by Calista Fox
“I learned from you and Mother,” I told him. “From Grandma and Grandpa. Dane and I are different. I won’t let the ugly part of marriage in, Dad.”
He gripped my hands in his and stared into my watery eyes. “You know that if it starts to creep in, you have to talk immediately. Don’t let it fester. Don’t let it destroy you.”
“Dad…” I pressed my lips together a moment, trying to compose myself as well. “Anything could come our way. One thing I know for sure is that we’d never betray each other. The rest … well, you’re right. We have to deal with it every day.”
“All right, then.” He released my hands and stepped away. “No more lectures.”
I smiled through more tears. “Dad. I don’t mind. Really.”
“You always were a good kid.”
“And now I’m a good adult. Who needs to fix her makeup.”
“You look fine. Absolutely perfect.” He gave me a smile before turning to go. Over his shoulder, he added, “All that matters to me ever, sweets, is that you’re happy. And safe.”
I sucked in a breath. I was marrying a man who was part of a secret poli-econ society. A man who associated with the world’s wealthiest, most influential people. And some of those people had already proven they’d go to any length to protect what was theirs—or what they wanted to be theirs. Including taking out little ol’ me.
A shudder ran along my spine. But I lifted my chin and told another tiny white lie, for my father’s sake. “You don’t have to worry, okay?”
“Okay.”
He left me and I experienced a whole different level of wedding planning—the side of the bride. Myriad feelings coursed through me as I paced the dressing room, but I was grounded with this decision. I couldn’t explain why, except that, with every second now sliding by, I wanted to see Dane. I wanted to meet him standing in front of Tamera and tell him how much I loved him and say those two sacred words.
So I bucked up and entered the hallway, where I found Kyle wandering about.
“Hey,” I said.
His jaw slacked.
“Nice reaction,” I added. “Apparently, the dress is a hit.”
“I … um—” He shook his head. “Fuck. You’re … Fuck.”
I laughed. “Well. That pretty much covers it.”
“Sure. Except…” His gaze narrowed on me. “You said holiday attire. Formal, yes. But that dress is like…” He shook his head, looking thoroughly confused. And in awe. “Are we going to be on TV or something?”
He had a natural way of cutting the tension. I adored that. Yet I still had a very uncomfortable conversation with him ahead of me.
“Kyle, there’s something I didn’t tell you about this little get-together.”
I took his hand and dragged him into Dane’s office, closing the door behind us.
“I know this is going to take you by surprise”—hit him like a ton of bricks was more like it—“but this evening is incredibly special to me.”
“Ari.” He eyed me skeptically. “What the hell is going on?”
“Don’t freak, okay. I know what I’m doing. And I know this is going to throw you for a huge loop, but I needed you to be here tonight. As my best friend. As my best … man.”
I held my breath as he gaped.
Many, many seconds inched by. Before I passed out from lack of oxygen, I pulled in a gulp of air, then blurted, “Say something!”
He seemed to try to speak. He just wasn’t successful at it.
I told him, “I understand this is a shock. But Dane proposed last night and so here we all are—”
“Last night?” he suddenly demanded, coming around quickly. “As in … last night?” He shook his head, started to do some pacing of his own.
I’d never seen so much tension from so many people over an impending marriage. Even the Delfinos hadn’t worn out the rug when they’d learned twenty-year-old Meg was pregnant and her father, Anthony Delfino, had issued the shotgun-wedding scenario to Sean.
“Take a few deep breaths,” I said. “You’ll feel better.”
He halted abruptly, spun around, and glared at me. “Are you out of your mind?”
“First … don’t yell at me on my wedding day. Second … no, I am not.” I grabbed his hand again and said, “I invited you here for a reason. There are only a few people who will know about this, and I want you to be one of them. Dane approved—”
“Oh, he approved, did he? As if you need his permission—”
“He knows you will keep our secret,” I insisted.
Ripping his hand from mine, Kyle threw his arms up in the air and, in an exasperated voice, asked, “Aren’t you tired yet of all the secrecy, Ari? What is it about him that makes you think it’s okay to keep everything about your relationship under wraps? Normal people don’t do that, you know?”
I remained calm, because he deserved to have this outburst. I’d done favors for Kyle, such as getting him the job at the Lux. He’d done favors for me, like staying with me after I’d been roughed up by Vale.
Kyle and I truly did banter like siblings, even though he took it in a different light—more of a flirtation. I’d always been clear on my intentions. He knew Dane was it for me. End of story.
And Kyle had chosen to stay friends, to stay my closest friend. As much as I’d suffer if he walked away, the choice had always been—and always would be—up to him.
“I want you here,” I said. “It means the world to me. If you don’t want to be on my side with this, I’ll totally understand. But I always fight for you, Kyle. Because that’s what best friends do.”
He grunted. “Fuck it all, Ari. I swear, I will never figure out what the hell goes on inside your head.”
His pacing resumed. I knew this would be difficult for him to reconcile. And he’d never, ever get a real handle on it. Not as long as he held out hope that I might someday “come to my senses” and choose him instead.
That would never happen. I knew exactly what I wanted—who I wanted.
“Kyle, I’m getting married whether you stick around or not. Though I’d really prefer that you stay.”
He glowered at me.
I gave him a smile. Crooked a suggestive brow at him, and said, “There’s food and champagne.…” Hoping to tempt him.
With a shake of his head, he said, “I noticed your dad’s car out front. He’s onboard with this … insanity?”
“Took some doing to get him there,” I confessed. “He worries incessantly, even though he pretends he doesn’t. Still … Kyle, he likes Dane, despite not wanting to because he thinks he’s too extravagant, too … advanced … for me.” I rolled my eyes. I couldn’t exactly dispute the logic and said, “I don’t blame him. I don’t blame you for thinking the same. It’s just that—”
“Wait,” he interjected, holding up a hand. “That’s not what I think. I’m concerned about what happened to you just a couple of months ago, Ari. You were kidnapped and got the shit beat out of you. How am I supposed to condone that?”
“You’re not,” I said matter-of-factly. “And I appreciate that you were offended for me, upset, all that. But don’t, for a second, believe that Dane condoned it or that he wasn’t devastated by it. You saw him afterward, Kyle. You know he was as wrecked as I was. You can’t deny it. You saw him!”
Kyle’s teeth ground for a moment.
“Kyle. I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know.”
He combed a hand through his hair, the short strands falling back into their tousled place.
“You’re right,” he reluctantly said. “I just keep hoping you’ll get a little smarter about this.”
“I swear I’m of sound mind.”
He took a bit more time to pull himself together, then sarcastically said, “Think he’s worried I’m actually talking you out of this harebrained idea?”
I smiled again. “He anticipated the attempt on your part.”
“And still invited me.”
“He’s that confid
ent.”
“Arrogant,” Kyle corrected with a scowl.
“Yes. I’ll give you that one. But I do love him. And I want to marry him. Sometime this evening would be preferable.”
Kyle gave me a long look. “Why can’t I resist you—refuse you anything?”
“Because you want me to be happy.”
“That still doesn’t mean I’ll give up.”
I sighed. “You are just too much.”
We stared at each other, at an impasse of sorts, though he didn’t let me down. Eventually, he offered his arm and asked, “Shall we?”
Returning to the great room, I gestured toward the doors that led to the patio. “The ceremony’s just beyond the terrace.”
“Can’t believe I have to stomach all of this,” he said as he took in the enormous room and everything surrounding it. I knew he thought beyond the house to having to stomach me marrying Dane.
“You’ll get used to it,” I assured him.
My dad waited for us just outside, away from the others. Kyle squeezed my hand and said, “At least you didn’t keep this from me.”
“Still best friends?”
He nodded. “Doesn’t mean I agree with what you’re doing.” That razor edge to his voice, from two days before, emphasized his words and his disgruntlement. He paused contemplatively and asked once more, “You sure you know what you’re doing? This is a pretty serious step, Ari.”
“I’m sure of how I feel about Dane. How he feels about me. I want us legitimately bound to each other. It’s something I can’t escape.”
“It could be a huge mistake.”
“It won’t be.”
My insides churned a bit at how personally Kyle took all this—how disappointed he looked. Slightly infuriated, too. But he was here. And I meant what I’d said. I wanted this.
He traveled the candlelit path as my dad and I lingered in the shadows and the coverage of trees.
I hadn’t set out chairs—it would be a quick ceremony and I wanted Kyle and my father standing up for me on my side at the altar. Dane’s friends on his.
Turning to my dad, I took a couple more deep breaths. Then said, “Thanks for doing this. I know you’re not thrilled it came about so fast. But the fact that you’re here … That means so much to me.”
I hadn’t even had to ask him to walk me down the aisle. He’d just known.
“Well,” he mused, though not lightly, “maybe you’ll break the pattern. Be the new normal in our family.”
I tamped down an ironic laugh. As Kyle had expressed there was nothing normal about my relationship with Dane. Or the man himself. Still. I heard what my father was telling me, what he wished for when it came to his only daughter.
A new family tradition devoid of throwing things at walls and screaming at the top of our lungs.
“It’d be a nice change of pace,” I concurred.
“Very nice.”
Kyle must have cued Tamera, because the programmed music changed and beautiful sounds from the harpist I adored wafted on the gentle breeze that rustled the leaves. The creek ran rapidly. Moonlight streaked the sky and tinted the forest a lovely silver color. Cascading arrangements of white roses and lush green foliage trimmed the makeshift altar I’d created from an antique stand in Dane’s office. Dozens of candles burned in large hurricanes, from holders of varying heights and along the pathway Rosa had helped me clear.
Had I moved past my dream of wanting a huge, extravagant ceremony so that every person I knew and worked with would know I was marrying Dane Bax? No. Would he still be conflicted that we’d had to do it this way? Yes.
But the setting was exquisite and the key people in our lives were present. And when it came right down to it, what I would cherish the most was the fact that we belonged to each other.
My father and I rounded the thicket and stepped into the small opening along the creek. I carried a single red rose as my dad escorted me.
I was cognizant of Tamera and the others, but my gaze homed in on Dane, looking insanely gorgeous in his black tuxedo. To my surprise, a traditional one with a bow tie. I suspected my dad would have no choice but to appreciate that tiny bit of conventionality. Take it where he could get it, as it were.
Dane was devastatingly handsome. So perfect. I couldn’t take my gaze from him, couldn’t get to him fast enough. Yet my dad kept us strolling at a slow, measured pace that matched the flow of the music.
My heart beat wildly and butterflies took flight, low in my belly. Not out of uncertainty, but because of what I walked toward. Dane.
When I reached him, the corners of my mouth quivered from the huge smile threatening to take over and my chest rose and fell rapidly. My dad unraveled my arm from his and offered my hand to Dane. Then he stepped away, joining Kyle to my left.
Dane’s gaze was riveting, locked on me. I had no idea how much time passed before he finally leaned forward and whispered, “You take my breath away.”
The smile broke through. Tears misted my eyes. “I did the best I could with the short time frame.”
“You can’t even begin to imagine—” He swallowed hard. His gaze smoldered. “How stunning you are.”
I tried to pull in a bit more air. No go. I prayed I wouldn’t pass out. The heat and love in his emerald irises mesmerized me.
Tamera gave us several more seconds to admire each other, stay lost in each other’s eyes.
Then she gently cleared her throat and asked, “Shall we begin?”
“Sure,” I murmured, not even glancing her way.
With a soft laugh, she said, “All righty, then.” I barely heard her words until she came to the vows. Then she graciously asked, “Do you have something prepared, or would you like me to continue?”
Dane said, “I have something for Ari.”
Amano handed him a square box with Cartier in elegant script across the top.
“Dane.” I’d known he’d go overboard.
With a grin, he said, “I don’t intend to let you down. Ever.”
He carefully folded back the lid and I gasped. Nestled in black satin was a wide diamond chevron tennis bracelet in white gold. As he lifted the sensational piece of jewelry from its perch, candlelight caught the angled diamonds and they sparkled brilliantly. Like nothing I’d ever seen before.
“It’s thirty carats,” he told me. “Flown in from Beverly Hills with two guards this afternoon.”
My heart nearly stopped. “Dane,” I repeated. Breathless. A feather could have knocked me over, and I was sure my eyes bulged. “Good grief.”
He slipped the flexible bangle on my left wrist while staring into my eyes. “I will always love you, Aria Lynne DeMille. My heart has never belonged to anyone else—and it never will.”
Tears pooled in my eyes, crested the rims. The fat drops rolled down my cheeks. I was still breathless. Speechless.
The bracelet was mind-boggling. But Dane’s vow to me was all that registered at the moment.
I was vaguely aware of our guests, of Tamera. However, I couldn’t get my brain to shift from stalled out to proper functioning.
Eventually, Tamera prompted me again. “Ari, do you have something for Dane?”
“Oh. Um…”
“She does,” he hastily said. Amano handed over another box. Inside was a platinum ID bracelet with thick links. I encircled Dane’s wrist with it, my fingers trembling as I tried to work the clasp. He had to help me.
Then I gazed up at him and asked, “How’d I get so lucky?”
Tamera sighed dreamily, as though she were deliriously happy I’d fallen apart for this man. Kyle snickered his displeasure.
“It’s actually the other way around,” Dane said. “I’m the lucky one.”
I got a little caught up in his intense expression but eventually said, “I will always love you, Dane Bradley Bax. My heart has never belonged to anyone else—and never will.”
His mouth sealed mine in an impassioned kiss that left my knees weak and my pulse racing.
> “We’re a wee bit out of order here,” Tamera quietly said. “There is the matter of I do and I now pronounce you…”
Ethan and Amano chuckled. I imagined my father rolled his eyes.
Dragging my mouth from Dane’s, I said, “I do. How about you?”
“Ari!” Tamera scolded me. “Behave.”
“Fine,” I grumbled. “But please try to quickly get us to the you can now kiss the bride part.”
Dane grinned. My heart beat a bit faster.
Tamera efficiently wrapped up the ceremony, and then I was in Dane’s arms again, swept away by a searing, soul-stealing kiss that, in my mind, went on and on. Forever.
When we finally came up for air, Tamera said to our guests—who’d waited patiently—“Gentlemen, may I present Mr. and Mrs. Dane Bax.”
There it was. I was married.
The hottest man on the planet was officially mine.
The smile on my face had to shine brighter than the diamonds on my wrist. Dane appeared equally pleased. Handshakes and hugs ensued. We signed the marriage license—clumsily on my part because my fingers still shook.
Rosa directed our small party to the terrace for champagne and hors d’oeuvres that she served. Dane’s lawyer lingered behind with the two of us. On the makeshift altar he placed a portfolio he’d been holding on to and flipped it open.
“I’ve made this as simple as possible for the moment,” Jackson Conaway said. He was in his mid-sixties, with a headful of white hair, and he wore studious-looking specs. Like Amano, Mr. Conaway had been in the senior Bax’s employ, and had remained with the family to oversee all of Dane’s legal affairs, of which there were many, I was sure, given the size of his estate. Mr. Conaway had moved from Philadelphia to Sedona in order to be on-hand at all times.
“Essentially, Aria,” he said, “I’ve consolidated the signing pages for you. I’ll explain everything in full detail at a convenient time, but for all intents and purposes this evening, half of Dane’s accounts, assets, and investments—10,000 Lux included—are yours, and you’re now the sole beneficiary of his insurance and retirement policies, his IRAs, et cetera. I’ll need your signature on several documents.”
I stared blankly at him. “Oh. Um … h-h-uh,” I stammered. “I wasn’t expecting…” My gaze shifted to Dane. “I figured there’d be exclusionary clauses, waivers, and such to sign. A pre-nup, even though we’ve already … nupped … but you know, like—” I shook my head. My mind reeled.
