I nod, surreal feelings of happiness overwhelming me. We stand across from each other, facing each other as we lock hands. Miguel begins with passages from the Bible, telling us everything we are vowing and committing to.
“Ceci, you may begin your vows.” He nods toward me and my eyes bulge out of my head. I haven’t written my damn vows yet. Shit. Bentley senses my panic and grabs my chin so I look up at him.
“Sweetheart, don’t overthink it. Just speak from the heart.”
I nod in understanding and clear my throat. “Everything about this feels like a dream. I keep waiting to wake up one day and find out I’ve fantasized the whole thing since I laid eyes on you in my interview.” I grin at him, remember the exact moment. “From the moment you finally told me you loved me, I haven’t been able to imagine my life without you. From the moment you asked me to be your wife, I knew it’d be the greatest pleasure of my life. And now here, committing myself to you, I can’t think of anything that feels more right, more perfect, and more destined to happen.” I quickly wipe the tears off my cheeks so I can continue. “I promise to give you every part of me. The love, the tears, and the good, bad, and crazy moments. I promise to love you with everything I have, to always be honest with you, and to tell you every day how much I love you.” I swallow hard as the emotions become overwhelming. “I promise to always encourage you, support you, and stand by you. I promise you every day for the rest of my life.”
I’ve never seen Bentley the way he’s looking at me right now. He’s staring at me with such raw and real emotion that I’m not sure how much longer I’m going to be able to hold it in.
Bentley
I’m captivated by every word she’s saying. The way she expresses her love to me is almost too much to handle. I love Ceci more than anything in my entire life, but god, right now, I could explode with the love I feel for her at this very moment.
“Bentley, you can begin your vows now,” Miguel directs.
I feel like I’m sweating and it’s not from the heat.
I squeeze her hands in mine as I begin. “Wow, I’m not so sure I can compete with that. God, sweetheart. There are hardly words to express the way I feel for you. You came into my life like a tsunami—unexpected all while leaving traces of you behind. You turned my life upside down. You made me feel for the first time in a long time, which scared me, but I was willing to risk it because I knew you were something special. I knew you were worth remembering when I never fully forgot you. As much as I tried to convince my mind, my heart knew otherwise. And once I decided to stop fighting it, I knew I had to have you forever—temporary would never be enough.” I pause needing to exhale slowly as I watch her sweet expression. “Ceci, I can’t promise I’ll be the perfect husband, or even the perfect person sometimes. I can’t promise I’ll always know what to say or how to comfort you. I can’t promise I’ll know when to stop being overprotective of you, but if there’s one thing I know I can promise—one thing I know without a single doubt in my mind—it’s that I will love you unconditionally. I’ll love you until my very last breath. I’ll love you until my memory is so awful, you’ll have to remind me who you are.” I smile and she lets out a light laugh. I grip her hands firmer. “I promise to give you everything I can. I love you fiercely, Cecilia. I will love you until my heart beats its very last beat.”
I didn’t realize before, but my cheeks are soaked. I quickly wipe the tears away, but by the sly smirk on her face, I know she’s caught me.
“Bentley, the rings?” Miguel asks, holding his hand out. I hand both of them to him before he continues. “With this exchange of rings, you are binding your lives together, vowing to love each other for eternity.”
He hands me Ceci’s wedding band. I motion to Ceci for her hand, gripping it firmly in mine. I push the wedding band over her left ring finger next to her engagement band and rub the pad of my thumb over it. It looks perfect.
Miguel gives Ceci my wedding band as she grasps my hand in hers. She smoothly pushes it over my ring finger, a part of me that’s been bare for thirty-two years.
We hold each other’s hands as Miguel finalizes the ceremony, announcing us as husband and wife and that we may now kiss.
Ceci smiles giddily up at me, almost laughing, as I cup her face and bring my lips down on hers. I kiss her slow, softly. I open her lips apart with my tongue, massaging mine with hers as our kiss intensifies and heats up. She wraps her arms around my waist holding us in as we kiss on top of the cliff, promising each other forever.
Chapter Sixteen
Cecilia
“I WAS GOING to wait a few days into our trip but I just couldn’t wait another day to call you my wife.”
I bite my lip in response, hardly knowing what to say. Bentley can be intimidating and the stress can overcome him a lot of the time, but Jesus…when he’s vulnerable and genuine, he melts the panties right off me.
“I can’t believe you did that. How…how did you even plan that so fast?”
He shrugs, grinning. I know exactly how he did. Money talks.
I never question his ability to get what he wants because I already know—he’s too dreamy to be denied.
“So what now? You’re my husband...” I let the word roll off my tongue, it feeling completely out of place. “That sounds weird.” I laugh, insecurely.
He wraps his arms around my hips, pulling me in closer. “A piece of paper is just for legal reasons, which we can easily get at the court house, but the vows, promises—those are what matter most.” He leans in, brushing his lips against mine. I open up, giving him access as the emotions overwhelm me at the realization of being Mrs. Bentley Leighton.
I moan into his mouth, silently begging him to take all of me. After our ceremony, we walked down the beach and jumped into the ocean. It’s not exactly a traditional wedding, but to me, it was absolutely perfect—swimming, laughing, and kissing in the ocean was perfection.
“Your mother is going to kill us,” I deadpan. “Do we have to tell her?” I raise a brow, only half kidding.
“I won’t if you don’t.” He winks, flashing me a devilish smile—the one that could get me to do practically anything.
I burst out in laughter. “Yeah, right. She’ll continue dragging me to fittings and probably wax appointments soon. That woman is relentless, you know?” He smirks, letting go of my waist and grabbing my hand.
“Let’s worry about that when we have to. Until then…” He lingers off, walking us to the hot tub that’s next to our small, private pool.
I nod in agreement. Talking about your mother-in-law on your honeymoon is a mood killer.
He walks us into the Jacuzzi, the water boiling hot. It’s perfect, soothing my still sore muscles from the flight.
I straddle his lap as he finds a corner to get comfortable in. “So, Mr. Leighton, what are you going to do with your wife the rest of the week?”
“Well, first, Mrs. Leighton is wearing far too much clothing.” He reaches around my neck, pulling my bikini string, freeing my breasts.
“A triangle-shaped piece of cloth is barely too much clothing,” I mock. “But if that’s the game we’re playing…” I lower my eyes to his groin. “I’m not the only one going commando.”
“You aren’t going commando,” he corrects. “Yet.”
He pulls the string of my bikini bottoms, releasing them completely from my body. He tosses both parts of my bikini on the cement next to us. “Now you’re going commando.” He winks, flashing his panty-dropping smile.
I bring my hands down to his swim trunks. I feel his erection against my palm through the fabric. I squeeze lightly, teasing and torturing him as I loosen my grip to pull them down his legs. They float to the top, and I quickly throw them out before he can grab them from me.
“Now we both are.” I grin back at him.
He looks at me with pure wanton desire, no play left in his eyes. He cups my neck and pulls me toward him, slamming our mouths together. His kisses are greedy and fast, leavi
ng no time to prepare me for what he’s about to do.
He lowers both hands over my hips, lifting me up just long enough for my body to cover his cock. Our lips stay locked as he slowly pushes me down on him.
I moan eagerly into his mouth, the pressure of the water surrounding us and the rhythm of our bodies make for a whole new sensation I’ve never felt before.
Once we form a steady pace, his hands begin wandering up my body, landing on my breasts. He squeezes and massages them as I continue riding him, hard. I grip his shoulders as I balance myself, not wanting the flow of the water to slow us down.
“Jesus Christ, Ceci…” he pants out, releasing our lips. His head falls back against the edge of the hot tub as my body tightens around him, releasing a loud inaudible moan.
“Oh, god,” I breathe out, keeping up the pace so he comes next.
“Yes, sweetheart. Just like that. Don’t stop.” He grips my hips, moving them rapidly as his body tenses. I watch him as he releases inside me, his eyes rolling to the back of his head.
I slow the motion of our bodies, the water continuing to bubble around us. We’re both breathing heavily, beads of sweat layering over the both of us.
“I sure hope they clean these things regularly,” I quip, realizing we’re probably not the first to partake in hot tub sex.
“I think the hot water makes it an auto-cleaning tub.”
I narrow my eyes at him, wondering if he’s serious. He lets out a light laugh at the way I’m looking at him. “That’s doubtful,” I tease.
Bentley helps me out, wrapping me in a towel right away in case we have any onlookers. We both get dressed and decide to take a walk out on the beach.
As we walk across the white sand and linking hands, I ask, “Are you still sure you made the right decision?” He looks down at me, pulling his brows in. “About your job,” I clarify.
He looks away a moment and nods before speaking. “Yes. I’m positive. As much as enjoyed it at first, it was becoming more of a job than something I was passionate about. When I first started, I loved every part of it. I was a single bachelor living in the modeling world, so really, there was nothing to hate about it. If my father would’ve just waited until I was ready to start working with him, I would’ve eventually gotten to that point where I would’ve wanted more. And that’s where I am now. Although the past couple years have been great, it isn’t something I see myself doing long-term. I hate that it takes me away from you and my family. I can still be involved in the modeling industry without modeling.”
I tilt my head to the side in question. “Oh, like how?”
“Well…there’s a lot of aspiring models with no direction on where to go or how to get noticed. A lot are looking for agents and small gigs until they make their way. I have a bunch of agent contacts as well as photographer contacts that would set me apart from the rest. I could be the middle person that matches models up with agents. It’s not something that’s done typically, but it’d allow me to weed out the prospective ones and seeing which agent would suit them best.”
“But didn’t you kind of burn all those contacts when you fired them all?”
He shrugs. “Yes, but that’s business. It’s not personal. They’re always looking for new and hot models. And that’s what I’d be doing. It’d mean less traveling, more steady hours, and I’d be my own boss.”
“Have you been thinking about this for a while? Seems you have a lot of figured out.” Our hands begin swinging in between us as the wind picks up.
He shrugs casually, but I can see the excitement in his body language as he continues to talk about it.
“Yes, sort of. I’ve been thinking the traveling is becoming too much.” He stops and turns toward me, pulling me to his chest. “I don’t want it getting in the way of us. I’m not going to risk that.”
My heart sinks as I feel like I’m the reason he’s throwing his dreams away. I know I’d do anything to be with him, even if it meant changing a major part of my life, but I can’t help the feeling that overwhelms me.
“I hate that you are just quitting because you’re scared we aren’t strong enough to survive.” I try not to sound weak, but I do. It sounds pathetic.
He grabs my chin and tilts my face up to look at him. His face is firm and serious. “I would never quit something I didn’t want to quit, Ceci. You’re the reason I wanted to go back. You’re the one that inspired me to follow my dreams after we broke up. I admit, I wasn’t always a saint. The career can really beat you down, and the pressure can be overwhelming, but it was always you I thought of. And the moment I got you back, I wanted to do anything to keep you. Once I went back again, it just didn’t feel right unless you were there with me. And now that you can’t be, I don’t want to live that life anymore. You’re it for me. You’re all I want, and I don’t care the price or consequences it comes with. You have every right to go after your dreams, and I’ll be next to you the entire time.”
He literally takes my breath away at his confession. I gasp for air as the tears threaten to pour out, but I don’t even care. I let them flow down my cheeks at the beautiful man in front of me—both inside and out.
“If I hadn’t already married you, I would do it all over again. I could never get tired of hearing you talk so passionately about us. It makes me want to stay here forever.” I wrap my arms around him, pulling his mouth to mine. His hands firmly grip my neck, keeping the pace slow and sweet.
* * *
The rest of the week is just as magical. We ended up scuba diving, snorkeling, paddle boarding, and windsurfing before we left. When we weren’t out on the water, we camped out in our suite enjoying the endless room service and hot tub. Before we left, Bentley scheduled us couple massages, ending the most relaxing and happiest week of my life.
Chapter Seventeen
Bentley
“DO WE HAVE to go back?” she whines, sticking her bottom lip out like a child.
I tilt my head, trying to hide the grin forming on my face. “Sorry, sweetheart. Reality calls.”
“Reality sucks.”
We’ve been on the plane for over sixteen hours now with one layover already. We have five hours left, but I can’t wait to get Ceci back home. I plan to announce the news to my family as soon as possible. I know my mom will probably shit a brick, but I don’t care. We’re happy.
We arrive back to Omaha around eleven p.m. the following day. All we plan to do is sleep and order in for the next twenty-four hours.
“I can’t wait to hug our bed,” she says in all seriousness as we get out of the car. “That and my pillow, of course.”
“Okay, just don’t forget your husband while you’re in there.” I smirk, grabbing the luggage from the trunk.
“That still sounds weird. Can’t I call you something else?”
“Like?” I question.
“Slave boy. Hot stuff. Mine to please. Take your pick.”
I burst out laughing as I begin walking up the walkway. “You need sleep.”
“Yes, please. Lots and lots of sleep.” She stumbles inside, flicking the lights on to an empty house. Memories flood in of the last time we were home—the Hannah interview, the Jason pictures, Ava’s emails, the media—all the drama we left at home eight days ago.
We sleep for ten solid hours. We had an amazing time in St. George, but it feels amazing to be in our own environment again.
“Wake up, sweetheart,” I softly whisper in her ear.
“I am,” she insists, mumbling and turning over.
I roll her back over and begin kissing up her jawline to her ear. “I highly doubt that.”
“Just five more minutes,” she begs.
“We’ve already slept through breakfast and lunch. I think it’s time we eat and get moving. Plus, we need to go apply for our marriage license,” I say matter-of-factly.
She opens her eyes finally. “We’re going to need witnesses.”
“Yup.” I shoot her a look of excitement. “Who do you want to ask
?”
“Cora will kill me if she finds out I got married without her. Simon will, too.”
“Cora and Simon it is. Give them a call and see if they’re free this afternoon.” I kiss her on the nose just as I’m about to get off the bed. “Oh, go hop in the shower. Our food will be here shortly.”
I wink at her just before leaving our bedroom. I haven’t even touched my email since before we left. I had turned my phone off and only used it to let my mother know we’d be out of the country for a while without actually telling her anything. I’m pretty sure I don’t want to be anywhere near her when she finds out.
I have about three hundred emails to sift through. Angie has sent me thirteen messages, all threatening me to call her or else. I laugh as I imagine her petite body threatening me. Her voice is loud and proud though, I’ll give her that.
I decide to call her since I just heard the shower start and knowing Ceci, she’ll be in there a good half hour.
“It’s about fucking time, you asshole!” she answers the phone in a bloody rage.
“Nice greeting. Is that for everyone or was that specially for me?”
“Asshole. I swear to god, Bentley. I’m going to kill you.”
“Angie, pipe down. You really should work in theatre if you’re going to be so damn dramatic.”
“Dramatic? I’ll tell you dramatic. Everyone from the media to photographers has been up my ass this entire week. You didn’t answer my calls or emails. You could’ve been dead for all I fucking know.” She sounds out of breath from yelling at me, so I take the opportunity to finally fill her in.
“All right, I’m sorry I left you hanging. You have every right to be pissed about that. But if you stop yelling, I could explain to you my new plan,” I say calmly, hoping she’ll give me the chance.
“Fine, Bentley. You have five minutes or I’m putting you on my shit list.”
I laugh to myself at her being adamant on being pissed off at me, but she won’t be once I tell her my plan.
The Intern Serials: Complete Box Set Page 40