Seducing the Enemy - Forbidden Confessions

The inn’s owner, Keeley Reed, sings me down the aisle with her lilting, melodic voice. The gentle music carries on the breeze as my bare feet pad over the white runner, flanked by tiki torches leading me under a trio of arches seemingly braided out of twigs and bright pink flowers. At the end, we stop under a tall white awning framed by soft, draped swaths of white gauze. In front of an altar adorned by a floral garland stands the officiant.

And Jett, waiting for me.

He looks so handsome in tan pants, a billowy white shirt, and a navy jacket. As I approach, his smile turns brilliant. He has eyes only for me. Which is perfect because my heart is only for him.

Vance gives me away. Jett sticks out his hand. My heart threatens to turn over with love.

My brother shakes it, then pulls my fiancé in for a bro hug. “There’s no one I trust more than you to make my sister happy.”

There are a hundred caustic things Jett could say, but he doesn’t. “I love Whitney. I always have. Thank you for your blessing.”

With a final nod, Vance makes his way to my side of the small crowd, consisting mostly of friends and a few cousins, and sits next to my mom. Jett’s side of the aisle is filled with his father and new stepmom, Iris. The woman’s daughter, Calla, recently married Jett’s older brother, Quint. They announced last night that they’re expecting a baby in the spring. His sister Ivy came with her husband Derrick. The younger sister, Lacey, is a wild child. I don’t know if she’ll ever settle down. It will take quite a man to tame her.

“Dearly beloved…” the officiant begins the ceremony.

My heart takes flight while Jett and I look into each other’s eyes. The sun dips down the vivid, cloudless sky toward the horizon as we commit our lives together. Then Jett slips a wedding band on my finger, and I slide one on his. We seal our bond with a lingering kiss.

Finally, we’re man and wife.

“Are you happy, Mrs. Dean?” my husband asks as we make our way down the aisle, toward our reception. He’s all smiles.

If he’s happy now, just wait. I’m going to give him the best wedding present ever.

I send him a glance so full of love and joy. I never imagined my life could be so sweet. “I am. How about you…Daddy?”

As we reach the threshold to the inn, he stops in his tracks and searches my face. “Are you saying…”

“I’m pregnant. I found out this morning.”

He embraces me with a hearty laugh. “Well, that’s one thing I can cross off my honeymoon honey-do list.”

“You were making it your mission to knock me up?”

“Hell yeah.” He kisses me. “I’ve missed out on eight years of being with you. I need to accelerate the timetable to start this family. Besides, you’re going to be hot all round and pregnant.”

I beam a smile at him. “You always seem to think I’m hot.”

“Because you are. But it’s more. You’re smart. You’re funny and understanding. And you’re my other half. I love you, princess.”

“If you had told me that afternoon you summoned me to the hotel bar that we’d wind up deliriously in love, married, and pregnant within a month, I would have called you crazy.”

“I’m sure. But I arranged everything because I hoped all those things would happen.” He swallows. “I would have done anything to be with you.”

“I know.” I cup his beloved face. “So instead of calling you my enemy that day, I guess I should have called you a genius.”

“Oh, I like that,” he kids. “A visionary genius, even. Maybe add brilliant to that, too.”

I laugh. “Now you’re laying it on thick. I don’t need to inflate your ego any more.”

He leans in for a long, slow kiss. “It’s not my ego you’re inflating, wife.”

When he rocks into me, I giggle. “I can tell.”

My husband takes my hand and leads me inside, facing me in all sincerity. “Can I do anything to make you happier? Nothing is more important to me.”

When Jett looks at me like he could blissfully stare at me forever as he brushes a gentle thumb over my lower lip, I melt. “Why?”

“You’ve made me ecstatic every day since you came back into my life. I’m going to make you happy for the next seventy years.”

“That’s a deal I can get behind. I love you, too.”

Then we seal our forever with a kiss.