"And?" he asked when she had finished, teasing her further.
Once again she smiled and kissed him.
"And?" he asked once more in his exaggerated mock frustration at her.
Finally she laughed out loud.
"Alright! Yes, I will marry you! Now shut up!"
~~~~~
The following month the magazine was released and Samantha was immediately approached by prospective clients, eager to have her design gowns for their upcoming weddings.
"Thank you so much, Alexis. I know this is all your doing," she said to her friend, who had travelled up by train to spend the weekend with her as Samantha moved out of her family home and into an apartment.
The two young women were moving things around, finding places for all of Samantha's personal items whilst creating a workspace for her also.
"It is not my doing, Samantha! You did the work on that dress, and now you are being recognised for that work. Stop trying to deflect from your success and just enjoy it."
Samantha laughed at the bossy sound of the voice that had been speaking.
"Yes, Ma'am!" she said, making Alexis laugh with her.
"Now, what about your own wedding dress? How is that going?"
Alexis saw Samantha's face light up instantly.
"It will be simple. I don't need anything grand. I just want…"
"Yes?"
"I just want to marry Tom."
Alexis held back the 'I told you so' that automatically wanted to jump out of her mouth. The two women had become so relaxed with one another since Tom had introduced them that quips were common and always greeted with humour, but Alexis didn't want to tease her friend in this instance.
"Not long now."
"I know," Samantha replied, a sigh visible in her voice.
Alexis laughed at her.
"Why the big sigh? You guys have known each other your whole lives. You must already know each other inside out…"
"Yes, all except one way," Samantha said quietly, almost as if to herself.
Alexis said nothing, not wanting to ask for clarification on that, so changed the subject.
"And the wedding itself?" she asked and Samantha looked excited, whilst also showing some doubt on her face.
"You know that Mr Kokiri arranged everything, right? The hotel rooms for everyone, and the room for the wedding ceremony itself. I don't understand why he has done that…"
"I am sure it is a business decision…"
Alexis saw Samantha looked at her with an indefinable look on her face.
"Are you really sure about that, Alexis?"
"What else could it be?"
"Alexis…"
"Yes?"
"What is it with you and Lincoln Kokiri? I've never asked before because I know you are a private person. But what…?"
"Samantha, that is irrelevant to your wedding, I assure you. He is a businessman and his company frequently invests in other businesses. If he is doing something like this, trust me - it is for a good business reason."
Samantha felt the conversation close and let it go, not wanting to make Alexis any more uncomfortable than she already looked.
"Can I show you my dress design?" she asked, in determination to help relax the situation.
"Yes! Of course I want to see it!" Alexis said, eager also to move their conversation anywhere else.
She watched as Samantha pulled out her sketch book and brought it to the sofa, where she sat down and opened it up to scroll through the pages as Alexis sat beside her.
"Samantha! Oh my gosh, stop flicking through those pages and go back to the start!"
"What?" Samantha asked as she did as she was instructed.
As she turned the first page, she saw Alexis face the drawings before her with a look of awe on her face.
"I haven't seen your work in this form before, except for the dress you made for me. I want to see all of these, so turn the pages slowly."
As Samantha turned the pages, Alexis felt herself experience a slight shade of envy at the obvious creative talent before her. But that was shaken off with the happiness for her friend.
"You are so talented. You deserve all the success that will come to you, Samantha. Even if you do get a helping hand now and then by a rich benefactor - by anyone. It doesn't matter because this … this is your work, no-one else's, and no-one will buy your work just because you know someone rich, I guarantee. This is all on you, so don't ever ask how much Lincoln or anyone else is making this happen for you. The only person making it happen is you. Look at these - oh my God, they are incredible."
Samantha listened and smiled at Alexis, and then finally turned to the page of her wedding dress design.
"This is it."
Alexis looked at her and then grabbed the book to pull it closer and look closer still at the design.
"You are going to look so beautiful," she said with a sound of excitement that made Samantha giggle slightly. "Tom is going to … oh! Tom is going to melt on the spot when he sees you!"
Alexis was now laughing also, and the two of them enjoyed a moment of ease and joy together.
"I can't wait for that day, Alexis," Samantha said softly, and when Alexis looked closely at her she was sure she could see a stray tear trying to escape.
She reached out took Samantha's hand in hers and squeezed it tight.
"I am sure that Tom feels exactly the same way."
10 ~ THE FINAL CHAPTER
Alexis and Samantha readied themselves in a small hotel room of the Park Hyatt Hotel in Melbourne. It was yet another generous offer of Lincoln Kokiri - with Samantha's designs now being so popular that he was starting to earn money on his investment in her, he had offered to put the bride, groom and their friends and family up in the hotel, and pay for the reception, and although her pride had been too high to accept initially, eventually Samantha accepted the offer. She was still convinced that a large part of his generosity was due to whatever it was that he and Alexis had shared, but regardless, now her gowns and dresses were selling on their own accord and she finally was convinced that she had talent and could start to take some pride in her achievements.
Standing in one of her own dresses - a simple but elegant strapless gown of the purist white - Samantha looked at herself in the full length mirror. She was deep in thought when Alexis came up behind her.
"You look beautiful, Samantha."
"Thank you, Alexis. If anyone had asked me a year ago how my life would be right now, I would not have even dreamed that I would be here, in this beautiful hotel, standing in a wedding dress that I designed and made, and marrying Tom. How did my life come to change so much over such a short period of time, Alexis?"
"It has changed because you have worked hard to make it change. You are talented and people are now beginning to see that. You will only get busier in your dressmaking, I am sure. And as for Tom … well I think you and Tom just happened to be the last two people on the entire planet to know that you were always meant to be together."
Samantha laughed at her.
"He is wonderful, isn't he? You don't know how often I treated him badly, completely turning my back on him at times, but he has never once made me feel like I was doing anything wrong. He has always been so accepting of who I am."
"He knows you are a good person…"
"Maybe."
Alexis looked at Samantha's face and could see anxiety.
"Are you nervous about the ceremony?"
Samantha smiled at her.
"No, that I am fine with," she said and blushed as she continued. "It is afterward … tonight … that I am uncertain about."
Alexis was surprised by the words. She and Samantha had never talked about anything intimate, but she had assumed that Samantha and Tom had been sexual. Now she was suddenly uncertain.
"What are you uncertain about?"
Samantha looked at her friend intently, blushing profusely.
"We've never … I've never … he's never…"
"Oh! No! You do not mean that you are both … virgins?"
Samantha laughed softly and nodded her head.
"Yes. You sound surprised."
"Well you and Tom are so … intense! Whenever I have been around the two of you - even right from that first dinner at his home - I have always thought I was witnessing open desire and passion that you shared together. The two of you really do look like you are sharing and enjoying really hot sex!"
Samantha laughed out loud.
"Perhaps it has been more a case of sexual frustration," she teased Alexis back and they both laughed together.
"Come on, then. Let's get you to your groom to be so that you can become his wife, and then we can all let you guys get on with your night!"
Hearing a knock on the door, Alexis opened it to see her husband Anthony there.
"Oh God," he moaned softly as he looked at her. "How do you keep getting more beautiful? Can you and I just stay here instead?" he asked with a mock sadness before a broad grin spread on his face, making Alexis laugh as Samantha threw in her conversation from behind his wife.
"No you can't, you horny bugger. She is required right now, as are you!"
Anthony laughed out loud and leaned in to kiss Alexis softly before moving forward and kissing Samantha on the cheek.
"Alright bossy, you win. Come on, there is a very eager lad downstairs!"
Escorting the two of them out of the door, Anthony saw Samantha's uncle approach to give her a wink and a smile before taking her arm as her choice to be led down the aisle with.
In a small conference room that had been magically transformed for the occasion, a small amount of guests were assembled and waiting, and as Alexis and Anthony started to walk down the aisle, Tom turned and gave her a small, nervous smile, watching as she moved with such grace and confidence - such a different woman to the one he had met when she had come to work in the supermarket he was a supervisor at.
As Alexis walked down the aisle, another set of eyes followed her. He wasn't at the wedding for her - he was there for Samantha due to her business success and her gratitude to him for helping her to get started - but when Lincoln saw Alexis he felt a familiar pang in his heart. He thought those feelings had all gone - and he had been glad they had gone, because the feelings that had flowed on from his attraction to her had led to them both becoming so screwed up, although in different ways. But his heart was sinking now, looking at her and seeing how beautiful she was - how confident and poised she was. He knew she was happy now and he had no reason to dislike her husband - it was due to Anthony that she had finally recovered and become the person she was now - but he couldn't help his heart. No matter what happened for the rest of his life, she would always be his greatest regret.
Feeling Hannah's hand take his, he looked at her and knew she was a good woman, and in the months that they had drifted from simple employer/employee relationship to good friends and then more, he knew he was in a good place with her. But just as he had thought when he had first met Alexis - when he had been married to Diana - the same thought passed through his mind once more. 'She just isn't Lexi'.
Hannah watched his face and felt some concern at his facial expression as Alexis had walked by. She knew fully how they had affected each other over those three years, but she had believed he was recovered from that. But looking at him now, she wondered…
Tom watched his best man and Alexis come to the end of the aisle and then part as Alexis moved to one side and Anthony came and stood next to him.
Next he saw his bride approaching, with her uncle walking beside her, and Tom felt his heart completely melt. So much nervousness was inside of him, both from them finally taking this step out of being just friends to becoming so much more, and from anticipation of the night to come.
The vows were said and finally the magical words arrived, giving Tom permission to disregard everyone else, take his bride into his arms and give her the kiss he had been desperate to give her ever since he had seen her walking toward him.
The room had been set up so that everything was carried out in the one area - the wedding vow exchange, the dancing, tables and chairs for dining, and a buffet off to the side.
Tom and Samantha moved forward to have their first dance as husband and wife.
"You look so beautiful," he whispered to her and she felt her body react to his as she moved closer to him.
"I'm nervous … about tonight," she said to him quietly with a slight blush on her face, and he responded by looking at her with a similar look on his.
"Me too. But I shall have fun exploring…" he said with a cheeky grin on his face, making her laugh as she punched him on the arm, just has she had been doing for the past 20 years. "I love you Samantha. Thank you for saying yes." He whispered in her ear and she fell against him - melted against him. Tom. Her friend forever and now her husband. Soon to be her very first lover.
Anthony led Alexis out onto the dance floor while watching Samantha and Tom.
"They look outstanding together, don't they?" he said as he moved her around the floor.
"They do," Alexis replied, also watching the newly wed couple. "They always did, I think. However as much as I love having Tom as my friend, I do not think that he looks as outstanding as you do, my lovely husband. You I could look at all night."
"Oh, is that so?"
"Oh yes."
"Then I had better keep you up all night so that you can," Anthony replied and leaned in to kiss her.
Soon Tom and Samantha were approached by their photographer, who moved them this way and that, to this location and that, with this person and that, so that a full photo shoot could be done, both for their own record and for further promotion of her work.
As the evening wore on, guests were sometimes eating, sometimes just talking and sometimes dancing, with Tom and Samantha both doing the rounds to talk to everyone.
When they approached the table where Lincoln and Hannah sat, talking business to other likeminded people, Samantha saw Lincoln stand up and shake Tom's hand before he turned to hug her.
"You look beautiful, Samantha. Thank you for inviting us to come and attend this - we are very grateful for the invitation."
"Oh no! You did all of this - you couldn't seriously think we wouldn't invite you to attend!"
Samantha saw the usually power-exuding man suddenly look a little shy, something she had not seen on him before.
"Well I thank you anyway, and I do wish you both the very best. I have no regrets about investing in you, Samantha. You are an incredible designer, and Tom here is a very lucky man."
Tom watched the interaction and felt at ease with it. He still didn't quite 'get' Lincoln Kokiri - an older man but who could invoke such strong feelings in people. Although he wouldn't mention it, he hadn't forgotten the morning Lincoln had forcefully walked toward him that morning in the supermarket, before Alexis stepped in and dragged him away. Something about that interaction had stuck with him as a bit of a mystery.
But he couldn't doubt the generosity of the businessman and the way that he was helping Samantha to move forward as a designer. And, he justified, that was more important than the uncertain feelings he had toward the man because of that moment in time in the supermarket.
The married couple smiled and moved on to the next table. As they did so, Hannah saw Lincoln's eyes fall once more to Alexis and Anthony on the dance floor.
"Would you like to dance, Lincoln?" he heard the voice beside him ask and he nodded and instantly became the confident, debonair gentleman that he was and held out his hand to welcome her up and onto the dance floor with him.
~~~~~
Shortly after taking time to talk to all of their guests, Tom pulled Samantha into his arms.
"Samantha. My lovely bride … my lovely wife. I don't think you and I need to be here any longer. Do you?" he asked her quietly and she looked closely at him, blushing but then nodding, feeling the same as he was.
"I would like to be alone with yo
u," she whispered in his ear and he felt such desire in him that he thought he might burst with longing.
"Shall we say something to our guests? I don't know what is etiquette at such times."
Samantha looked at her husband - lifelong friend, Tom, who had always been dependable and had always put other people first.
"Maybe if I just tell Alexis quietly, but then not announce it," she suggested and saw him smile.
Tom nodded at her and let her walk over the dance floor and whisper something in their friend's ear, and Tom saw Alexis turn and give him a knowing smile and nod, before Samantha was coming back to him.
Instantly she took his hand and the two of them walked out quietly, noticed by some guests but not by others.
In the elevator Tom pulled her close and kissed her deeply, feeling her body instantly melt against his as if she had been waiting for that moment all night long.
"No holding back tonight," she said suggestively and he knew exactly what she meant. They had been holding back, out of fear of ruining their friendship, for far too many years.
"No holding back," he reassured her before kissing her again, and continuing to do so until the elevator door opened at their floor.
As Tom pulled the key card out of his pocket he found himself shaking so much that he couldn't at first align the card with the slot it had to move down into. It was then that Samantha realised just how nervous he was. In this they were so different, she realised. Although both virgins, she found she was more excited rather than nervous, as if her body had always known this night was coming.
Tom felt sheepish as Samantha reached out her hand and placed it over his, to push the card down into the slot smoothly. He looked at her face as they heard the click of the door unlocking, and found himself in awe of her. He had known her all his life but something was about to change between them … forever.
Once in their room, he found himself presented with her back as she moved her hair out of the way and asked him to unzip her dress. In doing so, Tom felt his hands shaking even more than they had in the past few minutes at the door lock. He had seen her wearing so little since they had become play partners at the BDSM club, but tonight felt different. Even in this moment, just removing her wedding dress, he felt his arousal heightened to a point that he had not realised he could reach.
Friendship of Desire (Painful Deliverance Book 3) Page 13
