Wanted: One Groom

by Pat Ballard

  As they walked though the airport terminal, Hanna watched women glance at Matt. Some, she was sure, recognized him, but some were just looking because he was so handsome. She was also acutely aware of his hand in the center of her back, guiding her and steering her through the bustling people. Occasionally he would put his arm across her shoulder and walk so close their hips brushed against each other.

  They had brought Will to the airport in Hanna’s Jag. Once back inside it, Matt suggested, “why don’t we go out to the Opryland Hotel and walk around. When we get tired we can stop and have a drink and dinner in the Cascades restaurant and listen to the waterfall.”

  “That sounds great,” Hanna quickly agreed, not wanting to end the day with Matt.

  They strolled around the hotel’s Conservatory for a couple of hours, enjoying the exotic plants and each other’s company. Hanna really loved the new addition called The Delta, with its New Orleans feel. They rode in one of the riverboat rides that floated down the “river” running through the area, past retail shops, a jazz bar, and meandering walkways that wound through lush trees and flowers. It was extremely romantic to Hanna, and for a brief few moments she pretended they were a real couple, on a real honeymoon, lost in some distant land. She was sorry when the ride came to a halt.

  Matt continued to be attentive, either holding Hanna’s hand or resting his arm around her shoulder. She almost had the feeling he wanted the world to know she was his, but that was just one of her silly romantic thoughts. Yet it felt so good to walk with him and feel almost as if they were one. As if they were connected in that special way lovers connect.

  When they walked through the tunnel under the waterfall in the Cascades, they stopped to gaze out of the little window looking out into the falling water. They were totally alone, and Matt turned Hanna’s face up to him and softly kissed her parted lips. It was a long, exploring kiss, and would have gone on longer if they hadn’t heard a tiny snicker and looked around to find two little girls watching them.

  “Are you married?” one asked, openly staring at Matt.

  “Yes we are,” Matt answered, smiling at the little girl. “Then you can keep on kissing her,” the little girl said, and the two skipped off, holding hands.

  “Okay, I will,” Matt whispered, and again lowered his lips to Hanna’s.

  Emotion flooded Hanna as she stood under the covered bridge, water cascading nearby as Matt’s lips claimed hers. She turned fully to him and slipped her arms around him. He pulled her tightly against him.

  Overcome with the romance of the evening, and feeling her love for him well up inside her, Hanna gave herself totally to Matt’s kiss. She held back nothing as she returned his kiss deeply, giving her heart and soul to the only man she had ever wanted.

  Matt, sensing a change in the way Hanna was responding to him, felt his arousal start. He had to get control, or he would embarrass himself right here in public. He pulled away from her reluctantly.

  “You’re driving me crazy, Hanna. Can’t you see how much I want you?” His breath was coming in short puffs, ragged with emotion.

  To Hanna, lost in her feelings of love for him, his declaration of desire was almost as good as a declaration of love.

  “I guess we’d better go get dinner,” Matt whispered into her ear.

  “Or we could just go home,” Hanna whispered back, brushing her lips softly against his as she talked.

  “What are you saying?” Matt demanded, suddenly alert.

  “Whatever you want me to be saying,” Hanna answered, kissing one corner of his mouth, then the other.

  “Come on, woman. Let’s get out of here before I make a fool of myself.”

  In the car, speeding towards Rockwell Place, Hanna questioned the sanity of what she was about to do. But why not? He was her husband. He hadn’t said he loved her, but he did say he wanted her. Wanted her. Her—Hanna Rockwell. And she could tell from the reaction of his body that he wasn’t just making it up. And she loved him. She had always done the correct thing. Miss Do The Right Thing was who she had always been.

  Well, tonight she was going to do what she wanted to do, whether it was the right thing or not. What could be wrong with making love with your husband, especially if you were in love with him?

  “Hanna, are you sure about this?” Matt asked, locking the door behind them as they entered Rockwell Place.

  “I’m sure, Matt. Are you?” Hanna wondered if he was having second thoughts. How embarrassing if he said he didn’t want her now.

  “Feel how sure I am,” he answered, placing her hand on his hardness. “But I don’t want you to do something you’ll regret tomorrow. I want you to wait one hour and think about what you’re doing. I’ll be in my room, if you want to continue.” He left her standing there, staring at his departing back as he headed up the stairs.

  Hanna watched him go, loving him more because he hadn’t taken advantage of her in a vulnerable moment. She went to her room and headed for the bathroom. She ran steaming water into the tub and took a long, leisurely bubble bath, letting the rose scent sink into her flushed skin.

  When she had finished her bath, she went to her closet and took out a beautiful white negligee and slipped it on. It enhanced her large breasts, and Hanna smiled at her image in the mirror. Her mother had bought the negligee for her first night on her honeymoon. Well, tonight wasn’t a honeymoon, but it was probably the closest thing she would ever come to having one. Tonight she felt beautiful. It was a totally foreign feeling to her, but she loved the way it felt. How she wished she could feel like this always. But if not, then tonight would be enough. She practically floated down the hall to Matt’s door.

  Matt lay on his bed, chiding himself for being such a fool. “Take an hour and think about it?” He must have sounded like a complete nerd. Hanna had probably gone to her room, had a good laugh and was already asleep.

  He had to go to her. He had to let her know he wanted her with all his being. He didn’t know if he was ready to confess his love yet, but he had to make love to her tonight.

  As he reached for the doorknob, he heard the soft knock. He opened the door to find an angel in white, smiling hesitantly at him.

  “You came,” he whispered, drawing her to him.

  “Of course I did,” she whispered back, wondering how he could have doubted she would.

  Taking her hand, Matt led Hanna to his bed and gently lowered her onto it. The only light in the room was a lamp on the night table, just enough to cast a romantic hue over the bed.

  Hanna watched as Matt slowly unbuttoned his shirt and let it slide to the floor. His chest was covered with a layer of tiny dark curls a shade darker than the hair on his head. She felt excitement charge through her as she visually traced the hair until it disappeared in a peak at the top of the beltless slacks resting loosely around his hips.

  She watched, mesmerized, as he placed a knee on the bed beside her and lowered himself down to her, devouring her body with his eyes.

  “I’m going to make love to you all night. Over and over and over. I’m going to kiss every inch of your body. And when I’m finished, you’re never again going to doubt that you’re beautiful. And you’re going to know that you’re worthy of any man’s love.”

  And he proceeded to do all he had promised.

  Hanna awoke slowly the next morning, awareness of the sun shining in her face coming at the same time as the realization that she wasn’t in her own bed. Then she became aware of Matt, lying beside her, propped up on one elbow, watching her.

  “Good morning, Sleeping Beauty,” he greeted her.

  “Good morning,” she returned shyly, remembering the phenomenal night she had just spent. Matt had awakened fires inside her that she never knew existed. And just as he had promised, she did feel beautiful. So beautiful that she loved having him look at her the way he was doing, almost as if he loved her as much as she loved him.

  She was so glad she had followed her impulse and spent the night making love with him
. He had slowly loved away all the old self-doubt and inhibitions that her mother and Will had instilled in her all these years. They would never be able to hurt her any more.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked, tracing her lips with his finger.

  “I was embarrassed,” she answered, knowing what he meant without asking.

  “Why would you be embarrassed about being a virgin?” Real sincerity sounded in his voice.

  “An old one, don’t you think? Most women don’t make it to my age with that claim to fame. Or maybe I should say claim to shame.”

  “There’s no shame in waiting until you find the person you want to place that honor on. And I do feel honored. No matter what happens to us in the future, I’ll always treasure the night we just spent. But I am worried about one thing. Are you on any kind of birth control?”

  “Oh—my—goodness!” Hanna exclaimed, sitting straight up in bed. The thought had not crossed her passion-fogged mind last night. And apparently, it hadn’t crossed Matt’s, either.

  “Can I take that as a no?” Matt asked, deep concern in his voice.

  “Oh, what have I done? What if I’m pregnant?” Hanna wailed, falling back onto her pillow, forgetting that she was totally nude.

  “Well, one thing’s for sure, a baby will have plenty to eat,” Matt said with a husky voice, as he cupped one of her breasts in his hand, and leaned over to take the peak in his mouth.

  Suddenly, the fear of being pregnant was lost to Hanna as the beautiful sensation Matt was causing overtook her. So what if she was pregnant ? That was what Grandfather had wanted, anyway. It would just speed up the finalization of the will. And at this point, with Matt arousing her like he was doing, she would gladly give him half of everything she had if he would just promise to make her feel this way forever.

  Later, as they lay exhausted and satiated with love, but having taken proper precaution against getting pregnant, the shrill ringing of Matt’s cell phone startled them both.

  “Hello?” Matt spoke into the phone.

  After listening for a long time to the caller, Matt jumped from the bed in apparent jubilation. “Really, man? Really? Man, you wouldn’t shit me, would you? Damn! That’s fantastic! Sure! I’ll be down there as soon as I can get dressed!”

  After hanging up the phone, Matt turned to Hanna. “Baby, I hate like hell to do this, but I really have to go take care of some business. I can’t tell you what’s going on, yet, but I will as soon as I can. You do trust me, don’t you?”

  “Sure,” mumbled a puzzled Hanna. But her reply was lost on Matt, who had already disappeared into his bathroom and started the shower running.

  “Well, I guess that’s that,” Hanna thought dejectedly, as she gathered her negligee and headed for her room.

  She was searching in her closet for something to wear when she felt Matt’s arms come around her from behind, and felt his mouth nuzzle the back of her neck.

  “Baby, don’t leave me like that. I came back from my shower and you were gone. Don’t be mad at me because I can’t tell you what I’m doing. It’s going to be a really great surprise for you, I promise. Okay?”

  Frozen in place, Hanna murmured, “Okay.” She had to get him out of her closet before he discovered the poster of himself standing just inside the closet door.

  “Oh, and just for a clue, maybe you’ll soon have a new one of these,” he said, indicating the poster she was so afraid he would spot. Then he was gone, leaving her more puzzled than ever. He hadn’t seemed at all surprised at seeing a poster of himself in her closet, and what on earth did he mean by “having a new one”?

  Hanna took a slow shower and relived the night before. She couldn’t keep the smile off her face. All her life she had dreamed of a night like last night, but never thought she would actually experience it. Matt had fulfilled his promise to make love to her all night. He had made a slow, easy love to her that nearly drove her crazy with wanting him.

  Would this be the only night they would spend together? Not if she had her way. She put the thought of being pregnant far from her mind. If it happened, she’d deal with it when she had to.

  She floated through the day in a haze of happiness. All her life she’d imagined that this was the way marriage should be, but she never, in her wildest dreams, expected to experience this kind of bliss. The sun was brighter. The flowers smelled sweeter. And everything she did had an added intensity.

  That night, Hanna took a long, leisurely bubble bath and put on one of her sexiest negligees. She brushed her hair and put on the lightest touch of makeup and a dab of perfume, then waited in her room until the wee hours of the morning, but Matt never came home. Finally, exhausted, she fell asleep on a pillow that was damp with her tears.

  Across town, Matt glanced at his watch. Damn! Hanna was going to think he was such a jerk. But he couldn’t call from the studio. They were laying down the track on the last song for the album, and he needed to stay and hear what was going on.

  When Dave had called this morning, saying the deal was closed and a major label had agreed to produce Matt, he had wanted to tell Hanna with all his heart—but he also wanted to wait until the whole thing was complete, so he could surprise her and at the same time let her know he didn’t need her money, but he wanted her. More than anything in the world, he realized now, after spending the night making love with her. And he knew he was ready to declare his love. But he wanted to wait on that, too, until he could do it as an independent man. So she would know he wanted her for who she was and not for her money.

  Chapter 8

  The sounds of the busy bank surrounded Hanna as she sat and waited to see the president, Sam Coolly. Sam had been friends with her grandfather for as long as she could remember, and even though she knew any of the vice presidents could be with her when she opened her grandfather’s lockbox, she wanted Sam to be there. Someone who had known Grandfather, and would understand her reactions, whatever they would be, when she saw the contents that Grandfather had referred to in his video.

  When she woke up that morning and Matt still wasn’t home, she was more determined than ever to get on with her life. She’d been trying to find time to check out the lockbox, and this morning seemed to be the time.

  She had tried to busy herself all morning and not think about Matt and the lonely night she had spent waiting for him to come home, but that was all she could think about.

  Her life was changed forever, and she had no regrets. But why would Matt say all those wonderful things to her, and make love to her like she had never dreamed love could be made, and then leave and not come home and not even call to say he wouldn’t be home for the night? Had their night of lovemaking meant nothing to him?

  She felt the old self-doubt trying to rear its ugly head, but she quickly fought it down. She was through with those negative thoughts about herself, no matter what the future with Matt held.

  “Hello, Hanna.” Sam’s kindly voice interrupted her reverie. “Come on into my office. I’ve sent someone after the lockbox.”

  A young executive bustled into Sam’s office seconds after Hanna had been seated. Sam handed her a key, and with much trepidation Hanna slowly opened the lid to the box.

  The first item her eyes fell upon was a note scribbled in her grandfather’s handwriting. “The contents of this lockbox are the sole property of Hanna Rockwell. No one else is to see the contents.” She found an envelope with her father’s wedding band in it, and one with her grandmother’s wedding ring set. There were several pictures of her grandparents when they were newlyweds, and some when her father was a baby. Finally, at the bottom of the box was a brown manila envelope with no title on it.

  Knowing this envelope must hold the information her grandfather had referred to, Hanna’s hands trembled as she took it from the box and started to open it. It was sealed, then taped, as if to assure that it didn’t come open on its own. Taking the letter opener Sam offered, Hanna gently slit the top of the envelope and pulled out a folder.

/>   She closed her eyes briefly, then glanced at Sam for support. When she opened the folder, another note from Grandfather lay on top.

  “Hanna, examine the contents of this envelope very carefully. Then proceed as you see fit. You will find a marriage license that shows your mother secretly married Henri two weeks after your father died. I wanted to throw her out of my house at that time, but I knew she would try to take you, and I couldn’t do that to you or myself, as I wanted to watch over you as you grew up. You will also find the blood test proving Will is Henri’s son.

  “The contents of this envelope prove without a shadow of a doubt that you are my sole heir, and that your mother and Will are entitled to nothing unless you wish to deem it so.

  “Documentation of these facts is also in the possession of Houston Couch and his firm, in case you run in to any legalities with your decisions.

  “As always, I hope you know how much I have loved you.

  Grandfather.”

  Tears flowed freely down Hanna’s cheeks as she finished reading the note.

  After taking a few moments to gain control, Hanna looked up into the concerned eyes of the old banker.

  “Do you know what these documents say?” Hanna asked him.

  “Yes. Your grandfather made sure I knew what this box held, and that I knew how important it was to your future. Would you like copies of the documents?”

  “Yes,” Hanna answered, not knowing why, but feeling sure she would have to use them soon.

  Hanna left the bank with copies of the facts that could change her mother’s and Will’s lives forever, if she so wished.

  She felt lonelier than she had ever felt in her life. Knowing that her mother loved Henri enough to marry him and risk losing her share of the Rockwell estate if the truth were ever found out, made Hanna understand why her mother had always treated her the way she had. She had never wanted her, because she was the child of the man she didn’t love. Will, on the other hand, had been conceived in love, and that’s why her mother had always been partial to him.