Alex came to my rescue. “Hold on, Chase, let me help. Push your hair aside. Wait, I’ll zip this and... take the piece off... Voila!” Through the mirror, he teased me with his playful eyes.
Warmth spread up my neck and to my cheeks. “Don’t say a word,” I warned him.
He sniggered. “You look beautiful. It may need a few minor adjustments. Maybe take out the sleeves...”
“I said not a word!” I huffed and as soon as the dress was fully unzipped, I stepped out of it and dumped it on the floor. “It’s my mother’s not-so-subtle way of telling me she wants me hitched.” She had sent me her old wedding gown this morning, with a note saying that she’d had luck with it, and maybe it would work on me too.
Alex circled his arms around my waist and turned me to face him. “You looked beautiful in it,” he repeated, with a smile tickling his lips. “You look beautiful in anything.” Then he ran his eyes over my nearly naked body. “You look beautiful in nothing.”
I sucked my bottom lip between my teeth, while he nipped the tops of my boobs. My fingers worked through his long hair. He’d been away on another assignment, which I hadn’t been able to go on since Bliss had received more contracts for events within the coming months. We’d had to hire more people (including Rocco, whom Alex wasn’t too keen on) to work the weddings, bashes, and galas.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Alex stopped nipping. He stared at me through thick lashes. His stubbled chin rested on my cleavage. His arms tightly wound around my body. His looks and his touch electrified me. But his words jabbed at my gut.
“Talk about what? You need a haircut.” I wasn’t stupid. I knew what he wanted to discuss. To distract him more, I tugged at his hair. He moaned, but the distraction was short-lived.
“Chase.” Alex trapped my face between his hands and made me look at him.
“What?” I pleaded with my eyes so he’d drop the subject.
Alex and I had never talked about marriage. We’d spoken about kids once. Once. Months ago. And my thoughts on the matter hadn’t changed. I wasn’t the maternal type. I was a good friend, a fairly good daughter, a fantastic lover (just ask Alex), a smart business owner, but I was not a mother.
Alex stroked my left cheek with the back of his hand. “What are your thoughts on marriage?”
Fear gutted me. I loved Alex. He was my one. The one. I’d been engaged before and left Danny at the altar. And Alex also had been engaged once, to Simone. I’d seen photos of her. She’d been a beauty. She’d also broken Alex’s heart in a most unforgivable way. Two wrongs didn’t always make a right. Two broken engagements didn’t mean we should try for marriage.
Sucking in a breath, and then letting it out before I answered, hadn’t helped quell the tight rope in my gut. “I don’t want to get married,” I blurted out.
I locked eyes with him. Intense blue on blue. My heart thudded madly inside my chest while I waited for him to reply.
His answer was a deep, maddening kiss, followed by, “Then we won’t get married.”
We stumbled onto the bed. Alex pinned me under him, his legs trapping mine in between. And his hard-on pressed on my soaked panties. This usually meant it was game on, but his answer had me curious.
“Are you sure you’re okay not marrying me?”
Alex propped himself up with elbows tucked closely to either side of my arms. He licked my bottom lip and caused shudders down my spine.
“I love you, Chase.”
“I love you too.” I searched his icy blues for some sign of hurt and found none.
“I’m committed to you in every way,” he told me and his eyes told me that it was true. His pupils dilated. “If I could survive without my heart beating inside my chest, I would rip my ribs open and offer it to you.”
I drew my brows together and twisted one corner of my lips. “That’s...sweet?”
“I’m with you, even without a contract. We’ll do it our own way, whatever that may be. Just as long as you’re with me, loving me.” His lips this time made my heart stutter. “But I would like to keep doing the things that people do on their honeymoon.” He dipped his head on my shoulder and sucked the skin along my collarbone. His hips undulated and the action produced a guttural moan from me.
“We have to get ready,” I said the words without conviction. “Nica will kill us if we’re late.”
Alex wouldn’t listen. His lips searched for all the buttons that made me melt. “We’ll be fast.”
“No you won’t.” I raised my hands to try and push him off but the traitorous things grabbed his butt instead. “We’ll be fashionably late.”
Alex offered me his wicked grin. “I love every bit of you, but especially your naughty side.” He followed that by unclasping my bra and pulling down my panties. Then he stood before me and stripped.
Yeah...we were going to be so late.
In the car, on the way over to the party, I typed a reply to Nica’s fifteen text messages, all of which I’d missed because...well, I had been busy doing something else. I glanced at Alex. God, he looked so yummy in a tuxedo. I idly thought of skipping the party altogether. But Nica would have my head.
Our party was the first one she’d planned by herself since little Aimee was born. She’d been hush-hush on the details, telling all of us that she’d like it to be a surprise for all the work we’d done while she was on leave. She’d given us the date, time, and theme, and sent cars to pick us up and take us to an undisclosed location. Decked in our black-and-whites, per Nica’s instructions, we stopped in front of a postmodern building.
Alex held his hand out for me when I stepped out and stood for a second in front of the new art gallery. I didn’t even know one had opened. We walked in and were greeted by a server who offered two bubblies with blackberries in them.
“I didn’t even know this place existed. It was a deli two months ago,” I told Alex while I shrugged off my faux-mink shawl and bundled it on an arm.
“A garage actually,” Alex said. I regarded him with curiosity. “It was a garage...er...an auto shop before.”
I crossed one arm over my chest. “And you know this because?” But I didn’t need his explanation. Behind him, on a stark white wall, the word HAYATI was projected, and under it was one of Alex’s black-and-white photos of me facing away from him in front of the windows of his Paris apartment, wearing his white button down and black lace underwear. The photo was life-sized. I turned to Alex for an explanation.
“Levi had been thinking of opening a gallery and he asked me to...”
“Post my naked pictures?” I thumped my purse on his chest.
“They’re not all naked...” I hit him again. So much for honesty. “They’re not all of us.”
“Us? Us!”
“There you are!” Nica popped around the front wall. She’d kept this from me too. I growled at her. “What?” She pressed a hand on her chest.
I nudged my head toward my photos.
“Oh... yeah...” Nica glanced at Alex then propped a hand on her hip. “Well if you’d been on time, you would have seen them before everyone else did.”
“I—uh—it was his fault!” I thumped my purse on Alex again then gulped down the champagne, avoiding Nica’s you’re-in-so-much-trouble gaze.
Alex took my hand and pulled me to him. “It was entirely my fault, Veronica. I’ll make sure Chase punishes me for it later.” He chuckled, and I felt the reverberation of his chest on my back.
Nica rolled her eyes at us. “Will you keep your hands off each for a few minutes to mingle with everyone else. They’ve been admiring your work, Alex. Truly amazing.” Then she left us to join the rest of the party.
I wiggled out of Alex’s grasp. “You’re in deep shit, mister.”
“I know. I’m sorry. You know I hate keeping anything from you, but Levi and Nica made me promise not to give any details. We all wanted this to be a surprise for you.” Alex reached out for my hand. I let him hold and kiss it. “Forgive me?”
How could I not? “Fine. On one condition.” He cocked his head on one side. “I want this framed picture in my bedroom,” I said, hitching a thumb over my shoulder.
Alex was right, of course, the gallery wasn’t filled with only photos of me, although I counted five of mine, and only one showed my face. And there was a shot of us—standing in front of a mirror while I held the camera up to my face, and Alex guiding me, while he looked straight on. The rest were of different people from all over the world, and of Levi and Nica, of her and Aimee, of Levi and his daughter and of all three of them. There was one of Mateo and Gerard. One of Cara, looking out into the New York skyline. Even one of Tiana, Danny and Sky. And one of my parents.
Wonderment directed me straight to it. Around me, my colleagues laughed and chided each other, while I studied the scene before me. When had Alex taken it? Mom and Daddy were in the sunroom, their foreheads touching. Daddy’s hands cupped Mom’s cheeks. Their eyes were closed. I’d never seen this kind of display of affection from my parents.
I felt Alex before he even touched me. He stood strong and steady behind me, his hands snaking around my belly. I reached out to touch the photo, letting a tear drop down my cheek.
“I took this when I’d gone for a visit.” His breath warmed the sensitive skin behind my ear. “There was so much love between them. I sent a copy to your Mom last week.”
“I never... I didn’t think they could be like this,” I told Alex, my voice low to avoid revealing my wrenching emotions. “He loved her so much.”
“She loved him just as much, Chase. I witnessed it. They had no idea I captured this until they heard the click of the camera. I can show you the rest later.”
I nodded, and swiped at the stray tear. “This is supposed to be a party.” I spread my lips into a smile, turned and pressed my hands on his lapel. “Can I have that photo too?”
“You can have whatever you want. Anything and everything I can offer.” Alex took my hands in his and leaned in for a kiss.
Our surroundings blurred. Voices turned into white noise. I got lost in that kiss. We both did. Alex had offered the world to me and everything else I’d only dared to imagine. What more could I ask from him?
Two weeks later, I woke with the filtered sun shining through slits of the nipa hut roof along a beach in a southern island of the Philippines. Something long and hard pressed on my buttocks. I wiggled my hips, claiming every inch between Alex and me.
“Good morning to you too. Is that what I think it is?” I kissed his arm that wrapped around my body.
Alex adjusted himself behind me and pulled out a flashlight. “Sorry, darling, that was the torch.”
I laughed. We’d sat outside the previous night for a bit until we couldn’t stand the mosquito buzzes any longer. We’d star-gazed, something that made the world both smaller and bigger somehow. No matter how many miles we’d travelled, how high the mountains we’d climbed or deep the oceans we swam in, the stars stayed the same.
Alex dropped the flashlight on the wooden floor. The sounds of the waves drew me outside. But Alex had other ideas. He showed me something else long and hard. I was powerless to resist.
Our fingers intertwined over my thighs while I straddled him. I rode him for my morning exercise. And he feasted on my lips for breakfast. We listened to each other’s galloping hearts after I’d collapsed, spent, on him. Our skin slicked with sex sweat. The air co-mingled with our sensual scents and the salty ocean air.
This was our commitment to each other. More than a piece of paper could offer us. We’d see the world together. Mine, completely new. For him, a different vantage point through my eyes.
THE END
Acknowledgments
I’m always grateful to the people who continue to help me throughout this journey:
To my amazing editors, Dayna Hart and Elizabeth Roderick, you ladies rock!
To Lucy Rhodes of Render Compose who makes my books so pretty!
To my family, my parents and siblings, whose support knows no bounds.
To my children, thanks for keeping mom in check.
To my husband, for always believing in me.
I am constantly surrounded by strong women who inspire me in my daily and writing life—Amie, Emily, Charity, Penelope, Liz, Jade, Amanda, Michelle H, Aline, Krista, and Cathy! Thank you all for the encouragement and words of wisdom.
To my readers, you make this possible!
To Samantha Marie, girl, thanks for reading all of my books. You make me feel legit.
To ARC reviewers and bloggers, a warm thank you for giving authors like me a chance.
About the Author
Michelle is addicted to romance. She believes in happily ever afters and loves writing about couples who get there.
When not writing, she props her feet up on her favoutrite lounger and binges on Netflix shows, or reads one or two books at the same time. She enjoys red wine, dark chocolate, cake, and can talk your ears off about delicious food.
Travelling is high on her list, whether alone, with friends or family.
Her upcoming book, Revenge of the Jilted Bride, won a Wattys HQ Love Award in 2015, amongst 45ooo entried worldwide.
Michelle lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband, two amazing children and a cuddly morkie naned Scarlet.
DON’T MISS UPDATES ON UPCOMING WORKS, SALES OR GIVEAWAYS, SIGN UP FOR MICHELLE’S BI-WEEKLY NEWSLETTER:
BIT.LY/MJQUINNNEWSLETTER
Curious about the chapter title and what each word means? Find out on my blog: INDEX
@MichelleJoQuinn
MichelleJoQuinnAuthor
www.michellejoquinn.com
[email protected]
Also by Michelle Jo Quinn
THE BLISS SERIES
Confessions of a Wedding Planner
The Bachelor’s Perfect Proposal
Santa Bébé
Never a Bride ( January 2017)
Revenge of the Jilted Bride (April 2017)
Want to read the start of the series? Read the sample chapters here: http://bit.ly/Bliss1sample
HARLEY (A Rockstar Romance)
WINTER’S KISS (part of IMAGINES ANTHOLOGY)
WINTER ETERNAL (Summer 2017)
Chasing the Runaway Bride (Bliss Series Book 3) Page 23
