Masters for Hire

by Ginger Voight

  I tried to recapture how beautiful I felt when I first tried on my dress, but that feeling didn’t really return until we arrived at the chapel, when I first saw Devlin.

  He was so handsome in his tuxedo that it took my breath away. His dark hair curled around his collar, and the fitted tux stretched across his broad shoulders and muscular back. He stood tall and lean as well, only next to him I felt dainty and feminine.

  It was the best I’d felt all day.

  He leaned down to kiss me, before whispering into my ear, “You’re even lovelier than the bride, Coralie.”

  I shushed him at once. “You shouldn’t say that. It’s her day.”

  His breath was warm against my skin. “Then I can’t wait to see you on your day.”

  I trembled against him. There was an implied promise there I couldn’t, and didn’t want to, deny.

  In a flurry of activity, Deidre ushered us to our places so the ceremony could begin. The chapel had transformed, with a white rose petal border along the aisle, where pews were decorated with sweeping white and silver ribbons. White hydrangeas hung in dramatic floral balls around the room, decorated with the same kind of silver and rhinestone flourishes and brooches that enhanced our bouquets and made the room twinkle and glow. Roses had been dyed dark blue for contrast, six inserted artfully in each and every white bouquet, which resulted in an overall ambiance of simple sophistication.

  The room filled with the sounds of Pachelbel’s Canon in D, which reminded me of how beautifully Devlin had played the piece when we first arrived in Vegas. Now that I knew about his mother, it made the performance even more poignant. He took my arm in his and I squeezed his hand gently. There were tears in my eyes as we walked down the aisle together, parting only at the altar, where I stepped to the left, and he joined Mattie and Gus on the right.

  Before I could study the both of them side by side, the wedding march began and we all turned to face Lucy, who glided down the aisle with such beauty and grace it sucked all the air from the room. She was so beautiful, and so happy, that I had to fight to keep my composure so I didn’t start bawling and ruin my makeup. We still had pictures to take, and I didn’t care to look like a raccoon.

  She carried her hydrangeas, like she wanted. They, too, had silver and rhinestone flourishes, including a jeweled wrap at the base. She handed it off to me with a giddy smile before she turned to face her groom. The music faded and the minister began to speak.

  “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here together for a most blessed occasion, to join Gus Dunleavy and Lucy Lyon in holy matrimony.”

  The rest of his words faded into a low hum the minute I caught Devlin staring at me with that look in his eyes that routinely brought me to my knees. He hadn’t been looking at the bride, or at the groom, or at the minister. He was looking at me. My knees began to knock so loudly I was sure everyone would hear it.

  It was madness. How was this even happening to me? I had never had a reaction like this to anyone before. With just a glance, I felt my body respond to him, as if our two souls spoke a special language only the other could hear. I knew in that moment that he was the one. I’d never be happy standing in front of another minister, in a dazzling white gown, under the shadow of a chapel no matter where it might be, surrounded by family and friends no matter who they might be, if the groom was anyone other than Devlin Masters.

  I forced myself to turn back to my friends when I heard the minister say, “Lucy and Gus have written their own vows, which they will now exchange.”

  Lucy took Gus’s hands into hers. “Four years ago, I swore to anyone who would listen that I would never, ever, ever, ever, ever get married.” I chuckled as I blinked back a tear. “I thought marriage was a prison, a compromise… a sacrifice. One where you give up something of yourself in order to be what someone else wants you to be, and I never wanted to be anyone other than me.” Her voice started to break. “Then I met you. And it didn’t take me long at all to realize that I didn’t want to be plain ol’ Lucy anymore. I wanted to be the Lucy I am with you, because she is so much better than anything I had ever dreamed she could be. You make me better. You make me stronger. You accept me for who I am and encourage me to be even Lucy-er, much to annoyance of my family and friends. I’m not giving up the life I wanted to be with you. With you, I get the life I never knew I wanted.”

  My eyes landed on Devlin’s handsome face. It was everything I could have written about him.

  Lucy continued. “Today, I put aside my selfish thoughts and plans. I seek not for my own way. I give my heart, my soul, my life to you, without reservation. I vow to love you, to honor you, to be true to you, both in good times and bad, for the rest of our lives.”

  The minister turned to Gus, who cleared his throat. He wasn’t a man of many words, so I wasn’t expecting much. The tears in his eyes said plenty, and I had to discreetly wipe away a few of mine. “Lucy, I knew the minute we met that you were going to change my world. How could you not? You’re vivacious, and exciting, and fun, and sexy,” he added, with just a bit of an embarrassed flush. “That you ever agreed to go out with me was a miracle. Even more miraculous, I found out there was so much more to you than I ever knew. You were sweet and sensitive and loyal to a fault. And you’re brave. So brave. You didn’t need me. You wanted me. And that was so much more than I ever could have asked for. Through your eyes I saw myself become the man who could deserve someone like you. Every success I have, every triumph, is all because of you. So today, I put aside my selfish thoughts and plans. I seek not for my own way. I give my heart, my soul, my life to you, without reservation. I vow to love you, to honor you, to be true to you, both in good times and bad, for the rest of your lives.”

  The minister smiled. “Lucy and Gus will now exchange rings, the physical token of their binding commitment.”

  Lucy turned to me, and I handed her Gus’s titanium wedding band. Mattie, likewise, handed Lucy’s to Gus. They each took turns, sliding the rings onto each other’s hands, pledging, “With this ring, I thee wed.”

  “For as much as Lucy and Gus have promised each other today, to love and cherish one another, through richer and poorer, in good times and bad, I now pronounce, with the authority granted to me by the state of Nevada, that they are husband and wife. You may kiss your bride,” the minister told Gus.

  Lucy wasn’t waiting around for all that mess. She launched into Gus’s waiting arms and laid a long, happy kiss on her new husband’s lips. Mattie and I laughed and clapped. Devlin, however, couldn’t take his eyes off of me. It only made the moment more significant.

  “It is my honor to present Mr. and Mrs. Gus Dunleavy,” the minister declared, and joyous recessional music blared from the speakers. Gus hoisted Lucy promptly into his arms, to carry her down the flower-strewn path out of the chapel. Mattie fell in line behind, and Devlin reached for my arm so we could follow this happy parade.

  Now that the serious official stuff had been handled, we could cut loose a little bit for the rest of the festivities. We ended up following the photographer all over the property of the hotel, snapping more pictures than Lucy would ever know what to do with. By the time we reached their suite, a proper reception had been arranged, with finger sandwiches, caviar, champagne and fine chocolates, as well as her beautiful wedding cake, which waited to be cut by the happy couple.

  For Devlin’s gift, he sat at the piano and played the song for their first dance. “You can’t have a wedding in Vegas without Elvis,” he announced, before he began playing–and singing–“Can’t Help Falling in Love.” Mattie and I circled the newlyweds, blowing bubbles for them as they danced near window facing out over the strip. The photographer snapped yet more photos.

  After that, Devlin played the Beatles again, and we all sang together in honor of our beautiful bride. In keeping with the Paul McCartney vibe, he segued into “Maybe I’m Amazed,” which he sang almost directly to me after I joined him at the piano. It was as if everything else faded away as I looked into hi
s eyes as he sang such poignant lyrics I could only pray that he meant. Then I’d know he felt all the things I felt, which is all I could ever want.

  Lucy decided to play DJ after that, just so that Devlin and I could share a dance to the song he had used to serenade me a mere five days before.

  Had it only been five days? It couldn’t have been. It was like we had shared a lifetime already when he took me into his arms, lifting me up against him and holding me close, singing to me in my ear. He was so strong, spinning me around, allowing me to dance right on air. When he kissed me, I felt so silly for worrying about Mattie all day. Despite it all, I knew that this man wanted me; he wanted me more than anyone ever had, or likely ever will. I could see it in his smile as he dipped me, telling me he wouldn’t change one thing about me… that I was amazing just the way I was.

  In that one magical moment, I believed it at last. And it was every bit as wonderful as I always dreamed it would be.

  The party lasted for several hours, where we ate most of the decadent spread, sang every song that Devlin knew how to play, and toasted each other until there were no other words to say. Mattie, Devlin and I decided to leave the happy couple to their first night of wedded bliss around nine, which was still early enough that we could have done something as a threesome, but Mattie declared that she had an early flight and she might as well make an early night of it. It had been a big day and we were all exhausted.

  “A drink at the bar, at least,” Devlin said. “One for the road.”

  She finally relented and we spent another twenty minutes downstairs at the beautiful bar that looked like a French gazebo under the eternal blue sky painted on the ceiling above. Devlin asked Mattie a barrage of questions to keep her talking, so she basically led the conversation. It was idle chitchat, tiresome small talk I was ready to abandon every time Mattie yawned or looked at her watch. Devlin kept the conversation going as long as possible, before he finally checked his watch, stood to his feet and thanked Mattie for sharing a drink with us.

  We all hugged as we parted ways, then Devlin led me by the hand to the elevator so that we could go to our private suite.

  It was all I had wanted to do since our dance at Lucy’s and Gus’s reception.

  He didn’t say much on the way up to the room. He just held me by the hand, stroking my palm with his thumb, as he stared down at me with that sparkle of mischief I had come to adore. When we got to our door, he opened it but allowed me to go in first.

  The entire suite was lit with dozens of candles, which set the room on fire with a luminous, twinkling glow. Music played in the background, wine chilled on the table and there were so many flowers I thought I might have an attack of hay fever. I turned to him. “You did all this?”

  He grinned as he closed the door behind us. “You didn’t really think I wanted to spend twenty minutes chatting with Mattie about interpretive dance, did you?” He joined me in the middle of the room, where he took me immediately into his arms. We swayed to the music playing softly in the background. “I’ve been waiting for this all night,” he murmured against my cheek.

  “Me, too,” I whispered back. He tipped my head back for a kiss. I was putty in his hands. When he started to sing again, my eyes fluttered shut and I laid my head on his big, strong shoulder. “Oh, Devlin,” I sighed. “What are you doing to me?”

  “Making it impossible for you to live without me,” he said. “Is it working?”

  My arms closed around his neck. “Since the very first night.”

  He chuckled as he hugged me tight. “Ditto.”

  He made use of our fine formal wear by guiding me through a waltz. I hadn’t danced in years, but I knew enough to know he’d been formally trained. It reminded me how much I still didn’t know about this man, which only made the mystery all the more enticing to unravel. When the song ended, he dipped me, and then brought me up for another kiss.

  He rested his forehead against mine to stare into my eyes for a long moment. “You are a wonder to me, Coralie. More than anything I could have ever thought I wanted or needed.”

  I sighed and my eyes closed. I wanted so desperately to believe him, and I almost did. But that damnable angel on my shoulder, the reasonable one, the levelheaded one, the boring conscience of a Good Girl I’d always trusted my whole damned life, held onto that last kernel of doubt for all she was worth. I couldn’t shake the thought that this was a perfect night, orchestrated by a professional. It was almost too good to be true. “Is this supposed to be a part of my fantasy?” I asked at last, because I needed to be sure.

  “No,” he murmured. “It’s part of mine. You’re my fantasy, Coralie Cabot. I knew it the minute I found you. From that moment, from that second, I have been completely and absolutely in love with you,” he said at last. “And I know it doesn’t make any damned sense. I can’t offer you anything but myself, for whatever that is worth.”

  I shushed him immediately with a finger to his lips. “It’s worth everything,” I assured him.

  He sighed as his eyes scanned my face. “It is when I’m with you,” he finally agreed. “That’s why I can never let you go. No matter what happens, no matter what comes. You belong to me, Coralie.”

  My heart filled with joy as he swept me into his arms and carried me to our bed.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  When dawn broke that Thursday morning, Day Six of my week with Devlin, I opened my eyes to find room service had already been ordered. A table had been rolled into the bedroom of our suite, filled with mimosas, crepes, Danishes, fresh fruit and yogurt. I turned to Devlin, who sprawled out beside me, his head propped on his hand as he watched me sleep. He smiled wide. “Good morning, beautiful,” he said, before leaning over for another sweet kiss.

  How in the world was I supposed to back to waking up alone without him? I just didn’t know.

  “I thought you were never going to wake up,” he said before he sprang out of bed to fetch us some breakfast.

  I indulged a languid stretch. “It’s our free day,” I murmured. “I thought we could sleep in.”

  Since Lucy and Gus were technically now on their “honeymoon,” we had all agreed that they would get to spend the days following their wedding together, by themselves, which left Thursday and Friday open for whatever I wanted to do with Devlin. We hadn’t talked much about what we wanted to do yet, but the possibilities were endless.

  He handed me my mimosa. “We can sleep enough on Saturday,” he announced before toasting me with his glass. I couldn’t help but pout.

  “I don’t like to think about Saturday,” I told him. “I don’t think I’m ready to leave.”

  His eyes met mine. “So don’t.”

  My heart skipped a beat. “What do you mean?”

  “Stay here. With me. Till Sunday. Then we can fly back together.”

  God, how I had wanted him to ask me that. Technically I didn’t have to return to work until Monday, so it was completely doable. But it did raise a couple of questions I was afraid to ask, given how they had worked out in the past. He read my mind immediately.

  “It’s not part of the job, Coralie. It’s just two people who want to spend time together. In fact,” he said with the hint of a wicked grin, “I’d like to be in control of the weekend, and I can’t really do all that if you’re paying for everything.”

  I shook my head. “You can’t afford to splurge like that. I’d never expect you to.”

  He nodded and put his glass back onto the table. “I’ve been thinking about that, actually. I think I’m ready to talk about Darcy.”

  My eyes popped open and I sprang up immediately. “Are you serious?”

  He nodded again. “When I saw you in that dress yesterday, something just clicked. Well,” he amended with a slight smirk, “a lot of things clicked.” He slid his hand up my bare hip as he pulled me closer. “I saw the possibilities. And I liked what I saw. You were stunning, Coralie. And you knew it, which made you even more beautiful. I know how hard that is to fi
nd. While she’s done it for others for years, Darcy’s never found it herself. She wouldn’t even look. Ever since that son of a bitch Tony did what he did to her, she’s actually worked really hard not to be attractive, not to be seen, not to draw attention. If you can do what you say you can do, it could change her life. And she deserves it. We all deserve it,” he amended.

  I squealed and threw my arms around his neck. “Oh, Devlin! You won’t be sorry! I promise!”

  “I just needed to protect her,” he told me. “You get that, right? I can’t get her hopes up again just to see her disappointed. After everything she’s been through, it’s just not that simple for her to bounce back.”

  I nodded. I understood perfectly. By allowing me to do this with his sister, he was showing me that he trusted me with the thing that meant most to him in this world: his family. It was the most loving thing he could have ever done. “I can’t promise you it will be easy. This is a fight I’ve had with Father since I was old enough to buy my own clothes. There was and is no ‘plus-size’ junior miss department at Cabot’s. I have to prove to him that there needs to be, and I really think your sister’s designs can do it. But it will be an uphill climb. Father’s quite old and set in his ways.”

  “And then there’s Oliver,” Devlin pointed out with slight snarl. “I’m sure he’s not going to make things any easier.”

  I took Devlin’s hands in mine. “Oliver won’t be an issue,” I promised. “In anything,” I added.

  “Good,” he said as he kissed both hands. “Because if he even thinks about touching you, I’ll have to kill him.”

  I laughed as I snuggled into his arms. “You don’t have to worry about that. He barely touched me when we were dating.”

  Devlin’s hands slid over my body. “Clearly he’s gay,” he announced. “Which is good news for me. I don’t have to picture him fucking you.”

  I ran my finger along his side, all the way over his hip. “No one is going to fuck me but you, remember?”