I gulped in astonishment at the purple bouquet she pulled from the refrigerated area to the left. “It’s perfect,” I breathed out. It really was, since purple was my favorite color.
“Mr. Heath gave us all the specifications when we spoke earlier.”
“I told you I couldn’t help but notice everything about you,” he whispered into my ear as she led us further into the building.
“Zoe can find her gown in here.” She’d brought us into a roped-off area, and I walked into a room filled with rack after rack of wedding gowns.
“I couldn’t,” I whispered, feeling uncomfortable as I looked at all the pretty white dresses that represented so many women’s hopes and dreams for their future.
“Of course you can. It’s part of the package,” the woman assured me.
“But I brought a couple dresses with me that’ll be fine,” I insisted.
“Actually,” Landon interrupted our back and forth. “She won’t need to use one of the rental gowns because Bridal Elegance is sending over a selection of dresses along with their seamstress. They should be here any minute.”
“Can you give us a minute alone?” I asked, forcing a polite smile onto my face as I looked at the woman.
“Of course.” She gave me a look of female understanding before turning to Landon. “You’ll find the tuxes over there.” She waved towards an area full of tuxedos, directly across from the gowns.
“I brought my own.” Of course he had. In the short amount of time I’d been home packing, he’d managed to think of everything. “But I would like to use a tie, pocket square and cummerbund to match her bouquet please.”
“I’ll pull a selection out for you.”
I waited for her to be out of earshot before turning to Landon. “This is too much! We aren’t really getting married. You’ve gone way overboard here.”
“The only way this works is if we really get married, Zoe,” he reminded me.
“You know what I meant,” I huffed out. “Our wedding doesn’t have to be anything special, not when our marriage isn’t going to be permanent.”
“We have to make it look good for the pictures, don’t we?” he asked in a reasonable tone, when his expression looked like he was pissed off at the reminder of the temporary nature of our situation.
“Yes, but—”
“Everything I’ve done will help us convince the immigration officer who’s assigned our case that our marriage is real and has nothing to do with the letter they sent you.”
He was absolutely correct, and a small part of me wanted to cry at the logic behind his actions. It was all incredibly thoughtful and romantic, but only because it was necessary. I needed to keep that in mind and not fall vulnerable to the feelings that were swirling around inside me.
“You’re right,” I admitted. “Thank you.”
“You can show me your gratitude later.”
I didn’t get a chance to ask him what he meant by that because the ladies from the bridal gown store arrived. I spent the next hour picking out a dress and having my makeup done—and polishing off another half bottle of champagne. By the time I stood with Landon in front of a glass door decorated to look like a stained glass arch with pink, purple and red roses surrounding it in the small chapel, I was a little wobbly in my heels.
The ceremony passed in a blur of traditional wedding music, the exchanging of our vows, lighting of a unity candle, and a flurry of pictures. It didn’t take long before we were being pronounced man and wife. Then Landon’s fingers were buried in my hair, tugging until my head tilted back. He leaned in and brushed a gentle kiss across my mouth, a soft glide of his firm lips against mine. With that one light touch, my pulse pounded in my ears and butterflies swirled in my belly.
“Open for me, Zoe,” he urged. “Let me in.”
His tongue teased the seam of my mouth, and my lips parted. Gentle was over as his tongue swept inside my mouth. The kiss turned scorching hot and oh-so demanding. It felt as though the entire world dropped away as I clutched at his shoulders while he took my breath away.
“Oh my.” I heard the woman who helped us sigh, bringing me crashing back down to reality.
Landon lifted his head, and there was no mistaking the stamp of possession on his face. But it was all an act, right? It had to be. I knew he’d wanted to take me out on some dates, but he couldn’t actually feel about me the way he was looking at me.
“You may want to warn your parents about that kiss before they watch the ceremony,” she tittered.
“Watch the ceremony?” I repeated.