Wedded in Passion (3 page)

“
You’re right.” She had
known that as she worked among them. Even occasionally laughed
secretly to herself when Lenzy would go on and on about things
dealing with it. “The first day I met Michael he said I had a
fresh, classic beauty. I remember being flattered. However, now
looking back and remembering all the things he made me change about
myself…I understand that to him classic means plain, fat and dowdy.
Fucker.”

“
Katy, sweetheart, there
is nothing plain or dowdy about you.” He leaned back some then
cupped my face, lifting it up. His soft brown eyes held
mine.

Why I’d thought they were non-descript and
forgettable before is beyond me. At the moment, they were intense
and captivating as they drew me in and held my gaze; locked.

“
I liked all your curves
before. Very much.”

“
You did?”

He didn’t answer me. Instead his head bowed,
bending low toward mine.

I knew he was going to kiss me. The racing
of my heart and the pull I felt toward him since he stood before me
when the elevator door parted assured me of that.

Lifting up some, I met his lips. Those sexy
lips I had been admiring.

The kiss began light; just a simple brush of
our mouths. I felt him exhale from his nose. His breath tickled my
cheek and caused heat to stir low in my stomach.

Still holding my chin, he urged my lips to
part with the slightest pressure. I opened to him, allowing him
access. I wasn’t prepared for the impact when the kiss deepened. An
electric current coursed through my body, from my lips to my feet
and ignited in every area in between.

As I joined him in the kiss, sliding my
tongue into his mouth, tasting him, my hands gripped his sides. I
could feel the firm muscles beneath the material of his shirt. I
hadn’t seen Char without a shirt since we were teenagers. I wanted
to know how he had changed from the gangly teen into the man
passionately kissing me now.

The hand behind my back held me against him;
pressing us together. My breasts were crushed to his chest, the
closeness causing my nipples to tighten in response. I arched my
spine, rubbing the tight buds on him—needing more contact.

Char groaned.

The kiss ended abruptly. He pulled away,
leaving a large gap between us as he dropped his hands. I could see
the rapid rise and fall of his chest, he was breathing just as hard
as I was.

I wanted to lower my gaze and see if he was
just as aroused by the kiss as I. His eyes were dark now, staring
at me with an intensity I had never witnessed from another man. It
was as if he wanted to devour me right where we sat. My heart beat
a fierce tempo in my chest. I’d never incited such passion in a man
before.

“
I’m sure with all the
things going on in your life right now that was the last thing you
needed. But I won’t apologize for it, Katy.”

I licked my lips, tasting him on them. Sweet
spice that made me wonder what he tasted like all over. “I don’t
expect you to.”

It was true, my life was sitting upside down
at this moment, but in some strange way I needed that kiss from
Char. Something that cleared my mind of the ass and ass-ette
upstairs. Or wherever the hell they were now. I felt desirable in
that short span of time and that was a confidence booster if
nothing else.

“
Good. Let me get you
something to change into, so you can get out of your wedding
dress.” He stood up. “Unless you plan to keep it on
permanently.”

I saw the smile on his face and the wicked
humor reflected in his eyes. “No. I think I’ve had enough of it for
the moment. Hey, at least I got to wear it, right?” I let out a
small laugh and shrugged a shoulder.

“
That’s right. Be right
back.” He went to the bedroom.

I stood and walked to the small kitchenette
area. Exhaling, I tried to get myself together. “Come on, girl. You
can’t try and sex up your friend,” I whispered softly to myself. My
body wasn’t hearing it though, I could feel the hum of need in my
sex and I was trembling all over. I needed to figure out what I was
going to do. Make some plans for tomorrow and call a moving truck
first thing on Monday to come get Michael’s things out of my house.
He had moved there last week.

He had a small apartment in the heart of the
city, but I owned a house outside of it. Even our living area
shouted how different he and I were. Michael had always preferred
for me to stay overnight at his place; especially since we were
usually out late in the city at one event, party or booked
engagement or another. I had been anticipating us being at my
house, away from the city and noise.

Now I was really looking forward to being
alone at my house. Instead of sadness, I felt relief that I would
no longer be drowning under the weight of Michael’s lifestyle.

“
I put a shirt and pants
on the bed for you.”

Startled, I turned and looked at the man who
was with me. Char was a godsend. “Thank you. I’ll just be a
moment.”

Gathering my skirt in my hands, I lifted it
from the floor. Without heels it was really too long.

“
Take your time. While
you’re in there I’ll order us something from room
service.”

Pausing, I turned in the archway of the
double doors. “I’m not really sure what I want. I picked at my food
during dinner, but don’t really have an appetite now.”

“
It’s okay. I’ll figure
something out.”

I was captivated by the confident grin on
his mouth.

“
Okay. Thanks.” I rushed
away.

He closed the doors to the bedroom area
behind me.

Seeing the t-shirt and pajama pants on the
bed, I started removing my dress. Locating the hidden zipper from
the side of the dress under my right arm, I lowered it.

Soon, I stepped out of the delicate fabric
and carried it to the closet. Opening it, I found an empty hanger.
Inside the closet Char had hung up his own clothes. There was a
shirt and slacks and a dark suit. I placed the wedding gown behind
his suit.

His suit wasn’t a tuxedo, but it still
complimented my dress. I stroked my hand down the sleeve then
closed the closet.

Deciding to take a shower, feeling the need
to wash the grunge of the day’s emotions off me, I entered the
bathroom. I turned on the shower, allowing the water to warm, then
took a moment to clean my face of the layers of make-up Michael had
always wanted me to wear.

Looking at myself with new unfiltered eyes,
I resembled a clown. Not because the make-up itself was comical. It
wasn’t. I had perfected the smoky-eye look better than any artist
and my foundation was a perfect match to my deep sienna skin tone.
The false lashes I wore were thick and dramatic, making my dark
brown eyes look mysterious. It was an act. It wasn’t me.

After I peeled and scrubbed away the layers
I looked at my face and felt a little like the woman I used to
be—strong and capable. I was once again becoming the self-assured
person who depended on my skills instead of my looks.

Fifteen minutes later, I was bathed, dry and
feeling as if I resembled the old Katy Heely.

Wringing out my under clothes, I blushed a
little as I hung them over a towel to dry. Even having hung out in
the summers during camping trips, this moment seemed extremely
intimate with Char. In a few hours, most people should be sleeping
and I can go to the lobby to get a key to my room. If Lenzy knew
what was good for her, she wouldn’t be there when I arrived.

Anger at my friend’s betrayal felt worse
than the bitterness I had toward Michael. She was a friend. Instead
of being there for me like Char was now, Lenzy had been
selfish--treacherous.

Shoving thoughts of Lenzy out of my mind, I
returned to the room and pulled the shirt on. Big and roomy, it
fell mid-thigh. I picked up the pants, but immediately knew with
all of the weight I had lost, they wouldn’t fit. Deciding to go
without them, I went back to the living room.

“
You look refreshed.” Char
rose from the couch when I opened the double doors. “A little more
like the old Katy.”

“
I am. Thanks to you.” I
smiled and felt my heart lift at his kindness. “She was a little
hidden but I found her.”

“
Good.” His gaze lowered
to my legs.

Heat followed in the wake of his gaze.
Nervous, I wiggled my toes in the carpet. “The pants didn’t
fit.”

His eye met mine again. “You look great. As
long as you’re comfortable.”

I wasn’t sure if he meant comfortable in the
attire or around him. “Very comfortable.” That was my response
either way.

There was a knock.

Anxious, I looked toward the door. “Did you
tell someone I was here?”

“
No. I wouldn’t do that.”
His gaze held mine.

I could see the tightness at the corners of
his mouth. I had offended him. I’d done enough to him in the past
by dropping my friendship. Char was the last person I wanted to
insult. “Sorry.”

“
No worries. Sit. It’s
room service.”

Duh
. I recalled he had said something about getting food. Taking
up the same spot I’d claimed earlier, I sat there while Char took
the tray from the attendant and tipped him.

After he closed the door, he brought the
large tray to the coffee table. There were three covered
dishes.

I sniffed and tried to pick up the scent of
what was underneath the silver domes, but I didn’t smell anything
savory. “What did you get?”

“
What I thought you
wanted.” Char removed one lid after the other and stacked them on
the side.

Clapping in excitement as I looked at the
items on the plates, I said, “You got all my favorites.”

Sitting beside me, Char’s grin was stretched
across the lower half of his face. “I remember when you were
feeling down you’d always make me walk with you to the store and
you would buy ice cream and cheese cake.”

“
You remembered.” I felt
so overwhelmed with emotion. Michael couldn’t recall my birthday or
my favorite color…so I knew him knowing what I liked to eat was
out.

“
I never forget.” He
tapped his chest over his heart instead of his head.

We sat there, staring at one another for a
moment, some message and emotion passing between the two of us,
something I couldn’t decipher at the moment.

“
As I’m sure you know
better than me, New York has some of the best of both.”

“
Oh, my God, I haven’t had
either in almost a year. Damn diet.”

“
Horrible diet.” Char
exclaimed. “Well, if you’re too guilty to eat them with me then you
can just have the fruit.”

I looked at the big bowl of fresh cut fruit.
I loved fruit too, but even that had too many carbs and had been
forbidden to me on most days.

“
Hell, no. Hand me a fork
and a spoon.”

Chuckling, Char did as instructed.

I took a small bit of cake and followed it
with a scoop of chocolate ice cream. Closing my eyes I moaned as
the sweet, cool treats married perfectly on my tongue. “Oh…that is
so good.”

There was a scrape of metal on plate then
Char agreed. “You are right.”

Sitting there, side by side, we worked on
the dessert foods in harmony and talked about summers and who Char
had seen at our high school’s ten-year reunion. I had missed it
traveling to Milan with Michael on assignment.

“
Cindy Reece just had her
fourth child and is the size of three of her former
self.”

“
What? Nooo.” I laughed.
Cindy had been head cheerleader in our high school and my arch
enemy. Cindy was allergic to school work and brainy girls. “What
happened to her acting career?”

“
She never made it. You
know she was pregnant at graduation?”

Swallowing the melon in my mouth, I shook my
head. “No.”

“
Yup. By Park
Prince.”

“
The motorcycle riding
dropout?”

He nodded. “The one and only. I guess it was
some secret affair. They are married now and he owns a bike
mechanic shop.”

“
Wow.” I was a little in
shock. Life never seemed to go completely as expected. I was one of
two school geeks and I’d gotten my dream job, but found myself jet
setting all over the country and world. When the most popular girl
in school never made it out of our small town in North
Carolina.

Rising, Char asked, “You want a soda?” He
opened up the small refrigerator in the kitchenette area.

“
No. I think I’ve had
enough calories for the moment.” I set my utensil down. “Water,
please.”

Char returned with two bottles of water and
handed one to me.

Curling my feet beneath me, I opened the
bottle then took a long drink.

Returning to his seat, Char drank from his
own bottle.

Having enough to drink, I set it down on the
table. “Now, tell me how you managed to be at the same hotel as my
wedding guests. Try not to start with ‘it’s a coincidence’.”

Lowering his bottle, Char screwed the top
back on it then set it down beside mine. “Is that your apology for
not inviting me?”

Yikes
. I really didn’t have any place to interrogate him.
“Yeah…about that.”

He waved his hand through the air. “No need.
When you called me a year ago and told me that Michael was having
an issue with our relationship, that you wanted it to work out
between you two…I understood. I could probably say that if I was in
your position, I may have done the same for a girlfriend.”