Chapter13
The wedding day arrived and Regina awoke in a big, beautiful bedroom at the Carrington mansion. She and Marie had stayed at the mansion the night before the wedding at Cami’s request, so that they would be able to get ready for the wedding and not have the stress of traveling to the house from the city.
As Regina slid out of the big, elevated bed, she realized that Camille had been right. She couldn’t have imagined facing the day that she had ahead of her with an added drive in from the city. Instead, she was slightly more relaxed and already being pampered beyond her wildest dreams.
There was a hot bubble bath waiting for her filled with miles of bubbles and exotic oils, and set in the corner of the big bedroom was a breakfast buffet with everything she had told the estate staff that she liked. Cami came in a few minutes after Regina woke up. She was cheerfully bright and smiling. She went right to the buffet and pulled a bottle of champagne out of a silver ice bucket there, popping it open and pouring it into a pitcher of orange juice.
She filled three crystal champagne flutes with the blend and walked over to the bubble bath where Regina was buried up to her chin in silky bubbles. Only her hands were poked out of the sea of frothy whiteness.
Camille handed the flute to her and she took it with a smile. “Mimosa. Breakfast of champions and brides,” she said with a wink and a lilt to her voice. “Breakfast is all set when you’re ready, too. I’m going to get Marie from her room.”
She disappeared and Regina closed her eyes and sipped her Mimosa, loving the taste of it as she soaked in the hot water and luxurious bubbles. She thought to herself that she could definitely get used to living like she was that morning, though she was sure that it wasn’t even close to the daily routine for the Carringtons.
Cami returned with Marie a few minutes later and Regina reluctantly got out of her bubble bath and into a thick, soft robe. Together they went to the table set near the breakfast buffet that waited for them, and they all sat and ate together, drinking mimosas and talking about the day ahead with intermittent giggles and wide smiles.
With a curious look, Cami gave Regina a hopeful smile. “Are you nervous at all? You don’t look it.”
Regina shrugged a little and shared a quick glance with Marie before she turned her gaze back to Camille. “I’m a little nervous, but I’m focusing on the most important aspect of the day, and that’s helping to stem of the anxiety.”
Marie smiled at her and they both knew that she meant that she was focusing on the money that she was going to be paid for the job that she had taken on, and that was the most important aspect of the day. The job. She was hired to be a fake bride and that’s what she was going to be.
It was a nice perk that she and the groom had become friends, but that was only a perk. She did feel a little nervous about being found out, and about getting into trouble for doing what she was doing; lying to them all and accepting money to marry into the Carrington family, but she had taken it on, and nervous or not, she was determined to go through with it.
Regina mused for a moment and spoke quietly. “I wonder if Ryder is nervous.”
Cami giggled a little and poured all of them a little more of their mimosa cocktail. “Yes, he is. I stopped in on him and the boys to see how they’re doing, and they’re good, except Ryder looked like he might be a little sick, and when I left he was pouring himself a bourbon. He’ll be fine, but he’s nervous too. You two will be just fine. I know it. I have no doubt about it. You fit into this family like a hand in a glove.” Grinning at them both, she popped a small bite of fresh fruit into her mouth and sipped her drink.
It felt like a dream to Regina that she was even there in the massive home, almost a palace, basking in the finery all around her and being treated like she was royalty on the red carpet to her throne. It was completely out of place in her life, and it was so different that she couldn’t get over the sensation that it was a dream and that she was going to wake up at any moment. She willed herself to make the dream last as long as she could. She loved it. She loved everything about it.
Marie did her hair for her, styling it up in big red curls around her head and tucking baby’s breath and tiny cobalt blue roses with small diamond studs into it. She wore the diamond earrings and necklace that Ryder had given her. Her gown was satin and hugged her form with a sweetheart neckline and a mermaid tail bottom. She looked like a silver screen star from the forties, glamorous and stunningly beautiful. Even she was amazed at how she looked.
“I’ve never seen you look so beautiful.” Marie told her with an ear to ear grin as she went to her and hugged her warmly. She whispered into her ear, “No matter what you’re doing this for, you look like the bride of my dreams.”
“Thank you so much.” Regina said gratefully. It was encouraging to her to hear that at least she looked the part, even if she didn’t quite feel it.
Cami hugged her and kissed her cheek. “My brother could not have found a more beautiful, wonderful bride to bring into our family. I’m so happy for you both. I know it’s been a fast romance, but fast doesn’t matter when it’s right, and I know with everything in me that this is right. I’m so happy for you both.”
Regina felt her heart pinch a little at Cami’s words. It stung that she was deceiving such a sweet and loving woman, who was thrilled to believe that she was actually gaining a sister. Regina tried to push it from her mind and keep herself focused on the job and the wedding. Be the bride, she told herself, be the bride that you were hired to be, and don’t let emotions or morality or idealism get into your way and stop you.
Marie picked up their flowers and handed one bouquet to Cami and the bridal bouquet to Regina.
Her bouquet was made of white roses and small cobalt blue rosebuds with white and dark blue ribbons wrapped closely around the stems. Both Marie and Cami wore dark blue gowns, and both of them looked gorgeous in the cobalt shade. Cami’s fair skin, blonde hair and blue eyes stood out, while Marie’s darker skin glowed like light brown sugar and honey in an exotic blend.
They stood together, side by side, and gazed into the mirror before them for a long moment before Marie looked over at both of them. “Well, we’re as ready as we’re going to be. I’ll just run and check on the guys and see if it’s time to start this wedding!”
Cami bit at her lower lip as she eyed Regina and then she reached into a small satin bag that was sitting on the bench where she had been getting ready. She pulled out a long thin box and handed it to Regina as she hugged her and let her go.
“I wanted to give you this when we were alone. I know you’ll be getting lots of gifts over the coming week, and I just wanted to give you this one now, before it really gets crazy around here. I’m so glad that you’re here, and I know we’re going to have a lifelong friendship. Welcome to the family, sister.” She smiled and wiped a fingertip at her eye, clearing away a loose tear that was about to fall.
Regina felt her heart begin to ache again, and she wanted to shake her head and tell Camille no, she wanted to give the box back, unopened, and tell her that she couldn’t accept it, but that would have given her away and spoiled the sweet moment.
Instead, she took the box and forced a huge smile on her face when she opened it and discovered a silver and diamond tennis bracelet. She blinked at it a few times and then looked up at Camille. “This is incredible. I’ve never had anything like it before. Thank you so much.”
Camille reached her hands to the box and deftly removed the bracelet, delicately placing it around Regina’s wrist. “I think this counts as something old and something new, because it was my mother’s, so that’s old, and it’s a gift to you, so that makes it new to you.”
Regina shook her head then. “It’s your mother’s? I can’t take it, Cami. I can’t do that. I’m sorry, I appreciate it, but I just can’t-”
Cami shook her head. “Of course, you can. You’re in our family now, and I know that our mother would have welcomed you with wide open arms. She’d have loved you, and she would have wanted you to have this.”
Trying to think of a way out of it, because she couldn’t possibly accept a precious family heirloom when her marriage was a farce, she looked down at the glistening diamonds on her wrist. “Well, why don’t we call it something borrowed as well. I’d be so honored to wear it on this special day, but then when the wedding is done, I’ll give it back to you. Please?”
Camille smiled at her kindly and seemed to understand the pressure that she was imparting, even unintentionally, on Regina. “Alright then, something old, new, and borrowed.” Cami touched the cobalt blue roses in Regina’s bouquet. “You have quite a bit of blue, so I think you’re all set. All the best luck in the world, sister.”
Regina reached for her and wrapped her arms around her in a fierce hug, feeling her chest tighten with emotion as she held on to her new friend and family member, and she willed herself not to cry, not to show her hand or reveal any part of the truth. She had to keep up her façade at all costs.
Relief flooded through her when Marie walked through the bedroom door at that moment, her face flushed and her smiled wide. “They’re ready! Let’s do this thing!”
The ladies walked out into the gardens at the side of the mansion, and from where they stood, they could see the whole of the ceremony. There were four hundred seats, each one filled with a guest, all of them set along the immaculately trimmed and emerald green lawn, facing the ocean. A wide white swath was set evenly between the seats, and at the end of it was a thickly flowered archway that stretched out six feet in length and stood seven feet off of the ground. It was adorned with gossamer white fabrics that billowed and danced in the gentle breeze, and green vines with blue and white flowers, woven into the framework of it. Beneath it there was a platform, wide and white, and on the platform stood a minister.
On a lower tier of the platform stood Ryder, and beside him were his brothers, Lucas and Pierce. Off to the left of the platform was an orchestra, playing beautiful music as the sun shone down on them and glistened off of the rolling blue and green waves that rolled into the shore.
“It looks like a dream.” Regina said in a soft voice as she took it all in. “Except I haven’t ever dreamed anything like this.”
Cami leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Well, let’s make your dream a reality.” She gave Regina’s hand a gentle squeeze and then turned and walked to the end of the long white aisle. The conductor of the orchestra was signaled, and he shifted the music slightly. Camille walked down the aisle, her cobalt blue dress blending into the white just as everything around them in the wedding décor did.
Marie waited until Camille was halfway down the aisle and then with a hearty hug for Regina and a whisper of good luck, she began her walk, and Regina watched her. With every step that her best friend took, she felt her heart begin to speed up. The moment was arriving, like a speeding train headed straight for her, and the cool businesslike head she had managed to keep on all morning disintegrated, and she began to wonder just what in the hell she was doing.
She forgot for a long moment, as Marie reached the end of the aisle and the music changed again, and the orchestra began to play the wedding march. She felt her heart pounding and blood rushing, her skin grew warm and her breath was short and shallow as she forced herself to take the first step, and then the second, and to continue them as she walked down the aisle, everything in front of her fading into a tunnel vision scope.
Regina walked through sea of strangers; all of the craning to get a look at her as they stood and gazed at her, all of them curious, some of them smiling, some of them simply watching, all of them thinking behind their silent eyes. Her mind was going a million miles an hour as she felt all of them around her, all of them trying their best to look into her.
She couldn’t remember why she was doing what she was doing as her thoughts scattered through her mind like wild summer lightning through the night sky. Then, almost in slow motion, as she stared straight ahead of her, walking one step in front of the other, her eyes found Ryder as he looked back at her, and everything that was beginning to spin around her slowed down, and all of it faded away.
She locked her gaze on his black wavy hair and sky-blue eyes, on his confident expression, and she found an anchor to steady her in the storm of uncertainty that she was making her way through. He connected with her in their shared gaze, drawing her toward him as though she were on a tether and he was somehow reeling it in to himself.
Something about the pull felt like relief to her, like a saving grace. The draw to him felt sweet and strong, and all she wanted to do was give in to it. She realized that she liked the feeling of gravity that drew her, almost as if she was falling into him, and she only wanted to fall further, held by his gaze and the feeling of security, comfort, and safety that came from him.
Everything around her faded away; all the strangers and their peering eyes, the anxiety, and the uncertainty. All she could hear was the music playing all around her, and all she could see was him, standing at the end of the aisle, staring at her and waiting for her to come to him. He was transfixed with her, and she could see it and she could feel it.
A quiet voice somewhere in the back of her mind whispered to her, telling her to be careful and to keep her distance from him emotionally. The whisper nudged at her mind and her heart, warning her quietly, and she knew that she should listen to it, but the closer she got to him the louder the music became, and the more intense the draw to him, and she closed the whisper off, only focusing on what was in front of her.
It was unexpected to her that she would feel anything, but as she stepped up to the platform and he faced her, she found every strange feeling moving through her to be fascinating and intriguing, and she only wanted to explore them more. Her heart and mind felt as if they were embarking on some breathtaking, exhilarating adventure, and she only wanted more of it.
Ryder could not take his eyes off of her. He could not make himself quite believe the beauty of the woman in front of him. He had seen her often, he had talked with her, he had held her hand over and over again, he had held her in his arms, he had even kissed her, once. He thought he knew all that he needed to know about her, but standing there before her in the warm sunlight, with the sounds of the orchestra fading around them and the ocean washing up to shore behind them, he was mesmerized.
Regina was a vision; a dream of a dream, dazzling him in her white satin gown, her red hair all up in wide curls at the back of her head, her slender pale neck bare, save for the diamond necklace he had given her. Her blue eyes shone, and her full red lips were curved up in a smile that was for him; solely for him.
He knew that it was meant to be a farce, that it was supposed to be a business arrangement, but he’d had many business arrangements in his adult life, and none of them had ever gently tugged at his heart until it was nearly out of his chest. A small part of him struggled to remember that it was only supposed to be a surface arrangement, that there wasn’t supposed to be anything deeper or more meaningful to it than the show of a union and the following transfer of money a short period of time afterward, but he was entranced, and to his wonder and surprise, he found that he was enjoying it, and that he wanted more of it.
He wanted to gaze at her for a long while, he wanted to hold her in his arms and feel her against him, to touch her skin softly and kiss her lips. He wanted to breathe her in and discover her; all of her. Her body, her mind, her thoughts, her heart, her dreams, and everything that she had tucked away in her heart. It was a completely unexpected development to him, and he didn’t want to let it go. He only wanted to reach out for it even more.
The preacher spoke about the solemnity and joy of marriage, of the days to come, and all the while as he was speaking, Ryder and Regina looked at no one but each other. She knew that it was not real, but it felt real in more ways than she could have imagined. Still, though she knew that it was a farce, she wanted to do it. She did not regret her choice, and she could see in Ryder that he was not feeling regret either.
Something was passing between them, strengthening their bond, strengthening each of them and building upon what they had already grown together in their garden of friendship. The preacher asked for the rings, and Marie and Lucas gave the rings to him, and Marie took Regina’s bouquet from her.
Ryder reached for her hands and she felt their warmth and strength as they closed around hers. It made her feel stronger, and she gave him a joyous smile, which he returned to her. They spoke their vows to one another; promises made to stand by each other, to care for one another, to partner with each other all of their days, no matter what may come, and to be true to their love and their vows until their last breaths on the earth parted them.
They each spoke the vow, I do, and to them each it sounded as real as any heartfelt vow that had ever crossed either of their lips. They traded rings, sliding the promise of their eternal circles onto one another’s fingers.
The pastor told Ryder that he could kiss his bride. He reached for her, bringing his hands up to her face and lifting it lightly as he closed his mouth over hers. His kiss was tender and light, sweet and slow, as if it was a precious moment that he wanted to make last as long as they could.
From the moment that his lips touched hers, she felt the rest of the world fall away, and it was almost as if the spark of life and light that burned in each of them was met in a culmination of perfection in their kiss.
When he finally lifted his lips from hers, they were each breathless, opening their eyes slowly and staring at one another as his hands drifted away from her face. There was nothing in the universe save for the two of them at that moment, and long seconds later, they were drawn unwillingly out of their shared reverie by the sounds of applause and cheering all around them.
Turning almost as if in surprise to see anyone else there, they both looked over to their sides at the mass of people who were witnessing their union. It took a moment for them each to blink away the quiet beauty they had shared alone and return to the present where they were anything but alone.
Drawing in a deep breath, Ryder took her hand in his and they turned and faced their guests. Marie returned Regina’s bouquet to her, and everything around them sped back up to a normal speed; the speed of life in real time. The dreamlike state she had been in slipped away, and she let out a sigh. It was done. She had gotten through it, and it was done.
Ryder walked with her, taking her from the platform and back down the aisle through a sea of cheers and applause on both sides of them. They walked to the enormous pool house, outdoor pool bedecked with live white swans and floating flowers, and a large patio. There were tents set up all around the area, and as they reached it, Regina blinked at all of it in amazement. She hadn’t seen any of it finished, and it was stunning and elegant.
Their bridal party hugged them and kissed their cheeks as they reached the reception area to form a receiving line. Guests passed them in a seemingly unending queue, congratulating them, introducing themselves, kissing Regina’s cheeks, shaking her hand, and wishing the couple every happiness.
The festivities began. The orchestra moved to a tent where they began to play again. Guests milled about speaking to one another and sipping at glasses of champagne. Their wedding feast was served, and everyone celebrated.
Marie leaned over to quietly whisper in Regina’s ear during one fleeting moment of stillness around them. “How are you doing? You’re alright?”
Regina couldn’t help but smile as she looked back at her friend. “I think I might never have been better,” she said happily, knowing that she meant it. “Even though…” she trailed off, leaving the rest of her sentiment unsaid. Marie nodded and smiled, knowing just what she meant.
Toasts were made by Lucas, Pierce, and Taylor, followed by toasts from Marie and Camille. All of them were warm and wonderful, all of them heartfelt. It was when Carter Carrington rose to his feet with his glass of champagne that the air grew exceptionally still, and Regina was sure that her pounding heartbeat might be heard by every soul in attendance as she looked over at her new father- in-law. She had no idea what he would say. He had remained mystifyingly quiet from the moment of their engagement onward, and though she had done her best to try to be friendly with him and make herself more familiar to him, he had kept himself shrouded in reticence, now letting any of his thoughts or feelings be known about her and the union with his son.
He walked over to stand between them both. She looked up at him and Ryder looked out over the crowd of their guests. Carter lifted his chin and his voice, and spoke in a clear and strong tone, looking directly at her. “It is with a wide-open heart that I wish to welcome Regina Carrington into this family. I wish for her and my son a lifetime filled with happiness and love, like his mother and I shared.”
Ryder’s jaw clenched and he turned his head from his father. Regina saw it and pondered it for a moment, but then looked back at Carter. The crowd joined in his toast, and then he turned to look at her directly. He set his hands on her shoulders and peered directly into her eyes.
“Regina, you are a Carrington now, and that makes you a daughter of mine. Remember that, always.” He spoke sincerely, yet she wasn’t entirely sure that she believed him. He leaned in and kissed her cheek lightly, then gave her a nod and a smile and dropped his hands from her shoulders. “Congratulations, my dear.”
She thanked him and he walked away from them. She watched him go, looking after him with surprise. She hadn’t expected a warm welcome from him. He had been so distant and quiet that it was the last thing from her mind, but she was grateful to get it. It made her wonder if her new life in the Carrington home was going to be easier than she had imagined it might be, with the entire family welcoming her. She hadn’t hoped for it, but if it was to be that way, she was deeply thankful.
The afternoon wore on into the evening, and the celebration grew more joyous as the time passed. Garrett asked Regina to dance and she was thrilled to do it. He took her by the hand and led her to the dance floor.
“You look wonderful in your suit.” She told him admiringly with a wide grin. He had come dressed in a very well made light lavender suit, with a lavender and silver silk tie.
Garrett beamed at her. “I knew you’d love this. This is what your gift went to. This and those go-go boots I’ve had my eyes on for a while. I thought about wearing them but they just don’t go with this suit, so I’m partially norm at your big day.”
She laughed softly. “Well, we’ll save the go-go boots for another day, and I love the suit. I’m so glad you have it.”
He turned her elegantly around the floor. She raised her eyebrows, impressed with him. “How did you learn to dance so well?”
He rolled his eyes a little nonchalantly, “Oh honey, I’ve been dancing since I was seven years old. Every kind of dance I could get my feet into. It’s one of the joys of my life. It’s an expression of the soul, and when I dance, my soul sings.”
“Yes, it certainly does. I feel like Ginger Rogers.” She grinned, looking up at him.
He glanced around them surreptitiously before leaning closer and speaking softly into her ear. “So how’s it feeling so far? Everything okay? Are you alright?”
She nodded with a widening smile. “Yes, actually, it’s all good. I was really nervous going down the aisle, but I just focused on Ryder and then it was easy. I just… sailed through it. I think everything is going to be okay now. I’m not afraid anymore. I know that I can do this.”
He cocked one eyebrow as he looked down at her. “Do you know, I think you’re right. I have no doubt that you can do this. You’ll ace it. All the same, I wish you the very best of luck, doll-face.”
Regina grinned and leaned up to kiss his cheek. “Thank you, Garrett. That means so much.”
The celebration would go late into the evening, but Ryder and Regina hugged their friends and family and bid everyone goodbye before the night grew too long, and he put her into the back of a long stretched black limousine.
They disappeared down the road into the night. Regina was lightheaded from the champagne, and giddy in her new role as Ryder’s wife. She was staring down at the big diamond ring on her hand as they rode along to the airport, and Ryder was watching her quietly. He spoke finally, and it seemed to draw her from her thoughts.
“What’s going on in that beautiful head of yours?” He asked, his eyes taking in everything about her. He hadn’t been able to look away from her much since he had watched her walk down the aisle.
She lifted her eyes from the ring on her left hand to the man sitting beside her. “It’s all so… surreal. This isn’t my life at all. This isn’t normal for me. When I was a little girl and a teenager growing up, I never thought that my wedding would be anything like what we had today. I never thought that my life would be… like this…” She looked around at the limousine that they were riding in. “Even if it’s just for a short time. It’s… it’s so strange. I guess I’m just trying to wrap my head around it.”
Regina paused then and looked fully at him. “What about you? This has to be pretty strange for you as well, doesn’t it? How are you feeling?”
Ryder looked down and laughed quietly, giving his head a shake. “I’m… surprised. I didn’t think it would be like this. I didn’t expect to… have it feel like anything but business. This doesn’t feel like business.” He raised his eyes to hers and gazed at her meaningfully.
For a moment, she felt the magnetic bond between them, the same as she felt it walking down the aisle toward him, and she turned her head away quickly, looking straight ahead, telling herself that it was best if she ignored that feeling and focused on the money and the job. “No, it doesn’t really.” She admitted honestly. “I guess it feels more like…” she hesitated, knowing that what they were saying would set a precedence, “it feels like a good friendship.” She said, looking back at him with a pleasant smile.
She only shared his gaze for a moment, because in his eyes she could see that it was anything but friendship. “At the very least,” he answered her in a low voice. His words drew forth some of the emotion that was sparking deep in her and beginning to take hold. She forced the feelings and thoughts that came with them back down, pushing them from her mind as she turned the topic of their conversation to other things. She asked him about some of the guests; who they were and how they knew his family.
Their conversation became lighter, and then it was shifted to travel as they reached the airport and she was given her ticket. She didn’t recognize the name of the destination and she looked up at him quizzically.
“What is this place? Where are we going?” She asked with a light and curious tone.
He only grinned at her. “Well, we might have just had a spectacular wedding that was nothing more than a sham, but I’m not about to pass up the opportunity to have an incredible honeymoon with my new bride.” He gave her a meaningful smile and she felt her cheeks grow warm as her breath caught in her chest and she looked away from him.
He continued speaking in his suggestive tone. “It’s a little island in the Caribbean. I thought it would be a truly… romantic… place for a honeymooning couple to go. It’s paradise. I have no doubt that you’ll love it and enjoy yourself there immensely.”
She nodded and tried to ignore his seductive undertones. “It sounds amazing. How long will we be gone on this honeymoon?”
“Two weeks,” he answered, hoping with everything in him that two weeks would be enough time for him to draw her out of her bubble of uncertainty and into his arms, into his bed where he most wanted her.
If it had been almost any other woman, there would have been no doubt in his mind, but with her there was doubt. There was no way for him to know if he could entice her to be with him in every way that he wanted her. He had never been pushed away by any woman, and he found it both frustrating and challenging in her.
He could see and feel that things were changing between them, but he was in uncharted territory trying to win her affections and passion. He would not force her at all; no, more than anything he wanted her to want him, to desire him and hunger for him the way that he hungered for her, to need him with an insatiable lust, the way that he needed and wanted her. That was his goal. Bringing her to that point, to the point where she ached for him and could not get enough of him, that was his goal, and he was determined to reach it in as little time as he could manage.
It took two flights to get them to the island where they would be living for two weeks. An island paradise nestled into the tropical and endlessly beautiful Caribbean. The island was small; dotted with only a few villages along its coastline where a road wound completely around the circumference of the land. There were a couple of villages in the hills, but most of the indigenous population of simple people lived along the seaside, in a sweet and easy-going lifestyle.
The airport was miniscule; only two gates through which passengers could board a plane, and the building was little more than the size of a large gas station on the mainland. There was a sporty little convertible waiting for them when they left the airport, and she was surprised to see that he seemed to know his way around, being very familiar with the place.
“You’ve been here before?” she asked in surprise as he pulled the car away from the airport and drove them down the sunny seaside road. The ocean breezes rushed over her skin, cooling it in the bright warm light, and the ocean danced and rolled beside them as the car hugged the curves and turns along the road.
“Yes, I’ve been here with my family many times. We own the home where we’re staying.” He smiled, his beautiful blue eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses. It made him look like a mysterious movie star.
She felt her stomach tighten slightly and an unfamiliar feeling edged over her. “Have you… have you brought any other women here before?” She didn’t want to ask, and as soon as the words left her mouth she felt like a jealous fool, but she had wanted to know enough that she voiced it, and once it had left her, it was out in the open and all she could do was wait for an answer.
The corner of his mouth turned up in a half smile as he realized that she was just the slightest bit curious about it, showing a sliver of possible envy, and it delighted him. It was a step in the right direction; the direction that he wanted to go in with her.
He made her wait a long minute as he drove in silence, eyes on the road, savoring the knowledge that she was even hinting at being jealous. He waited until she looked away from him, turning her gaze out to the sea before he answered her.
He reached over to her and took her hand in his, giving it a little squeeze. “I’ve never been here with any woman other than Cami. No other woman was ever important enough for me to bring to such a special place so far from New York.”
Her heart, which had begun to tighten in anxiety felt a sudden release, as if it was a bird being freed unexpectedly from a cage. She turned and looked back at him. She couldn’t help the smile that spread over her mouth. “Really?” she giggled softly.
“Really.” He answered, looking over at her and peering over the top of his sunglasses so that she could see his eyes and know that he was serious. “You’re it.”
Regina bit at her lower lip and let him weave his fingers into hers, looking from them out onto the road ahead of them, and the crystalline ocean washing in beside them. There was a wave of satisfaction that washed over her, and though she didn’t want to admit it at all, she loved the feeling it gave her.