“Come here, Colin,” she repeated her earlier offer.
“You want to be with me?”
She did. More so than ever. “Yes.”
His eyes didn’t leave hers as he came to stand before her. But instead of sitting beside her, he reached down and pulled her to her feet. Her breath caught as he held her close enough to kiss. She wanted to taste his lips on hers, she wanted him to want her. When he lowered his mouth to hers, it was with the slightest hesitation, as if he were giving her one more chance to pull away from him. It was a chance she didn’t want. She reached up and pulled him that last little bit closer to her until their lips met.
It was a kiss rife with desire, with a suppressed passion that robbed her of a sense of time and place. As she surrendered to the embrace, a wave of desire threatened to consume her. But she didn’t care, she didn’t want to cling to safety and security. She wanted to be with him, to experience his passionate side. She reached up and laced her fingers around his neck. She pressed her body into his until there was no discernible space where one body ended and the other started.
As Colin trailed kisses down her neck, Bella leaned back in an open invitation. She’d never felt such wild abandon, such an overwhelming connection to another person, nor had she experienced such a deep longing to make love to a man.
“Bella,” his voice was a husky whisper, “I want you to know-”
But whatever he wanted her to know was cut off by the sound of someone banging on their suite door. Bella pulled back, although leaving Colin’s embrace was the last thing in the world she wanted to do. “Who on earth is making such a fuss?”
Colin hadn’t taken more than three steps before she heard the answer to her question.
“Bella, are you in there, sweetie?” There were several louder thumps on the door. “Open up, sweetheart, I’ve got bad news.”
She glanced at Colin. It was her grandfather.
“I’ll get it,” he said. “We’d best let him in before someone calls security.”
Bella hurriedly smoothed her hair and fanned herself with her hands while Colin headed for the door. She schooled her features just as her grandfather came in.
“Bella, sweetie, I had to come right away.” Clive gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and a short hug. “We’ve got to talk.”
Bella motioned for him to sit down and then sat beside him. She smiled her gratitude when Colin placed a cold bottle of water before her grandfather. “What’s wrong, Grandpa?”
Clive took one of his granddaughter’s hands and held it tight. “I hate to be the one to tell you this, not after you’ve been so happy but I learned something disturbing.” He glanced between Bella and Colin. “You can’t imagine what I’d give to not have to be the one-”
“Wait, Grandpa.” Bella decided to put him out of his misery. If she didn’t already know that her grandfather hadn’t a clue that their marriage was not real, his earnest tone now would have been enough to completely convince her. She reached out and squeezed his arm, deeply grateful that he hadn’t been complicit in the whole lie. “You’ve talked to Mr. Jenkins, I take it?”
Clive looked between Colin and Bella. “You know?”
“That we’re not married? Yes.” Colin sat on the arm of a chair across from them. “We tracked down Mr. Jenkins a couple of hours ago and he told us everything.”
Clive shook his head, his expression solemn. “I could hardly believe what I was hearing. What is the matter with that fool of a man?”
Bella stayed silent. She didn’t know just how much Wesley had confessed, or what version of the truth he’d told, but she didn’t want to inadvertently say anything that would be salt on her grandfather’s fresh wound.
“Are you alright, Clive?” Colin’s query broke through the silence.
Bella shot him an appreciative glance. His concern for her grandfather, when he was dealing with his own anger and betrayal, was touching.
Clive leaned back against the sofa cushions. “Oh, I’m a little confused about all this but it’s my Bella I’m worried about.” He ran a hand over his tired face. “I’m going to be honest here that I’m more than a little disappointed that you two kids aren’t married.”
“I am too, Clive.” Colin moved to sit in the chair opposite them. “I’m not sure what precisely your friend told you but you need to know, and I’m embarrassed to admit, that my grandmother was up to her neck in this.”
“Why?” Clive asked.
Colin shrugged. “I’m not privy to her plans but my guess would be that it was a ridiculous ruse to keep me from completing a task she set out for my cousins and me to accomplish while we were here in Vegas. And she’s certainly succeeded in keeping me from getting any work done in the last few days. I’ve been completely distracted.”
“But how did your grandmother know where you two were that she could even get into cahoots with Wesley?”
“My guess would be that she had us followed.” Colin shrugged. “It’s the only thing that makes any sense. It certainly wouldn’t have been the first time she monitored my activities closely so that she could sabotage my plans.”
“I still can’t see what would make her go to all of the trouble she went to.”
“Millions of dollars.”
Clive gave a low whistle. “It still seems awfully crazy to me. But however you folks choose to run your business, it doesn’t excuse Wesley’s choice to go along with this nonsense.”
“Do you think you’ll be able to forgive him?” Bella asked.
Clive made a non-committal sound. “I don’t know, honey. It’s all a bit much to wrap my head around right now. It’s pretty unsettling when you think you know someone and they turn around and do something that you’d never have guessed they were capable of.”
“In fairness, Grandpa, none of this would have happened if Colin and I hadn’t had so much to drink. It’s been such a terrible embarrassment that I was so out of control. You know that’s not like me.”
“I know, sugar plum.”
“And I’m so sorry that you got dragged into this,” she continued. “I can imagine it’s caused you a bit of emotional turmoil to think I’d run off and married someone I didn’t know.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Clive smiled. “I was actually a bit tickled about the whole thing.”
Colin laughed. Bella frowned at him. She didn’t see what was so amusing about it.
“Really, Grandpa? You weren’t a little horrified that I’d been so impulsive?”
“Oh, well, maybe just a little when Wesley called to tell me that you’d eloped. But as soon as I met your young man here, well, I knew you belonged together. I could just see it when I looked at the two of you.”
“Grandpa!”
“What? You think I’ve gotten to this age without recognizing true love when I see it?”
Bella couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She knew her grandfather well enough to know that he was being completely sincere. But he was also being completely crazy, and she told him so.
“Nonsense,” he protested. “I admit to being a complete romantic but I’m not a fool, young lady. Never have been, never will be.”
“Of course not, Clive. Bella and I respect your thoughts. Certainly you’re the expert here on newlyweds in love.”
“Colin,” she protested. “Don’t encourage him. You can’t believe what Grandpa is saying.”
He held her gaze for a long moment. “Can’t I?”
No. She couldn’t. And neither could he. The idea that she and Colin were destined to meet and fall in love was ludicrous. Granted, she’d been instantly attracted to him. The man was gorgeous. And charming, not to mention intelligent and easy to talk to. So, yes, Colin Bladestone was the kind of man she could easily fall in love with.
“Bella?” Clive waved a hand in front of her face. “What’s the matter, honey? Has Cupid’s arrow struck and left you speechless?”
Bella shook her head. She felt her cheeks flush and she avoided looking
directly at Colin. Instead she looked down at the enormous diamond on her finger. She slipped it off and laid it on the coffee table, ignoring the way her stomach tightened. The diamond itself she wouldn’t miss but her hand looked suddenly very bare. She stood. “If you’ll wait here, Grandpa, I’ll go gather up my things.”
Both men got to their feet but it was Colin who spoke. “Not so fast, Bella.” He laid a hand on her arm and his eyes met hers. “We need to talk.”
Clive coughed discretely. “Well, that’ll be my cue to head on out so you two kids can talk.”
“You don’t have to go, there’s nothing for us to talk about.” Her words were directed toward her grandfather but her gaze was locked on Colin.
“Isn’t there?” Colin’s voice was silky, seductive, and, Bella decided, very dangerous because it was going to be impossible to make herself leave if she didn’t go now.
She shook her head. “We’re not married, Colin. I’m not your wife.”
“Regrettably not.”
“Colin, I can’t stay.”
“I need you.” She could barely hear his words but there was no mistaking the raw honesty in his voice. “Stay tonight.”
To save her life, Bella couldn’t make herself move. Or blink. Or do anything to break the spell of the moment.
But a rap on the suite door did just that. All three turned to look at the door.
“Allow me,” Clive said. He strode to the door and opened it wide. “Well, hello Margaret, my girl. Come on in.”
Beside her, Bella felt Colin stiffen. Instinctively, she moved to stand in front of him. A rush of warmth spread through her as he slipped an arm around her waist and drew her closer to him.
The Bladestone matriarch strode into the suite, a handbag on her arm and an accusatory expression on her face. She surveyed the room as if she were conducting a military inspection. “Having a family gathering without me?”
Much to her surprise, Bella didn’t hesitate. “We’re making wedding plans. You’re just in time to help.”
Chapter 12
“Wedding?” Colin’s grandmother raised an arched eyebrow. “Need I be the voice of reason and remind you that you two are already married?”
Colin picked up where Bella had left off. “We don’t need reminding but we do feel the need to celebrate.” Whatever had possessed Bella to throw those words out there, he couldn’t guess. Not when she’d been just about to pack up and leave. Regardless of the cause, he was deeply grateful to her for not letting on that they now knew what his grandmother had done. “You’re just in time to help.”
“When precisely will this vow renewal take place?”
“It’s not a vow renewal,” Bella jumped in. “Seeing as we don’t actually remember getting married, we’d like to actually go through a marriage ceremony as if it were our first, right down to the marriage certificate. Grandpa’s offered to officiate.”
It pleased Colin to no end that his grandmother appeared momentarily nonplussed. But she recovered quickly. “Shall I arrange a meeting with one of our solicitors to draft a prenuptial agreement for you?” Without waiting for an answer, she waved her hand dismissively. “In fact, let me handle this. I’ll phone them.”
Colin’s voice was terse. “That’s not necessary, thank you.”
Margaret deposited her purse on the end table and sat neatly on the edge of the sofa as if she were posing for a Life Magazine cover. “I beg to differ, Colin. Unless you have a prenuptial in place, or in this case, a postnuptial agreement, you’re opening up Bella to all sorts of scandalous rumors.” She directed a tight smile to Bella. “I can’t imagine how uncomfortable it would be for you to hear talk about how you snagged Colin when he was in his cups.”
“In his cups?” Clive frowned. “What kind of language is that?”
“An archaic one,” Colin swiftly answered. “Erroneous as well. Bella didn’t snag me, as you so indelicately pointed out. She did me a great honor by agreeing to be my wife.”
His grandmother’s gaze settled on the diamond solitaire laying on the coffee table. “And yet she’s not wearing her engagement ring.”
Colin felt Bella tense in his arms. He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring squeeze. “It needs to be sized."
“Quite,” Margaret said. “I stand corrected. Does this mean that you’ll be too preoccupied with your plans to participate in the Bladestone Foundation project that we came here to complete? I’m sure your cousins can shoulder your responsibilities if you’re unable to.”
Before Colin had a chance to answer, Bella spoke up. “There’s no need at all for anyone to help Colin. He’s come up with a wonderful project.” She leaned to the side just enough to look up at him. Her smile was generous and encouraging, and Colin felt himself fall just a bit more in love with her. “It’s all very exciting but I don’t think he’s ready to reveal anything, are you, honey?”
“I’m not actually.” He released his hold on Bella, although he couldn’t resist brushing a kiss across her cheek. How he managed to keep his hands off her at all, he didn’t know. “Let me walk you out, Granny.”
Without giving her time to protest, Colin swept up his grandmother’s handbag and put a gentle hand under her elbow. “Excuse us, won’t you?”
Colin waited until they were in the corridor and halfway to the bank of elevators before he trusted himself to speak. “That dig you just made at Bella’s expense? Let that be the first and the last, am I clear?”
“Honestly, Colin, you’re acting like a love struck nineteen-year-old on his first trip to the big city. I’d thought you to be more sophisticated than this.” Margaret pushed the down arrow button and then gazed up at him, her expression disapproving, her tone reproachful. “Bella is a beautiful woman, and I might even be able to credit her with a brain based on her shrewd choices over the last few days, but she’s just a woman.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” The elevator pinged, its door opened, and he helped his grandmother into it. “She’s an extraordinary woman and she’s mine. Believe me when I say that I’m going to do everything in my power to make her happy. I’ll tolerate no interference from you.”
Grandmother and grandson stared at each other in silence before the door closed. It was rare that Margaret Bladestone let anyone have the last word. But maybe, Colin reflected as he made his way back to his suite, it was because she recognized the truth when she heard it.
He entered the suite and found Bella and Clive engrossed in a quiet conversation. There was a grace and elegance to her every movement that Colin admired beyond words. He also admired Clive and Bella’s close and loving relationship more than he could ever put into words. It made his relationship with his grandmother seem strained at best.
“Colin, my boy, come and join us.” Clive smiled and waved him over. “Bella was just going over your plans.”
Colin sat across from them. “Which plans might you be speaking of? Our plans to start a nationwide advertising campaign for Vegas weddings or our plans to keep my grandmother in the dark about our marriage plans?”
“We don’t have marriage plans, Colin.” Bella swept her hair over one shoulder and cocked her head at him, her expression thoughtful.
“But you just said that you did,” Clive objected, his gaze going between the two of them. “You said as much to his grandmother.”
Colin didn’t answer, instead he kept his gaze on Bella’s face.
“Grandpa, I’m sorry, I know you must feel like this is a ping pong game and I know it’s confusing, but Colin and I are not married, nor do we have plans to be.”
“I don’t think I’m the one who is confused, Bella,” Clive said.
“Grandpa, please, don’t start.”
Colin decided it was time to intervene. As much as he wanted to believe Clive’s assertion that he and Bella were destined to be together, it was easy to see that the idea overwhelmed Bella, and that was the last thing he wanted. “Clive, I cannot apologize enough for the turmoil I’ve brought
into your life, and Bella’s, in the last few days. It was not my intent to cause either of you any distress.” He leaned forward. “But if there is any way I can entice the two of you to allow this charade to proceed for a few more days, I’d be deeply grateful.”
“Explain yourself,” Clive said.
Colin suddenly felt like a sixteen-year-old boy come to take a pretty girl out on a date, if he got past the parental approval stage. “I’m aware that this might well appear to be a game between my grandmother and me, but I assure you that it’s not that simple. There are millions of dollars at stake.”
“Money isn’t everything,” Bella’s grandfather said. “Not to people like us.”
“I respect that, Clive. More than I can ever tell you. But believe me when I say that the millions of dollars I’m speaking of aren’t just numbers on a profit and loss statement. Used properly, they can transform people’s lives on a grand scale. But only if I can keep my grandmother from giving the money to a bogus charity for yapping dogs.”
Clive turned to his granddaughter. “I’m going to need that translated.”
Colin sat and listened as Bella gave a succinct description of his grandmother’s plan to pit her grandsons against each other. When she came to the part about the Pekingese, Clive turned to him.
“You weren’t kidding about the money going to the dogs?”
“No.”
“So how exactly do Bella and I come into this?”
“In a perfect world, Bella would agree to pretend to remarry me just long enough that we keep my grandmother distracted and preoccupied. If she thinks that Bella and I are actually going to end up legally married, the thought will drive her half mad.”
“You sure know how to make a girl feel wanted.” Bella stood and headed over to the wet bar. She took out three wine glasses and a bottle of Merlot. “I pity the woman who actually does end up with Margaret as an in-law.”
Colin accepted the glass she brought to him with a quiet word of thanks. He waited until they all had a drink in hand and Bella had sat again before he continued. “What do you say?”
The Wedding Chapel Page 9
