Page 68 of The Marriage Auction 2: Part 1

Alana’s eyes widened. “I…but of course.Oui.Christophe is waiting in the apartment with Emily. I can have them meet us.”

“Emily?” Julianne queried. “Rhodes daughter? That Emily?”

She nodded. “Rhodes Davenport also picked out a bride tonight.”

“You’re kidding!” Julianne squawked in disbelief. “Nowthatis news. I thought he’d sworn off women forever after that two-bit hussy Portia took him for ride, and left him to raise their daughter alone.”

“First, it is none of your business as to whom he chooses to share his life with,ma petite fleur. And your mother taught you better than to gossip,” Alana chastised.

Jules snorted. “You and I both know that is an outright lie,marraine.” She called hergodmotherin French. “My mother was up in everyone’s business.”

Alana’s lips twitched, proving she knew what Julianne claimed as the honest truth. Even I knew Rachel Myers liked to chat about the people she loved. “Be that as it may, she was better at hiding it,” Alana finished.

Julianne shrugged. “Well, I’ve already made an appointment for us to be married at the chapel downstairs. I assumed I’d be marrying someone tonight.”

Alana cringed. “You don’t want to do a small, lovely ceremony at the family estate? I’d be happy to help coordinate it,” she offered.

I reached out and took Julianne’s hand, interlacing our fingers. “I will go along with whatever you prefer,” I said, my gaze entirely on Jules.

She licked those swollen lips, reminding me of what she’d done with that perfect mouth not a half hour ago, as if goading me into imagining her plans forafterthe ceremony. “I’d rather not wait. Alana and Christophe are here, there’s no one else I need present.” Her eyes shimmered once again, likely thinking about our lost parents and her brother, the bastard.

I squeezed her hand. “Then it’s settled. We marry tonight.” I took in every inch of her features. Oh, how I wanted to kiss her again.

Those blue orbs went from sad to fiery in a second flat.

“I’ll need a little time to freshen up.” I swallowed down the desire obliterating my senses. I needed to retrieve my grandmother’s and grandfather’s wedding rings from the hotel safe. When I received the email explaining the details of The Marriage Auction, I had my assistant secure the family heirlooms from my Manhattan home. They were couriered to me at my lake house before I came here. I didn’t believe at the time that I’d be officially using them, but something had told me to have them on my person.

Just in case.

Now I was glad I had. I wouldn’t marry a woman like Julianne with a wedding ring I picked up at the hotel jeweler. No, she would wear my beloved Nana’s ring. The one she’d worn for sixty years of wedded bliss with my granddad before she took her last breath only three years ago. The engagement ring was ostentatious as fuck and the exact color of Julianne’s eyes. Pride soared through my veins at the thought of placing my grandmother’s ring, an eight-carat blue diamond with triangular-cut diamonds on each side, set in platinum, on Julianne’s long, dainty fingers. Back in the sixties, the ring had sold for just under four million but had recently been appraised at a whopping eighteen million. Julianne deserved nothing less.

Strangely enough, I’d never planned on giving that ring to Bianca. The newsflash was like a punch to the solar plexus. If I had been truly, madly in love with Bianca, why had the idea of presenting her with my grandmother’s ring never entered my mind? Nana’s ring was the first thing I thought of after I’d confirmed my seat at the auction to bid on Julianne’s hand in marriage.

“Hey, you okay?” Julianne put her hand to my chest, directly over my pounding heart.

I nodded. “Just ready to move forward…in all things.”

She wrapped her arm around me and rested her head to my chest. “Me too, Gio. Let’s do this.”

* * * *

I waited at the entrance to the small resort chapel, pacing the hallway like a caged beast. My nerves were shattered. The ring box was burning a hole in my jacket pocket. I’d changed into my best bespoke suit. A pitch-black Brioni tuxedo with a slim satin lapel that complemented my larger frame. Underneath I wore a black fitted dress shirt that had a slight sheen to it and paired that with a satin tie.

“Gio,” I heard my name as Julianne approached.

She was a vision in flowing off-white. Her bountiful curves were sheathed in a breathtaking wedding gown. At first it looked like one piece of see-through fabric that had lace flower bud appliques strategically placed in a cascading pattern. The front of the dress plunged into a deep V, giving an enticing view of tantalizing cleavage that made my mouth water, even though the bulk of her bosom was completely covered. The upper half nipped in at the waist, while the material hugged her generous hips and thighs, flowing all the way to the floor and fanning out. There was another tulle-like fabric attached at the waist that flared, creating the visual of a much larger skirt. Her armswere completely covered in the transparent lace, which allowed her pearly skin to show through. She’d left her titian hair curled and down, brushing against her face, and just touching her shoulders.

“You are breathtaking.” I whispered as she approached.

She smiled so radiantly, I knew I’d never forget the way she was looking at me. I seared that expression of pure joy straight into my memory bank.

Madam Alana had also changed from the dress she’d worn earlier into something softer. A pale pink, satin slip dress that moved like oil and fell to her knees. She was wearing a pair of matching stilettos. Christophe was wearing a grey suit and a pink tie. Walking next to them was an excited looking blonde teenager. She, however, was wearing a black sundress and a pair of Chucks. Her lips were stained the same red as Alana’s. Even their makeup looked almost identical with the black cat eyeliner.

My Julianne was all soft colors, her freckles dusting her nose and cheeks, not hidden behind concealer. For that I was grateful because the woman I adored was also that freckled-face teenager I’d grown up with. Seeing her like this, taking my hand, about to become my wife was surreal.

Jules rose on her toes and kissed my cheek. “You ready to get hitched?” she teased.

“Seeing you in that dress, standing before me and looking like an angel, I can’t imagine anything I’d want to do more than make you mine.”

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