Chapter 29
Blake’s heart skipped several beats as he stood and listened to Caitlyn’s vows. Did she really mean she loved him? He wished he could tell if she was acting. It was now his turn to express his vows.
He turned to face Caitlyn. “Caitlyn Marie, although our meeting wasn’t the conventional way, I think I fell for you the moment I saw you. You’ve enriched my life in so many ways. I can’t imagine a life without you. I love everything about you, from the way your eyes twinkle when you’re sharing an idea or the cute dimples that form when you smile. You’ve made my world complete. I promise to love you, honor you and protect you from this day forward.”
The minister said, “Rings please.”
They exchanged rings, both nervous as they repeated the wedding vows. The minister said, “With the power invested in me by the state of Texas, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Blake Adams Banks, you can now kiss your bride.”
Blake removed Caitlyn’s veil. He took his index finger and wiped the tears from her cheek before leaning down to kiss her. Time stood still when their lips touched. After hearing a few people clearing their throats, only then did he stop. Folks cheered around them.
The minister said, “Ladies and gentleman, I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Blake and Caitlyn Banks.”
The crowd cheered as they made their way down the aisle. When they got to the foyer, Blake leaned and whispered in Caitlyn’s ear. “I’m a lucky man.”
She responded, “That you are.”
“There, there. We have people watching,” he teased.
They spent the next thirty minutes taking wedding photos.
“I can’t wait to get out of these shoes,” Caitlyn said, as she slid them off once they entered the limousine.
He took her foot and massaged it. “Beautiful from head to toe.”
“You can stop pretending. There aren’t any cameras or folks around,” Caitlyn said, as she leaned back into her seat.
His hand slid up her leg. “I don’t say things I don’t mean.”
She leaned forward and their lips were almost touching. “So your vows, did you mean those?”
He didn’t respond. She said, “That’s what I thought.” She moved her leg and attempted to put her foot back on the floor, but he was stronger and held her foot in his lap.
“Like I said, I don’t say things I don’t mean. Now marinate on that.”
He massaged both of her feet as the limousine drove them to the location of the reception. He slid her dress up and massaged the bottom of her legs. Contrary to her attitude, he could feel her body relax.
The limousine drive spoke over the intercom. “We’re pulling up now Mr. Banks.”
Caitlyn placed both of her feet down. She pulled down the visor to make sure her make-up and hair were intact. Blake enjoyed watching her. She might not know this, but tonight, she would be his and it would be willingly.
People cheered as they exited the limousine. The wedding coordinator rushed them into the lobby so they could line up with the rest of the wedding party and greet their guests. Cameras flashed as they shook hands.
“You were complaining about your feet earlier. Imagine wearing these.”
Caitlyn laughed. “Don’t expect a foot massage.”
He pouted. “You’re not fair.”
“Come on, they’re playing our song,” Caitlyn said, as she took Blake’s hand and led him on to the dance floor for their first dance. Luther’s voice rang through the room as she placed her head on his shoulder. Their bodies rocked to the beat. He held her close and didn’t want to let her go. They danced for several songs straight. Bradford tapped him on the shoulder.
“Can I have this dance?”
“If you weren’t her brother I would tell you no.” He released Caitlyn and left her and her brother twirling on the dance floor.
Trent walked up to him and handed him a drink. “If I didn’t know any better, I would think you two were really in love.”
Blake took the drink and clicked his glass with Trent’s. “I surely am. Now I just have to convince her.”
Trent commented. “You got your work cut out for you.”
Blake agreed. It would be a challenge but he was up for it. Caitlyn’s laughter could be heard over the noise. “Who is that dancing with my wife?”
“I don’t know, but whoever it is got her laughing.”
“Take this.” Blake handed him his glass of champagne and walked back out on the dance floor. He didn’t like the fact that some other man could make her respond like that. She never laughed that hard with him.
He tapped the guy on the shoulder. “I would like to dance with my wife now,” he said.
“Sure, man. We were just catching up. Congrats man. She’s a good catch.” The younger version of Denzel Washington said, as she walked away.
The music changed into something fast paced. Caitlyn said, “I’m tired. Let’s go sit down.”
He had to increase his pace to keep up with her. Once they were seated at their table, he placed his arm around her chair and leaned down closer to her ear. “Who was that guy?”
“Nobody important.”
Bridget and Matt stood nearby, so Blake decided to drop the issue. Blake asked Bridget, “Would my new sister-in-law like to dance?”
Matt and Bridget exchanged looks. Bridget followed Blake to the dance floor. Blake stopped at a spot on the dance floor where he could have a clear view of his table. He was satisfied that Matt sat and talked to Caitlyn and not the mystery fellow he saw her dancing with earlier.
“I need to warn you. My sister loves you and if you ever do anything to hurt her, you’ll have to answer to me,” Bridget said.
Blake swayed to the beat. “I love your sister and have no plans on hurting her.”
Chapter 30
Caitlyn watched Bridget and Blake out on the dance floor. Matt was talking to her, but her mind tuned him out as she replayed the brief encounter with Byron. The sight of him shocked her.
“May I have this dance,” Byron had asked.
Curious to why he was there, she agreed. “I’m surprised to see you here,” she recalled saying.
“Remember my cousin Joyce Sanders? She and Blake are on the Dallas Urban Development committee. She needed an escort and when learning you were the bride, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see you again.”
“As you can tell, I moved on,” Caitlyn snapped.
“Caitlyn, I won’t take up too much more of your time, but I wanted to apologize. I hate things ended the way they did.”
“You taught me a huge lesson.”
“That incident taught me a lesson too. Seeing how much pain I caused you, I never cheated on another woman.”
“Too bad it took that to happen for you to change your ways.”
“I’m sorry.”
Caitlyn pulled herself together. She had moved on, but the pain from his infidelity seemed like it happened yesterday. “Thanks for the dance, but I have other people to see.”
When she saw Blake and Trent watching, she decided to continue the dance. Byron tried to ease the situation by telling a joke. She laughed louder than she had to.
Caitlyn snapped back into the present when she heard Matt call out her name a few times. She wasn’t supposed to be thinking about her past love. Today was her wedding day. Blake should be at the forefront of her mind. She meant every word she said during their wedding vows. Although she had loved Bryon at one point, her heart now belonged to Blake; whether he knew it or not.
Caitlyn hoped Bridget wasn’t giving Blake too hard of a time. Matt left to use the bathroom and Trent slipped into the seat next to him. “Where’s your fine friend? She’s been avoiding me all evening.”
“I stay out of her business.”
“I feel you. So when are you going to tell Blake how you feel?”
It amazed her how on point Trent seemed to be. She shifted in her seat. “You need to mind your business.”
“Blake is my bu
siness.”
Caitlyn turned to face Trent. “Let’s get something straight. I’m Blake’s wife and I don’t need your or anyone else interfering in our lives.”
Trent looked in the direction of Blake and Bridget. They were walking towards the table. “I’ll be keeping my eye out on you,” he said, as he left the chair to meet Blake.
“Just when I thought you were cool,” Caitlyn stated under her breath. Her body shivered. Tasha must have seen Trent leave because she slipped in the chair as soon as he left.
“There are so many single rich men here,” she said, as she opened up her clutch and showed Caitlyn a few of the business cards she had collected.
“You should find your prince somewhere in there.”
“But nothing like your Blake.”
Blake and Bridget were now at the table. Blake took a seat on the other side of Caitlyn. Trent returned and sat next to Tasha. After a few toasts, they were served dinner. About an hour later, the wedding coordinator guided them to the table which held the four tier white cake trimmed with purple frosting.
The crowd cheered as they smashed cake in each other’s faces. Blake surprised her by kissing some of the crumbs off. “You’re going overboard,” she whispered.
“There’s more where that comes from.”
“Time to throw the bouquet,” the wedding planner said, as the single women in the room gathered together.
Caitlyn turned around and closed her eyes. She threw the bouquet and turned around to see who would be the lucky woman. She laughed as Tasha and some other woman ran towards the bouquet to lose it to an elderly woman who looked to be in her sixties.
She threw it at Tasha. “I don’t want this thing. I’m not getting married.”
Everyone around them laughed. Caitlyn walked near Tasha and said, “I guess you’re the lucky person.”
They posed for a few pictures.
The coordinator gathered the single men. Caitlyn sat in the chair and her heart beat fast as Blake slid her garter off. The men weren’t as enthused as the single ladies were. Trent ended up catching the garter. She heard Trent grunt as he was forced to take pictures of the garter with Blake. Bryon stared at her. Blake saw the eye exchange between her and Byron. Caitlyn hoped Blake wouldn’t ask her about Byron later, but knowing him, he probably would.
The night was coming to an end. She found her siblings before leaving with Blake. She hugged them. “Thank you both for your support.”
Bradford said, “Blake’s not as bad as I thought he was. I just wish you two would have met under different circumstances.”
“Don’t let your guard down. I still don’t trust him,” Bridget said.
“I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself,” she assured them.
Blake approached and placed his arm around her shoulder. “It’s time. We’ll see you in about a week.”
Caitlyn turned and said, “Make that two weeks. It’ll take us a week to recover.”
Blake laughed. “I hope you mean that.”
“Don’t count on it.”
Once behind closed doors of the limousine, they forgot about the false pretenses. “You almost made me believe you were willing to forgo one of the rules on your list,” Blake said.
Caitlyn rubbed his arm. “This champagne has me a little light headed, so you might get lucky tonight.”
“I don’t want to take advantage of a drunk woman.”
“Maybe she wants you to.”
“Don’t play with me.”
Caitlyn placed her arms around Blake’s neck and pulled his lips down onto hers. She showed him with her tongue that she was serious. The moans she heard seeping through his mouth increased the desire she had for him. Before long, they were pulling up to the Four Seasons Hotel and their lip locking session ended.
“I rented a suite for tonight. This was the place of our first date.”
“You can be romantic when you want to be,” she said. Her heart tugged because Blake acted like he really cared.
Blake opened the door and swooped her up in his arms. “Whoa,” she said.
“It’s tradition,” he said, as he carried Caitlyn over the threshold.
She got lost in his eyes as he carried her and placed her on the couch in the suite. She viewed the room that was filled with red roses. The red rose petals led to the bedroom. Several trays of food and a bucket filled with ice contained a bottle of Moet sat on a table near the chaise.
“Tonight, I want you to forget our agreement. Tonight, Caitlyn, be my wife in every since of the word,” Blake kissed her on the neck.
Any resistance she had before went out the window when she felt his soft lips. She gave in to her feelings. She gave in to the fantasy she and Blake were like every other newlywed, happily in love on their wedding night. Tonight, she would give in and think about the consequences later.
Chapter 31
Caitlyn’s body quivered as Blake teased her with his tongue. Their eyes locked as he raised his body and entered her with a gentleness that under normal circumstances could be mistaken with love. The room’s temperature escalated to boiling as their bodies united. Caitlyn got lost in the fantasy of being Blake’s wife with each stroke.
Blake’s moans were sending her over the edge. Her body betrayed her and gave in to the sensation for the third time. Blake followed suit and before long they were each snoring. A hand sliding up her thigh woke her. Instead of pushing his hand away, she welcomed his touch. They made love throughout the night—there would be no doubt that their marriage had been consummated.
Caitlyn woke up the next morning dazed. It took her a few seconds to realize she wasn’t dreaming. The wedding, the sexual encounter with Blake—they were all real. She moved, but felt a tug. Blake’s arms wrapped around her waist, held her down.
“Good morning sleeping beauty,” he responded by moving her hair with his free hand and kissing her on the back of her neck.
Sounding groggy, she responded, “I need to use the bathroom.” She was sure that was not the response he was hoping for, but she needed to get away. If Blake kissed her one more time, she would lose it and she needed to gain her composure. Sleeping with Blake had not been a part of the plan.
She got out of the bed and made the mistake of looking back. Blake’s eyes followed her. His smile melted the hardness around her heart. She wanted to jump back in the bed with him, but her bladder saved her. He blew her a kiss. She smiled and ran to the bathroom.
It didn’t take long to release the pressure on her bladder; however she remained sitting on the toilet so she could think. She thought about the past twenty four hours and how she would get through the next three hundred and sixty-four days without sleeping with Blake again.
Falling in love wasn’t part of the plan and unfortunately, she had fallen. She had fallen so deeply she considered ditching her plan and actually taking a chance to see where the relationship with Blake could go. Maybe they could have a regular marriage. Over the past few weeks, she saw a different side to Blake. Maybe something good could come out of this after all. She questioned her original motives. Was it right to make Blake pay for the sins of his uncle?
“I need a shower and maybe things will be clear,” she said out loud.
The water and soap suds cascaded down her body. Caitlyn closed her eyes and recalled something her father said, months before his death. “Don’t be like me. Learn how to forgive.”
His words now haunted her. Caitlyn’s hatred for Jack Banks infected her to the core. Caitlyn moaned, “Daddy, I miss you so much.” Tears flowed down her face as she came to the realization that no matter what she did, she wouldn’t be able to bring her father back.
Revenge had been the driving force behind most of her decisions when she started out on the journey. Letting go of the pain would be hard. Caitlyn had to deal with the grief and find a way to deal with the present. Not sure of how long she had been in the bathroom, Caitlyn washed off, put on the robe and made a vow to herself to see exactly where
their relationship could go.
Blake wasn’t in the bedroom when she returned. She was about to yell out his name when she heard him laugh. She followed the sound of his voice. The door to another room in the hotel suite was slightly ajar. His back was towards her but she could see him holding a phone up to his ear.
“The wedding went off without a hitch…The first installment helped…now that the wedding is complete, per the will, I should be able to get the second installment…Transfer the funds to the primary business account…you’ll be able to reach me on my cell.”
Caitlyn continued to listen and the realization Blake saw this only as a business transaction hit her like a ton of bricks. It almost knocked the wind out of her as she stood and listened to him talk to who she assumed was his lawyer. Her feet were glued to the spot in between the door. She didn’t try to retreat when Blake’s body turned to face her direction. Instead, she stood tall and hid the hurt in her heart as he ended his phone call.
Blake walked toward her. “There you are. I was on my way to you when my attorney called. Seems like everything is all set.”
She crossed her arms. “Good for you.”
He reached for her but she pulled back. He looked confused. She walked back into the bedroom. She found her suitcase and took out some clothes.
“We still have a few hours before our flight leaves, so why don’t we have some more fun?” Blake asked, as he followed her.
Caitlyn turned around to face him. “Look. What happened last night…this morning, can’t happen again. You just reminded me of why we did this.” She paused, before continuing, “This is nothing but a business transaction. Look at what happened between us as a bonus. Now back to reality.”
She rushed past him with her clothes back into the bathroom. As soon as she closed and locked the doors, the tears flowed from her eyes. She chastised herself for allowing her emotions to take over. To think she even considered giving Blake a real chance. The honeymoon was over and it hadn’t been a solid twenty-four hours. How was she supposed to fake being happy with a man who only considered her a means to saving his business? How could she have fallen in love with such a jerk? She had to pull herself together and quick.
Betrayed by Trust Page 12
