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Brad laughed. ‘You’re a crack-up, Lou. You really are. Aah, here’s Dan back again. Ready for your speech, mate? We’re on soon.’
‘Ready as I’ll ever be,’ Daniel replied as he sat down. ‘Your dad tells me he’s up first, Charlotte.’
‘What were you talking to him about?’ she asked, her mind still pondering Louise’s assertion that what she felt for Daniel was just lust.
‘Nothing for you to worry about.’
The MC’s announcement that the father of the bride was going to speak had Charlotte falling silent, but her head was still spinning. She supposed Louise was probably right. Louise knew what she was talking about where lust was concerned, whereas Charlotte was a right novice.
But even if it was just lust stirring her, Charlotte still worried that several days spent with Daniel could make her feelings for him deepen. Louise was made of tougher stuff than she was. She didn’t appreciate the risk.
But Charlotte couldn’t see herself resisting the temptation. Not unless tonight was a disaster.
Her father’s tapping the microphone cut into her thoughts, bringing her back to the present. The speeches. It was not a moment she’d been looking forward to.
‘I’m not one for giving speeches, as you probably all know,’ her father began. ‘I’m a farmer and farmers are at their best with their backsides on a tractor and their mouths shut.’
Everyone laughed. Everyone except Charlotte. She was too aware of Daniel sitting next to her, too strung up with nerves.
‘We’re best left in the country, too. But I’m not just a farmer. I’m a father, too. And a father will do anything for a daughter. So here I am in this fancy city hotel, eating fancy food and drinking fancy wine. But I can tell you right now that I’ve never had a happier day in all my life.’
Charlotte jumped in her seat when Daniel suddenly picked up her hand and squeezed it. ‘Do try to look a little happier,’ he whispered. ‘You’re supposed to be wildly in love with me. Smile a bit more.’
Somehow she found another smile, though her mouth was beginning to ache with all the smiling.
‘Yes, that’s it,’ he said, giving her hand another squeeze. ‘Not long to go now. Hang in there.’
‘Of course, we all know that Charlotte has not followed the usual path of a country girl,’ her dad continued. ‘There were moments where I thought I would never see her as she is today. As a bride. And for that I have to thank Gary. I only had to know my future son-in-law for ten seconds before I understood why our Charlotte had fallen head over heels with a man I thought she hardly knew. As for Gary…have you ever seen a man so handsome, or so much in love?’
Everyone clapped and cheered. Charlotte wanted to cry.
‘They say you can tell a man by his actions more than his words. Gary told me to keep this a secret but I want to tell you that just now, my new son-in-law is going to pay for this wedding.’
More clapping and cheering.
Charlotte, however, was speechless.
‘Oh-oh,’ Daniel said out of the corner of his mouth. ‘You don’t look pleased. I thought you’d be happy that your father wouldn’t be out of pocket.’
‘But it wasn’t your place! I would have paid him back after I told him we’d separated. Every single cent.’
‘Hey, hush up, you two,’ Brad said.
They hushed up, leaving Charlotte to simmer in silence. If he’d been her real groom, it would have been an incredibly generous gesture. As it was, she suspected it was more a corrupting gesture, a type of advance payment on services to be rendered.
The thought infuriated her. But it also flattered her. Right from the start, Daniel’s pursuit had been incredibly aggressive. Clearly, he would stop at nothing to have her.
What woman wouldn’t thrill to a man being so taken by her charms? What she had to keep remembering, however, was that it was just a sexual interest. Wealthy playboys like Daniel didn’t want women for anything else. They might pretend to value other things in their partners, but the bottom line was sex. Plus the challenge of the chase. Charlotte suspected that once she’d capitulated and he’d had her a few times, Daniel’s passion would begin to wane.
His own sister had warned her that his girlfriends came and went.
Charlotte tried to stay angry with her logical, if somewhat cynical, thoughts. But it was impossible. She just felt more and more excited. Louise was right. This was just lust on her part. She couldn’t think about anything else.
Her father spoke for another couple of minutes, giving them some advice over the tolerance necessary for a happy marriage then wishing them all the happiness in the world before offering the official toast to the bride and groom.
Charlotte plastered a plastic smile on her face and willed for the reception to be over. She couldn’t wait to be alone with Daniel, and to have him kiss her once more. Not the way he’d kissed her after the ceremony. The way he’d kissed her in the lobby yesterday.
After her father sat down, it was Brad’s turn to speak. Charlotte winced as he stood up. Lord knew what he was going to say. Something embarrassing, that was for sure.
‘My job as best man today,’ he began, ‘is a little awkward. A best man is usually the groom’s best mate, or his big brother. Someone who has known him for yonks. But I only met this good-looking fella a couple of hours ago. The other times I’ve been best man at a wedding, it’s been dead easy to tell some naughty stories about what the groom has been up to over the years. I have those kind of mates,’ he added, grinning. ‘But I can’t do that with Gary here. But you know what? I reckon there are no naughty stories in Gary’s past. Pete said he knew straight away what kind of bloke was marrying his daughter. I felt the same way. This man here,’ he said, resting a hand on Daniel’s shoulder, ‘is one of the good guys. True blue, in our Aussie language. I told him when we were getting dressed that he’d made a fantastic husband for our beautiful bride here and I meant it. By the way, she is beautiful, don’t you agree?’
More clapping and cheering. Charlotte groaned. Talk about torment!
‘But it’s not my job to gush over the bride. That’s Gary’s. My job is to gush over the bridesmaid. Not a hard job to do, considering we’re an item,’ he added with a wink Louise’s way. ‘I might be biased but I’ve never seen a better-looking bridesmaid. And that dress… Wow, babe. You should wear blue more often. Although I’d really like to see you in white.’
More clapping and cheering and shouts of, ‘Hear! hear!’
Louise blushed furiously, which was a first for Louise.
Brad proposed the toast to Louise, Charlotte grateful for another swallow of the delicious champagne.
Daniel, she noticed, barely sipped his.
She didn’t look up at him when he stood up, but kept her eyes focused on the back part of the room.
‘Brad might have been to a good few weddings,’ were his opening words. ‘But strangely, I’ve never been to one. So forgive me if my speech doesn’t follow the norm. Firstly, I want to thank my best man for doing such a sterling job today, and the lovely Louise for all the help and friendship she has given Charlotte. I also want to thank the Gales for the wonderful way they have welcomed me into their family. I can honestly say that I have never met their like before. Charlotte is very fortunate to have such exceptionally loving parents. Very fortunate indeed.’
Charlotte resisted the temptation to roll her eyes, but heavens to Betsy, did he have to lay it on that thick? Clearly, he was relishing the role of man of the moment. Every single person in the room was smiling at him. Of course, all her relatives already thought he was the ant’s pants because he was taking troublesome Charlotte off the single shelf. If they only knew!
She sighed, then made the mistake of glancing up at Daniel.
When he smiled back down at her, she found she could not look away. Her gaze remained locked to his, her insides dissolving. She was helpless when he smiled at her like that. Helpless and hopeless.
‘What can I say about Charlotte?’ he said quietly, his eyes caressing hers. ‘She is beautiful, there is no doubt about that. But she is beautiful on the inside as well as the outside. That might sound clichéd but with Charlotte, nothing is clichéd. She is a remarkable woman and any man would be lucky to have her as his wife. No, not lucky. Privileged. My life hasn’t been the same since the first moment we met. Actually, Brad was wrong when he said there were no naughty stories to be told about me. There have been. Quite a few. But no longer. I’m a changed man. Charlotte has changed me.’
At last he looked away from her, and all the breath suddenly rushed out of her lungs from where she’d been holding it.
Louise leant close to her right ear. ‘If I didn’t know better, I’d think he meant all that.’
Charlotte almost laughed. She wished.
He was a good actor, that was all. A polished performer. He’d be dynamite in the courtroom.
Dynamite in the bedroom, too, an insidious voice inserted.
‘I’ve been told I have to propose a toast to my bride. So raise your glasses, everyone. To my lovely Charlotte…’ And he looked down at her again.
Daniel was taken aback by the sarcastic light that glittered in Charlotte’s eyes as he drank to her.
What on earth was going on in that girl’s head?
He’d expected her to be a bit unhappy today. Maybe even bitter. But with Gary, not him. He was trying to be a good guy, as Brad had said.
She hadn’t liked him paying for the wedding. Pride, he supposed. Charlotte was proud.
Well, that was too bad because he’d liked giving the Gales that money. He could well afford it and it had made both of them very happy. If Charlotte chose not to see it in that light, then that was her problem.
Frankly, he was getting just a tad irritated with her. She should have been grateful for all he’d done, not looking daggers at him.
When he sat back down, Brad gave him a poke in the ribs. ‘You have to go cut the cake now.’
Daniel sighed. Would this ever end?
They stood up together with Daniel putting his hand on Charlotte’s elbow as they made their way round to the table that housed the three-tiered wedding cake. More smiles. More photographs.
‘And now,’ the MC boomed, ‘the bride and groom will take the floor for the bridal waltz.’
Daniel winced. He’d actually heard of the bridal waltz and always thought it sounded schmaltzy. Suddenly, it seemed hazardous as well. He would have to take Charlotte in his arms and hold her close, and God only knew what would happen after that.
Daniel hesitated, despite the music having started up.
‘Surely you know how to dance,’ his bride said, again with that caustic gleam in her eye.
Right. He’d had enough of this.
With no further ado, he swept her into his arms and onto the dance floor, twirling her round with elegant ease.
His fears over dancing with Charlotte, however, proved correct. No sooner had one hand been clamped to the small of her back and the other curled round her hot little hand than he felt the none too subtle stirrings of his flesh.
Thank goodness for the bridal gown, with its huge skirt and masses of petticoats. No way would Charlotte be able to feel a thing, he soon realised, smiling ruefully as he danced on, masochistically enjoying his arousal.
‘You’re looking very pleased with yourself,’ she tossed at him.
‘I’ll be a lot more pleased when this reception is over,’ he replied, and pulled her just a little closer.
That shut her up.
‘Did you give the porter your overnight bag like we arranged?’ he asked, his mind now solidly on the aftermath of this reception.
‘Yes,’ she replied a bit breathlessly.
‘Good.’ Daniel didn’t want anything going wrong tonight. He had everything planned, and arranged.
‘Er—which one of the bridal suites did you book?’ she asked.
There’d only been the one available. The most expensive one.
‘The Arabian Nights suite,’ he replied, and listened, with a surge of triumph, as she gasped.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHARLOTTE gasped, then gulped. The Arabian Nights suite!
Oh…my… God…
Somehow Charlotte got through the bridal waltz, and the rest of the reception. She smiled at all her relatives when they came up to congratulate her and thanked them for their gifts, which were piled up on a huge table at the back of the reception room.
Charlotte had known not to bother with that bridal-register idea at any of the department stores where guests could order presents from a list and have them delivered to the bride’s house beforehand. Country folk liked to bring their presents to the actual wedding.
Louise kept asking her if she was all right and she kept saying she was fine.
But she wasn’t fine. In her head, she was already in that decadent bridal suite, in that decadent bed, gazing up at the decadent, mirrored ceiling.
Charlotte had been shown all the themed bridal suites when she’d first made enquiries here at the hotel, so she knew exactly what the Arabian Nights suite entailed. Not only was it the most expensive, but it was also the most exotic—and erotic—in decor.
By the time her mother hugged her goodbye, brushing a tear from her eye, Charlotte’s already strung-out nerves were stretched tight as a drum.
‘Look after her for us, Gary,’ her father said as he pumped Daniel’s hand, then turned to hug his daughter.
‘And you look after your husband, Charlotte,’ he advised.
‘I will, Dad,’ she choked out.
‘Now, off you go, you two, and have a great honeymoon. And don’t worry about your wedding presents. Louise and Brad said they’d take them home for you and look after them. Mother and I will be taking off pretty early in the morning so this is goodbye from us for now. Give us a call after you get back from your honeymoon, OK?’
Daniel said they would.
Thankfully, there was a bank of lifts just outside the reception-room doors into which the ‘honeymooners’ raced to the cheers and claps of the happily intoxicated guests.
Fortunately, the lift they caught was empty. It whisked them up to the tenth floor, Charlotte only then realising she’d possibly drunk too much wine on her mostly empty stomach. She’d only managed a bite or two of the dessert, and none of the coffee and mints afterwards.
‘You all right?’ Daniel asked when the doors whooshed open and she stayed clasping the brass railing that ran around the lift wall at hand-height.
‘I think I had a bit too much to drink.’
‘I noticed you didn’t eat much. Are you feeling sick?’
He looked worried, Charlotte noticed.
‘I’ll be all right. Just a slight dizzy spell from the lift.’
‘Here. Take my arm.’
She smiled a wry smile as she did so. ‘Is this you looking after me?’
He grinned. ‘Absolutely. You can look after me later.’
Suddenly, Charlotte was overcome with panic. Because she knew what Daniel meant. Without a doubt, he was expecting her to be a woman of the world, experienced and confident.
