Flash Burned (11 page)

“That still doesn't mean I'll give up.”

I sighed. “You are just too much.”

We stared at each other, at an impasse of sorts, though he didn't let me down. Eventually, he offered his arm and asked, “Shall we?”

Returning to the great room, I gestured toward the doors that led to the patio. “The ceremony's just beyond the terrace.”

“Can't believe I have to stomach all of this,” he said as he took in the enormous room and everything surrounding it. I knew he thought beyond the house to having to
stomach me
marrying Dane.

“You'll get used to it,” I assured him.

My dad waited for us just outside, away from the others. Kyle squeezed my hand and said, “At least you didn't keep this from me.”

“Still best friends?”

He nodded. “Doesn't mean I agree with what you're doing.” That razor edge to his voice, from two days before, emphasized his words and his disgruntlement. He paused contemplatively and asked once more, “You sure you know what you're doing? This is a pretty serious step, Ari.”

“I'm sure of how I feel about Dane. How he feels about me. I want us legitimately bound to each other. It's something I can't escape.”

“It could be a huge mistake.”

“It won't be.”

My insides churned a bit at how personally Kyle took all this—how disappointed he looked. Slightly infuriated, too. But he was here. And I meant what I'd said. I wanted this.

He traveled the candlelit path as my dad and I lingered in the shadows and the coverage of trees.

I hadn't set out chairs—it would be a quick ceremony and I wanted Kyle and my father standing up for me on my side at the altar. Dane's friends on his.

Turning to my dad, I took a couple more deep breaths. Then said, “Thanks for doing this. I know you're not thrilled it came about so fast. But the fact that you're here … That means so much to me.”

I hadn't even had to ask him to walk me down the aisle. He'd just known.

“Well,” he mused, though not lightly, “maybe you'll break the pattern. Be the new normal in our family.”

I tamped down an ironic laugh. As Kyle had expressed there was nothing normal about my relationship with Dane. Or the man himself. Still. I heard what my father was telling me, what he wished for when it came to his only daughter.

A new family tradition devoid of throwing things at walls and screaming at the top of our lungs.

“It'd be a nice change of pace,” I concurred.

“Very nice.”

Kyle must have cued Tamera, because the programmed music changed and beautiful sounds from the harpist I adored wafted on the gentle breeze that rustled the leaves. The creek ran rapidly. Moonlight streaked the sky and tinted the forest a lovely silver color. Cascading arrangements of white roses and lush green foliage trimmed the makeshift altar I'd created from an antique stand in Dane's office. Dozens of candles burned in large hurricanes, from holders of varying heights and along the pathway Rosa had helped me clear.

Had I moved past my dream of wanting a huge, extravagant ceremony so that every person I knew and worked with would know I was marrying Dane Bax? No. Would he still be conflicted that we'd had to do it this way? Yes.

But the setting was exquisite and the key people in our lives were present. And when it came right down to it, what I would cherish the most was the fact that we belonged to each other.

My father and I rounded the thicket and stepped into the small opening along the creek. I carried a single red rose as my dad escorted me.

I was cognizant of Tamera and the others, but my gaze homed in on Dane, looking insanely gorgeous in his black tuxedo. To my surprise, a traditional one with a bow tie. I suspected my dad would have no choice but to appreciate that tiny bit of conventionality. Take it where he could get it, as it were.

Dane was devastatingly handsome. So perfect. I couldn't take my gaze from him, couldn't get to him fast enough. Yet my dad kept us strolling at a slow, measured pace that matched the flow of the music.

My heart beat wildly and butterflies took flight, low in my belly. Not out of uncertainty, but because of what I walked toward. Dane.

When I reached him, the corners of my mouth quivered from the huge smile threatening to take over and my chest rose and fell rapidly. My dad unraveled my arm from his and offered my hand to Dane. Then he stepped away, joining Kyle to my left.

Dane's gaze was riveting, locked on me. I had no idea how much time passed before he finally leaned forward and whispered, “You take my breath away.”

The smile broke through. Tears misted my eyes. “I did the best I could with the short time frame.”

“You can't even begin to imagine—” He swallowed hard. His gaze smoldered. “How stunning you are.”

I tried to pull in a bit more air. No go. I prayed I wouldn't pass out. The heat and love in his emerald irises mesmerized me.

Tamera gave us several more seconds to admire each other, stay lost in each other's eyes.

Then she gently cleared her throat and asked, “Shall we begin?”

“Sure,” I murmured, not even glancing her way.

With a soft laugh, she said, “All righty, then.” I barely heard her words until she came to the vows. Then she graciously asked, “Do you have something prepared, or would you like me to continue?”

Dane said, “I have something for Ari.”

Amano handed him a square box with
Cartier
in elegant script across the top.

“Dane.” I'd known he'd go overboard.

With a grin, he said, “I don't intend to let you down. Ever.”

He carefully folded back the lid and I gasped. Nestled in black satin was a wide diamond chevron tennis bracelet in white gold. As he lifted the sensational piece of jewelry from its perch, candlelight caught the angled diamonds and they sparkled brilliantly. Like nothing I'd ever seen before.

“It's thirty carats,” he told me. “Flown in from Beverly Hills with two guards this afternoon.”

My heart nearly stopped. “Dane,” I repeated. Breathless. A feather could have knocked me over, and I was sure my eyes bulged. “Good grief.”

He slipped the flexible bangle on my left wrist while staring into my eyes. “I will always love you, Aria Lynne DeMille. My heart has never belonged to anyone else—and it never will.”

Tears pooled in my eyes, crested the rims. The fat drops rolled down my cheeks. I was still breathless. Speechless.

The bracelet was mind-boggling. But Dane's vow to me was all that registered at the moment.

I was vaguely aware of our guests, of Tamera. However, I couldn't get my brain to shift from stalled out to proper functioning.

Eventually, Tamera prompted me again. “Ari, do you have something for Dane?”

“
Oh.
Um…”

“She does,” he hastily said. Amano handed over another box. Inside was a platinum ID bracelet with thick links. I encircled Dane's wrist with it, my fingers trembling as I tried to work the clasp. He had to help me.

Then I gazed up at him and asked, “How'd I get so lucky?”

Tamera sighed dreamily, as though she were deliriously happy I'd fallen apart for this man. Kyle snickered his displeasure.

“It's actually the other way around,” Dane said. “I'm the lucky one.”

I got a little caught up in his intense expression but eventually said, “I will always love you, Dane Bradley Bax. My heart has never belonged to anyone else—and never will.”

His mouth sealed mine in an impassioned kiss that left my knees weak and my pulse racing.

“We're a wee bit out of order here,” Tamera quietly said. “There is the matter of
I do
and
I now pronounce you
…”

Ethan and Amano chuckled. I imagined my father rolled his eyes.

Dragging my mouth from Dane's, I said, “I do. How about you?”

“Ari!” Tamera scolded me. “Behave.”

“Fine,” I grumbled. “But please try to quickly get us to the
you can now kiss the bride
part.”

Dane grinned. My heart beat a bit faster.

Tamera efficiently wrapped up the ceremony, and then I was in Dane's arms again, swept away by a searing, soul-stealing kiss that, in my mind, went on and on. Forever.

When we finally came up for air, Tamera said to our guests—who'd waited patiently—“Gentlemen, may I present Mr. and Mrs. Dane Bax.”

There it was. I was married.

The hottest man on the planet was officially mine.

The smile on my face had to shine brighter than the diamonds on my wrist. Dane appeared equally pleased. Handshakes and hugs ensued. We signed the marriage license—clumsily on my part because my fingers still shook.

Rosa directed our small party to the terrace for champagne and hors d'oeuvres that she served. Dane's lawyer lingered behind with the two of us. On the makeshift altar he placed a portfolio he'd been holding on to and flipped it open.

“I've made this as simple as possible for the moment,” Jackson Conaway said. He was in his mid-sixties, with a headful of white hair, and he wore studious-looking specs. Like Amano, Mr. Conaway had been in the senior Bax's employ, and had remained with the family to oversee all of Dane's legal affairs, of which there were many, I was sure, given the size of his estate. Mr. Conaway had moved from Philadelphia to Sedona in order to be on-hand at all times.

“Essentially, Aria,” he said, “I've consolidated the signing pages for you. I'll explain everything in full detail at a convenient time, but for all intents and purposes this evening, half of Dane's accounts, assets, and investments—10,000 Lux included—are yours, and you're now the sole beneficiary of his insurance and retirement policies, his IRAs, et cetera. I'll need your signature on several documents.”

I stared blankly at him. “Oh. Um … h-h-uh,” I stammered. “I wasn't expecting…” My gaze shifted to Dane. “I figured there'd be exclusionary clauses, waivers, and such to sign. A pre-nup, even though we've already … nupped … but you know, like—” I shook my head. My mind reeled.

Dane said, “Ari, you're my wife now. Everything I have, everything I acquire in the future, is yours. Sign the papers.”

“Jesus. Dane.” I couldn't quite process what he was saying.

I owned the Lux along with him?

Whoa.

I needed to sit down. Damn me for not setting out chairs.

Even more unnerving was that it fully hit me why Dane was so massively paranoid about my safety. The reason for all the secrecy, most important as it related to our marriage.

Now that I owned half of everything, I was an even greater bargaining chip for his axed investors. A much more invaluable pawn. If anything were to happen to Dane—

I anxiously glanced about. Found Amano standing off to the side, rather than joining the others on the terrace.

He watched me carefully. I realized he didn't think of himself as a guest at mine and Dane's wedding. He was on-duty. As always.

Were we going to convert one of the spare bedrooms for him?

I let out a borderline-hysterical half laugh. Knowing Amano, he'd prefer to stake out the house from his SUV, monitoring every square foot on his laptop, iPad, and phone.

I suddenly felt a bit claustrophobic, imagining they insist I start wearing a suit of armor for added protection.

Beyond all that, I couldn't fathom the sudden and extreme hike in my monetary worth.

I'd married a billionaire.

“Ari.” Said billionaire nudged me gently. “Sign the papers,” he repeated. So calmly, so steadily. “Our guests are waiting.”

I stole another glance at Amano. Clearly, he saw the struggle in my eyes. He gave me a shadow of a grin, then nodded slightly.

I took the pen Mr. Conaway offered. He gave me the abbreviated version of what I had committed to on-paper. Dane signed as well. Then Amano, as our witness.

My heart palpitations continued, but Dane wrapped an arm around my waist and dipped his head to mine. “If you ever need anything, and for some reason you can't come to me, Jack will help you. Don't ever forget that.”

The grave expression on Dane's face sent a chill down my spine. “Like … if something ever happened to you?”

“Yes.”

“Dane,” I gasped.

“Shh.” He kissed me tenderly. Then said, “Just promise you'll remember.”

“I promise.”

He led me to the terrace while I agonized over this aspect of marriage I'd obviously not put enough thought into. Any, really.

I'd wanted to be Dane's wife so that I'd never lose him. But I'd only been thinking in terms of him walking away from me—not being
taken
away.

It dawned on me that he'd desperately wanted me to be his wife—to be
his
. So much so that he'd take the risk of marrying me during a volatile time. And cover his bases with people like Amano, Kyle, and Mr. Conaway close at hand to help me if anything ever happened to him.

There was a somewhat selfish angle to us marrying this evening. Yet I couldn't say it was all on Dane's shoulders. I could have told him we needed to wait—I could have insisted and he would have allowed it, because he always gave me whatever I wanted. But I'd agreed to this because it was something I wanted just as badly.

Did love justify being just a little bit reckless?

In this case … yes.

I just needed for all of the random variables to make up a smart conclusion.

“Shake it off,” he whispered. “You're much too tense.”

“Right.” I tried to relax, loosen my bunched shoulders.

He carefully maneuvered me through the grove and the light underbrush to the patio. Elegant, lively music played. Rosa graciously kept champagne in everyone's glasses and food in their hands. I thanked her profusely.