His Paradise Wife (6 page)

“
You’re really going to buy
all of these necklaces?” she asked him again, just to be sure he
wanted them.

“
Yes.”

She picked up his card, swiped it, then
ripped off the receipt from the credit card machine, placing it in
front of him. She also handed him a pen and when she did, their
hands touched. She looked up at him. He was already beaming back at
her with his hazel eyes. Just the sensation of his touch made her
temperature rise, made her stomach flutter.

Holding the pen, Dante asked, “So this
guy...is it serious?”

“
Yes, it is.”

“
Committed relationship
serious, or on the verge of marriage serious?”

“
How’s that any of your
business?”

“
Just think a woman like you
deserves nothing but the best.”

Emily laughed. He had to be
kidding, right? The man who’d made his way around women’s beds like
it was a sport was implying that
he
was the best for
her
. When Emily finally stopped
laughing, she asked, “And that’s you?”

Dante held up both hands in the air. “Guilty
as charged.”

“
Well, I’m not sure what
kind of women you’ve been picking up with this weak game, but it
takes more than good looks and money to capture my interest, Mr.
Champion. A lot more.”

He looked upon her as one would look upon
another person in admiration.

Emily frowned again. “Um, can you please
sign the receipt. I really have somewhere to be.”

“
Sure,” he said after coming
out of a trance. He scribbled his name in an illegible cursive,
then handed the receipt to her.

In return, Emily handed him
two medium-sized bags. “Here you are. Enjoy your
women’s
necklaces,” she
said withholding sarcasm from her voice.

“
Thank you very much,
Emily.” He took the bags by the handles and said, “See you
soon.”

“
Excuse me?”

“
I said, see you
soon.”

Don’t think
so
, she thought, watching him saunter away
in that sexy stroll that went well with his overall good looks and
arrogant persona. As soon as he was on the other side of the door,
she locked it and wiped sweat from her forehead. Then she went to
the back office, took her keys and purse and shut off the lights.
Standing at the door, she set the alarm then locked the doors
before walking across the parking lot to her car.

Little did she know, Dante had been sitting
in his Maserati watching her. Once she made it safely to her car
and drove off, he returned back to his office. He had a very
important phone call to make.

Chapter 9

“
He did what?” Melanie said,
her bottom lip nearly scraping the floor.

Emily chuckled. “The man came in my store
after closing, mind you, and purchased every single necklace I had
in stock.” She laughed harder. After pulling herself together, she
said, “And he had the nerve to ask me why I didn’t like him.”

“
Oh my gosh...what did you
say?”

“
I was honest...told him I
didn’t go for arrogant, self-absorbed men.”

Melanie gasped. “You did not say that to
him.”

“
Oh yes I did. And to get
him off of my back, I told him I was seeing someone.”

Melanie laughed. “Girl, you know you
wrong.”

“
What? I
am
seeing someone. Armand,
remember?”

Melanie smacked her lips.
“Last I heard, you broke up with your computer love?” Then she
started singing the song,
Computer
Love
.

“
I did, but imagine my
surprise when I log on to my GHC account this morning and see an
email from Armand, with his phone number, asking me to call
him.”

“
What!”

“
Yes, girl.”

“
Did you call?”

“
I did indeed. We talked for
ten minutes or so, then he said he had a meeting or something. He’s
supposed to be calling me tonight.”

“
And what did you decide
about the whole marriage thing?”

“
I think I’m going to do
it.”

Melanie screamed. “I’m so excited for
you.”

“
I can tell. You almost blew
my eardrum.” Emily laughed. Then she heard the call waiting beep,
looked at her phone and saw Armand’s number. “Mel, it’s Armand
calling. Gotta go. I’ll talk to you later.”

“
Okay, and you better call
me.”

“
I will.”

“
I want details, Em. Juicy,
delicious details.”

“
Bye, Mel,” Emily said
smiling, then clicked over to the other line. “Hello.”

“
Hi, Emily,” Dante said,
putting on his ‘Armand’ persona.

His smooth, manly voice echoed in her mind
making a warm feeling come over her body. “Hi, Armand.”

“
How are you,
dear?”

“
I’m okay. Just a little
tired.”

“
Long day?” he asked, as if
he hadn’t known she had closed her store late.

“
Yeah. I ended up closing
late due to a last minute customer.”

“
Oh, yeah?”

“
Yeah. This guy came in and
bought a bunch of necklaces. How’d your meeting go?”

“
It went well,” he said, and
then, getting down to business, he asked, “Have you had a chance to
review our contract?”

“
No, I haven’t.”

“
Okay. I was just checking.
I know this sounds like a business transaction but I don’t want you
to feel like what we’re about to do is a business deal. I really
like you.”

“
I know. I’m
just—”

“
Not sure about us?” he
finished saying for her.

Emily sighed. “I don’t know. I’m so confused
about a lot of things and—”

“
I have your ring,” he said,
interrupting her. “I’m holding it in my hand as I sit at my desk,
staring at your beautiful profile picture on my computer
screen.”

“
You have a
ring?”

“
Yes...bought it two weeks
after we met.”

“
Two weeks?”

“
Yes. Two weeks. I’m not,
nor have I ever been an indecisive man, Emily. I’m a man who knows
what he wants and, I...want...you.”

Emily closed her eyes and thought about
this. She wasn’t ready for marriage again, especially not like
this, but at the same time, she needed to be responsible enough to
avoid playing with someone else’s feelings. Armand was putting
himself out there and now it was her turn to make a move. “It’s
almost ten o’clock. What are you still doing at the office?” she
decided to ask, to buy her a few more minutes to make up her
mind.

“
Like I told you a while
ago, when my wife died, I immersed myself in my work. I still do.
But what I would like to be doing is spending time with someone I
care about...someone I can spend my life with. I’m hoping that
someone is you, Emily.”

A smile came to her already glowing face. “I
really like you, too, so I’m willing to give it a shot,
Armand.”

“
Then you’ll be there on
Saturday?”

“
Yes. I will be in Pleasure
Island on Saturday.”

“
You don’t know how good it
makes me feel to hear you say that.”

Emily smiled. “I can hear it in your
voice.”

“
This is wonderful. I can’t
wait to see you.”

“
Likewise. Oh, and I’ll sign
the contracts and send them back to you tonight.”

“
Excellent. I’m so excited
that we’re doing this. I hope you are too.”

“
To be honest with you, I’m
scared out of my mind. I feel lightheaded all of a sudden. Are you
not the least bit frightened by all of this?”

“
No. Not at all. I told you.
I know what I want.”

Emily blushed.

“
And what if it doesn’t work
out between us?”

After a few moments of silence, he said,
“You’re counting us out already?”

“
No. I’m just being
real.”

“
Well, I’m not worried.
It’ll work out.”

Emily sighed. “Okay. I just need to say
this. I appreciate your optimism but you should know that I meant
what I told you about Melvin. I still love him. I’ll always love
him. Nothing will ever change that.”

“
I understand.”

“
You do?”

“
Of course. I still love
Anita. I think it’s best to keep our deceased spouses safely in our
hearts. We will never forget them, sweetie, but we also have to
move on with our lives.”

“
Yeah. You’re
right.”

“
Have you picked out a gown
yet?”

A gown? A gown!
Emily hadn’t purchased a gown and with only two
days left she had to find one fast.

“
Emily?”

“
Ah...no, I don’t have a
gown yet, but I’ll get one tomorrow.”

“
And how are you getting to
the coast?”

“
I’m driving, I
guess.”

“
Alone?”

“
Yes.”

“
That’s a long drive to be
going alone.”

“
It is, but I’m sure I can
manage.”

“
And what if you get
tired?”

“
I’ll take a few
breaks...sip on some coffee...it’ll be fine.”

Emily stood up from her bed, walked to the
kitchen, took a glass and filled it with tap water, taking a sip.
Armand had been quiet for a few moments. “Hello? Are you there?”
she asked.

“
Yes, dear. I’m
here.”

“
What are you thinking
about?” she asked. “I feel like I can sense your brain
churning.”

He grinned. “I was thinking that, if you
would allow me, I would like to send a limo for you.”

“
A limo?”

“
Yes. I can have one of my
drivers pick you up, drive you to the resort and you can rest in
the backseat, sip champagne, watch TV or do whatever you
want.”

“
Wow. You have
drivers?”

“
Yes, I do.”

“
Business must be
good.”

“
It’s okay,” he responded,
being modest.

“
That does sound nice,
though. I would love to ride in a limo.”

“
Perfect. I’ll make the
arrangements, and so that you’re aware, I’ve already booked our
room at the resort. We have the penthouse suite.”

“
The penthouse suite? You’re
going all-out for this, huh?”

“
Yes, of course. Nothing but
the best for my lady.”

Emily smiled.

“
It’s getting late. I should
let you go to bed.”

“
Okay.”

“
I’ll speak with you soon.
Goodnight, sweetheart.”

“
Goodnight,
Armand.”

Dante poured a little Bourbon in a glass,
swished it around and turned it up to his mouth, feeling the heat
of the alcohol in his throat. It was only a shot’s worth but it
helped to settle him as he focused on what he was about to do this
weekend. He was going to blindside the woman he wanted, Emily
Mitchell, with his presence. How would she react when she found out
that the man she’d been interacting with for the last three months
online was really him instead?

Chapter 10

Saturday morning – wedding day.

Emily looked around in awe of her
surroundings. There were news vans everywhere as well as a crowd of
bystanders, likely nearby vacationers from other resorts, taking
pictures. The smell of food, the sound of music and sight of
beautiful wedding decor put everyone in a celebratory frame of
mind.

The temperature today on the beach was a
cozy seventy-eight degrees. Unlike Asheville, bright sunny skies
were overhead instead of dark, gray ones. A light, warm wind
lingered, igniting the feeling of love in the air.

Emily had arrived to the resort last night,
so she was fully aware of how magnificent this place was – the
place she would be calling home for the next couple of weeks. She
hadn’t known much about coastal cities, but from what she
understood, Pleasure Island was made up of three beaches – Carolina
Beach, Kure Beach and Wilmington Beach. She’d had the opportunity
to walk the Grieving Hearts Connect resort located on Carolina
Beach, and what she discovered was truly amazing: two outdoor
pools, one indoor pool, a restaurant and coffee bar, a separate
fitness center and whirlpools. The penthouse suite boasted a
sixty-inch flat screen TV, an open concept living and dining room,
two bathrooms, a private balcony that faced the ocean, his and hers
baths, a wet bar with refrigerator, robes, slippers, and a Jacuzzi.
On the bed, there was an itinerary for the wedding and activities
for the entire two-week journey which included couples counseling
every day from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., fishing trips, hiking at
Carolina Beach State park, paddle boarding lessons and much
more.

Now, was the moment that everyone had been
waiting for – the marriage ceremony. Emily stood in line,
side-by-side with many other brides, waiting for their
husbands-to-be to join them out on the beach. With the ocean as
their backdrop, the picture of beautiful women in white gowns lined
at the shore was a truly breathtaking sight, and with all the media
attention surrounding the event, the women felt like royalty. What
woman wouldn’t want to feel like royalty on her wedding day?