Rent-A-Bride (10 page)

Byron straightened his spine obviously convinced he was pulling it off and pressing Stanley’s borrowed bible to his chest. “Dearly beloved.” He cleared his throat loudly. “We are gathered here today to get through this thing called
life
.”

Amelia’s eyes widened just as she felt Ed’s fingers digging into her hip bone. Apparently, he too had noticed that the good
Reverend’s
scripture bore a striking resemblance to the lyrics of a Prince song!

“Electric word, life, it means forever and that’s a mighty long time, but I’m here to tell you!” Byron was clearly getting into his role as he shook his head in consternation. “Oh, but there’s something else, …the
afterlife
.”

“Preach, Reverend, Preach!” Stanley called from the bed.

Amelia and Ed turned their heads toward him in unison, both faces registering identical shock and confusion.

“Can you just get to the
I do’s
please?!” Ed practically snarled.

“Um, sure. No problem.” Byron opened the bible and flipped through the pages.

“Just say, do you Amelia take Ed and vice versa!” Amelia whispered, although in the small confined space of the hospital room there was really no point in whispering. Byron shut the bible and glanced at Stanley nervously.

Stanley just nodded. “It’s okay, son, take your time.”

“Um, do you Amelia take Ed to be your husband and will you do what he tells you in sickness and in health?”

“I do.” Amelia answered ignoring the pitiful groan that came from her fake husband-to-be.

“And do you Ed take Amelia to be your wife and to give her stuff and take care of your kids for the rest of your life?”

For a long moment Ed said nothing, and when Amelia finally looked up at him she could see his mind was preoccupied with thoughts of murdering Byron.

“Teddy Bear?”

He quickly turned his murderous stare on her, but at least he answered the question. “I do.”

“Okay, great.” Byron grinned at both of them. “I mean, I pronounce you man and wife, you may kiss the bride.”

As if all the anger, and frustration and disappoint of the day was somehow translated into passion, Ed pulled Amelia against him and cradled her head in his hand as he brought his mouth down on hers in a ravishing kiss, his tongue plundering hers until all she could do was hold on to his wide shoulders and try to breath. And then as quickly as it had started it was over as she struggled to regain her balance.

“Out!” Ed snarled and pointed at the door. “Everybody out!”

Sensing impending danger, Steve and Byron headed for the door right away, but Amelia didn’t bulge. There was something irksome about his attitude. It was as if he blamed them, when the whole thing had been his stupid plan from start to finish.

Ed stepped closer to her until their bodies were almost touching. “Amelia, this is not the time to be stubborn, please just go.”

She looked passed him to Stanley.

Stanley smiled at her. “It’s alright, Sugar. We’ll talk later.” His smile widened slightly. “Welcome to the family.”

The good humor reflected in his eyes was irresistible and Amelia found herself laughing out loud as she slowly walked out of the room.

A
fter Amelia left, Ed closed the door and stood with his head pressed against it wondering where to start. How could he make Stanley understand this was all done out of love. Would he ever forgive him?

The burst of laughter that came from behind him was so startling, Ed turned suddenly and found Stanley practically doubled over in the bed holding his mid section.

After a moment Stanley managed to regain his composure, but the fit of laughter had obviously taken a toll as he struggled to breath. “I haven’t laughed that hard in years. Who was that?”

“Amelia’s brother.”

“Her brother?” He shook his head in bemusement. “They don’t look anything alike.”

“Look Pop, I’m sorry about all this.”

“Don’t you dare apologize! That was wonderful. I haven’t had that much fun in so long I’d forgotten what it was like.” He was still clutching his side. “So, who’s idea was this anyway? Amelia?”

“Mine.”

“You?!” Stanley tilted his head, his expression oddly respectful. “Well, well, didn’t know you had this kind of scheming in you. Maybe there is hope for you.”

“What’s that suppose to mean?”

“You’re usually so uptight, I just didn’t think you could come up with something this fun. A mock wedding.” He shook his head in bemusement once again. “I guess you were afraid I wouldn’t live to see the real thing.”

Ed suddenly realized Stanley still thought Amelia was his real fiancée, that the wedding had been faked but not their engagement.

“Something like that.” He crossed the room to the window, struggling with whether to leave well enough alone or not.

“What is it, son?”

He turned and faced his grandfather. “About Amelia, Pop, she’s not really my fiancée.”

Stanley’s smile faded slightly. “Oh?”

Ed felt his heart tightening in his chest. “No. We’re not really getting married—at anytime, now or in the future.”

Stanley shrugged. “Well, you need to fix that, then don’t you? Trust me son, you do not want to let that one get away.”

He swallowed hard. “Actually, we’re not even involved. She’s an actress I hired.”

Stanley simple stared at him for several long moments. “I don’t understand.”

“There was never any fiancée or girlfriend. After I told you that, I hired Amelia to play the role.”

Ed braced himself for the disappointment and sadness he expected to see, but instead a light of excitement lit up his grandfather’s face. “Amazing! You’re saying you picked her randomly.” He pointed at the door. “That beautiful girl that has been keeping me company for the past week, was brought here just…by chance?”

Ed knew his own face probably reflected confusion, Stanley was taking this news far better than he could’ve ever hoped for. “I guess you could look at it like that.”

“Amazing. Truly Amazing.” Stanley’s expression took on a faraway look. “Even now, in my final days He’s working miracles for me.”

“What are you talking about?”

Stanley seemed to snap back to himself and glanced at Ed. “Don’t mind me, Teddy. Just an old man’s ramblings.”

“I’m sorry I lied to you.” He pulled a chair closer to the bed and sat down. “It’s just when I saw how much you wanted me to get married, I just wanted to make you happy. And since I never plan to get married, I just thought—”

“What?” Stanley reared back in shock. “What do you mean you never plan to get married?”

Ed sighed. “It’s just not for everyone, Pop.”

“How can you feel that way? After what me and your grandmother had, and what your parents shared. You should believe in love more than most.”

Ed shrugged, hoping the conversation would drop. This was not something he wanted to go into with anyone, least of all his grandfather. When he looked up again, Stanley’s sharp eyes were watching him. Those eyes that saw too much, knew too much.

• • •

Amelia was on her way back to Stanley’s room after seeing Byron off when she saw Ed turn the corner at the opposite end of the hall. Of course, this was a grown man minding his business and really, she ought to mind her own, but still she found herself continuing on pass Stanley’s room.

She followed Ed at a distance until she saw him enter a room a few doors down the empty corridor. Slowly, she crept up to the room and peeked through the glass window in the door and saw that it was empty except for Ed.

Amelia entered the room quietly trying not to disturb Ed sitting on the side of an empty stretcher staring out the window. Not knowing what to say or do, she simply stood with her back pressed against the closed door, waiting. She didn’t know why, but she just knew he shouldn’t be alone right now.

The quiet between them was strangely peaceful and Amelia suddenly realized that over the past week she’d grown closer to this man than pretty much anyone else in her life. They had shared more in a few days than most people did in a lifetime.

“You just gonna stand there all day?” He asked, never turning away from the window.

“Not all day.”

He finally glanced at her over his shoulder. “You don’t have to watch over me, really, I’m okay.”

She pushed away from the door and walked toward him. “No, you’re not. But you’re not supposed to be.” She rounded the bed and came to stand beside him.

He chuckled. “Things didn’t exactly work out as planned, did they?”

“Not exactly.”

He reached over and took her hand in his. “Amelia, I just wanted to say…I know all this is more than you signed on for but thank you.”

“I want to tell you everything is going to be alright, but…”

“It’s okay. I accepted the truth a long time ago. I just wanted him to be happy in his final days, you know? I wanted him to believe I would be okay. That’s so important to him.”

“Will you?”

“What?”

“Will you be okay?”

He stared out the window for several long seconds, and Amelia was beginning to wonder if he was going to answer the question when he finally said. “I think so, eventually”

Tugging on her hand he pulled her to sit down beside him on the stretch. “When I was nine years old I lost my whole family in a car crash. My mom and dad and my little sister, Francis.”

Amelia gasped. “I’m so sorry, Ed. I had no idea.”

“That’s how Stanley became my guardian. And since then it‘s been he and I against the world.”

She leaned her head on his shoulder. “You and Stanley against the world? The world didn’t stand a chance.”

“I just thought if I could do this for him, fulfill this final wish…make him think that when he died I wouldn’t be alone, I just thought it would in some way pay him back.”

“You can’t.”

“What do you mean?”

“The love someone gives you, you can’t
pay it back
. You can love them in return, but that’s not the same.”

She felt his arm slide around her waist. “This whole charade was ridiculous. What was I thinking?”

“You were trying to help, I’m sure he knows that.”

“I hope you’re right. God, how I hope you‘re right.”

“Look, I’m not saying…I think I can kinda understand what you’re going through. You see, when I was thirteen my father died and my mother remarried. Her new husband would…”

Ed turned his head to look at her. “Would what?” He asked, but the frown on his face said he already had a pretty good idea
what
.

“Anyway, I ended up going to live with my great Aunt. She was elderly, and lived on a fixed income, but still she took me in and did the best she could for me. At the time I was resentful and I don’t think I ever told her how much I really appreciated everything she did for me.” She tilted her head until she was looking up into his eyes. “After she died, I felt guilty about that for a long time.”

“No longer?”

She shook her head slightly where it was resting on his shoulder. “I finally realized that she did what she did because she wanted to, not because she expected something in return. Now, all I can do is try to pay it forward.”

“If you had the chance to go back in time and make it up to her wouldn’t you?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Well, Stanley is still alive.” He turned his attention back to the window and the sun setting in the distance. “For now.”

Amelia could almost feel the pain and desperation radiating off his body. There was so much she could say, so much she wanted to say and none of it would mean a thing.

She felt his light kiss on her forehead, it was soft and warm and she closed her eyes to savor it. Then there was another. And then another. She lifted her head to look into his eyes and her heart broke.

She’d only known this man a few days and most of that time he’d been in agony. She briefly wondered what he had been like before Stanley’s sickness had come on him.

She opened her mouth to comfort him and he found a different kind of comfort there, covering her mouth his with, his tongue darted inside and circled her own. Amelia felt an electric current shoot through her whole body as her arms came up and wrapped around his neck.

Ed’s long arms curved around her back as he bore her back onto the stretcher. Slowly, gently, he covered her body with his own, and he was burning up. Amelia could feel his heart beating wildly against his chest.

Some part of her knew she should stop him. She knew he didn’t feel about her the way she had come to feel about him. This was just the grief. But, it felt so good to finally have him in her arms. She’d been thinking about this almost from the moment they met.

“Amelia, can I make love to you.” He whispered in her ear, even as his growing erection ground against her center.

“Ed, I—”

“Sssh.” He kissed her neck, her jaw bone and she completely forgot what she was saying.

“Yes, or no?” He kissed the soft skin of her neck right beneath her chin.
That feels wonderful!

“Ed, maybe we—”

His throbbing cock pushed against her core, and like the command it was her legs parted allowing him to sink deeper against her body. “Yes, or no, Amelia.”

Oh, to hell with it.
“Yes,” She whispered, before claiming his hot mouth with her own. Somehow, she’d known he would feel this good.

Wrapping his hands around her legs he shifted their position on the makeshift bed, until they were both completely on the stretcher, his long body completely covered hers. For a brief moment Amelia considered where they were in an empty room of a busy hospital. And the possibility that someone could walk in on them. She thought maybe she should mention that, but then Ed reached down and cupped her feminine center and all thoughts not related to his hands on her body went right out the window.

She closed her eyes and explored his long, lean body with her hands. He was slender but the bunched muscles in his shoulders and arms spoke of some kind of athletic activity. His buttocks was perfectly rounded and firm and she couldn’t resist gently squeezing it.

Her breath caught in her throat as the cool air hit her warm breast, and she realized that Ed had unbutton her top and lifted her bra leaving her bare to his roaming eyes. He braced himself on one arm just looking at her for several seconds before swooping to take one breast into his mouth.