“Ready to go, beautiful?” he asked.
It was all she could do not to swoon. Clad in a new black Armani suit that had been tailored just for him, a white silk shirt, and black boots polished to a high shine, the man was so devastatingly handsome he fairly took her breath away. “Yes, just let me grab my handbag.”
* * *
Jilly had chosen to be married in a small chapel located in a shady glen. When Tessa arrived, the bride was pacing back and forth. Munching on a candy bar.
“Not too late to change your mind,” Mr. Hix said, patting his daughter’s arm.
“No, no, I’m not having second thoughts about Luke,” Jilly said. “I don’t know why I’m so nervous.”
Tessa plucked the candy bar from Jilly’s hand. “Brides are supposed to be jittery.” She gave Jilly a hug, then handed her a Kleenex pulled from the box on a nearby table. “But not smeared with chocolate. You look lovely, by the way.”
“Thanks. So do you. Is Luke here?”
“Yes,” Tessa said. “I saw his new car out front. Very nice, by the way. Don’t worry, girlfriend, you won’t be alone at the altar.”
Just then, the organist began to play the “Wedding March.”
Tessa glanced over her shoulder as she took her place. “Just remember to breathe, Jilly. Here we go.”
* * *
Tessa blinked tears from her eyes as Jilly and Luke exchanged their wedding vows. As they shared their first kiss, Tessa looked out at the guests, and saw Andrei watching her.
His gaze caught and held hers as, in her mind, she heard his voice. Will you marry me, Tess?
Happiness swelled in her breast, chasing away every doubt, every fear. Yes. Oh, yes!
His smile matched the one in her heart.
After the ceremony, Andrei took her aside while Jilly and Luke were busy with their guests. “You said yes.” His gaze searched hers. “Did you mean it?”
Nodding, she murmured, “I love you, Andrei, for as long as I live.”
Her words poured over him and through him like a warm summer breeze, chasing the cold from his heart and soul. Murmuring her name, he swept her into his arms, holding her as if he would never let her go.
She would have been content to stay there forever but, all too soon, Jilly was tugging on her arm. “Come on, the photographer wants to take some pictures in here, and then take a few in front of the church.”
Andrei kissed Tessa on the cheek, thinking she looked more radiant than the bride. “Go on, love. I’ll see you later.”
* * *
After what seemed like hundreds of photos, the bridal party and guests went to the reception, which was being held at the Corner’s Country Club, located not far from the chapel. Tessa was dying to tell Jilly about Andrei’s proposal, but this was Jilly’s night and she didn’t want to say or do anything that would distract the bride from her own happiness.
The bride and groom did all the usual things—the first dance as man and wife, cutting the cake, tossing the garter and the bouquet.
For Tessa, the best part of the reception was dancing with Andrei. When she was in his arms, everything and everyone else melted away and it was just the two of them lost in a world of their own.
“You look like you swallowed the sun,” Andrei remarked as he twirled her around the floor.
Tessa smiled at him. “I feel that way too. All warm and glowy inside.”
He drew her closer, his gaze hot enough to melt steel.
Tessa felt herself blushing. “Andrei, stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re going to seduce me right here in the middle of the dance floor.”
“Would you like me to?”
She stared at him. Was he serious? Right here, right now, with everyone watching?
Leaning down, he whispered, “No one will see us.”
She didn’t doubt for a minute that he meant it. He was a master vampire, after all, possessed of amazing powers. Still, as intrigued as she was by the idea, she shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
He laughed softly. “Chicken.”
“How would you do it? Just hypnotize everyone in the place?”
“More or less.”
“You could really do that?”
“Want me to show you?”
“No. When we make love, I’d like it to be someplace more romantic than the floor of the country club.”
“Just say the word. I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”
The man was as incorrigible as he was desirable.
* * *
“It was a lovely wedding,” Tessa remarked, slipping off her shoes.
Andrei sat on her bed, his back resting against the headboard, one knee bent. He had discarded his suit coat and boots. Now he watched her through heavy-lidded eyes as she stepped out of her dress. “Yes,” he murmured, his gaze following her as she hung her gown in the closet. “Lovely.”