Chapter Five

 

Danielle stood next to Mason, waiting for the Minister to begin. She tilted her head up to take a peak at him from beneath her veil. He was staring at her intently, and it had the effect of erasing the timid smile that had started to curve up on her face.

“You look beautiful, Danielle,” he said.

She could feel the smile come back, along with a rush of heat to her cheeks. Hopefully the veil hid her blushing. Well, brides were supposed to be blushing, right?

“Thanks,” she said.

The Minister cleared his throat and went over the vows. As he said her name, she realized she’d never even told Mason her last name.

“Do you Mason George Rutherford take Danielle Elizabeth Williams to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

Danielle was feeling faint as the Minister recited the vows. She’s forgot about the part of ‘til death do us part’. How could she promise that when they had no intention of staying married?

“I do,” Mason said.

Oh, gosh. Now it was all on her. All she had to do was say ‘I do’ and she was married. Married because she’d vowed to love, honor and cherish until death parted her from Mason. Could she do this and break the vow?

“Danielle?” Mason’s voice was soft.

She looked up at him and then the Minister. “Sorry, just nervous,” she said.

“Do you Danielle Elizabeth Williams take Mason George Rutherford to be your husband, to have and to hold…”

As the Minister recited the vows, Danielle watched Mason from under her veil. He was completely calm. He grabbed her hand as the vows were read and gave her a squeeze for reassurance. She looked up at him with a small, nervous smile.

Oh, that was a mistake. His vivid blue eyes glittered brilliantly in the bright room. He was taller than she’d realized, broad chested and that face, she didn’t think she’d ever seen a more beautiful face on a man. They would have gorgeous children together. He could give her everything she ever wanted. A family, a husband and security. What more could she ask for?

“I do!” she said, as she firmly decided it was the right decision.

She heard the Minister and Mason chuckle.

“I wasn’t quite finished yet,” the Minister said. “So, where I left off- in sickness and in health, forsaking all others until death do you part?”

“I do,” she whispered.

“Do you have rings?” the Minister asked.

“Yes,” Mason answered. Danielle was surprised. Mason withdrew a small velvet box from his pocket. Inside were twin wedding bands in white gold, each studded with a band of diamonds. Danielle was truly surprised he’d even bothered with rings. After they exchanged rings, Danielle and Mason still stood facing each other. She wasn’t sure if the ceremony was over so she just waited, smiling at her new husband.

“You may kiss the bride,” the Minister said.

Kiss? Oh, she’d forgotten about that part.

Mason moved towards her as she stood utterly still. His fingertips grasped the bottom of her veil and brought it up over her head. He smiled at her so sweetly, it made her heart melt. Before she knew it, he had bent down and kissed her lips, lingering only a second before withdrawing abruptly. It was what you might call a chase peck. It was completely appropriate for their type of marriage, but for some reason she felt disappointed.

“Congratulations!” Bailey clapped her hands together.

Danielle shrugged off the kiss. She turned and hugged her friend, while Mason shook hands with the Minister and James.

“Please join us for some champagne and cake,” he told the Minister.

“I’ll have cake but no champagne for me,” Bailey said, patting her protruding stomach.

She turned around to see a small tired wedding cake and several bottles of champagne set up on a table that was artfully arranged with flowers and ribbon in white and pink. She smiled to herself. He’d remembered to get a cake too. Maybe this was going to turn out okay after all.

~

Danielle woke up the next morning with flutters in her stomach. Was it a dream or had she really married Mason Rutherford? She rolled over on the silky soft sheets and sat up. They’d stayed the night in the adjacent hotel after the ceremony while the limo took Bailey back to the city. Danielle had hated saying goodbye to Bailey. She was uncertain about how to proceed as a married but not really married wife.

Mason had arranged for a two-bedroom suite, but had stayed out late, saying he had business to discuss with James. She thought that though the marriage wasn’t real, they should have at least had dinner together on their wedding night. Mason said that they should get to know each other. Well, how could they do that if they weren’t spending any time together?

She swept a robe around her over her nightgown and opened the door to the adjoining living room. She needed coffee to clear her head. Mason stood in the middle of the room, holding a newspaper in his hand while he read it. He didn’t bother to look up at her.

“Good morning,” she said.

He merely grunted in reply. Guess he wasn’t a morning person.

“Is there any coffee?” she asked, hoping to break the ice.

“There’s a coffee maker on the bar over there,” he said in a gruff voice. He pointed to it without looking up.

She made her way over to the bar and began making the coffee. “Are you always so pleasant in the morning?” she asked. He had no right to be so rude on his first morning being her husband.

“The first day of our marriage and you are already nagging me,” he muttered.

“What?” Danielle turned around. Who was this person she had married? Where was the charming man who talked her into this charade? “What is your problem? I say good morning and am answered by a grunt. I’d say first day of our marriage and you’ve already turned into a caveman!”

She poured a cup of coffee because she didn’t know what else to do. She took the coffee cup and made her way to the sofa, resisting the urge to throw it at the pristine white shirt he wore beneath his expensive suit.

“Everything you told me was a lie,” he said, his anger seething through his words. “You are like the rest of them. Just another lying gold digger,” he tossed the newspaper next to her on the sofa.

She looked down at it. It was the San Francisco Sentinel, turned to the gossip and entertainment section. There was a photo of Danielle in her wedding dress and veil, walking through the hotel lobby on her way to the restaurant where she and Mason were married. There was another one of her and Mason getting in the elevator after the reception, where she was clutching her bouquet and veil in her hand. The headlines read: “Women all over the world weep as the most eligible billionaire in California, Mason Rutherford marries in secret.”

She looked up at Mason. “You think I had something to do with this?”

“How else would they know? Bailey’s husband works for this paper.”

She wasn’t going to ask him how he knew where Paul worked. He was a billionaire, she was sure he’d done background checks on her, her family and all her friends. She had nothing to hide.

“Paul works in finance. He writes a column for the finance section. He wouldn’t do this. He is the biggest nerd in the world. He has no interest in celebrity gossip.”

“How else would it get in the paper?” Mason asked.

Danielle stood up, facing Mason. “I don’t know. Maybe one of your friends. Maybe James or the Minister. But it wasn’t my friends.”

“James would never betray me. He’s my best friend. And the Minister is an old family friend. He wouldn’t betray me either.”

“And Bailey is my best friend. So, you’d better find someone else to blame. You have no right making unfounded accusations against me and my friends,” she said.

He shrugged. “What else am I supposed to think? How am I going to explain this to my family? To my father?”

“Your family? What about mine? The first day of this marriage and you accuse me of being a liar and a gold digger? You may want to remember it was you who proposed marriage to me. You were the one who talked me into this, telling me it was a mutually beneficial arrangement. I was the one who asked you to keep it a secret. I never asked you for a penny, and I never will. So, if you are already doubting me on day one, then maybe this was a mistake.”

She grabbed the newspaper off the sofa and threw it back at him. It landed at his feet on the floor and the pages slid apart. She stomped away, back into her bedroom fighting the tears. She slammed the door behind her and threw herself on the bed. What had she done marrying a complete stranger? What a fool she had been! What was she going to do now?

~

Mason stood frozen for several minutes. No one had ever spoke to him like that, certainly not a female companion. He charmed people, that was his gift. He made people feel at ease, was likeable and did all his deals with the best intentions for all involved. That was how he’d turned the family business around. He looked towards the door where Danielle had disappeared in a fit of anger.

She was right. It was only their first day of marriage and instead of asking her about the photos, he’d made unfair accusations against her and her friends. And while Bailey’s husband’s job at the San Francisco Sentinel certainly didn’t bode well, he was well aware the paparazzi tailed him frequently, waiting for some big scandal to break. Looks like someone had found it. He wouldn’t be able to deny it since marriage licenses were public record.

Even if he wanted to back out now, he couldn’t. His father would hear of this soon and though he’d wanted Mason to marry, he had no doubt his father would find fault with his choice of wife. He’d always find fault with anything Mason ever did. But no matter, he was long done trying to please his father.

He’d married to save the company, to save the livelihoods of the families who worked for him, and to protect others in his family who relied on him. And to give Danielle a chance at having a family while giving him an heir. The arrangement was a good one, a sound decision when faced with a choice that seemed impossible. His father would have to accept it. Mason just needed time to get to know Danielle before she met his father. Time to cultivate a friendship between them that would make their relationship believable to his father and the possibility of a future child a success. He’d sure made a mess of things fast.

Man, had he started off this marriage off on the wrong foot. He was going to have to fix that pronto. He strode across the sitting room and stopped outside the door to Danielle’s bedroom and softly knocked on the door.

“Danielle,” he said. “Please open the door. We need to talk.”

“Go away! You are a horrible man!” she called out.

He could hear the tears in her voice and a wave of guilt washed over him. “I’m sorry, Danielle. You’re right, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have doubted you. Please open the door.”

He waited until what seemed like an eternity. Finally, the happy click of the unlocking of the door filled his ears. The door swung open and on the other side was Danielle, completely dressed with her suitcase in hand.