Page 36 of For the Promise

I scrunch up my nose in distaste. “A welcome lunch for the guests, an afternoon wine tasting, a Friday night dinner followed by karaoke, spa day Saturday, the actual wedding,wedding party with dinner and dancing, and a Sunday champagne brunch. It’s a bit much, isn’t it?”

“What would your ideal wedding be?”

I stare out the window as I contemplate the answer. “I’ve always imagined getting married barefoot on the beach. The only people in attendance would be my closest friends.”

“No family?”

My heart spasms. I would dearly love my parents to be in attendance. But they’re gone.

I wish they’d lived long enough for me to wise up and ditch Alan. Mom always disliked him, and Dad didn’t trust him. I thought they were overreacting. They weren’t.

“No family,” I whisper.

He catches my hand and squeezes. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.”

I cling to his hand. “It’s okay. You didn’t know.”

No one on Smuggler’s Hideaway knows. I haven’t told my friends about my parents. If I did, I’d have to explain all the rest about Alan as well and I’m not ready to admit how stupid I was.

“We’re here,” Jaxon says as we pull into the resort. He parks but he doesn’t get out. He swivels to meet my gaze. “Are you sure you want to be here?”

I roll my eyes. “Kind of late now, isn’t it?”

“No. It’s not. If you want to leave, we leave. It’s really quite simple.”

To him, it probably is simple. But not to me. If I prove to Alan I’m married, he’ll realize he doesn’t have a chance to winthe lawsuit and drop it. I’m more than ready for the dark cloud of this lawsuit to move away and let sun shine on my life again.

“I want to be here.”

“Okay.” He nods.

I sit still as he rounds the front of the vehicle and comes to open my door. He offers me his hand and I accept.

A zap of electricity hits me when we touch. Judging by Jaxon’s widened eyes, he feels it, too. Sexual tension fills the air as we stare at each other.

“Do you need help with your bags?” A porter asks and – pop! – there goes the tension.

While Jaxon helps the porter with the bags, I make my way inside to the reception desk.

“I’m Wesley,” the man behind the desk introduces himself. “How can I assist you this morning?”

“Checking in. The reservation should be under the name Raider.”

Checking in under Jaxon’s name makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. How would it feel to add his name to mine permanently? And not as some ruse to fool my ex?

“We have you in one of our garden chalets,” Wesley says.

“Chalet?” Alan whistles and I nearly jump. I didn’t hear him approach. “It’s a good thing we negotiated a discount for our wedding guests.”

Jaxon slings an arm around my shoulders and draws me near. “A discount? We didn’t get adiscount.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Wesley says. “It doesn’t say you’re part of the wedding party in your reservation. I can add the discount now.”

“It’s fine,” Jaxon says. “I forgot to say we’re attending the wedding when I made the reservation.”

Wesley hands him two key cards. “Here are your keys, Mr. and Mrs. Raider.”

“Raider?” Alan raises his brow. “You said you’d never take a man’s last name.”

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