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Kayla smiled back at him, her eyes dancing with adoration. If it were up to him, he would have taken her back to the bungalow the minute that ring was on her finger and spent the rest of the night making mad, passionate love to his new bride.
He might be a selfish bastard, but he wouldn’t be that selfish. There were certain incontrovertible truths in life, and one of them was that no matter how loudly or how often they said otherwise, every woman dreamed of her wedding day.
That little nugget of wisdom had been imparted by his grandfather in the form of a story involving his own lovely bride and the stupidity of a young buck who naively believed that a woman’s words could always be taken at face value.
Dumas Industries was still in its early stages at that point. Money was tight and Spencer’s grandmother – a very practical, down to earth woman - had insisted that she didn’t need a big wedding or a fancy dress or any of those things to make her happy. Spencer’s grandfather had breathed a sigh of relief and planned a quick, no-frills elopement to the Poconos.
As the story went, Spencer’s grandfather came calling on his fiancé one day and noticed an unusual box set out for the trash. Something bothered him about it, but he didn’t know what until he looked inside and saw the contents. Wedding magazines, scrapbooks, lists of favorite flowers.
He took the box home with him and went through every single item, then quietly spent the next few months utilizing every contact and calling in every favor he had to make his woman’s wedding dreams a reality. He told Spencer that he believed surprising his wife with the wedding of her dreams – the one she insisted she didn’t need – was one of the reasons that they had remained happily married for decades.
Spencer had forgotten all about that story until he began planning a wedding of his own. Kayla had told him on numerous occasions that they were far too busy to put a lot of time into a wedding, especially when neither one of them had family or friends they wanted to invite.
Like his grandfather, Spencer had sighed in relief – until he remembered that story.
Kayla reminded Spencer a lot of his grandmother. She was strong, confident, and independent. Yet even she harbored hidden dreams, dreams to which she would never openly admit. Spencer, however, was a master at reading people, and he was particularly in tune with Kayla. Beneath all that confidence and pragmatism was a woman who secretly longed for that fairytale wedding.
She had no idea just how special she was. For the first time in his life, Spencer had found someone who he could be himself with. Someone who not only understood, but shared his passion and his edge. She was just as disconnected from the rest of the world as he was, and yet she held nothing back from him. Spencer wasn’t sold on the whole soulmate thing, but he was fairly certain that if there was such a thing as a croie, Kayla was his.
As such, he understood her on a level no one else did. He couldn’t see the future, obviously, so he couldn’t say with absolute certainty that he and Kayla would still be together in fifty years like his grandparents. However, Kayla was the first woman he’d ever been able to see himself with that far out.
That’s why he’d ignored her protests and gone all out by securing a top-notch wedding planner and insuring Kayla got happily ever after, or at least her happy for now. And while she thought the week of pampering and expensive jewelry were his wedding presents to her, it was this – the wedding celebration itself – that was the real gift. He was going to ensure that when Kayla looked back on this day, she would smile and know what it felt like to be a princess.
As part of that, he refused to allow anything to cast a shadow over their celebration, which was why he kept his mouth shut and didn’t tell her about his father’s and her mother’s unwelcome arrivals. That could wait. In the meantime, they had more important matters to tend to – namely, each other.
Another toast was raised and they obligingly lifted their glasses in acknowledgement and sipped. Neither one was overindulging. Spencer wanted to be in complete control of his faculties, and she probably did, too.
When he saw Kayla staring longingly toward their private overwater bungalow, he decided enough time had passed and he could safely spirit her away from the reception. Ingrid had done a wonderful job of incorporating some of their small town, Pine Ridge traditions into their high end celebration. They’d had a featured bridal dance and fed each other bites of wedding cake. The party was in full swing, everyone was having a great time, and there was no reason to linger any longer.
When Kayla exited the ladies’ room, Spencer caught her before she could make her way back out to the patio. “Ready to make a break for it, Mrs. Dumas?”
Her resulting smile filled his chest with sunshine and made his balls ache at the same time. “So ready, Mr. Dumas.”
“Then let’s go.” Spencer entwined his fingers with hers and pulled her into the shadows, stealing a quick kiss. Kayla slipped off her shoes, but before she could take a step, Spencer scooped her into his arms and ran around the back of the patio restaurant to a waiting golf cart.
“What is this?” she laughed as he placed her in the front seat.
“Your chariot, my lady,” Spencer said with a bow. He dashed around the front and climbed in the driver’s seat, executing a quick U-turn.
“You do know how to woo a woman, don’t you?”
“Oh, baby, you haven’t seen anything yet.”
He drove as fast as he dared along the winding service path, glad for the hurricane-style carriage lights along the way. When they approached the bungalow, he slowed down, in awe of what he saw.
Small, flickering lanterns floated in the water all around and beneath the structure. “Is this my surprise?” he asked.
“Part of it,” she confirmed.
He parked the cart, taking Kayla’s hand to lead her along the bridge to their private hideaway. Close up, the sight of the floating candles was even more impressive.
“I can’t wait to see the rest of it,” he murmured.
Instead of answering, she gave him a wicked grin.
Spencer stopped her just outside the door, then lifted her into his arms to carry her over the threshold in a traditional gesture. Inside, even more candles had been lit, bathing the room in a sensual, flickering glow. It was what the soft light revealed, however, that took his breath away.
Red and black silks had been draped throughout, capturing the candlelight. Some hung from the open beams above; others had been placed over objects, concealing hidden treasures. Excitement coursed through his veins. Kayla had obviously put a lot of time and effort into her surprise.
Spencer set her gently down but kept her pressed closely against him. “What’s this?”
“Your presents,” she answered. “You gave me the perfect wedding. Now I’m going to give you the perfect wedding night. Go on, then. Have a look.”