Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Tristan
Standing in my new French blue suit, I tapped on Parker’s bedroom door.
“How are you getting on?”
“You can come in. I could do with a hand getting the last few buttons on this dress done up.”
The first thing that caught my attention were the bright red strappy heels she was wearing.
Then I trailed my gaze up to the white dress that emphasized her tiny waist. “You look . . .” Beautiful wasn’t a good enough word.
Lots of things were beautiful—women, good gin, the feeling you got when you made your first hack.
Parker was so much more than any of those things.
She glanced up at me. “You think it’s bridal enough? My mum told me everyone was going to mistake me for one of the guests.”
“I think it’s the perfect dress for you. And the shoes are . . . They’re the kind of shoes that make a husband very happy.”
I enjoyed her blush a little too much.
“Well, I had to get something to match my lipstick.”
“Lips look great.”
She rolled her eyes. “Thank God I wasn’t hospitalized.”
“I was worried there for a moment. I thought you were going to throw up a major organ at one point.”
She laughed. “Me too.”
“That doctor deserves a mention in the speeches today. Without him, I’m not sure we would have a wedding today. You were not in good shape.”
“Agreed. I don’t think I’ll be eating sushi in a while.”
“You know I told you that I’d sent the remnants of the fish off to a lab.”
She shook her head like she couldn’t believe we were discussing this again. She’d thought I’d been overreacting to think that what had happened was anything more than food poisoning. “You know what the doctor said himself—he’d like to have takeaway sushi places banned.”
“I told you, a mate owed me a favor; it’s not like I went to a lot of trouble. But what’s interesting is that the results from the lab showed traces of detergent.”
“Detergent? Like from the box or something?”
I shook my head. “Nope. It was on the fish. It wasn’t a lethal dose—just enough to cause vomiting and diarrhea. Could have been an accident in the restaurant kitchen, or basic carelessness by one of its employees. Maybe even you knocked the soap at the sink when you were unpacking it.”
“That’s weird that I didn’t taste anything. Probably all the soy sauce.”
“Of course it could be more nefarious. It’s impossible to be sure.”
“Nefarious?” She laughed. “If someone wanted to kill me, there are better ways, I’m sure.”
I didn’t say what I was thinking—that someone might have just wanted her sick so she couldn’t go through with this wedding. Or maybe someone wanted her ill so they could look after her. It was better to drop it. She was on edge today as it was. There was no need to make it worse.
“Will you do one thing for me? Change the locks.”
“On my flat? Why?”
“For me, Parker. I know you think I’m paranoid, and that’s fine. I hope I am. But I’m asking you to change the locks.”
She shrugged. “Why is it such a big deal to you?”
“Better to be safe than sorry. Please promise me?” I asked.
“Fine. I’ll have the locks changed. You’re getting plenty of promises out of me today.” She smiled at me and then her face fell. “Are we crazy to be doing this?”
I stepped forward, turned her around and took over buttoning her dress for her. “Maybe a little.” The skin of her back was as smooth as the silk she was wearing. My fingers lingered a little longer than they should have.
“You getting cold feet?”
I finished the final button and our eyes met in the mirror.
“Six months ago, hell, two months ago, if you told me I would be getting married any time before now and the turn of the next century, I would have told you that you were betting on the wrong horse. I’ve had the odd girlfriend here and there but no one who’s made me want to get down on one knee.
Not even close. Marrying you? To help as many families as I know you’re going to?
I can’t think of a better reason to get married.
And getting a hot bride is just a cherry on the cake. ”
“Hot bride?”
I shrugged. I hadn’t said anything that wasn’t true. “Hot bride who thinks I’ve got good lips. Pucker up, sweetheart, you know I’m using them on you later.”
She spun and pushed me. “You’re ridiculous. I was hallucinating. I mistook you for Val Kilmer in Batman. Now, that’s a man with good lips.”
“I like my dark knights Christian Bale-sized, as you know.”
“Yeah, because you wish you had Val Kilmer’s lips.”
“You want a reminder of just how good my lips are?” I stepped forward and she tipped her head back to look me in the eye. “Our last unmarried kiss before we leave?”
She shook her head. “You wish you got to kiss me again.”
A smile tugged at the corners of my lips. “Maybe I do, Cream Puff.”
My phone buzzed, interrupting our little dance. “It’s the car,” I said.
“Then we better go.” She picked up her bag and skipped past me, the skirt of her dress lifting to show off her perfect legs as she did.
I had to fight the urge to catch her hand and pull her back toward me, push my hands into her hair and kiss all that cherry red lipstick off her.
But as usual, she was two steps ahead of me.
In under an hour, that woman was going to be my wife.