by Gina Gordon
“Thank you, guys. I needed to go through this, I’m freaking out.”
“Aleks, you’re going to do a great job.” Amie tried her best to reassure him. “Don’t worry.”
Milton pulled at the ribbon, undoing the slip knot. Was it so unbearable being tied to her? Right, he didn’t want a wife. He didn’t want to get married.
Aleks grabbed the ribbon and stuffed it back into his pocket.
“I’m sorry I interrupted. You guys go along with your plans.” Aleks gave them a wiggle of his eyebrow and headed to the door. As he stepped out into the hallway Aleks turned and looked at Milton. “My woman does some good work, doesn’t she?” He chuckled and gave Amie a quick wink then closed the door behind him.
Silence fell between them. Neither one wanted to be the first to speak. But it would get awkward…eventually. They just stood in the middle of the room.
Amie made a move to walk away, but Milton grabbed hold of her waist. His strong, warm hand held her in place but only for a second until he pulled, jerking her into his arms.
“I think we just got married,” he said in a low, sexy tone.
“He’s not licensed. We’re not married.”
“Maybe not in the eyes of the law, but that ceremony seemed pretty real to me.”
His body was warm against hers. The thin fabric of her satin robe stuck to her skin.
“I guess you’re right.” Technically, they could be considered married. The ritual itself was action enough, but she would never confirm that.
Milton whispered against her, “I don’t think getting our hands tied together was part of your plan for tonight.” Heat sparked inside her body. “I’m thinking you should put that plan into action. Starting with removing this robe.” He untied the knot of the belt then slowly eased it off her shoulders until it puddled on the floor around her feet. “I think I like the idea of being bound to you.”
His words made her tense in his arms. “You bound to anyone is a funny concept. Aren’t you the one who told me you don’t do long term?” Amie snorted, a cross between a scoff and a laugh. “You don’t want to get married because of your mother. And your brother-in-law.”
“What? I don’t think I want to talk about my mother while I’m picturing you naked.”
“It all makes sense now. I spoke with your sister. She told me about your mother dying. Her husband dying. No wonder why you feel like the burden falls all on you.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he spat.
She wasn’t going to let him get away with brushing this off. But why she felt the need to push him when she knew it was a hopeless cause was something she couldn’t explain. Maybe she hoped that if he acknowledged why he was afraid of marriage he would change his mind. That maybe she could help him change his mind. “Do you think if you get married that she’ll die on you?”
Milton reacted to her question faster than she anticipated. “Not that she’ll die on me but that marrying me is a death sentence. There’s no other way to see it.”
“Oh, Milton. You couldn’t be more wrong.”
“We’re not getting into this. I’m leaving tomorrow, and I was hoping–”
“To fuck?”
“Christ, Amie. You don’t have to be so crude.”
“But I do. That’s who I am, remember? I’m the girl you slummed with for a couple of weeks to learn how to have a good time again.”
“What just happened?” Milton took a step forward, extending his hand to her, but Amie backed away from him quickly. “Two minutes ago I was getting the come-fuck-me eyes just as much as I was giving.”
“All this talk about being bound to one another. It makes me sick,” she spat. Those words hurt. Saying them caused her physical pain, a cramp in her stomach, because they weren’t true. “You’re not my type, remember?”
“Don’t worry,” he scoffed. “If I had forgotten I’d be reading you loud and clear.” He stepped toward her again, and this time she had nowhere to go. She backed into the wall and he crowded her space. “Is this how we’re going to spend our last night together? Fighting.”
“Our last night.” Amie couldn’t help the mocking tone of her voice. “Like it’s something so special. Why are we making this out to be more than it is? It’s just some good fucking.”
“I thought it was a little more special than that.” He cupped the side of her face in his hand. It took everything she had not to turn in and nuzzle his soft touch.
“What’s the point? You’re leaving. You don’t do relationships, and I hate everything you stand for. There’s nothing special about that.” Amie couldn’t even look him in the eye. If she did he would know she was lying.
It was easier this way. Why spend another night together knowing that when he left, he would be taking a piece of her with him? At least this way she could keep her heart intact. What was she thinking in the first place trying to make this special?
“I get the picture.” He backed away, leaving the air cold in his absence. “If you’re intent on it ending this way, there’s nothing I can do to stop you.”
He headed to the door. Amie’s body leapt, she physically leapt off the wall to run after him, tackle him and stop him from walking out the door, but her pride was too strong to push her the extra step.
Without him facing her, the tears easily appeared. Each blink releasing a heavy drop that streamed down her cheek.
With his hand on the door knob, Milton stopped and looked over his shoulder. “Not every man is like your father. Not every man demands obedience. Not every man will stifle you into trying to be something you’re not.”
Amie hugged her body, trying her best to cover herself. It wasn’t the lack of clothing that made her feel naked. It was the tears streaming down her face, the vulnerability that she exposed so easily with him.
She said nothing. Because he was right. He was that man. The lion she had been searching for and he was ready to walk out the door.
“You were right about my mother. And brother-in-law. Any woman I let into my life is delivered a death sentence. And I can’t be responsible for that. Not even for the woman I might be falling in love with.”
Amie hiccupped, the sobs pouring out of her body now. Her body heaved with pain as he closed the door behind him.
He wouldn’t even try. She was as healthy as a horse. But who was she to expect that Milton would change just for her?
Amie looked around her apartment. She was used to being alone, but never had she felt more alone than at this moment. Her one shot at true love had walked out the door, and there was no chance it would come around a second time.
Amie picked up her cellphone and dialed the number through blurry, tear-filled eyes. The voice on the other end was music to her ears. “Care, I need you.”
“Oh, sweetie. What happened?”
“Just come over. Bring Martina.”
Chapter 13
The string quartet played light and airy music as Amie walked down the aisle.
She smiled brightly, taking one slow step at a time, her feet softly crossing the white plastic runner sprinkled with confetti. Row upon row of white folding chairs sat on either side of her filled with friends and loved ones. All here to see Martina and Rob exchange vows.
The sun shined brightly in the August sky, the perfect day for a wedding. The perfect day for two people to say I do. Ahead of her Rob stood, looking nervous. On his left, Aleks stood holding his speech cards that shook in his terrified hands. On his right Billy Bob stood proudly in his tuxedo and further still, her partner Milton, looking handsome, sexy and infuriating as ever.
She didn’t find out until after he left for Vancouver that Milton would be returning for the wedding. She was even more surprised when she found out Milton would be in the wedding party.
Amie took her place at the altar and watched Carrie saunter down the aisle in her black cocktail length dress. The sweetheart neckline was the perfect compliment to her flawless facial structure. When Car
rie settled in her spot the music died and the guests rose to their feet.
Canon in D sang out into the summer air as Martina walked down the aisle with Marc on her arm. Amie had seen the dress not two minutes before but it looked different now as she walked toward her. Martina’s face glowed with delight, and not from her pregnant belly. The baby doll cut made room for her expanding stomach, the hem resting above her knees. The dress was white, despite the circumstances, because no matter the circumstances, Martina was pure in every sense of the word.
Amie glanced at Rob who stared ahead in awe. His eyes were red around the edges. She knew he was fighting back tears. Billy Bob was ecstatic to be standing at the altar and Aleks… Aleks looked like he wanted to throw up. But the closer Martina got, the more he relaxed. She usually had that effect on people.
Milton had been watching Martina walk down the aisle but no doubt he felt Amie’s stare. He glanced over and they eyed each other. One second after another, then another. Their eye contact, too intense for strangers but also too intense for two people who had ended things so badly.
When Martina finally reached the altar, she took Rob’s hand and began their journey.
“Welcome, friends and family. You are here today to witness and celebrate the love between Martina and Robert.”
Aleks winked at Rob. The only person who called him Robert was his mother. And he hated it.
“I’ve known Rob almost my entire life,” Aleks continued. “I had the pleasure of following him on his journey to find true love–a long, picky journey might I add–and I knew within seconds the moment he fell in love with Martina. Rob is a smart man. He knew without a doubt, without a second thought, that she was the only one for him. I’ve never been that smart.” Aleks wiggled his eyebrow and glanced over at Carrie. Those of them at the altar knew exactly what he was talking about and laughed quietly to themselves. “Nothing makes me happier than to be here today to unite two people who I know will last forever.”
Amie exchanged looks with Milton back and forth throughout the ceremony. He kept smiling at her. She was sure he didn’t mean for it to be sexy, but it didn’t matter. Any look on his face was sexy.
Aleks held his hand out, and Billy Bob placed the rings in his cupped palm.
Rob and Martina exchanged rings, spouting words of love and honesty. Aleks took the long black and pink ribbons, thick and edged in lace. Martina and Rob held hands, joining their right hands together, then their left. Aleks wrapped the ribbon around their hands, once then twice, then tied a knot.
“As this knot is tied, so are your lives now bound.”
Amie’s eyes shot directly at Milton, remembering their fake ceremony in her apartment. How much she liked it too. But she had screwed it up. Amie had driven him away, knowing that he would only cause her heartache. Why prolong the inevitable?
Martina and Rob headed over to the small table where the registrar waited to validate their marriage license.
Amie was going to have to keep her distance this evening. Only make contact for the obligatory walk down the aisle, the pictures and sitting beside each other at dinner. Oh, and they probably had to dance together. Damn! This was going to be a nightmare.
Carrie nudged her arm. “Milton can’t stop looking at you.”
“Oh, really? I hadn’t noticed.”
“Oh no? Because I don’t think you’ve heard one word of this ceremony. The two of you are too busy talking with your eyes.”
“Shut it, Care.”
Amie was not talking with her eyes. They weren’t talking, they were throwing daggers. That’s what he deserved. After she had accepted him, flaws and all, acknowledging his charitable work and that he in fact wasn’t the big bad wolf, what did he do? He threw her own issues in her face.
An eruption of applause and yells began and Martina and Rob kissed, solidifying their new life together.
The bride and groom headed up the aisle, following behind them was Carrie, flanked on either side by Aleks and Billy Bob. Amie stepped forward and slid her arm through Milton’s when he offered. They had barely taken two steps before he said, “We need to talk.”
“We have nothing to talk about,” she whispered.
“On the contrary.” He turned to face her, his eyes burning a hole through her lips. “We have lots to talk about.”
* * * *
Milton’s feet did the best they could on the dance floor. At least he wasn’t stepping on her toes. But maybe he should. Get her angry. Get her to show some kind of emotion rather than the blank stare she was giving him. Martina and Rob danced in the middle of the dance floor, the bridal party joining afterward, and now the rest of the guests had followed suit.
The dining room of the golf course was traditional. Cream colored walls and metal chandeliers. But the room was spiced up with Martina’s choice of gold tablecloths and chair covers.
The song slowed, and Amie made a break from his grip before the song had even ended.
At the same moment the room quieted, Milton yelled, “Do not walk away from me, Woods.”
Several heads on the dance floor turned and stared at him. Amie growled and walked away without looking back.
Milton glanced at Rob and Martina in apology but both of them waved at him, gesturing for him to follow the blond in the black dress, his angel from the moment he’d laid eyes on her.
Fuck it! He didn’t care who knew. He had things to say and she was going to listen.
Milton rushed over to the DJ and grabbed his microphone. “Amie Woods.” She froze. He caught her before she made it to the outdoor patio. “Amie Woods. I have something I need to say to you.”
She turned around and hugged her body. Embarrassed? Probably. Nervous? Most likely. Wanting to rip his head off? Without a doubt.
“I’ve decided to take matters into my own hands. If you won’t listen to me in private, then you have no choice but to listen to me in public.”
She walked a little bit further into the dining room. Milton saw Aleks and Carrie joining Martina and Rob on the dance floor. He was ruining the wedding, but this was the most important thing he would ever do and he didn’t care about the consequences. Although they didn’t look mad. All four of them were bright eyed and smiling.
Milton caught Aleks’s stare and the guy waved at him, his way of telling him to get the show on the road.
Milton scrambled for words. “I shouldn’t have left. That night at your apartment.” The heads of everyone in the room bobbed like they were at a tennis match, back and forth between them. “You pushed me away on purpose. I know that now.”
She fisted her hands and took an angry step forward, but before she could yell he beat her to the punch. “I’m talking.” His voice was stern, commanding. Her eyes widened, then her shoulders slumped in defeat. “You want marriage. You want it all. Isn’t that what you told me?”
She took a few steps closer, her feet inching her back into the room whether she realized it or not.
“I thought I could live my life without those things. I hadn’t met a single woman that made me regret my decision to stay single. Until I met you.” He decided to give her all the information. “Until I saw you in the store window wearing lingerie.”
She gasped. So did his two friends on the dance floor.
“Black bustier with pink on it and panties that have frills on the back.” He remembered. That image of her was burned into his brain forever.
His mind drifted to the image of her in that window. Probably not the best time to take his eye off the ball, but it gave her the chance to walk over. She stood on the wood floor, close enough to be heard, but far enough away that she couldn’t jump in his arms.
“You don’t want this, Milton. You only think you want this because you think I want it.”
Milton shook his head in confusion. He had no idea what Amie had just said, but he knew the gist…she was shutting him down again.
“People can change.”
“Not everyone. Not all the time.”
Amie took a few steps away. He was afraid she was going to bolt down the stairs, but she didn’t. “I’m short-term, a fling. Even if you did want to settle–which you don’t–you don’t settle down with the girl who strips for fun.”
“I like the girl who strips for fun,” he said into the microphone. Amie looked around the room. Maybe he shouldn’t have told the entire room she stripped. Now they probably thought she was a stripper. Fuck it! He was going to continue. “I fell in love with the girl who strips for fun.”
Amie shook her head, probably trying to stop the tears from falling. He saw them well up at the mention of love.
“We knew what this was from the very beginning. A fling to get you out of your shell, at least for a little while.”
“I can’t be any more out of my shell than I am at this very moment. You did this.”
“You don’t want to be with me.”
“I’m bound to you, remember?”
“That wasn’t real,” she cried, her hands covering her face. She was trying to hide the tears that were now falling.
“We could make it real.”
Amie threw her hands up and turned away. Milton lobbed the microphone back to the DJ and jumped off the platform. He grabbed her arm and twirled her around to face him. Her soft skin warmed under his touch. He pulled her toward him, their bodies touching. She let out a soft breath, a long one as if trying to calm herself through a breathing exercise.
“Let me tell you something.” He dipped his head down to catch her eye. “You’re wild because you think that’s the only way a man won’t have control over you. News flash.” He shook her lightly, and her eyes widened. “You could be a librarian and I still wouldn’t want control over you. And not to mention you’d be a terrific business woman, and I think you should stop hiding behind your father’s ignorant assumption of you and go into business with Martina.”
“Yes, she should,” Martina yelled. Milton looked over and saw Carrie scold her friend. “But it’s my wedding,” he heard Martina whine.
