One Night Bride

by Sarah J. Brooks

  We were equals. He worked on his new line of clothing, and I shadowed a local biology team studying sea turtles. I was still leery of using my own name, so I used the one Xavier gave me which meant I wasn’t able to truly do the work I wanted without showing my credentials. It almost felt like I was going to be able to return to my normal life.

  As per our agreement for honesty and equality, for every crazy thing I made Xavier try, he got to wine and dine me as lavishly as he could in our small Costa Rican village.

  “Okay, so I’ve gone to some extra effort here because I know you’ve been out on the boat all day, and I was pretty sure you didn’t want a long car ride to and from a restaurant tonight,” Xavier explained before we got in the car one special night. He seemed to be in a particularly happy mood.

  “Thanks, Xavier. I really don’t want to drive around tonight, I’m pretty tired.” I smiled and stroked my hand along his perfect chest. “I’m looking forward to dinner, though.” I was; I always loved the places he chose and the amazing food we’d have.

  The “restaurant” was only a short drive from Claudia’s. We could easily have walked, but I was wearing these crazy heels he’d had sent from the states and a very sexy, hardly able to move in dress; definitely not something to be walking around the jungle in.

  We walked into a massive mansion in the middle of the jungle, right near the beach. It was a white colonial-style building with a sweeping staircase and a huge ballroom which could easily fit two hundred people. The place must have been built for some business owner or a tourist with insane amounts of money. It was empty now but for a small dining table, two chairs, and hundreds of candles.

  Xavier pulled out a chair for me, and I sat across from him. “This is insane,” I said and rolled my eyes. “What did you do rent this place for the night, you crazy rich person?” I playfully scolded.

  “I may have,” he said with a sheepish grin. “It’s better than driving into town, right? And look at that view of the ocean, you can see it from all the windows.” He was quite excited about the house, thinking perhaps he’d found the perfect spot for our evening.

  “This place is like a fairytale; I wonder who lived here before?” I asked as the salad was served.

  “Rumor has it a French actor had this place built as his getaway. I guess he died, and no one ever bought it, the trustees of his family’s estate just rent it out for parties and such.” He ate his salad and said nothing more on the matter.

  “Wow, what a great find. You’ve been so busy; how did you have the time to find this place?”

  “I have my ways.” He laughed as the waiter brought a small course of fish. “Try this yellowfin, it’s amazing.”

  I took a bite, and the fish melted in my mouth. “Oh, my God, Xavier, this is so good!” I exclaimed, feeling perfectly happy.

  “It is so good.” He put his fork down. “It’s all been so good, Arcadia.” His hand reached across the table and grabbed mine.

  My heart pounded in my chest. Something significant was happening. I gave him a sweet smile, fearful of what was next.

  “I’m just going to say this, okay?” His face was sweet, but open and honest.

  “Okay.” I put my fork down and listened, terrified.

  “I want to stay married to you, Arcadia.” His hand let mine go for a minute and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small black velvet ring box.

  He opened the box and took out a huge diamond ring.

  My opened wide “Forever?” I asked, all the moisture having drained from my mouth.

  He laughed. “Yes, forever.”

  Tears welled in my eyes. “Are you sure?” What a stupid question, but it’s what I asked.

  “I’ve never been surer of anything. You and I have been together day and night for four months, and I still can’t get enough of you. You’re everything and more than I have ever wanted in a woman, a partner, and a friend. I would be honored if you would continue to be my wife. I want to celebrate our marriage if you’ll let me and have a real ceremony as soon as the private detective finds your father and brings him to justice. It could be any day now. As soon as he is behind bars, you and I are going to live our lives together in the open, so the world will know what a wonderful woman I’ve married.” He was even tearing up some.

  “Oh yes, Xavier, yes, yes, yes!” I got up from my seat and rushed to him, throwing my arms around his neck and kissing him like crazy.

  “And … um, I may have just bought this house for us as a wedding present.” He squeezed me tightly.

  “You’re the worst,” I nudged him. “You did? All this … this is ours?” I couldn’t contain my sheer and unadulterated joy.

  “It is.” He scooped me up bridal-style and carried me up the huge staircase to a bedroom that had a massive bed and some simple, but elegant furnishings. “Welcome home, Mrs. Dean.”

  We made love all night in our new house with a view of the ocean … it was heaven.

  Chapter 25

  Xavier

  We had been living in the mansion for a couple of weeks. We loved living close to Claudia, yet we finally had our own space. The place was so massive, it was really too large for just two people, and while we weren’t ready for children, especially with Arcadia still living incognito, we did want them and thought about how their little voices would ring through the halls one day.

  I had brought over some of my designers, and they were living in guest accommodations on our property. I used most of the downstairs area as my offices, and Arcadia and I used the upstairs for our private use. Despite there being people in the house, it did feel huge and lonely at times. I would often seek Arcadia out to find her studying, or on the grounds watching our own pair of sloths, or in the water snorkeling with the fishes. She was much more peaceful in nature than I was, but Costa Rica was growing on me.

  At times, I missed San Francisco, but not often. I wished we could live in both places because what I was missing most was the hubbub of my office, and I’d blown off so many things I usually enjoyed like galas and fashion shows. In fact, the press was wondering where I’d gone, and the idea that I’d married a mystery woman was becoming a tabloid rumor. I didn’t tell Arcadia, but I was beginning to worry about staying hidden. It seemed our facade of anonymity was cracking. So when she woke up hearing noises in the early morning, I panicked but didn’t let my fear show.

  We’d heard our fair share of bumps and creaks in the massive house, and of course, the jungle around us was never silent, but something about these sounds weren’t the regular noises we had grown accustomed to.

  “Do you think an animal got into the house?” she whispered. “Maybe a naughty monkey?” she tried to joke, but I knew she was as scared as I was.

  What we were hearing was no naughty monkey, as much as I wished it was.

  She was lying naked beside me when I slid out from under the covers.

  “Get in the closet,” I ordered, trying not to sound too commanding or scared.

  Luckily, she understood the urgency, got out of bed, put on the tank dress she was wearing last night, and walked into our closet; she might be safe in there for a little while. I threw on a pair of jeans and looked around for a weapon of some kind. I laughed inwardly, now would be a good time to have taken up baseball. In all the cartoons, a baseball bat was always hanging around conveniently. Sadly, we had no such convenience. I wasn’t trained to use a gun, but I knew our guards would be here in minutes. There were a few umbrellas, though. With the relentless night rain, we had them all over the house as we loved to be outdoors, especially on the terrace just off our bedroom.

  I grabbed one of them and my phone and headed into the closet to be with Arcadia. She was cold with fear as I had her lay on the ground and covered her up with brightly colored sarongs and dresses, hoping to make her look like a heap of laundry.

  She rolled her eyes. “This isn’t going to protect us!” She grabbed a hanger, held it like a gun, and then smiled.

  “Neither
will that.” I smiled back despite the tension.

  That’s when we heard voices in the hall as they came up the stairs. Arcadia’s skin went white with panic. I readied my umbrella, the pointed metal end facing the door as I texted our security service. We had men on the grounds. Arcadia didn’t want them in the house because she didn’t want to feel like she was living in lock-down, but they were on the property, and they were armed. It would only take a few minutes before they got to us.

  I was so nervous my hands were barely able to tap out the text. I could have pushed the alarm code, but I wanted to be specific, so they knew exactly where we were and what was happening. I got a confirmation of my message and then I put my phone on silent and rested a little easier knowing help was on its way.

  We were barely breathing when we heard their conversation from the hallway just outside our bedroom.

  “It doesn’t look like they’re here,” one of the men said. “The place doesn’t have much furniture or anything.”

  “Xavier Dean bought this place, his assistant at the company said. He just purchased it with his wife … if they aren’t here now, they will be.” Tears welled in Arcadia’s eyes as she heard her father’s voice. “If she’s not here with him, he knows where she is.”

  “Smart idea having your guy intern at his company; I hadn’t thought of that,” the other man said with a note of congratulations.

  “After talking with Dean on the phone, I knew something was up. Then all the rumors about him marrying a girl and running off with her, and Arcadia just vanishing. Now, he moves his operation to Costa Rica and that bitch friend of her mother is here. My guys are close to finding hard evidence. It’s probably only a matter of days before they get her for you, Carl.”

  “It’s been four fucking months! I thought I was going to have her long before now. I’m not letting her slip out of my fingers. I want to be there when you apprehend her. I mean it, Don. You promised her to me, and I gave you the money. If she doesn’t turn up soon—

  Arcadia’s father interrupted him. “I’ll give you back the money,” he said angrily.

  The door to our bedroom opened.

  “I don’t want my money back; I want your fucking daughter. After this is over, she’s mine. It might be years before I release her. You owe it to me. I hope you consider yourself warned. I’m keeping her. And fuck the stipulations in the contract, as long as I don’t kill her, I can do whatever the hell I please to her.”

  My blood was on fire.

  “They’re here. Someone was sleeping in this bed,” Arcadia’s father said. We heard him walking around our bedroom. “I don’t care what you do with her, just don’t kill her!”

  His footsteps stopped. He was near the dresser. “This is her mother’s necklace, an ankh with a butterfly. I remember when the bitch bought it. Arcadia always wears it. We’ve got her.”

  With that, I went into attack mode! I got up from the closet floor.

  “No,” Arcadia whispered, grabbing my arm. “Don’t! They have guns; my dad always carries one.”

  She tried to hold onto me, but I wrenched away from her. There was no way I was going to sit back and let them talk about abusing Arcadia. I knew armed security was on their way.

  “No worries, I’m going to shove this right up that man’s ass!” I said and threw the door open, surprising the men. I was blinded by rage. Pure heat and vengeance flooded every artery and vein as I rushed at the man hitting him as hard as I could with the umbrella, stabbing it into his gut and his balls, trying to cause any damage I could. Arcadia opened the door to the closet and screamed for me to stop, tears streaming down her face as one of the men, the one I assumed was her father, aimed a gun at me.

  Arcadia was hysterical when security came in with their guns drawn.

  “Put the gun down,” one of the officers said.

  All four of my men had their guns aimed at Arcadia’s father. He didn’t move

  “Step away, Mr. Dean. We have this under control,” the head security officer said.

  With that, I backed away and covered Arcadia with my body as her father took aim at one of the security officers. In a lightning flash, the officer shot him in the gun arm. The gun fell to the floor as he clutched his arm. Another officer scooped the gun from the floor and the other wrangled the second man to the floor and handcuffed him.

  Arcadia was still ghostly white, devastated to see her father’s final act of treachery against her. I gathered her into my arms and just held her, knowing I loved her with everything I had in me.

  “It’s over,” I told her as I smoothed her hair out of her eyes and kissed her temple.

  She only could nod. “He was my only family,” she managed to say, numb and lifeless.

  “It’s okay. We’re a family,” I whispered in her ear. “And I love you!”

  Chapter 26

  Arcadia

  My father and his friend were both indicted on several charges, attempted murder, attempted kidnapping, as well as a number of criminal allegations relating to their business. It seemed that federal agents had been watching him for quite some time. My father was going to be in prison for the rest of his life.

  It took me a while to recover from that horrible day. Xavier was gentle and patient as he watched me cycle through my stages of grief. I was happy for the ocean and the hot humid air. I spent hours watching the sloths in our yard as they seemed to move at a speed I could tolerate. Xavier revealed to the world he had married me, and we chose to stay in Costa Rica for a while to avoid the press.

  Word did get out about our living in Costa Rica, and some people found us, which was great for Claudia’s business as we’d given our official address as Claudia’s retreat. She saw more clients than she ever had. I contacted my friends at the shop and told them I was better than okay; I was happy, and in love. I started my last year of my master’s program after getting a pardon from the dean for extenuating circumstances, and I was slowly healing.

  Xavier was putting the finishing touches on his new line of men’s and women’s clothing, and we were working with the locals creating sustainable textiles and infusing the flavor of the jungle in all he made. Our massive empty house slowly became a home, and after six months, I was beginning to feel like myself again. Aunt Claudia’s yoga, Xavier’s sensuous lovemaking, and the sea with all its wondrous creatures were the cause of that healing.

  Xavier and I became better friends and found that while our tastes differed, our senses of humor were the same. We spent a lot of time laughing; it felt good to be free.

  One day when I came back after some of the other conservationists, and I rescued a sea turtle that was caught in a fishing line, Xavier was sitting on our porch having a cold beer. He looked too lazy and casual for a Tuesday afternoon, so I was suspicious.

  “Finally decided to live like the locals and have an afternoon cerveza?” I asked, taking a swig from his bottle.

  “I got you one.” He pulled a bottle of beer out of the lunch-sized cooler next to his chair.

  I smiled. “This is fun!” I raised my glass, and we made a toast. “So, Mr. Dean. What do you want?” I gave him the side eye. I’d seen this trick before; he was quite predictable.

  “Whatever do you mean, Mrs. Dean?” He volleyed my side eye back at me.

  “We’re just having beer on the porch; it’s such a lovely day…”

  I wasn’t buying it. “And …”

  “A car will be here in an hour to take us to the airport where my private jet will fly us to San Francisco. It’s time, Arcadia. I want you to see your new home … or one of them, at least. I’ve got to go back to work properly; it’s been ten months. There are fashion shows and premieres to attend. I’m about to launch the new line, and of course, I deserve time off, but it’s time to get back to it. I love what I do, and well, all the schmoozing and famous shit, that’s part of it. And …” he was a little reluctant to say it. “I like it. And I want you to like it too because you’re the most important part of my li
fe.”

  I understood. I’d been a bit selfish with my running away and then not wanting to return to life. He was right; I was his wife. That included more than hot sex on the beach, warm rainy nights, and pursuing our individual passions. It meant being present for each other and supporting each other’s hopes and dreams. Xavier had his dream come true, and as his wife, I needed to be there with him for it.

  “Of course, I’ll go back with you. I’ve been selfish to make you stay here,” I confessed.

  “I’ve loved every minute of it, and we’re coming back in a month or two. It’s just I have to work. You can keep up with your studies and there’s a whale institute there. I thought we’d reach out to them and get you an internship or whatever you scientists do.” His knowledge of my field was as pathetic as mine was of fashion, but he was sweet, and I appreciated him trying.

  We finished our beers, and I packed a few things, especially the clothes he’d made for me. We swung by Claudia’s and told her we would be leaving for a while, and she promised to check on our house for us. We had security living there, and the designers who worked there were going to stay. I thanked Claudia again for taking care of us all those months, and she answered by saying we were family and waved us off as we got into the car and left for the airport.

  Xavier’s private jet was much homier than the high-end brothel we flew on our way to Costa Rica. His jet was simple with a few chairs and a table and a large screening room in the cabin where the bed was on the previous plane. There was plenty of room in there to get our groove on, which we did several times. It always amazed me how easily he could recover an erection after such hard ejaculations, but we managed three times in three hours. I was exhausted and a little sore when we landed.

  When we arrived in San Francisco, Xavier’s personal driver met us on the tarmac after the plane landed. He took us to Xavier’s loft on Signal Hill. As soon as he opened the door, I stopped in my tracks.