The Playboy's Princess (24 page)

The strange pattern on his tie suddenly formed an image, and she sucked in a breath. The gold lines she’s thought were a random swirled pattern were actually rows of bells set against the black satin background. He’d kept his promise.

Suddenly, it wasn’t a fake wedding anymore. Joy overwhelmed her. She looked to the end of the aisle and saw Drew, his smile glowing at her. He looked like a real groom, with love in his eyes and nervous anticipation. Or at least Jade thought he did. She felt like she was truly walking to her destiny.

As they neared the front of the hall, the faces in the congregation became familiar. Her friends from work were on one side and several celebrities on the other. She thought she saw envy on the faces of some of the women on Drew’s side, but she wasn’t concerned with them, because when she looked to her left, her mother was smiling with teary eyes.

Jade gave a small wave and blew her mom a kiss, causing Lea to break down into actual sobs. They reached the front, and Jade looked up at Drew. He looked at her in such an emotional way, and in her heart, it all felt very real. She was about to
marry
the man in front of her.

“Who gives this woman to this man?” the celebrant said, breaking Jade and Drew’s eye contact.

“I do,” Greg said in a loud, ringing voice.

“Thank you,” Drew said, shaking Greg’s hand.

Greg kissed his daughter’s cheek and placed her hand in Drew’s. The couple stepped forward, and Drew squeezed her hand.

“We’re really doing this,” he whispered.

“Looks like it.”

“Family and friends, we have all come together today to celebrate the love of Andrew Aaron Malik and Jade Emma Pratt.”

Jade blacked out during the ceremony. She couldn’t remember vowing to commit her life to Drew, even though she had. She came back to reality when she heard Drew say his vows.

“I, Andrew Aaron Malik, take you, Jade Emma Pratt, to be my lawfully wedded wife. I vow to love and cherish you for as long as we both shall live.”

Jade swallowed thickly as he placed the ring on her finger.

His voice rang out strong and proud when he broke from the plan and said, loud enough for everyone to hear, “I love you, Jade.”

“By the power vested in me by the state of California, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride,” the celebrant said.

Drew pulled her flush against him and kissed her. Cheers and applause broke out throughout the hall. They broke off the kiss, and he grabbed her, swinging her around in a circle. It was like a dream. Drew led her by the hand back down the aisle, and she was passed from hug to hug. Some of the arms around her belonged to familiar people and some to strangers. The only hug she paid attention to was the one from her mother.

“I’m so proud of you, Jadey. You look beautiful.”

“I love you, Mom,” she called as she was pulled into another embrace.

Cassandra appeared by her side and pulled both her and Drew through the throng of happy people. “We have professional photos to do.”

Drew slipped his arm around her waist, and they followed Cassandra back out to the limo. The rest of the bridal party piled into the car, and they took off before anyone started taking pictures.

Jade looked out the window to see Aaron and Laura standing outside, posing for the photographers that had shown up. As the limo zoomed away, Jade realized how used to that life they were. She felt she’d never get used to it, and luckily, she’d only have to put up with it for a few months.

Drew kept her pulled close to his side as he chatted with his best man, Sam.

Jade watched him. He was so at ease, happy even. His arm remained tightly around her, stroking the bare skin of her shoulder as if it was normal to be touching her.

“You’re married!” Clare squealed.

Drew’s grin spread bigger, and he looked at Jade.

“Yeah,” she said.

Drew laughed. “I think you’re a bit stunned.”

“Maybe a little,” she admitted.

The car stopped, and they all got out. They were at the beach. Jade couldn’t tell which one, but there wasn’t a person in sight, so either it was the private beach of one of Aaron’s friends, or they’d arranged security to keep the area clear. Jade wasn’t surprised, after hearing how much her dress and shoes had cost.

“I want to start with just Drew and Jade, and we’ll do the group shots in a few minutes,” the photographer said.

The newly married couple followed him out onto the sand, Jade struggling in her high heels.

“Take the shoes off. I’ll carry them if you like,” Drew offered.

“Thanks.” She pulled them off, and he hooked his fingers into the heels, swinging them in one hand with her fingers laced in the other. They gave each other a small smile, and a flash went off in their face.

“That was great. Moments like those are exactly what we want to capture,” the photographer said.

They posed in several positions: Drew on his knees looking up at her, carrying Jade in the honeymoon hold with her skirts blowing behind them in the breeze, her holding her skirts up and his pants rolled up to his knees as they ran through the shallow water. All the cliché shots that Jade could imagine, they did.

Their friends joined them, and they posed as a group, some formal and some playful. There were close-ups of their ringed fingers and then solo shots of everyone.

“We’re losing the light, so we’ll wrap up soon. We might just get a few silhouettes of our couple in the sunset.”

When all the pictures were taken, they drove back to the country club. The large hall they’d been married in had been completely transformed in the two hours they’d been gone. Small round tables filled the space now, with a large dance floor set up in front of a stage. Fairy lights and candles had been added too, and there was no overhead lighting, just the twinkle from the small lights, causing the whole room to glow.

Classical music played, and several people were slow dancing. As Jade and Drew moved through the room, people realized they’d arrived, and a hush fell over the room, followed by a loud round of applause.

Aaron appeared on the stage and welcomed all the guests, wishing everyone a good night and welcoming Jade into the family. Jade’s father then appeared and gushed about how proud he was of his daughter and how he and his wife looked forward to getting to know Drew.

The smell of food filled the room as several waiters appeared with large silver trays and began putting plates on the tables. There was a rush of people moving to sit down, and Drew and Jade made their way to the bridal table near the stage. The photographer from the beach wandered around, snapping candid pictures of people enjoying the reception.

After the meal, Sam got up on the stage and gave his best man speech.

“Drew and I grew up together. He never had trouble finding girls, but he did have trouble finding one that lasted longer than a weekend.”

Everyone around the room laughed and nodded their heads. Drew’s reputation was well known.

“But when he met Jade, everything changed. Drew changed. We thought he was joking when he told us he was getting married. We all know this was a short engagement. Drew and Jade have only known each other a few months, but one thing about Drew, when he knows something, when he really believes in it, he jumps. Well, he’s practically flung himself off a cliff today, but he’s smiling. And who better to catch him from falling than that beautiful woman sitting by his side.”

Jade blushed.

“To Drew and Jade!”

Everyone clinked glasses and echoed his wish. Clare stepped up beside him and practically pushed Sam out of the way to get to the microphone. A laugh rippled through the room.

“I haven’t known Jade since childhood. She only moved out to Los Angeles a few years ago, but I’ve grown to love her, and I can’t blame Drew for falling so hard so quickly, because I did the same thing. Jade is caring and loving, and Drew is in for a lifetime of that love. He’s a lucky bastard. Take a look at them right now…”

All heads in the room turned to face them, and Jade wanted to duck under Drew’s arm and hide from all the stares.

“Just look at them and what do you see? Love. I recently got married myself, and I love my husband very much, but I can tell you that it’s hard. It takes work, and it takes patience. But these two, they make it look easy.”

Suddenly, music swelled. Different music than was playing earlier. This wasn’t classical. It had a definite beat, and a male voice started singing. Jade giggled, because it was “Love Is Easy” by McFly. She loved that song.

Just as she was starting to enjoy it, chairs started scraping, and people rushed past her. She recognized every single person that filled the dance floor and started dancing in sync. They were her work friends from Disneyland. They swayed and twirled in perfect sync, rushing between the tables in an obviously organized flash mob.

Then, in complete shock to Jade, Drew stood and started singing along with the song. Her mouth fell open as she watched him move in time with the dancers. He’d known this was going to happen. He’d learned the dance and spent time with her friends behind her back! She had no idea when he’d had time, but she couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

He sang the words with such conviction that for a second, one tiny perfect moment, she allowed herself to believe that this wedding was real, and when Drew sang about love being easy with her, he really meant it. As the music faded and the dancers cheered themselves for their effort, Drew swept across the room and pulled Jade to her feet, dipping her over his knee and kissing her in true Hollywood fashion.

The stunned expressions of the audience turned into a huge round of applause.

“You should have seen your face,” Drew laughed when they sat down.

“I can’t believe you did that!”

“I wanted to do something special for you. Clare approached me, and it sounded like fun, so I went along with it. Plus, it makes this whole thing look all the more real for the guests.”

And BANG! Just like that, the fantasy was shattered. He’d done it for the lie, not for her. She tried her best to keep smiling until she felt like she couldn’t bear to keep her face frozen in the fake grin for another second. She excused herself to sit with her parents.

She spent the rest of the night with them, talking about their life back home, how her cat was doing, and how happy all her parents’ friends were that she’d found love. Apparently, Lea had been bragging to everyone that her daughter was marrying a movie star.

“Drew’s not actually an actor, mom,” Jade said.

“He’s close enough. There are genuine movie stars in this room!”

Jade looked around. It was true. It was so surreal to see people like Aaron Malik and Tully Whittaker mingling with her friends from work. After the cake was cut, the bouquet thrown, and the garter flung, there wasn’t any way for Jade to hide from Drew any longer. She’d posed with him at the cake but made a beeline back to her parents, saying she wanted to spend as much time with them as possible. But now they had to leave or they’d miss their flight. She was about to be alone with Drew in the car to the airport, and she didn’t think she’d be able to hide from him there. Perhaps she could say she was exhausted and pretend to sleep.

They waved good-bye to their guests and settled into the back of the limo. Drew reached to pull her close, but she sat on the opposite side of the car, facing him. There was no one to show off for now.

Drew frowned and watched her for several minutes, trying to make eye contact.

“You all right?” he asked.

“Just tired. It’s been a long day.”

He hmm’d, as if he didn’t believe her.

“Aren’t you curious about where we’re going for our honeymoon?” he asked.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine. It doesn’t really matter. It’s all for show, right?”

“Right…but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a good time together. Think of it as a holiday, if that makes you more comfortable.”

Jade shrugged and slumped down in the seat.

“When can I change out of this dress?” she asked.

“Whenever you like. There are clothes in that bag.” He pointed to an overnight bag on the seat next to her. “But I think you look absolutely stunning. No need to rush.”

Jade looked at him for a moment and then dug around in the bag, pulling out some jeans and a T-shirt.

She undid her seat belt and turned around. “Can you please undo this?”

His fingers moved quickly, and the material slackened around her body, gaping open.

“Thanks,” she said. “Can you close your eyes?”

Drew obeyed her request and closed his eyes. As quickly as she could, Jade removed the dress and pulled on the more casual clothes.

“Okay, I’m decent. Thanks for thinking to bring these.” Her voice was dull, lacking any of the joy she’d felt just an hour before.

Drew looked at her and then down at himself. “Well, I feel a bit silly now, dressed like this.”

Jade smirked. He might have done the dancing for the act, but she couldn’t stay upset. She’d come into this agreement with her eyes open. No point in being mad at him for only living up to their contract. “I think you look very handsome.”