Suddenly a Bride (31 page)

“Oh, that won’t be a problem.  As soon as you smell the food, you’ll forget all about me.”

At that
,
she laughed.  “Yeah.  You have no idea what I was thinking that day you wanted to go to the mall to buy jeans and t-shirts.  Believe me, I’ll still be thinking of sex.”
Though he didn’t look convinced, she started the car and blew him a kiss.  “I’ll follow you to the pizza place, hottie.”

Grinning, he winked at her and headed for his car.

Chapter Twenty-Four

T
hat Saturday, Chris stood by the minister in the gazebo next to Mark as they waited for Caitlyn to be ready.  Among those who attended the wedding was a small group of Caitlyn’s closest frie
nds and family.  Her mother sat quietly for a change
but had a frown on her face.  Chris knew she was disappointed by the simple affair but didn’t care.  This was what Caitlyn wanted: to be married at the gazebo on her favorite beach with a restaurant close by to have their reception.

Chris turned to Mark and said, “I forgot to tell you.  When I went to the ultrasound with Caitlyn, we found out we’re having a girl.”

Mark patted him on the back.  “That’s great, Chris!”

“It is, isn’t it?  Can you imagine that after what we left on…” He glanced at the minister who glanced in their direction.  Clearing his throat, he turned to Mark.  “After where we c
ame from, it’s amazing I’d even say that,” he whispered.

“I hope I have one when I get married. 
It’s important more
girls
are born.”

Lexie ran up to the gazebo with an excited smile on her face.  “Caitlyn’s
ready.  Chris, t
hanks for letting her do the wedding her way.  I can’t remember when I’ve seen her this happy.”

That made Chris feel good.  He liked knowing he made her happier than she’d ever been, and Randy’s memor
y no longer bothered him.  He
and Caitlyn were making their own lives together and creating memories that did
n’t have anything to do with Randy
.

“Where’s your fiancé?” Mark asked her.

Lexie shrugged.  “At work.”

“Again?”

“That’s the price he pays for being a surgeon.  I better get back to Mothe
r before she tries to
talk Caitlyn into something.  Lucky me, I get to babysit her until the wedding’s over.”
She rolled her eyes before she headed back to the chairs.

“She doesn’t seem happy to be engaged, does she?” Mark commented.

Chris shrugged.  “I don’t know how a woman’s supposed to look when she’s engaged.”

Caitlyn’s brother stood by th
e gazebo and began playing music
on his violin.  Chris turned his attention to the boardwalk wh
ere Sandy walked between the rows of chairs
, smiling and hold
ing a
bouquet of
yellow
roses.  Right
behind her, Caitlyn strolled with her father toward him, and Chris couldn’t help but smile.  She looked absolutely radiant, her skin glowing and a big grin on her face.

“That’s how an engaged woman should look,” Mark whispered.

Chris thought to
answer
, but he was too busy watching Caitlyn to care one way or the other about Lexie.  His eyes drifted for a moment to her mother since he wondered if the woman would protest, but her mother simply took a look at the slight mound that was Caitlyn’s belly and rubbed her forehead. 
Lexie patted her mom on the arm but smiled in Caitlyn’s direction.

Chris sighed but refused to let her mother’s displeasure that her daughter was before family and friends in her white sundress while visibly pregnant deter him from enjoying the moment.  They could deal with her mother some other time.

Sandy stepped onto the gazebo and Caitlyn and her father followed.  After her father kissed her on the cheek and handed her over to him, Chris took her hands in his, unable to hide how excited he was to be taking part in the Earthly custom of getting married.

The minister began to speak and Chris listened to the vows, wondering why so many people on Earth opted to get divorced when the vows made it clear that the intention was for people to stay married for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health
for as long as they both
live
d
.  It didn’t seem any
different from the life-mate bond on
his home world, except maybe there was no way physically out of the bond unless one of them died.

He repeated the vows, and she did the same.  Before they slipped the rings on each other’s fingers,
he took a moment to
look, once again, at the engravings, liking how the symbol for unending love was sealed with the promise that they would be each other’s forever.
  He was hers and she was his, and together, they were one.

“You may now kiss the bride,” the minister said.

Squeezing her hands, he leaned forward and kissed her.  Caitlyn’s brother picked up the violin and ran the bow over the strings in a sweet melody while Caitlyn and Chris stepped down from the
gazebo to greet the guests
.

“That was a beautiful wedding,” Sandy said as she hugged Caitlyn.

“Thank you, Sandy.  I’m glad you could be here,” Caitlyn replied
.

“Yeah, I just love how you threatened to eat all the chocolate in the diner if Jack didn’t let me off for a few hours today.”

“I could eat all the chocolate he has, Sandy.” Patting her stomach, she
added, “This little girl is a child after my own heart.  She knows that few things are better than chocolate.”

“Chocolate is good for energy,” Chris said.  “It helps the baby develop.”

Sandy laughed.  “As long as the mother doesn’t gain weight, but I admit, Caitlyn, you are keeping the weight off remarkably well for all you eat.”

“Speaking of which, I’m hungry.” Caitlyn looked at Chris.  “Are you ready for the reception?”

He nodded so they joined everyone and went to the restaurant further down the boardwalk where they had reserved a room for their party.
  While they ate, he noticed th
at Mark sat by Lexie
.

“Caitlyn,” he whispered as she poured more chocolate syrup onto her brownie sundae
until
he couldn’t see the vanilla ice cream anymore, “didn’t you fix Mark up with Sandy?”

After she took a bite of the ice cream, she shrugged.  “I didn’t fix them up in the traditional sense.  I introduced them and decided to let nature take its course.” She dug her spoon into another portion of her sundae.  “I can’t believe how good this stuff tastes.
  I should try chocolate syrup on hot dogs.  I bet that would taste good.
”

She stood up to go to the all-you-can-eat buffet to get a hot dog while Chris glanced over at Mark who leaned forward and whispered something that made Lexie giggle.  Granted, he wasn’t an expert on women or relationships, but it was obvious that they were more interested in each other than they should be.  He certainly wouldn’t like it
if someone was that friendly with
Caitlyn.

Caitlyn returned to him with a hot dog and bun and glanced around the room to make sure no one was looking before she put syrup on
it.  He hid his smile.  If
she knew how normal it was to eat everything with chocolate for women on his world when they were pregnant, she wouldn’t feel so
self-conscious about it.  She took a bite of her hot dog and sighed with pleasure.  Slipping his hand under the table, he rubbed her thigh.

She groaned.  “Chris, I’m trying to eat.”

He laughed.  Now that he knew how horny she was while pregnant, he couldn’t resist me
ssing with her.  “What?” He raised
his eyebrows, hoping to look innocent while his fingers brushed the inside of her thigh.

She gave him a pointed look and shook her head.  “You
don’t play fair.”

Pulling up her dress until he felt her bare skin, he said, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

She took his hand and placed it on top of the ta
ble.  “Be good, Chris, or I won’t
give you the wedding present I picked out for you.”

Intrigued, he turned toward her.  “You got me something?”

“Kind of.”

“Really?  What is it?”

“You
’ll
have to wait and see.”

Slipping his hand back under the table, he caressed her knee.  “Not even a hint.”

She took another bite of her hot dog before she put his hand back on the table.  “No.  It won’t be fun if I spoil it.” She stood up.  “I’m going to get relish to put on this hot dog.”

He didn’t usually cringe when she blended food
s
, but thinking of a hot dog wi
th chocolate and relish mad
e him
shudder.
  And not only did she come back with relish, but she had two more hot dogs, cottage cheese and a slice of pizza.  She added chocolate a little at a time, always checking the other people before s
he did.

When she was done eating, she whispered
, “I’ve had enough of
everyone.  Let’s slip out of here.”

Since the only person he was comfortable talking to was Mark,
who happened to be busy talking to Lexie, he figured there was no need to stick around anymore,
so when Caitlyn took his hand to sneak
out of the room, he didn’t protest.  Once they were out of the restaurant, he said, “Your mom did a good job of staying away from us.  Maybe she won’t try to bother you about doing things you don’t want.”

“One can only hope,” she replied as she unlocked the doors with the remote on her keychain.

He opened his door and sli
pped into the passenger seat.  After she got behind the wheel, he said, “I think it’ll be fine.  Your mom got the message.”

“Like I said, ‘One can only hope’,” she mused.  “I don’t think she’s done intervening into people’s lives.”

“S
he did well today.”

“Yeah, but we’re dealing with a lifetime of behavior for her.” She started the car and smiled.  “But that doesn’t matter.  What matters is that you’re on my side.” She took his hand and squeezed it.  “As long as it’s you and me, we can handle anything she throws at us.”

He squeezed her hand in return.  “I’ll always be on your side.”

While she drove out of the parking lot, he turned his attention to the scenery and sighed in contentment.  In a week, they would be moving into their new home.  He was looking forward to it.  They would not only be closer to the base, but they’d be closer to the beach, and he liked the
beach a lot.

To his surprise, she didn’t take him back to the apartment.  Instead, she pulled over to a deserted place with trees sheltering them from view of anyone else.  He frowned and looked at her.  “Why did you stop here?”

“I figured since we’re renewing our vows today, it might be fun to renew our bond.” With a wink, she jumped out of the car and went to his side.  Opening his door, she placed a hand on her hip and offered
him
a seductive smile.  “Care to join me
in the backseat?”

As if she had to ask!
  He undid the seatbelt and got out of the car so he could get into the back.  She joined him and shut the door so the air conditioner could continue to cool things off.  They weren’t radiating heat from their bodies this time, but
he learned that
being stuck in a car that
didn’t have
the air conditioner
running
was a killer.  He gave the car no more thought as she pulled off her panties and unbuttoned his pants.

“So we’re acting out the bonding ceremony?” he asked, his voice betraying his excitement as she unzipped his pants and slid her hand into
them so she could rub him
.

“Yes,” she whispered and slipped her fingers under his briefs.