by KB Winters
I preferred it that way. The simpler the better. I could be just as content—if not more so—with a duffel bag full of a few changes of clothes, a stick of deodorant, and my riding gear as I could be with a walk-in closet the size of some Manhattan apartments and a garage full of cars that I’d never have time to drive.
The world is a backwards place most of the time.
I flicked through my phone and stopped everything at the image on the screen. I didn’t know shit about diamond rings, all I knew was that the one on the screen was the right one for Penny. I bookmarked the image, glanced at the time, and then drained my coffee. My stomach rumbled, begging for something with sustenance, but I didn’t have time to wait in line and order something else. Besides, a dried out pastry wasn’t going to do me much good. I booked it out of the coffee shop and hurried back to Tiffany’s, just in time for a man in a black suit to approach the front doors. He opened the door and greeted me as I entered the world of shiny and sparkly.
An hour later, I walked out of the shop again. A $120-thousand-dollar purchase on my black AMEX and a flawless ring that would arrive to our hotel in Hawaii by the following morning in Penny’s size—a detail I’d asked her for the night before.
Everything was ready. All I needed was my bride-to-be.
I laughed to myself and started back to the curb to hail another cab.
What a crazy assed weekend.
Chapter Fourteen
Penny
“Okay, last chance to back out.”
I turned at Miles’ voice and saw him walking in my direction, a duffel bag slung over his broad chest, and a pair of aviator shades masking his eyes. He flipped them up and smiled at me. We’d agreed to meet at the airport and thanks to an insanely busy mind—I hadn’t been able to sleep all night and by the time the morning rolled around, I figured I’d get a jump on traffic. I’d been waiting outside for over half an hour, spending most of my energy on pacing and trying to keep from hyperventilating. Seriously. I was getting married!
Miles, on the other hand, looked completely rested.
Men.
“I’m as ready as I’m gonna be. But if you keep pushing…”
“Nope!” He wrapped an arm around me and we stepped through the massive revolving doors into the airport. It was odd to be tucked against him, so comfortable and casual, but in reality each step was a new experience. We couldn’t slowly build physical contact, first of all we’d already made out on a street corner, but secondly, if people were going to buy our story—and it was imperative that they did—we didn’t have room for mistakes. We had to give off the vibe of a long standing couple. Overnight.
Literally.
Miles fell into the role easily but I struggled to keep from stiffening up or doing awkward things with my hands. Eventually, I dropped my hand to his waist and leaned into him as we walked to the ticket counter.
“You okay?” he asked, grinning down at me.
I nodded. “Yep. Just peachy.”
“Awfully fidgety.”
I rolled my eyes. Crap. “Yep.”
He eyed me for another minute and then focused on getting us checked in for our flight and getting rid of our small bags. “You hungry?” he asked once we made it through security. He glanced at the array of restaurants.
I shook my head and absently set a hand on my stomach. “No. But go ahead.”
“Are you sure you’re okay, Penny?”
“Yes, Miles. I’m fine.”
He held up his hands. “All right. I’m gonna go get something for breakfast. You want a coffee?”
“Sure.”
We went to one of the closest restaurants and took a table on the outside edge of the seating area. A frazzled looking waitress came over and took our order. Miles apparently didn’t feel a single stomach flutter as he ordered a huge stack of pancakes and two sides of bacon.
I stuck with a black coffee.
“Wow. Good luck with that,” I commented when the waitress brought the mountain of food over to him.
“Oh, this is no problem.”
I laughed. “Wow. Good thing you’re loaded, huh? Otherwise I don’t think we’d be able to afford your grocery bill.”
He grinned as he lifted his fork over the plate, debating where to dig in first. “It is impressive. But, hey, you don’t get this bod by starving.”
“The key is pancakes and bacon?”
Miles laughed. “I have perfectly balanced macros here, thank you very much.”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh goodness…I should have known you were a meathead in disguise.”
He laughed harder and carved out a huge mouthful of the fluffy pancakes. He offered to share but I didn’t take him up on it. My stomach was flip-flopping so violently that I was probably going to need a pre-flight barf bag. I didn’t need pancakes and bacon to speed that along.
“I’m not a meathead, but yeah, I go to the gym. What about you? You look like you work out?”
I glanced down at myself. “I run, mostly.”
Miles nodded. “Good to know.”
“Is it?” I asked, propping an elbow on the table.
He shrugged. “We can go to the gym together. Besides, this is the kind of stuff I need to know if we’re gonna pull this off. Come on, give me some more.”
I laughed and sipped at my coffee. “Well, let’s see. I’m an only child. I don’t know why. I think my mom had me and realized motherhood wasn’t all she’d dreamed it would be and shut down the shop.”
“Do you want kids?” Miles interjected around a bite of his breakfast.
The question was innocent enough but stunned me all the same. I was still struggling to wrap my mind around the idea that in less than 24-hours I’d be married. The kids talk wasn’t even on my radar.
“I think so…maybe. You?”
Miles set down his fork and wiped his mouth with a paper napkin from the dispenser on the table. “I think so too. But not for a while. Like I was saying the other night, I want to travel a lot once I’m out of the military and if I’m starting this business, that could set the kid thing back as well. I don’t know. I’ve seen a lot of different types of families and I want to do the whole wife and kids thing someday—but I want to do it when it can be my whole life, you know? I don’t want to be the kind of dad that’s never there for their kids.”
I nodded, admiring him all the more. “That’s good. Is that why you haven’t settled down yet? I mean…being in the military must make that harder.”
“Yes and no. I mean, most of the guys I know are married and now, most of them have kids too. Hell, Lucas, one of my best friends, he’s got a whole horde of them. Then Colton and Karena have Rose. It’s a cool deal but I have to be with the right woman and I’d have to be the right version of myself if that makes any sense.”
“And you’re not now?”
Miles considered me for a moment and then shook his head. “Not yet. Getting closer though, I think.”
He held my stare long enough to make me shift in my seat. There was something too intense about it. Like looking into a tidal wave and knowing if I didn’t run for shore—I’d be sucked out to sea.
And it was essential that I didn’t let that happen. I needed both stiletto-clad feet anchored beneath me.
It was the only way I was going to survive the next year with my heart intact.
* * * *
“Welcome to Hawaii!”
It was a simple greeting, spoken by an insanely gorgeous woman with sun kissed skin and long, shiny hair, but the three words rocked me to the core. I’d managed to keep it together during the flight, mostly because I’d been unconscious. My adrenaline finally crashed from the initial upswing that began Saturday before meeting Miles for our date, and I’d zonked out against Mile’s shoulder mid-flight. But walking into our beautiful hotel and being presented a lei full of gorgeous tropical flowers got my heart rate pushing against the limits of safety and my mind whirled back out of control despite my desperate attempts to rein
it back in again.
We each thanked the woman and Miles grinned down at me. “Here we go.”
I smiled but it felt a little strangled. I nodded and followed him to the check-in counter where a concierge helped us get checked in and had our two small bags whisked away to our room.
The honeymoon suite.
I glared at Miles when the concierge had his back turned, visualizing a bed full of flowers, a bucket of ice with a frosty bottle of champagne, and a Jacuzzi tub the size of a swimming pool with essential oils. All of which would be nice if we were actually in love and wanting to have a romantic weekend together. As it was, I couldn’t concentrate every time he flashed that cocky grin at me and the way his hair had tousled during the flight just made me want to sink my fingers into it all the more.
The man was driving me to distraction.
And there was nothing I could do about it. No matter how much I ached to jump his bones. Or, bone as the case may be.
“We hope you’ll enjoy your stay and from all of us, congratulations to the soon-to-be Mr. and Mrs. Warren.”
“Thank you.” Miles grinned and squeezed me close. I tried not to throw up.
With the keycard in hand, Miles steered us towards the elevator bank. “This way, Mrs. Warren,” he said, still smiling like a kid in a candy store as he ushered me onto the first elevator that opened its doors.
“How are you so calm right now?” I asked, my tone snarky. It didn’t seem fair that I was the only one on the verge of a breakdown.
Miles shrugged. “What would be the point of freaking out?”
I opened my mouth but closed it again as soon as I realized I didn’t have an argument. At least not a good one. Besides, I figured it would be best if at least one of us could keep it together.
“Come on. It’ll be all right,” he said, grabbing my hand. I sighed and let him take control. It was comforting and unnerving all at once and I ping-ponged between the two sparring emotions all the way up to our suite.
Miles led us to the room but paused outside the double doors. “All right, now, before we go in, I just want to let you know that if you want to take back your rule I won’t blame you.”
I laughed and playfully punched his arm. “Come on, Casanova.”
Miles laughed as I grabbed the card from his hand and let us into the suite. It was gorgeous and, as predicted, the perfect place for a couple in love to relax and celebrate their marriage. The man who’d had our bags had lit several clusters of white candles and the bed was littered with blush pink petals. A bottle of champagne was at the ready and there were two plates of chocolate covered strawberries on each side of the ice bucket. The entire scene was set against a dramatic view of the Pacific and the white sand beaches just below. The sounds and smells filtered in through the open screen door, making the candles flicker in the cool breeze.
It was damn near perfect. There was just one thing missing…
I sighed. “Damn. This almost makes me want to get married for real someday.”
Miles chuckled and slipped his hand into mine. “I’m sure you will.”
I tugged my hand away from his and crossed the room to get a closer look at the artwork over the dresser. When Miles was close by, my brain—and my body—had a tendency to short circuit. “So, what’s the plan?” I asked, glancing over my shoulder to Miles who was munching on one of the strawberries. His full lips wrapped around the berry made me shiver, and I quickly turned back to face the wall before my mind could explode with fantasies of what those same lips would feel like if they were on my body, tasting an entirely different kind of fruit.
“You and I have a date at sunset.”
I nodded. “Romantic.”
“It’ll make a good story.”
“Right.” I brushed my finger along the blonde wood top of the dresser and then circled the room to stand in front of the open balcony doors. “Oh my God, is that a hot tub?” I stepped through the doors and confirmed that yes, there was a hot tub made for two on our balcony.
“Looks like it. Nice and private…we might have to check that baby out later tonight,” Miles said, coming to join me. The hot tub was surrounded by lush potted plants, giving it total privacy from the neighboring rooms.
He placed a hand on my shoulder and I squeezed my eyes shut. “Miles…”
“What?”
I turned slowly and his hand fell away. “You have to stop trying to seduce me.”
He smiled. “But it’s fun.”
“Maybe so, but you can’t keep pushing the boundaries or this is going to be a very long year.”
He pocketed his hands in the back of his jeans and nodded. “All right. But when we’re in public we have to kick up the PDA. Otherwise no one is going to buy our story and trust me, my parents are going to be skeptical enough as it is.”
I nodded, somewhat reluctantly. “I understand, but here, when it’s just the two of us, let’s keep it casual.”
“Got it.” He started to head back inside the room and paused in the doorway. “You hungry? I was gonna order some room service. Then we can work on our vows.”
I laughed at the absurdity of it all and then nodded. “Sure.”
Chapter Fifteen
Miles
The phone rang midway through our room service for two. I picked it up and the hotel concierge let me know a FedEx package had just arrived for me. I grinned over at Penny—who had no idea about the ring—and she smiled back at me before popping a strawberry into her sweet little mouth. I groaned inwardly and turned away, thanked the man, and hung up the phone.
“What was that all about?” she asked, innocently wrapping her lips around another fat strawberry.
She was going to kill me.
A year of blue balls was gonna be rough to say the least.
“Nothing you need to worry about,” I replied, grinning at her little pout. “I’m going to go downstairs and check on everything. So, why don’t you go ahead and get ready and then we’ll…”
“Do this thing?” Penny offered.
I smiled and nodded slowly. “Yep. We’re booked for six o’clock. Sunset.”
Penny nodded and glanced out of the wall of windows to the afternoon sun, high in the sky, above the white sand beach that lay just steps from the hotel. The site of our wedding.
I pocketed my hands, struggling to find something to say, but in the end, I turned and walked out, leaving her to her preparations.
Downstairs, I met Ted Klay, the officiant available for our ceremony. The hotel is a popular spot for destination weddings and as such, has an in-house wedding coordination team who was capable of throwing together weddings within a fraction of the time. As I wasn’t much of a details person—or a wedding person for that matter. The simplicity and fast forward time line they were able to operate in was the selling point on booking the hotel. Penny and I would be married by sundown and have a day and a half for a honeymoon before flying back to our respective cities and jumping back into life.
“It’s so nice to meet you, Mr Warren,” Ted said, grasping my hand in a firm grip. “I understand you’re in the Army?”
“That’s right, sir.”
“Oh, please, call me Ted.” He released my hand and started towards the front doors of the hotel.
I followed after him, matching his stride easily. “All right. You’re correct. I’m special ops.”
Ted’s eyes went wide and I smiled. “Well thank you for your service, from all of us here. We are honored to throw this special day for you and your fiancée! Tell me, how did you two meet?”
“Oh, our families are old friends. We recently reconnected at a holiday function.”
Ted smiled widely, his ice blue eyes sparkling. “How wonderful! Well, let me show you what we have set up for you.”
I nodded along as he showed me the set up. His words drifted to the background as I tried to imagine Penny and me standing there, exchanging vows, and trying to make it through the whole thing without breaking character.
>
“—and then the kiss!”
I perked up at that part. I’d finally get my lips back on hers and there was not one damn thing she could do about it.
“Sounds great. Looks great.” I turned around to glance over the place one more time and then turned back to Ted. “All that’s left to do is change and then wait for my bride, I suppose.”
Ted nodded. “All right. You go get ready for this special day, and I’ll make sure everything is ready in time.”
“Thank you.” I shook his hand once more and then went back inside and up to our hotel suite.
The main living space was empty when I stepped inside, but the bedroom door was closed. I rapped lightly on the blonde wood door. “Penny? You in there?”
“Yeah, just getting dressed.”
“Need a hand with the zipper?” I asked, cocking a sideways grin.
She laughed. “I got it.”
“You sure?”
“Miles!”
I chuckled and backed away. “All right, well hurry up. I have something for you.”
“You can’t see me! It’s bad luck! Whatever it is you’ll have to wait till we get downstairs.”
I rolled my eyes. “It can’t be bad luck. This is all—” I bit off the rest of my sentence and let it die. “All right, I’ll wait.”
“Good call.”
I laughed again and helped myself to a little splash of liquid courage at the wet bar. “Hey, if I’m not allowed to see you, then how am I changing? All my stuff is in there.”
“Not anymore. I moved it to the powder room.”
“Aha.” I pushed off the bar and threw back the rest of my drink. “All right. I’ll get changed and meet you downstairs then. The dude just showed me around. It looks really nice. Hopefully you’ll like it. I also booked a photographer so we’ll take a handful of shots afterward.”