Page 74 of The Last Resort
“This is nuts. What am I doing?” she whispered, opening the door of their now shared bedroom. Her third suitcase, the one which contained her vacation and special event clothes was stacked in the corner. Dragging the case out, Rachel unzipped the top and began to rummage through it.
She picked out a couple of sparkly dresses. The remnants of her old high society life silently mocking her as she draped them over the end of the bed. The last time she’d worn the cute lime–green number she’d been at one of her ex’s friend’s holiday homes in Hawaii. No. That one wouldn’t do.
I’m still not sure if I rocked that dress, or if I looked like a throwback to the 90’s.
A burgundy backless gown her mother had forced on her for a fundraiser had bile rising in Rachel’s throat. She’d still been wearing it when the feds took her father into custody early the following morning.
There wasn’t much else in her suitcase that was remotely suitable for a wedding. This event was being hosted by a family of billionaires, it would be beyond fancy. She’d standout like a Thanksgiving paper plate in a sea of fine bone china, in anything she owned.
Chill. You’ll probably be at the back of the service, and no one will even give you a second look.
A tap on the bedroom door had her hastily dropping the burgundy gown back into her suitcase. Heat burned on her cheeks as Matthew wandered into the room. “I wanted to know if you have made a decision about coming to the wedding.”
“Um. Just how formal is it going to be?”
His brows furrowed in manly confusion. “I have no idea. It’s on an island in the sun.” He came toward her and when he reached her suitcase, he glanced down at it. “You’re worried that everyone else will be dressed in haute couture and you’ll feel out of place?”
Rachel shyly nodded. “I don’t have anything to wear to a wedding. It was really nice of you to invite me Matt, but I think maybe I should say no. Or yes. I don’t know.”
It had been a long time since she’d had the money or inclination to go and buy new clothes. She was torn between saying yes and retreating to her safe space, and saying no.
I really want to go to the wedding with him. I want to be with him.
“Is that your only reason for leaving me hanging for an answer?” he asked.
There were a thousand reasons why she should say no. This project wasn’t finished. Her heart and mind were still at odds over falling more in love with him. His family. Her family.
She just couldn’t find a way to say any of them. He had a strange power over her, whenever he was this close, the only thing she wanted to do with her mouth was kiss him. The best she could manage right now was a feeble, “Um, yeah.”
In one clever move he stepped forward, tipped the lid ofthe suitcase closed with his foot, and pulled her into his embrace. As he lowered his lips, Matthew murmured, “Before we leave, we can send the Brocks and the planning committee a preliminary report. You are coming to the wedding and that’s final. End of discussion.”
The first kiss had her forgetting her worries about any sort of dress code. The second, had her knees going weak. By the time Matthew had kissed her a third time, Rachel’s resolve had melted away. She was fully prepared to go to a billionaire wedding in shorts and a T-shirt. As long as she was with him.
He drew back but kept her in his arms. “Before we fly to the island, we are going to spend a couple of days in New York. My brother’s fiancée will take you out shopping for wedding clothes. And since you are my guest for the trip, anything you choose, will be going on my credit card.” Rachel’s protest was kissed from her lips. “I want you to look and feel fabulous for the entire weekend. No ifs, no buts. Okay?”
What was a girl to say when a man offered to take her to a wedding on a Caribbean island and buy her a whole new outfit to wear?
“Yes. I will come to the wedding. Thank you, Matthew.”
“Good girl. I’m glad to see you are finally coming around to my way of thinking.”
His fingers slipped beneath the hem of her T-shirt and Rachel showed him just how good a girl she could be when she wanted.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Aspen Airport
An April Adventure
“Do you think they’ll send out a search party when they discover we’re gone?” joked Matthew. He looked furtively left and right as he and Rachel made their way hand in hand across the tarmac to the waiting private jet.
I’m so glad I decided to accept his invitation.
“Aspen airport will have its spies, but once we are in the air, there won’t be much they can do,” she replied.
“Just as long as they don’t have the number for Interpol. I dread to think what my parents would say if a team of international police descended on the island in the middle of a family wedding.”
She loved that he was in a fun mood. They’d made good progress on the new design for the site, and this weekend’s escape couldn’t have come at a better time. She’d told Kellie and Dan about the trip, and they had promised to keep it a secret from Dan’s parents.
