by Kayla Perrin
Richelle’s chest heaved with a shaky breath. “Thanks, Mel.”
Richelle, Melanie and the bridal party were in a special wedding bure, from where the wedding procession would begin. Melanie and Richelle were side by side in front of a standing mirror framed in bamboo wood, staring at their reflections.
“You’re the princess you wanted to be,” Melanie said. “A princess on your fairy-tale day.”
Melanie was wearing a beautiful red dress made of satin that swooped low over her breasts, and hung to the floor. The two other bridesmaids were wearing similar dresses. The gown defined Melanie’s shape, and she found herself thinking that if Lawrence could see her now, he wouldn’t be able to resist her.
“The flowers on my veil don’t seem right,” Richelle said, pulling Melanie from her thoughts.
“Here,” Melanie said, and adjusted the crown of white flowers so that it was symmetrical. “There you go. Better?”
Richelle checked out her reflection, and nodded. “Thank you. I guess we should finally take the official pictures. David has been patiently waiting.”
Moments later, David, the photographer, was taking photos of the bridal party. When Melanie wasn’t in a photo, she stood to the side and watched, not sure she had ever seen Richelle smile so brightly.
While Richelle and Roy had declined to dress in the style of a traditional Fijian bride and groom, they had opted for other touches native to Fiji. Richelle wore a lei of fresh flowers around her neck in addition to the veil adorned with flowers. Soon, the choir would begin singing wedding songs. And Melanie especially couldn’t wait to see Richelle escorted to the beach by Fijian warriors.
“Those pictures are going to be amazing,” Melanie said when they were done. She fussed with the curls hanging at the side of Richelle’s face. “And you’re glowing. Everyone should get married in a place like this. It just seems so right. I look around here and the setting is so romantic, so meant for love.”
Richelle sniffled. Her eyes were moist again. “Do I have everything I need? I have something old, something new, something borrowed—”
“You have everything,” Melanie assured her. “But most importantly, you have your man waiting out there on the beach, thrilled about making you his wife.”
“You’re right. I have the man of my dreams, and I have my best friend here.” She grinned at Melanie. “I have everything I need.”
“Are you ready?” the wedding planner, Maria, asked.
Melanie looked at Richelle, deferring to her. Then Richelle nodded and said, “Yes. Tell them to start the music.”
Moments later, the cheerful sounds of the Fijian choir drifted from the beach to the wedding bures. And the wedding procession began.
Though Melanie had had no idea how a wedding in a tropical location would play out, that moment exceeded every dream she could have had. As she made her way barefoot in the sand toward the beach, her heart skipped a beat as she saw Roy beaming with pride and expectation.
I should have had this moment, she told herself, trying to hold back the sudden urge to cry. I should have had this moment when I got to see Lawrence standing at the altar, excited to see me as his soon-to-be bride.
Somehow, Melanie kept it together as she took her place on the bride’s side of the altar. Once the last bridesmaid made her way down the sand, the sounds of the choir became softer and more romantic, and the guests were beckoned by the wedding planner to stand.
Everyone looked on in anticipation. And after several seconds, the bride emerged. Six men dressed as Fijian warriors, with green skirts made of the leaves of banana plants, carried her to the beach on a bamboo raft. Cell phone cameras began going off. David quickly began to take shot after shot.
It was magical. And when the bride and groom exchanged their personal vows, there wasn’t a dry eye among the guests.
* * *
The wedding was simple, yet beautiful. The music of Fiji enthralled everyone during the wedding and continued to do so at the reception. A band was playing and a smaller choir was singing an array of happy, love-inspired songs as the meal and speeches came to an end.
Roy was at the microphone, addressing the small group of wedding guests. “Honestly, this day would not have been as special without all of you here. So thank you.”
The guests clapped and cheered.
“Now, I don’t know if you all know the story about how Richelle and I got together,” Roy went on, and at the center of the wedding table Richelle playfully groaned.
“I don’t know why he keeps harping on about that,” Richelle said.
But Melanie smiled as she prepared to hear the story for the umpteenth time.
The guests began to laugh.
“You never know when Cupid’s arrow is going to hit you.” Someone cheered. “When I saw that fire in her, even as she gave me a piece of her mind, I was hooked. I knew that I had to get to know her. And thankfully, she allowed me the chance. Because that was it for me. And here we are in Fiji, and I’ve made this incredible woman my wife,” Roy concluded.
There was exuberant applause to Roy’s closing statement. The applause only got louder when he went back to the table, where Richelle rose to meet him, and the two shared a long, passionate kiss.
Richelle and Roy’s love was a testament to the fact that people could find their happy ending. As the wedding party moved to the sand to dance under the stars, Melanie beamed with happiness for her friend.
Just like Richelle had said that morning, the day had been perfect. The skies remained clear and the weather not too hot. But even a torrential downpour would not have soured the mood for Richelle and Roy.
A DJ began to play American love songs, and Richelle and Roy started their first dance to “I Found Love” by BeBe Winans. As they gazed into each other’s eyes under the moonlight, Melanie felt that familiar pang. She had four more days here. Four more days when she certainly couldn’t be the third wheel with Richelle and Roy. Now legally husband and wife, they were going to begin their honeymoon. Melanie knew she wouldn’t see much of them, if any, before she left Fiji.
Another slow song began, and the guests made their way onto the sand dance floor.
“May I have this dance?”
Melanie turned around to see Edward standing there. All day she had been busy with her duties as maid of honor, and had been able to avoid him for the most part. But now, there was no putting him off.
He was a nice guy. There was no real reason to avoid him. “Sure.”
They danced, and he held her close, and on a night like this, Melanie was all too aware that these were not the arms she wanted to be in.
She wanted to be in Lawrence’s arms.
“Thank you, Edward,” Melanie said after that dance. “Will you excuse me?”
Edward seemed surprised, but he didn’t object. “Sure. I’ll be here.”
Melanie first went to the restroom, where she checked out her reflection and touched up her makeup. Here she was, looking beautiful with her hair and makeup done, and in a dress that flattered her figure. This was the day she wanted Lawrence to see her.
With Lawrence on her mind, she exited the restroom and headed toward the beach away from where the wedding celebration was taking place. She wanted some time alone. She began to walk along the water’s edge, pausing to dig her toes into the sand. Behind her, a lively tune was now playing.
Melanie strolled, holding her dress up so the hem wouldn’t get wet. She was doing what Richelle had done that morning before her wedding. Taking time to simply enjoy the environment around her.
Melanie had only been walking alone for a couple minutes when she heard a male voice call out, “Hey.”
That voice... Her pulse began to race. She turned, her eyes searching the stretch of beach. And in the distance, she saw him.
It was Lawrence.
Her heart began to pitter-patter in her chest as he walked toward her.
She stood rooted to the spot. Waited until he caught up to her. And when he did, she looked at him, felt that familiar jolt of white-hot heat when her eyes could fully take in his face.
How did you let this man go? she couldn’t help asking herself.
“Hey,” he said again when he reached her.
“Lawrence.”
“What are you doing out here by yourself?”
“I went for a walk.” She paused. “What are you doing here?”
“I...” he began, and then paused. “I knew it was the day of the wedding. I came by to see you.”
“Oh.” Melanie was excited, though she tried not to show it.
His eyes swept over her. “You look...you look beautiful.”
“Thank you.” But as nice as it was to hear Lawrence say that, Melanie felt a rush of doubt. “I haven’t seen you for a couple days. I guess you’ve been keeping busy with your new friends....”
“My friends?” Lawrence asked, but a moment later, his eyes registered understanding. “Wow, I came out here to see you, and that’s what you have to say to me?”
“One minute I saw you with them at the beach, the next minute, you’d disappeared.”
“And you think...”
Melanie’s shoulders drooped. This wasn’t what she had planned to talk about the next time she saw him. What was she doing?
“Forget what I just said,” Melanie told him. “Obviously I gave up any rights to you a long time ago.”
Something flashed in his eyes. Hurt? “What you saw was me and Shemar being friendly with two women. No big deal.” He paused. Held her gaze. “The truth is, I wish I could get involved with someone else. Shemar keeps telling me that I need to start dating again. But damn it, all I keep thinking about is you.”
Butterflies began to flutter in Melanie’s stomach, but she said nothing.
“Do you know I came here to try to forget you once and for all?” He laughed without mirth. “Instead, I get here and you’re at this resort. Of all places. Talk about a kink in my plan.”
“If I had known...”
“If you had known, what? You would have avoided coming here? That’s how uneasy you are at the idea of seeing me?”
Melanie said nothing. Because every time she opened her mouth, she was saying the wrong thing.
“I always believed that you loved me, Mel. But I guess I was wrong.”
“Of course I did!” she said immediately.
“Then prove it.”
Melanie looked up at him in confusion. “What?”
In a flash, Lawrence took her by the shoulders and brought his lips down on hers. He kissed her in a heated, almost angry fashion. As his tongue tangled with hers, he slipped his hands around her waist and pulled her close.
She sighed against him. His kiss... It was like coming home. Coming home when there was a celebration going on. Because the sensations she felt were hot and thrilling, like fireworks going off in rapid succession.
Lawrence eased his lips from hers. “God, this is what I wanted to do since the moment I saw you again. It’s what I wanted to do every day for the past nine months.”
A lust-filled sigh escaped Melanie’s lips, and then his mouth was on hers again. Her hands were moving up his back now. She dug her fingers into his shirt, needing to feel more of him. Re-familiarize herself with his magnificent body.
She hadn’t felt this alive in a very long time.
And as his tongue twirled with hers, creating the most delicious sensations, and as her body overheated, she acknowledged that this was the truth. Since the day she had dumped him by not showing up for the wedding, a part of her had been dead.
But that part had just come roaring back to life.
Chapter 8
All too soon, Lawrence broke the kiss and stepped back, leaving Melanie feeling dazed and confused. She stared up at him with narrowed eyes, not understanding why he had stopped just as things had gotten decidedly hot.
“What— Why are you stopping?” Melanie stammered.
Lawrence took another step backward. “I’ve wanted to do that since I first saw you again,” Lawrence repeated, too dispassionately for Melanie’s liking. “Maybe that’s my own way of getting closure.”
“Closure?” Melanie nearly choked on the word as she said it. “You—you kissed me for closure?”
“Good night, Melanie.”
“Good night?” Melanie repeated, totally baffled.
But he was already turning, already starting to walk back toward the hotel.
Melanie scrambled after him. “I don’t understand. You follow me out here, you kiss me like that—and then—and then—”
“And then nothing.” Lawrence paused. “You don’t trust me, remember? I’m a man, so I’m bound to cheat. Right?”
Melanie didn’t want to think about what she had said to him, the words she had used to push him away. Because right now, she wanted to be lost in his kiss again. The sensations she had just experienced were overpowering and so delicious that nothing else mattered.
“You’re right, I was wrong to mention those women,” Melanie said.
Lawrence raised an eyebrow as he looked at her. “You don’t get it, do you?”
“What I’m saying is that, right now, it doesn’t matter.”
“It might not matter for you, but it matters for me.”
Lawrence began to walk again. Melanie was hot and bothered and utterly frustrated. She continued after him. “Okay, I don’t believe you slept with that girl from the bar. I’m just saying that, even if you did, I don’t have a right to be upset. I pushed you away.”
Lawrence stopped, looked at her. “Great. See you around.”
Melanie was at her wit’s end. He couldn’t leave her like this!
Holding up her dress, she ran in front of him and stopped him by putting her palms on his chest. Her heart was beating hard. She smoothed her hands over his firm, hard muscles and drew in a shaky breath. Oh, how she had missed this.
“Lawrence, I don’t understand. You come out here on the beach with me, and you kiss me like—”
“You needed to let me go, and I needed closure.”
“Then why stop at just a kiss?” she asked. “Why don’t we... Why not make it a night of real closure? One last time.”
She knew she sounded desperate, and she was. That kiss... She wanted more of him.
Lawrence placed his hands over hers, and Melanie’s heart began to beat more rapidly. But then he lifted her hands from his body, removing rather than caressing them, and the night air around her seemed to suddenly chill.
“No,” Lawrence said.
“No?” Melanie said, her voice sounding like a little cry.
“You don’t understand, Mel. I can’t do what you want. I can’t make love to you without emotion and just go on.”
“Why not?” Melanie asked, one last desperate attempt. Again, she was aware that her words had come out wrong. But she didn’t want to argue, to bring up the past. Because she was certain that once they fell into bed together, everything else would fall into place.
“Because I’m not the kind of guy that you made me out to be,” Lawrence said, holding her gaze. “I never was.”
Melanie swallowed.
“It’s okay, Mel. Now that we don’t have the pressure of a relationship between us, we can be friends.”
Friends?
“Like I said...I’ll see you around.”
And with that, he walked away from her with long, fast strides.
Melanie watched him, feeling as though her heart was breaking.
All over again.
* * *
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Walking away from Melanie had been one of the toughest things that Lawrence had ever done. To see the look of lust in her eyes, to know that she wanted him in her bed... It would have been so easy to simply say yes. Say yes and end the nine-month dry spell with the woman he still loved.
But he couldn’t do it. He wouldn’t do it. He wanted all with Melanie, or nothing.
And he had a plan. Sort of. The kiss had been calculated. To give her a taste of what she had walked away from. And if a part of her still loved him, then she would now be remembering that love.
He knew that she wanted him physically. But he wasn’t about to start a booty-call relationship with the woman he had once planned to marry.
Oh, no. He wasn’t going to do that. But if she loved him, he was willing to try and work things out.
Because the truth of the matter was that he had come here, halfway around the world, to escape the memories of Melanie. And yet she was here. Making forgetting her impossible.
And maybe, just maybe, there was a reason why.
Fate?
Shemar would tell him he was an idiot, but he couldn’t help how his heart felt. When he and Melanie were together, snuggling in bed, or talking about their hopes and dreams, he saw a passionate woman he wanted in his life forever. So if fate had any hand in trying to give them one more chance at love, he was willing to take it.
But the ball was in Melanie’s court. She had to show and prove now that she wanted the same thing.
And if she didn’t... Well, then he would be able to move forward with a sense of closure.
* * *
Melanie had a night of tossing and turning and sweating. But mostly, she spent the hours thinking of Lawrence when she was awake and dreaming of him when she was asleep.
She couldn’t forget the kiss they had shared, nor could her body. And knowing that Richelle was spending the night making love to her new husband only had her feeling more alone in her beautiful resort bure.
Melanie was still hot and bothered the next morning. And confused. Why would Lawrence kiss her like that, claiming it was for closure, and not want to take it to the next level?
