I huffed out a frustrated breath. I was being ridiculous. For all I knew, the guy was married. Maybe that’s why he turned down the drink I offered him. I never once thought to check his hand for a ring. If he was truly interested in me like Natalia thought, surely, he would have stuck around to talk. As I was about to turn around to go back inside, I spotted a familiar form climbing into a late model BMW parked across the street.
It was him.
“Ethan!”
He paused and looked up, a slow grin spreading across his beautiful features. I hurried across the street, trying not to appear too terribly obvious.
Just play it cool. You can do this.
“Hey,” he greeted as I approached.
“Hey,” I repeated like a freaking parrot. This was going to be harder than I thought. “So, um. I feel like I owe you for what happened back there. What do you say? Want to grab a cup of coffee sometime?”
His sexy grin widened, although he didn’t answer right away. The grin was a good sign, despite the fact his hesitation made my insides twist with apprehension. I was practically bouncing on my toes waiting for him to answer. After what felt like forever, but was probably more like three seconds, he responded.
“Okay, I’ll go for coffee. But only on one condition.”
My brow furrowed in confusion.
“What’s the condition?”
“I get to call you Gia.”
2
Part 2: Until Death Do Us Part
Cincinnati, Ohio
One Year Later
I stared up into Ethan’s eyes as we swayed to the slow, harmonious voices of Ed Sheeran and Beyoncé. I wanted to pinch myself to make sure the moment was real. I was officially Mrs. Ethan Walker, the happiest woman on earth. If someone told me a year ago that someone like me, a penniless girl from a run-down neighborhood in Cincinnati, would have landed the man whose arms were wrapped tight around me, I wouldn’t have believed it. That first coffee date turned into a dinner date, then we quickly became so much more.
Four months later, after a whirlwind romance, Ethan proposed. He chose to do it on the night he was appointed Chief of Police for the Cincinnati Police Department. I had originally thought we were going out to celebrate his new title. Little did I know he’d pop the question.
“How did I get so lucky?” I asked my new husband.
“I don’t believe in luck, Gia,” he said and pulled me tighter to his chest. “We all make our own destiny. And you? You were destined to be mine.”
“I’m yours forever,” I whispered. I smiled wistfully and rested my head against his broad shoulder. He stroked my back softly with his fingertips, caressing the skin that was left bare in the V-shaped open back of my wedding gown. When the song ended, Ethan pulled back and took my face between his palms.
“I have a surprise for you.”
“Oh? What kind of surprise?” I asked.
“Do you remember the house we drove by a couple of months ago in Indian Hill? The secluded one that had the pond and was surrounded by the tall pines.”
“Of course I remember.” I recalled the way I gaped at the large ranch style home when we passed by it. With its stone exterior, picturesque dormers, and perfectly trimmed hedges, it looked like it had come straight out of a fairytale. There had been a for sale sign staked into the front lawn. However, when I looked it up online, it was well out of our price range. “I really loved that house—especially the wrap around porch.”
“I know you loved it, so…” he trailed off and a mischievous glint came into his eye.
“So what?”
“I bought it.”
“Ethan!” I gasped. “We can’t afford that house. I looked it up. It was—”
“Shhhh,” he said, placing his index finger over my lips. “I have my ways. Trust me. I wanted the house as much as you did. Didn’t I say we make our own destiny? I’m the Chief of Police now, honey. I can make anything happen and I can’t wait to carry you over the threshold tonight.”
“Tonight?”
“Yes. The movers were at your apartment today. All of your things are already in the new house.”
“They are?” I blinked, not sure how I felt about that. I was still reeling from the idea that I would be living in a storybook home. I was like Cinderella—a girl who dared to dream and had all her wishes come true. However, the idea that a stranger was in my home, going through my personal things without my knowledge, was unsettling.
“Gia, what’s wrong?”
Ethan’s hands slid from my face to the crook of my neck and I felt him tense. I blinked again, unsure of what to say. If I told him my thoughts, I would sound ungrateful and I didn’t want anything to spoil this moment. It was my wedding day and I just found out my prince had bought me a castle. Instead of voicing my concern, I smiled up at him.
“Nothing is wrong. I’m just happy, that’s all. Thank you, Ethan.”
“Anything for you. I know you don’t like city living. If a quiet suburb is what you want, that’s what you get,” he murmured. He tucked a blonde curl behind my ear but I reached up to put it back.
“Those curly wisps are supposed to be there.” I smiled and pointed to the matching curl on the other side. “See? Lisa, my stylist, did my hair that way on purpose.”
Ethan frowned and took a step back just as the song ended.
“I wish you’d gone to the stylist I suggested you go to.”
He looked genuinely annoyed and laughter bubbled from my lips. For some unknown reason, I found his displeasure with my hairstylist to be quite humorous. Most men I knew could care less about such things.
“What’s wrong with Lisa?” I asked with amusement.
He opened his mouth to respond, but whatever he was about to say was interrupted by Natalia.
“Gia, this wedding cake is the bomb!” she exclaimed. “I’m completely addicted to this frosting. Where did you get it from?”
“Oh, um…” I couldn’t remember and had to think about it. We tried so many cakes from various bakers, but Ethan ultimately made the final decision.
“It was Marcella’s Bakery,” Ethan answered without looking at her. His response was somewhat curt and he was looking at something over my shoulder. I turned and saw a group of men lingering by the bar. I recognized them as officers from Ethan’s precinct. When I looked back at Ethan, his jaw was tense. “Gia, there’s some people I have to talk to. I’ll be right back.”
Ethan walked away and I pressed my lips into a frown. Something was upsetting him but I didn’t know what. He’d been just fine a few minutes earlier. I looked back to Natalia. The music had transitioned to a catchy tune that had her tapping a red, high heeled foot in time to the beat. She smiled at me as she licked icing from her fingers. After dropping her cake dish onto a nearby table, she flashed me a playful smile.
“I’m going to yank Teddy and Ben out onto the dance floor. The two of them have been sitting in the corner like a couple of duds all night. Come on! Let’s get them up and moving,” she said and waved for me to follow her.
Natalia was always the life of a party, whereas I was the one who loved to be in bed before ten. We were like night and day yet somehow managed to balance each other out. Tonight, her energy was just as contagious as always but I knew my limitations. I needed a quick time-out from all the festivities before I crashed too early.
“Actually, it’s warm in here, Nat. I’m going to pop into the lady’s room and freshen up first if that’s okay. I’ll meet you on the dance floor in a bit.”
“Sure thing, girl. See you in a few.”
Ten minutes later, I exited the restroom. When I stepped over the threshold to the large banquet room in the hotel, my ears were assaulted by loud music. I glanced around for Ethan. He was still deep in conversation with the men at the bar. I spotted Natalia on the dance floor with Ben, but I didn’t see Teddy. I knew I should join them, but just the thought of going back into a room where the air was thick and heated from all the dancing bodi
es made me feel hot and tired all over again.
Hence the reason I needed to get away for a bit of fresh air—even if it was only for a few minutes. Turning away from the crowded room, I walked down the corridor to the outside courtyard of the hotel.
As soon as I stepped outside, the cool September night air washed over me. It felt good on my skin and seemed to loosen the heavy satin dress sticking to my body. I spotted a wrought iron bench a few feet away, walked over to it, and sat down to toe off my heels. Leaning back, I closed my eyes and breathed deep.
“Runaway bride?” said a deep voice.
Startled, my eyes snapped open. I thought I was alone but standing in front of me was a man wearing frayed jeans and a fitted black t-shirt. Clearly, he was not one of the guests from the wedding, but rather someone who happened to be staying at the host hotel.
“Sort of, I guess. Although, I can assure you—I’m not running from my husband. I’m just taking a break from the stifling heat in that room,” I admitted with a small laugh.
“I can appreciate that. I’m not one for crowds either.”
“Oh, I don’t mind crowds, but being the center of attention for hours on end is exhausting. All the pictures, people clinking their glasses trying to get me to kiss the groom every thirty seconds… it’s stuff like that. I know it’s well intended but it can feel suffocating in a way. Does that make sense or do I sound like a brat?”
He chuckled, the sound full and throaty.
“I hear you completely. And no—you don’t sound like a brat. You sound like a bride who just wants to take a few minutes to recharge. Mind if I sit down?”
“Oh, um… sure.” I moved to gather all the layers of my wedding dress to make room on the bench. Every time I thought I had them all, another one would spill free. I’d love to know who thought crinoline was a good idea. I huffed out a breath in frustration and the stranger laughed.
“It’s okay, I can stand.”
“Don’t be silly. This bench has to be eight feet long. There’s room once I can figure out where this damn dress ends.” After another few seconds rustling and gathering, I had the dress piled onto my lap, leaving plenty of space on the long bench for the man to sit. “There. You see? Please—have a seat.”
He nodded his thanks and sat down. Leaning back, he stretched one arm over the back of the bench.
“So, I suppose congratulations are in order,” he said with a wink. “He’s a lucky man.”
I blushed from the indirect compliment.
“And I’m a lucky girl.”
“I’m guessing you have a big party happening inside,” the stranger mused.
“You could say that. We have three hundred guests in attendance—but I only know about twenty of them,” I added with a light laugh.
“Oh?”
“Yeah. Most of them are my husbands’ friends, family, and colleagues. I don’t really have any family and only had a handful of friends to invite,” I said with a small shrug. “I’m the belle of the ball yet I barely know anyone at my party.”
“No parents?”
“Nah, I don’t know my father. Well, I did but he left when I was just a little girl. My mom…she passed away a few years ago. Cancer won the fight. I wish she was here. I miss her.”
As I spoke the words, a feeling of melancholy settled over me. My mother was an only child just like I was. My grandparents had passed before I was born and I had no aunts, uncles, or cousins to speak of. Up until today, I never really appreciated what it meant to have a big family—to be surrounded by loved ones on one of the biggest days of your life.
“I’m sorry about your mom but I wouldn’t worry about not knowing anyone. These big weddings are really all about how much is in the gift envelopes anyways.”
I looked at him in surprise.
“Well, that’s a callous way to look at it.”
“Is it? I mean, today is really all about you and your new husband. Tomorrow, none of those people will matter. It’s all about you and the life you’re going to build together. I don’t think that’s callous but knowing what really matters.”
“I suppose,” I said contemplatively.
“Perhaps someday I’ll find the right person too. I want a woman who I can cherish—where the sun rises and sets on her happiness, you know? I was once told I’d meet the woman I was meant to be with when I least expected it.” He paused and stared at me intently. Curiosity clouded his eyes. “Maybe I already met her but I don’t know it yet.”
A flush began to rise up my neck, unsure of the meaning behind his words. I watched him carefully, taking in his features for the first time. His sandy brown hair was wavy, bordering on curly, and cut short—as if he could tame the unruliness by shortening the length. His skin was the color of golden honey, like a Coppertone beach tan from spending a healthy dose of his time outdoors. Although the lighting was dim, I could almost make out the color of his eyes. They were light brown—hazel perhaps. However, I wasn’t close enough to distinguish the color of the little flecks that glinted when he smiled. And smiling he was—at me. It was a roguish grin like he had a secret only he knew.
As if there were a magnet between us, our bodies turned toward each other and we shared a held breath. The force of the pull blocked out the crickets, the faint music from the banquet room carrying through to the outside, and all the other sounds of the night. My stomach clenched from the mysterious little butterflies swirling deep in my belly. He was looking at me so intently, his gaze traveling from my face to the curve of my breasts rounding above the sweetheart neckline of the strapless dress. The heat that had begun to rise up my neck flooded my cheeks.
Clearing my throat, I quickly shifted my body back to face forward and gave myself a reality check. I was barely hours into my marriage. I had no business looking at another man like that. He was a total stranger and I sure as hell didn’t know what had come over me. I wasn’t the type to have a wandering eye. Perhaps it was just the fatigue I felt from an emotional and tiring day.
“Yes, well… um,” I stuttered. “Maybe whoever told you that was right. After all, I met my husband when I least expected it.” I emphasized my words in a way that would remind him, and myself, that I was very much a married woman.
“Oh?”
I chanced another look at him to see he had one curious brow raised as he waited for me to continue.
“Yeah, I did. I was being harassed by a drunk customer at the restaurant where I used to work,” I explained, then went on to tell him how I met Ethan. I gave him the abbreviated version of course, but he listened attentively, nonetheless. “On that first coffee date, he asked questions and wanted to know all about me. I told him my favorite color was pink and that I loved daisies. From that day until the day he proposed, a pink daisy would be waiting for me at the beginning of every shift. He said the flower was to remind me that he’d always be looking out for me.”
The stranger cocked his head to the side curiously.
“You said until the day he proposed. What happened after that? Did he stop giving you the daisies?”
“Oh, no. I still received them, just not at work. My husband didn’t want to wait long to get married and putting on a large wedding is no easy task. He talked me into quitting my job so I could focus on all the planning. Once that happened, he’d send the daisies to random places. Sometimes they were at my apartment. One time there was daisy waiting for me with the seamstress who was altering my wedding dress. It was places like that.” I paused to gaze out across the courtyard. Of course, there were pink daisies in the clay pots lining the wall of the building. They weren’t in season and I half wondered if Ethan arranged for them to be there. I smiled and looked down at the gold band interlocking with my engagement ring as I wrapped up the story of my fairytale romance. “We are a tale as old as time.”
“I’m waiting for you to add the words ‘happily ever after’ somewhere in there,” he teased.
“Well, things are pretty perfect,” I admitted.
<
br /> “Then I’ll say it again—he’s a lucky man.” We both fell silent for a time, the space feeling awkward. The bewildering spark that had flickered between us instantly extinguished after I told my story, and for that I was relieved. After a few moments, he spoke again. “So that’s it then for you? You don’t strike me as the type to be content with being a kept woman.”
My head snapped up to look at him, annoyed at the implication.
“Who said anything about being a kept woman?”
“Well, you quit your job, right? Do you plan to go back to work or do you want to be a kept woman?” he asked with a shrug.
I bristled at his use of the phrase for a second time. I wanted to be offended, but I understood where he drew his conclusion from.
“I know how it probably looks. But actually, I do have plans. I’m going back to school for interior design. It’s something I enjoy and have an eye for. I hope to enroll in the spring semester at the University of Cincinnati.”
He nodded his head and smiled in admiration.
“Good for you.”
“Yeah, well… taking on the role of Suzy-homemaker is far from what I want in life. After watching my mother struggle for years to make ends meet by working two, sometimes three, jobs, I vowed to take my life in a completely different direction. To do that, I need to secure an education. Yes, plans were put on hold for various reason, but it’s always been a temporary thing.”
I fell silent, unable to believe how open I was being with him. I rarely mentioned my mother to anyone besides Natalia yet this was the second time I’d brought her up in less than ten minutes time. I didn’t even talk much about her to Ethan. It was just too painful; a wound that would never quite heal. For some reason, I wasn’t holding back with this man. My brow furrowed in confusion as I studied the stranger. For a moment that seemed to stretch on for hours, he simply stared right back at me. Eventually, he placed his hands on his knees and slowly stood.
Leave Me Breathless: The Black Rose Collection Page 30
