Her shoes were custom-made, with encrusted diamonds over the four-inches heel and toe, playing a game of hide-and-go-peek as she walked down the aisle.
When she moved to the high altar, the rich murals and frescoes etched on the walls exploded with images of color and sacredness. Her mother and Wolfe stood by their sides as light streamed through the stained-glass window and Julietta waited to see if God would send down a thunderbolt in a sign that this marriage was doomed.
Instead, the day was mild and spring warm, and the singer lent a haunting note of beauty as she sang, her voice along with the organ’s chords lifting and echoing toward the arched dome ceiling and stirring emotion Julietta refused to recognize. Her mother beamed with pride and a satisfaction that ripped at Julietta’s heart. When she recited her vows, she wondered if her father’s spirit was finally pleased.
Unlike her sisters, she’d rarely dreamed about weddings and had never imagined walking down the aisle with anyone.
When she gazed into those shattering golden eyes, her heart lurched in a beautiful agony of need. The truth whispered deep inside her in mocking tones.
She wanted it to be real.
What would it feel like to be the woman Sawyer loved?
The one who opened up all those dark, dusty corners of his soul and let fresh, clean air blow through? He’d possess his mate with a fierceness and primitive air that no man could equal. But there was also a sweetness in his soul that called out to her. She remembered him bathing her so tenderly, the gentle touch of his finger across her cheek, the passionate way he’d ordered her never to demean herself.
“Julietta? Are you okay?”
She shook herself out of her musings and looked up.
The object of her thoughts stood in the doorway of the room she claimed as her office. After dinner, they’d headed to their new house, and both of them had immersed themselves in work, retreating to their separate space. Wolfe had long since gone to bed. The quiet, impersonal environment mocked the idea that a wedding had taken place just hours ago. It was business as usual, with iPads and laptops and furious text messages to business associates. The house roared up and seemed to demand more personal contact from its inhabitants. “Sure, just wrapping up some loose ends.”
Sawyer stretched and rubbed the back of his neck. He’d changed into a pair of loose khaki slacks and a clean white T-shirt, and he sported bare feet. The intimacy of sharing a house suddenly loomed before her. Seeing him in all forms of undress, but not feeling she had the right to touch him.
Panic lit. What if she couldn’t play this charade? It was their honeymoon night, and she had no idea how to act. Cool and sophisticated? Warm and friendly? She ached to crawl under the covers and hide for the night, but wouldn’t that look pathetic at this point? He spoke with no idea regarding her looming attack. “yeah, me, too. I have to get up early to go to the site tomorrow. Are you finished up?”
“yes.”
“Wanna join me for a quick drink before bed?”
Her nerves shrieked and her body jumped to come out and play. She deliberately squeezed her thighs together in rebellion. “Sure. Wouldn’t mind a taste of cognac before sleep. I’ve got an early morning, too.”
She followed him down the winding staircase, her fingers lightly tracing the smooth mahogany as they walked into the library. Julietta took a soothing breath of lemon, paper, and leather. Between both of them, they’d filled up the mounted bookcases with a variety of fiction, biography, business, and cooking. She’d been fascinated by his eclectic reading taste and found he could hold a conversation on practically any topic. She took a seat close to the fireplace and tucked her feet underneath her. It was important they set a precedent for the future. Julietta decided she’d be friendly, but distant.
He handed her the snifter of amber liquid and sat beside her. The warmth of the fire enveloped them in a com-fortable haze, and she relaxed a bit. “you looked beautiful today,” he said.
Julietta smiled. “Grazie. you didn’t look too bad yourself. And Wolfe was quite handsome. He even took out his many piercings.”
Sawyer laughed and sipped his drink. “yeah, he cleans up nice. I never got to thank you. For your advice with Wolfe.” He lifted his gaze and pinned her with sheer intensity. “He was going to walk, and if I hadn’t asked him to stay, we would’ve both been alone. How did you know?”
She swallowed past the tightness in her throat. “I saw the way you look at each other. respect. Admiration. Care.
you may have met as strangers, but he’s part of you now.
That’s how family is. They drive you crazy, push you to the edge, but family stands true.”
“I always had the opposite.”
“I know. But family isn’t about blood. It’s about sticking and loyalty and sacrifice. I didn’t want you to let Wolfe go because of pride.”
“And that’s why you agreed to marry me. right?”
Julietta stiffened, afraid he might guess too much of the truth. yes, she’d done it for family. For Papa. For business.
But the secret part inside told her she’d only marry someone she cared about, felt safe with. Sawyer was both. “yes, that’s right.”
“Did you ever think of marrying before?”
His probing surprised her, but she decided to answer.
“No. There was one man I got close to. We worked together.
For a little while, I wondered what it would be like to come home to him at night. Share meals, a bed, a life. But I started to realize things were flat between us. We made a good connection on paper, but he never sought time with me. I was like his conferences—scheduled in.” She remembered that feeling of inadequacy as she craved to forge more of a connection before realizing he wasn’t interested. He’d been calm and rational in what he wanted—a wife for business, a companion for company. Her frigidity annoyed him, but he never took time to push for more of a reaction from her, which only caused more friction and numbness every time he took her in his arms. eventually, the relationship with-ered and died without a speck of smoke or flame.
“Sounds like a real dickhead.”
A faint smile passed her lips, but the ghosts had been unleashed. The words popped out of her mouth. “No, he just didn’t want me enough. No man ever has.”
The sudden focus of his attention shifted. Those hot eyes roved over her body, reminding her of all the places he’d touched and licked and bitten, and the hundreds of ways he’d made her explode beneath him. “I repeat. He was a dickhead. And a moron.”