The Convenient Wedding: a contemporary romance (The Rosa Legacy Book 3) (5 page)

“I haven’t agreed to marry you.” She couldn’t believe they were discussing a wedding so casually.

Anderson gave her a chaste kiss on her lips and she held herself back from reaching for him. “Let’s see what tomorrow brings. Goodnight, bella.”

Anderson turned and went back downstairs without a backward glance. Walking into the guest room, she worried that she was becoming unhinged. Wild thoughts were flying her head and most of them related to escaping the entire situation. How could she have allowed herself to be taken down this pathway? Hadn’t she learned anything through all of her PR work? She was no longer an impulsive teenager going from one problem to the next. She knew how to control her impulses and slow down her actions.

The room could have been decorated 100 years ago. Muted roses were everywhere, on the draperies, lampshades and wallpaper. Even the four-poster bed piled with decorative pillows looked like an antique. Lucia located the bag someone had packed for her and thought gratefully whoever packed it was quite thorough. Within minutes, Lucia brushed her teeth, put on a t-shirt and climbed into bed.

But sleep eluded her. Her mind kept considering each strategy they could imply to dig themselves out of their rushed courtship. When the sun began to rise, Lucia got out of bed and dressed for the day ahead.

She pulled her long blond hair into a neat bun, put on a fitted suit jacket over a beige sun dress and slipped her feet into elaborate heels.

Coming down the stairs, Arthur greeted her with a kiss on the cheek and a cheery “Good morning, dear. I trust you slept well.”

“Yes, thank you. The rose room is lovely.” Lucia replied.

“Please come have breakfast.” Arthur invited.

She took a deep breath to calm down and reminded herself to not let Arthur feel her discomfort. She looked at his kind face, and instinctively knew that he was putting a brave front up for her and must miss his wife terribly.

Arthur asked, “Do you want to see the morning papers?”

Lucia looked at the cover of The New York Times in astonishment. There was a picture of Anderson kissing her with a caption that read, Anderson Adams announces his betrothal to a political debutante.

Keeping up a lively conversation with Arthur over breakfast, she tried to distance herself from the speculation. Lucia found it was very easy to talk to him on any subject, not only was he knowledgeable but he also seemed open minded for his generation which surprised her.

Lucia found that the next several days were a whirlwind of activity with very little opportunity to speak with Anderson alone. Arthur kept her busy going to New York to find a wedding dress, selecting flowers, talking to the caterer, ordering invitations, arranging for out-of-town guests and numerous other wedding details. When she asked about the campaign, she was told quite firmly that after the wedding, she could travel and assist Anderson.

Lucia found herself alone for a few minutes in Arthur’s study, she was waiting to meet the wedding planner Anderson hired. From a brief phone conversation earlier in the week, she knew the woman thought the timeframe was too compressed.

Returning from a morning spent having a fitting for her wedding dress, she felt tense and on edge. She placed on hand on her chest and took a calming breath.

She questioned whether she should change out of her sandals, worn low rise jeans and white halter-top for the meeting. In California she wouldn’t seem out of place but the rules were different in Connecticut. Each event seemed to call for prim and proper attire. Lucia sighed in irritation and thought the wedding planner wouldn’t particularly care for her anyway. Lucia hoped today’s meeting wouldn’t turn into hours of grilling her about her dreams and expectations. None of this was real. The wedding was a farce.

She was deep in thought until a sound made her turn toward the door. Anderson was watching her. He walked into the room and his eyes skimmed over her outfit and stopped at the inch of skin showing on her bare midriff.

“You look relaxed.”

Lucia tugged her shirt down to cover her exposed belly and said in a serious tone, “Hardly. I’m about to face another meeting about our ridiculous wedding.” She turned away from him to hide her distress. The pressure of the last few days and having to field numerous questions about their whirlwind romance had created serious doubts within her.

Anderson came up behind her and pulled her back against his chest. The gesture surprised her but it also seemed oddly comforting to feel his strength. Even though he was wearing a dress shirt and tie, Lucia could feel his firm muscles and the breath being drawn into his chest. He whispered into her neck, “Keep your eye on the ball not on the fans”.

For a split second Lucia was trying to decipher his comment and Anderson took advantage of her confusion and placed his hands on the thin strip of skin exposed on her belly.

He gently lifted her halter-top higher with his fingers and spanned her belly with his hands, murmuring “Your body is incredibly beautiful”. The touch was far more intimate then Lucia expected and for a moment her breath stopped and she felt a surge of desire leap to life inside of her. But his words reminded her that it was only her body that he wanted, not her. 

She stepped away and turning saw Arthur and the wedding planner, Liz, framed in the doorway. Liz had very short red hair, wore a stylish grey suit and was carrying a clipboard among other things.

Lucia was self-conscious and stiffly said hello while Anderson greeted them warmly and offered to make drinks.

Lucia motioned for Liz to sit down in one of the upholstered chairs facing the couch. She cleared the low cocktail table so the books and samples of material could be put down.

Arthur chose to sit in a chair next to the wedding planner so Lucia sat on the dark blue velvet couch and waited for Anderson to return with a tray of drinks.

Slipping some paperwork out of her briefcase, Liz handed an agenda to both Lucia and Arthur.

Liz said, “We have a lot to get through today. I brought several sample books and have asked many of the selected vendors to drop by as we don’t have enough time to visit individual locations.”

Glancing down, Lucia looked through the action items saying “We want a relatively simple wedding.”

“A wedding can appear to be simple if it is carefully planned. If not, given the number of expected guests then it could be chaos.” Liz said without looking up from her list.

Anderson returned with a tray of lemonade and poured everyone a glass before sitting next to Lucia on the couch. She tried to relax when his hand touched the small of her back.

“I appreciate your willingness to take on a last minute high profile wedding but I do have a request.” Anderson paused a moment before saying, “I want the planning to be a source of pleasure. We don’t want to hear about the limitations of a last minute wedding. We want something elegant and simple.”

Liz pulled back in her seat a little before responding “Yes, I understand.”

The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur as florists, caterers and music directors were interviewed. Anderson stayed throughout the afternoon and encouraged Lucia to make most of the decisions. She relaxed and enjoyed sampling each delicacy and examining several variations of roses.

Arthur cheerfully questioned many of the vendors and she smiled at him in gratitude. Except for taking a brief phone call from Brian, Anderson kept his phone on silent. 

Within a few hours, the entire wedding was planned and Liz stood up saying “I’ve never had clients that were able to make so many quick decisions.”

Lucia helped her gather the sample materials and the two women walked towards the foyer.

“Thank you, Liz. I appreciate all of your effort.”

“Your wedding will be beautiful.”

Lucia smiled while opening the front door. She couldn’t believe the planning was over. Now she just had to keep herself incredibly busy so she didn’t have a chance to think.

Glancing into the study, she noticed Anderson was deep in a political debate with his father so she decided to take a cool shower then change for dinner.

Stepping out of the shower, she wrapped herself in a thick towel and went in search of something suitable to wear. The rose room had a walk in closet next to the bathroom but it was mostly empty except for a small amount of clothing that was brought from her apartment. She needed to go shopping. Pulling out a black three-quarter sleeve wrap dress, she tossed it on the bed and went back in the bathroom to put her hair up.

With each passing day, she was getting more and more stressed. With all the arrangements in place, it was near impossible to back out of the wedding. When her blond hair was completely smooth, she twisted into a neat up do and began securing it with pins. Arthur was hosting a special dinner tonight for her parents who were arriving shortly and a few close friends.

She had given her word to him but she questioned whether he would honor his promise. She thought about Anderson exploring her body beneath her tank top earlier. She was a means to an end for Anderson, nothing more. He was interested in winning the election. It suited him to marry her but what if when the time came he wanted to continue the facade of happily married politician. Being trapped in a loveless, image driven marriage was not what she wanted. She could continue the role of adoring wife through the election then remain in Connecticut. She wanted her freedom but didn’t want to disappoint her family. Would a loveless marriage after being abandoned on her wedding day be that bad?

Slipping into the dress, she thought about Anderson. Why would he agree to a convenient wedding? Was the election that important to him that it was worth his freedom? Anderson wanted a private ceremony. He was marrying her to prevent a scandal, why wouldn’t he want the media to cover the event? For a politician, being in the spotlight was important. But maybe it was her grandfather’s influence, he shielded his family from the spotlight and wouldn’t want her wedding to be a circus.

She realized part of her anxiety was her parents were arriving that evening and she would be expected to keep up the deception.

Since the night of their engagement almost three weeks before, she had very little time alone with Anderson. Mostly they attended fundraising events and had their photographs taken at different campaign locations. She had spent a considerable amount of time with Arthur, always conscious of the fact he was a recent widower. Several times, she and Arthur traveled to Hartford and visited with her grandparents at the governor’s mansion. 

Coming downstairs, Lucia found Anderson outside in the formal gardens. Anderson stood up to greet her when she walked across the terrace. For the first time since they met, he looked distant almost sad but then his face became emotionless.

“You look quite beautiful,” Anderson said as he admired her dress “but I preferred your earlier outfit.”

He was teasing but she refused to be drawn.

“I think we are making a colossal mistake.” Lucia said.

“Why the sudden doubts?” He took a sip of his cocktail.

She stepped away from him. “I don’t want to lie to my parents. And honestly, getting married will only magnify the issues we face not solve them.” 

Anderson placed his drink on the table and smoothly turned her toward him. “Lucia, the media has fallen in love with us as a couple. The coverage has far exceeded our expectations. It’s because the chemistry between us is real and edgy.”

He caressed her bare arms and she could feel a delicious heat building in her core. She pushed him away but he captured her hands and held them against his chest. His slow smile caused her mind to go blank. She could feel him take a breath and his intensity captured her full attention.

She looked down at her hands splayed across his chest. “This entire charade could blow up in our faces.”

He tipped her chin up and looked into her eyes. “Not if we stay true to one another. We have a better shot than most at making a marriage work.”

She stepped back from him. “Why do you want to marry me? You just started in politics, the election can’t be that important to you. You are a successful architect and business owner. Why limit your freedom for an election that you may not win?”

He adjusted the cuffs on his dress shirt. “You don’t think that I’ll win?”

She shook her head. “I didn’t say that. I’m trying to understand your motivations in all of this.”

He held her gaze and lowered his voice a fraction. “I don’t need you to understand me. I’m not interested in an emotional relationship. What I need is for you to remain loyal to me throughout the election and for a respectable period after.” He paused then continued, “In return, I’ll help you launch a highly sought after public relations firm. By that point, your name will be recognizable by most people within the political arena.”

Lucia toyed with the marble necklace between her fingers. “It’s so heartless. It’s almost like we are agreeing to take advantage of one another. Marriage should be a sacred union between two people who care about each other.”

Anderson waited several seconds before saying, “You would rather put your heart and soul out there for someone to destroy piece by piece?”

“Is that what happened to you?” Lucia asked.

Anderson’s hands clenched into fists then he visibly relaxed his hands and shrugged. “I have no desire to delve into the past. We were talking about our future. We will both benefit from the marriage and I would caution you not to share anything about our relationship. That includes your family and mine. The only people who can deeply understand the nature of a marriage are the individuals in it.”