Alex shook her head. “There's nothing to forgive. It's the thought that counts, and it wasn't that big of a deal. I'll probably never see the guy again.” Alex sighed and brushed the tears off her face as the limo pulled up to the hotel. “Enough about my unlucky love life. I swear I'm not going to shed any more tears today.” She paused a moment before adding, “Well, at least not until you walk down that aisle.”
Chapter 20
An hour later, Becca rode the elevator down to the hotel chapel. It hadn't taken her long to prepare for the ceremony. Since her hair and makeup had been done earlier, all she needed was a little touch-up. She had dressed quickly and taken a last look at herself in the mirror as Alex fastened her veil in place. Everything was perfect.
Now, as she waited to reach the ground floor, the butterflies that had settled in the pit of her stomach rose into her throat. All her dreams were finally coming true, and yet she'd never been so nervous in her life. As she and Alex exited the elevator and rounded the corner toward the chapel, Becca trembled in anticipation. She hadn't talked to Ethan since this morning, and she couldn't wait to see him again.
Alex helped her through the door. Becca remained in a small vestibule at the back of the chapel while Alex went to inform everyone that the bride had arrived. She took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm her nerves.
It didn't work.
After what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was probably only a minute, Alex returned. She propped open the inner door and turned to Becca. “Ready?”
Becca already felt tears threatening to fall. Not trusting herself to speak, she merely nodded her assent.
The wedding march began to play, and Alex started her slow promenade down the aisle. When Becca stepped up to the doorway, awaiting her turn, she caught sight of her groom waiting at the altar. He smiled at her. The look of pure love and adoration in his eyes made it impossible for Becca to hold back the tears any longer. Her vision blurred, but her eyes never left his as she walked toward him. When she finally reached the altar, Becca handed her bouquet to Alex. Ethan took both her hands in his.
After that, everything proceeded in a haze. Becca repeated the words as the minister spoke them, promising to love, honor, and cherish Ethan until death parted them. Ethan did the same. They slipped rings on each other's finger, once again pledging their unending love. Before she knew it, the minister was pronouncing them husband and wife and giving Ethan permission to kiss his new bride.
Ethan folded back her veil and, just as he had done in her dream, drew her close, with one hand at her waist, the other tenderly cupping her face. His lips descended to hers, and this time–unlike in her dream–she knew that she had been well and truly kissed.
As his lips left her hers, a chorus of cheers erupted behind them. For the first time since she'd entered the chapel, Becca took notice of their small audience. Ethan's brother, Nathan, stood next to him as best man. His parents, grandfather, and best friend, Todd, and of course, Edna stood from their chairs to come greet the happy couple.
The ceremony was followed by a lovely reception dinner in a private dining room. The food was delicious, but Becca was so excited she could barely eat. When Ethan noticed her picking at her food, he leaned over to whisper in her ear. “You should try to eat more. You need to keep up your strength for tonight.”
The love and adoration she'd seen in his eyes during the wedding were now joined by passion and lust. Becca smiled and ducked her head as her face heated to a blush.
“You're so pretty when you blush like that,” he murmured as he nuzzled her cheek. “I can't wait to get you upstairs.”
Becca's body hummed with desire. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed her temple. A gentle finger on her chin turned her to face him. As his lips were about to claim hers, their romantic interlude was interrupted by the wedding cake being brought in. With a deep sigh, he backed away.
Ethan rose from his chair and helped her up. With his arm circling her waist, he escorted her to the cake table. Becca took a moment to admire the beautiful white confection with real pink and white flowers draped down one side. It was a shame to have to cut it, Becca thought. It was practically a work of art.
Together, she and Ethan grasped the handle of the silver knife and sectioned off a slice of cake. Using the matching server, Becca lifted it onto a plate. Todd urged Ethan to smash the cake in her face. Ethan appeared to be dutifully ignoring his best friend, instead picking up a fork and carefully cutting a bite-sized piece. He then delicately lifted it to her mouth while Todd groaned in disappointment. Becca accepted the delicious morsel, and Ethan leaned down to brush his lips against hers. Becca did the same for Ethan, then they lifted their glasses of champagne. They linked arms, and each took a sip of the sweet libation. Once their arms were disentangled, Ethan gave her another kiss, this time deeper and longer.
With a hand on the small of her back, Ethan guided Becca back to their table, carrying the plate of cake in his other hand. Once she was seated again, he pulled her close and insisted on feeding her every last bite. As the final tidbit melted in her mouth, the small local band Ethan had hired began to play a slow love song.
Ethan laid the fork on the empty plate and offered his hand. “May I have this dance, Mrs. Montgomery?”
The sound of that name washed over her like a gentle breeze, bringing peace and contentment to her heart. She smiled. “Of course, Mr. Montgomery.”
When they reached the dance floor, Becca placed her arms around Ethan's waist and laid her head on his chest. He wrapped her in his embrace and leaned his cheek against the top of her head. Their tight clinch made it nearly impossible to move more than a few inches at a time, so they merely swayed to the music. Snuggled close together like this, Becca felt blanketed in Ethan's love.
Soon Ethan's parents joined them on the floor, along with Edna and Ethan's grandfather, whom Becca noticed had been getting rather cozy throughout dinner. Now as they danced, they looked at each other like a couple of giddy teenagers experiencing their first crush. Becca smiled at the thought of her elderly friend possibly finding love again.
She glanced over at Alex, still seated at her table, and wished the same for her. She thought again of Ryan, and even though she barely knew the guy, Becca couldn't quite shake the strange feeling that he would be perfect for Alex if she could only open her heart to love again.
Some time later, as Becca enjoyed her fifth dance pressed against Ethan's body, she could no longer ignore the longing to be closer to him. She raised up on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear, “I'm dying to be alone with you.”
He returned her sultry look. “Me too.”
“Do you think it's too soon to leave?”
“Even if it is, I don't really care. How about after this song we toss the bouquet and garter and get out of here?”
Her face lit up with a smile as she nodded her agreement.
As promised, when the song ended, Ethan made the announcement for all the single ladies–who were really only Edna and Alex–to gather for the bouquet toss.
Becca turned her back to them, closed her eyes, and threw the flowers over her shoulder. She turned around to find that Edna had caught them. She was thrilled for her friend and went to hug her. After all, one was never too old for love.
Becca looked over at Alex. Although she had a smile on her face, it didn't quite reach her eyes. Becca thought she caught a glimmer of disappointment. She sensed that even though her new sister-in-law appeared strong and unflappable on the outside and claimed to be down on men, inside she was longing for love.
With a rueful smile she gave Alex a hug too, and words of encouragement. “Someday you'll find the right guy too, Alex, and he'll love you for who you are. I know it.”
“Then you have more faith than I do, Becca.”
As they parted, Becca shrugged. “I'm a hopeless romantic, remember. I can have enough faith for both of us, and when it happens, I'm going to remind you of this moment.”
The man was driving her crazy with his languid pace. Becca closed her eyes and hoped that her own desire wasn't obvious to their guests.
When he reached her ankle, he gently lifted her foot to slide the garter off and carefully replaced her shoe.
After one last look at his bride, Ethan rose and called the single men forward. Just like Becca had done, he turned his back to them and tossed the garter over his shoulder. It was headed straight for Todd, but at the last minute he dove out of the way. The frilly piece of lace landed right in the hands of Ethan's brother, whose face registered shock.
Becca followed as Ethan went to shake hands with his friend. Ethan shook his head and laughed at Todd's antics. “That garter was headed right for you.”
Todd lifted his hands, palms out, as though trying to ward off some dreaded evil. “And I want no part of it, thank you very much. I'm not ready to settle down. It's too much fun being single.”
Ethan chuckled at his friend again before turning to clap his brother on the shoulder. “Looks like you're next, bro.”
Nathan looked skeptical. “I don't know about that, Ethan. I think you need a girl for that, and in case you hadn't noticed, the only single ladies around here are our sister and a woman who's old enough to be our grandmother.”
Becca put her arm around Ethan's waist before she piped up, “She's out there. I know it.”
“If you say so, sis,” Nathan replied.
“Hey, you should listen to my wife. She's a hopeless romantic, you know.”
“Well, that makes one of us.”
“Then I guess I'll have to have enough faith for you and Alex, that's all,” Becca said. She smiled up lovingly at her husband. “Because I absolutely refuse to be the only one in this room who gets a happily-ever-after ending.”
Ethan hugged his parents and grandfather, then gathered his new bride back into his arms. He leaned down close to her ear so no one else could hear. “Are you ready to go make some fireworks?”
That one question was all it took to make her body heat up all over again. She nodded. “Let's go.”
Ethan turned to bid the guests farewell, telling them to stay as long as they wanted and enjoy the music, food, and champagne. He and Becca kept to a normal pace as they exited the room, but as soon as the door of the dining room closed behind them, they looked at each other, smiled, and took off running for the nearest elevator.
* * * * *
About half an hour after Ethan and Becca left the party, Alex said her farewells too. She left everyone with the impression that she was tired and heading for bed, but in reality, she simply wanted to be alone. She made her way to a bar on the other side of the hotel, where she hoped her family wouldn't find her.
After taking a seat at a small corner table, she ordered a strawberry daiquiri. While she waited for it to arrive, she scanned the room. A couple of older men sat at the bar nursing hard liquor, a group of four young women, probably on a girl's night out, tittered around a nearby table, and a cute couple nuzzled each other at the booth in the opposite corner. She turned away from the sight in disgust just as the waitress arrived with her drink.
Alex loved her brother and his new wife dearly and was truly happy for them, but their joy had only served to accentuate her own sense of loss. The divorce was still fresh in her mind. Granted, she hadn't loved Danny, her rock star ex, for a long time. Not since she'd caught him in bed with one of his back up singers. But putting her signature on that piece of paper made her feel like a failure.
She should have known that her marriage to Danny wouldn't last. Their mad dash to the altar when she'd found out she was pregnant should have been the first clue. Still, she had loved him and was determined to make it work for the sake of their child. Danny had made her believe that was what he wanted too, until there was no child to work for anymore. The miscarriage had left her devastated, and she was still recovering from that trauma when she discovered Danny's infidelity. No wonder she had run halfway around the world to Kabul to get away.
Once, Alex had been a hopeless romantic like Becca, but now she believed that happily-ever-afters were only meant for other people, not for her. She had been in exactly three relationships in her lifetime, all serious in her mind, all with men for whom she'd fallen hard and fast. All of them had craved the spotlight, and in the end, all of them had cheated on her or left her for another woman, leaving her crushed and demoralized. That was why she had turned Ryan down cold this afternoon.
Alex ran a finger thoughtfully around the rim of her glass before taking a sip. She couldn't deny the man was sexy as hell. Truth be told, she'd been a little jealous of Becca picking him as her favorite stripper. As she'd watched him giving her sister-in-law that sinfully decadent lap dance, she couldn't help wishing it was her up there with him. But when he'd actually asked her out for a drink, she couldn't bring herself to accept.
All she could think about was how he bared his body like that for hundreds of women every night. She was certain many of them pawed him and covertly passed him their phone numbers. How many of them had he slept with? No, Ryan would not make good boyfriend material. Would he? Becca seemed to think otherwise.
As Alex wrestled with that conundrum in her mind, she realized her glass was empty. She raised her head, looking for the waitress, only to have her eyes lock with the object of her daydreaming across the room. She swallowed hard as he headed straight for her.
When Ryan reached her table, he gave her a gorgeous, bone-melting smile that left her a bit breathless. “Hi, there.”
Alex suddenly felt tongue-tied. “Hey.”
“So we meet again.”
She nodded.
Ryan indicated her empty glass. “Looks like you need a refill.”
“Yeah.” Alex tilted her head a little to see around Ryan's tall, muscular frame. “I'm not sure what happened to the waitress.”
Ryan glanced over his shoulder, cursorily searching for the woman in question before turning back to Alex. “Look, I know you turned me down this afternoon, but since we've run into each other again, it seems like fate might have other plans for us. I don't know about you, but now that I've been handed a second chance to get to know you, I'd hate to pass it up. I'd always be wondering what might have happened if I didn't take another chance on you. So...can I buy you a drink?”
As Alex gazed into Ryan's striking green eyes, she was well and truly lost. No man had ever looked at her the way Ryan was right now, like he wanted to wrap her up in his arms and protect her, and at the same time, like she was the most desirable woman he'd ever laid eyes on. It was a heady combination that made the icy sheath around her heart melt just a little. It also made her forget that he was a performer, just like all the exes who'd betrayed her. It made her forget that hundreds of women lusted after him on a daily basis. It made her forget all the heartache and loneliness that had assailed her all evening. In that one moment, the desire to lose herself in those mesmerizing eyes trumped everything else.
Giving him the barest of smiles, she indicated the empty chair next to her. “Have a seat.”
* * * * *
When Ethan and Becca reached the door of the penthouse suite, he opened it before swinging her up into his arms to carry her across the threshold. Once inside, he nudged the door shut with his foot and proceeded across the room.
“Ethan, the bedroom is that way.” Becca pointed behind him. “Aren't we going the wrong way?”
“Nope,�
�� he answered. He stopped in the sunken living room, still holding her.
Becca gave him a bewildered look. “Last night, here in front of the fireplace was really magical, but I was kind of hoping for a real bed tonight.”
“You shall have that and more, m'lady. But first, I need to give you your wedding gifts.”
“Gifts? Ethan, you've already given me more than I ever could have dreamed of.”
Ethan deposited her on the sofa. He reached into the inside pocket of his tuxedo jacket and pulled out a folded sheaf of papers that looked suspiciously like the repayment contract she'd signed a few months ago.
“Is that what I think it is?” she asked.
“If you think it's the repayment contract, then yes,” he answered while unfolding the papers and smoothing them flat.
Becca frowned in confusion. “What–”
Before she could form the question, he ripped the documents down the middle, opened the fireplace doors, and threw them into the low-burning flames.
He sat down next to her. “You didn't think I was going to make my wife pay me back for her education, did you? In fact, when I drew up that contract, I was hoping I could convince you to marry me so you would never have to.”
Now that she knew he'd planned to marry her all along, she regretted even more her outburst that had caused Ethan to take such actions. It had been the product of her fear–unfounded, as it turned out–that his intentions in giving her so many extravagant gifts were less than honorable. Slowly, she had come to realize that he was simply a generous man who would never take advantage of a vulnerable woman.
“I'm so sorry I didn't trust you when I found out. What happened to my mom was only part of why I behaved like that. Lindsay is the one who told me you were funding my sponsorship, and she made me think more than once that you were sleeping with her. I was just overwrought with emotions, not the least of which was jealousy.”
“I have no idea how Lindsay found out about the sponsorship, but now that I know what she's capable of, it doesn't surprise me at all that she would do something like that to you. If I'd known how she was manipulating you–us–I would have put a stop to it months ago.” Ethan drew her into his arms and gazed into her eyes, smiling. “But it didn't work. Our love won out. We're here, happily married.” He nuzzled her cheek while murmuring in her ear, “And I don't know about you, but I'm ready to make you my wife in every way.”
His Heart's Desire Page 29