Chapter 43: Chapter 43

Chapter 43:

Tatiana’s P.O.V

Grace’s father arrived on the scene right when the finishing touches were being done on our makeup. Grace was all set and nervous as Hell, while Ken seemed too impatient to get back to her hubby.

Newlyweds!

My hair was tied in a stylish knot at the back of my head with a small tiara on top of my head, similar to the one Ken was wearing. The hairdresser has let two small strands of hair hand from the side of my ears and she’d also given me a side parting with some of my hair falling on my forehead. It changed my appearance a bit and made me look like a different person, but I quite liked it this way.

I was also dressed in a floor length peach coloured gown with no sleeves and a sweetheart neckline. And Ken and I were both holding bouquets of white roses while Grace was holding a large bouquet of peach and light yellow coloured buttercup flowers.

“Alright girls, it’s time for you to head out.” Mr. Summers told us as soon as he came in. “It’s time for the ceremony!”

“Hey dad...” Grace went to hug her father and the waterworks began again with the makeup artist watching wearily from the side.

Ken and I both left the room to give the family some privacy.

“Everything looks so pretty!” Ken sighed as she watched the flower arrangements on either side of the hallway as we walked by. “It kinda makes me wish I had the guts for a proper wedding.”

“But you think having a big wedding will make it seem more real?” I asked, already knowing what was going on in her mind. “And you don’t want what happened to your parents to happen to you.”

Ken shook her head with a weary smile. “I knew you’d get me.”

“I just wished I could’ve known sooner.” I told my second best friend.

During the holidays, Grace and I’d come to know about Kendra’s past, about her parents and about the darkness she had had to carry within for so long. It was scary to even think about what she had to go through and it was scarier to find out that she had been alone all through the ordeals. I’m glad she had Victor with her to support her now, to share his life with her, but I still felt guilty that I didn’t know about it sooner.

My chest tightened at the thought. Ken had Victor and Grace had Daniel...who do I have? An abusive ex and a mind full of resentments. Dear God! How much time had I wasted convincing myself that we could actually work out? I couldn’t believe I’d been so delusional!

“You okay?” Ken asked after some time, snapping me out of my self-loathing.

“Yeah. Sorry.” I shook my head and changed the subject before Ken could catch on to my thoughts. “I was just thinking if Daniel’s brother has arrived yet. He wasn’t here this morning and I’m suspecting I’ll have to walk the aisle on my own like a poor little damsel in distress.”

“Oh no, you won’t have to.” Ken said a little gleefully. “Because he’s standing right in front of us, your Knight in a navy blue Armani, and oh! ...there’s my man!”

My head snapped up then...and caught eyes of icy blue. And all the breath left my lungs.

Damien’s P.O.V:

“Here she comes.”

I looked back at Victor, Dan’s brother-in-law at the soft spoken whisper and found him staring ahead at the hallway where the bride is supposed to be. I followed his gaze to the blonde woman who was most definitely his wife, Kendra Millar Summers.

Daniel had told me about the impromptu wedding at Vegas and how distressed his would-be wife, Grace, had been when her little brother had married one of her best friends. It had seemed a hilarious story but apparently, Grace hadn’t thought so.

But when movements behind Kendra caught my eye, I shifted my gaze to the woman beside her and locked my eyes with bright green orbs...and I felt my breath get caught in my throat.

Enchanting.

That’s the only word that came to mind. The woman looked enchanting.

Auburn hair tied back to reveal a delicate face. She wasn’t supermodel thin, in fact some people will call her an average size, but her features were sharp and her slightly up-tilted eyes hinted at an Asian ancestry. Her skin was porcelain white and the red of her hair looked even more pronounced against it.

I wondered how that hair would look against her naked skin, or how it would feel when I tangled my hands through them while I thrust into her.

I broke the eye contact to get my thoughts under control. Jesus! What had I been thinking? It hasn’t even been a year since my divorce from Marian and I’m already lusting after another woman.

But it was hard not to notice the seductress when she came to stand in front of me. The woman, Tatiana, had an aura around her that would make anyone feel protective. And those delicate curves made my hands itch to wrap themselves around her.

“You must be Damien.” She held out her hand like a Princess would a lowly soldier. “I’m Tatiana Rivers.”

A smirk formed on my lips. Delicate with nerves of steel. Tatiana, a befitting name, seemed to be my kind of woman.

“Nice to meet you, Tatiana.” I used her first name since she’d used mine and then, taking her soft, white hands in mine, brought them to my lips and placed a soft kiss at the back of her hand.

A blush rose up her slender little neck to colour her cheeks and it made me want to see if she blushed with her entire body, but I refrained from doing something too reckless and let go of her hand just as the music cued for our entry. My fingers still tingled from the warmth of her skin, but I didn’t let it show on my face.

“Shall we?” I offered her my elbow and she hooked her arm through them, pink still coloring her cheeks.

And then there was no more time to talk as the doors to the aisle were swung open and we began walking towards the alter.