Chapter 17 #2
“Sure, I am.” Lucas would never have been interested in the ins and outs of wedding photography before, but he could have listened to Kendra talk about the speed at which paint dried or read the instructions for assembling an Ikea table aloud for hours.
Hearing her talk about her passion was fascinating.
“Well, for instance, I had a client last year who got married in Alaska under the aurora borealis. The wedding was a huge production: they flew all the guests out at the beginning of the week and had activities for them every day, from dog sledding to hiking to scenic bus tours. The whole time, they were watching the weather and telling their guests to keep any night open so that they could have their wedding while the aurora borealis was overhead. It wasn’t happening.
The bride got so worried. Finally, they agreed to get married on the last night anyway, aurora borealis or not.
As we were getting set up, the guests spotted the first flashes of green above, but they all agreed not to tell the bride so that she could see it for herself.
“When she stepped out onto the aisle, with her arm in her father’s, everyone was expecting her to look up and see the aurora borealis, but she had eyes only for her groom.
When she reached the end of the aisle, wearing a white hooded cape, the groom took her hand and whispered in her ear, and she looked up.
Finally, she saw the green ribbon of the aurora borealis overhead, just like she’d dreamed.
I captured that exact moment, while her groom whispered in her ear and she looked up with eyes full of wonder. ”
Lucas whistled. “I thought you were going to say something about first dances or photos with parents. I didn’t expect that.”
“First dances and photos with parents are magical, too.” Kendra smiled. “But that was unique.”
Lucas could picture the scene she’d described as easily as if it were playing out in front of his eyes.
He could see the guests, probably bundled in blankets against the Alaskan winter cold, their eyes shining.
He could see the northern lights dancing overhead.
And he could see the bride, with her bright-green eyes and her curly auburn hair, her hood balanced on her head as she reached out to take Lucas’s hands…
He realized what he was doing and blinked to dispel the image. It was all too easy to imagine Kendra as a bride. As his bride. They’d known each other for only a little over a week, and he was already picturing a future with her. A far more serious future than he ever had.
Lucas needed to remind himself of why they couldn’t be together.
And it wasn’t just because of his work. Kendra had been engaged, ready to get married, just a week ago.
Even if they knew each other better, even if he were the kind of guy who wanted to get married and build a life together, Kendra wouldn’t want that, not so soon after her marriage had fallen apart.
“Can I ask what your wedding was like?” he asked. If he could picture Kendra with the man she’d been meant to marry, maybe it would be easier to let go of her when the honeymoon ended.
Kendra began to twist her hands together, and Lucas instinctively reached out to hold them.
“It was my dream wedding,” she said, and his heart sank.
Of course it had been. “I had a beautiful white dress — I still have it, actually. It’s shoved in the back of our closet, because I couldn’t bear to throw it away.
Anyway. My friends and family were there.
It was on the beach, the skies were clear, and even the food was perfect.
There were ice sculptures, three different cakes and a live band.
But looking back, I wonder if I planned such a dream, over-the-top wedding because I was trying to make up for the butterflies I wasn’t feeling with Aaron. ”
Happiness surged in Lucas’s chest, though he reminded himself sternly that he’d been trying to put distance between them, not feel closer to Kendra. Still, hearing again that she hadn’t cared that much about Aaron felt good.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“Don’t be.” She smiled at him. “It’s like we talked about. This trip was a pretty great silver lining to my wedding falling apart.”
She propped herself up on one elbow, her hair waterfalling down to tickle Lucas’s cheek as she leaned in to kiss him. He pulled her on top of him, returning the kiss and sliding his hands along the curve of her back. She smelled like flowers — like jasmine.
All rational thought disappeared from Lucas’s mind then. He stopped thinking about how he should put distance between them. He forgot that they wouldn’t see each other again after the end of the week. All that mattered was that he was with Kendra, and she was with him.
The next day brought more activities. They took a class on making cocktails, which Lucas was surprisingly good at, hiked on a nearby trail so that Kendra could take pictures of wildlife and plants, and shared another romantic, candlelit dinner.
At night, they fell into bed together, and Lucas found himself once again in awe of the fact that he was sharing a honeymoon with this beautiful woman.
He didn’t even check his phone once.
He woke the following morning with Kendra curled up beside him. Her head rested on his shoulder, and one hand was flat over his heart, as though she’d fallen asleep listening to his heartbeat. He stroked her hair and planted a kiss on the top of her head.
“Lucas?” Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled at him.
“Good morning.” He smiled at her. “How did you sleep?”
Kendra rolled onto her back, her auburn hair fanning across the pillow as she stretched. “Perfectly. How about I get us breakfast in bed today?”
“Excellent idea, milady.”
He lay in bed while she got dressed, came back to kiss his cheek, and practically skipped to the door.
Then he got up, pulling on a pair of boxers and a T-shirt, and went to the closet.
Kendra had mentioned a few days before that her wedding dress was here, and he wanted to see it.
This was the first time he’d been alone in the room since she’d told him.
He looked in the back of the closet, behind the ironing board, and saw something white and lacy. When he tugged it, the dress tumbled out. It had been folded messily and shoved in, but it still looked beautiful when Lucas laid it on the bed.
He didn’t know much about wedding dresses, but he knew that this one was stunning.
It looked like something a princess would wear in an animated movie.
The skirt was long, and the neckline dipped just the right amount.
It was all too easy to imagine Kendra in the dress, her eyes shining and her cheeks pink.
Don’t imagine her like that. This is just for two weeks, he reminded himself. Five more days, then you have to go back to being yourself. And she’ll go back to her life.
He ran his hand over the lace at the bottom of the dress before picking it up and putting it back in the closet.
That dress was who Kendra was: beautiful and elegant and romantic and full of hope.
In real life, he wouldn’t be good for her.
He’d drag her down with his all-consuming focus on business.
He could make a good show of being spontaneous and romantic while they were here, but in real life, he worked all the time and had little energy left for anything else.
Even if they stayed in touch when they went back to LA, he would end up breaking her heart because of Omegron.
Thinking about business reminded Lucas that he needed to check for news about Omegron. The thought wasn’t as all-consuming as it had been just a few days ago, but he still needed to know. He went to the sitting area where his phone was charging.
Before picking it up, though, he hesitated.
Looking at news about Omegron would probably upset him, and he didn’t want to burst the beautiful bubble he’d made with Kendra.
Even though the bubble they’d formed would pop when they went back to LA and their real lives, he didn’t want to think about the outside world yet.
The wedding dress had been enough of a reminder that this was only temporary, and he didn’t want another one.
He was tempted to leave the phone for one more morning, maybe even until the end of the trip.
With a sigh, he picked up his phone. He was being silly.
Just because he was having a great time with Kendra didn’t mean that the rest of the world was on pause.
Glancing at the door to make sure she wasn’t back yet, he unlocked the screen.
His eyes widened as he saw a half dozen texts from Tony, his assistant, as well as several missed calls.
There were also emails from several Omegron board members and his legal advisor.
His stomach turned as he clicked on the first email. He’d barely scanned the first line, though, before his phone rang. Tony was calling. He swiped to answer without thinking and sank into the chair.
“Tony? Talk to me.”
And Tony did.