Platinum Grooms: Pregnant at the Wedding

She had little appetite. His dark eyebrows arched in question. “You don’t like your salad?”

“I’m not too hungry,” she replied.

“Want to eat somewhere else?”

“Heavens no! This is a wonderful place. I just don’t feel like eating.”

“Okay,” he said, withdrawing a slim cell phone. “Let’s call and make arrangements. You can use my phone,” he said, flipping it open.

Shaking her head, she got out her own phone. “I’ll use mine. When I tell them I’m bringing a friend home, they’ll know it must be someone special. But I’m not announcing this marriage over the telephone.”

He smiled. “Whatever you want to do.”

She glared at him, but then heard her father’s voice and spoke softly, making arrangements to visit. Returning her phone to her purse, she waited while Ryan made his calls, watching his hand holding the tiny phone and remembering his hands on her.

“Grandma wants us there for supper Saturday night. I told her we’d try to get to the farm by five o’clock.”

“Fine with me,” he replied. “I’m looking forward to meeting them. My family will be at Dad’s place Sunday evening about seven. We’re set and this is good. At our wedding, I want my dad to be best man, and my brothers and Jake and Nick to be groomsmen. Is that too many for you?”

She shook her head. “No. I have Katie, Jenna and my cousin, and also a lifelong friend who still lives in my hometown.”

“Now, let’s pick a date. We might as well have this wedding soon,” Ryan added.

She rubbed her forehead. “Will you slow down?”

“Why wait? You’re pregnant, and the sooner we’re wed, the better. What is there to wait for?”

“There are a million things,” she snapped, clutching the tablecloth until her knuckles were white. “Like getting to know each other, for one.”

He shrugged and waved his hand, dismissing her remark. “That’ll happen. It’s already starting. What weddings do you have scheduled next weekend?”

Her head reeled and she sat back, closing her eyes. “Next weekend!” she whispered. Why hadn’t she guessed that Ryan would charge ahead full steam, like a barreling freight train?

“Ryan, I’m not getting married next weekend!”

“How about the weekend after that?”

“I have a night wedding.”

“Can’t your assistant manage, since you’ll have advance notice? We’ll be through with ours in time for her to go to the night wedding.”

Ashley put her head in her hands and thought about her schedule and her meetings and the weddings, and what she would have to do. “September won’t work?” she asked.

“There’s no good reason to wait until September. How about the weekend after this?”

“Of course, why not?” she exclaimed. “You’re getting everything else you want!”

He smiled and stood, taking her hand. “Let’s go dance and cool down. Our dinners should be here when we return.”

She went with him, again shocked by the speed with which Ryan was changing her life. “You’re right on one thing,” she said as they danced. “It’s better to get out here and move around.”

“Far better to hold you in my arms,” he said softly, leaning down so his breath brushed her ear. “You look gorgeous tonight, Ashley.”

“Thank you,” she said, admiring the way the huge diamond on her finger caught and reflected the light. She turned her hand so she could stare at the ring, amazed he would give her such an expensive gift. “When did you get my ring?”

“This morning.”

“You’re rushing things, Ryan. I don’t want to have sex right away. At least we can get to know each other before we do that.” She leaned back to look up at him, and wondered what he was thinking.

“If that’s the way you want it, that’s okay. I can wait,” he said. “I won’t want to, but I can.”

“Good. That’s what I want very much. You’ve rushed me about marriage and the wedding, but sex is something that can come when we both want it. I’ve regretted my impetuous weekend with you.”

“I’m disappointed to hear that, because I haven’t had one shred of regret,” he stated firmly. “Far from it. I thought it was the greatest weekend possible. That’s why I couldn’t forget you,” he added.

His compliments flattered and warmed her, but she didn’t care to encourage him.

“I have a request. I’ll wait to have sex, but can we make an exception for our wedding night? This is my first, and hopefully only, wedding. It’s a one-time event that I’ll remember the rest of my life, and so will you. We can’t ever go back and really do it again. So can we have a real wedding night?”

Her heart thudded and then raced. Two weeks until their wedding. Two weeks until they made love again. But if she succumbed and agreed to that, would she be able to resist him on other nights, before she got to know him better? Until they began to fall in love, or saw whether this sham marriage would explode in their faces and end as abruptly as it started?

She knew he was waiting. She thought again about what he’d said: “… first, and hopefully only, wedding …” Would it really be the only one? Did she want to have another night of sex with him, this time when he’d pushed her into marriage? She wanted patience and courtship and love. Instead, she had arrogance and a take-charge male who was determined to get his way. Was that who she wanted? Yet in fairness, she knew that tonight she was having courtship and romance from him. He was doing wonderful things for her family.

They danced around the floor in silence. Finally, she looked up at him. “All right, Ryan. We’ll have a real wedding night.”

“Fantastic!” he exclaimed. His eyes glittered with eagerness and he gave her a dazzling smile with a flash of white teeth, creases bracketing his sensual mouth. “Aah, I’ll try to make you thrilled about that decision. I know I’ll be happy.” He pulled her close.

An actual wedding night. She thought about the tempestuous weekend she’d had with Ryan with all inhibitions gone, and her cheeks burned.

“Ashley …” He leaned back, starting to say something, and then his eyes narrowed as he looked at her. “You’re remembering our weekend together, aren’t you?” he asked in a husky voice.

She inhaled deeply and looked away. He tilted her chin up and gazed at her intently, with pinpoints of flame in the depths of his eyes. “I remember, too, and I want to love you by the hour. Ashley, this marriage can be damn good.”

She closed her eyes, hurting inside. She wanted to shout at him that she needed love, not lust!

She pulled away from him and left the dance floor, hurrying to the table. He caught up with her immediately.

“Still angry with me?” he asked.

“Of course I am! Ryan, what we’ve got is lust and nothing much else.”

“If I really thought that, I wouldn’t go through with this marriage. But there are moments when your feelings for me do a complete turnaround. I think we can fall in love if you’ll give us half a chance.”

They ate in silence for a few minutes, and then he put down his fork. “Ashley, I’ll pay for the wedding. I want to. I have enough money that you can hire who you need to get this pulled together in two weeks. Besides, since that’s your area of expertise, it should be easy for you.”

Her appetite was gone, anyway, so she placed her fork in her plate. “I assume we’ll have a big wedding.”

He nodded. “Afraid so. I have a lot of people I think I should invite.”