She had the opposite effect of angering him. Lucas had to keep from smiling at her. If she saw that then she would think he was laughing at her, which in a way he was. He was thinking he was going to definitely enjoy his marriage. He wouldn’t have been happy with some woman who catered to his every whim. He had enough people willing to do that. He liked that his future wife had a strong personality and felt a desire to fight him. He knew that he wouldn’t get bored with her ever.
He knew he could push the issue and she would stay with him but he also knew to win the war was far more important than to win each and every battle. He’d put her through the wringer already and her health was far more important than anything else. He would let her have this one.
“Fine, we’ll do it your way. It will make the honeymoon that much better,” he said as he led her back down to her door. Just as she was about to go through the open doorway he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her, long and hard. Let her think about what she would be missing out on tonight he thought as he noticed her swoon.
He walked away feeling pretty good about himself. That was until he got into his apartment, alone and in need of release. He sighed as he turned his shower faucet to cold and prepared himself for a hell of a long week.
Chapter Eight
“Breathe Amy, just breathe.” She felt like she was about to hyperventilate as she stood in the dressing room inside the huge mansion. She’d spent the morning being pampered for her wedding day.
Her hair was up in a bun with curls cascading down her neck and face. Her make-up had been expertly applied to erase the dark circles and highlight her eyes and mouth. Her nails were extended and painted. She didn’t even feel like herself. They’d just put her in the most magnificent dress she’d ever seen and she was staring in the mirror at a stranger. Who was the girl gazing back at her? They had thankfully given her a few blessed minutes to calm herself, which she was grateful for.
“It’s time Amy,” she heard Joseph say softly. That was enough to make her turn her head. She’d never heard him speak without his normal booming tenor. He looked so handsome in his tuxedo.
She definitely knew who the boys got their great looks from. He was so alike and yet so different from Lucas.
Joseph had great looks and had aged well. The biggest difference between Joseph and Lucas were their eyes. Lucas’s eyes were always so focused and determined, where Joseph’s had laugh lines around them and always seemed to sparkle. He seemed to be so much more relaxed and at ease. She wondered if he’d been that way his whole life or if there was a time he’d held that same focused look as his son.
Joseph walked up and kissed her on the cheek. “I’m so glad to finally have a daughter in the family. You’re beautiful inside and out,” he wrapped his large arms around her for a gentle hug.
Those words meant so much to her. He would never know how much she needed to be included in a loving family. She would give up any amount of money to be loved the way Joseph loved his children. She was getting just a piece of that now and didn’t ever want to let it go.
“I know that your own father isn’t here and I wanted to say that I would be more than honored if you would allow me to walk you down the aisle this afternoon,” he said with some tears in his eyes.
Amy’s eyes were burning, as she replied to his kind offer. “It would be my honor to have you escort me. You’re the kind of father I always dreamed of having.” She couldn’t say anything further because she got entirely too choked up as she looked into his kind eyes. He pulled her close for a hug and she clung to him, hoping he would never let her go. She’d been so careful in her years to not get too attached to people, yet in a few short months she loved Lucas’s entire family.
“Now, now, you don’t want to get all teary eyed and ruin that makeup. I don’t think my son could handle any delays. He’s already pacing up and down the hallway. The preacher just led him to his spot at the altar,” Joseph chuckled.
Amy took one final look in the mirror and then took a deep breath, “I’m ready,” she said. She took Josephs arm as he led her out of the room. Amy heard the music begin as they stepped through the doorway.
She gasped and the only thing that kept her from running was Joseph gripping her arm. “I thought only a few people would be here,” she whispered to him.
“Now Amy, don’t be frightened. My oldest son’s finally getting married and we couldn’t hurt anyone’s feelings by not including them in the affair,” he said to her, making her feel some guilt about not wanting all the strangers staring at her.
Amy took a deep breath and felt the nerves running through her entire body as they took the first steps down the beautifully made aisle. She looked straight ahead because she feared if she faced the stranger’s faces she would turn around and run.
Suddenly she spotted Lucas at the end of the aisle, just a short distance from her. He took her breath away with how beautiful of a man he was. Their eyes met and held. He gave her a smile that seemed to tell her everything would be okay.
Amy felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. She stopped to catch her breath. Joseph looked at her quizzically, but she didn’t notice. She didn’t notice anything but the way her body was quivering.
She was in love with him. She loved him so much she couldn’t imagine her life without him. He was going to be her husband and he didn’t love her. She didn’t know how she was going to get through the wedding. She didn’t know how she could be with him every single day, making love and raising a child and knowing he didn’t love her. She was barely holding herself together.
Joseph prompted her and she finally began to walk forward again. She had to fight to keep the tears away. Maybe he would fall in love with me, she tried to comfort herself. But if he thought she’d somehow trapped him into the marriage, how would he ever trust her, much less love her?
He knew she hadn’t planned the pregnancy but he was honorable in doing what was right for his child and therefore would always feel like he was trapped.
There was nothing she could do at the moment, so she would continue on down the aisle and get the wedding over with. She was a strong person. She would have to store away her love and try to survive the whole thing.
Lucas felt a moment of panic as Amy stopped halfway down the aisle. Was she going to turn and run? He wouldn’t let her get far. He knew how badly she wanted her baby and as much as it hurt him to trap her he couldn’t let them go. In the months he’d known her she’d invaded his every sense and he couldn’t picture a future any longer without her in it.
He breathed a sigh of relief as they began walking towards him, again. When his father placed her hand in his and then stepped up to stand beside him, he felt a feeling of calmness wash over him. He had her in his arms and he wasn’t going to let her go.
He barely heard the preacher saying the vows. He focused just enough to repeat the words he needed to say but other than that his mind was consumed by his beautiful bride.
She was a vision, unlike anything he’d ever seen before. He’d dated models and heiresses. He’d been with far more women than he should’ve been with but none of them had been able to cause the tightening in his gut like Amy could. She had a natural beauty that outshone the brightest stars of Hollywood.
He would move heaven and earth to have her be his wife forever. He was falling in love with her, he realized. He was shocked to the depths of his soul by that revelation. He couldn’t let her know of his feelings because then she would know she had the power to drop him to his knees and beg her for mercy.
He wouldn’t let her destroy him. He would be a good husband and she would learn to love him and not his name and not his money. Please God, let her love me and not what I can give her, he secretly added to his vows of love, honor and obey.
They finished the ceremony and the preacher told him to kiss his new bride. Lucas gave a full-fledged smile. “Gladly.” then he bent her slightly backwards and consumed her mouth. They both forgot they were standing in a room full of people.
Neither of them had any idea how long the kiss continued. They may as well have been alone in their bedroom. It had been so long since he’d held her and tasted the sweet nectar of her lips.
“Ah son, you have plenty of time for that during the honeymoon,” Joseph interrupted the pair and slapped his son on the back. The crowd laughed at Lucas’s enthusiasm. Amy turned scarlet and Lucas looked like a very proud husband.
To all those witnessing the wedding that afternoon, the marriage looked like a union of love, which was going to last forever. The way each of them looked at one another could only be described as besotted.
They walked down the aisle as Joseph led the vast group of people to the backyard. Amy was once again in awe of the Anderson family. She couldn’t believe they’d planned the wedding in less than a week.
The yard had glamorous tents set up, with linen covered tables filling them. There was soft lighting, a dance floor and an entire band playing music. Caterers carried around trays of champagne and food, attending to the guests.
On each table sat crystal, china and the most beautiful flower arrangements she could’ve ever wished for. She decided to enjoy the day that was all about her. She would imagine it was a real wedding, with a loving groom at her side.
Lucas had wanted all the silly little traditional things. He didn’t even know why. God knew it wasn’t a traditional wedding. Amy probably thought it more appropriate to have guards with guns ushering her from station to station.
He was surprised to see she seemed to be enjoying herself. She wasn’t gloating or acting like she’d won a game. She appeared to be in slight awe and genuinely happy. His bride was full of surprises or she was one phenomenal actress.
“You know you’re absolutely stunning tonight,” Tom said to her when he finally managed to get a moment with her. She threw her arms around him grateful her best friend was there in a sea of strangers.
“Thank you for being here Tom. This is all so overwhelming,” she told him with a sniffle.
“Just don’t forget about me now that you’re married and prego,” he said with a teasing smile.
She could see the insecurity underneath the teasing though.
“I haven’t had any true friends my entire life. You’re the first one and I promise you you’ll always be the first person I call when I need a shoulder to cry on. You know that you can also call me anytime. We will always be best friends,” she said. She gave him one more hug before she was called over to cut the cake.
Lucas and her cut the cake and fed each other. They toasted their union and they shared dances with family members. Lucas was surprised a little by the intense jealousy he felt as each of his brothers pulled Amy far too close for a married woman and whisked her around the dance floor.
When she was dancing with Alex she let out a delighted laugh at something he said. Lucas walked away from his partner without a word and reclaimed his bride. His brother laughed harder and kissed Amy on the cheek before releasing her to her husband.
