Unbidden Love (Book Five of the Bidden Series) (19 page)

“It would not be forever!” Audra argued. "Just long enough to buy us some time. Or would you rather we sit back and watch your father take the reins of our company while we go through the
proper
channels?”

“This is a
marriage
we are talking about, Audra! I know you have never been in one before but they are not exactly something a person takes lightly!”

“Oh, please. Marriage has been a financial or property arrangement since the beginning of time. This could save our company, James!”

"By getting married?!” he shouted.

She heard Audra say something about making a phone call before she disappeared out of sight, presumably to the bedroom. There was not enough time to worry whether or not she would be able to tell from the state of the bed that Natalie and James had made love in it only a few hours ago.

James crouched down between Natalie’s legs and looked up at her imploringly. “Natalie, what the hell are you thinking?”

“I am thinking about saving
both
of our companies, James.”

“By getting
married
? Have you even thought of the consequences of what you are suggesting?”

“Not really,” she admitted. She leaned forward towards him, elbows resting on her legs. “But if it works then who cares?”

“I care!” he protested. “Natalie, if Audra and I are married then that means neither one of us can marry
anyone else
. Do you understand?”

“Of course I do," she said, grabbing a hold of his hands and squeezing tight. “But it also means you will have your company, James. Isn’t that more important?”

James stood abruptly and ran a hand through his hair, tugging at the ends just as Audra burst into the room again, cell phone in hand.

“It will work!” she announced breathlessly. She resumed her seat opposite Natalie and looked up at James, who was now pacing across the floor. “If we are legally married our stocks are jointly owned, giving us a majority and stopping Jackson from a takeover. And stopping whatever he has planned with you and Joe,” she added in Natalie’s direction. “But we would need to act fast. Bruce said you had a document drawn up a few years ago that would help legitimize a marriage, James?”

James closed his eyes as his head dropped. His face twisted into an incomprehensible fit of frustrated anger. “Bruce was never supposed to say anything about that,” he muttered.

Natalie assumed Bruce was their lawyer, or someone on the legal team at Fitson. “What is it?” she asked.

James glanced at each of them, but could not maintain eye contact. He sighed heavily, and said, “It’s a co-parenting contract. I had one drafted in the event Audra asked me to donate my sperm so she could have a child.”

A quiet calm descended upon the room until the loudest noise heard was from a police siren whizzing by along The Strip several stories below. It never truly occurred to Natalie before that moment just how much James loved Audra. So much, in fact, that he was prepared if the day ever came that Audra asked him for a most sacred gift. She had no idea that was even a possibility. Audra never really talked about kids, especially not about having them, and Natalie just assumed it was a moot point.

“This whole time?” Audra whispered.

“Of course,” James replied. “I would do it in a heartbeat, Audra.”

Audra, seemingly touched by James’ words, wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tight. He reciprocated instantly, holding her against him as though he were her very own human shield.

“I love you,” she said, the words barely audible to Natalie’s ears.

“I love you, too.”

Natalie watched the two of them together, fighting back tears of her own at the scene in front of her. They really did love each other. Not in the way Audra loved her or she loved James, but in many ways it was so much more. Almost torn apart by their shared love of Natalie, but brought back together and stronger than ever in the face of mounting adversity. People fell in and out of love every day, most people multiple times throughout their lives. But if Natalie was sure of anything, it was that fewer people still were capable of the love they shared. And in light of that, a bit of sacrifice in order to save what they had spent a bulk of their lives building together didn’t see much like a sacrifice at all.

“What do we need to do?” James asked.

Natalie examined the document she held in her hand, feeling awash in a sense of disappointment that a piece of paper that held such power was so very
plain
.

“What is it?” Audra asked beside her.

“Nothing. I guess I just expected a bit more pomp and circumstance.”

“Pomp and circumstance? It’s a marriage license.”

“That is exactly what I mean. We are in Las Vegas and this piece of paper granting two people the right to join in legal matrimony looks so
ordinary
.”

“We can order two copies of the certificate. One to keep locked in my safe at Fitson, and another to decoupage in glitter.”

Natalie burst with laughter at the mental image of Audra decoupaging anything at all. At least it helped with the nervous pit digging a hole through her stomach. She looked up at their surroundings, lamenting the generic hallway outside what was probably an equally generic courtroom. She knew from her brief internet search that there was a white picket archway with fake ivy wrapped around it inside, something to add a sense of occasion to any photos taken of the couples getting married beneath it. It was all so wrong.

“Are you having second thoughts?” Audra asked from beside her.

“No,” Natalie answered, though she did not sound convincing even to her own ears.

“This
was
your idea.”

“And it is happening. But can we not find a better place to do it in? Do you really want your wedding portrait to be underneath some cheap archway with fake ivy?”

“
Oh-kay
,” Audra whispered as she pulled Natalie out of the queue of couples waiting their turn to be married. They stood by a window with a sad view overlooking a parking lot. “What would you have us do instead?”

“Get married at Eden?”

Audra shook her head. “We have been over this. We cannot get married in front of our employees, Natalie.”

“Okay, then how about literally any other place in Vegas? You have connections. Why not call up Caesar’s for a quickie wedding there? At least they have a proper gazebo and a lovely garden. And this dress-”

“What would you have me wear instead?” Audra asked, gesturing to the very same white pant suit she had been wearing the day they arrived in Vegas. “A ball gown?”

“No!,” Natalie protested. Though the thought was not unappealing. “But this
is
a wedding even if it is a
Vegas
wedding. Let’s do something right. Please?”

It only took one look at Audra’s chestnut eyes to tell she was seconds away from acquiescing to Natalie’s request. “What do you have in mind?”

James fidgeted with the ends of his tie, as if the knowledge of how to tie it into a proper knot had completely escaped him. At Natalie’s urging he had called a friend and asked for a favor. It had all happened surprisingly fast, considerably faster than his wedding to Celine many years ago. Audra and Natalie made calls of their own, and before he knew it they were shotgunning a perfectly beautiful wedding in a five-star resort. In less than thirty minutes he and Audra would be married, and the concept itself was too foreign to even fully consider. But if it was the only way to save their company, then it was worth it.

He hoped like hell it was worth it.

“Everything’s all set.”

He turned in the direction of Natalie’s voice and stilled. She looked breathtaking in a sequin shift dress that showed off her legs for miles. Under her arm she carried a bouquet of flowers in a deep shade of purple, and in her hands was a boutonniere, waiting to be pinned.

“Do you mind?” she asked, holding the single white flower out to him.

He nodded, saying nothing as she entered the room tucked just beyond the garden and gazebo where the ceremony would take place.

“Fortunately I had the contact for Eden’s florist saved in my phone. They were only too happy to send over some samples for their best client. And I had a quick chat with the officiant. He wanted just a few details about you two to make the ceremony a bit more personal.” Natalie smiled as she spoke and pinned the flower to his lapel. When she finished she looked up at him, silvery blue eyes smiling, but dimmed. “There. Now you look like a proper groom.”

James leaned down to kiss her, but she held her hand up to his chest to stop him.

“I haven’t told Audra about us,” she whispered. She glanced over her shoulder in the direction of the door before turning back to face him again. “I couldn’t. Not after the whole thing with the co-parenting contract. This is her wedding day after all.”

“It’s not real, Natalie,” he said in hushed tones. “Not in the way it should be.”

“It is real the moment you say your vows and sign your name on that document, James.”

He cupped the side of her face with his hand, not caring if it was proper or not. “It’s not you. It is
supposed
to be you.”

Tears drowned the silvery-blue globes of her eyes. He caught a droplet with his thumb before it could touch her cheek. Before either of them could say anything, they were startled but the sound of the doors leading to the garden opening.

Audra, dressed in a sleeveless ivory gown that accentuated her delicate shoulders, held her own bouquet of purple flowers as she stood in the doorway. “Are you ready?” She was stunning, absolutely beautiful with her blond hair swept back behind her head. If any of it were real he might have cried at the sight of her.

James looked down at Natalie again, and saw in her the silent urging to go. “I’m ready.” He stepped out and away from Natalie, and towards Audra, accepting her hand in the crook of his elbow as they walked out into the sunshine-lit garden towards a gazebo wrapped in flowers and tulle. In the center stood a man in a black tuxedo, holding a book and smiling peacefully at them.

Natalie trailed behind them, acting as both witness and bridesmaid. James and Audra walked together, her hand on his arm, until they reached the center of the gazebo. The sunshine was mild around them, and if he listened hard enough he could hear the sound of birds chirping in the trees around them. Natalie stood behind Audra, silent and unmoving.

The officiant began.

“It is on this beautiful day that we gather to celebrate the union of Audra Robertson and James Fitzgerald. Their story began more than a decade ago in college, and only grew in strength and prosperity from that day forward. Together they have accomplished what few people ever do, and they have done it at each other’s side for better or for worse. Theirs is a testament to the truest value of any marriage, which is a foundation built upon trust and mutual affection that cannot be so easily undone. May they continue to walk hand in hand together through life on this day, and every day hence forth. If there is anyone who can give reasonable cause as to why this man and this woman should not be joined in matrimony, let them speak now.”

James shifted his gaze to where Natalie stood behind Audra, and found her breathing through parted lips, her chest rising and falling in short bursts as tears trickled down her face. He knew she would not say anything. This was, after all, her idea.

After a moment of silence, the officiant continued. “Audra, please repeat after me. I Audra take you James to be my husband, my partner, and my love.”

Audra inhaled deeply, and kept her eyes locked on James as she said, “I Audra take you James to be my husband, my partner, and my love.”

“I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever.”

“I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever,” she repeated. A single tear escaped from her eye and landed in the shallow valley above her lip.

“James,” the officiant continued, “please repeat after me. I James take you Audra to be my wife, my partner, and my love.”

“I James take you Audra to be my wife, my partner…” He paused for a second, and looked over Audra’s shoulder to Natalie as he finished, “and my love.”

“I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever.”

“I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever.” When he looked back at Audra, she took a deep breath and nodded, the gesture surprisingly reassuring to his own nervous senses.

“Audra, do you take James to be your husband? Do you promise to love, honor, cherish, and protect him, forsaking all others and holding only unto him?”

Audra hesitated, and for a moment James wondered whether she was having second thoughts right then and there. But whatever gave her pause passed, and she sniffed before saying, “I do.”

“And James, do you take Audra to be your wife? Do you promise to love, honor, cherish, and protect her, forsaking all others and holding only unto her?”

He had no intention of it whatsoever. And he strongly suspected that neither did Audra. Still, he said, “I do.”

“By the power vested in me by the state of Nevada, I now pronounce you husband and wife. James, Audra, you may now kiss.”

Without hesitation James leaned into Audra and kissed her, chastely and sweetly, sealing their bond. He could just taste the salt of the tear that had gathered above Audra’s lip. When she pulled away, James took the opportunity to look at Natalie, who was doing an admirable job at holding it together. To anyone else she looked like nothing more than a happy bridesmaid crying for the newly wedded couple. He knew better. He knew that despite the strength she put on display for the world to see, inside she was trembling.

The officiant put a hand each on James and Audra’s shoulders, and announced, “I present to you our happy couple, Mr. and Mrs. Fitzgerald!”

*
* *

Bidden
will conclude with book 6.