Bride

by Jenna Rose

  “It’s only fair if we’re both naked,” he grinned. “But I’ll let you take those off…if it makes you more comfortable.”

  “N—no,” I stammered. “I don’t mind…”

  “Okay,” he purred. “I’ll do it for you, duchess.”

  Duchess? Did he just call me duchess?

  I was going to say something—snap at him for the little cheeky insult, but when his thumbs hooked the band of my panties and pulled, I lost every thought in my mind.

  I was suddenly conscious of the cool breeze as he pulled my panties down and exposed me fully. The wild wind coming in from the sea rose and whipped my hair across my face as he smiled at me, took my hand and led me down to the rocky beach.

  The rocks stuck into my soft feet, somehow making me feel even more alive than I already did, and when the waves swelled across my toes, I cried out with excitement and shock.

  “Wow, that’s cold!”

  “Come on, duchess,” Jay teased. “You’ve crawled in the dirt but never swam in the sea?”

  “What is this duchess nonsense?” I quipped back.

  “It seems fitting,” he replied. “Or would you prefer princess?”

  “I’d prefer Rachel.”

  “Okay, Duchess Rachel,” he smirked. I was going to reply but there was no time. Jay snatched me into his arms and raced into the waves. Freezing spray splashed against my butt and the backs of my legs, and just as I was about to cry out, Jay fell backwards, clutching me in his arms, submersing us both in the chilling waves.

  “Oh my god!” I screamed as we surfaced. “It’s freezing!”

  “Just be glad you don’t have boy parts,” he laughed.

  I laughed, splashed the dreamy boy with water and we swam together until the sun fell beyond the horizon and it was too dark to see. We made our way back to land and got dressed, crawled back through the hedge of wild roses and held hands as Jay accompanied me back to my car.

  “I—I want to,” I told him. “I just need time…”

  “That’s fine, duchess,” Jay replied. “Whenever you’re ready. I’m not going anywhere.”

  But that was a lie.

  I smiled, kissed Jay and let him hold me in his arms before getting back in my car and driving home. But when I came back the next day, he wasn’t there.

  Or the next day, or the next day or the next. In fact, that was the last time I saw Jay.

  Sometimes I’d lie in bed at night and wonder if I’d imagined the whole thing. I’d tell myself to forget about him—that he was gone and never coming back—but then I’d dream about that night and all those emotions would come racing back again and I’d wake up in the morning with tears streaming down my face, wondering where the man who’d stolen my heart had gone.

  Chapter Three

  Rachel

  Five Years Later…

  “Honey, I like the blue,” my mother said with the tone that made me feel more like a show pony than a person. “What do you think, John?”

  My father, who was sitting in a chair in the corner of the dressing room reading the Wall Street Journal, looked up over its pages and shrugged.

  “Susan, you know you shouldn’t ask me that kind of question. Fashion is not my thing.”

  “This isn’t fashion, John,” my mother snapped. “This is color. Caleb, what do you think?”

  Caleb, my husband-to-be, looked over from whatever he was doing on his phone and nodded.

  “I like the blue.”

  “Green it is then,” my mother settled, setting the blue brooch aside and picking up the soft green one and pinning it to my wedding dress just below my right collarbone.

  “Isn’t it bad luck for the husband to see the bride before the wedding?” I asked.

  “Luck and superstition are for the masses,” Caleb scoffed. “We make our own luck.”

  “Where have I heard that before?” I muttered to myself, drawing a soft elbow from my mother followed by a glare in the mirror.

  Today was my wedding day. My fiancé, as I’d predicted so many years ago, was Caleb Norman, handpicked by my parents to unite our great families. His father was a banker and his mother was a top real estate owner in New England with massive amounts of property.

  Caleb was just another cog in his family’s empire and would inherit it all once his parents were gone.

  I, on the other hand, was just a window dressing on the whole thing. My parents hadn’t raised me to be involved in any of the ways my family made their money, and to be honest, that didn’t really bother me.

  It bothered me that they hadn’t even considered involving me, but I really had no interest. All I wanted was a simple life, and not a night went by that I didn’t dream about what I might do if I had the chance.

  I loved painting, but found little inspiration in my life. On top of that, neither of my parents seemed to care much, and saw art as more of an investment than a fulfilling creative endeavor.

  Everything was an investment to them, including this marriage.

  I really had no choice but to go through with it. As much as I resented my family at times, I still loved them and didn’t want to be away from them, and I knew that if I said no to Caleb, there was a good chance my mother would never speak to me again.

  On top of that, I knew it was no longer possible for me to find someone I really loved. Not after losing Jay.

  Besides, my marriage to Caleb was mostly just for appearances. I could pretend to be in love with him in public and be a decent wife in private, but he would never have my heart.

  “All right,” my mother said with a happy sigh. “I think we’re ready. Mark, can you go tell them we’re ready?”

  Mark, one of my family’s many assistants, nodded and left the room in a hurry.

  I looked at myself in the mirror, hoping to see Rachel, but all I saw was a doll—an expensive doll meant for a shelf in a museum. A wedding dress that had taken seven fittings and five months to make wrapped my body like giftwrap while hundreds of guests waited for me in the main hall of the VanCamp Estate, an incredible home unknown to the public. The owner had agreed to host my wedding because of who my family was.

  “Are you ready, darling?” Caleb asked, his eyes still on his phone.

  “Yes, let’s get this over with.”

  My mother’s gasp pierced my ears as I stood up, and even Caleb glanced over at me, but I just smiled and laughed it off.

  “Just kidding, of course,” I smiled as I’d been trained to do since I was young. “Let’s go. I’m ready.”

  I stood up, Caleb made his way from the room and into the hall and my mother clapped her hands. Two girls emerged from the side room and took up the train of my dress. Mark returned and held the door open for me and I took a deep breath as I took the final steps of my free life.

  The chatter in the hall ceased as the doors opened and I entered. All eyes were on me, but the attention didn’t bother me. I was used to it. Whether it was paparazzo photographing me out shopping or the news speculating on what I was up to or who I was dating—because of who I was, people were always interested.

  So I ignored it all on my way up to the altar where Caleb was standing, looking quite pleased with himself. I knew it wasn’t because of me, but because of who I was and what today represented to his public image.

  Just get it over with, I thought as I took my place in front of him.

  “Dearly beloved. We are gathered here today…”

  The priest’s words washed over me like a dull roar as my mind went elsewhere—back to that evening beneath the setting sun, Jay holding my hand, leading me to his secret place where we’d kissed and skinny dipped until dark.

  Don’t think about him, I thought. He’s gone and he’s not coming back.

  I knew that in my heart, but the question kept ringing through my mind every single day:

  Where had Jay gone and why?

  These days with cell phones and internet, he could have easily gotten back in touch with me, but I hadn’t heard
a word from him since that night.

  The only two possibilities that seemed logical to mere were that he’d either forgotten about me or had been killed, and neither of those reasons made me feel any better.

  I raised my eyes to Caleb as the priest finished his speech.

  It’s about to happen, I thought.

  “I’m sure I know the answer to this,” the priest said happily. “But if there is anyone among us today that objects to the union between these two lovers, speak now or forever hold your peace—”

  “I object!” a powerful voice rang out through the hall. Gasps and whispers rang out as everyone spun around in their seats to face the speaker. Caleb growled and when I turned and saw who it was, I felt my legs go so weak I had to brace myself on the priest’s shoulder.

  Standing there in a tuxedo, looking like a million bucks, was Jay, looking more handsome than ever.

  “It can’t be…” I whispered.

  “Who is this man?” Caleb roared. “Have him removed from the building at once!”

  Security leapt into action instantly and raced towards him.

  “No!” I cried out. “No one touch him!”

  “Rachel?” my mother all but screamed. “What—what is this?”

  I couldn’t contain myself. I hoisted my dress up to my knees, leapt off the dais and raced down the hall towards the man I’d been dreaming of the last five years. His face was brighter than the sun and I threw myself into his arms as the tears began to well up in my eyes.

  “Jay!” I blubbered. “I—I can’t believe it.”

  “Hey, duchess,” he teased. “It’s been a long time.”

  Chapter Four

  Jay

  Holding Rachel in my arms felt like I’d finally come home. She was just as soft and sweet as I remembered, and I knew now that I had her, I could never let her go. Not again.

  “What’s the meaning of this?” her fiancé shouted as he stormed down the aisle towards us. “Who is this man?”

  “Yes, what is going on, Rachel?” her father bellowed. Security was still ready to pounce on me, and the rest of the guests were all clamoring to each other like they’d just seen the president punch a baby or something.

  “Get your hands off my wife!” her fiancé shouted as he grew closer, his fist closed at his side.

  “You gotta let go of me for a second, baby,” I whispered. “Step aside.”

  I could tell she didn’t want to, but Rachel let go of me and moved out of the way just as Caleb swung at me.

  He was no fighter, and telegraphed his punch like a complete amateur. I could have swung back and broken his nose, but that would only make things worse. Instead, I simply dodged out of the way and let him stumble forward and fall on his face.

  “You son of a bitch!” he roared, scrambling towards me. I moved away again and let him punch the air. Unexpectedly, one of the security team actually stepped between us and put his hands up.

  “Out of my way, you!” Caleb roared.

  “I should get out of here,” I told Rachel.

  “No!” she snapped. “We should get out of here!”

  I’d taken her hand at the beach, and now she took my hand, and fighting to run in that ridiculous wedding dress of hers, pulled me out the front door and into the slanted evening light.

  “Where’s your car?” she shouted.

  “Down there,” I pointed. “Past the gazebo.”

  “Come on!”

  She started to run but tripped over the ridiculous train of her wedding dress. I caught her before she hit and she immediately started tearing at the thing.

  “Help get this off me!”

  I grabbed the closest bunch of fabric I could get my hands on and pulled with all my might. The entire train tore off, leaving her in something that looked more like bridal lingerie than a wedding dress, and we both burst out laughing.

  “Nice legs,” I winked.

  “Come on, Jay. Let’s get out of here.”

  Hand in hand, we raced away from the hall as Caleb and the rest of the guests spilled out behind us. I heard them shouting but neither of us stopped. We ran down the slope, past the gazebo to where my pickup truck was hiding in the shadows. It looked completely out of place in surroundings like this.

  I held the driver’s side door open and Rachel leapt inside and slid across the bench seat as I hopped in beside her. Her fiancé was sprinting towards us as I twisted the key, threw the old horse into gear and gunned it.

  Grass and dirt sprayed from the tires as I spun the truck into a spin. The springs squealed and thunked as I came up onto the driveway and blasted out onto the main road.

  Rachel screamed and threw her hands into the air as we left the wedding behind us.

  “Oh my god, that was amazing!” she shouted. “I can’t—I can’t even.”

  I clasped her hand in mine and felt her warmth spread life through my soul. It had been five years—five long years since I’d seen her last, but her hold on me had never wavered. In fact, all the time apart had done was amplify my feelings for her.

  It was like waking up from a dream to realize you weren’t dreaming in the first place. Rachel was here beside me, in my truck, clutching my hand while we sped away from her wedding.

  It was perfect.

  “So where the fuck have you been, asshole?” Rachel shouted. She slammed a fist into my thigh with such force that it caused my foot to press down harder on the gas and the truck to lurch forward.

  “Whoa, whoa, easy!” I replied, fending off more of her half-hearted blows as I sped down the road.

  “Don’t ‘whoa, whoa, easy,’ me, mister! I waited five years for you and now you show up on my wedding day?!”

  “Would you rather I didn’t show up at all?” I asked, taking a quick turn. Rachel glared at me but sat back. She still had her hand in mine.

  “I’d rather you never disappeared in the first place,” she replied. “Do you want to tell me where you’ve been the last five years?”

  “I do,” I said, squeezing her hand firmly. “But not now. When we get home.”

  “Home?” she asked.

  “That’s right, duchess,” I smiled. “Home.”

  My words pleased her and she sat back on the seat beside me and glared at me with the cutest expression I’d ever seen. We sat in silence for a bit before she finally replied.

  “It’s Rachel, not duchess.”

  Chapter Five

  Rachel

  We sat in silence for the remainder of the drive. I didn’t know what to say to him until he told me the story of why had been gone. I told myself that the future of our relationship would hinge on his explanation, but I wasn’t sure I believed that.

  I thought he’d be taking me to the coast—back to Green Harbor maybe—but he turned inland and we ended up on a dirt road heading deep into the woods. The even sun slanted harsh beams through the canopy as the old truck clunked over the humps and divots until we reached a closed metal gate.

  “Wait here,” he said as he stopped the truck and got out. It was strange seeing a man in a tuxedo deep in the woods like this, but he looked so good that it was almost like the woods didn’t belong around him, not the other way around.

  He pulled a key from his pocket, undid the padlock and swung the gate aside. Then, he hopped back in the truck beside me and drove us through, then got out and locked it behind us again.

  “Tight security,” I said. I was kidding ,of course, but the look he returned to me made me wonder if what I’d said actually wasn’t a joke.

  We continued on another few minutes before our destination came into view.

  A cabin sat hunkered down in a clearing ahead of us. It looked like it was about two seconds from collapsing in on itself.

  “This…is it?” I asked as Jay pulled up in front and parked.

  “Home sweet home,” he winked as he got out, came around and opened my door for me.

  “You have to be kidding,” I said.

  “I know it’s not
the Ritz-Carlton, duchess,” he smirked as he led me up the steps. “But you’ll be all right.”

  “You got sassy while you were away,” I quipped back. Jay just smiled that smile that melted my heart, and opened the door.

  I’d expected the inside of the cabin to be as bad or worse than the outside—wet, moldy and filled with spider webs— but to my surprise, it was actually quite cozy, dry, not even dusty, with no spiders in sight.

  Again, Jay locked the door behind us, which only revived my curiosity about what was going on.

  “Okay, spill it,” I told him. “What is going on? Where have you been? What’s with this secret hideout? Why are you locking everything behind us? There’s like…no one out here.”

  “Do you want some tea?” he asked, stepping past me to the half-kitchen that shared space with the living room.

  “Excuse me?”

  “I’ve got some ginger snap tea that’s pretty good,” he replied, putting the kettle on the stove. “Why don’t I make you a cup?”

  “Spill it, Jay,” I said firmly, crossing my arms over my chest.

  Jay turned, came over to me and took my hands in his, causing a warmth to spread through my entire body. His eyes held me in place like he owned me and in an instant, I was taken back to that evening by the sea.

  “Let’s sit,” he said, leading me over to a loveseat by the cold fireplace. The way he was looking at me was making me anxious.

  “Come on, Jay,” I pressed him. “You’re killing me.”

  “Okay. This might be a little hard to believe…but here it goes.” Jay took a deep breath and then continued. “For the last five years I’ve been keeping my distance from you because I didn’t want to put your life in danger.”

  “My…life in danger?” I replied. That was not what I was expecting to hear. “What kind of—what?!”