Chapter Thirty-Four
Conor brushed a kiss across Bryn’s cheek. “Did you think about my proposal?”
“Nothing but.” She looked up at him. “Tell me, what would our life be like if I said yes?”
“Pretty much like anyone else’s. We can live here and you could continue working at Cummings and Cox, if you want to.
Or you could quit and we could move to Morgan Creek.
If you want to keep working, I’m sure Saintcrow can find you something to do.
I have a small house in Morgan Creek, but we can build a bigger one up on the hill.
A barn and corrals, too, if you want. We’d spend our nights together, take long vacations.
...” He shrugged. “Anything you want to do.”
“Would we spend a lot of time with your parents?”
“If you like. You’ll meet the others, Kincaid and Ethan and Micah and their wives. You’ll like them, and they’ll like you.”
“Could we adopt a baby?”
“Sure, darlin’. As many as you like.”
She settled back against him. The life he’d painted sounded wonderful, and yet.
.. She brushed her doubts aside. Every marriage had to make adjustments of one kind or another.
Being a vampire was kind of like an illness where you couldn’t be in the sunlight or eat certain foods, but it wasn’t a fatal disease, and it wasn’t catchy. Unless you wanted it to be.
“Bryn?”
“You wouldn’t force me to become a vampire, would you?”
“No. Never. That’s a decision only you should make. I love you, Bryn. I’d never do anything to hurt you.”
“I have one more question,” she said. “And I need an honest answer.”
Conor frowned. She sounded so serious, looked so grim. “What is it? I’m afraid to ask.”
“Are you...do you...” She swallowed hard. “Do you look dead when you rest?”
He stared at her and then a slow grin curved his lips. “No, love. I just look like I’m asleep.”
She released a heavy sigh of relief.
“Is that the last hurdle?” he asked.
When she nodded, he claimed her lips with his in a long, slow kiss that made her toes curl and her insides melt. “Then say yes, Bryn. I don’t want to live without you.”
“Yes,” she murmured. “Oh, yes.”
“Bryn!” He pulled her body closer and kissed her again, and yet again.
She leaned into him, filled with a sense of peace and contentment, knowing that in his arms was where she was meant to be. Just a small, intimate wedding, she thought. Just her family and his. And then she frowned. “Conor?”
“Yes, love?”
“Can we get married in a church?”
“If you like.”
“You won’t go up in smoke, will you?”
Conor burst out laughing. “No, love. You aren’t marrying Satan, just a normal, run-of-the-mill vampire.”
~ * ~
Conor went to see his parents late that night. His mother was thrilled with the news.
Saintcrow slapped him on the back. “Congratulations, boy. She’ll be good for you. See that you’re good to her.”
~ * ~
Bryn called her parents with the good news first thing in the morning.
She wasn’t surprised when they voiced their concern.
Her mother reminded her that she’d only known Conor a short time.
Perhaps she should wait a little longer before making such a commitment.
Her father advised her to wait six months, at least. If what she felt was real, he said, it would survive that long.
But Bryn didn’t want to wait. She’d said yes and now she was eager to be Conor’s wife.
~ * ~
They compared notes the following evening.
“I can’t say I’m surprised by your parents’ lack of enthusiasm,” Conor said. “After all, we’ve only been dating a short time.”
“Like you said, time has nothing to do with love. And I know that I love you.”
“And I love you. I’ll make you happy, I promise.”
“You already make me happy,” she said, grinning. “Or I wouldn’t have said yes. Conor?”
“What?” He frowned at the tentative note in her voice.
“How would you feel about eloping?”
“Eloping? Why?”
“It’ll just be easier. Your friends and family don’t eat. I know you can do that vampire thing and make my side of the family think you’re eating, but I just don’t like the idea of pretending you’re something you’re not.”
“You know you can’t tell them the truth,” Conor said.
“I know. But eloping will solve a lot of things. We can tell them about it when we get back.”
“Won’t your mom and dad be upset if they aren’t there?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. We could go to Vegas for the weekend and tell them we decided to get married on the spur of the moment.” She grinned inwardly. No doubt they’d think she was pregnant.
“It’s all right with me if that’s what you want.”
Relieved, she threw her arms around his neck. She didn’t need a big, fancy ceremony, just Conor and a wedding ring.
~ * ~
They set the date for the week before Christmas.
Conor made reservations for the best suite at the Bellagio Hotel in Vegas.
Bryn arranged with Mr. Cummings to take a few days off.
He was reluctant at first, but when she told him she was getting married, he gave her a week off.
She spent her lunch hour looking for dresses and found a simple white silk sheath, as well as shoes and a veil.
She bought some sexy new underwear, and a nightgown that was so revealing it made her blush at the thought of wearing it in front of Conor.
She talked it over with Conor and decided to keep her job, at least for a while. She wasn’t quite ready to move to Morgan Creek or work for Conor’s father, who still scared her a little. Until the wedding, Conor would stay at one of the hotels in town.
Conor decided they should start building a home of their own in Morgan Creek right away. “That way, it’ll be ready if and when we decide to move there. And it’ll give us a place to stay when we visit,” he said one night. “The house I have now isn’t much bigger than a hotel suite.”
“All right,” she conceded, suddenly excited by the thought of a new house and having a horse of her own, a childhood dream.
“Good. A guy’s bringing some plans over tonight for us to look at.”
Bryn shook her head. “You knew I’d agree, didn’t you?”
“I was pretty sure.”
They spent a couple of hours that night looking at floor plans. They decided on a three-bedroom, two-bath, ranch-style house with a large family room, a kitchen, and a dining room. Bryn wanted fireplaces in the living room, the family room, and the master bedroom.
It was really happening, she thought as Conor escorted their guest to the door. She was getting married and soon she would have a house of her own.
~ * ~
The day before the wedding, Bryn was so excited she could hardly think straight as she packed her suitcase. Tomorrow night she would be Mrs. Conor Saintcrow. She had called her parents to tell them she was going on vacation and would call as soon as she got back.
Mr. Cummings gave her fifty shares of company stock as a wedding present when she left work that day. A lovely surprise.
Her heart skipped a beat when she heard Conor’s knock on the door. Tomorrow night, she would be his wife.
He swept her into his arms as soon as she opened the door. “Good evening, bride.”
“Good evening, groom.”
“Are you ready?”
She nodded, thinking he was the most handsome, sexy, sweetest man she had ever known.
He followed her inside, closed the door behind him.
“Where’s your suitcase?” she asked.
“It’s already at the hotel in Vegas.”
“Oh.”
“Are you ready?”
When she nodded, he picked up her suitcase, then wrapped his arm around her waist. “Here we go, love.”
“What do you mean?”
“We’re traveling by vampire air.”
“Oh.” They’d done it a couple of times but it still made her nervous.
“Close your eyes, love. When you open them again, we’ll be in Vegas.”
Bryn took a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut. She gasped when she felt suddenly light-headed. When the world stopped spinning, she opened her eyes to find they were standing in the middle of a lovely room. A glance out the window showed a million twinkling neon lights.
“Welcome to Las Vegas,” Conor said, dropping her suitcase on the foot of the bed. “Have you had dinner?”
“No.”
“Come on, let’s get you something to eat and then go have a look around.”
Bryn had never been to Vegas. It was a remarkable place.
There were bright lights everywhere and more people on the streets than she’d seen in her life.
Some were dressed in jeans or shorts and tee shirts, some were clad in evening gowns and suits.
Cars whizzed up and down the street, tires screeching, horns honking.
Luxurious hotels rose up on every side, some looking like castles or palaces, all blazing with lights.
After dinner, they went gambling. They moved from casino to casino, trying their hand at Blackjack and craps, roulette, and the slot machines, until Bryn could hardly keep her eyes open.
“Come on,” Conor said, slipping his arm around her shoulders. “Let’s put you to bed.”
She didn’t argue. In their suite, he took her in his arms at the door of the master bedroom and kissed her goodnight. “Just think,” he murmured. “Tomorrow night you’ll be Mrs. Saintcrow.” He kissed her again. “Sweet dreams, bride.”
She smiled up at him, then stepped back and closed the door. “Tomorrow,” she murmured as she crawled into bed and turned out the light. “Tomorrow.”
~ * ~
Conor strolled down the street, his senses reeling from the sound of so many beating hearts. His nostrils filled with the myriad scents of perfume and aftershave, perspiration and lust.
He turned off the main drag and merged with the night as he went in search of prey.
~ * ~
Bryn woke early in the morning. For a moment, she lay there staring up at the ceiling and then she jackknifed into a sitting position. Today was her wedding day! Throwing back the covers, she pulled on her robe and ordered a blueberry waffle and orange juice for breakfast.