The Wedding Confession

PRAISE FOR JJ KNIGHT “Always hilarious on page one, JJ Knight delivers romantic comedy like no one else. Each book is an irresistible seduction and a tale of connection that pulls you in and leaves you smiling.” —New York Times bestselling author Julia Kent, author of Shopping for a Billionaire “Every time I finish one of JJ Knight’s steamy, hilarious books, I think this is the best one yet—then she writes another one that becomes the best! Slapstick comedy combines with heartfelt romance and some sultry scenes that will have you fanning yourself like it’s summertime. JJ Knight is always the best.” —USA Today bestselling author Blair Babylon, author of Rogue (Billionaires in Disguise: Maxence) and other thrillers that bang “JJ Knight is delightfully funny in an incredibly creative way. She will make you laugh so hard you will cry, and then wrench your heart until you shed real tears. Each new book has me wondering, what is she going to come up with next?” —USA Today bestselling author Olivia Rigal, author of the One Favor series “Funny, romantic, sexy, sweet. And lots of pickle jokes! JJ Knight wrote a real winner!” —New York Times bestselling romance author Lynn Raye Harris OTHER TITLES BY JJ KNIGHT Big Pickle Hot Pickle Spicy Pickle Royal Pickle Royal Rebel Royal Escape Tasty Mango Tasty Pickle Second Chance Santa Single Dad on Top Single Dad Plus One This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Otherwise, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Text copyright © 2023 JJ Knight All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher. Published by Montlake, Seattle www.apub.com Amazon, the Amazon logo, and Montlake are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates. ISBN-13: 9781662512063 (paperback) ISBN-13: 9781662512056 (digital) Cover design by Hang Le Cover image: © ViewStock / Getty; © Julia Garan / Getty; © katarina_1 / Shutterstock; Africa Studio / Shutterstock CONTENTS Chapter 1 ENSLEY Chapter 2 DREW Chapter 3 ENSLEY Chapter 4 DREW Chapter 5 ENSLEY Chapter 6 DREW Chapter 7 ENSLEY Chapter 8 DREW Chapter 9 ENSLEY Chapter 10 DREW Chapter 11 ENSLEY Chapter 12 DREW Chapter 13 ENSLEY Chapter 14 DREW Chapter 15 ENSLEY Chapter 16 DREW Chapter 17 ENSLEY Chapter 18 DREW Chapter 19 ENSLEY Chapter 20 DREW Chapter 21 ENSLEY Chapter 22 DREW Chapter 23 ENSLEY Chapter 24 DREW Chapter 25 ENSLEY Chapter 26 DREW Chapter 27 ENSLEY Chapter 28 DREW Chapter 29 ENSLEY Chapter 30 DREW Chapter 31 ENSLEY Chapter 32 DREW Chapter 33 ENSLEY Chapter 34 DREW Chapter 35 ENSLEY Chapter 36 DREW Chapter 37 ENSLEY Chapter 38 DREW Chapter 39 ENSLEY Chapter 40 ENSLEY Epilogue ENSLEY ACKNOWLEDGMENTS EXCERPT: TASTY MANGO Chapter 1 HAVANNAH ABOUT THE AUTHOR Chapter 1 ENSLEY I can’t believe what I’m seeing. I’ve heard about situations like this at weddings. In viral videos. Social media rants. But this is the first time I’ve seen one right in front of me. I glance over at my best friend, Ronnie. She’s the bride, dressed in a beautiful but simple knee-length sheath. Her mother’s dress. The mother who died only two years ago, before Ronnie’s engagement. The wedding was supposed to be a small event at the park where Ronnie’s mom used to push her on the swings. She wanted to honor this amazing woman who had been a mother figure to all of us in the bridal party. Well, the original bridal party. Now there are ten bridesmaids and ten groomsmen. A country club. A swing band. And a seated dinner for four hundred. This wedding got hijacked. And now this. The guilty party is the person right in front of me. Her arrival has left all the bridesmaids in shocked silence, piled up in the corner like a bushel of peaches in our strapless, puffy dresses that flatter no one. Ronnie lets out a whimper. I know that sound. She’s trying to control herself to avoid an outburst. I can’t believe it. I just can’t. The center of the attention is Felicia, Ronnie’s new stepmother. We don’t know what came over Ronnie’s dad when he married her. But Felicia is a firestorm. She commandeered their lives, using those big pouty lips to convince Ronnie’s dad to sell their thirty-year family home for a McMansion near this country club. Felicia is a trustee of the club, and once Ronnie announced her engagement, Felicia insisted the wedding should mirror their elevated station, whatever that means. I felt helpless during the last few months, watching Ronnie’s charming dream wedding unravel. But not today. Not with this. Because Felicia has entered the room, not in the stately blue dress we thought she was wearing as stepmother of the bride. But in a full-length beaded white gown. She even has baby’s breath in her hair and a tiny white veil over her eyes. All that’s missing is a bouquet. Next to her, Ronnie looks like a flower girl. She’s been in the room a full minute, and no one has spoken. “Well?” Felicia asks. “What do you think? It’s the dress I always wanted to wear to an affair like this.” I see how it is. Felicia married Ronnie’s father in a weekend getaway to Vegas that probably involved vodka and edibles, and she’s making up for everything she missed. Ronnie tries to get a few words out. I can tell how much it’s killing her to say something nice. “It’s a lot.” Felicia strikes a pose, fanning out her dagger nails. “Of course it is. An original Vera Wang. I would have nothing less for my dear new daughter’s wedding.” Does she really think she’s doing Ronnie a favor here? “I like Vera Wang,” Ronnie stammers. Her dress was off the rack