3 Seductions and a Wedding

Bianca closed the inches between them and pressed against the curve of his erection, hidden by the water from everyone but her. “Actually, when you say Marry me, it sounds more like an order than a question.”

“So the question has been asked and answered,” Coop replied, clearly having spent way too much time with her client, an attorney who needed legal documents translated from Spanish to English, which was what brought them to Central America. Bianca’s career as a linguist allowed her to travel the world—which was doubly perfect because as a software designer, Coop could follow her or sometimes lead the way. They’d been to every continent except Antarctica, always together and yet never as man and wife. “And yet, I continue to ask.”

“And I continue to say yes!” she said, watching her engagement ring twinkle against his tanned shoulder.

“Actually,” he said, tilting his head so he could nibble on her chin, “the first time I asked, you said something like, ‘Of course, now grab that zip line and let’s go!’”

Laughing, she kissed him, remembering that trip they’d taken to Hawaii nearly a decade ago, when they’d gone on a treetop tour of Maui and Coop had chosen one of the most adrenaline-filled moments of her life to slip a diamond solitaire on her finger and ask her to be his wife. She’d flown across the wires hyped up on love. In the ten years since, the rush had not diminished, even if the marriage had yet to materialize. They’d applied for a marriage license so many times, the clerks of the court in their hometown knew them by sight. But she and Coop had simply been too busy exploring the world to plan the wedding of their dreams.

Well, more like their families’ dreams.

“Let’s get married here,” he suggested.

Bianca sighed. They had, after all, had this conversation before. “Coop, our parents will kill us if we elope.”

His eyes twinkled as he pulled her full against his powerful body. “I’m willing to take the risk … are you?”

Unwilling to immediately reply, Bianca pushed against his delicious pecs and threw herself backward into the water, enjoying the momentary disorientation of falling beneath the surface. In the cool, churning waters, she didn’t have to deal with expectations and responsibilities. She didn’t have to think about how long her mother had dreamed of Bianca wearing her vintage couture dress and how much her father had waxed poetic about walking her down the long aisle at their family’s church.

Then there was Coop’s family. In light of his sister Annie’s not-so-recent yet unexpected divorce, the Rushes spoke of little else but the grand party they wanted to throw for Coop’s trip to the altar—which they were sure, since Coop and Bianca had been inseparable for so long, would last a lifetime, as marriages were intended. Even Bianca’s baby brother, Drew, had once offered to fly out to Montreal to retrieve them from an uneventful seminar if they agreed to a shotgun wedding at the courthouse immediately upon their return. Every single one of their blood relations had some suggestion for dragging Coop and Bianca into marital bliss.

Even their friends had opinions on the topic.

Jessie, Bianca’s best friend since college, supported their right to elope since she hated most bridesmaid dresses. Leo, Coop’s best friend since college, wanted them to pick their favorite exotic locale for a destination wedding they could all attend.

The last time Coop’s boss, Ajay Singh, met up with them in Paris, he’d hinted that since his mother had no wedding to plan for him, she might jump at the chance to arrange one for his friends—if they were willing to do the deed in either London or India. And when Mallory Tedesco, Bianca’s boss, had broken off her engagement to the slick automobile mogul Bianca detested, she’d forwarded every bridal book, magazine and Web site link she’d once treasured for her own.

Anyone and everyone who crossed paths with the couple seemed to know exactly how they should tie the knot, which perplexed Bianca to no end. As far as she was concerned, that rope had been twisted into an irreversible figure-of-eight since the moment they’d met. What did it matter if they had a legal document to seal the deal?

Though a ceremony would be nice.

Great clothes.

A fabulous party.

A honeymoon trip which, despite their extensive travels, they’d never forget.

Emerging from beneath the surface of the mountain pool, Bianca waylaid Coop’s litany of reasons for why they should elope with a long, luxuriant kiss. Inch by inch, she maneuvered him closer to a quiet cove they’d discovered a few days ago, where none of the tourists would follow. Between the dappled sunlight, churning water, wild jungle and their insatiable passion, a quickie would be all they’d need to remind each other how little a wedding would affect their special connection.

Ten years and she was still hot for him. And vice versa. And yet, even as they glided behind an outcropping of rocks that no one seemed to know was there but them, Bianca couldn’t help but wonder what might happen to the magic once they finally said “I do.”

1

“YOU’VE LOST your mind.”

Jessie Martinez set down her fork, a juicy olive speared on the tines, and glanced at the people around her. Annie had nearly sputtered out her beer, Drew had choked on a piece of pepperoni pizza and Ajay, who prided himself on impeccable manners, was coughing into his red-checkered paper napkin. Only Mallory continued to calmly chew her food, though when she swallowed, her gulp was audible in the sudden silence. Leo Sharpe’s ridiculous proposal to throw a lavish surprise wedding for their mutual best friends in less than a week had struck all of them dumb.

Except her. She’d questioned his sanity out loud.

Leo’s smile only deepened. Her ex’s eyes darkened from dreamy turquoise to rich royal-blue, and his grin quirked so that the dimple on his left cheek gave her a rebellious wink. Suddenly, it was hard to remember that there were four other people squeezed into a booth in their favorite pizzeria. Or that less than two minutes ago, she’d scarfed down enough garlic salad dressing to stop a rampaging vampire.

“People have been telling me I was crazy for years,” he replied, tossing an irreverent glance at Annie, who, as the potential groom’s sister, knew Leo best.

Well, except for Jessie. To Coop’s sister, who was six years older than her sibling, Leo was nothing more than a surrogate little brother. To Jessie, he was the man who’d broken her heart.

“And despite that,” Jessie said after taking a sip of her soda, “you continue to construct harebrained schemes that accomplish nothing but inconveniencing large and diverse groups of people.”

“Can you think of a better way to finally get Bianca and Coop married?” Leo asked, giving a cursory glance at the others before focusing on her. “After all these years?”

Jessie opened her mouth, but no answer came out. Though both convoluted and crazy, Leo’s plan to construct and execute a wedding—complete with bridesmaids, groomsmen, clergy, guests, reception and cake—was their best bet in ensuring that Bianca and Cooper were good and wed by the weekend, the last time they’d be in the country for at least another six months to a year.

As Bianca’s best friend, Jessie was ashamed that she hadn’t come up with the idea. She’d witnessed the romance-novel-worthy relationship from the get-go. Bianca and Coop had somehow turned a one-night stand in college into a bond that had lasted more than a decade.

They wanted to get married. She wore the engagement ring Coop had bought from a pawn shop on the day they’d graduated from college and they renewed their application for a marriage license every time they returned to Florida to visit family and friends. But they’d never gotten around to actually walking down the aisle, always preferring to go spelunking in Turkey or climbing Mount Kilimanjaro instead.

“I think your idea is brilliant,” said Ajay Singh, Cooper’s boss, whose lilting accent gave Jessie a little tingle. She’d dated him once—and only once. They’d had an okay time, but while the Oxford-educated multimillionaire had treated her like a queen, they hadn’t clicked. Shame, really. With his fat bank account and jade eyes, he was a hell of a great catch.

Unlike the man she had clicked with. Clicked like the detonator of a bomb.

She frowned at Ajay’s enthusiasm, but couldn’t maintain her negative outlook when Drew, Bianca’s brother, and Annie both piped in with their support.

“A surprise wedding is perfect,” Drew said. “They’ll never slow down otherwise.”

Annie took another long sip of her beer. “So what’s next? And how do we help?”

Everyone leaned eagerly toward Leo—everyone except Jessie and Mallory Tedesco, Bianca’s boss, who had never been loquacious or even social. Jessie was shocked she’d come out tonight. Leo must have dug deep into his endless supply of charm to convince her.

Poor girl didn’t stand a chance. The man was lethal.

Leo pulled a scrap of paper out of his pocket, unfolded it and spread it out on the table. “I’ve got it all worked out.”

Jessie couldn’t help but glance over at his list, which was filled not only with his even-spaced, block-style hand lettering, but lines and shapes that reminded her of how he used to doodle on everything from paper tablecloths to cardboard coasters back when they were dating. Always the same shapes—boats. Masts. Bows and anchors and any paraphernalia associated with the sailing vessels he now designed and raced with great success. He’d realized all his dreams, and here he was trying to make sure his best friend, Coop, achieved the same.

He made it so hard to hate him.

Jessie sat back against the red vinyl seat and listened while her former lover outlined his plan, her gaze focused on anything and anyone but Leo. It was hard enough to share breathing space with him on the rare occasions when Bianca and Coop came to town. To sit so close to him now that she could sniff out hints of his cologne from the myriad scents in the restaurant only reminded her that while she’d gotten over his betrayal a long time ago, she had not quite gotten over him.

“There are three things that make up a successful wedding,” Leo said with such authority, Jessie couldn’t help but wonder when he’d become an expert on the topic. He’d never been married, that much she knew. In fact, he’d never seen anyone seriously—not, at least, since her.

“We need a quick ceremony, a great reception and a fabulous honeymoon. Your parents,” Leo addressed Drew and Annie, “have agreed to take care of the ceremony. They couldn’t get a church on short notice, so they opted for the main ballroom at the Hotel del Mar.”

“That’s a beautiful venue,” Annie crooned. “It overlooks the water. It’s perfect!”

Clearly, Annie was as much a romantic as Leo. Or she was just thinking about the pictures, since Annie was a photographer.

“Now, it’s just up to us to plan the reception and the honeymoon.”

“Won’t the hotel take care of the food?” Mallory asked.