by Katie Dowe
She nodded and he extended his arm for her to take. They waited for the song to change and her eyes widened as the soft sound of Christina Perri’s A Thousand Years came on. She unconsciously dug her nails into Blake’s arm as she made her way into the chapel as her eyes sought and found Garth’s. She felt like Bella in the movie going towards the man she was in love with! He was wearing white and his blonde hair was brushed severely from his face and he was smiling at her. She wanted to run to him and tell him that she was going to love him for the rest of her life! That he was the man she had been looking for all her life but she contained herself somehow. He took her hand as Blake handed her over and brought it to his lips, his eyes on hers. The song continued to play and everyone in the chapel waited. Cameras snapped as the press captured the moment and the minister stood there waiting for the song to end.
He cleared his throat and started the ceremony as soon as the song ended. Emotions were running high as the wives who had gone before her remembered their own wedding day. Princess Debbie, dressed in a champagne colored Romano’s original, reached for her husband Prince Alexander’s hand and held on to it. He bent to kiss her lips not able to help himself as the vows were said, with his hand curving over her belly. She was carrying the next prince or princess and the celebration in Costa Land was still going on. The other wives reached for their husband’s hands and held on as the vows were exchanged and the ring was offered. “Garth Barrington Heywood, do you take Olivia Gail Bailey to be your lawfully wedded wife to love and to cherish through sickness and health until death parts you?”
“I do,” he responded clearly, looking at her.
“And, Olivia Gail Bailey, do you take Garth Barrington Heywood to be your lawfully wedded husband to honor and obey and to respect until death parts you?”
“I do,” she said softly.
“Now by the powers vested in me I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.”
Garth pulled her into his arms and took her lips with his, trying to make light of the kiss but she was having none of it and deepened it, her tongue touching his. He groaned inside her mouth and his hands tightened around her body. He pulled away from her and kept a shaky hand around her body.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I present Mr. and Mrs. Garth Heywood!
*****
“Toasts! Toasts! Toasts!” the crowd chanted as they sat in the sumptuous ballroom of the Royal Palm Hotel. The food had been served but Olivia had not eaten much because of the queasiness in her stomach and her sudden nervousness. She was married to Garth and apart from knowing that she loved him more than she could even imagine, she hardly knew him! He got to his feet and looked down at her for a moment before he spoke. “Friends, thank you for coming. This is quite an occasion for me, for us. My wife and I would like to thank you.” He nodded with a slight smile at the clapping. “We would like to thank you for your presence and for your support. As you know we are expecting our first child and we are over the moon about it. Please enjoy our hospitality for the remainder of the evening. Thank you.”
“Well said,” she told him as he took his seat.
“Thanks, I meant every word.”
They were dancing when she mentioned it to him. “You were the one who requested the song at the church.”
“Maybe.” He tucked her head beneath his chin as they circled the room. He looked around as the other couples got to their feet as the master of ceremonies instructed them to do so. “I know it’s your favorite song so I asked them to play it. Were you surprised?”
“I was.” She lifted her head and looked up at him. “I do believe you have a romantic bone in your body after all.”
“Maybe,” he said again. “You bring out things in me that I never realized I had.”
“Is that good?” She tilted her head to look up at him.
He looked down at her, the exquisite face, the slightly turned up nose and the beautiful dark brown eyes and felt a clutch in his gut. “Maybe,” he said again. The song had ended but they were unaware of it as they stood in the middle of the room. “You are an extraordinary woman.”
“Thank you, kind sir,” she said with a smile. “I happen to think that you are an extraordinary man.”
He looked up and realized that they were alone on the floor. “The song has ended.”
“I know.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “We make our own music.”
“Is that so?” he said in amusement.
“Hmm.” She brought his head down to hers and took his lips with hers. His hands tightened around her waist and brought her close to him returning the kiss.
Selene drank another glass of champagne and tried to get rid of the envy and the pain of looking at them and the rest of the happy couple around her. Her husband was talking to some of business associates standing with him and he had not danced with her once. He had sat with her during the time they eating but as soon as the meal had finished he had gotten up and went to find friends. Even the women in her society avoided her as if she was contagious. She smiled at a woman who came and sat next to her. She was a dowdy looking brunette who was the wife of one of the board members. She was humiliated that the woman had chosen to sit next her indicating that no one else wanted to. She was wearing a stunningly expensive gold dress and her blonde hair was secured with jeweled pins. She was a Heywood and yet people did not treat her like one!
“My dear, you look lovely!” Miranda Glass said, looking at her dress in admiration. She herself had on a neat black dress with a high collar.
“Thank you,” she said woodenly.
“They look happy, don’t they?” she continued with a smile as they watched the couple dancing to another song. “My husband does not like to dance, neither do I.”
“I suppose.” Selene used the ice cold champagne to wash the bitterness from her throat. How did it feel to be so attracted to each other? Her eyes strayed to her husband and watched as he openly admired a woman who was passing by him. The bastard! She almost cried out from the pain of it.
“My dear, are you okay?” Miranda asked her in concern.
“Just a little tired,” she responded, forcing a smile to her face. Her eyes swivelled to the couple and hatred shone through her eyes. They were going to pay!
Chapter 9
They did not get to go on their honeymoon. Olivia was as sick as a dog the morning after the wedding. Garth woke up early in the morning and realized that she was not on the bed next to him. Last night had been spent exploring her body leisurely. It had been so surreal to him that he had his wife sleeping with him and carrying his child. He had waited until she had fallen asleep before he had given in to him emotions.
“Olivia?” he called out as he left the bedroom and went downstairs. He had looked in the other rooms and she was not there. For a minute he panicked thinking that she had left! But he shook the feeling away and went into the kitchen where there was a light. She had her head bent over onto the counter. “Olivia!” He ran the rest of the way and she lifted her head.
“I am afraid our son is causing trouble,” she said weakly.
He scooped her up and carried her into the living room where he sat with her cradled in his arms. “You threw up?”
She nodded and rested her head into his chest. “I thought I was done being sick.”
“Doctor Whittingham had said you might be for the second trimester,” he murmured. “What do you want to do?”
“Maybe sleep for a little bit.” Her eyes started closing. “I will be okay when I wake up. I made coffee for you.”
“In between being sick?” he asked her softly.
“I wanted to show you that I am going to make an excellent wife,” she teased, her voice slurring with sleep. He held her until he heard her breathing became even indicating that she had gone to sleep. He used his fingers to push back her heavy hair from her faced. He had undressed her slowly and during the lovemaking had used his fingers to dislodge every single pearl from her hair. His fingers ha
d curled into her tresses and he had held on as he sank deeper and deeper inside her, losing himself into the swirl of mad passion he felt whenever he was with her. “Olivia,” he whispered as he bent to kiss her lips. “You scare me, baby. I never thought I would feel this way about anyone and now I don’t know what to do.” He got up slowly and carried her into their bedroom and put her down gently pulling the covers over her.
He stood there watching her for a moment before making his way out. He had instructed the housekeeper to take the weekend off. He was drinking his second cup of coffee and browsing the business section of the paper when his phone rang. “Mother?”
“Hi darling, I am so sorry to disturb you so early. I just wanted to know what time are you leaving for your honeymoon?”
“As it turns out we are not going. Olivia is not feeling well.”
“Oh dear, I am so sorry. Is she coming down with something?”
“Nausea,” he said mildly. “She is sleeping it off but I am not taking any chances.”
“Of course not.” She paused a little bit. “I am afraid we had a little spot of problem when you two left.”
“What problem?”
“Selene got drunk and had a public scene with your uncle. She accused him of cheating on her.”
“I thought she was used to that by now.”
“Darling, no woman ever gets used to their husbands cheating no matter how forward thinking they are.”
“She is no angel either, Mother.”
“I know.” Margaret sighed. “It’s just that I felt so sorry for her last night.”
“I have to go and check on my wife.” The words slipped out without him being aware of it and his mother smiled.
“Go ahead, darling, and tell her hello for me.”
He finished his coffee and went back into the bedroom. With a frown he noticed that she had somehow taken off the sheets that he had covered her up with and was very restless. He climbed onto the bed with the intention of putting the cover back over her when his fingers touched her arm. He pulled back sharply as the heat invaded his skin. Christ, she was burning up!
She opened her eyes just then and looked up at him. “Garth?” Her throat was raspy.
“You have a fever.” He tried to remain calm.
“I need some water.” Suddenly, she lifted herself up and started vomiting. He did not notice that the slimy liquid was covering him as he reached for a towel and held it beneath her mouth. She sagged against him weakly. “I think I am sick,” she said faintly.
“I think so too.” He smiled faintly. “I am going to clean you up and call Doctor Whittingham.”
“Garth?” He stopped as he made to get off the bed. “I love you.”
“I know, baby.” His hand touched hers and he flinched at the heat. He gathered her up into his arms and walked with her swiftly to the bathroom. He turned on the tap and adjusted the temperature to cold before stepping in with her and letting the cold water beat over them. She clung to him shivering but he did not move until he felt that her temperature had gone down. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her. He placed her on a sofa and stripped the bed. He had never made a bed before and had no idea where the linens were. With a frustrated sigh he took her into one of the other bedrooms and changed her clothes. Her temperature had gone down much to his relief but he still called the doctor. She was no longer restless but after drinking two glasses of water she had gone back to sleep.
“Henry, sorry to disturb you on a Sunday.”
“No problem, my boy, what is it?”
Garth told him about the fever and what he had done. “Excellent job,” the doctor said approvingly. “It sounds like she picked up a bug. I will be there in a little bit.”
He hung up and sat there in the chair he had pulled up beside the bed and watched her. He would get up every now and then and check her temperature which much to his relief was holding steady.
He heard the sound of the doorbell half an hour later and went to answer it. “She is still sleeping,” he told the tall greying hair man as he led the way to the bedroom. But her eyes were opened as they came inside.
“Hey, you are awake!” He hurried over to her and took her hand in his. She was not running a temperature.
“You called the doctor?” Her voice sounded scratchy as she looked at Doctor Whittingham.
“I just need to check if everything is okay,” he said with a gentle smile as he took out his black bag. “A virus has been doing its rounds and I am assuming correctly that you caught it.”
“Is my baby okay?” she said anxiously as he examined her.
“Heartbeat as strong as ever,” he reassured them. “You are due to come in next Wednesday for the ultrasound.”
“I cannot wait.”
He prescribed antibiotics that would not harm the baby and advised plenty of liquid to wash the virus from her system before he left.
“How about some chicken soup?” Garth asked her as he came back into the room.
“Really?” she asked him dryly.
“Yes, really.” He fluffed her pillows and brushed back her hair.
“Do you actually know how to make it?”
“There is such a thing as ordering, Olivia,” he told her in amusement as he reached for the phone.
“Of course,” she said, shaking her head. “Rich people.”
“You are one of us now,” he told her wickedly.
She made a face at him and he laughed. She watched him as he placed the order. She knew he had cleaned her up when she vomited all over him and had turned the cold water on her when she had been raging with fever. He might not want to admit it but he had fallen in love with her. His actions told her all she wanted to know.
“Sorry I threw up on you,” she said as soon as he got off the phone.
“You are probably going to be required to do laundry,” he told her lightly as he sat next to her on the bed.
“No problem. Send it on.” She wrapped her hands around his waist and snuggled. “You smell like a really masculine type of flower.”
He laughed softly. “And which one would that be?”
“Hmm.” She thought for a little bit. “Maybe a tulip or a dandelion. Definitely dandelion, it sounds masculine enough.”
“You are strange,” he murmured.
“So I have been told. Did we get married yesterday?”
“We did. The pictures are in the papers as evidence.”
“Really?” She moved to look at him. “May I see?”
He obliged her by going for the papers. She squealed and caused his ears to ring. “’Sensationally beautiful bride Olivia Heywood gave stunning a new name when she walked into the chapel wearing a Romano’s original ice blue wedding dress adorned with pearls. She has now joined the growing number of wives of the Elite Club members. Her husband Garth looked dashing in his custom built white suit and the wives were in their jeweled colors for the ceremony. Princess Debbie held court at the reception while her husband Prince Alexander looked on. To say that the wedding and reception were chock filled with powerful people would be saying the least.’” She looked up at him. “I looked damned fine and you did not look too bad yourself.”
“Thank you,” he said in amusement. He got up as he heard the doorbell. “That would be our soup.”
She insisted on him eating the delicious soup on the bed with her and even put away a report he had taken up to read while they watch television. Afterwards he went to get her some orange juice and saw to it that she took her medication. Olivia snuggled up into his arms and watched the movie idly, her heart racing as he wrapped his arms around her.
*****
They were having a son! Garth was beside himself with excitement as he stared at the grainy monitor. “A very healthy boy,” the doctor told them with a smile. “A steady heartbeat. You are due the second of August and you are doing very well.” He removed the instrument from her belly and handed Garth some napkins. “I will see you in a few minutes in my office.”<
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“What did I tell you?” she gloated as she looked at him.
“You said it was a boy.” He was grinning like an idiot and he felt his heart rushing into his chest! It was May and they had already been married for a month. She had amused and delighted him by cooking dinner for their month anniversary. He had been persuading her to give up her job but she was not budging and that had been causing an ongoing argument between them. Whenever they had a function to attend she would make herself available and she had been participating in charitable functions put on by the rest of the wives.
“I have to go back to the office but I want you to go home and put your feet up, Olivia, and I am not open to negotiating about that,” he warned her.
She made a face as she took his hand for him to help her off the bed. “I am having lunch with Glenna. Is that allowed?”
“As long as you go home after that.”
“What about the decoration of the nursery?”
“I will commission someone to do it,” he said a little arrogantly.
“Will I have any say in it?”
“You get to choose the colors.”
*****
“He wants me to stop working.” She dug into her fruit salad moodily. She had been turned off meat much to her dismay.
“Your husband is as rich as one could get. The office buildings his company builds are outstanding and can be seen around the country. I kind of get why he does not want you to work. You are going around showing houses to people who are now into you because you are married to Garth Heywood. Honey, you were the one who said you wanted to give it up.”
“I did, didn’t I?” she said with wry smile. “Why are we never satisfied? I said I wanted a husband and child and now I have the husband and in a few months I will have the child, what am I worried about?”
“I have no idea.”
“Okay, I will give it up definitely.”
*****
