by Carlyn Cade
“And in this present lifetime, as in the last one, our marriage will take place, right?”
“Yes,” she managed to say before his arms held her and his lips claimed hers.
Several kisses later, he spoke again. “I’ve already asked your parents for permission to marry you.”
“What? When?”
“The night of Josie and Ryan’s wedding at Cape Foulweather.”
“And what did they say?”
“Your dad shook my hand and said, ‘Welcome to the family, Son.’ Your mom started crying and hugging me at the same time.”
“And what would you have done if I’d said no?” Stacia asked.
“This,” he replied and kissed her again.
♥♥
“You know, Stacia,” Clay said at dinner the same evening, “I’ve been thinking. Maybe we should elope to Nevada like Audra and Mark did.”
Stacia laughed. “I wasn’t expecting you to say that,” she exclaimed.
“They had the right idea, you know. A secret wedding attended only by them. If we made that decision in our past lifetime, why can’t we do it again? It would only be history repeating itself like we keep repeating our lifetimes.” He took her hand and led her to the sofa. They sat down together.
“I don’t know,” she said. “Maybe we’d be jinxing our marriage like they did theirs. If we follow their example, how do we know ours won’t end up tragically?”
“Stacia, Stacia,” he said putting his arm around her shoulder. “There are no guarantees for anything in life. You have to take a risk now and then. How else can you keep life interesting?”
“I’m getting another of your everything’s so easy speeches, aren’t I? Anyway, how could we possibly get away with it without being recognized?”
“You...the master artist of disguises...are asking that question?”
She smiled. “Well, I do have a blonde wig, and...” She ran her fingers over his chin. “I could probably find you a beard.”
“That’s my girl,” he said. “Now your imagination’s working in the right direction. You know, it’ll take a few months to plan our formal wedding, especially with my mother’s input. I don’t want to wait any longer. I love you too much. If I could marry you this minute, I would.”
He kissed her, and she felt her passion collide with his. The urgency to explore her desires at a deeper level consumed her. Suddenly, she pulled away from him. “Can we wait?” she asked breathlessly. “Please.”
He released her from his arms. “I love you, Stacia,” he said. “But I know one thing, I can’t wait for months. Unless you give me some objection, we’re eloping to Vegas in the morning.”
Stacia looked at him, her emotions overflowing with love and desire for him. “How about now?” she asked, knowing even morning seemed too far away.
“How long will it take you to pack?” he asked.
♥♥
An hour later, as night filled the California skies, Clay and Stacia sped toward Nevada in her sports car. The wind whipping through Stacia’s hair cleared her mind and allowed doubt to enter. “Are you sure this is what you want to do? Getting married quickly so we can sleep together?”
“I’m not marrying you to sleep with you,” Clay said. “I’m marrying you because I love you, and I’m impatient for our life together to begin.”
“You mean you don’t want to sleep with me?” she teased.
He flashed a sexy grin at her. “What we’ll be doing after our wedding will in no way entail sleeping.”
His remark made her wish they were already married. “I want to honeymoon with you forever,” she said and reached over to kiss him.
“And I promise you, I’ll do everything in my power to make you still feel that way on our fiftieth wedding anniversary.”
Hours later, Stacia in her blonde wig and glasses and wearing a dress she’d chosen at SwissDen, and Clay in a beard they’d hurriedly purchased in the hotel’s toy store, stood in front of the Justice-of-the-Peace and their marriage ceremony began.
“Do you, Clayton Alexander, take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife?”
“I do,” Clay said and added softly, “Always, my love.”
The words the Justice-of-the-Peace recited to Stacia were lost on her. She would have agreed to anything the man said in order to get their future started. All her fears had been erased, and she knew this lifetime together would be long and sweet. She loved Clay with a love that could only bloom and grow as time – the right time, which was now – began to move on. A few moments of silence passed, and lost in the love in her heart and the love radiating from her groom’s face, she surfaced long enough to realize it was time to say, “I do.” And as Clay had promised, she did also with her own declaration, “Always, my love.”
“I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
They slipped their newly-purchased wedding bands on each other’s fingers.
“You may kiss the bride.”
Clay’s kiss on her lips sealed all their lifetimes and forever promises together.
A short while later, they were in the hotel’s honeymoon suite. Romantic music hummed in the room. Between kisses, they laughed as they pulled off one another’s disguises. Clay uncorked a bottle of champagne and poured some into two glass flutes. They linked their arms together and sipped the champagne. When the flutes were empty, he took her in his arms and began to kiss her.
“Wait,” she said and excused herself. She took her suitcase and went into the bathroom.
“Are you putting on your sweat suit?” he asked.
“How did you guess?” she said as she closed the door.
A few minutes later, Stacia came out in the hotel’s white terry-cloth robe. “I have a wedding present for you – your second chance.” She slipped off the robe and posed for him in her tight, black pants, stiletto heels and little green tank top.
“Wow!” Clay exclaimed. A smile beamed across his face as he opened his arms for his wife to step inside. “May I open my present now?” he whispered.
...And he did.
EPILOGUE
CBS Studios, Hollywood
“Hello and welcome to Entertainment Tonight,” Nancy O’Dell said as the program began. “London Affair swept the top Academy Awards last night, chalking up ten Oscars. This innovative movie has everyone in Hollywood, and around the world, buzzing. Nathan Sterling and Arthur Keyes took home their Oscars for Best Motion Picture, as well as Academy Awards for Best Director and Producer. When he accepted their Oscar for Best Motion Picture, Arthur Keyes remarked that as soon as they were through celebrating, they would start work immediately on their dream project, Gone with the Wind. No cast has been chosen.
“Stacia Saunders proudly took home her Best Actress Oscar with her baby bump very much in view. The new little prince, Creighton Alexander, will be born shortly to Stacia and her husband, Prince Clayton Alexander who were married in royal style at SwissDen in Switzerland just a year ago.
“In her thank-you speech, Stacia said she was sharing her Oscar posthumously with the late Audra Parker, Mark Bennett and the late Farrell Fontaine, the new film’s consultant. Fontaine was also the producer on the original Academy Award Best Picture winner, London Affair.”
♥♥
Back at SwissDen, Clay turned off the TV and crossed the room where his wife, propped up by plush pillows, was lying on their bed resting after their jet ride home from Hollywood. He had a big smile on his face, which brought an even bigger one on hers.
“You did it, Stacia. You won the Academy Award. Are you sure you want to give up acting? We could work –”
She put her forefinger to her mouth to silence him, and then motioned with the same finger for her husband to come join her in their bed. When he did, she pulled him into her arms and placed his hand on her tummy. She pointed to a decorative mirror hanging on the wall. “Look there, Clay, do you see what I see?”
“You and me and our baby makes three?”
Staci
a laughed. “I can see you’ve added something new to your repertoire. Now you’re a poet, and soon you’ll be a daddy. Do you think I would want to waste a single second away from my two guys? I used to be in the business of making movies. Now I’m in the business of making memories – movies in our minds that we three can share and will remember all our lives. I don’t need an outside world or an audience, my whole, wonderful world is in your arms and in here.” She patted her tummy.
“And my main business is making you and Creighton happy forever and a day.” Clay kissed his wife, softly and tenderly, a kiss filled with the promise that the frantic search for Stacia’s right time had ended.
They had found the pot of gold at the end of their rainbow and shared the treasure so many couples all over the world have discovered – every moment of every day is always the right time for love.
THE END
A NOTE FROM CARLYN…
Love and romance. And riches beyond the ultra-imagination of us mortals, except for the privileged few who travel the paths billionaires walk on. You have just “walked the walk” and joined them, along with Stacia and Clay, when you read Along Came a Prince.
I hope you enjoyed and were entertained by the lifetime adventures of our hero and heroine. I would love to hear your comments about Along Came a Prince. Please email me at [email protected]. If you would like to do so, please leave a review on Amazon.com for Along Came a Prince. I would greatly appreciate your thoughts.
Please visit my Facebook page at Carlyn Cade. I hope you will find it interesting and fun. For information on my books, please check out my website at www.carlyncade.com.
DO YOU WANT TO VOTE?
Who do you think should play Rhett Butler in Gone With the Wind? Who do you think should be Scarlett? Or should an actor and actress from today replace both Rhett and Scarlett?
Come on, let your imagination do what it does best – image! Cast your vote by emailing me at [email protected].
Please watch for The Lost Soulmate which will be published soon. Shortly thereafter, Recipes for Romance – Decades of Desserts will be available. It is not your usual recipe book.
Thanks for reading.
Carlyn Cade