Marrying The Cowboy: A BWWM Cowboy Billionaire Romance (7 page)

"You ready to go?"

"Just a moment. Why don’t I just dress here before we
leave?"

Bruce agreed. "I think that is a great idea."

Kate excused herself to dress. As she spruced up her makeup, it
dawned on her that Bruce had not gone to get something special to
wear. He looked good in his jeans and white button down shirt, but
she thought that getting married was such a special occasion that
maybe he should wear something else.

When she left out of the dressing room, Bruce was on the phone,
wrapping a phone call.

"You look sensational. Are you ready to go?"

"I am. But I thought that maybe you would want to wear something
special too. So we can take some pictures or something when the
ceremony is over."

"Great idea, my love. I know just the right place."

A few doors down was a men's shop. Once they entered, Kate
immediately began to browse. Her full instinct to style was in
effect. She pulled a few things for him to try on.

After trying on three different colors of shirts, Bruce settled on a
pale yellow dress shirt that made his blue eyes stand out. Kate
paired it with navy blue slacks and a pair of navy loafers. It was
the perfect casual look for the day. And it was nice to see that he
was wearing something out of the ordinary.

"Now who is looking fabulous?"

Bruce smiled shyly. "It is different. But I could come to like
it."

"I think we are ready now." Kate slid her hand in his,
looking him deep in his eyes.

"So you are ready to become Mrs. Bruce Stanger? No turning
back?"

Kate reached up and kissed his lips. "I am so very ready. And
no, there is no turning back."

*****

When the car pulled up to the Eiffel Tower, Kate was amazed. The
sheer height of it was a marvel.

"This is absolutely amazing," Kate spoke, more to herself
than to Bruce.

"Come on over here. We have the justice of the peace waiting for
us."

Kate walked quickly to catch up with Bruce's stride. It was as if
neither one of them could wait to get to the destination.

A man holding a book stood ahead. His polite demeanor settled Kate's
nerves.

"Bonjour. I am Monsieur Chappel. It is a pleasure to meet you
both. You are Mr. Stanger?"

Kate loved the heavy French accent.

"Yes, this is my wife to be, Kate."

Kate shook Mr. Chappel's hand.

"Well, let us get started. Is there a certain space in which you
would like to stand?"

"I have no preference," Kate replied. Bruce took her hand,
brought it to his lips, and kissed it.

Mr. Chappel began there ceremony.

"The joining of two people in love is such a beautiful thing.
Love is something that is not found by all, so when one finds it, he
or she should make sure that they protect it at all costs. To know
that you are loved by someone is the most precious gift in the world.

"Here, in Paris, the City of Love, we bring together two amazing
people who confess that each has found love in one another. What a
wonderful lot in life to know that you have one another. Please
remember this time of love and of joy and happiness when times get
hard. Remember that you pledged to love one another and keep one
another first at all times. Remind yourselves of this day. The day
the two of you took your vows to be together forever, until death do
you part."

Mr. Chappel turned to Bruce. "Bruce, would you like to say a few
words to your bride?"

"I would."

Bruce took Kate by the hand.

"Kate, from the moment I first laid eyes on you, I knew you were
the one. You were the woman I wanted to be with for the rest of my
life. Not only are you beautiful on the outside, but on the inside, I
find your faith and your ability to love and let me love you amazing.
You are everything I want in a woman, loving and exasperating."

Kate could not help but laugh as the tears started to fall down her
cheeks.

"You have made me the happiest man on earth, allowing me to
share my love and my life with you. I know it has only been about a
year we have been together, and some may say we are moving too
quickly, but all I know is that we are meant to be together. We are
meant to be with one another. I could not see my life any other way,
and I hope I can be the man that you need in your life. I can't wait
to spend the rest of our lives together and I pray our lives will be
spent as an adventure exploring each other and life together."

Mr. Chappel looked to Kate. "Kate. If you want to say a few
words?"

She tried to catch her breath, but through the tears, she could
barely speak.

"Oh wow, I did not think I would get this emotional. And I did
not have anything so eloquent prepared."

She took a moment to breathe and then spoke.

"Bruce, you have come along and turned my life completely upside
down. I was in no way prepared to be in this space in my life. You
know that. But you have taught me that I have to trust the process. I
have to trust that I have within me what is needed to make things
work. I had an idea of what love would be when I found it, but you
have made me change my mind about all that I thought that love would
be.

"Love to me was this foreign concept that was almost
unattainable. I had no idea what to expect when I found it, so I did
not really look for it. And then you came along. A man that did not
look anything like what I expected for myself. And you turned out to
be all that I needed. I appreciate the fact that you are honest with
me, and help me to be the best Kate possible. And besides all of
that, you have given me the greatest gift of all. You have convinced
me to really step out and live life in a manner in which I had never
expected. I am proud to say I love you and I am so happy you have
been patient enough with me to let our love grow and blossom. I am so
happy to become your wife."

As the words came out of her mouth, Kate fell more and more in love
with Bruce. The two of them did not take their eyes off of one
another.

"Now for the vows. Bruce, do you have the rings?" Mr.
Chappel asked.

Kate had not even thought of the rings, she had been so wrapped up in
the moment of the proposal she had not thought of the rings. She took
the brief pause in the ceremony to use the tissue in her hand to dab
at the tears in her eyes.

Bruce produced the rings from his pocket. His smile let her know that
they were doing the right thing.

"Bruce, do you take this woman, Kate, to be your wife. To
protect, to love, to cherish and adore, for all of your days?"

Sliding the ring on her finger, Bruce replied, "I do."

Mr. Chappel turned to Kate.

"Kate, do you take this man, Bruce, to be your husband. To love,
to cherish, to hold for all of your days?"

Kate slid the ring on Bruce's finger. "I do."

"Then it is my pleasure, with the power vested in me, to
pronounce you man and wife. Bruce, you may salute your bride."

Bruce wasted no time planting a huge kiss on his bride. Kate giggled
as he picked her up in his arms and twirled her around. Once her feet
hit the ground, it came to both of their attention that an audience
had formed when the people around them began clapping and whistling
and snapping pictures with their phones.

They both shook hands with their audience, Kate accepting hugs and
well wishes from those standing around her. Some of the people
offered to send them the pictures from their cell phones as mementos
of the joyous occasion. After thanking Mr. Chappel and signing some
paperwork to make the nuptials official, Bruce took Kate by the hand.

"We have one more thing that we need to do."

Kate was not sure what else they possibly needed to do on today
except for continue to celebrate.

Bruce led her to the car, holding the door open for her to get in. He
walked around to the other side and jumped in himself.

"Where now?" Kate was so giddy with excitement, it did not
really matter where they were going, as long as she was with Bruce.

"I think you will like this."

As they watched the scenery pass by, Kate could not believe all that
had just happened.

"Did I really just become Mrs. Stanger?"

"You did." The two of them burst out laughing.

"This is so crazy. A few months ago, I would have never thought
I was the type to be whisked away on an impromptu vacation where I
would get married."

Kate shook her head in disbelief.

"Are you happy, Kate? I mean, are you truly happy?"

"Bruce, I could not be happier."

"Good. Now, to mark our marriage with something tangible. Ah,
here we are."

The chauffeur stopped the car and Bruce hopped out. Running around to
her side, he let her out.

"What are we doing?"

"I saw this on television and I thought, what better way to end
our ceremony."

They approached a bridge overlooking a canal and that bridge was
flanked with two railings. Those railings were filled with padlocks.

"The legend goes that you sign your names on the padlocks, chose
a space, lock it on the railing, and throw away the key in the water.
How about it?"

"Let's do it."

Kate was practically running to the bridge. Bruce followed behind
her, pulling a small bag out of his pocket. In the bag were a padlock
and a permanent marker.

"I thought that this would be the perfect way to introduce us to
the world as Mr. and Mrs. Stanger."

"Bruce, this is a wonderful idea."

He passed her the lock and the marker. "You do the honors."

She held them both in her hands, trying to think of something
specific to write. Then it came to mind that she should make it
simple. Once she wrote the message, she turned the lock around to
show Bruce for his approval.

"I love it," he replied.

Kate Stanger ♥ Bruce Stanger

She thought that it was fitting. Bruce clicked the padlock closed and
gave Kate the key.

According to the ceremony, she tossed the key into the water. Below,
a couple in a gondola waved at them. Everyone seemed so happy and
content and Kate could honestly say that she found her own happiness
as well.

She turned to Bruce and leaned in to his open arms. "So does
this mean that you are stuck with me for life?"

"Hmm. Something like that. But it also means that you have to
have me for the rest of your life too."

He leaned in for a passionate kiss. "What do you think about
that?" he asked after they both came up for air.

"I guess I will just have to deal with it," she replied
jokingly.

Bruce took her by the hand. "What do you say we go back to the
villa and eat one of those meals prepared by the world renowned,
gourmet chef that is there and then we go to bed? I don't know about
you, but all this excitement for the day has got me exhausted."

"I would say, I agree. Let's go. But I hope you aren't too
exhausted to participate in your honeymoon."

"A woman after my own heart." He squeezed her hand as they
strolled back to the car.

As they rode back to the villa, Kate tried to make sense of all that
had happened. The only conclusion she could come to was that trusting
in love had made her a very happy woman.

Having Bruce in her life was more than what she bargained for. Not
only was he her protector and her lover, but he was her friend. He
had gone through so much to make sure she knew he loved her and she
was loved. From the many small gifts that were tokens of his love, to
the impromptu trips and just simply being by her side.

Her mother was right. Trusting in love was the best thing she had
done thus far. Trusting Bruce was the man for her and allowing him to
love her had changed her entire perspective on being in love.

"A penny for your thoughts." Bruce said, interrupting her
thinking.

"I was just thinking how lucky the both of us are. How we were
not only lucky enough to find one another, but we were lucky enough
to fall in love and be the right fit for one another. There are so
many people who never find love. So many people who don't get the
opportunity to know what it is like to have someone honor and protect
them and adore them. Life has been so great, I'm just wondering what
I did to deserve so much good fortune."

Bruce shook his head. "I don't know the answer to that. All I do
know is you must have been good to someone, because karma makes sure
that it repays you with good. But you think that you are the lucky
one, what about a man like me? A beautiful, intelligent woman who
finds me attractive? I am the one who hit the jackpot."

Bruce wiped the tears that streamed from her eyes. "Just know
that from now on, I am here with you, and as long as you are here
with me, there is nothing that we can't conquer. We are a team. Maybe
like one of those power couples or something."

Leave it to Bruce to make her laugh. "A power couple? You
think?"

"Hey, I believe in us. We could do it."

"Bruce Stanger, you make me believe that I can do anything."

The next few days in Paris were a dream. Late nights out on the town,
spending the mornings in bed, making love to her husband. Kate loved
the fact that she now woke up every morning as Mrs. Bruce Stanger. It
was a wonderful feeling.

The happy couple eventually returned to normal life. If was not the
easiest thing to do, but they knew they could not spend the rest of
their life on a honeymoon.

At first, Kate was a bit unsettled about the fact that she would have
to tell her parents and her entire family that she eloped. She had no
idea what they were going to think. Would they feel left out or
disappointed? Even though Kate never spent her time combing through
wedding and bridal magazines, she knew her mother always wanted to be
the star of the show and coordinate an all out social affair for her
daughter's nuptials.