell could she be single with such stunning eyes and a smile that caused some serious movement below his belt.

  Hailey glanced over his shoulder and squinted out the window. “It’s almost time. Thanks for the drink.” She slurped the rest of her water and dropped the glass to the bar top with a bang. She draped her camera bag over her shoulder and brushed past him as if they hadn’t been mid-conversation.

  Carter swiveled in his bar stool and followed her movements to the other end of the dance floor. Ryan took Mia’s hand, and they followed Hailey out the door. He wasn’t about to let the captivating woman escape him so easily. Finishing off his beer, he watched through the open window as the newlyweds followed her to the vineyard.

  Without giving it a second thought, he got up and followed their path. Hailey was on her knees, the camera up close to her face as she framed Mia and Thorne in the setting sun.

  “Perfect. Beautiful. Ryan, cup Mia’s face. Now drop your hands a little so I can see her—yes! Right there. You two, I don’t even have to tell you to gaze into each other’s eyes and smile. You’re stunning.”

  She shuffled to her feet and snapped pictures as she walked around the newlyweds, adding gentle commands on where to put their hands and how to shift their bodies.

  “Carter, don’t think I don’t see you lurking in the shadows. One word about how this is so out of character for me and how you could see Grace or Lily doing this but never me, and I’ll have Thorne shoot your balls off.”

  Carter dropped his hands to his front and protected his manhood. “You can put the tomboy in a wedding dress, but you can’t take the unladylike words out of her mouth.”

  “I’m an FBI agent’s wife. I can’t all of a sudden be coy and soft-spoken. That’s why you love me, right, Ryan?”

  “That and a million more reasons.” He kissed her, and Hailey went on a picture frenzy snapping photos of the two lovebirds.