Accidental Heartbreak (The Accidental Series, Book 2)

by Tina Martin

  The bellhop unloaded their bags. Carter tipped him a twenty dollar bill then the man walked away happy, saying something about how he hoped they enjoyed their stay.

  Shayla walked swiftly to the large windows overlooking the marina. The view was breathtaking as yachts floated in turquoise water while green palm trees swayed in the breeze. This was paradise. Pictures she’d seen on postcards and in magazines were now real life images.

  “Wow. Look at this.” Carter gripped her from behind and pushed his lips into her neck.

  Shayla closed her eyes briefly. “Yeah. It’s beautiful.” She turned to face him. “And this room is huge. We could have gotten away with a much smaller one.”

  “Yeah, I know…just want to make sure my baby has the best.”

  Shayla wrapped her arms around him, squeezed him warmly. This was actually about to happen. She was about to become his wife, tonight at 8:00 p.m. in a private ceremony at the hotel’s garden wedding gazebo.

  Despite her hug, Carter could feel her apprehension, the stiffness in her movement and her lack of excitement, but maybe it was just nerves.

  “We’re in Hawaii, baby!” Carter picked her up and twirled her around, trying to loosen her up a little.

  Once he lowered her to the ground, she pressed her head against his chest. “I love you, Carter.”

  “Love you too, sweetheart,” Carter said, closing his eyes, thinking of all she meant to him. “Let’s go for a walk.”

  “We’re not going to unpack first?”

  “Nah. Let’s worry about that later.”

  “Okay.”

  Carter, wearing a white shirt, khaki pants and white Louis Vuitton loafers took Shayla by the hand and rode the elevator down to the lobby. Shayla, wearing a pair of white capris and a blue tank top, felt comfortable with him, but as she soaked all of this in, she was hit with a sharp pain in her stomach.

  “You okay, hun?” Carter asked, gripping her hand.

  “Yeah.”

  “Look at me, baby,” he said as they stood near Ala Moana Boulevard, cars breezing by. “I love you. There’s no need to be scared of me, of marrying me and giving your all to me. I know this is happening fast, but you have to trust me, Shayla.”

  Shayla hugged Carter tight again, feeling her nervousness rise like morning fog. This was it, the reassurance she needed that she was doing the right thing.

  * * *

  Back at the suite, Shayla slid into a bubble-filled bath tub, exfoliating her skin, making sure her legs and arms were smoothly shaven. She then stood up, turned on the shower, washed her hair, water speeding into her face, washing away happy tears. But with the happiness came sadness. She thought she’d shook the sad feeling but she still had Jacob on her mind. How could she be thinking about him on her wedding day?

  Carter dressed quickly. He’d taken a shower, shaved and dressed in a black tuxedo. He glanced at the clock. It was 7:30 p.m. The ceremony was at eight and he wondered what was taking Shayla so long. She’d been in the bathroom on the opposite side of the suite since 6:30 p.m. Then again, women did require more time to get ready. Still, he wanted to make sure she was okay.

  He walked to the bathroom door and tapped on it. “Shay, you okay in there?”

  “Yeah,” she said as cheerfully as she could, disguising any hint of sadness in her voice. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

  She quickly blow-dried her hair, rubbed lotion all over her body, slipped into her white-laced panties, strapless bra and the gorgeous, all-white spaghetti strap gown that looked fashionable on her thin, model-like body. She poked a pair of diamond studs in her ears and stepped in some silver stilettos. After applying a little foundation to her face and some nude lipstick to her lips, she took a deep breath, opened the door and finally she was ready.

  “Wow. You’re…you’re beautiful.”

  Shayla blushed. “You’re beautiful, too.”

  Carter eyed her from head to toe again. “You ready?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay, then. Let’s do it.”

  They walked to the elevator, riding it down to the ground floor. Upon arriving to the wedding gazebo, they were greeted with leis again, white flower ones, then they stood holding hands, repeating vows after the minister.

  “I’d like to say a few words now,” Carter said. He looked at Shayla, rested his hands on her shoulders and slid them down the length of her arms to her hands, holding them. “Shayla, I know we’ve only known each other for a short period of time, but there’s a stronger, deeper, most intimate connection between us than you realize. You have filled an empty hole in my heart and I’ll always be grateful to you for giving me something I never had.”

  “And I’ll always be grateful to you for saving my life,” Shayla said tearfully. “And loving me.”

  Carter took the ring, slid it on her finger and kissed the backside of her hand. “I promise to love you stronger, harder and more passionately every day. I promise with my life.”

  They were pronounced man and wife, and Carter placed his hands on opposite sides of her face and kissed her lips, whispered a seductive I love you and embraced her.

  The newlyweds then went to the beach with a photographer following them, capturing all of their live shots, their first moments as a married couple minutes following the ceremony. Hand in hand, they walked, laughed and danced in the sand and when the photographer had gotten enough pictures, they thanked him.

  Carter looked at her, thinking that he couldn’t wait to get her back to the suite. Tonight, he would make her his, and he knew that once they made love, she could never find out about Jacob. He’d made up his mind he wouldn’t tell her because it was irrelevant. He loved her, and tonight, she would know just how much.

  Chapter 16

  Upon opening the door to their honeymoon suite, Carter kissed her vigorously, holding her hostage with his body. He grabbed her face like he was picking up a bowl and drinking from it, steadily kissing the woman he’d given his last name.

  “I love you, girl,” he said looking at her with heat and desire in his eyes, “And tonight, I’m going to make you mine.” Carter hadn’t realized how tightly he held her head between his powerful hands until he heard her gulp an air pocket deep in her throat, trying to pace her breathing back to normal. He had her gripped so tight, he could leave his fingerprints all over her face.

  He picked her up and walked her over to the bed, laying her there, watching her recline further, flat on her back. He loved this woman. He married her, and he needed to make love to her more than he needed to breathe.

  “I love you,” he told her.

  “I love you, too,” she whispered, feeling like her body no longer belonged to her. Carter owned it now. Along with her soul and heart.

  Carter felt his eyes begin to water, as he recalled how she was laid up in the hospital with tubes running everywhere…how she had no one, but now she had him. She had his love. His heart. His everything. Because of her, he knew what love was. Love was a man dropping to his knees in a four-thousand dollar suit to help a complete stranger on the street. Love was cancelling meetings to stay with this same stranger in the hospital. Love was going above and beyond for someone you don’t know, moving them in your home to take care of them. Love was buying a year supplys worth of Snickers bars just to please someone. He chuckled to himself thinking about that.

  The night had been everything Shayla thought it would be. She thought about how fortunate she was to have him, especially when she once thought being with a man like him was a dream. Her dream was now a reality and she couldn’t deny how loved she felt this very moment.

  Carter brushed hair away from her face, thinking about his old ways of being completely noncommittal when it came to women. He swore up and down, in and out that he’d never fall in love and never marry. But as he looked upon her in admiration and awe, he realized that love is all he wanted. She was all he wanted.

  There were underlying issues – issues that Shayla was not aware of – but the
re was no doubt about it. He was in love with Shayla, not because of Jacob but because he genuinely loved her. What troubled him most, though, was the fear of Shayla finding out about his kinship to Jacob. What would she do when she found out? Would she leave? Or was she the forgiving type? The I-can-overlook-your-omission-because-you-saved-my-life type?

  Chapter 17

  “After last night, I’m surprised we’re up this early,” Carter said with a smirk, sitting at a table with Shayla in the Prince Court restaurant, sipping on coffee as they enjoyed the ocean views, preparing to partake in a litany of breakfast foods.

  His beautiful smile made Shayla blush, especially considering that fact that they’d stayed up so late. “I know. We didn’t get to bed until two.”

  “Nah, I think it was more like three, or is that the number of times we made love. I’m confused now.” Carter winked at her then checked his watch. “Either way, it’s six now, so that means we’re surviving off of three hours of sleep.”

  Shayla yawned. With the intense workout he put her body through, she could certainly use a nap. “Why did we get up so early, anyway?”

  “So we can enjoy ourselves, baby. Plus, I worked up a pretty, healthy appetite.”

  Shayla smiled. “We could’ve stayed in bed, ordered room service then went back to sleep.”

  “That does sound good, but I guess since we’re here already we should go ahead and eat.”

  “Okay. Then later, we can take a midday nap on the beach after we’ve had a couple of margaritas. That would be nice, wouldn’t it?” she asked.

  “That would be very nice.”

  Shayla took another sip of hot coffee. She looked up, saw the couple from the plane. “Hey, isn’t that Kaitlin and Russell?”

  Carter looked in the direction she was looking. “Yup. That’s them.” He did a cool wave at Russell and watched him and Kaitlin walk in their direction.

  “Hi guys,” Kaitlin said all school-girlish, like she just ran into her B.F.F. unexpectantly.

  “Hey,” Carter and Shayla spoke together.

  “It’s nice to see y’all again,” Kaitlin said smiling.

  “Nice to see you guys, too,” Shayla replied. “Hey…wanna join us for breakfast?”

  “Sure,” Kaitlin replied quickly, glancing at Russell for the okay. They both took a seat.

  “So you guys are getting married today, right?” Kaitlin asked, looking directly at Shayla.

  “Actually, we got married yesterday evening.” Shayla kissed Carter on the jaw.

  “Oh, that’s right. Congratulations!” Kaitlin squealed, followed by a three-second congratulatory hand clap.

  “Congratulations, man,” Russell said, reaching to pat Carter on the shoulder.

  “Thanks,” Carter told him. “I’ve never been happier.”

  “Aw…” Kaitlin sang, placing her right hand over her heart. “That’s so beautiful. You guys are such a lovely couple. How did y’all meet, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  Shayla froze – the dreaded question. She never came up with a good answer for it. She only hoped no one ever asked. “Ah we—”

  “It’s kind of a sad story with a very happy ending,” Carter broke in, cutting Shayla off. He threw his arm around her. “Shayla was having a medical emergency, I called 9-1-1 and never left her side.”

  “Aw,” Kaitlin said again, clutching Russell by the hand.

  And just like that, Shayla felt the pressure slowly ease away, thanks to being saved by her man, yet again.

  Just to keep the conversation moving, Carter asked, “How’d you two meet?”

  “We actually met at my sister’s wedding two years ago,” Kaitlin said, flipping her blonde hair out of her face. “I was the maid of honor and he was the best man. Isn’t that just storybook?”

  “Yeah. That’s nice,” Shayla said.

  “I’m gonna check out this buffet, guys,” Carter said standing.

  “Me, too.” Shayla scooted her chair from the table.

  Kaitlin and Russell followed them to the buffet where they took plates and chose from a variety of foods – pastries, salad, fruit, yogurt, cereal, pancakes, bacon and eggs. Five minutes or so later, the four of them met back at the table.

  Shayla had pancakes, eggs and bacon on her plate. She noticed Carter only had a few papaya wedges, a small serving of strawberry yogurt and skim milk.

  “So,” Shayla said, looking at Kaitlin, “Tonight’s the big night for you guys, huh?”

  “Yes! I’m so excited.”

  “Yeah, this is very exciting for us. It’s been a long time coming,” Russell said. “We’ve been engaged for a year.”

  “We were only engaged for a few days,” Carter blurted out, then took a sip of milk.

  Shayla cringed, shocked he’d offered up that information so candidly.

  “Really,” Russell chimed in.

  “Yep,” Carter replied. “When I know something is right, I just know. And this woman is it for me. She is my forever.”

  Shayla blushed while trying to chew at the same time.

  Carter looked at her, with love in his eyes and bit into a piece of papaya, slurping the juices of it. He leaned close to her ear and whispered, “I want you,” and when he was back sitting upright, he took another seductive bite and looked at her for her reaction, watching her blush yet again. Then he leaned back over to her and said, “I’m not kidding.”

  Shayla felt her nerves go crazy. This time she knew he was serious.

  Carter wiped his mouth and cleared his throat. “It was nice to see you guys again, ” he told Kaitlin and Russell, “But Shayla and I are exhausted. We’re going to head back to the room and get some rest.”

  Yeah, they would be getting some rest, but only after a round of lovemaking.

  * * *

  Later that afternoon, Shayla and Carter lay on the beach in blue lounge chairs. A light breeze fanned the palm trees above them. Carter had been awake for a few minutes, looking her up and down, admiring the way her body looked in the one-piece, white swimsuit, her light skin glowing from suntan lotion.

  He watched her slowly stretch her arms in the air, waking up from a nap in paradise.

  “Hey,” she said turning to him. “How long was I sleep?”

  “A little over an hour. I just woke up myself, actually.”

  Shayla yawned, stretched her arms in the air again. “I cannot believe how beautiful it is here.”

  “Yeah, and if you think this is something, wait until we go other places like Paris, Jamaica and Belize.”

  Shayla looked at him. “Have you been to those places?”

  “Yeah. Paris, once. Jamaica, twice. Haven’t been to Belize yet.”

  “Oh.” Shayla stood, yawned again and sat in between Carter’s legs, reclining to rest her head against his six pack. “Believe it or not, this is the only place I’ve been outside of North Carolina…well besides Virginia.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah…kinda sad, huh?”

  “Not sad at all…just more for me to show you.” Carter ran his hand through her curly strands. “This is perfect. Me. You. Hawaii. Wow.”

  Shayla giggled. “You’ve been saying wow a lot lately.”

  “I’m just amazed…didn’t know love would feel this good.”

  “And to think you were all anti-love when we first met.”

  “Yeah, I was, wasn’t I?” he asked adjusting his shades. “But something you said stuck with me.”

  “Really?”

  “Yep. Remember when I first took you to Carrabba’s?”

  “Yeah, and you made me eat calamari.”

  They laughed together.

  “I didn’t make you eat it,” he said.

  “Carter, you held it in front of my mouth and said ‘open up’.” Shayla giggled.

  “Okay, so maybe I did make you eat it.” He chuckled. “But back to what I was saying…you said something about love being perfect. You remember that? Said that the Bible says love never fails so that mean
s it’s perfect.”

  “You were listening, huh?”

  “Yes, and now you’re my wife. How about that?”

  “This is perfect isn’t it?” Shayla let out a satisfying sigh, enticed by the warm wind and Carter’s touch.

  “Yep. You look amazing in that swimsuit, by the way.”

  “Thanks.”

  “How ‘bout we get it wet?”

  Shayla stood up. So did Carter. He lifted her into his arms and walked closer to the water and, in a passing thought, she remembered Donovan doing something similar.

  “Carter.” She let out a nervous giggle. “Don’t drop me.”

  “I won’t,” he said, stepping into the warm water. He walked out further, until he was waist deep, then slowly let her fall to her feet in front of him. “I love you, Shayla.”

  “I love you too, Carter.” She stared into his eyes, sneaking a kiss from his lips. And then she dipped her hands in the water and splashed some in his face, swaying as fast as she could to get away from him afterwards.

  “You’re gonna pay for that,” Carter said, chasing her. He gripped her from behind, twirling her around in the water and pulling her under with him. When they came up, he brushed water from her face and covered her mouth with his, kissing her this time.

  They returned to the hotel shortly after to shower and change for dinner and before they could even make it out the suite, Carter embraced her, took delightful kisses from her lips and Shayla knew, by his needful grasps, that they wouldn’t make it to dinner tonight. Instead, they made love for most of the night, ordered some dinner a time later, then made love again, making the most of their last night in Hawaii. Come morning, they would be flying back home to Charlotte.

  Chapter 18

  Back home now, the concept of marriage was quickly taking off in its first week. The couple made love on a regular basis, ate breakfast and dinner together and spent every available second with each other. Their marriage was the perfect example of what a new couple imagined their marriage would be.