I was flabbergasted. He thought I’d been serious? I had been teasing him! Why on earth would he think I was honestly wanting to put that aspect of our relationship on hold? Was it because I’d spent so much energy pushing him away, before we were together?
I opened my mouth to speak, but all I got out was, “Jack, I was…” before he spoke over me.
“I get it, honey. I do. You were burned really badly by LCB. You don’t know that you can trust a man to be faithful. And you know, our life together is going to involve a crazy amount of travel, and most of it not together. We need to know we can trust each other to be faithful; that we can stay in control of desires and not be a slave to them.
“Obviously, I don’t have anything to worry about with you, hon. Five years is a long time to go without a boyfriend.”
“How did you know I haven’t had a boyfriend since Ali?” I asked. I hadn’t told him that, had I?
He gave a sheepish, guilty shrug and said, “Kimi told me.”
Of course she had. That girl just had zero filters.
“I’m just saying that if you haven’t been tempted in five years, it’s a pretty good bet that you can resist temptation when I’m on the road.”
I nodded. It was true. I hadn’t even thought of a man that way since Ali, till Jack came along.
I cocked my head, looking at him. “Are you saying that temptation would be too much for you? With groupies? Or when I’m traveling?”
He gave a firm shake of his head. “No. That’s not it at all. I wouldn’t be tempted, but I want to prove it to you, by resisting the thing that tempts me the most. You.” He lifted his hand to stroke my cheek. “I want you to have that confidence, that surety, that you can trust me. That’s why I’m willing to wait, if that’s what you want.”
Oh boy. Wow. That was a lot to process. Is that what I wanted? There had been so many times I’d been tempted by him, when I couldn’t sleep for wanting him. I thought of Jack’s amazing kisses, the way he left me breathless, the way my pulse raced when he touched me, the way he scorched my retinas just by taking off his shirt. I wanted to pass on that? Absolutely not! But the more I thought about it, the more I saw the appeal. Knowing, with absolute certainty that I could 100% trust him, no matter what. And knowing that what he was offering was a gift, a love offering, proving his love. How could I turn down such a gift?
“Are you sure, Jack? Are you sure you want to do this? Or, rather,notdo this?”
He looked at me with utter adoration and said, “For you, Eve, yes. And Eve?”
“Yes, Jack?”
“How quickly can you pull together a wedding?”
Chapter 30
The answer to that question was three months.
At last, it was time. I stood in the doorway, my arm lightly threaded through Bernard’s, my heart pounding.
Finally, I got to show Jack my wedding dress. I’d teased him with it ever since I got it but refused to give a preview. He’d pretend to be miffed, but I knew he was as excited for the big reveal on our wedding day as I was.
I felt like a princess. My grandmother and my maids of honor had been fussing over me all day. My hair was done in a complex winding bun that had strands of pearls woven through it. Grandmère had given me her antique pearl drop earrings. That was something old. My engagement ring was recent enough to be considered something new. Diane had reminded me last minute that I needed something borrowed and had taken off her blue sapphire necklace and put it on me, which took care of blue as well. But as back up I had the blue garter that was hugging my thigh.
I was overwhelmed with the opulent splendor of the room. The Duvier penthouse party venue was gorgeous. The twinkling lights which were strung everywhere were reflected in the floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the city. Garlands of jasmine were strung between the chairs, forming an aisle that had white carpeting. Each row of chairs had tall pillar candles in glass jars flickering beside it. (I insisted on electric candles.) The carpet was strewn with pink rose petals, charmingly flung by Jack’s two nieces as they raced each other up the aisle toward the archway laced with ribbons and roses.
I had hugged and kissed my bridesmaids before they went down the aisle. Diane, as maid of honor, went first. I’d told my bridesmaids to choose their own dresses, so long as they were blue. She had picked a floor length, navy, body-con dress with spaghetti straps, ruched at the sides, hugging her curves. She’d been walked down the aisle by Morgan who’d managed to tame his wild hair into a braid and had been stuffed into a tux.
My other bridesmaid was, of course, Kimi. She’d gotten an upgrade to silver level BFF for all the work that she’d done to help. She’d even hosted the Luxe mani-pedi bachelorette party we’d had, complete with lobster rolls and champagne. Even though we appeared to be total opposites, I knew we’d be the best of friends. She’d been walked down the aisle by Chip, who was looking quite dapper himself.
I was amused to see Diane giving Chip a pointedly interested look. It looked like the swanky banker might have some competition.
Even more interesting was the intense look that Morgan was giving Kimi in her low-cut, midnight blue gown. Sequins caught the light, drawing attention to the way it clung tightly to her shape. Perhaps this might not be the only wedding I’d attend this year.
And then my eyes zeroed in on my whole reason for being here. Jack. He looked heart-stoppingly handsome in his fitted tux, his dark curls tousled, his look intense. And the whole of his attention was on me. His dark eyes bored into mine and as the music swelled, indicating it was time for me to walk, his face broke into a joyful smile. I probably should have looked around to catch the eyes of the guests, to smile and let them know I was glad they’d come. But I could not look away from Jack; our eyes were locked onto each other.
For three months Jack had kept his word, being kind, loving, attentive, and funny, but never pressing, never allowing us to get carried away. And now our time of proving was at an end.
As we reached the front row, Bernard surrendered me to Jack and took a seat next to Grandmère, who already had a lace handkerchief pressed to her cheeks.
Jack and I clasped hands. I felt almost shy, looking at him, hardly believing that we would soon be married. Following the prompts from the minister, we exchanged our vows, promising to love, honor, and cherish, in sickness and in health, till death do us part. We then exchanged our rings, sliding them smoothly onto each other’s hands. And then the kiss. Perhaps The Princess Bride said it best:
