From Bridal Designer to Bride

by Kandy Shepherd

  ‘Thank you, thank you...’ she murmured against his mouth.

  All the while she couldn’t stop wondering if she had correctly heard Josh. Had he really said he wasn’t acting? And if so, what could he have meant by it?

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  JOSH USUALLY WENT out of his way to avoid weddings. A generous cheque and an apology for his inability to attend was his stock response to an invitation. But to his surprise he found himself enjoying this wedding. The other guests on the table were pleasant company. The meal was superb. The speeches, usually interminable, were short, warm and witty. Just the kind of speeches he would like to have at his own wedding. He pulled up his thoughts. When had he started thinking there might actually be a wedding for him one day in the distant future, instead of never?

  The answer was sitting next to him. Eloise. Enchanting, funny, gorgeous Eloise. He was getting in deeper every minute he spent in her company. Maybe he’d imbibed one too many toasts to the bride and groom with the plentiful French vintage champagne. Or the excellent Australian red wine with dinner before that. But the more he pretended to be in love with Eloise, the more he started to wonder what was stopping him from considering the actual possibility. Not of a real-life engagement. Of course not. But of somehow seeing more of her. Long-distance dating, even. Because he was thoroughly enjoying every minute of her company. And he dreaded having to say goodbye. A life without Eloise in it seemed somehow unacceptable.

  She excused herself to go to the powder room in the company of one of the other women at the table. Immediately after she left her chair, he felt bereft. He watched that delightful sway of her hips as she walked away, the way she leaned down to smile at something her companion was saying. He could not keep his eyes off her.

  Hurry back to me, Ellie.

  Again he had that surreal feeling that, since he’d been in Australia, the foundations of his life were shifting on ground that had suddenly become unstable. His rules against a serious relationship were self-imposed. But then, he’d always been perfectly satisfied without a committed, meaningful connection with a woman.

  Eloise had commented that his life was motivated by bitterness and revenge. He had proudly owned the truth of it. But spending time with Eloise was making him question that truth. Had the time passed for focusing his entire life on the relentless pursuit of extreme wealth to prove he was worthy of the old life of his childhood? Was he letting the cruelty of his father cut him off from what Eloise called ‘the kinder side of life’?

  His rules had been forged when he was sixteen, bewildered and hurting from the out-of-the-blue total rejection of his father. Now, four months away from the age of thirty, a new thought was percolating through: the best revenge against that cold-hearted man might be a life well lived. Personal fulfilment could be a fine shield against cruelty and rejection. What was stopping him?

  Only his own old fears.

  Perhaps it was time to flick the switch, to think forward to how he might treat his own son or daughter one day rather than back on how his father had treated him. Kids? He was thinking kids? He shook his head. That took reconsidering his life too far. There’d been some funny, teasing speeches about babies directed at the newlyweds. That must be where the thought had come from. He shoved it right back.

  Eloise slid back into her chair beside him just as the band struck up. She held on to his shoulder as she settled into her chair. He reached up to hold her hand and she squeezed it. She was just playing her part as fake fiancée. He knew that. Yet with it came a thrill of possession as she left her hand in his.

  The bride and groom danced their first dance together as husband and wife. Gradually the ballroom—cleared now of chairs—filled up with couples dancing. Josh turned to Eloise and saw that she was swaying in time to the music. He asked her to dance and they joined the other couples on the floor.

  ‘You can waltz,’ she said.

  ‘So can you.’

  ‘My grandmother said it was a desirable skill for a young lady. She taught me. It felt very strange when I first waltzed with a boy instead of an old lady.’

  He laughed. How often had he laughed since he’d met her? More than in the previous six months, he felt sure. Laughter was meant to release feel-good endorphins. Maybe that was what was making him start to re-evaluate his life strategy. It couldn’t be that other word starting with L. ‘Your grandmother sounds like an interesting woman.’

  ‘She was; we were very close—she and my mother too.’ Eloise’s glance went to the ruby ring. ‘Where did you learn to dance?’

  ‘At my old private school. Very unwillingly, I might add.’

  She laughed and he whirled her around the dance floor. Perhaps because of his avoidance of weddings, where old-fashioned dancing still seemed to hold sway, he had forgotten how intimate a waltz could be. As intimate and exciting as an embrace.

  He was intensely aware of where his body connected with Eloise’s, of her warmth and curves. His arm around her waist held her close, her hand rested on his shoulder, her cheek felt smooth and cool against his cheek. Her scent was already familiar, rich and sweet and intoxicating. Other couples danced around them but he was scarcely aware of their presence—he was too lost in the rhythm of his private dance with Eloise.

  It was part of wedding protocol that the bride and groom made their way around the dance floor to dance in turn with each of their guests. Josh smiled when they broke in on his dance with Eloise but in truth he felt like growling. He didn’t want to let her go.

  Eloise waltzed away with Simon, and Josh took his turn to dance with Becca. He held her at a polite distance. Even for a duty dance he did not want another woman in his arms, even a bride so obviously crazy about her new husband. ‘A great wedding,’ he said. ‘The best I’ve ever been to, in fact.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Becca said. ‘We’re so glad you were able to come with lovely Eloise. What a gem of a woman she is, in every way.’

  ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘She is that.’

  Becca laughed. ‘You don’t have to try to chat.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘You haven’t taken your eyes off her since you relinquished her to Simon. You’ve got it bad, haven’t you?’

  It? He remembered his role as fake fiancé. ‘Yes, I have. I...uh...had a crush on her the moment I met her.’ And just maybe that wasn’t a fib. But a crush was just a crush.

  Becca smiled. ‘You can’t hide how you feel about her. I can see it in your eyes. Love is hard to find and to be cherished. Simon and I wish you both the kind of happiness we’ve found.’

  Josh was too stupefied to find an answer for her. Thankfully he didn’t have to, as Simon waltzed Eloise back to him. ‘I’m returning your beautiful fiancée into your care,’ he said.

  Josh gladly took her back into his arms but he was too shaken by what Becca had said to think straight. He just held Eloise close and kept on waltzing.

  * * *

  Dancing with Josh was utter bliss. From the waltz, to the classic rock, to the crazy group dances that only half the guests knew the steps of, Josh had rhythm. He had rhythm, he had energy, he had the moves. And they moved well together. Not only was he hot, but also he was fun. There were times Eloise forgot their engagement was fake, and that the relationship was staged, his mock affection seemed so real. And that was dangerous. Although she suspected he felt the same physical attraction she felt for him. That was more difficult to fake.

  Early on in the evening, she’d gone past being on edge, worrying he or she might trip up on an answer about their engagement or wedding plans. However, people asked basically the same questions and the answers almost came by rote. They didn’t trip up once.

  She’d only sipped at a flute of champagne for the toasts—just in case there was another encounter with the influencer she wanted to keep a clear head. But @lindytheblonde had steered clear of her. So she couldn’t blame ch
ampagne for the recklessness of her rising desire for Josh. She knew their time together was limited and she wanted him. Perhaps she wanted him so badly because their time was limited.

  The band were playing the final set of slow dances. The bride had changed into her going-away dress—designed by Eloise Evans Atelier, of course—and she and her new husband were saying their final farewells to a group of their elderly relatives. Soon the wedding would be over.

  ‘We haven’t talked about what happens after tonight,’ Eloise said in a low murmur.

  ‘Again we stick to something close to the truth. It’s a long-distance engagement. We just keep quiet about it until—’

  ‘Until it becomes too hard, as long-distance relationships tend to do.’

  ‘It quietly fizzles out.’

  ‘Although we tried so hard to make it work.’

  ‘All that,’ he said.

  They both dwindled away to silence. ‘This is too gloomy for words,’ she said. ‘Can we forget about tomorrow when we’ve still got today to enjoy?’

  And tonight ahead of us, she thought, thinking of that big bed with a shiver of anticipation. How would she be able to resist the temptation of having him so close?

  She laid her head on his shoulder and they swayed together to the medley of classic love songs, thigh to thigh, hip to hip as she dreamed silly daydreams about what might be if things were different with Josh. Then the music stopped and they gathered with the other guests to farewell the bride and groom. There was an awkward moment when Becca and Simon had gone and people started to leave as the band announced the final number. Lights were lowered for the last dance.

  ‘Do you know how many women here have asked if my dress is for sale?’ she said. ‘Not this exact one, of course, but one of the same design. Or they’ve asked if I make it in white as a wedding dress. I haven’t been actively looking for business, but it’s come my way. I’m thinking maybe I should branch out with a party dress diffusion line or maybe...’ There was something intent in his eyes that made her falter to a halt.

  ‘It’s a superb dress,’ he said. He lowered his head to hers so only she could hear. ‘It looks sexy as hell on you. But I can’t stop wondering how it would look off you.’

  ‘Oh,’ she said, a tingle of want tightening her nipples and running down her spine.

  ‘I’ve offended you,’ he said. ‘Taken the game too far.’

  ‘No. Not at all,’ she said breathlessly. ‘You didn’t offend me.’

  ‘But I’ve overstepped the mark. I’ll sleep out on the balcony with the plants tonight.’

  ‘It’ll be too cold. It’s several degrees colder here than it is in Sydney.’

  ‘Then I’ll sleep in the car.’

  ‘You won’t fit,’ she said. She wound her arms around his neck and pressed close to him as they swayed to the slow, romantic music in the darkened room. ‘I’m afraid it will have to be the bed for you tonight.’ She pressed her lips to his. Then she couldn’t wait for the band to finish and for the lights to come on, to have to make farewells to the people she knew.

  With a low murmur of invitation, she took his hand and led him from the ballroom.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  ELOISE THREW HER inhibitions away as soon as the ballroom was behind her. Forget her ‘no kissing in private’ rule. Whatever had made her impose that dictate? Kissing Josh was a delicious pastime to be enjoyed whenever she found the opportunity. She wanted Josh and she could see no real reason why she shouldn’t have him. If only just for the night.

  They kissed and laughed and stumbled as they tried to walk at the same time as kiss, all the way back to their room, only stopping when there was another couple waiting for the small lift. Josh made a grand gesture to usher them—Becca’s cousin and his girlfriend—into the lift ahead of them. Who cared if her lipstick was smeared from passionate kissing and she was hanging on to Josh as if she never wanted to let him go? To all intents and purposes they were engaged and acting entirely appropriately.

  Once they reached their room, Josh slammed the door shut behind them. He pushed her against the wall and held her hands above her head with one of his big hands as he kissed her—hard, hungry, urgent. She kissed him back with equal urgency, meeting his tongue with hers, straining her body against his. He ran his other hand down her bare arms, the sides of her breasts, and she trembled at the pleasure of it. She wanted him so much it was a physical ache.

  He kissed down the side of her neck to the hollow of her throat and she murmured her pleasure. Her breasts swelled above the top of the bodice of her dress. She ached for him to touch her. Forget caution, forget worry about how this might end, her world shrank to just him and her and how he made her feel, her need for more. Josh.

  She attempted to hook one leg around his in an effort to get closer but her dress, tightly fitted to her hips, got in the way.

  He released her arms. ‘This dress needs to come off,’ he said, his voice husky.

  ‘Yes,’ she said.

  ‘Do you want that?’

  ‘Yes, yes and yes again,’ she said impatiently.

  Desire had been relentlessly building since that first dance. The way he moved, the way he held her so close, so possessively. It might not be anything more than this night but she would regret it if she didn’t take full advantage of his willingness, of that big, inviting bed.

  ‘You’re sure?’

  ‘I told you what kissing like that would lead to. And I want—Oh!’

  He deftly turned her around and kissed the nape of her neck, the backs of her ears. How did he know that was one of her secret turn-on spots?

  Then he slowly pulled down the back zip of her dress. The dress was lined with fine silk and it was like an extra caress on her highly sensitised skin as it fell from her body to pool on the floor.

  She stepped out of her gown and moved it aside so she stood in just her deep blue lace thong, a strapless bra and her glittering high-heeled stilettos. From behind, Josh caressed her back and started to unhook her bra, but she twisted in his arms to face him.

  ‘My turn now,’ she said, her breath coming unevenly, scarcely able to get the words out.

  She planted small kisses over his face as, with impatient fingers that weren’t quite steady, she undid the buttons of his jacket and slid it off his shoulders.

  ‘It was fun to fit you for this jacket, but it’s even more fun to take it off you,’ she murmured as she placed it on the chair near the bed. Even giddy with desire and want, she couldn’t throw that beautiful piece of tailoring on the floor. With impatient fingers she unfastened the studs and buttons of his dress shirt and slid it off his broad shoulders as he freed his arms from the sleeves.

  She stilled as she took in the delicious sight of him, wearing only his trousers, broad-shouldered, well-built, skin smooth and lightly tanned.

  ‘Do I pass inspection?’ he said.

  ‘Oh, yes,’ she sighed, placing her hands flat on his muscular chest to slide them down his flat, washboard stomach. ‘Are you really and truly a tech nerd? Because you look more like an athlete to me.’

  ‘Both,’ he said shortly, his breath coming faster as her hands went lower.

  ‘And here I was thinking you couldn’t get any better looking.’ Her voice broke. ‘You’re perfect.’

  ‘I don’t know about that,’ he said, scarcely able to get the words out as she slipped her fingers under the waistline of his trousers, then went to undo his belt. ‘Are you teasing me? Keep doing that and I—’

  ‘Won’t be responsible for what happens next?’ Eloise looked up flirtatiously at him, not hiding the need from her voice. ‘I’m looking forward to that.’ She started to unbuckle his belt.

  ‘Two can play at this game,’ he said hoarsely as he unhooked her bra and tossed it onto the bed. He gazed at her in wonder, standing there in just her thong and her glittering
stilettos. ‘You’re the one with the perfect body. Ellie,’ he groaned.

  She didn’t let many people call her Ellie but she had given him permission and she liked how her name sounded when he said it in his deep voice.

  He stroked her breasts, rolling her nipples between his fingers until they were hard and aching. As he slid his hands down her waist, her muscles contracted with pleasure and anticipation. He slipped his fingers under the scrap of lace that was her thong and she gasped. He would find her ready for him. What else had that slow, sensuous dancing been but a subtle and exquisite form of foreplay?

  She unfastened his trousers and started to push them down over his hips. ‘Getting these trousers off is easier said than done when you’re standing up,’ she murmured.

  ‘Might be easier if we took this to the bed,’ he said. The bed that had caused so much angst and yet was just right for the two of them.

  She ran her fingers up his chest. ‘I’d be happy to take you up against the wall,’ she murmured huskily. ‘Floor, chair—wherever we might happen to end up. But the bed might be more comfortable. I just want you, Josh.’

  ‘I want you too, Ellie,’ he groaned. ‘I think you know that.’

  She brushed her fingers lightly across the front of his trousers. ‘Oh, yes, I can tell.’

  He cupped her face in his hands and looked down into her eyes. ‘But before we go any further—’

  ‘To the point of no return?’

  ‘There’s something I have to tell you; it’s important and I—’

  ‘No. We’ve done more than enough talking.’ She silenced him with a kiss. The kiss deepened and became more urgent. She wanted more than kissing. All she could think of was making love with Josh. If what he wanted to say was that important he could tell her later.

  Josh effortlessly swept her up into his arms and carried her to the bed. He kicked off his shoes and she helped rid him of his trousers and boxers. As she did so, she made admiring comments about what she found beneath them. She had to touch and explore, which made him groan with want and heightened desire for both of them.