One Hot Secret (Love on Fire)

Chapter 30

Grace

“You look beautiful.” I can’t stop looking at Isla. She’s glowing, and it’s not from the makeup we helped each other apply. Happiness is radiating from inside her. We’re in a hired limo on the way to the venue. It’s only a few blocks away, but the package comes with a limousine. The men went first twenty minutes ago.

“I’m so excited; I feel as if I can fly out the window,” Isla says.

“Please don’t; Mark will kill me. I love the way he looks at you as if you’re his whole life.” It’s always been like that between the two of them, and I always wondered why they were taking so long to make it official.

“Sort of the way Kyle looks at you,” Isla said.

“No, we’re definitely not there yet.”

“You don’t see it do you?” she asks me. “That man is going to propose to you soon.”

I laugh nervously and remember Kyle’s comment earlier about wishing it was us getting married. I’m in love with him too, but I can’t think long-term yet. I’m still getting used to dating a celebrity. The thought of marriage scares the hell out of me.

“I hope not.”

Isla smiles fondly at me. “A lot of women would donate a limb to be Kyle’s girlfriend.”

“Only for material things. All this is nice, but it doesn’t matter or even contribute to a person’s happiness,” I tell Isla.

She smiles at me and pats my knee. “No wonder Kyle refuses to let you go.”

“Why?”

She shakes her head, but before she can answer, the limo comes to a stop in front of one of the glamorous buildings in the town. The driver opens the door for us, and at the entrance, there’s someone waiting to show us to the chapel. We pause outside while he goes in. I adjust Isla’s hair and her strapless pale pink dress. I have a similar dress on except that mine is sea green and has spaghetti straps. The music inside the chapel changes, and it’s time for me to go in.

The uniformed young man who brought us in comes back out with a bunch of flowers, which he gives to Isla. She inhales them, and her eyes fill with tears.

“Mark remembered. I told him I needed a flower arrangement to feel like a real bride.”

“It’s beautiful, just like the bride.”

It’s my turn to go in, and after kissing Isla, I make my way down the aisle, trying not to rush down. My heart thumps wildly as I imagine that it’s Kyle and me getting married. By the time I reach the front, a layer of sweat is covering my brow. I shake off my silly thoughts telling myself we have a long way to go before we have to think of stuff like marriage.

I raise an eyebrow when I see Kyle standing next to Mark as his witness. Sweet. I didn’t know that he was going to ask him. They both look very smart in identical tuxedos.

Watching Mark tear up as Isla enters the small chapel makes me tear up as well. They only have eyes for each other as the ceremony proceeds. It’s short but touching, and Kyle takes my hand and squeezes it as they are saying their vows.

Afterward, we have lunch in the adjoining hotel and drink a bottle of champagne to toast the newlyweds. I can’t tear my eyes from Kyle, and each time I look at him, I find his gaze on me. I can’t help wondering if I’ve finally found the man I want to spend my life with. If I’ve finally come to terms with his life in the limelight and I’m confident that I can handle it.

We have a good time in the hotel, and the champagne flows. Later, we continue our celebration until the wee hours of the morning in the hotel’s bar where we are staying.

We finally make our way to our respective suites, way after midnight.

“I can’t tell you how thankful we are. You’ve made our wedding super special and something I’ll never forget,” Isla tells Mark tearfully. She throws her arm around him, alcohol removing any inhibitions she might have felt.

“You’re welcome. It was my pleasure,” Kyle says. He drank less than the three of us, and I have a feeling that he’s the only one who is close to sober.

“You’re like a brother,” Mark says solemnly, his voice slurring.

I stifle a giggle, and Kyle keeps a straight face as Mark launches into an emotional speech and then clumsily hugs him. We won’t see them again as they are flying off to Hawaii for their honeymoon tomorrow morning before Kyle and I fly home.

We finally manage to extricate ourselves and head to our suite.

“That was a lovely day, but now I’m glad to have you to myself,” Kyle says, pulling me into his arms.