The Accidental Elopement

by Maggie Dallen

What the hell? What had happened between the glitter room and now? Maybe she’d changed her mind and decided marriage was too big of a step. Maybe she’d spent the past twenty-four hours realizing she wasn’t ready for that commitment. Ryan could feel his heart drop into the pit of his stomach. He’d known it deep down, that was why he’d been so terrified all morning. This was too good to be true.

  He ran a hand through his hair. Right. Don’t panic. He’d convince her that they could still be together, they’d just take it slowly for a while…

  “I mean,” Lucia continued as she took off her jacket to reveal a starched white waiter’s shirt underneath. “I don’t think it would be very professional of us to make out in front of the other staff, right?”

  Ryan’s jaw dropped. She was wearing a teasing grin that had him laughing out loud as he pulled her into his arms and planted a kiss on her lips. “So you’re working here….with me?”

  “If you’ll have me,” Lucia said.

  Ryan thought his lungs might combust he was so happy and so freaking relieved. “Well, I’ll have to warn the busboys that there will be a lot more broken glasses to clean up—ow.” He rubbed the spot on his arms where she’d punched him. “But yeah, I think we can find you some shifts.”

  “Good.” She grinned up at him and for a moment, he forgot everything else, even the fact that up until a minute ago he’d been convinced she was on a plane to London.

  But then the questions started and his brain was racing to make sense of this sudden twist. “What about your fashion line? The designs? What about the money?”

  Lucia sighed as she ran her hands over his chest in a way that was far too tempting for the workplace. “Listen carefully because I won’t say this often,” she teased. “But you were right.”

  Ryan slapped a hand over his heart and gasped so loudly a barback at the far end of the restaurant looked over to see what had happened. He would embarrass himself any day of the week to hear Lucia’s laugh.

  “I’m serious,” she said. “I was thinking about what you said. About how if I want to make it on my own, I really need to make it on my own.”

  “So the money is still in the trust?”

  Lucia shook her head. “It’s mine but I’ve put it in savings so I can choose when I’m ready to have access to it. But, in the meantime, I need to learn my craft and study with the best.”

  “That’s a pretty brave decision,” Ryan said. “I’m proud of you.”

  Lucia stuck out her tongue. “You’re also stuck with me.” She glanced around the still-empty restaurant. “Where should I get started?”

  She was already turning to head to the wait station but he put a hand on her arm to stop her. There was no way he could make it through an entire shift without some answers. “I’ve got to ask. What does this mean for us?”

  He was certain she knew what he meant. What now? How were they supposed to be a married couple when they barely knew each other? Were they dating or more serious? How did they make sure whatever they had didn’t interfere with her career dreams? There were so many questions they needed to address and they hung between them now.

  She turned back to him and that shyness he’d seen when she’d hovered in the door was back. She looked up at him from beneath her thick black lashes. “I have no idea.”

  She looked so vulnerable, he had to clench his hands into fists to keep from reaching out to her and pulling her back into his arms. “Maybe we should take it slow,” he said.

  The moment the words left his mouth, Ryan cursed himself and Lucia’s eyes widened in surprise and an amused smile tugged at her lips. “We’re married, Ryan. And we’ve had our honeymoon. Isn’t it a little late to take things slow?”

  Ryan sighed. Much as he kind of hated the idea, he also thought it was for the best to slow things down and give them time to get to know one another as individuals before they truly became a couple.

  Maybe he was old-fashioned after all.

  “You deserve to be wooed.” The moment the words left his mouth he knew they were right. He wouldn’t have guessed he had an old-fashioned streak in him, but there you had it. He wanted this woman to have everything she deserved and that meant a good, healthy, normal relationship. Well, as normal as their relationship could be, given the circumstances.

  She broke into a full-blown smile. “So you’re going to woo me now?”

  Ryan crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Damn straight. Miss Lucia Antoinette Brunelli….will you go on a date with me?”

  Lucia laughed and leaned up on her tiptoes so she could grab his face and kiss his lips. “I would love to.”

  Fighting the urge to grab his wife and pull her into his arms, he forced a serious look. “There’s one more thing we need to discuss, Lucia.”

  Her brows shot up but she waited patiently.

  “I would like to cook dinner for you. Now I know this is a big commitment, but—”

  She cut him off with another kiss—one that lasted so long he nearly forgot what they were talking about.

  Epilogue

  Lucia quickly discovered that Ryan’s idea of taking it slow was torture. A rare and unusual form of torture, at that. But tonight that torture would come to an end.

  She sat cross-legged in the makeshift candlelit dining room, which also doubled as Ryan’s studio apartment. He came back from the kitchen wearing that unbearably sexy grin and carrying two plates filled with decadent desserts.

  One thing she’d learned over these past two weeks….her husband was quite the romantic. And, even more surprising, so was she.

  He picked up the conversation where it had left off when he’d run into the kitchen for dessert. “What did Daniel want?”

  He’d summoned her from the restaurant earlier that night and into his office. The rest of the employees probably thought she’d been called in there to be fired. Although, to be fair, her waitressing skills had improved. A little. She was working on it.

  She’d never found a moment alone with Ryan during the rest of his shift to fill him in on the real reason Daniel had summoned her. “Danny did some digging and he found out who leaked the story.”

  Ryan’s eyebrows shot up. “Who was it?”

  “The private detective guy Marco hired to follow me.” She stabbed her piece of cake with a little more force than necessary. “Apparently the greedy jerk decided the money Marco gave him wasn’t enough. Once he figured out who my family is he realized he could be making far more money so he did some digging on his own.”

  The rage in Ryan’s eyes was sweet. She may have despised Marco’s chauvinism but Ryan’s chivalry was an entirely different matter. He made her feel protected but free. Cherished but strong. He made her feel like the woman she wanted to be.

  Although lately….he’d mainly just made her feel frustrated.

  “When I get my hands on that guy,” Ryan started.

  Lucia cut him off with a shake of her head. “Let it go. Please. Daniel is already handling it and you and I….we have other matters to handle.”

  Ryan’s blue eyes met her over the candles and empty wine glasses. Toying with the dessert he’d set before her on the coffee table, she looked up at him through her eyelashes. “Do you know what today is?”

  He stole a bite of her slice of cake and pretended to think it over. “Tuesday?”

  Lucia rolled her eyes at the teasing. He knew very well what day it was, he was just trying to delay the torture. He was enjoying this little game of his.

  When Ryan had suggested they take it slow, she hadn’t realized just how slow he’d meant.

  Swiping a finger into the whipped cream atop her slice, she brought it to her lips and slowly lapped it up with her tongue. A sense of triumph swept through her as she watched his eyes darken with desire as they followed her every move.

  Slipping onto her hands and knees she slowly crawled toward him. “It is Tuesday,” she agreed, coming to a stop inches from where he sat, appa
rently immobilized by lust.

  “It’s also our third date,” she whispered.

  That broke the spell. Ryan reached for her and pulled her into his lap. “Oh thank God,” he said between frantic kisses. She laughed as he added, “Let’s never take things slow again. Slow is terrible. Slow is dumb.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight. “I couldn’t agree more.”

  His lips met hers and she lost herself in his touch. This was home. Ryan was family. Gasping as his lips trailed across her jaw and down her neck, she pulled back long enough to meet his gaze, which made her tremble with heady desire.

  Reaching out, she pressed a palm to his lightly stubbled cheek. “I love you so much.”

  He leaned forward so his forehead touched hers. “Glad to hear it, my lovely wife, because I have a proposal for you.”

  Her laugh was shaky, her body still trembling with need. “Another proposal?”

  “Mmm.” He sneaked in a quick kiss before pulling back to look into her eyes. “You are my family now,” he said, his words echoing her thoughts from a moment before.

  She nodded eagerly. “I feel the same.”

  The tender look in his eyes was nearly her undoing but she forced herself to concentrate on his words. “What is this proposal you have in mind?”

  His arms tightened around her waist. “I want to marry you.”

  She opened her mouth to remind him that they were, in fact, already married, but his next word stopped her.

  “Again.”

  She blinked up at him. “Why?”

  His grin was slow and torturously sexy. “Because you are everything that is good in my life and I want to share that with the world.”

  She blinked away tears of happiness. That was far and away the sweetest thing she’d ever heard. But he wasn’t done.

  “Plus, I want my wife to have the wedding of her dreams, surrounded by her friends and family.” He paused for a moment, the question in his eyes. “I’m thinking the villa…maybe this summer?”

  Visions of her perfect wedding danced through her mind. Her grandfather giving her away, her friends and family surrounding them with their love and support. “That would be perfect,” she whispered.

  “In that case….” Ryan gently set her off his lap so he could kneel in front of her. “Will you marry me? Again?”

  Lucia laughed, tears in her eyes. “Always.”

  Be sure not to miss Christa Maurice’s steamy Drawn To the Rhythm Book series!

  Not Second Best

  No more solos for this heart . . .

  As a lawyer at Touchstone management, Tessa’s position brings her up close and personal to some of the world’s biggest heartthrobs. Sometimes that intimacy crosses professional lines, which is understandable considering Tessa’s impressive contact list. But when rock star Brian Ellis set her aside for the girl of his dreams, Tessa can’t help wonder if “spinster aunt” is her true vocation. Which explains her hook-up with rising star Brett Cherney at Brian’s celebrity wedding . . .

  As the lead singer of BroRide, Brett has lived the rock-n-roll bad-boy lifestyle to the very hilt. But when the girl of his dreams marries fellow rocker Brian Ellis, he buries his disappointment in the arms of an older woman. The following morning, Brett realizes what he experienced was only the beginning of a song he’s been trying to write all his life. It’s a seductive theme, which Tessa falls for again and again, but getting her to believe they have a hit is turning out to be far from a sure thing . . .

  Click here to get your copy.

  Chapter 1

  Tessa walked outside, maintaining her happy expression past the knot of smokers by the door. This wedding shouldn’t bug her so much. Brian had gotten over his crush on her years ago. Shit, he’d been married before. She’d fallen off his pedestal a long time ago. So why did this marriage seem like the end of the world?

  Suzi made a beautiful bride. One of her friends had designed the simple white gown for her. Ribbons of rainbow colors started as faint pastels across the bust and gained intensity as they wrapped around her body and down the back of her dress until they formed a brilliant train. Daisies wound through her upswept hair and complemented her pretty, sweet face. Brian looked rather sharp, too, in his white tux, open at the throat. His best accessory, though, had to be the expression of utter joy in his eyes.

  It made Tessa want to puke. Not because they were happy. No, never that. Brian deserved to be happy. Suzi did, too. Apparently, everyone deserved to be happy.

  Except her.

  “Nice show, huh?”

  Tessa glanced at Brett who’d wandered up beside her at the overlook. Or maybe she’d wandered up beside him. The ocean smashed into the cliffs below as if it held a grudge against her. “Yeah. They look really happy.”

  “She’s the Holy Grail,” Brett said. He leaned on the guardrail, fiddling a cigarette between his fingers. “She was a total mess when she left Logan last year. I took her out to this place I go to. Never laid a hand on her.”

  Tessa nodded. Why did he think she should care? Everybody knew he’d pulled Suzi out of the party where she’d broken up with her last boyfriend, Logan, nearly a year ago. Tessa had been one of many people trying to figure out where the hell they’d gone for weeks before Suzi had reappeared at Jason’s West Virginia place. “You’re a big damn hero.”

  “Something like that.” He flicked the cigarette off the cliff, unlit. “Brian’s a good guy, right? He’ll be good to her, won’t he?”

  “I’ve known him since he was a kid. He’d walk through hell for her.” Brian was the best guy. Absolute heart of gold. If she’d been half awake ten years ago, she could have had that.

  “Good. That’s good. Cause next time I have to haul her away from some asshole, I’m not going to be so easygoing about letting her leave.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about?” She glared at Brett, but he looked like he’d been dragged backward through the desert by a tour bus, and she faltered. “What’s wrong with you?”

  Brett turned, stared at the ocean. “Probably the same thing that’s wrong with you.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Oh, come on. How dumb do you think everybody is? You’ve known Brian since he was in elementary school. His daughter is named after you. The only person at this wedding who looks sicker about it is Logan.” Brett bobbed his head. “And maybe me. You and Brian had a thing, or you wish you had a thing, or something. I’d say I could write a great song about it, but there’s already been a bunch. Etta James did three or four.”

  “So, are you telling me that party-hearty Brett Cherney lost his poor little heart to the bride?” Tessa meant to smirk, but it came out twisted because of the sob she was trying to cover.

  “Only as much as tough lawyer Tessa Callisto lost her heart to the groom.”

  Tessa stared back in the direction of the pavilion. Over six hundred guests. This wedding was almost as well attended as the Grammys. No point hiring a band because no local band could hold a candle to this audience, so music had been supplied by a running jam. Everyone was having a blast. They wouldn’t notice a couple of people missing. “You know what the best cure for a broken heart is, don’t you?”

  “What?” He glanced over his shoulder as if the answer to her question was back at the wedding reception.

  She stared into Brett’s eyes. Brett, who slept with every female who caught his fancy. And there were lots of those. What with his lean build and washboard abs, he was such a very good-looking specimen. “Wanna?” She arched an eyebrow at him.

  His lips curled into a smile. “Sounds good to me.”

  “Your place or mine?”

  “I’m thinking of some place more neutral.”

  * * * *

  Brett slammed her against the door as soon as it was closed. All the way here, she’d been teasing him. Running her hand up the inside of his thigh, dragging her fingers through
his hair, toying with his earlobe. And every time he’d reached for her, she’d smacked his hand away and told him to watch the road.

  “Your ass is mine now,” he growled, pressing his face into the curve of her neck.

  “I was hoping you wanted more than that.”

  “Believe me. I plan to have every inch of you before I’m done.”

  Laughing, she ripped his shirt open and shoved it down his arms. “Let’s see if you can deliver on that promise.”

  “I can.” He hiked up her skirt. “Pantyhose? Really? These fucking things are like a force field around your sweet spot.”

  “I was going to the wedding of an old and dear friend, not headed out for a sleazy tryst.”

  “Damn.” Brett dropped to his knees and pulled at the pantyhose. Her heavy, lusty scent crawled through his brain and straight into his dick. “I didn’t think women wore these things anymore.”

  “I’m not the kind of woman you usually undress.”

  “No kidding.” He smoothed his hands down her soft thighs, down to— “Your fucking shoes have buckles on the ankles. Is there a lock on your pussy, too?”

  She laughed again. He glanced up in time to see her toss her blouse across the room. Underneath, she’d worn a lacy bra. Hopefully, it had a normal clasp and not some exotic thing like her goddamn shoes. He fumbled with the buckle, but his fingers couldn’t grasp it.

  “Let me help you.” She crouched, pinned between the door and him, trying to reach her shoes through the tangle of pantyhose. Her dark hair brushed his cheek, and he shivered. Tessa was hot. Way hotter than he’d ever thought.

  “Screw that.” Brett wrapped his arm around her waist and swung her onto the floor. “I can get to all the parts I need.”

  She buried her hands in his hair, drawing him into a deep kiss. Her tongue delved into his mouth as she ground her hips against his.

  The urgent need in her touch sizzled along his skin. “You’re a hell of a woman,” he said, dragging his lips down her chest to the thankfully simple front clasp on her bra.