Blissfully Yours (Mills & Boon Kimani)

by Velvet Carter

  “Well, I wish you and your lady, whoever she is, good luck,” Brooke said and walked away.

  “Hey, Brooke,” Brandon called after her.

  She turned around and came back. “Yes, Brandon?”

  “Have you seen Aya...uh...Saturday?”

  “I saw her earlier with her bags. She was outside of the hotel getting ready to board a bus. I guess Ed fired her—she left. I don’t really know for sure.”

  “Fired?”

  “That’s the word going around. I, for one, am glad to see her go.”

  “Thanks, Brooke,” he said, ignoring her last comment.

  Shortly after the reception was over, and the cameras had stopped rolling, Ed thanked the cast and crew for a great season. Brandon immediately rushed back to the front desk.

  “What time does the last bus leave for Negril?” he asked the clerk. Brandon had a good suspicion that Ayana had gone home. Whatever had happened to prevent her from going through with the wedding must have been serious. He reasoned that she probably wanted to leave Montego Bay for the comfort of her parents’ home.

  “Sorry, sir, but the last bus left an hour ago.”

  “Are there any rental-car companies in the area?” Although the road to Negril was long, winding and dark, Brandon was willing to travel during the night to get the woman he loved.

  “All of the rental-car places are closed for the evening.”

  Brandon slumped against the counter. He was out of ideas. The only thing he could do now was wait until morning. He asked what time the first bus to Negril departed in the morning, then thanked the clerk and went to his room.

  Sleep escaped Brandon as he tossed and turned. His mind wouldn’t let him rest. He kept thinking about Ayana and how he hadn’t given her a chance to explain.

  Brandon was up with the sun. He quickly packed. It was still too early to go downstairs and board the bus, so he called Ayana, hoping this time she would pick up.

  Her cell phone didn’t ring. It went right to voice mail.

  “Hey, baby, it’s me again. Where are you? Please call me back as soon as you get this message.” Brandon was really beginning to panic. Maybe Ayana had fallen ill. Brandon sat on the bed and put his head in his hands. He was racked with worry and guilt.

  An hour later, he was on the bus headed to Negril. The ride was long and bumpy. The bus driver wove through the winding roads at a breakneck pace, as if the bus were on rails. Brandon was thankful for the accelerated speed. He couldn’t get to Negril fast enough. He was a man on a mission. When they finally reached the town, he asked the driver to let him off at the first hotel stop. Brandon then caught a taxi to take him to Ayana’s parents’ house.

  As Brandon sat in the backseat of the taxi, his heart raced. He was moments from possibly seeing Ayana, and he could hardly wait. He had so much to say to her, but most important, he wanted to apologize for acting like a jerk. Had he listened to her in the first place, he wouldn’t be racing all over Jamaica trying to find the love of his life. When they reached the house, he asked the driver to wait while he rang the doorbell.

  After a few seconds that seemed like hours, the front door opened.

  “Hi, Mrs. Tosh. How are you? I’m Brandon, a friend of Ayana’s,” he said, his words rushing out.

  The older lady surveyed Brandon from head to toe and began to smile. “Yes, chile, I remember ya.”

  “Is Ayana home?”

  “No, chile, she not here.”

  His heart sank. “Do you know where she is?”

  “No, chile. Her left here early dis mornin’.”

  “Oh, okay. Can you tell her I stopped by?”

  “Sure.”

  “Thanks,” he said and went back to the taxi. Although she wasn’t at home, he was relieved to know that she wasn’t lying in bed sick and was at least still on the island. Brandon asked the driver to take him to New Beginnings.

  The shelter was busy as usual with children running and playing in the front yard. Brandon walked through the front door and went to Marigold’s office. His sister-in-law was behind the desk doing paperwork.

  “Hey, sis,” he said.

  Marigold looked up. “Oh, me word! Whacha doin’ here? Me thought ya were back in New York.”

  He leaned across the desk and gave her a hug. “I’m here for work. Uh...have you seen Ayana?”

  “Ana?” She smiled. “No, I haven’t seen her. Whacha want wit Ana? Thought ya said ya were here for work. Ya sweet on dat gurl, aren’t ya?” Marigold asked, cutting right to the chase.

  Brandon nodded his head. “Yes, I am.”

  “Me knew it! Me could see dat when ya two were here last time. Ya two were lookin’ at each other da way me and James used to. Me glad ya finally found da one.”

  “Me, too.” I just hope it’s not too late, he thought. “Well, if she comes by, can you tell her to call me?”

  “No problem. Ya staying at the bungalow?”

  “Yes.” He planned on staying on the island until he found Ayana.

  Brandon kissed his sister-in-law goodbye. He then headed back toward the taxi. Once he got in, he sat and thought for a moment.

  “Where to now, mon?” The driver interrupted his thoughts.

  Brandon wanted to go to the bungalow and get his brother’s car so that he could do a thorough search of the island. He gave the driver the address, then sat back and gazed out the open window. As he looked at the beautiful countryside with its lush landscape, he spotted a yellow Vespa whizzing by on the other side of the road. It was Ayana.

  “Hey, turn around and follow that scooter!”

  Brandon sat on the edge of the seat as the driver followed his instructions. Brandon’s heart was racing as fast as the scooter. He had finally found her. Now he prayed that she would give him a second chance.

  Chapter 30

  Ayana’s long hair blew in the breeze as she sped along the dirt road on the way to her favorite place. She needed the seclusion of the mountains to clear her head and think about her future plans. As Ayana wove through the mountainside, she replayed the past twenty-four hours in her mind.

  * * *

  After sneaking out of Ed’s suite, Ayana had gone back to her room and taken off the wedding dress. There was no way she was going through with the wedding after what she had heard. It was one thing to pretend to marry Erick and another thing entirely to actually marry a man she didn’t love. She had put the dress back in the garment bag, returned the satin Jimmy Choos to the shoe box and wrapped the jewelry in tissue paper. At the time, Ayana hadn’t had a plan. All she knew was that she wasn’t going to marry a man she didn’t love. She had sat on the side of the bed, trying to devise a strategy. She knew that Ed would be beyond pissed and would probably threaten to sue her for breaching the contract. After all, she had promised to do a final episode. Time was ticking and Ayana had to think fast.

  “I’ve got it!” she said, hopping to her feet.

  Ayana quickly dressed in a pair of jeans, T-shirt and flip-flops. She gathered the bridal gear, putting it in bags, and headed out the door. On the elevator ride to Ed’s floor, her heart began beating fast. She didn’t know how he was going to take the news. When the doors opened, she stepped out and said a silent prayer as she made her way down the hallway. She knocked at his door and waited. A few seconds later, Ed answered.

  He took one look at her and said, “What are you still doing in your street clothes?”

  “Can I come in? We need to talk.” Ayana hadn’t waited for him to answer. She’d walked past him into the suite. As she marched down the long hall, she’d flashed back on Ed and Steve’s conversation and had gotten mad all over again.

  Once she entered the spacious living room, which was decorated in all white with floor-to-ceiling windows and spectacular views of the ocean, she’d relieved her arms of the dress, shoes and jewelry. “Here you go!”

  “What the hell are you doing?” Ed had asked, looking at the bags of bridal gear in the chair.

  �
�I should be asking you the same thing” she’d said, putting her hands on her hips.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking about you trying to pull a fast one on me!” Ayana raised her voice.

  Again Ed had said, “What are you talking about? Are you drunk or something?” He’d eyed her closely.

  “No, I’m not drunk, but you must think I’m stupid.”

  “What I think is that you’d better pick up this stuff, go back to your room and get dressed. The wedding starts in less than an hour.”

  “There’s only going to be a wedding if you listen to what I have to say.”

  Ed had exhaled hard. “There’s nothing for you to say but ‘I do.’”

  “Oh, you mean, say ‘I do’ and get legally married to Erick!”

  Ed had opened his mouth but didn’t utter a word when he heard her remark. He was shocked that she knew the truth.

  Ayana had looked at the expression on his face. “That’s right. I know all about your scheme. The marriage license that was supposed to be unofficial is now the real deal, which means that after this wedding Erick and I will be legally married. But of course you don’t care about that. All you care about is your stupid ratings. To hell with everything else! Ed, how could you do this to me?” Tears had formed in her eyes. “I saved your life, and this is how you repay me?”

  Ed then had flung the lavender scarf around his neck, cleared his throat and said, “It’s not personal.”

  “Are you kidding me? Marrying somebody I don’t love is extremely personal! And I’m not going through with it!”

  “Oh, yes, you are! You’re under contract...remember?”

  As they stood there yelling at each other, Ayana took a deep breath. She needed to get through to Ed, and screaming back and forth wasn’t doing the trick. “Ed, can we please sit down and talk?” she’d asked in a calm voice.

  He didn’t move.

  “Ed, if my saving your life meant anything at all to you, you’ll hear me out.” Ayana had been determined to be heard, so she used the only card she had left.

  Ed had crossed the room and sat on the sofa. “Okay, what do you have to say? Make it quick.”

  She sat in one of the leather chairs. “I know that this wedding is important to you, and I’ve figured out a way for it to still take place. What if Petra marries Erick instead of me?”

  “And how is that supposed to work?”

  “You have pull at the official’s office where you got the license, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, have them take my name off the license and put Petra’s name on.”

  “I guess I could pay them a hefty bonus to come to the hotel and do the paperwork. That way the wedding won’t be delayed too long. But what if she doesn’t want to marry him?”

  “Who wouldn’t want to marry Erick? He’s handsome, smart and rich. Besides, they are both European and probably have a lot in common. Why don’t you run it past both of them? You are a convincing man, and I’m sure you can get them to agree. And you can also tell them, like you told Steve, that they can always get an annulment if it doesn’t work out.”

  Ed had been silent for a moment, and Ayana could see that he was thinking about the idea. She then added, “Besides, this will be the shocker of all shockers. The audience won’t see the switch coming. Talk about increasing ratings. And...” She took a breath. “You can use their wedding as a teaser for next season. The promos could focus on how Petra stole Erick from Saturday.”

  Ed’s face had lit up. “Actually, that’s a brilliant idea. You two are always going at it, and this would be the perfect way for Petra to get you back—by stealing your man.”

  “Yes! That’s right! To seal the deal with Petra, emphasize that this will put the spotlight on her and make her and Erick’s wedding the most talked about event of the season. Tell her that now she’s the star of the show.”

  “I must say, Ayana—you’ve thought of everything. Let’s call them now,” he said, getting up and walking over to the phone.

  “Now, if it’s okay with you, I’m going to leave. I don’t want to stick around for the wedding.”

  “Yes, I think that’s best. I don’t want Petra irritated. See you back in New York.”

  She’d turned to walk away.

  “Ayana, wait. I am sorry for putting you through all of this, but you know how crazy I get about the show. Sometimes my judgment gets clouded by the ratings. There are a gazillion reality shows, and the competition to stay on top is extremely stiff. I do appreciate you administering CPR when I had the heart attack, and I promise to give you a glowing reference for whatever you want to do in the future.”

  “Thanks, Ed. I appreciate that.”

  They said their goodbyes, and Ayana went back to her room and packed. Before leaving the hotel, she had one more thing to do. She called the front desk and asked for Petra’s room.

  “Hello?” Petra had answered.

  “Hi, Petra. It’s Saturday.”

  “What you want?” she’d snapped into the receiver.

  “I just want to apologize for always being so hard on you. It wasn’t personal—just a job I had to do.”

  “I no need you apology. I have you man.” Click. Petra had hung up in Ayana’s ear.

  As Ayana left the hotel and boarded the last bus to Negril, she’d looked back and thought about Brandon. She’d wanted to tell him goodbye, but he was probably in work mode by now. Hopefully I’ll see him back in New York, she’d thought as the bus pulled off.

  * * *

  Ayana had reached her destination. She pulled over to the side of the road and turned off the motor. She climbed off the scooter and cut through the trees until she reached the manicured patch of land. She sat on the grass. She looked out over the trees at the beautiful mountainside and remembered her last time there. She and Brandon had had a perfect afternoon. She sighed. “If only he were here,” she said aloud.

  “I am here.”

  Ayana swung around, and standing there was Brandon. She hopped up. “What are you doing here?”

  “I came to get my girl.”

  She ran to him as fast as she could and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’m so sorry, Brandon. The wedding was Ed’s idea.”

  He put his fingers to her lips. “Hush. You don’t have to explain. The mere fact that you didn’t marry that guy says it all.”

  “I would have never married him. I don’t love him. I love you.”

  Brandon passionately kissed her and then said, “And I love you.” He took the napkin out of his pocket and gave it to her.

  Ayana read his writing. Blissfully Yours, B. “And I am always and forever, blissfully yours.”

  * * * * *

  ISBN: 9781472071606

  BLISSFULLY YOURS

  © Danita Carter 2013

  First Published in Great Britain in 2013

  Harlequin (UK) Limited

  Eton House, 18-24 Paradise Road, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1SR

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