Seven

“Ashley, if you don’t sit still we’re never going to get your hair and makeup right,” Pippa said in exasperation.

“I still think she should have just called in a stylist,” Sylvia said as she eyed the progress Tabitha was making on Ashley’s hair.

“Tabitha is a stylist, silly,” Ashley said. “She’s the best and who doesn’t want the best on their wedding day? And who knows more about makeup than Carly?”

Pippa snorted. “That’s so true. I’m convinced cosmetic companies should just pay her to endorse their products.”

“Close your eyes, Ash,” Carly said. “Time for mascara. Just a bit, though. Don’t want you looking clumpy on the big day.”

Ashley frowned. “Definitely not clumpy.”

“Darling, are you almost done?” Ashley’s mother sang out from the doorway. “You’re on in ten minutes.”

“Ten minutes?” Tabitha shrieked. “No way. Can you stall them, Mrs. C.?”

“I’m not going to be late to my own wedding,” Ashley said firmly. “Just hurry faster, Tab. My hair will be fine. Just put the veil over the knot.”

“Just put the veil over the knot,” Tabitha grumbled. “As if it’s that easy.”

Sylvia rolled her eyes, pushed between Tabitha and Ashley and quickly affixed the veil to the elegant chignon. “There, Ashley. You look beautiful.”

“Lip gloss and we’re done,” Carly announced. “Make a kissy face.”

Ashley smacked her lips and a moment later, Carly pulled away to allow Ashley to see herself in the mirror.

“Oh, you guys,” she whispered.

Her best friends beamed back at her in the mirror.

“You look beautiful,” Pippa said, her eyes bright with tears. “The most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen.”

“Absolutely you do,” Tabitha said.

The four women crowded in to hug her.

“Girls, time for you to go. Your escorts are waiting. We don’t want to make the bride late,” Ashley’s mother called.

Her friends scrambled toward the door, bouquets in hand.

“Your father is coming to get you now,” her mother said as she walked over. She paused when she got to Ashley and then smiled, tears glittering in her eyes. “My baby, all grown up. You look so beautiful. I’m so proud of you.”

“Don’t make me cry, Mom. You know I have no willpower.”

Her mom laughed and reached for her hands. She squeezed them and then helped her to her feet.

“Let me fix your gown. Your father will be pacing outside the door. You know how he hates to be late for anything.”

She fussed with Ashley’s dress and then there was a knock on the dressing room door.

“That will be him now. Are you ready, darling?”

Sudden nerves gripped Ashley and her palms went sweaty. But she nodded. Oh, God, this was really it. She was about to walk down the aisle and become Mrs. Devon Carter.

She threw her arms around her mom and hugged her tight. “Love you, Mom.”

Her mother squeezed her back. “Love you, too, baby. Now let’s go before your father wears a hole in the floor.”

She went ahead of Ashley to open the door and sure enough, her father was outside checking his watch. He looked up when he heard them and his expression softened. A glimmer of emotion welled in his eyes and he held out his hand to take hers.

“I can’t believe you’re getting married,” he said in a tight voice. “It seems like only yesterday you were learning to walk and talk. You look beautiful, Ash. Devon is a lucky man.”

She leaned up to kiss his wrinkled cheek. “Thank you, Daddy. You look pretty spiffy yourself.”

The wedding coordinator hurried up to them and motioned with rapid flying hands. She shooed them toward the entrance to the aisle and then spent a few seconds arranging the train of her dress.

Ashley’s mom was escorted down the aisle and seated, which only left Ashley to be walked down the aisle with her father.

The music began, the doors swung open and every eye in the church turned to watch as Ashley took her first step.

Her bouquet shook in her hands and she prayed her knees would hold up. The dress suddenly seemed to weigh a ton and despite the cold outside, the church felt like a sauna.

But then she caught sight of Tabitha, Carly, Sylvia and Pippa all standing at the front of the church, their smiles wide and encouraging. Pippa winked and held a thumbs-up then pointed toward Devon and made a motion like she was fanning herself.

And finally her gaze locked on to Devon and she forgot about everyone else. Forgot about her nervousness, her sudden doubt. Nothing but the fact that he awaited her at the front of the church and that from now on, she’d belong to him.

It gave her a warm, mushy feeling from head to toe.

And then her dad was handing her over to Devon. Devon smiled reassuringly down at her as they took the step toward the priest and the ceremony began.

It pained her to later admit that she didn’t remember most of the ceremony. What she did remember was Devon’s eyes and the warmth that enveloped her standing next to him as she pledged her love, loyalty and devotion. And the kiss he gave her after they were pronounced husband and wife scorched her to her toes.

Suddenly they were walking back down the aisle, this time together, as a married couple. They ducked into an alcove to await the others and Devon pulled her close into his side.

“You look absolutely stunning.”

He kissed her again. This time slower. More intense. Long and lingering. He took his time exploring her mouth, and when he pulled away, she swayed and caught his arm to steady herself.

Around her, the noise of well-wishers grew and she realized that guests were coming out of the church.

“Darling, they need you back inside the church for pictures,” her mother called as she hurried towards Ashley and Devon. “All your attendants are already gathered. The others are going ahead to the reception. The car is waiting to take you and Devon after you’re finished with all the photos.”

Devon looked less than happy at the idea of posing for so many photographs but he gave a resigned sigh and took Ashley’s hand to lead her back into the sanctuary.

“It’ll be over soon,” she whispered. “Then we can be off on our honeymoon.”

He smiled down at her and squeezed her hand. “It’s the only thing making the next few hours bearable for me. The idea of you and me locked in a hotel suite for days.”

She flushed but shivered in delight at the images his words invoked. She too couldn’t wait for them to be alone.

But at the same time, this was her day and she was going to enjoy every single moment of it. She smiled as she was swarmed by her friends. She was surrounded by countless cousins, her uncles and aunts, her parents, her brother, distant relatives, friends.

It was truly the happiest day of her life.

Devon collected a glass of wine while Ashley’s brother took his turn on the dance floor with her. Devon should probably be dancing with one of her family members but she had so many female relatives that he couldn’t keep track.

Cam immediately found him and Devon whistled appreciatively to mock the formal tuxedo his friend wore.

“Only for you would I wear this getup,” Cam said darkly. “I didn’t wear this for Rafe’s wedding and Ryan married Kelly so fast we were lucky to get a phone call saying the deed was done.”

“You weren’t required to wear one for Rafe’s wedding,” Devon pointed out.

Cam shrugged. “True, but then I wasn’t required to wear one for yours, either. I didn’t want to disappoint Ash. She thinks I look hot.”

Devon shook his head. “I can’t believe you’ve stuck around this long. Not like you to be out of your cave for such an extended period of time.”

Cam made a rude noise. “I’m supposed to convey my congratulations or commiserations, whichever you need or prefer, from Rafe and Ryan. They were both sorry they couldn’t make it but with wives about to drop the package at any moment, they understandably remained at home by their sides.”

“You have to cut it out,” Devon said. “My getting married isn’t the end of the world. You didn’t give Rafe and Ryan this much grief.”

“Oh I did,” Cam said with a grin. “I totally did. But they deserved it. They were both total douche bags.”

“Like you’re a shining example of chivalry, Mr. I-hate-everyone-and-women-in-particular.”

Cam sobered. “Don’t hate women at all. I like them too much if anything. Kind of sucks if you ask me. Besides, it’s fun to give you hell. I think Ashley is perfect for a stuffy stick-in-the-mud like yourself.”

“I didn’t mean that, man,” Devon said wearily. “I’m just on edge. I’ll be glad when this is all over with. Too much stress. I’ve worried on a daily basis that she’d find out the truth and tell me to go to hell. The sooner we can get the hell out of here and on the plane to St. Angelo, the better I’ll feel.”

“For what it’s worth, I wish you well,” Cam said. “I think you made a huge mistake marrying someone over a business deal, but she’s a sweet girl and you could certainly do worse. It’s not you I worry about anyway. It’s her.”

“Gee, thanks,” Devon said dryly. “Glad you’ve got my back on this one.”

Cam’s gaze found Ashley on the dance floor as her brother spun her around. She laughed and her smile lit up the entire room. It was clear she was having the time of her life.

“At least you won’t suffer a broken heart,” Cam said in a low voice. “Can you say the same for Ashley?”

“I’m not going to break her heart, damn it. Can we drop this? The last thing I need is for someone to overhear us.”

“Yeah, sure. Think I’ll go cut in on Ashley’s brother, pay my respects to the bride before I head back to the cave you accuse me of crawling out of.”

Devon watched as Cam sauntered onto the dance floor. A moment later, Eric relinquished Ashley into Cam’s arms.

“You’ve made my little girl very happy,” William Copeland said.

Devon turned around to see his father-in-law come up behind him. William smiled broadly and clapped Devon affectionately on the back. “Welcome to the family, son.”

“Thank you, sir. It’s an honor.”

“You take Ashley and you two have a good time. Don’t worry a thing about the business. We’ll have plenty of time to focus on what needs to be done when you get back.”

Devon nodded. “Of course.”

“Ashley’s mother wanted me to tell you that the car taking you and Ashley to the airport is waiting outside. Now tradition is that you stick around, do silly stuff like cut the cake and stuff it into each other’s faces, but if it were me and I’d just married one of the sweetest girls in New York City, I’d duck and make a run for it. You could be to the airport before anyone notices you’re gone.”

Devon smiled. “That sounds like the best plan I’ve heard all night. You’ll cover my exit?”

William smiled back conspiratorially. “That I will, son. Go on now. Go collect your bride. Everyone here will be more than happy to eat the cake for you. No groom I ever knew gave a damn about cake anyway.”

Devon laughed and then waded into the crowd to go retrieve Ashley from Cam.

Eight

The sun was sinking over the horizon when Devon carried Ashley through the doorway of their suite. As soon as he put her down, she ran to the terrace doors, flung them wide and gasped in pleasure at the burst of color splashed across the sky.

“Oh Devon, it’s beautiful!”

He came up behind her, slipped his arms around her body and pulled her into his chest. He nibbled at her ear and she sighed in pleasure.

“I can’t believe this is our view for the next week. Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve been to the beach? I was a little girl.”

“What?” he asked in mock horror. “You don’t go to the beach?”

“I know. Terrible, isn’t it? I don’t know why. It’s just not where our family ever went on vacation and my friends aren’t really beachgoers. I just haven’t made it a point to go and yet here we are and it’s so fabulously gorgeous that I don’t even have the words to describe it,” she said breathlessly.

He chuckled. “Sounds to me like you have plenty of words. But I’m glad you like it.”

She turned in his arms, allowing his hands to drop to her waist as he held her there. “How on earth did you find this place? I’d never heard of St. Angelo.”

“We’re constructing a resort here. We broke ground several weeks ago. Ryan and Kelly live here, remember?”

Her nose wrinkled. “Oh yes, you told me about them. I remember now. I’ve never met them. I’ve only met Cam.”

“A situation I’ll remedy soon. Bryony and Kelly are both very near to their due dates and so they aren’t able to travel. We’ll have dinner with Ryan and Kelly while we’re here and I’m sure we’ll have the occasion to meet Rafe and Bryony before long.”

“I can’t wait.”

“I couldn’t care less about them at the moment,” Devon murmured. “I’m more interested in our wedding night.”

Heat exploded in her cheeks at the same time a delicious shiver wracked her spine. “I have to get ready,” she said in a low voice. “I have something special. It’s a surprise.”

“Mmm, what kind of surprise?”