Flash Burned (Burned 2)

Resisting the urge to gnaw on my manicured nails, I tried to lighten the mood by joking, “Are you pregnant?”

He glared at me, which made me laugh.

“Come on,” I coaxed. “That was funny.”

Reaching out, he pulled me to him and said, “Stop pacing as though the idea of marrying me makes you nervous.”

“But it does,” I confessed. “And you know why. I don’t believe in marriage. It makes absolutely no sense that we’re having this conversation and that I’m consenting to everything that goes against the grain just because I’m head over heels in love and, suddenly, the thought of not being your wife is something I can’t live with or accept.”

My pulse raged a bit too quick and my breath labored. I’d felt this way when I’d broken up with Dane months ago. For my own good and sanity, I’d told myself back then, to justify the split. But my well-being and mental health had taken solid blows because of that spontaneous decision. I’d quickly come to the realization that I couldn’t be without him.

A terrifying prospect, because it wasn’t exactly smart to hinge your entire existence on one person. Yet this was how it was between us. And he’d struggled with the separation as much as I had.

“Look,” he said, as he held me tightly with one arm and cupped the side of my face with his free hand. His thumb whisked over my cheek in a tender, loving way. “I’ve always said I’ll give you whatever you want, whatever your heart desires. I won’t let you down, Ari. I’ll keep that promise. We will have a wedding. The most beautiful one you can dream up—I swear it. Just … not right away.”

I stared deep into his eyes, seeing the insistence, the need, the pledge to this endeavor. And knew it was a vow he wouldn’t break.

He added, “Tomorro

w will be just for us. After the Lux is opened and I don’t have to worry about Bryn Hilliard—Vale’s father—and the others, then we can have a wedding at the resort. Or anywhere else in the world you choose.”

“The Lux,” I told him. “That’s where we should be married. You know it.”

“Then that’s where we’ll do it. With a huge reception. Anything you want. But, Ari—” His head dipped and his lips brushed over mine. “Baby. I want to marry you now. Not wait until the spring. I want you to be mine. Fully committed.”

His muscles were rigid, his gaze steely. The raw intensity he exuded captivated me, hooked me.

“For the record, I am fully committed.” I gave further thought to how tormented I’d been when separated from Dane after Vale’s attack, and I knew to the depths of my soul what I really wanted. “We have a lot to do to get ready for tomorrow evening,” I found myself saying. “It might be a private, intimate ceremony, but it has to be perfect.”

“It will be. I have every confidence in your planning skills. And I will find something for us to exchange during our vows. Something that will mean a lot to both of us and be a symbol of our love.”

“Okay.”

There was no point in telling him not to go overboard. He would. That was his nature.

“Seven o’clock?” he ventured.

“Yes.”

“You take care of the ceremony. I’ll handle dinner.”

“You’re going to make Chef D’Angelo work on his day off, aren’t you?”

The Lux was closed for Thanksgiving and the day after, though we all intended to be back at it bright and early Saturday morning.

“Chef and I go way back, to my first hotel in Tahoe. But I’m not going to tell him the occasion. Just that we’re having a dinner party. I’ll ask Rosa to serve.”

“She’ll be so delighted you haven’t run me off with your five-card recipe box.”

He tapped my nose with his finger and said, “You have a very smart mouth.”

“You like what I do with this mouth.”

With a carnal groan, he concurred. “You are rather talented. Meet me in the bedroom in half an hour.”

We left the dressing room and went in opposite directions. I presumed he headed to his office to contact Ethan, Amano, and his lawyer. I grabbed my phone and went into the bedroom, lit the fire, and curled on the sofa in front of the low flames. My first call, to Tamera, would be the easiest one. The other two … not so much.

I was relieved that she was available to officiate. Shocked to the core of her being, if her bewildered tone was any indication, but available. And over-the-moon excited.