He smiled. “The nice thing about Vegas is that you can get anything you want anytime. We can take care of that when we get there.”
Chapter Forty-Five
Will drove to the airport and parked in the short-term parking structure close to the terminal. We flew first class and sat in the back row of first class on the right-hand side. I sat in the window seat and Will was on the aisle. Despite the fact that we had an audience across the aisle from us, we spent most of the short flight kissing.
When we landed at about four o’clock, we met the limousine. It was a white Cadillac Escalade stretch limousine and had champagne inside waiting for us. In most places, this vehicle would stand out, but not in Las Vegas. Everything in Vegas was bigger, brighter, louder and more over-the-top than anywhere else.
As we sipped champagne, I thought about and was amazed at how so much had changed in the course of one day. This morning, I had awakened depressed and without hope when it came to Will. I was now, only several hours later, getting ready to marry him.
We had two stops to make before we would check into the hotel. We first stopped at Tiffany’s to get a wedding band for Will. He picked out a wide platinum band with etching just shy of each of the outer edges. It would match my engagement ring in that it was platinum. It was so large that no one would miss the fact that he was married. I found that ironic, considering how hard we had tried to hide our relationship.
I insisted on paying for Will’s ring, although I realized how ridiculous that was since, once we were married, there would be no difference between his money and mine. It was still the principle of the thing for me.
The second stop was to obtain a marriage license. We drove downtown to the Clark County Marriage Bureau, where we had to wait for about an hour. As we stood there, I imagined that the line would get longer later in the evening. Although we were paparazzi-free, we were accosted by various wedding vendors hawking their services on the way back to the limo.
En route to the hotel, Will called ahead to ensure that dinner would be served when we arrived and, then, to confirm our wedding ceremony arrangements. Will hadn’t let on what those arrangements were. “Let me surprise you,” he had said.
“So long as it’s not at the Elvis place, it’ll be fine by me.” I laughed.
Will feigned grabbing his phone and dialing as if he were changing the arrangements.
“Very funny. You know you’re going to have to work on your acting skills.” I winked.
“Now who’s being funny?”
We sipped champagne huddled closely together in the massive interior of the limousine. We started to kiss and Will whispered into my ear, “Shannon MacKenzie,” clearly remembering my reaction to it before. My reaction this time was similar, but then I stopped, wondering whether the driver could see us and also whether we would have enough time before we reached the hotel.
Will must have read my mind because he said, “Don’t worry,” he whispered as he kissed my neck. “We have our privacy and the driver is taking the long way to our hotel.”
I started again where I had left off. I am sure that we both looked a little disheveled when we finally arrived at the Four Seasons Hotel.
The Four Seasons in Las Vegas was a little more private than most of the other hotels since it didn’t have a casino to draw the masses. Will had outdone himself as we had a very large and elegant suite with gold, beige and cream furnishings and a panoramic view of the lights of the Las Vegas Strip. We had dinner waiting for us along with carousel roses and more champagne.
Will and I both changed for dinner into the clothes we had worn when we got engaged so many months before. I guessed that we would be getting married not long after dinner. Although the dining table would have held six people, we sat next to each other with Will at the end of the table and me on the side facing into the living room where the lights of the strip shone through the window.
Despite my nerves at my upcoming nuptials, I was hungry as I had worked up an appetite in the limo and, in our hurry to get to Las Vegas, we had not eaten more than a light snack at the airport since breakfast.
Both of us were so excited and nervous that we didn’t make a whole lot of conversation. I couldn’t do much more than stare into Will’s eyes in amazement that he would be my husband soon. Not long after we had finished dinner, I heard a knock at the door. Will smiled and rose to answer the door.
When Will led guests into the living room of the suite, I realized that we wouldn’t be getting married at one of the tacky Las Vegas wedding chapels. We would be married privately in our elegant hotel room. The minister, wedding coordinator and photographer introduced themselves. The wedding coordinator would serve as our witness.
The wedding coordinator was carrying a massive bouquet of white roses interspersed with other white flowers I didn’t recognize, with the stems wrapped in white satin.
While Will took care of some of the paperwork, including what looked like a Confidentiality Agreement, and handed over the license, the wedding coordinator took me aside. She handed me a garter with a little blue in it and I realized she was trying to arrange the something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. Of course, with my blue dress, I wasn’t really in need of something blue. The garter therefore would serve as the something new. The something old and something borrowed appeared to be a loan from a jeweler handling estate jewelry. It was a 1920’s art deco-style diamond bracelet in a platinum setting. It looked like something that would be loaned to an actress to wear at the Oscars.
With all the details settled, we readied ourselves for the ceremony. The minister asked if we had any special requests. I mentioned that I hoped that “obey” would not be part of the vows. Will laughed. The minister didn’t, probably having heard that one before, and agreed that it would not.
The ceremony was brief. I could feel my eyes well up as we said our vows, looking into each other’s very loving eyes. At the appropriate point in the ceremony, Will reached into his pocket and opened the box that held my wedding ring. It was encrusted with diamonds in a platinum setting that would fit nicely under my engagement ring. I stared in awe as he slipped it on my finger. Will smiled especially brightly when I placed his wedding band on his finger.
After we were pronounced husband and wife, Will kissed me and I didn’t want to stop. We both pulled away at the same time when we heard the clicking of a camera and I realized that photographs were being taken. I imagined that they had been taken all along, but I was so focused on the ceremony, I hadn’t noticed before then.
The photographer took some additional posed photographs of Will and I together and separately and of our rings. We were told that the proofs would be available for review in a few weeks. I was sure that Will would photograph well. I wasn’t so sure about me. I only hoped that enough were taken so that at least a few would turn out okay. My family was going to be unhappy as it was to miss this. Photographs, therefore, were essential.
We thanked everyone for everything as Will handled all the final paperwork and I returned the borrowed bracelet to the wedding coordinator. After they left, Will took my hand and led me outside the door. He picked me up and carried me back over the threshold, kissing me all the while.
Once inside the door, Will put me down, still holding me and smiled as he looked into my eyes. “So what does my wife want to do now?” He smiled brightly as he said, “my wife.”
I kissed him in response.
“Okay, Shannon MacKenzie, whatever you wish.”
I kissed him harder.
He leaned up and, as I kissed him on the neck, he asked, “How long is this reaction to your name going to last?”
“Forever.”
I was breathless as I excused myself to get ready to start our honeymoon. I had brought with me the silly piece of lingerie I had bought in Paris, figuring that this was the type of thing you received at a bachelorette party to wear on your honeymoon. When I entered the bedroom, Will’s eyes went wide just as they
did the first time I had worn it in England.
“When I was packing this morning, I realized that I now have an occasion to wear this. My friends could not have done worse if they had given it to me at a bachelorette party.”
He frowned for a moment. “I made you miss all that, didn’t I?”
“What?”
“All the pre-wedding things like bridal showers and hen parties. I’m sorry.”
“Who says I have to miss them?”
“Don’t you?”
“No. My friends won’t let me get away with it even if I’m already married. I’m missing nothing. I’m just getting you a little earlier. I couldn’t be happier.”
He breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. “I’m glad.”
“You don’t have to worry. I’m sure I’ll be getting more ridiculous lingerie like this.”
“Good. It’s not ridiculous though. You’re beautiful and sexy.” With that, he pulled me close, kissed me, and we started off on our wedding night festivities.
We stayed up most of the night, making love and talking intermittently about what our life would be like together.
“So what are we going to do about our living arrangements?” I asked at one point.
“I figured that we would buy a house together.”
“What about Stephen and Colin?”
“They can stay where they are for as long as they want.”
Knowing that Will was subsidizing them, I asked, “Will they let you help them?”
“Probably not, but I can arrange it so they don’t know.”
I smiled, feeling better since Will would ensure that they would be fine.
“What about my place? I still have nine months left on my lease.”
“We’ll just buy our way out of it. It shouldn’t be any big deal.”
“When do you want to buy a house?”
“As soon as possible. We’re going to need a little better security than we have now. As soon as the press learns of our marriage, it will be like it was in September. We’ll have to plan on what to do about your work as well.”
“I’ve fixed it somewhat already. I placed generic contact information on the State Bar’s website so the hate mail now goes to a P.O. Box and a special e-mail account I set up.”
“You get hate mail?”
“Not so much now, but, for a while, I did. In the beginning, there were letters and e-mails from fans angry that I had taken you away from them and ordering me to stay away from you. Later, I received letters and e-mails, far fewer though, accusing me of breaking your heart and causing you to be a ‘Hollywood Bad Boy’ again.”
Will grimaced. “And I thought I knew everything I had put you through.”
“It doesn’t matter. Anyway, I changed my work e-mail address and work phone number and kept them out of the State Bar and the firm’s websites. The only thing I couldn’t prevent at that point were the people loitering around the building, showing up at my office, and calling the firm’s main number. Building security and the receptionist stopped most people from coming into the office. The receptionist sent all calls for me that she received through the main firm telephone number to my secretary to screen for a while. But everything seemed to die down pretty quickly after we broke up.” I paused for a second, and then asked, “What did you do?”
“I went to New York.”
“Oh, yes. I remember now. I saw some of the pictures.”
“You did?” He looked horrified.
“Yes. I couldn’t help it. I did an internet search and saw some article about you being single again and living it up.”
“I’m sorry. I promise you I was not having fun. I did it only to try to get the paparazzi to leave you alone. I went to all the “in” places that I hate and posed with every woman I could before going back to my hotel to pass out alone.”
“I’m sorry you felt you had to do that.”
“You’re sorry? How could you be sorry? You did nothing wrong. We’ve spent three months apart and miserable because of me.”
“You’re forgetting that I did something far worse than you.”
“I’m not forgetting, but you did exactly what I was trying to get you to do. As much as it hurts me to think about it, how could I fault you for that?”
“Easily. If I hadn’t been weak and selfish, John would have gone home immediately. You would have seen me that night and we would have gotten back together three weeks sooner.”
I could see in his eyes that he was thinking, “When you put it that way,” but he would not say it.
Will said nervously, “I know I shouldn’t say this, but I always felt that John was more suited for you than me. Did it feel that way when you were with him?” I knew that it wasn’t what he meant, but it almost seemed like he wanted to know if John was better in bed than him.
I responded quietly, “No. I don’t love him so I never felt that he was a match for me. I slept with him at first in anger at you and then to feel wanted and loved after feeling rejected, unwanted, and unlovable. He loves me and I used him. It was an awful thing to do.”
“He loves you.” It was not a question.
“I try to give him as much space as possible. Our marriage will probably make it easier for him to move on.”
“I made you feel rejected, unwanted, and unlovable?” He was incredulous.
I nodded.
“I never meant to do that. I thought you understood that I did what I did because I loved you so much.”
“That’s not how I took it. I thought you couldn’t possibly love me if you could leave me because I know that I could never stand to leave you.”
“As you can see, I couldn’t stand to leave you.”
“I see that now. I didn’t then. Then you sent me flowers and I couldn’t figure out why you wanted to torture me.”
“When I got home from the Midnight 4 shoot, Kate told me that you told her your Bar results were expected soon. I looked it up on the internet and found out that you passed. I was so proud of you that I couldn’t help myself and sent flowers to congratulate you. Once I had taken that initial step, I wanted to see you. I fooled myself into thinking that all I wanted was to confirm you had moved on. Once I saw John and thought that you had, I realized I really had wanted to get back together. That’s when the show that I had been putting on for the paparazzi became reality. Well, I don’t have to explain it to you. You saw it for yourself.”
“Yes.” I frowned.
“It’s our wedding night. Why don’t we get back to doing what we’re supposed to be doing?”
“You won’t get any argument from me. We have three months to make up for – I hope you’re up for it.”
“When I’m with you, I can’t help but be up for it,” he said in a husky voice.
“I see.” I kissed him and we returned to our wedding night activities.
The next day, we spent the entire day in the room until it was time to catch our evening flight home. I didn’t want to go. By the look on Will’s face, I could tell that he didn’t either.
Will and I spent the plane ride home as we had the plane ride there, kissing in spite of our audience across the aisle. I was relieved that there were no paparazzi awaiting us at the airport when we returned. We made it back to Will’s car in peace and found that no one awaited us at the house either. We might just be able to be left alone for a while. I hoped it would last as long as possible.
When we got home, Will carried me over the threshold again. Once inside, we found no one there. We quickly retired to Will’s room. It was nice to be with him in his bed again. In thinking this, I realized that it was our bed now. It was strange thinking about how the distinction between what was his and what was mine didn’t quite work anymore. I then thought about how it probably hadn’t been smart of him not to make me sign a prenuptial agreement. It was a little late now and I knew that he wouldn’t be happy if I brought something like that up as if I was planning on us divorcing. At least I was pretty confident that, if he
broke us up again since I certainly wouldn’t do it, I wouldn’t want anything from him. I tried to push that thought away, although that worry probably wouldn’t ever go away completely in light of the events of the last three months.
Chapter Forty Six
I arrived at work on Monday morning, knowing that I had one thing I had to do before starting my day. It wouldn’t be pleasant. I couldn’t let John hear about my marriage through the grapevine. After all the pain I had caused him, I at least owed him to tell him in person first.
John usually got into the office early so I knew that I could catch him if I showed up a little earlier than my usual time. When I arrived, I went directly to his office, covering my rings with my right hand. John’s eyes registered surprise when I entered his office and closed the door behind me. It was no wonder. We had spent little time together since those few nights in November and no time alone. If he was at all hopeful that I was coming in to change my mind regarding the status of our relationship, I’m sure that my expression killed any hope. I felt awful at what I had to do, knowing I would hurt him yet again, and I’m certain it showed.
“I have to tell you something and I wanted to tell you in person. I wanted to prepare you before you heard it around the office.”
He looked sad. “You’re back with Will.”
“Yes, but that’s not all. We eloped. I’m married.” I let go of my left hand and my rings showed.
John stopped breathing and his eyes seemed to well up a little before he controlled himself. I felt wretched.
He tried to smile, but it came out almost as a grimace. “I’m sure you’ll be happy. It’s what you wanted.”
“I’m sorry I’m hurting you again. Hopefully, this will be the last time.” I frowned, seeing him sitting there looking a little broken and thinking of how I had felt when Will broke up with me. I wanted to comfort him since I was the cause of his pain. I walked around the desk to give him a hug. He stood up and clung to me for a few minutes.
John finally let go and I said, “I’m sorry. You will always be special to me and, hopefully, we can be good friends now like we should have been.” I didn’t look behind me as I left his office.
Away From the Spotlight Page 32