Deceived 4 - The Wedding (10 page)

Ryan
fished a video tape from his briefcase and held it up. “This video. The wedding video. You must remember? This video tape was recorded on your wedding day, with you and the guy who pretended to be Patrick. Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel makes videotapes of all their weddings. It’s in their brochure. Let’s take a look, shall we?”

Ryan placed a small
portable combination TV/video player in the middle of the table and connected it to an outlet. He popped in the tape and pressed play. An opening scene from the wedding chapel started to play with some background music. All the blood drained from Stephanie’s face, leaving her ghostly white as the title showed up on the screen. In elegant white script letters it read, “Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel Presents the Wedding of Stephanie Patterson and Patrick Collins.”

The
scene cut to Reverend Johnson’s opening statement. “We are gathered here today to unite into marriage Stephanie Patterson and Patrick Collins.”

“Turn it off
.” She stiffened as though she had been struck. “Turn it off, I said!” Stephanie shouted as her hands clenched into balls and she set her jaw tighter.

“No, let’s watch,” Ryan
glared at her. “Let’s all see what the man you married really looked like.” The video continued with the reverend speaking a touching monolog.

“
Turn it off. Turn the damn thing off!” I could see from where I sat that she was grinding her teeth; she was furious. “I’ll sign the papers, for Christ’s sake.” Her once pretty face was twisted in anger as she shouted.

Ryan lean
ed in and snapped off the video player. His voice was velvet yet edged with steel. “What you have committed, Stephanie, is fraud…a crime. I seriously hope Patrick will press charges. You are looking at jail time,
Steph
.” He forced her name out from between his teeth and it echoed in the room like the warning of a rattle snake.

There were tears
forming in her eyes as she looked straight at Patrick. “Don’t. I-I can’t go to jail,” she whimpered through sobs. “Patrick, please…you know I did all this because I love you. I’ve always loved you. When you broke up with me, I went through a terrible heartbreak. I couldn’t function...I…I…”

Patrick leaned in close to her. “Just sign the
damn papers and get out of my life. If I ever see you again, I
will
press charges.”

In a swift move
, Mr. Falcon pushed the papers across the table toward Stephanie, along with a pen. She sniffed and wiped the tears from her cheeks before signing. She signed both the annulment document and an affidavit, stating that the marriage had never been real. She opened the door to leave but before doing so she turned to Patrick, as if she were about to say something. Maybe she was going to thank him for letting her off the hook, or maybe she just wanted one last look at the man she had always loved. She opened her mouth to speak but said nothing.

Patrick
turned away from her and leaned into me, giving me a soft kiss. I looked up when I heard the click of the door and Stephanie was gone. Her lawyer collected his files and rushed out the door after his client with a hasty goodbye.

Mr. Falcon collected the documents from the table and had Patrick sign them as well. “It’s only eleven am in Las Vegas now. I’ll fax all the documents right
away and within a week you will no longer be married,” Mr. Falcon said with a satisfying smile.

After thanking his lawyer,
Patrick turned to Ryan. “That was amazing. How can I ever repay you? And how on Earth did you find the wedding video? I thought the chapel attendant said they’d all been destroyed.”

There was a glint of mischief in Ryan’s eyes. He hit the
eject button and the tape popped out. Holding it high in the air he said, “Oh, this thing? It’s not the wedding video.” We all stared, wide-eyed, as he continued. “And the reverend? That’s not Reverend Johnson. That’s Pete Summers, an actor in Liam’s new play. It’s all fake.” Ryan chuckled.

It was
a fantastically bold move. The shock of the discovery hit me full force when I realized what Ryan had done. He had called her bluff with a staged video, using an actor to play the part of Johnson—a pretty darn good actor who looked a lot like him—cut and pasted in just the right way to give the appearance of it being the real wedding video.

“
Geez, what would you have done if she hadn’t insisted on shutting it off?”

“No chance of that. I was pretty sure she didn’t want everyone here to actually watch that she was a fraud and had used a double. Even if it had gone on for a little longer, she would still have bought it. I had a video editor mix in a lot of the footage from that wedding video I grabbed at the chapel. Anyway, it was a gamble and it paid off. I know how much you like to gamble
,” Ryan chuckled again and patted Patrick’s back.

Patrick was smiling from ear to ear. “
I don’t know how you pulled that off but all I can say is…thank you, buddy.” He sighed heavily and raked his hands through his hair.

“
Really, it is Chloe you should thank. She found out about them doing wedding videos. I’m just happy that Stephanie finally got what she deserved. I’ll never forget that party.”

Patrick’s eyes darkened with pain as he searched Ryan’s face.
“I had no idea it was you. I’m so sorry. ”

“Well, you didn’t
really know me back then. I always looked up to you in high school and when I found out that you broke up with Stephanie because of what she did to me, I realized that you were the kind of guy I would like as a friend. Who knows, if Steph hadn’t done what she did, the two of you could have gotten married for real, and we might never had become friends. ”

Patrick hung his head and Ryan pulled on his arm. “Come here. Give me a hug.”

I couldn’t hold back any longer. I had to join in and make it a group hug, with my two most favorite guys in the world. My eyes welled up, tears of happiness and relief escaping down my cheeks. Patrick and I could finally make our wedding come true.

I cl
eared my throat and wiped my face as I pulled away. “Boys, enough already. I think it’s time to celebrate. This day just turned out to be one of the best days of my life.” I laughed and wrapped my one arm around each’s waist. “Let’s get out of here. I have to call the wedding planner.”

I couldn’t have been happier than in that moment. We flung open the door and stepped out of the law offices of Falcon and Morrow into the dazzling sunshine. There was nothing in the world that could stop Patrick and I from becoming husband and wife anymore. I had been attracted to him since the day I met him, when I first set foot in his office at Meyer and Meyer, and soon after I grew to love him more than anything. I knew that no matter what happened for the rest of our lives, our love was stronger than any challenges that life could would throw at us.

A
s I stood barefoot at the water’s edge, I barely noticed the water lapping at my ankles. My shoes were left behind in the loose sand. I had managed to remove them, despite my hazy state, before venturing into the Pacific Ocean on this warm June day.

Staring at the beautiful blue sea of the coast of Cabo
San Lucas, I blinked back tears, and unlike that June evening two years ago, this time they were not tears of frustration, but of happiness. I was about to say, “I do” to the man who had touched my heart so deeply. The journey had not been easy, but it had definitely been worth it.

Behind me I heard a man’s voice
calling. The words were almost drowned out by the crashing sound of the waves. “Chloe, it’s time.”

I turned and looked at a
man whom I had loved ever since I was a little girl; my father. He held out his left hand and I grabbed it. He stood waiting, my pillar of strength for my formidable years, with my white wedding shoes in the other hand. He had picked them up from where I left them. Holding my long dress in one hand, we walked slowly through the soft sand up the short stretch of beach to the resort. My friends and family waited, sitting in white plastic folding chairs, and Elyse’s pink bridesmaid dress flapped in the breeze beneath a flower covered wedding gazebo erected for the occasion. It stood to the side of the main resort area in a secluded bay, partitioned off by a neatly trimmed row of hedges and brightly flowering tropical plants, in the outdoor wedding area of the resort, which was reserved for my nuptials.

I stopped when my feet touched the red carpet runner
, laid out over the cement sidewalk that leads into the wedding gazebo, to slip on my white satin heels. I brushed off the sand, took a deep breath and squared myself to take the short walk that would lead to my future. As my dad walked me down the aisle, I gazed at the magnificent man I was about to marry. My heart was filled with joy and my eyes were brimming with tears that threatened to spill down my cheeks and ruin my wedding make up. I scolded myself for being so silly as to worry about makeup at a time like this. Excitement welled within me, making me feel giddy and alive. I was thankful to have my dad’s arm to steady me as my legs were woozy and weak. This was it. I had waited so long. I had the wedding I wanted, on a beach—sorry Gerald. And I was about to wed Patrick, the man I loved.

My dad let go of me and I stepped up next to
my future husband, where the minister motioned for me to stand. I barely heard a word of what the minister said. The euphoric hormones zipping through my body created a rush in my head that made time slow down. Everything was in slow motion until he spoke directly to Patrick. “Do you, Patrick Collins, take this woman, Chloe Swanson, to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and woe, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself solely unto her for as long as you both shall live? If so, answer ‘I do.’”

“I do,” Patrick said.

“Do you, Chloe Swanson, take this man, Patrick Collins, to be your lawfully—”

“I do
, I do,” I interrupted and saw Patrick’s mouth curve into a big smile.

“By the authority vested in me, I now pronounce you
husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

Our friends and family
cheered and I was floating… on a cloud on top of a cloud. Patrick leaned in and placed his warm lips gently on mine, sealing our vows with a kiss.

~*~*~

Pristine azure skies reigned over the panoramic view of a vast sapphire sea, reflecting the vivid blue color that is always depicted in photos of Mother Earth. I stood upon a hill, a balmy breeze whipping about the few strands of hair I had left hanging down from my wedding day hairdo, looking in wonder at the waters of the very tip of the desert peninsula, Baja California, in Mexico. I narrowed my eyes and squinted at a large dark grayish mass that I thought I saw rise out of the water.

Just as I turned, Elyse came up holding a plate with a piece of wedding cake.

“Congratulations, girlfriend.”

“Did you see that
out there? I think it’s a whale.”

Elyse giggled and slipped a bite of
creamy white frosting into her mouth. “It must be a sign of good luck.”

I shielded my eyes with my hand and looked again. “
Ya think?”

“Sure. It’s a native tradition in these parts. See a whale on your wedding day and your marriage will be blessed and last forever.”

“You’re full of it.”

Elyse laughed again. “
Okay, I just made that up but it sounded good and you and Patrick
are
going to last forever. I’ve never seen two people so in love before. The way he looks at you and takes care of you…well, I’m jealous. But happy for you, hon.”

I noticed Ryan in the small cluster of people standing near the buffet
section with French caviar hors de’ouveres. Gerald had them specially flown in for the reception. I didn’t mind letting him have this one thing his way; it was the least I could do, since all of his other wedding arrangements had been cancelled, the big church, the dress with a mile long train. I was blessed. I got my dream wedding on a beach and I was surrounded by family and friends. I marveled at it and wondered how my life could possibly get any better.

“Come on, Elyse, let’s go talk to Ryan. I want to know more about the date he brought with him.” Standing next to Ryan was a very distinctive and handsome gentleman. As we approached, he turned to me.

“Congratulation
s, sweetie,” he said with a hug.

“Thank you so much, Ryan,” I
beamed. “Who’s your friend? I’m sorry, I was so busy getting ready before the wedding that we didn’t get to properly meet. The bride can’t be seen before the wedding, you know.”

“This is Liam
, the one I told you about, the theater director.”

“Oh
my gosh. You’re Liam? Thank you so much for coming. I’ve wanted to thank you for all your help with that…er, well, fake wedding video. It looked so real. Without that tape…well, we wouldn’t be standing here right now.”

“Oh, no thanks necessary.
It was all Ryan’s idea. He was the mastermind behind it all.” He looked at Ryan with a kind of admiration in his eyes that gave me a warm feeling. “All I did was lending him a couple of my actors.”

“That’s not quite tru
e,” Ryan said. “Liam and Pete Summers actually studied the speech patterns of Reverend Johnson for hours to get it perfect. He directed the whole thing,” Ryan boasted. “He’s an amazing director.”

“Well, you
are
a genius and without your idea, we’d still be in court, battling things out with that manipulative bitch, Steph…”

As we talked
, Patrick came over to us with two champagne glasses in hand. He leaned in, planting a light kiss on my lips. “Mrs. Collins.” With a grand gesture, and a big smile, he handed me a glass. “Here, baby. I got you a glass. It’s your favorite, Dom Perignon.”

I
bit my lip, trying to quash a smile. “Thanks, honey. You’re very thoughtful but I’m not drinking today.”

He looked at me
with amusement. “What? Not drinking on your wedding day? You have to; it’s a tradition. Are you okay?”

“
I am more than okay. In fact,
we
are perfectly okay.” I laid a hand on my stomach, smiled, and whispered into his ear, “Daddy.”

THE END

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Other books by Eve Carter:

Deceived 1 – New York (Free
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Deceived 2 - Paris

Deceived 3 - Chloe’s Revenge

Breathless – Jesse 1

Fearless – Jesse 2

Pure Temptation – Tempted 1

Coming in the spring:

Raw Temptation – Tempted 2

Carpe diem – Jesse 3

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