The Bride of Santa Barbara
Page 17
Beth stared at him in shock.
‘Sunny insisted?’ she demanded. ‘You discussed this with Sunny?’
Daniel nodded. ‘We’re very old friends,’ he said.
‘Not lovers?’ demanded Beth suspiciously.
‘No,’ insisted Daniel. ‘We never have been. I’m very fond of Sunny but that’s all there is to it.’
‘But you stay overnight with her! You keep your clothes in her closet!’
‘In her spare bedroom closet,’ retorted Daniel. ‘Staying overnight saves me time dodging the traffic. Besides, I like to play pool with Sunny’s husband.’
‘Sunny’s husband?’ echoed Beth in astonishment.
Daniel grinned.
‘Yes. She married Lane Galloway last year, although that’s the best-kept secret in town, so don’t let it out.’
‘But why doesn’t she want anyone to know?’ asked Beth, momentarily diverted.
Daniel brushed her question aside impatiently. ‘Because they’re both heart-throbs of the silver screen,’ he said. ‘The fans wouldn’t like it. But never mind that. It’s us I want to talk about, not them. I love you, Beth. More than any woman I’ve ever known.’
Beth stared at him doubtfully.
‘Even the one who turned you down?’ she asked. ‘The one you told me about on the trail ride?’
‘Susan? Hell, yes! She was a fellow law student at Harvard and once I quit law she didn’t want to know me. All she was interested in was money and status, not me. But that experience really made its mark on me. I never fell in love again. Until I met you.’
‘You really mean to tell me that you’ve loved me all this time and you’ve never said a word about it?’ she demanded.
Daniel made an impatient movement with his hands.
‘I thought you’d guess,’ he said. ‘From the way I looked at you. The way I touched you. The way I made love to you. Wasn’t that enough?’
‘It was magical,’ Beth admitted huskily. ‘But I wanted more than that. I wanted love too. I wanted to know where I stood.’
Daniel reached out his hand and trailed it caressingly down her face and on to her shoulder.
‘Come into the bedroom with me,’ he said hoarsely. ‘I’ll show you where you stand.’
Beth stepped back out of reach.
‘No,’ she said in torment. ‘You know, it’s kind of ironical, Daniel, but you told me once that I should assert myself and you were damn right. Well, I’m doing it now. I don’t just want love, I want everything. Marriage, children, a home. And if I can’t have all of that from you, I don’t want any more to do with you. Telling someone you love them is easy enough, but how much does it really mean? Not much. Certainly not enough to make me jump into bed with you any more.’
Daniel’s eyes met hers full of naked, glittering emotion.
‘I’m serious, Beth,’ he said. ‘Come with me. I promise I won’t touch you, if you don’t want me to. But there’s something you must see.’
Seizing her hand, he led the way across the hall and flung open the bedroom door. Uneasily Beth stepped inside and then caught her breath. A warm, sweet perfume filled the air. Gazing around her, she saw that the entire room was filled with white roses and carnations. Laid out on the centre of the bed was the wedding-dress that had been auctioned at the fashion show, a dream of frothing white lace and organza. She turned with a question in her eyes.
‘How did this get here?’ she demanded.
‘I bought it,’ said Daniel.
‘But the bald man...’
‘My attorney, acting on my behalf.’
Beth bit her lip and walked over to the bed. With trembling fingers she picked up the dress and held it against her.
‘Why?’ she breathed.
Daniel’s lips twisted into a smile.
‘Isn’t that obvious? I want you to wear it on our wedding-day. Will you?’
Beth’s heart gave a violent lurch and suddenly she was in his arms with the dress crushed between them.
‘Yes. Oh, yes,’ she exclaimed joyfully.
His lips came down on hers in a long, bruising kiss and the dress fell unnoticed to the floor. Winding her arms around his neck Beth stood on tiptoe and whispered in his ear.
‘Daniel,’ she said unsteadily. ‘Could I change my mind about jumping into bed with you?’
She felt rather than heard his low rumble of laughter.
‘Be my guest,’ he invited.
An hour later as they lay naked and sated together, Beth raised herself on one elbow and trailed her fingers through the dark mat of hair on Daniel’s chest.
‘Daniel?’ she said curiously.
‘Mmm?’
‘How did Benson know you were going to get married? Did you have the hide to tell him before you proposed to me?’
Daniel looked shifty.
‘Hell, no, honey,’ he said in injured tones. ‘All I did was ask him what would be the best place to hold a wedding reception. And maybe I did drop him another slight hint.’
‘What kind of hint?’ asked Beth suspiciously.
‘Well, I just said, “Benson, don’t you think Beth will be the most beautiful bride Santa Barbara has ever seen?”’
Beth gave an incredulous gasp of laughter.
‘And what did he say?’ she demanded.
Daniel gathered her in his arms and began kissing her all the way down her throat to her breasts, punctuating his words with kisses.
‘What...could he say...? He said...yes...of course.’
ISBN: 978-1-4592-8483-8
The Bride of Santa Barbara
Copyright © 1993 by Angela Devine
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