The Wedding Date: The Wedding Belle Series, #1

By A.J. Nighthawke

Who doesn't love a wedding?
   True love doesn't always come the way we expect.
   Crew Calhoun is his father's, right-hand man within the family company that will be his to run one day. All of his brothers work at Calhoun manufacturing except for the baby. Jax and Logan work alongside him and his father, Magnus. It is Layth that flew the nest and set out on an adventure in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. He hasn't seen him in four years. The entire family is excited when Layth plans to return. With Jax a week away from walking the aisle, the baby brother shows up in the city with an enchanting wedding date.
   Betrayal. Surprise. A vacation. A bear. What else will happen?
   Meeting Ashe Jackson changes everything for all of the Calhouns. They've never met anyone like her and the longer that Crew is in her company the guiltier he feels. He's falling for his brother's girl. He would never cross that line! NEVER! He's got to return to the office and to the normal days that he had before Ashe Jackson came into his life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: A.J. Nighthawke
• Release date: Aug 24, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201573119

A.J. Nighthawke

There is nothing like a good story that leaves you feeling warm and cozy inside. Here is my promise to you - Within the pages of my books, you will never find anything vulgar or inappropriate. My goal is to leave you encouraged and happy. Who doesn't like a happy ending? You may find a little drama, maybe a touch of suspense. Some of the characters might even face hard challenge's but a sweet kiss, and a happily ever after is a must.

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The Wedding Date: Wedding Belle Series

© 2022 A.J. Nighthawke No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise – without written permission from the author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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Cover: turnthepagenow.com

ISBN: 9798840739877

Published by: A.J. Nighthawke

Printed in the United States of America

The Wedding Date

Wedding Belle Series

Book 1

By

A.J. Nighthawke

Table of Contents

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 1

Crew

The surly-sounding huff from the hallway outside my office and the bear-like growl that follows alert me to my dad heading my way. This is like the sixth time in the last two hours that he’s stomped all the way down this carpeted hall to complain. Meetings, phone calls, scheduling conflicts, and an upcoming wedding have him in knots. About the time I look up, dark blue eyes churn with a storm as he mumbles complaints under his breath.

Crew, he nearly spits my name. Call your brother! He keeps giving me the run-around. You make it happen! Make sure he’s here. I can’t deal with this on top of everything else. Just do what it takes. 

Without waiting for me to answer, Dad stomps right back out, expecting me to complete his task within five minutes. Here’s the thing... Calhoun Manufacturing is a family-owned and run company. There are four of us Calhoun boys, and only three of us work here, with Dad at the helm.

I’m the second in command. Dad relies heavily on me, and one day, I’ll hold the reins since I’m the oldest and heir to our family company. Sure, we are well off, but every one of us works hard for what we have.

Jax is the next in line. He handles all the finances. My brother and I work well together and with Dad. Come to think of it, there is not a single argument that we’ve had between the three of us. We tend to think alike.

Brothers three and four are the mischievous twins. Logan and Layth are as different as night and day. Well, that was what Mom used to say. Logan is the creative genius that keeps us moving forward. He doesn’t like the recognition, but he’s the reason that we’ve been booming for the last four years and why I’ve not had a vacation.

Layth... Well, he’s what the tabloids call a black sheep. He has absolutely nothing to do with Calhoun Manufacturing. He graduated high school, skipped college, and headed out of the city the night he walked the stage. He hates offices, desks, the phone, and being told what to do. He’s the baby and the rebel of the family.

Layth talks to his twin, Logan, the most, but he’s busy every time the rest of us call. We end up leaving messages, and he might give us a call back in three to five business days at the stroke of midnight. None of us see him that much because he all but refuses to come back to Baltimore.

It’s not us! Layth just can’t deal with the city. When he left, he took the college money that Dad set aside. The next thing we knew, Layth had bought a farm in the backwoods of North Carolina. He sounds happy when we talk to him, but none of us have ever really had the time to go and visit. It's a shame, really. We all miss him.

This leads me back to my task. Jax is getting married. The date is set for the first weekend in May, which is months away, but everyone needs an R.S.V.P. right now. Well, not everyone. It’s really Megan, Jax’s fiancée, who wants to make sure that the baby Calhoun is present for her to peacock down the aisle in a ten-thousand-dollar dress. It’s ridiculous! Curse the tabloids that named us Calhoun boys as the most eligible bachelors! All women want is money and to smile for a camera to declare that they snagged one of us as a prize.

Technically, it’s not all of us Calhoun boys. Layth somehow got out of that disaster. Maybe he’s the smartest of us all.

Picking up my cell, the pad of my finger scrolls through the contacts. Finding brother number four, I press and wait for the voicemail.

Hey, Crew! Layth answers, shocking me that he actually picked up. It must be a blue moon tonight!

Layth, I greet, trying to find the words since I don’t have to leave a scolding voicemail. I’ve been tasked with making sure that you will be here for the upcoming nuptials. Dad isn’t happy that you don’t answer. He is demanding that you come home. Megan wanted you to R.S.V.P.

Pffft! my brother snorts. I’ve been swamped. There is no eight to five here. You just happen to catch me heading back to the house.

So, things are going well? I question further, that big brother syndrome kicking in.

Great! he assures, and I can hear the joy in his words. My baby brother is happy. We are busy and expanding. I’m telling you, if you ever came for a visit, you’d never leave.

I’m happy for you, I tell him, genuinely meaning that.

Thanks, he says. So, tell me again when the wedding is? I wouldn’t miss something like that. I just figured that it was a given that I’d be there. Didn’t really think that family had to R.S.V.P.

Maybe Megan expected it because you live out of town, I throw out there, hoping that it makes some sort of sense. To be honest, Megan has never met Layth. Pulling up my calendar, it’s quick to detail the dates. Yes, dates. It’s an entire weekend that we are required to attend. It was supposed to be an entire week, but thankfully, Jax just flat-out refused.

Well, I’ll be bringing a plus one, he says quickly. Like I’m not gonna ask.

Whoa there, baby brother! I call out, suddenly very interested. Do tell...

Oh, no! he retorts knowingly. You three won’t hound me.

Well, you might need to call Dad, I suggest, wondering if that’s such a good idea. Dad is either going to fuss or plead with him to come back and help run the company. It’s one or the other. There is no in-between with him. I’ll pass on the information of you and your plus one. Should I tell Megan a name for the place card?

Nice try, he quips back, not buying my nosy prodding.

Had to give it a go, I throw back, enjoying just talking to him. It’s been a while. Too long, actually. It’s going to be nice to have all of us back together. Hey, could you possibly come a few days early? I’d like for us all to just hang out like old times without all the wedding itineraries.

Aww, man, he whines. It’s a formal wedding?

Of course, I state firmly. He should know that. That’s what women expect when you are wealthy.

Pffft! he snorts in disgust. Does she even love him?

How would I know? I retort with a roll of my eyes, although he can’t see it. Just because I didn’t personally care for Megan doesn’t mean that she doesn’t love my brother. I’m not close enough to the woman to make that call.

How much was the ring? Layth questions. Nosy siblings...

Now it’s my time to snort. No clue but Jax did let it slip that the dress was ten grand.

Layth whistles low. That sounds like Megan loves the wedding more than the man. Jax paid more for the ring. You know he did. And there is no telling how much that wedding is gonna cost. Yeesh! Don’t the wedding expert say that a man should spend a quarter of his annual sum on the ring?

Goodness! I hope not! That doesn’t sound like a marriage at all. More like a bribe!

He’s investing in some prime real estate as well, I whisper, glancing to the door to make sure that there are no eavesdroppers. He’s got a bid on a loft in that new high rise, and the wedding will take place at Overhills Mansion.

You sure that he should be in charge of the company money, Layth throws back. Sounds like he’s blowing it.

It’s his money, I sigh, leaning back in my chair to look out over the city skyline. If he wants to spend it on his wedding, who are we to stop him?

A brother with some sense, Layth volleys back.

Well, here is a fair warning, I whisper low. "Megan is a former beauty pageant contestant. She’s probably inviting