“Oh, not for me, thanks,” Paige said.
“It might make you less nervous,” Bernadette said.
“And risk drinking too much and making a fool of myself at my own wedding? No, thank you.”
“I think we’re fine, Drew,” Bernadette said. “If we want any later, we’ll help ourselves.”
“Okay. Just let me know if you need anything from me.” Drew closed the passenger door and got into the driver’s seat.
“Hey, Drew,” Paige called out. “Where are we going?”
“To the airport, Miss Shipton.”
“The airport?”
“Yes. I believe you’re going on a helicopter ride.”
“To where?”
“That, I don’t know.”
Paige looked at Bernadette in shock. Where were they going? Unfortunately, Drew were as much in the dark as she and Bernadette were.
Half an hour later, they were at the airport. They were treated like royalty on their arrival and, after a few minutes of waiting, their pilot greeted them and introduced himself as Tex.
“Are you ready to go?” Tex asked.
“Yes, please,” Paige said. She’d never been in a helicopter before, and she was jumping out of her skin in excitement.
“How long will the flight be?” Bernadette asked.
“About forty minutes.”
“No one would tell us where we’re going,” Paige complained.
Tex laughed, but said nothing either. He escorted them outside and pointed to a particular helicopter.
Paige’s jaw dropped. Their destination was no longer a secret. Emblazoned on the aircraft was the name of the hotel recently voted number one in Australia. The ultra-luxurious resort, sitting in the picturesque Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage area and surrounded by an awe-inspiring nature reserve, was a place she’d always wanted to stay in.
She was getting married there! Better yet, she’d be there for the whole week with Tristan!
“Oh my God!” Bernadette cried. “We’re going to Wolgan Valley!”
Tex chuckled. “Good surprise, hey? Mr. Grant actually asked if we could use a helicopter that didn’t have the hotel logo on it, but unfortunately, we don’t have one available today that can carry luggage.”
Paige boarded the aircraft, excited as hell. Gosh, was she dreaming or what? The last three months had already been surreal, and now this? She couldn’t keep up with what was happening with her life any more.
Well, she might as well sit back and enjoy the ride. Life wouldn’t always be this exciting. Soon—much sooner than she hoped or wanted—her parents would find out she’d married Tristan. Out of everything, she was least looking forward to that.
And what on earth had she gotten herself into?
Chapter 11
Tristan got off the rowing machine and reached for the water bottle, rehydrating himself as he waited for his breathing to go back to normal.
His intense workout helped somewhat in calming himself. Great! Now he needed to find other things to do before the wedding this afternoon.
He inhaled sharply. Damn it. Why did he have to remind himself that he was getting married today? There were still a few hours to go before the event, and he was hating the nerves that were attacking him.
He didn’t know why he felt this way when he wasn’t actually getting hitched forever—just until Paige got her money. Imagine if he were doing it for real.
Well, the wedding was real. It was official. It was legal.
He pressed a towel to his face. He wasn’t regretting helping Paige with this fake marriage scheme, but he couldn’t believe he’d arranged for their wedding to be… wonderful. What if Paige got the wrong impression?
Sure, he was falling in love with her. Sure, they were having a baby. But, hell, those two things alone were enough to scare the living daylights out of him, and that was before mixing in all the other complications. Things were happening way too fast, and he wasn’t sure if he’d been making the right decisions.
He shook his head, leaving the fully equipped gym and stepping out into a breathtaking view of the resort’s main pool backdropped by awe-inspiring sandstone cliffs. It was his grandmother Marge’s doing that he and Paige were getting married in such a romantic setting. All he’d wanted was his nan’s help to shorten the Notice of Intended Marriage, and she’d talked him into booking one of the most exclusive resorts in Australia. When his nan had learned how they couldn’t let Paige’s parents know about the wedding until it was over, she’d suggested this place, where only those who were paying to stay in one of the thirty-one luxury villas could get in.
He loved his grandmother, who’d lost her husband just five months ago from a long illness. And since he wouldn’t see her for one whole year when she left for the States, he’d decided to indulge her by agreeing to get married here. Yeah, guilt had a lot to do with it. His nan had been so excited about his wedding and the baby that he hadn’t had the heart to tell her the whole story.
In any case, it was a great idea to have a secret wedding in this top location. Larry and Debbie were bound to discover their daughter’s nuptials when pictures from his trusted photographer made it to publications selected by his long-term publicist. The last thing he wanted was for Paige’s folks to come and whisk their daughter away while she was in the middle of her honeymoon. They couldn’t do that here, since they wouldn’t be let in.
To be extra safe, though, he’d booked all the other available villas for the week. Fortunately, only fifteen had been reserved by other people. He’d seen most of those other guests during breakfast in the dining room this morning, and they were simply unknown couples having a romantic getaway in a beautiful setting. He doubted they’d recognise him or anyone in his party, which consisted of twenty-two adults and a handful of kiddos.
He ran his hand over his face. He hoped Paige wouldn’t mind him inviting all these people to their wedding when she only had her best friend coming. But there were sixteen luxury villas he’d paid for, and they would have gone to waste if he hadn’t filled them up with select family and friends.
Yes, he could blame his nan for making this wedding a bigger deal than he and Paige had intended. He had to admit, though, that despite his misgivings, he hoped Paige would be thrilled. She’d been going through so much that she deserved this.
He smiled. He couldn’t wait to see her face when she arrived.
A kangaroo hopped in front of him as he made his way back to his villa—the only three-bedroom place in the resort. He was glad it had an exclusive path leading towards it for more privacy. Perfect for honeymooners like him and Paige.
He snickered. Honeymooners. Could he still call it a honeymoon when they were really only dating?
Whatever. He just couldn’t wait for tonight, when the wedding and reception were finished and he was alone with Paige in their accommodation. He was already missing her even though they’d been going out—and sleeping together—almost every night since they’d gotten “engaged”.
She wasn’t kidding about being horny all the time! He wasn’t complaining, though. He was more than glad to satisfy her needs.
Apart from that, he was missing their… closeness, for want of a better word. He hadn’t felt that with anyone else before, so he couldn’t fully explain it. All he knew was that whenever he was with Paige, he felt like he had everything he needed.
He sighed. If he weren’t so scared about committing himself for the rest of his life to a woman he’d known for less than four months, he’d admit that he was looking forward to marrying her.
Tristan shielded his eyes with his hand as he watched the helicopter descend towards the heliport.
“You know,” his grandmother said loudly above the aircraft’s noise, “if you follow tradition, you shouldn’t see the bride before the wedding.”
“But she’s not wearing her wedding dress yet.”
“Doesn’t matter. You shouldn’t see her face at all. But I suppose young people don’t
follow many traditions these days,” Marge said with a sigh.
“Well, I don’t want Paige arriving and being greeted by strangers. She’s only met you and mum once. She doesn’t know anyone else apart from Simon and Geri. Oh, and Jade.” He glanced around and found Jade smiling at her husband and child as they, too, watched the landing. Julian’s eyes were round, his grin awestruck as he stared at the helicopter, while Lucas carried him in his arms.
Actually, it looked like every single one of their guests had congregated near the heliport to welcome Paige and Bernadette.
A hand patted his shoulder.
“You can stop fretting now,” his friend Rick Donnelly said with a smirk on his face. “She’s here.”
He snorted, trying to look casual. Had he been that obvious?
Finally, the helicopter landed and he ambled to the aircraft. There was Paige, looking gorgeous as she alighted.
Then she was trotting to him.
He broke into a jog and met her halfway, lifting her off the ground and kissing her lips hard.
“You are kidding me!” she said, laughing in delight. “Why are we here?”
He chuckled. “What do you mean? We’re getting married today, remember?”
“I mean, why here? This is too much, Tristan. I thought we were getting married in a registry office.”
“Oh, you’re disappointed?” he teased, nuzzling her cheek.
Paige snickered. “I’ll get over it.”
He looked at her face and grinned at the happiness he saw there. Perfect. It made all the effort worth it. “How was the flight?”
“Amazing! It was so breathtaking that Bernie and I had our jaws on the floor the whole time. Speaking of Bernie…” Paige suddenly let go of him, a blush creeping up her cheeks as she smiled shyly to whoever was behind him.
Tristan reddened himself. Several people were watching them with amusement, while the photographer he’d hired took pictures of the scene from different angles. Fortunately, his mother was already welcoming Bernadette.
His nan took over. “Hello, dear,” she said to Paige. “It’s wonderful to see you again.”
Paige returned Marge’s kisses. “Same here, Mrs. Grant.”
“Marge, please. Or Nan, if you like.”
Tristan walked over to introduce himself to Bernadette. “Glad to have finally met you, Bernie,” he said to Paige’s best friend.
“The pleasure’s mine,” Bernadette replied, hugging him tight. “Thank you for taking care of Paige,” she whispered in his ear.
“No worries,” he murmured.
He heard his mum introduce his dad to Paige, and Tristan stilled, hoping his dad would be accommodating to his bride. To his relief, Theo appeared to greet Paige warmly. Tristan had been worried, considering that his father had been absent when he’d taken Paige home to meet his mother and nan.
Everyone else was willing to personally present themselves to the bride and bridesmaid, so Tristan stood back and watched the proceedings.
“That was a beautiful moment when you and Paige greeted each other,” said Ilma, Tristan’s publicist. “We can use those photos for one of the articles.”
“Okay,” he said readily. Wasn’t the point of all this to attract the attention of the trustees and make them believe there was a love story to go with the baby? Well, there was the proof, even though he’d surprised himself with his reaction to Paige’s arrival.
“Hey, dude, have a minute?” Carter asked from behind him.
He swivelled to face his friend, who was carrying his beautiful sixteen-month-old daughter Chelsea.
He nodded and Carter moved them a few steps away from the crowd.
“One of our guys got something on Preston Pawlish, the Shiptons’ lawyer,” his private detective friend said in a low voice.
“Yeah?”
“Apparently, Preston has had links to a drug cartel. We don’t know much yet, but our guys are working hard to find out more about him. Considering you’re a vocal advocate for owners taking full responsibility for the drug problems happening in some nightclubs, I find this tidbit pretty interesting.”
Tristan’s heart banged in his chest at the news. “Are there any suggestions that the Shiptons are involved?”
“We’ve only just uncovered this particular fact, so we haven’t had a chance to dig deep enough yet. But Preston was already working at Shipton Enterprise when he apparently met a person suspected by the authorities of being a member of a big syndicate. They’d been spotted together a few times.”
Tristan stared at Carter, not wanting to verbalise his fears. Were Shipton clubs being used for nefarious purposes? And if so, were Larry and Debbie aware of it? What about Paige?
No, he couldn’t see Paige being involved. In fact, she’d been going against her parents’ plans, hadn’t she? She’d be marrying Curtis instead of him, if she’d followed her parents’ orders. “I wonder if the Shiptons’ need for five million dollars have something to do with the cartel,” he mused.
“Anything’s possible at this point.”
Tristan raked his hair, more worried for Paige with this new development. “At least I can better protect Paige since she’ll be living with me,” he murmured.
Carter smiled. “She seems as smitten as you, bro,” he said sincerely.
He grinned, happy about that comment.
“We’ll update you as new info comes in,” Carter said.
“Thanks.”
Carter started walking away when Chelsea extended her hands to offer Tristan the cup she was carrying.
“Tan-tan!”
“You want me to have your drink?” he asked Chelsea.
The toddler nodded and handed the cup to him.
“What about you? Do you want to come with me?”
Chelsea hesitated, then leaned forward so Tristan could take her from her dad.
Carter chuckled. “I’ll leave her with you so you can practice your parenting skills.”
“Okay. We’ll go meet Auntie Paige,” he whispered in Chelsea’s ear. “She’s going to be my wife.”
“Wy-if?” Chelsea asked.
“Yeah, wife. There she is.”
Paige saw them approach and smiled. “Who’s this pretty little girl?”
“Here name’s Chelsea,” Tristan answered. “Who’s your mummy, Chels?”
Chelsea looked around and pointed at Cassie.
“Oh, yes, I’ve met your mummy,” Paige said, grinning at the kid.
“Daddy,” Chelsea said, pointing at Carter.
Paige laughed. “Your friends have such adorable kids. And you’re so good with them.”
Tristan leaned to kiss Paige on the lips—just because he wanted to. “Tanner will have instant playmates when he comes out.”
“I know,” Paige said, staring into his eyes with a happy, dreamy look.
Tristan sighed.
“Hey, you two,” Jennie said. “Don’t forget that you’re getting married in a couple of hours. Have a short rest before you both get dolled up.”
“I’ll only need fifteen minutes to get ready, Mum,” Tristan said.
Jennie rolled her eyes. “Paige will need more than that. Do you need my assistance, Paige? I can come over to your villa so I can help you and Bernadette get ready. Tristan’s getting dressed in ours so he’s not in your way.”
“Oh, that will be lovely. Thank you,” Paige said graciously.
“I’ll show Bernadette her accommodation. Tristan will take you to yours, then we’ll meet you there in an hour. Is that okay?”
“Yes, that’s perfect. Thank you.”
“Do you want to walk, or do you want to take one of the golf carts?” Tristan asked Paige.
“Is it far?”
“About twenty minutes of easy stroll. It’s the furthest one from here because it’s the most private.”
“Let’s walk. It’s so beautiful out here. I just want to take it all in.”
“Sure. Let me give this little girl back to her parents
.” Tristan kissed Chelsea on the cheek before putting her down. They followed as the toddler ran back to her mother.
“I’m taking Paige to our villa so she can rest,” Tristan announced to his congregated friends. “We’ll see you guys later.”
“Don’t fall asleep,” Derek said with a wink. “Or Bernadette and I will come dragging the two of you out of bed.”
Tristan chuckled, leading Paige away.
“Tristan!”
Tristan turned to a golf cart ridden by his grandmother.
“Could you and Paige pass by my villa before going to yours?”
“Okay,” he said in surprise.
Marge waved goodbye as a member of the hotel staff drove them away.
Tristan and Paige took a leisurely walk, hand in hand. Kangaroos and wallabies hopped out of their way when they got too close, and Paige’s happy laughter travelled all the way to his heart.
Funny how, in what seemed like an instant, it had become crystal clear to him how deep his feelings for Paige had gotten. He’d better use these next few days of relative peace and quiet to strengthen his bond with her before shit hit the fan with Larry and Debbie.
He wanted to ask her a few things about Preston, but he’d leave that for later. Right now, he was in a blissful state, and he intended to stay that way for as long as he possibly could.
Tristan repeated to Paige the history of the place that he’d heard from one of the field guides while they strolled past rows of one-bedroom villas to get to his nan’s. When they got there, Marge was already waiting for them by the front porch.
“What’s up, Nan?”
“Come inside, I want to give you something.”
They followed Marge into the spacious walk-in robe of her accommodation.
“I want you to have this,” she said, taking a small velvet case from a built-in safe.
Frowning, Tristan opened the box and found two gold wedding bands sitting in it. “Um, thanks, Nan, but Paige and I already bought our wedding rings.”
“They’re not for you to wear.” Marge took one of the rings and lifted it up, and the other went with it.
They were interlinked!
Tristan inspected them closer. They were indeed unwearable as rings, as there was no way to separate the two bands.
The Unexpected Husband (Captured by Love Book 8) Page 10
