by AJ Nuest
The stunning elegance of the room had made designing the romantic atmosphere a simple task. Etched crystal vases sprouted an abundance of cream roses, their perfume saturating the air with a heady bouquet. The muted strands of a concerto ascended skyward from a corner string quartet, the perfect accompaniment above hundreds of flickering white candles. Tiny white lights twinkled like stars, illuminating the outside tents, as if the night sky were their honored guest, and floating white candles drifted a leisurely path across the reflecting pool.
Without a doubt, she stood in the most exquisite place in the world. And she couldn’t have cared less.
Tiffany lifted a warning brow as she crossed the room, her entire gown shimmering with silver sequins when she stopped beside Tessa. “Can the sour grapes.” She nodded, smiling pleasantly when a large group entered.
“I can’t help it.” Tessa’s painted smile tightened her cheeks, as if she’d submersed her face in plastic.
“You don’t know that he’s left for good.” Tiffany waved to Mrs. Henderson, acknowledging the older woman’s approval when she beamed and placed a hand on her chest.
“As I see it, one of two things happened.” Tessa traded acknowledgments with Ms. Kramer, her chestnut hair hanging gracefully over the straps of her deep emerald dress. “Michael told Dibs everything, he got angry, and left—”
Tiffany rolled her eyes.
“Or, Dibs figured it out on his own, he got angry, and left.” The intricate beading on her bodice bit into her palm when she clamped a hand over her knotted stomach.
“You don’t know that, Tessa.”
“Either way, he’s gone. If Dibs wasn’t upset, he would have come to me. Now it’s too late. He’s probably furious…and I can’t say I blame him.”
“I hate to say this, but I told—”
“Then do me a favor and don’t.” She toyed with the diaphanous tiers of her gown.
“You’re frowning again, and here are the Brenners.” Tiffany nodded in their direction and pushed off from the bar. “Cheer up, Tessa. Everything looks perfect…including you.”
Caroline trailed closely behind her mother and father, hair pinned in an elaborate cascade of blonde coils, shoulders bare over her strapless crimson gown. She grinned and started in Tessa’s direction, but was intercepted by a handsome young man, who was swiftly joined by another, and then another.
They all vied for her attention, until she politely demurred and continued to the bar. “My God, you look gorgeous. Silver becomes you.”
“Dibs left for good, didn’t he?”
“What?” An incredulous laugh burst from her throat. She quickly placed a fingertip to her lips. “No…uh, wait…I don’t know.” She faced the bartender. “White wine, please.”
Tessa shot practice darts at the side of her face. “I swear to God, Caroline, if Marcus has another disaster planned, I’ll be the one leaving.”
“Marcus has nothing planned.” She flipped her hand. “And neither have I.”
“Then would you please tell me what the hell is going on? Dibs and Marcus have been MIA since this afternoon. And spare me the innocent eyes, Caroline, I know something catastrophic is about to happen.”
“You need to relax, Rex. Here”—she slid the wineglass along the bar—“have a drink.”
The mischievous sparkle in her eyes strained Tessa’s very last nerve. “You’re really irritating. Has anyone ever told you that?”
She tipped her head from side to side. “On occasion.”
The lights flickered.
Tessa filled her lungs and exhaled a despairing sigh. “I feel like I just took a punch to the guts, and now I have to address the troops.”
Caroline squeezed her arm. “Good luck.”
With a dismal shake of her head, Tessa wove through the crowd to the podium. She clicked on the microphone and waited as the guests found their seats.
The door swung wide and Marcus entered, centering his black tuxedo jacket on his shoulders, and rushed for the Brenner table. She held a breath. If he was back, then maybe Dibs had also returned. But the door bumped closed behind him and remained that way.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.” She leaned into the microphone, forcing a smile. “It’s my pleasure to welcome you to the annual Brenner Financial Group Awards Ceremony and Dinner.”
A warm round of applause effervesced up to the high ceiling.
“Dinner will commence in a few moments, followed immediately by the awards ceremony. We will remain in this room for dancing, with dessert and coffee—” Movement at the main entrance scattered the rest of her sentence. Dibs leaned against the threshold, one hand resting in the pocket of his black tuxedo, the other holding a single white rose. He smiled when their eyes met across the distance.
Tessa’s heart performed a triple back handspring in her chest. Her knees faltered. She seized the podium, riveted to Dibs, everything else fading to dim shadow by comparison.
The man wasn’t just smiling, he was positively glowing.
Someone cleared their throat.
She tore her focus away and scanned the crowd. Tiffany stepped forward, twirling a hand in the air. Tessa’s deep inhalation into the microphone whirred and bounced along the marble floor.
She recoiled then quickly bobbed back to the mic. “Yes…okay, right. Ah…dessert and dancing will be served…” Her nervous laugh tittered through the speakers, and she closed her eyes, brushing her fingertips across her brow. “Wait, start over…dessert and coffee will be served…yes, that’s right…on the lawn, by the…” Jerking her thumb over her shoulder, she refocused on Dibs. “…the tents…”
He pushed up from the doorway, coming straight at her from what seemed like a very long distance away.
“Just…ask someone if you don’t know what to do.” She clicked off the microphone, hesitant applause smattering about the room as she rounded the podium.
She wove through the tables, pulse racing, fingertips tingling, the clear light in Dibs’s eyes guiding her forward.
He was back! He’d come back to her! The Dibs she had known all those months. The man who loved her and promised nothing would ever come between them.
Relief and exhilaration and joy, pure, sweet joy washed her in waves as he neared.
Her hip caught the side of a chair. She stumbled and tripped on the hem of her gown. But she wasn’t reaching him fast enough! He laughed and hopped to a jog, rushed up fast in front and she leapt into his embrace.
He spun them around, cradling the back of her head in his hand. “I had an interesting conversation with Michael today,” he whispered.
She clung to him with all her strength.
“He said we’re the perfect couple, with a set of identical right hooks.”
She laughed through her tears, through the kisses she rained over his lips and cheeks, the curve of his jaw. God, how she loved him, his strong arms wrapped around her, his contented sigh whispering in her ear.
He eased away from her shoulder, brushed his mouth across hers. His tongue slid in, and she became lost in their lingering duet.
She wound her fingers through his hair, offering herself to him again and again. She didn’t want him to stop. Who cared if everyone was watching or if they thought it was wrong? As long as he went on kissing her and never, ever stopped.
He let her slide slowly down the front of him to her feet. Desire glistened under his heavy lids. His forehead came to rest against hers. “Rex, why didn’t you—”
She placed a finger to his lips, cleared her throat and spoke in a loud, ringing voice. “David Isaac Brenner, will you marry me?”
His brows shot up in surprise. Delight danced in his eyes. “Rex, you’re making a mess. What will everyone think?”
Tears spilled and tumbled down her cheeks. “Marry me, Dibs,” she whispered. “The rest be damned.”
His grin outshone all the candles in the room. “All right, Rex, I’ll marry you. But if we’re doing this, then let’s do it right.”
He released her and knelt on one knee, reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, black box. Under the lid a large princess-cut diamond glittered and sparked, set high on a thick band of diamond-filled gold.
She gaped. “Is that where you disappeared to this afternoon?”
That smirk she adored so much quirked one corner of his lips. “Tessa Adams, my life is incomplete without you. I love you more than I ever dreamed possible. Please do me the honor of accepting my hand in marriage.”
“Now, see here.” Mr. Brenner scraped his chair back from the table and stood.
Vanessa snatched the tail of his tuxedo jacket and jerked him down to the seat. “Be quiet, Benjamin,” she snapped.
Tessa chuckled right along with Dibs. A wave of exhilaration crested and burst through her soul, and she threw her hands wide to the sides and shouted, “Yes!”
He sprang to his feet and swept her into his arms.
A roar of applause bombarded the room, shouts and whistles blanketing them in a glorious tide of celebration.
He set her on her feet, lifted the ring from the box and slid the band onto her left ring finger.
“Oh my God, Dibs, it’s huge.” She laughed quietly, holding out her hand to admire the stone.
“Do you like it? If you don’t, we can get whatever you want.”
“It’s absolutely perfect.” She brought him down for a kiss. “I love it and I love you.”
****
Tessa tightened her arms around Dibs’s waist, her head resting on his chest. A gentle smile graced her lips as scenes from the last, blissful, twenty-four hours drifted through her mind.
The Awards Ceremony had taken a backseat after their resounding declaration of love, and although all the plaques were eventually handed out and the recognitions given, a hint of frivolity suffused the air. After what the crowd had witnessed between them, everyone seemed caught up in the excitement of their engagement.
She and Dibs were overwhelmed with well-wishers seeking them out to offer their congratulations. Women asked to see the ring, clucking like hens while they held her hand, calling their friends over to have a look. Men slapped Dibs on the back and shook his hand.
“So, when’s the big day?” Marcus bit the end of his celebratory cigar between his teeth.
Dibs faced Tessa with a shrug. “How about Monday?”
She laughed and slipped an arm around his waist, pulling him in for a hug. “Wonderful.”
Late in the evening, Dibs finally approached his father and spent the better part of an hour in deep discussions. In the end, he agreed to take over Brenner Financial as long as Mr. Brenner acquiesced to selling Dibs his controlling shares in the Foundation, and allowed Dibs to name his successor and become board chairman. Marcus eventually joined their conversation and agreed to occupy a second seat on the Foundation’s board.
The remainder of the weekend passed in a blur, neither of them straying far from one another’s side. And although a slew of details needed to be handled—notifying friends and family of their spontaneous nuptials—Tessa had never been happier.
And now, the day of their wedding was upon them.
She lifted her left hand, blinking repeatedly at the gigantic rock on her third finger.
“Is it still there?” Dibs’s voice rumbled in her ear.
She laughed quietly and kissed his chest. “Good morning.” Two day’s worth of dark stubble prickled her palm when she cupped his jaw, brushed her thumb across the supple sweep of his lower lip.
One of his eyebrows lifted. “You sure about this?”
She rolled her eyes. “Will you stop asking me that? Turning this wedding into a big deal would be exactly like work for me. You were right. If we go ahead and get married by a judge, then your mother can take her time and throw us a big party later.”
“You’re that anxious to be Mrs. David Brenner?”
“I’ll race you down the aisle.” His low chuckle vibrated along her skin when she pressed a kiss to his lips. “Okay.” She rolled away and tossed the blankets from her legs. “We have a lot to do before we get to the courthouse.”
His corded arm encircled her waist and tugged her back in beside him. He threw the blankets over their heads, and the mingled scents of his heady cologne and musky skin bathed her senses. “I thought the whole point here was to not make this a big deal.”
“Well.” She placed her hands on his shoulders. “We need to decide what to wear.”
His fingers tangled through her hair to the nape of her neck, urged her across the pillows. The tip of his tongue flicked and moistened her upper lip. A shiver coursed her body when his fingertips flitted down the length of her spine.
“And I should really have my hair done.” Her eyes fluttered closed, his lips dotting a sweet path across her shoulder to her ear. “And possibly a manicure.” She eased a hand up his arm, lightly ran her nails down the muscles in his back.
“And flowers,” she murmured past his kisses. “You and Marcus”—his lips caught hers—“should each have a boutonniere.” He grasped her hips and brought her flush to his body. “And Tiffany and I”—warm tendrils of light unfurled in her stomach when his hand tickled down the back of her thigh—“should each have a bouquet.”
He slithered over her, devouring her skin. His tongue swirled a languid circle around her nipple, his teeth captured the tight peak. Desire pulsed within her, wetting the inner skin of her thighs.
“And reservations”—she arched off the bed, his moist kisses blazing a trail down the center of her chest—“we should really take everyone out for dinner.” He cinched her in his arms and lifted, crushing her to his chest. The rough stubble on his chin rasped her throat, the hard muscles in his thighs spread her legs.
“And the rings—” His hands met the tops of her shoulders. She gasped when he pressed them together in one fluid thrust. “I want you to wear a wedding ring,” she whispered.
His tongue dipped inside for another taste, dueled and tangled with hers. His fingers stroked and played her until an overwhelming surge built and time ceased to exist. Wave after wave of ecstasy shuddered through her body. She soared in his arms, as she would time and again. For she had given her heart to him fully and throughout the rest of their lives Dibs would always be hers.
One year later…
The ballroom of the Four Seasons hotel seemed awash in magic. The teardrop chandelier above Dibs’s head cast an enchanting light over his cheeks and shoulders, shimmered through the love in his gaze.
Tessa rested her head on his chest, the gentle strength of his arms swaying her to and fro.
Shortly after they had exchanged their vows, she had been contacted by Vanessa Brenner with plans to host a grand fête in honor of their nuptials. Tessa happily agreed. In fact, allowed Mrs. Brenner free rein whenever she insisted things be done a certain way. Because in reality, the details of the celebration didn’t matter. The culmination of this event represented more than just the love she and Dibs shared. Through the preparations Tessa had been presented the chance to better know his family, to secure a place in their hearts, and ultimately, that was the best wedding gift she could give him.
Well, except for a return trip to Vail for their honeymoon—no family allowed.
A chuckle shook his shoulders and she lifted her head, following his gaze down to the two young children dancing near their feet.
She smiled at the awkward rocking of Tiffany’s niece and nephew before returning her attention to Dibs. Her eyes narrowed as she recalled him carrying that same little girl down the dessert table, searching for just the right piece of cake.
He stole a kiss, and then withdrew just enough to meet her eyes. “So, here’s an idea.”
An irrepressible smile broke free, and she tossed her head back with a laugh.
Eighteen months later she and Dibs were blessed with the arrival of their first child—a baby girl named Isabella Beatrix Brenner, whom Dibs calls Izzy Bea, or Trixie Bell, or Bella Boo, or Ibby Loo, or…
A word about the author...
Author and editor AJ Nuest lives in a small farming community in NW Indiana with her loving husband, two beautiful children, and a bevy of spoiled pets. She and the cat are currently vying for dictatorship.
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