Their Marriage Reunited (16 page)

TWO MONTHS LATER

Lilly smiled at her reflection as she placed a protective hand over her slightly extended belly. Her baby bump was more pronounced now and though they’d done a good job of disguising it so far it wouldn’t be long before everyone knew. She had wanted to wait until they were out of the three-month stage before they told anyone and now that the pregnancy was four months along she was scared to tell everyone.

“You look gorgeous,” Alexa said as she came up behind her and Lilly offered her a genuine smile.

The two women had sorted out their differences and were now really good friends. How could Lilly not be grateful to the woman who had risked her life to save her? It helped that Alexa wasn’t always taking Connor’s attention away from her now. Lilly just felt bad that she didn’t see as much of Alexa now. Right after she’d been discharged from the hospital Alexa had announced that she was moving away to become independent and figure out her life for herself. Lilly applauded her for the courage to do that even as the rest of the family tried to talk her out of it. In the end all the talking and threats in the world hadn’t been enough to deter her and for the past two months Alexa had been living god knows where with god knows who. She still kept in touch though and Lilly counted her as one of her valuable friends. She was the only one aside from Connor and Cameron who knew about the baby.

“You’re sure you can’t tell yet?” Lilly asked and Alexa grinned.

“I promise that your bump is unnoticeable unless you know. It won’t be long though. At the rate you’ve been eating you’ll just balloon up one day,” she mocked and Lilly laughed. She did another twirl and smiled at the vision that met her in the mirror.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this again,” she said and Alexa frowned.

“I thought this was what you wanted,” she reminded her. Lilly sighed with happiness.

“It is absolutely what I want,” she agreed. She loved Connor with all her heart and she couldn’t wait to renew their vows so that she could pledge her life to him all over again.

She was almost ready when there was a sudden commotion outside the door and Alexa shared a concerned look with her just as the door flew open and one of her stepsisters came rushing in.

“Victoria?” Lilly asked in concern and then she heard the low timber of a male voice and she froze in place. “Dad?” she whispered.

“I tried to stop him but he insisted that he wanted to talk to you,” Victoria said. Lilly was still in shock. What was her father doing here? They hadn’t exchanged a single word since that awful day and she’d thought that was what he’d wanted. She couldn’t imagine why he would turn up here today when her life was finally back on track. The sudden thought that he was here to warn her against marrying Connor again sent anger racing through her veins.

“Let him in,” she instructed and both women eyed her as though she’d lost her mind but they did what she said and left the room with only the barest of concerned glances.

“Lilly,” her dad said as he held out his arms only to let them drop moments later when she made no attempts to go to him.

She couldn’t believe the difference in him. The man that she remembered had been larger than life and had been a big man who wore nothing but suits and ties. He’d had a thick bushy moustache and slicked back hair. Everything about him had always been immaculate. The man before her looked nothing like that. He was dressed in a suit but it was an old one that was wrinkled and dishevelled. His moustache was gone and his hair was receding. His weight had dropped off him and he looked gaunt. If she had to describe him then she would say that he did look like a shadow of his former self.

“What do you want?” she asked coldly.

She felt for her father and the hell that he’d obviously gone through but she wasn’t about to go crawling to him. He had ruined her life with his lies and though she knew now that she wasn’t to blame for her baby’s death she still didn’t forgive him for the hurt he’d caused.

“I wanted to see you. I wanted to apologise and explain,” he said. Lilly sneered at that. There was no explanation that was good enough for what he’d done to her.

Before she could say that though he cleared his throat, shook his head and looked down as though ashamed before finally looking her in the eyes.

“That wasn’t true. I hate myself for what I did and for the fact that I drove you away,” he said. This time Lilly found her voice before he did.

“What did you think would happen? That I’d leave Connor and come running back home to you?” she asked in disbelief. He shook his head.

“I don’t really know what I was thinking. The truth is that I didn’t think Connor was good enough for you because I didn’t want him to be. I was the one with the problems not you. I did it because I was a selfish old man,” he told her. Lilly couldn’t believe that he was doing this on her renewal day. She’d waited years to hear from him and had wanted his apology but it was too little too late.

“This doesn’t change anything,” she told him coldly and he nodded.

“That wasn’t why I came here. I got told that you were renewing your vows today and I wanted to come and do what I should have done the first time. I wanted to say congratulations and tell you how proud I am of the woman you’ve become. I wanted to tell Connor that he is a lucky man and that I know he’ll take care of you because I have never seen someone so in love as he is with you,” her father said. Lilly couldn’t help the tears that sprang to her eyes.

“Why are you doing this now?” she demanded. Why couldn’t he have been happy for her all those years ago?

“Because I want you to know that I love you and that nothing ever mattered as much as you did. I know that I was a selfish old fool but I want you to know that no matter what you are my daughter and I will always be here for you if you need it. I know I’ve taken a long time to get here but I am here and I always will be,” her father said. Then without warning he strode forward, placed a gentle kiss on her temple and then left.

Lilly was frozen for a few seconds as she tried to take in what had just happened. Then she lifted up her skirt and ran out the door.

“Dad!” she called.

He stopped and turned to look at her.

“I don’t forgive you,” she said. He raised his brows at that.

“You ran out here to tell me that?” he asked and she shrugged one shoulder.

“I want you to know that I don’t forgive you for what you did to me but that you’re still my dad and I would be honoured if you would walk me down the aisle,” she said. His eyes lit up at that.

Lilly knew that she didn’t have it in her to forgive him for everything that he had done to her but she didn’t want to go on as she had. She was having a baby and she wanted that baby to have the support of its family and that included her father.

“I would love that,” he said and they embraced for the first time since that awful day. Lilly just hoped that this would be the start of the healing process.

The return of her father wasn’t the only surprise of the day.

As they were making their way up the aisle Lilly only had eyes for the groom until she heard the swift intake of breath from Alexa who was her maid of honour. She saw in a few moments what had stunned her as she registered that Cameron was stood next to Connor.

Nobody knew where Cameron had disappeared to after the events at the hospital and Lilly hadn’t even known that Connor had been in contact with him. Yet here he was as though he’d never been away. She hoped that Alexa was strong enough to deal with his presence.

Then she put them all out of her mind because today was about pledging her life to the man that she loved and not about everyone else’s drama. She loved Connor with all her heart and nothing would come between them again.

Kaycee Wentworth sat at the head table at the reception and surveyed her family with a smile on her face. She couldn’t be happier at how things had turned out with Connor and Lilly. They might have gone through some rough times to get here but all that had proved was that their love was strong enough to survive everything life had to throw at them.

She turned her gaze to Cameron and Alexa and frowned. They were a trickier pair. They had so much history together and needed their heads knocking together. She’d already put the ball in motion but it was up to the two of them to realise that they were meant to be.

Finally she turned her gaze on to her youngest child. Jasmine was her only daughter and had been through so much already but only Kaycee seemed to see beneath the surface. Her daughter hadn’t just come back pregnant; she’d come back pining for someone. She smiled as she saw her daughter’s gaze skim the crowd and come to rest on someone. Jasmine started in surprise and Kaycee’s smile widened as she realised that she’d been right all along. Looked like it wouldn’t be long until she met her granddaughter’s father. Maybe there would be another wedding soon she mused.

“I hope you’re not up to anything,” Jake whispered in her ear. Kaycee turned to her husband and gave him her brightest smile.

“As if I would,” she said. He merely snorted at that. They’d been together too long for him to be fooled.

“Our children might not forgive you for interfering in their lives,” he said.

“They might not forgive themselves if they let love slip through their fingers,” she said. He grinned at that and caught her hand in his as he placed a gentle kiss to her knuckles.

“I love you,” he said simply. She already knew. He showed her how much he loved her everyday and she couldn’t have wished for a better husband. It was why she wanted her children to experience the same joy that she did everyday.

“We’re about to be grandparents again you know,” she said conversationally and saw his stunned look.

“How the hell do you know that?” he asked as his gaze swept the floor until he found Lilly and Connor dancing.

“A mother always knows when her children are hiding something,” she said simply.

Jake laughed and led her out to the dance floor. She loved this man more than anything and she couldn’t wait until all her children were happy and married and giving her more beautiful grandchildren.

Their Marriage Reunited came about because of a book that I wrote called Unexpected Marriage. Everyone wanted to know what became of the children and so I began to form ideas of what their stories could be. We started with Lilly and Connor’s story in Marriage Reunited and next up is Cameron and Alexa’s story in Marriage at War. You will have already seen some of their story in this one and I hope that you enjoy the sequel. Finally there will be Jasmine’s story but that one will have to wait a while.

Here is the first chapter to Marriage at War. Hope you like it and thank you for all of you who have supported me by reading my books.

PROLOGUE

BANG!

Gunfire sounded, Bullets sprayed, Bodies dropped. Nikos fell and his wide eyes stared blankly up as his life drained away in to nothing.

Opening his eyes with a sigh, Cameron Wentworth rubbed his aching temples as he tried to rid himself of the images that seemed permanently fixed in his mind. A constant replay waiting for the moment he closed his eyes. It had caused him many a sleepless night and every decision he made now was based on that horrific day.

He glanced around at his surroundings. A peaceful Greek Island that, as a child had been his playground for six weeks of the year every year. It had been his family’s summer home and he used to love staying at their villa with his brother and sister as they ran wild. He had always been the serious child and his brother and sister had laughed at him for it. His brother Connor had been the troublemaker who would play tricks on anyone and as he grew older had flirted with more than one of the local girls. His sister Jaz had been the annoying youngest child who had loved nothing more than to follow Connor around and act like his shadow until she had grown older and discovered Greek boys that she could shadow instead.  Cameron had been the quiet and serious one. He had loved nothing more than to sit quietly with a book or take long walks around the Island.

It was on one of his walks, when he had been angry because his twin brother had called him boring, that he had met Alexa Leonidas. He had been just nine years old at the time and even though he hadn’t thought much of girls at that age he had still known instinctively that Alexa was amazing. She had long black hair that was always pulled back in to a ponytail and deep almond coloured eyes that sparkled with mischief. Every time he saw her she was always wearing denim shorts and a simple vest top.

The first time she had seen him Alexa had appeared as if from nowhere and nearly knocked him over in to the glorious white sand that surrounded the edges of the Island. He had been furious that a stupid girl had nearly knocked him down and had been all ready to shout at her in his bossiest most pissed off tone when she had flashed him that smile of hers.

“Hi,” she had said simply as she grinned up at him and he had been lost. She had been a little scrap of a thing and unlike his sister who wanted to follow them round and be entertained constantly Alexa had been quiet like him. She had been content to just walk around the island or go for a swim in the shallow pools that dotted the Island.

Alexa had become one of Cameron’s best friends as a child and every time they had to leave at the end of summer he had been devastated that he had to leave her behind.

The Greek Island of Lustof had been only a small Island with a few regular locals. It was close enough to Athens to be convenient but far enough away to be secluded. It had only one restaurant and one bar on the Island as well as a couple of stores. It was a peaceful place with pure white sand and a deep blue sea whose waves crashed lazily against the shore. It had several villas that belonged to wealthy families who valued their privacy and smaller homes for the locals.

Cameron had never met Alexa’s family but every summer she would be there waiting for him to arrive and she would spend every day of summer with him until the day he went home when she would sadly say farewell but would never shed any tears.

He could still remember the last time he had been here at sixteen when he had been aware of the changes in Alexa and had been mortified to realise that she was no longer the child he remembered but rather a beautiful sixteen year old girl who aroused his teenage hormones. That summer had been awkward for both of them. Alexa had been shyer than he remembered and he hadn’t known how to act towards her. Things had been different between them all summer and he could still remember the sad look she had given him when his family had left the Island. He could still see the tears glistening in her bright eyes as she had kept her smile in place and waved him goodbye.

He hadn’t returned to Island since and had almost forgotten the sense of peace he had always felt when he was there. Even just breathing in the warm, salty air had his pulse slowing and his thoughts slowing as tension slid from his shoulders and he began to breathe easier for the first time in months.

At the age of twenty Cameron should have been enjoying his life like his brother Connor who was currently working part time for their father at his hotel chain while spending the majority of his time chasing skirt as he worked his way through the gullible female population that tended to fall for his charms. Instead Cameron was trying to decide what he wanted to do with his life now that he had realised how short life could be.

It had been only six months ago that he had been the same as his brother. He had picked up the occasional girl who was more interested in his bank balance than in him but he hadn’t cared because he wasn’t looking to settle down. He and his best friend Nikos had been spending their days sleeping and their nights drinking and partying.

Until the night that they had made the decision to go to a party they knew they shouldn’t have gone to and ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. It had been Cameron’s bimbo of the month who had suggested the back alley party in the dodgy side of town. He had known that she was in to harder stuff than just drink and that she knew a lot of dodgy guys but he had thought he was invincible to all that. Nikos hadn’t wanted to go to the party but he had convinced him and along with Nikos’s girlfriend they had gone to the party. It had been great at first. Nobody knew who they were in the dark and the party was just a room full of hot, gyrating bodies up for a good night.

Until it all went to hell.

There had been a loud noise and someone was suddenly falling but nobody had realised what had happened at first. It had taken a few precious seconds and more loud noises for them to register that someone was shooting people. And then there had been screams and panicking and a stampede as everyone rushed for the exits not caring who they trampled in their efforts to escape.

Cameron had been frozen in shock. Not from the shooting and the terror around him but from the sight of his best friend dead on the floor and his current lover shrugging as though to suggest that it was normal for these things to happen.

He had stumbled out of there and vanished in to the crowd unable to process that it had really happened. Everyone had scattered at the sounds of sirens approaching and Cameron had scattered right along with them.

When the news of Nikos’ death surfaced nobody questioned whether Cameron had been there and nobody suggested that it was anything more than a tragic incident that could have been prevented.

It had seemed somehow worse to Cameron that he had gotten away with leading his friend to his death and then abandoning him so cruelly. The guilt had been killing him ever since and he hadn’t gotten drunk or attended a party since the day it happened.

He had been facing up to the fact that he needed to make this right somehow. There was no point in coming forward and announcing he had been there now. The shooters had been caught moments after it had happened and the whole thing had been classed as a tragedy that should teach the dangers of partying.

It wasn’t enough for Cameron that the shooters had been caught though. His conscience wouldn’t let him rest and he had been thinking that he needed to do something to ease the guilt.

It had been on his mind for weeks now that maybe joining the army would be the only thing that could rid these nightmares and make him feel like he had made sufficient reparation. But he knew it would kill his family to do it and he didn’t want to cause them pain but he couldn’t continue with all this guilt.

It had been the memories of the Island that had driven him here hoping to find some clarity. It was the reason he had gotten the next flight out without even informing his family that he intended going away for a few days. Already he could feel the Island work its magic and he could already feel some of the guilt retreating as his choices became clearer in his mind.

It was hours later when he finally decided to go in search of food and found himself choosing the pub instead of the family restaurant. Colour him surprised when the first thing he saw when walking in was a very familiar face that made him think fate was laughing at him.

While he was feeling dirty from his secret and weighed down by his guilt it was just his luck to discover someone who looked beautiful and oh so innocent as she served out a tray of beers wearing her same old denim shorts and tank top.

Alexa froze in the act of serving her tray of beers to the group of boys who had been coming in every night for a fortnight. They always paused to leer at her but tonight she barely even noticed them as her eyes became fixed on the man who had just entered the bar. She would recognise him anywhere even though she hadn’t seen him in four years.

Cameron Wentworth. He had been her childhood friend and then had become her crush and she had secretly loved him for years before he had even noticed that she was no longer a child. She had been devastated when all her childhood dreams had been shattered by the realisation that he hadn’t felt the same way she had.

She hadn’t thought she would ever see him again and now here he was looking dark and brooding and utterly gorgeous. A sigh slipped from her before she could contain it and she forced herself to harden that foolish heart of hers before it made her do something stupid like throw herself at him.

He was even more handsome than she remembered and he had filled out a lot in the last four years. His dark hair was longer and curled at his nape while his normally warm grey eyes appeared colder and filled with a pain that she didn’t want to imagine. He was taller and his muscles more defined than the teenager she recalled. He seemed too serious for someone their age and she sent a hesitant smile his way as she made her way back to the bar.

She didn’t even know if he would remember who she was let alone want to talk and catch up on times that probably meant nothing to someone as wealthy and well-travelled as him.

“Hey,” he said in that cool husky voice of his and Alexa fought the shudder that wanted to work its way down her spine as she summoned a smile for him.

“What can I get you?” she asked with that teasing smile that she had become so used to hiding from the other patrons who would take advantage if she offered even that.

“Two beers,” he said softly a hint of sadness appearing in his eyes before it disappeared.

“Meeting someone?” Alexa queried ignoring the stab of jealousy that ignited as she poured the drinks and wondered whether he even recognised her.

“No,” he responded without further explanation and taking the hint Alexa placed the beers before him and accepted the money without further questions. She had given him his change and was about to turn away when he suddenly caught her wrist and she glanced up to find him staring at her in a way she remembered well.

It was the look he always had when they were children and they’d found something he’d never seen before. He would stare at it as if analysing everything about it. As though by looking at it long enough he would commit all its secrets to memory. She used to find it fascinating but now it unnerved her to think he could be examining her for her secrets and ashamed of what he might discover.

“Why are you working in this dump?” he asked instead as his fingers stroked her slender wrist and his gaze didn’t move from hers.

“None of your damn business,” she snapped as she yanked her wrist out of his grip and turned to serve someone else. Four years since she had last seen him and the only thing he could do was mock her job. It bought fresh pain in to the part of her heart that had been broken years ago and had never quite healed.

Cameron cursed inwardly as he watched Alexa storm away. She was beautiful. Stunning. And so out of his reach that he may as well not even bother.

She had always been pretty but now she had gone from a skinny kid to a tall and slender young woman with long legs that seemed to stretch for miles. She had a tiny waist and a generous cleavage that more than one of the men in the bar had noticed. Her hair was the darkest black and was tied back in a simple ponytail that did nothing to tame the natural curls. Her skin was lightly tanned and paired with her small almond coloured eyes, slender nose and high cheek bones that only served to emphasise her Greek heritage.

A kick of lust shot through him at the sight of her and it was all he could do not to squirm in his seat. She was gorgeous and he had lost his chance with her years ago.

He wondered what she was doing working in this place. It had always been known as the place to avoid when he was a kid. It was the bar where only the foolish tourists and local drunks frequented. It was often the site of many a bar fight and his parents had warned them to never go there when they were growing up. Just the thought of any of those bar fights taking place around Alexa had him tensing in horror.