Page 47 of Wretched Heart
My sigh deflates me. “This is why I shouldn’t do relationships,” I mutter. “I’m not arguing with you, Maddie. I want to take care of you, but don’t be under any illusion that I’m anything more than a stepping stone to the kind of life you deserve, one that I can’t offer you.”
Maddie returns her attention to her cell phone. “Point taken, Hunter.”
Chapter 14
Maddison
As I slip the cream silk over my hips, I feel every muscle in my body tensing. I manage to pull the zip halfway up my back, but I’m going to need Hunter to do the rest. He’s waiting in the living room of our suite, having left me to get ready on my own.
When I’d bought the dress with Hunter’s black Amex card, I’d felt the kind of giddiness that had been missing with my first attempt at marriage. For one thing, I never had a say over my last wedding dress, and I’m sure Hugo’s choice was based on the sheer quantity of fabric alone, thinking it would make some kind of statement.
This dress is simple. It has a Bardot neckline and a flattering silhouette that fishtails out as it reaches the floor. There are no layers, and no fuss. I’ve styled my hair straight and it’s pinned on one side with a spray of dried flowers.
It's everything that my other dress wasn’t, and yet, as I stand in front of the full-length mirror, I feel a sense of déjà vu. This isn’t a love match. It isn’t even a long-term match. As Hunter was at pains to point out, it’s a piece of fuckingpaper, and this is no different to the last time I prepared to walk down the aisle.
With one final look, I step out of the bedroom. The groom has his back to me, staring out at the kaleidoscope of lights that stretch out across the Las Vegas skyline. Hunter’s wearing a dark, three-piece suit and a white dress shirt. Gold cufflinks glint in the soft light of a nearby lamp.
I clear my throat and finally, he turns. Seeing his jaw drop is the reaction every bride wants, and yet my heart cracks just a little. There I go again, feeling things I shouldn’t. Hunter isn’t meant to be anywhere near my heart.
“Could you fasten me up?” I ask, turning my back to stop myself from searching his face for something that isn’t there. He’s a Griffin. They might protect, but they don’t love.
I feel the heat of Hunter’s body as he reaches me. “You’re beautiful,” he whispers, as his fingers trail up my spine deliberately as he pulls up my zipper.
“No silk tent this time,” I say, playing it cool as I turn back to face him.
Hunter hooks a finger under my chin. “And let that be the last comparison you make to that wedding this evening,” he says with a soft growl.
Easier said than done, I’m tempted to say, but I don’t want to sour the mood. I can only blame myself for feeling more than I should. I was the one who brokered this deal. I’m the one making Hunter marry me, but from the way he’s looking at me, I could fool myself into believing he wants this too.
“Thank you,” I say. “For everything you’re doing.”
When he kisses my cheek, it’s gentle and chaste. “It’s my pleasure, Maddie.”
He doesn’t use my pet name and that stings more than it should. I truly am a lost cause. I wish I had Hunter’s self-control. I know he wants me physically, and his flashes of possessiveness prove his feelings run deeper than he’s letting on. I didn’t imagine his jealousy when I told him about Amos, but I need to accept this for what it is. Hunter might be claiming me as his own, but he has no intention of keeping me.
Hunter isn’t to blame for my feelings, I keep telling myself as we leave the hotel and take the short trip to the white clapboard chapel bedecked with fairy lights. At least it’s not as gaudy as some we’ve driven past.
Hunter holds my hand as he leads me to the entrance, but I hesitate as I check behind us.
“What are Levi and James doing?” I ask as the two men we’d travelled with take up positions on each side of the chapel.
“They’ll be guarding the perimeter.”
“But don’t we need them as our witnesses?”
Hunter squeezes my hand. “All taken care of, little bird.”
Damn my heart for melting. And then it explodes as I step into the chapel and find two people waiting for us next to the pastor. I only recognize one face and even then, I’m struggling to believe my eyes.
“Melissa?”
The server from the hotel bar in Bloomington had come to my rescue in my hour of need, and I’ll be forever grateful to her. She has a smug grin on her face as her eyes rove slowly and deliberately over my future husband. And then she gives me an enthusiastic thumbs up.
“I hope I did the right thing,” Hunter says under hisbreath. “I thought you might want a familiar face here, and she seems harmless enough. The guy is her plus one.”
I squeeze his hand. “It was really thoughtful of you.”
Hunter glances at me. “I am aware how messed up this is, Maddie. But I do care about you, more than I should.”
