Wedding Chocolate: Two Grooms and a Wedding

“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “You’d be crucified in the media and my career would be over before it ever got started.”

“Jesus, Randall. What did you do, run a background check on me?” She tried to wiggle out of his arms, but he refused to let her go.

“Of course I did.” He laughed. “I’m not taking any chances, and I don’t like surprises.”

“Let me go.” She shoved at his chest while angry tears spilled over her thick lashes and raced down her cheeks. “Damn you. Let me go!”

Determined for her to see reason, Randall tightened his grip. “Baby, I’m doing this for the both of us,” he cooed and rained a few kisses against her turned cheek. “Trust me. I’m going to always take care of you. I promise.”

To his surprise, she began to sob.

“But I don’t want you to marry her,” she whined.

“I know, baby.” Randall kissed her again. Slowly the fight drained from her body and he held her as she slumped to the floor. He gently pushed her thick mane of curls and tilted her chin toward him, so that their eyes could meet. “I want you to remember that even though I’m marrying Isabella, it’s you that I love. Understand?”

A small whimper passed through her lips and Randall smiled and then proceeded to make love to her on the foyer’s hardwood floor.

Chapter 6 (#ulink_9e24cfdd-8b1a-51ef-94ae-2382c3ec1637)

After a month, Isabella slowly warmed to the idea of marrying Randall. At the very least, she was enjoying the attention her diamond ring brought. Family members, friends and even strangers would stop her and gawk at the sparkling jewel. Most of the women would cast coveted glances over at Isabella. They took in her plain attire, her uninspired hairdo and her clean but makeup-less face. She knew the question dancing in their minds: How did a plain Jane like her land a prize like Randall?

Isabella basked in their jealousy—mainly because beautiful women had never been jealous of her before. The whole experience was rather...nice.

This night, however, Randall and her parents were hosting one incredible engagement party. All of her father’s big political movers and shakers on Capitol Hill put in an appearance and her fiancé looked as though he’d won the lottery.

She, however, endured an endless line of she-wolves. Randall’s legion of female admirers smiled in her face and congratulated her; but the moment they walked away, their constant buzzing behind their pretty manicures launched Isabella’s insecurities to an all-time high.

“She better keep a tight rein on Randy if she knows what’s good for her,” Felicia Ledford buzzed to her girlfriend as she sashayed past Isabella.

“Oh, just ignore them,” Keri said, taking her by the arm and leading her to the bar where her other sorors, Rayne and Sylvia Graham, were already nursing their drinks. “They’re just jealous.”

“I guessed that much,” Isabella mumbled.

Keri rolled her eyes and shook her head. “If you’re going to be a politician’s wife, you’re going to have to develop tougher skin.”

“You sound like my mother.”

“Well, your mother is right—for once.” Keri glanced around and drained the rest of her drink. “In this town when they sense weakness, they move in for the kill.”

Realizing the truth of her best friend’s words, Isabella stiffened her spine.

“That’s my girl,” Keri praised. “Now let’s see if we can get ourselves another drink. Bartender,” she called.

“There you are, Izzy,” Waqueisha Tenney, another sorority sister, rushed over to the bar in a tight, gold metallic dress and surveyed the four women. “Looks like you guys have found the best place to hide.”

The Italian bartender placed two cocktails in front of Keri and Isabella.

“I’ll have what they’re having,” Waqueisha said, and then leaned over to whisper in Isabella’s ear. “Girl, I hate to tell you this, but your parents sure know how to throw one boring-ass party. I figured you guys would have Jay-Z or Akon bumping in here.”

Isabella laughed. “Yeah, right. You know Randall doesn’t like rap music.”

“Then what does he listen to—Tony Bennett?”

Isabella hid her answer beneath a loud cough.

“What? I didn’t catch that.”

“Alabama,” she blurted.

Her two friends stared at her, and then Waqueisha asked, “You mean the country group?”

“They’re not so bad...once you get used to them,” Isabelle lied, shrugging.

After another long stare, her friends covered their crooked smiles by turning up their cocktail glasses.

“Next time,” Waqueisha said when she came up for air, “you come to me and I’ll hook you up with a real party.”

“Speaking of which,” Keri jumped in. “Where’s my invitation to that Kidd Rhymes release party in Atlanta? Everyone’s buzzing about it all over the blogs.”

A smile exploded across Waqueisha’s face. Her event planning business had taken off in the last two years with Kidd Rhymes being her biggest client to date.

“Hey, if you girls are willing to fly down, I’ll be glad to hook you up.”

Excited, Keri bounced on her toes and sloshed her drink. “Are you kidding me? Hell yeah, we’ll come.”

“Keri,” Isabella hissed, too aware that her best friend’s near squeals drew curious eyes in their direction.

“You’ll come too, right, Izzy?” Keri asked, ignoring the subtle hint to calm down.

“Well, I—”

“You have to come,” her sorors implored, their eyes begging.

“It’ll be your last hoorah before you officially become a politician’s wife.”

“You mean my first, don’t you?” Isabella joked. Both of them knew full well she was not the party type—especially when it came to attending some big rap party. She could already see herself holding up the walls, afraid someone would and wouldn’t ask her to dance.

Her girlfriends’ faces fell in obvious disappointment, triggering Isabella’s need to fix things.

“Well, I’m not saying ‘no,’” Isabella covered, but was quickly interrupted before she could say anything else.

“Isabella,” Randall said, rudely sliding in between her and her friends. “We’re supposed to be networking. What are you doing hiding at the bar?” His arms wrapped possessively around her waist as he leaned in and whispered, “This is an important night, sweetheart. It’s imperative we leave a good impression with these people. Any one of them could be my ticket into office.”

Despite her irritation, Isabella clamped her mouth shut. Behind him, her sorority sisters rolled their eyes, expressing exactly how she felt.

However, her troubled emotions must have still shown on her face because Randall’s next instruction was for her to “smile.”

From across the room, she caught her father’s eye and she forced the corners of her lips upward before quickly taking another gulp of her cocktail. She was definitely going to need plenty of drinks.