by Naomi Niles
I was also scared that if he left, he would think things over and he would blow me off once more, and I couldn’t stand that.
“Will you stay?” I asked pleadingly. “Cuddle me?”
“Are you sure?” Panic instantly filled his expression. “What if we get caught?”
“We won’t,” I said, sounding much more confident than I really felt. “It’ll be fine. If you sneak out in the morning, no one will be any the wiser.” Of course, I was terrified, but not enough to send him away. In that moment, I really felt like it was worth the risk.
“If you’re sure,” he nodded, agreeing with me. Then he stepped tentatively towards me, and he wrapped me up for another kiss. “I’d love to spend the night with you.”
With that, we got into my bed, and we snuggled under the duvet, getting far too close as it was only a single bed. His entire body was temptingly pressed up against mine, but I wouldn’t cave to my desires. Not yet. Not until we were well and truly alone. I felt happier than I had for a very long time. Nothing could go wrong with something that felt so right. Surely?
“You’re amazing,” Rhett whispered into my ear, sending shivers down my spine. “I’m so glad that we’re here.”
“Me, too,” I agreed, really enjoying the warmth of him against my back. “I just hope that we can stay this way now. I hate the up and down.” I wasn’t saying it to make him feel guilty, but that was the effect it seemed to have all the same.
“I know, I feel really bad. I don’t mean to keep pulling away, I just…” he trailed off, and I was desperate to know where that sentence was going.
“I know, it’s been really hard,” I tried to encourage him to open up. I felt like as soon as he opened up for me, the final barrier between us would be down and everything would be okay.
Well, until the baby conversation happened.
For a brief second, I considered spilling the beans, finally telling him the truth. The moment felt right and I truly believed that he would stick by me if I said it. But then he carried on talking, and the moment was lost.
“It’s awkward being here with my dad, who I’ve never had a good relationship with, and I think that’s been screwing with my head. It’s been making me act like a dickhead, and I never wanted to do anything to screw that up.” He was getting upset now, I could tell, and I didn’t need that at all, so I spun around to face him, until our noses were touching.
“It doesn’t matter now, we’re okay and that’s all that matters.” I pressed my lips up against his, and we kissed, creating a moment that was so romantic and magical. “We’re here, we’re together, we’ve decided to be together properly now, so nothing else is important.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” he grinned happily at me. “And, I’m so glad that we’re here together. I’m so glad that we’ve finally found a way to make this work.”
I wanted to say that we really had to make that stick now, but I couldn’t find the way to vocalize that. I just didn’t want to ruin the mood, so instead I continued to gaze lovingly into his eyes. Those hazelnut, gorgeous eyes that could do no wrong. After everything we’d been through, I would still forgive him because it felt like we were taking the long road around to our happiness.
“I like you,” he started, and my heart began to pound. “I even…” He coughed awkwardly, “I even think I could be falling for you.”
Okay, so he hadn't professed his undying love for me, but it was close enough. A rush of heat washed over me, and I swam in the heat from Rhett’s sun for the time being. I knew that it was going to take us both a while to say those three intense words, but at the same time we were both aware that they were there.
“I feel the same,” I grinned. “I’m so glad that you’re in my life. I’m so glad that I met you, and that we started on this crazy journey.”
“One day, it’ll be easy,” he insisted. “One day. we’ll be looking back on all that drama and missing it.” Then we both burst into hysterical giggles. The lure of an easy life was too much–I didn’t think we would ever miss all of this.
We continued to look at one another, until the exhaustion started to consume me, and I felt my eyes getting heavy. But because he was the last thing I saw, he infiltrated my dreams, too, leaving me happier than I’d ever been before.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Rhett
As I got dressed in the morning of the big day, I felt really anxious. I was guilty that I hadn't done anything to find the truth out about my dad to help Lyla, but I was also excited to see where the day would lead.
Danica was the maid of honour, whereas I hadn't been asked to be in the wedding party at all. My dad’s best man was some boring dickhead that he worked with, but I didn’t mind. I didn’t want to be in it–it was hard enough just being there. I was happy to just watch Danica walk down the aisle in the dress that promised to be amazing. I would get a much better view from the sidelines anyway, and it wouldn’t be obvious to everyone else that I was only staring at her.
The gorgeous, luxurious hotel that our parents had decided to hold the ceremony and reception in was amazing. It was a real luxurious, five star type. Some guests from further afield were staying there, but not us. They made the decision to return home after the big night, and I was happy for that to happen. There was nowhere that I’d rather spend the night than in bed with Danica.
We’d been hanging out at night, just the two of us, and it was amazing. It was really giving us the chance that we needed to connect and to allow our relationship to grow. The fact that nothing physical was happening actually made it better because there was nothing getting in the way of us exploring one another. I felt like I was getting to know a side of Danica that she didn’t show the rest of the world–and that made me feel extra special.
For a brief second, I considered calling my mom for a boost of confidence, but I thought better of it. I didn’t want to make her feel bad, although she had spent our last few conversations telling me that she didn’t care. I knew her better, and I knew this couldn’t be any fun for her.
“Come on, Rhett,” I muttered to myself, hearing the cars pulling up outside. “Let’s just do this.”
I quickly peeked out of the window, just to get a look at the vehicles we would be travelling in, and I got an unexpected glance of Danica. She took my breath away–the blue dress she was wearing clung to her body like a dream. It dipped in and out of her curves, swishing at her feet in a way that looked beautiful.
She was gorgeous, and she was mine.
I absolutely couldn’t believe it.
“Rhett,” someone finally called up the stairs. “It’s time to go.”
So I raced down the stairs, ready to face the day of terror.
***
Surprisingly, the wedding was amazing. The décor was breathtakingly beautiful, and I couldn’t help but be impressed. Sure, I knew that it had taken a lot of money to get it that way, but it was impressive all the same. The fact that Danica had done a lot of the planning took away any resentment that I might normally feel.
I hated to admit it, but they had all done such a good job that I even started to see my dad in a different light. As he said his vows, with tears shining in his eyes and love plastered across his expression, I started to think that maybe I hadn't always been right about him. Maybe he had mellowed; maybe Lyla had been the one to change him.
It was an uncomfortable revelation, but I was experiencing it all the same.
Lyla looked absolutely beautiful in her long, elegant, ivory gown. She was radiant, and the feelings she had for my father shone through, causing me to doubt myself even further.
But for me, Danica was the attention stealer of the day. She looked phenomenal in that show-stopping gown, and my heart raced with excitement at the mere sight of her. I was filled with love, and it was a confusing sensation. I still struggled with the guilt combined with the intensity of my emotions, but it was lessening by the minute. Sure, things had taken another turn, which left us in an even wor
se situation, but in the light of the day, that didn’t really matter.
As the day started to drift into evening, and it became time for the reception, I was ready for a drink. I’d enjoyed the day, but I needed something to numb my feelings a little bit.
Under any other circumstances, I would be able to spend this romantic day with the girl who was rapidly becoming the love of my life, but of course, it wasn’t like that. I had to keep my distance, and I would only be able to cope with that if I was at least a little bit tipsy.
As the champagne bubbled down my throat, I started to loosen up and relax a little bit. I spotted Danica across the dance floor, and I instantly made a beeline for her. We might not be able to kiss and cuddle like we’d been doing in private for the past few days, but we could hang out. I enjoyed her company as much as anything else, so at least I could have that. I needed her if I was going to get through this night without going a little bit crazy.
She turned to face me, almost as if she could sense my presence and her face broke out into a heart-stopping grin.
“You look all right,” I teased, shrugging my shoulders. “That dress is okay.”
“Oh, this old thing?” She laughed, swishing it around her body. I was overcome by the urge to pull her in for the kiss, but of course I couldn’t. “Why thank you very much; I just threw it on for the occasion!” I smiled secretly to myself. Danica really was beautiful, and I was lucky that she was even giving me the time of day. It might not have been an ideal situation, but it was ours, and that made it perfect.
“You don’t look too bad yourself.” She ran her hand over the jacket of my suit, and I felt flutters of desire float through my body. The look she gave me suggested that she was feeling the same way, and I wondered for a second if we could sneak off somewhere for some secret time alone.
“Ooh, hello, you two,” some distant relative or family friend drunkenly swung her arms over mine and Danica’s shoulders. “That was a lovely wedding wasn’t it?”
“Erm, yes.” Neither of us really knew who this woman was, but that didn’t matter to her. I guessed that was a negative side effect of weddings–everyone wanted to chat to the wedding party, no matter what.
“Are you excited to be a family now?” she slurred. “It’s lovely to see how well you get along.”
“Yeah,” I grinned secretly. “It is nice.” Danica laughed, but the woman didn’t catch on. “We have a lot of fun.”
If only she knew!
But the joke quickly backfired when she steered Danica away from me to meet her great nephew or something–someone she thought she would “really get along with.” My heart sunk as she vanished into the crowd.
This was the downside to keeping us a secret–people trying to set us up, or assuming that we were nothing more than stepbrother and sister. This was going to be harder than I first thought. I finally started to really think about our future, and it was really difficult.
I just had to hope that it would be worth it in the end.
I headed to the bar and I grabbed myself another drink. It was going to take a lot of champagne to get through this. Especially if I was going to be forced to watch someone else flirting with Danica when there was nothing I could do about it.
I glanced around the place, but the woman and Danica were nowhere to be found. It was just other random family members and friends that I didn’t really know. I really didn’t want to talk to any of them, not even for five minutes, but of course I was going to be forced to, no matter what I wanted.
***
Despite myself, I actually ended up having a really good evening. I found myself introduced to numerous family members that I hadn't met before, which was more fun than I ever thought it would be. It turned out that my fear and dread had been totally misplaced. They were all really welcoming, which gave me the impression yet again that I was the one who had always been in the wrong. I had held myself back, just blindly hating my dad, and maybe I had been wrong for that.
James would have a lot to say on that subject! So would my mom. I was almost dreading going home to speak to them after everything I’d said.
By the time the night was almost over, I finally spotted Danica once more, and she was sitting alone, sipping a flute of water thoughtfully.
In my buzzing state, I suddenly had a great idea, we might not be able to be open in our affections, but that didn’t mean that we had to avoid one another all night. Plus, I wanted to wash the memory of someone’s great grandson off her mind; I wanted her to only be thinking about me.
I stalked confidently across the dance floor, knowing that I was about to put a big smile back on that beautiful face. “Hey,” I said to her, causing her to flick those big, blue eyes up towards me. “Come and dance with me.” I extended my hand to her, blocking out the rest of the world. In that moment, I really didn’t care what they thought. It didn’t matter to me one bit.
Danica shot me a knowing, flirtatious glance before almost recoiling in on herself as reality hit once more. “We can’t; you know that.” She was clearly shocked that I would even suggest it, which was silly. After all, why wouldn’t we dance?
“It’s only a dance,” I insisted happily. “We can’t get in trouble for that!” She still looked hesitant, so I continued convincing her. “We’re the only ones without dates here.” I wasn’t sure if that was true, but that didn’t matter. I just needed her to relent, and to do the thing that she so clearly wanted to do. “And you know you want to.”
She glanced around, trying to see if anyone was paying us any attention, before realizing that they weren’t. Then she relented and stood up, finally wrapping her fingers around mine.
I tugged her lightly onto the dance floor, then wrapped my arms around her as we swayed to a slow song that I didn’t recognize. It was some song from the seventies or eighties I assumed–nothing I would have heard of. Everything else melted away; all my fears and stress as I finally found myself in the place I wanted to be. I tried not to melt too much into her embrace, because I didn’t want to give us away, but it was hard.
However the rest of the world saw it, this moment would be memorable to me and Danica. We would never forget being wrapped up together like this, even if everyone else did. I thought that we might look back on this as a defining moment in our relationship, even if it was during the part where we were a secret.
I felt an overwhelming sense of happiness, and I knew that despite how challenging it was going to be, we would be able to get through anything.
Somehow.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Danica
My heart raced painfully as I swayed against Rhett. In that moment, the rest of the world just fell away and all I could focus on was him. His strong, muscular body was holding me upright, and it felt so good to be around him. Every so often, I became so involved in the moment, that I almost forgot myself completely and leaned in to kiss him. But luckily, the odd glimpse of all the wedding guests was enough to ground me and remind me what was at risk here.
At least I had him–I had to remember that. It might have been difficult, but it could have always been so much worse.
I still felt like there was so much unsaid between us, which was hard, but right now we just needed to see what we could be. I only wanted Rhett to be with me if that was what he wanted to be, not because he felt obligated to, and if I mentioned the baby now, that thought would always be at the back of my mind.
As the song drew to an unfortunate close, and Rhett’s arms fell away from my shoulders, I felt cold and sad to see him go, but I knew that it was for the best. If he stayed hugging me for too much longer, it would be weird and suspicious. Right now, people weren’t paying us too much attention, but we could very easily change that.
“I better go and find Mom,” I murmured to him, trying to ignore the tears that threatened to make an appearance. I was only sad because I wished things between us could be easier, not because I wished we hadn’t danced–that was the one true good memory
that I would take away from this.
Not that the rest of it had been bad. In fact, it had gone amazingly, but it would only really be this that I remembered. “But I’ll see you later?”
I was of course referring to him coming to my room later that night. Our agreement at the moment was working perfectly; it made getting through the days so much easier. It meant that I didn’t miss Rhett too much, which was great–we could behave ourselves during the day. It really was the perfect–and only–way for us to get some alone time together.
Our secret little relationship was going surprisingly well despite everything, and although we hadn't managed to find a way to have sex yet, I felt closer to him than ever. Things were really starting to feel like they could be okay. I was truly beginning to believe that things were going to work out for us.
At least, until I finally did make the decision to reveal my pregnancy…
“I’ll see you later.” Rhett looked just as disappointed as I felt as we moved away from one another, creating a distance that we didn’t like, but we both knew that we would be okay. We would be back in our own little bubble of happiness soon enough. We just needed to be patient.
After what felt like a whole minute of intense eye contact, I spun around and turned my back to him. Then I pushed my way through the crowds, trying to organize my expression to appear normal once more. People yelled hello at me, and I smiled back, but I made no effort to stop and talk to anyone. Not now, not until I had some fresh air. I needed to calm my entire body down before it gave us away. I felt like Rhett was still all over me, and I really didn’t need the world to see that.
As I burst through the doors and into the cool refreshing air, I found the one person that I actually wanted to talk to stood there, looking about as hot as I felt in her oversized dress. “Oh hi, Mom,” I exclaimed happily. “I was looking for you!” I tried to pull her in for a hug, but we couldn’t quite manage it over both of our dresses. “Are you okay?”