Chapter 9
A couple of days after the legal work was completed in Edinburgh, Lea flew business class with Dave to the island of Maui in Hawaii. The luxury villa he’d organised for their short stay was situated at Kapalua Bay Beach, a gorgeous crescent of blindingly white sand, turquoise water, and palm trees. Lea felt as if she were living in a dream sequence—swept away to an exotic location by a handsome millionaire who was intent on marrying her as quickly as he could.
But not for the romantic reasons her girlhood dreams had envisaged.
The speed and efficiency with which Dave set about achieving a goal were nothing less than breathtaking. Lea barely had time to get her head around the idea of a beach wedding, let alone buy the appropriate attire for it, when she found herself standing on the balcony of the beautiful villa overlooking the ocean with just minutes to spare before the ceremony.
Her wedding day. But it felt like she was about to swim in an ocean full of sharks.
It was strange to think that this time last week she had been a single woman with the simple goal of keeping her business on track. Now she was about to be married to a man she had known for months who didn’t love her the way a husband should love his bride.
Was she hoping? Yes.
Was she dreaming of a happy ending? Yes.
Was she crazy? A bit fucking yes!
But Dave did love his family’s home, and so did she, so it would have to be a good enough reason to marry. The only reason to marry was because the last thing she needed was to get silly ideas in her head about their relationship lasting beyond the year, as set down in the document his lawyer had drawn up.
One year and one year only.
The money Dave had transferred to her account upon signing the document would guarantee Lea’s business success. It was exactly the windfall she needed to expand her business from a scribbled sticky-note vision into a profit-making reality.
Dave came out to the balcony where she was standing, looking at the view. She turned to face him with an attempt at a smile. Their wedding ceremony was minutes away, but if he was uncomfortable or uneasy about what they were about to do, he wasn’t showing it on his face. They might as well have been heading down the beach for an afternoon stroll.
He pushed back his shirt sleeve to glance at the silver watch on his strong, tanned wrist. “The celebrant will be here in ten minutes.”
"Okay." Lea took a deep breath and smoothed her hand down over her churning stomach. ‘Isn’t it meant to be bad luck for you to see me in my dress before the ceremony?”
His eyes ran over the bohemian-style white dress she had bought at a boutique in Edinburgh. It was enough, like a wedding dress, for her to feel like a bride, even if she wasn’t a real one, and long enough to cover the scars on her leg. And—even more important—she could wear flat sandals or bare feet rather than struggle with heels.
“I can safely say I’ve already had more than my fair share of bad luck. You too, I imagine.” His tone was wry. “You look beautiful, by the way.” His gaze held hers in a lock that did strange things to her insides. Tingling things, thrilling things. Forbidden things.
Lea was the first to look away, worried he would see things she didn’t want him to see. Things she didn’t even want to admit to herself. “I don’t have a bouquet or anything. I hope that’s not bad luck too.”
He walked over to a box that was sitting on the coffee table in the large open-plan room off the balcony. She hadn’t noticed it earlier, as she’d been preoccupied with getting ready so soon after their arrival. Or it had been delivered while she was in the shower. He took the lid off, and the sweet tropical scent of frangipanis filled the air. He took out a simple but beautiful bouquet and handed it to her.
“I hope this will do?”
“It’s perfect.” Lea took the bouquet from him and bent her face to the creamy blooms with their egg-yolk-yellow hearts, the glorious fragrance drugging her senses. Not to mention Dave’s intoxicating closeness to doing exactly the same thing. He was dressed in an open-necked white shirt, a mid-blue jacket, and trousers that brought out the intense blue in his eyes and the deep olive tan of his skin. She could smell his aftershave—she could even pick up the clean, fruity smell of his shampoo from his recent shower. His jaw was freshly shaven, and her fingers itched to touch his face to trace where the razor had glided over his tanned skin. She was aware of every inch of his body standing within touching distance of hers. Aware of every breath he took, every flare of his nostrils, and every rustle of his clothes when he moved.
Within a few minutes, they would be husband and wife.
On paper.
She had to keep reminding herself of that pesky little detail.
Dave held out his hand, his expression inscrutable. ‘Ready to head down?’
Lea put her hand in his, holding the bouquet in the other, her heart thumping and her pulse racing. “I’m ready.”
I think…
When they got down to the beach, Lea took off her sandals and Dave took off his shoes so they could walk on the sand. They walked together towards the celebrant, who was waiting for them on the beach with two witnesses. Dave had informed Lea earlier that he had told them nothing about the reason behind his sudden marriage to Lea, allowing them to draw the conclusion that it was a genuine love match.
If only it was…
Then Lea wouldn’t be feeling so conflicted about making promises that were essentially meaningless. Entering a marriage that, after a year, would be terminated.
The rhythm of the ocean lapping the shore was the only music to accompany them to their position in front of the male celebrant, who was holding two colourful leis. He gave the traditional Hawaiian welcome, placed the leis over their heads, and began the simple service. “We are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in marriage."
Lea repeated the vows as instructed, intensely aware of Dave’s warm blue gaze and the feel of his hand holding hers as he slid the wedding ring home on her finger. His voice as he said his vows was strong, steady, and assured—no one would ever think he didn’t mean a word he’d said. Apart from her, that is. But it was an act, and good actors—the best actors—made themselves feel the emotion so they could bring authenticity to the scene.
“You may kiss the bride.”
Lea had fooled herself into thinking that Dave might skip this part of the service, especially since he had pulled away from kissing her the other day. But as soon as the celebrant spoke the words, Dave drew her closer, and his head came down, down, down, until his lips touched hers. She was expecting him to lift them straight off, to be satisfied with a perfunctory kiss for the sake of appearances, but the pressure on his lips changed, warmed, heated, and hardened. Burned and branded.
Her lips moved with the sensual rhythm of his, opening to his, welcoming the slow, sexy stroke of his tongue meeting hers for the first time. It wasn’t a deep kiss—no tangling or thrusting of tongues—but gentle nudges and playful touches of lips and tongue tips that sent a shiver coursing through her body from the top of her sun-warmed head to the soles of her sand-caressed bare feet. There was a swooping sensation deep in her belly, an ache spreading in a river of heat, simmering, smouldering, and sizzling in her core.
His lips were gentle and yet firm, purposeful, passionate, and utterly addictive. Lea nudged his lips with her own, sweeping the tip of her tongue over his lower lip, delighting in the way his breath hitched and his hold on her tightened.
His hand glided down to the base of her spine, drawing her closer to the hard ridge of his stirring arousal. It was both shocking and exhilarating to feel the intimate pulse of his blood. It was shocking because she hadn’t dared hope he would be attracted to her in such a way.
Lea slid her hands to the hard plane of his chest, feeling the thumpity-thump, thump-thump of his heart beneath her palm. She forgot about everything but the sensation of his lips moving with such exquisite expertise on hers, drawing from her a passionate response and a clawing and desperate need building in her body with such force that it was overwhelming. Every nerve in her body seemed to be attuned to his mouth, to the warmth and potency of it, to the eroticism it boldly, blatantly promised.
She was so consumed by his kiss that she no longer heard the swish, slap, and sigh of the waves as they lapped and sucked at the shore. No longer aware of the ocean breeze stirring the fronds on the palm trees, no longer aware of the fine grains of sand beneath her feet or the sun shining down on her head.
The sound of the witnesses clapping seemed to snap Dave out of the moment. He lifted his mouth off hers and gave a crooked smile that said everything and yet nothing.
Lea licked her lips and tasted him. She wanted him with a deep ache that vibrated in her core like a plucked cello string. Her heart was still racing, her pulse off the charts, and her legs trembling. Now, that was a kiss. She felt dazed, stunned, and spinning with lingering sensations. Her mouth still felt sensitive, and her lips were slightly swollen. She searched his gaze for any sign; he was as affected by their kiss as she was, but his gaze was like the ocean beside them, with its mysterious depths and shifting shadows.
They were soon swept up in the hearty congratulations, followed by the official signing of the register. Dave had organised refreshments back at the villa, but things had to be cut short when Makani got a call from her mother, who was babysitting their children, that the youngest was running a temperature.
“Sorry to leave so soon,” Dave’s friend said, adding with a twinkling smile, “but just wait until you have kids. Life will never be the same, but in a totally good way.”
“Now, now, honey,” the man said, looping an arm around his wife’s waist. “Don’t go putting baby ideas in their heads just yet. Let them enjoy their honeymoon.”
Honeymoon.
The word was enough to send another shiver shooting through Lea’s body.
Oh God!