The Billionaire's Proposition (The Romero Brothers, Book 4) (10 page)

“Wow, thank you. It all seems so…official.”

“Well, we need to do this right, don’t we?
Besides, we need to have official wedding photos up on our mantelpiece of our
big day to make it look authentic.”

Official wedding photos?
Look authentic?

Her head was spinning. She was in a daze
again—and this time, not in a good way. Why had her mood just slipped
down into oblivion?

Crap!

 
Just when Venus started to feel so good
about
herself
again, the thought of not having Carl forever,
just bumped her right back into reality.
Look
authentic?
That was what this was all about after all, wasn’t it? Nothing
more. Nothing less. This was all just for show. And what better place to have
their wedding than in one of the
world’s
top
entertainment districts? The dazzling
show-girl
city. Las
Vegas, Nevada!

“Yes,” she agreed quietly. “It has to look
authentic.” Venus swallowed a hard lump in her throat that took forever to go
down. Much like the bitter pill of reality. She could never really have Carl to
herself—forever. That was her reality and she just had to get used to it.
No matter what.
She could do this. She could pretend
to be his wife. She could pretend that it would mean nothing more. She could
pretend…

This was going to be a lot harder than she
thought it would be.

The next day, Venus’s heart fluttered in
her chest, skipping a beat and thrashing about madly. She was going to implode.
This was the day. It was finally happening. She stood in her hotel room on the
Vegas strip, sucking in a deep breath while Pamela helped her with last minute
finishing touches. As if this were real. As if she would stay married

“You look so beautiful, Venus,” Pamela
said, gushing over Venus’s wedding gown.

“Thank you, Pamela. Thanks for spotting the
dress in the boutique. I didn’t think I could possibly find something so
beautiful that would actually fit on such short notice.” She swirled in her silky
white floor-length gown.

Her heart was filled with panic. She was
revealing an awful lot of herself in this dress.

It was an elegant A-line strapless dress
with a plunging sweetheart neckline.
Oh,
heavens!
Her cleavage was certainly prominent. The fabric was an organza
flange with a wedding gown skirt that she admired the moment her eyes caught it
at the store. The back was laced up intricately. The dress also had a natural
waist that accentuated her curves. She was nervous thinking about what Carl
would think when he first saw her in it.

Still, the gown was perfect for the Vegas
summer heat, too. She’d read somewhere that getting dressed in a heavy gown in
Vegas was probably not the best thing to do since it made the bride
uncomfortable at best. That was the last thing she needed right now, to feel or
look uncomfortable.

“Hey, no problem. That’s what I’m here
for.” Pamela paused, looking awkward. “You know, I really do hope this works
out for both of you,” she said, handing Venus the silk posy bouquet.

Venus took the fragrant arrangement from
her and held it in her hand, trembling. The natural stems of her bouquet were
wrapped in beautiful satin and embellished in pearl pins and beaded trims. Her
mother had held a similar bouquet, she remembered from seeing wedding photos of
her now deceased parents. She wished to God she still had them with her. Right
now, Venus had the traditional something borrowed—
a
piece
of jewellery from Pamela. Something blue—an aqua-colored
broach. Something new—a ribbon from the boutique store.
And of course, something old—a beautiful pearl necklace that
was her mother’s.
Her heart ached that her mother would never get to
experience being the mother of the bride—even if Venus was only going to
be bride for a year! Yet still wearing something that her mother once treasured
brought her feeling closer to her mom—wherever her mother was in the
spiritual sense.

“Thanks,” Venus said. “I hope it works out
for Carl, too. He would make the city’s best mayor. He’s so dedicated to
helping the people.”

“I know he’s wonderful,” Pamela said,
looking down slightly. “But…I…I also hope it works out for both of you. I mean,
after the agreed year together. I know it’s not my place to say this but…you
two really do make a cute couple. I see the way you look at each other.” Pamela
had a spark of hope in her eyes. Venus thought she could see a bit of moisture
in them, too.

Oh,
Lordie
. The last thing Venus needed was to get
emotional
herself
. She tried hard not to allow her
nerves get the best of her. She was feeling anxious as it was. She drew in a
deep breath.

“Well, you know, I like Carl.”
Like
was an understatement. “But, I’ll
let the chips fall where they may,” Venus continued, using a bit of Vegas
casino talk. “Whatever’s meant to be…will be.” She hoped.

The ladies grinned and prepared to leave
the suite for the chapel in the hotel. So this was it. No wedding rehearsal. No
six-month planning. No massive guest list.
Just the quick and
done deal.
She was going to begin her duties as Carl’s loving bride. It
was show time!

My
God! Carl looks…wow! Just…wow!

Venus stood at the tastefully decorated
chapel in the hotel with Carl at her side at the altar. The minister had
already begun the brief service. Pamela and Jules were, of course, witnesses
and the couple’s two guests. Everything seemed to be going fine so far.

But Venus was so captivated by Carl. Her
eyes kept drifting to her groom. A longing so painful stabbed at her heart.
She’d never wanted someone so badly as she wanted Carl Romero. Yet, she was going
to be his wife soon, in every sense of the word, for only one year! That was
the only catch.

He stood towering over the minister in his
six-foot, four-inch frame. His broad shoulders filled out nicely in his
gorgeous white tuxedo. He no longer sported his stubble; he had apparently
shaved for the ceremony—she guessed for the wedding photos, too.

Hot damn! She was on fire for sweet, sexy
Carl. He was devilishly handsome, dripping with charm and sensuality. His dark
features, smooth black cropped hair, dark defined eyebrows and beautiful brown
eyes framed by long lashes. His lips were so well shaped, enticing. Kissable. Oh,
he was so good with his soft, sexually potent lips. She couldn’t wait to taste
him again. She wished the ceremony would speed up. Yet inside she was a bungle
of zigzagging nerves—all over the place. Her legs felt weak as the
minister officiated. And Carl could not keep his eyes off her. She ran over the
events of the past couple of days in her mind, since Carl’s surprise proposal.
She was nervous as sin and had her legs waxed, bikini line waxed and even did
the American wax thingy before their arrival in Vegas.

Venus, more than ever, really wanted to
make sure that she was as groomed underneath her lingerie as she could be. It
dawned on her that Carl had been with some top models and rich socialites, none
of whom were anything like her. She had a tough competition to follow. Would he
be pleased with her in bed? She’d even taken the time to do a bit of Cosmo
research on how to please her man in bed. Oh, heaven help her! What had she
gotten into? If Carl’s sexually-charged, erotic kiss was any indication of his
lovemaking, oh, Lord, she didn’t know if she would be able to manage him, or die
of orgasmic overdose!

Keep
your mind clear, Venus. You’re in a wedding chapel.

Was she the only bride in the world who
thought about what their upcoming honeymoon would be like making love to her
groom, and what it would be like if it was to be their first time intimate with
each other?

Her mind was spinning.

“Do you, Carl Vincent Romero,” the minister
said to Carl, “take this woman, whose hand you now hold, to be your true and
wedded wife; and do you solemnly promise before God and these witnesses to
love, cherish, honor and protect her: to forsake all others for her sake; to
cleave unto her, and her only, until death shall part you?”

Carl’s blood pumped in his body. Adrenaline
coursed through his veins.
Damn!
What
was he doing? He’d never desired a woman as much as he craved sweet Venus
Jackson, but hot damn! Till
death
does he or shall he, or whatever the minister just said, part? That’s one heck
of a long time to be bound to a woman if he ever lived to be as old or older
than dear old Grandpa.

Wait a minute!

Carl yanked himself back to reality and
remembered their agreement. It was only for one year. Nothing more. But who the
heck told Carl to make Jules arrange and book the wedding ceremony on his
behalf? Why couldn’t Jules have chosen an atheist style wedding or something to
that effect? At least then he wouldn’t feel so damn guilty taking this “holy”
vows under God. He was sinning like hell and was going to go there real fast
now. Not to mention that deep down Carl felt terrible for having to resort to
getting married to improve his public persona as he entered politics. He kept
reminding himself that he really did care for Venus and he knew his heart was
in the right place in wanting to help taxpayers.

Carl drew in a powerful breath.

“I do,”
Carl
responded, his voice deep and strong. He gazed into Venus’s eyes and something
weird and strange happened inside his body. He couldn’t describe it. The energy
he felt was incredible, her hand in his.

Desire burned through his body when his
eyes captured his stunning bride. His wife-to-be. But only for one year! God,
she was gorgeous. And
her breasts practically bulging from
her pretty gown with the low neckline
.
 
He could think of nothing else but
nestling his lips between her bosom, and heck, between her thighs. His lips
twitched just thinking about being inside his fascinating woman later.
Mind out of the gutter, Carl!

Yet, heated anticipation rushed through his
body. All this time that he’d known Venus, she’d been as beautiful as she was
elusive. A mystery. Always keeping her distance from him, from everyone. Yet
she
was so loving
, kind, graceful, and attractive in
every way. He loved the way he felt around her, whether at work or on family
occasions. And now. Tonight. He would finally get to be intimate with her. Heat
rushed to his loins at the mere thought of taking her, making
her his
. Finally.

The minister turned to Venus.

“Do you, Venus Marie Jackson, take this man,
who holds your hand, to be your true and wedded husband, and do you solemnly
promise before God and these witnesses to love, cherish, honor and protect him,
to forsake all others for his sake; to cleave unto him and him only…until death
shall part you?”

Venus looked uncomfortable for a moment.
Damn! That wasn’t a good sign. She looked too stunned to speak. She seemed dazed.
The minister, an older gentleman with white hair and pale skin that looked even
paler against his black gown, looked concerned, too.

“I…” Venus said, swallowing a lump. She
seemed to have difficulty speaking. Carl instinctively held her hand firmly,
tighter with love.

“It’s okay, Venus,” he whispered to her.
“You don’t have to…”

He stopped himself but he was willing to
forgo the charade. If she wasn’t comfortable doing the whole wedding vows
thing, that
was okay with him. Maybe getting married was a
bad idea after all. What the hell was he thinking that they could pull this
off?

He’d just have to win the election on his
own merits—as a single guy with a dream, nothing more. The last thing he
wanted was for Venus to do something she was not comfortable with.

“Hey, it’s okay, sir. The wedding’s off,”
Carl ordered the minister, whose eyes now bulged out of his head.

“No!” Venus shouted.

Wow, what a voice. That really caught Carl
and everyone in the chapel off guard.

“I…I’m sorry. I…I…I do,” she said more
confidently. “I do. I do take Carl to be my husband.” Tears moistened her eyes.

The minister seemed as if he was going to
have a heart attack. One would think that performing weddings in Vegas that he
must have seen all kinds of weird stuff happening in his ceremonies. But Carl
guessed not.

Venus squeezed Carl’s hand. “Please. I want
to do this. I want to,” she said to him, her dark beautiful brown eyes pleaded
with him.

“Okay,” Carl said softly. He took his free
hand and stroked the side of her cheek. “You’re so beautiful, you know that?”

The minister cleared his throat. Jules and
Pamela seemed to let out a collective sigh of relief. Or maybe that was just
Carl’s overactive imagination in the moment.

Why did he feel as if his world ended when
he thought Venus was going to change her mind about marrying him? Heck, she was
just doing it for a year contract. A job. Not the real thing.