The Wedding Belle (Colorado Billionaires Book 4) Read online

  Belle shuddered. “Sorry,” she said. “Maybe it’s a girl thing. He’s handsome and well mannered, but there’s something about him. As if you could read naughty thoughts in his eyes when he looks at you. At me. Does that make sense?”

  Uly lifted a brow at her. “Actually, yes, it makes perfect sense. And you’re not the first woman to tell me that.” Uly shrugged. “But to be fair, one of his eyes doesn’t track right. He can’t help it.”

  “Oh, I see. I apologize for calling him creepy.”

  There was another knock at the door, this one forceful and loud. Tex called out, “Y’all get a move on! I’d like my guests to meet you before I take’em back to the hotel.”

  Uly and Belle exchanged hopeful glances.

  “They’re not staying long,” whispered Belle.

  “Excellent,” whispered Uly. Then they snickered together like mischievous children.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  At first, Belle thought her best tactic was to follow Uly’s lead. However, from the comments he’d made about how complicated Middle Eastern culture seemed to him, she suspected he would be of little help. But Tex’s business associates were in the States, and this was definitely her culture. Once she realized that, she decided her best recourse was to be herself. She moved confidently into the great room and began by greeting Tex again.

  “I wanted to thank you for having us as guests in your home,” she said, holding out a hand.

  Tex took it and bent low to plant a dry kiss on her knuckles. “Y’all are more than welcome. Lulamae has told me some wonderful things about you.”

  Belle smiled warmly. “She’s told me a few things about you, too.”

  “Uh-oh,” said Tex. “My cover is blown.”

  Belle laughed. She glanced over her shoulder at Uly and found him looking on approvingly. She winked at him and let Tex guide her around the room. His associates were all men, four of them including Ahmed. All were dressed in western clothing and their heads were bare. If not for their accents, she might have taken them for a group of American businessmen, very rich businessmen as evidenced by their Armani suits and elegant shoes.

  Tex introduced her to each one, and except for Ahmed, it was obvious English was not their native tongue. “Gentlemen, this is my godson’s wife. Belle, these gentlemen have been admiring the natural beauty of Mount Charleston.”

  “Pleased to meet you,” said Belle, nodding a greeting to each one.

  Lulamae raised her hand and said, “I hope you boys don’t mind if I steal Belle away to keep me company. Rita has laid out some snacks for y’all.”

  Confused, Belle looked to Uly for guidance. He nodded reassuringly, so she went with Lulamae out to the pool. From the looks of Tex’s guests, that was the last place they expected to visit.

  Once outside, Lulamae said, “Sometimes Tex’s business associates like to bring their wives and do a mixed party, but not these fellows. They’re here on a ‘boy’s weekend out’ and we’ll just cramp their style.”

  Belle followed Lulamae’s example and settled on a chaise in the shade. “Is that a polite way of saying they’re more comfortable without us in the room?”

  “Oh, cherie, you catch on very fast.” Lulamae shrugged and smiled. “Besides, we don’t want to listen to all that. This is much more relaxing.”

  Rita appeared with a tray and set it on the table between them. It was full of hors d’oeuvres and a pitcher of iced tea with two glasses. Kamal followed close behind with Lulamae’s wheelchair.

  “Thanks for letting us borrow it,” said Belle. “The first half of the day, Uly used the crutches, but by two, he was tired and sore. The chair came in handy.”

  Lulamae shifted from the chaise to the chair.

  Belle was alarmed. “Are you feeling okay?”

  Lulamae put a hand up beside her mouth and whispered, “I’m using it as a prop tonight.” Then in a normal voice, “But I am feeling a little weary. Thank you, Kamal. Rita, you’re a dear. You don’t have to clear up tonight. I’m not sure how long Tex and his friends will hang around.”

  They said good night and departed.

  From inside came masculine laughter.

  Belle shrugged and leaned back in her chaise. “I feel like the heroine in a Victorian novel, banished to the ladies’ sitting room while the men enjoy cigars and tell dirty jokes.”

  Lulamae nibbled at a cube of quiche. “No cigars in my house, I guarantee.” She popped the cube in her mouth and chewed with relish. “Mmm, good. No, sirree. I don’t allow tobacco in the house. As for feeling banished, if we’re going to be married to wealthy men, we have to let them do whatever it is that keeps the money flowing. Besides, I’d rather be out here by my pool.” She glanced around, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “See?” She raised the long skirt of her formal gown.

  For half a second, Belle thought Lulamae had lost her mind. But then she caught sight of the familiar colors of her bathing suit underneath.

  Belle laughed. “I should have thought of that!” Her fondness for Lulamae grew even deeper. She selected a meatball from the tray. An explosion of flavor hit her tastebuds. “Oh, my. You’re right. Rita is a treasure. Never go anywhere without her.”

  Lulamae poured tea and lifted her glass in a toast. They both drank. Then, out of the blue, Lulamae said, “It’s not enough, you know.”

  Belle was caught off guard. “Excuse me?”

  Lulamae leaned toward her. “I had a dream. A million is not enough. You hang in there for the long haul. You deserve more, and besides, Uly’s face lights up when you walk into the room.”

  Belle felt heat rising to her cheeks. “I, I, I don’t know what to say.”

  “I’m so pleased that you made it legal, dear. It’s better all around. Of course, I’m an old woman. I will tell you one thing, though. The Garrison men are all alike when it comes to women. They all rush in and do things right away.”

  Belle bit her bottom lip. She selected another meatball. Her brows knit together as she asked, “Was that what happened with Uly’s first marriage? I heard him talking to you about it.”

  “Pretty much. She was a real looker, very popular in high school, the star of the drama club. And Uly was a star athlete. Baseball was his favorite, but he did it all. And they went to the prom together. By that time, Julie had set her sights on him. As soon as they turned twenty-one, she decided they were going to Reno to get married. I was horrified.”

  Belle prepared herself for the worst. She didn’t want to get on Lulamae’s bad side. “For getting married so fast?”

  “Goodness no. For going to Reno! Why go there when they could’ve come to Vegas?” She shook her head. “Then wham, a weekend in Reno to ‘celebrate’ his birthday.” Lulamae put finger quotes around the word. “And bam, back to Texas as a married couple. Oh, Rudy was hot. So mad! And Polly was fit to be tied. Between the two of’em, they put a lot of pressure on Uly and the kids got a divorce. I think Uly was secretly relieved. He didn’t really fight to stay married. I suspect he had a little too much to drink and the next thing you know, he was in a wedding chapel. Julie showed her true colors when she finally admitted she’d go away if Polly and Rudy came up with cash.”

  Belle’s eyes widened. “That’s awful! That’s blackmail.”

  “Very civilized and quiet blackmail. Yes, it was. But they paid her and she left.”

  “What ever happened to her?”

  Lulamae selected a meatball. “You make these look so good.” She held it close to her nose and inhaled. “Mmmm, Rita has done it again.” She pinned Belle with one eye. “Heard tell Julie was following Rudy’s work crew around the States. Then about two years ago, she dropped off the radar. I figured she got married and settled down.”

  “Was Uly on that work crew?”

  Lulamae bit off half the meatball, chewed and swallowed. “Yes, he was. Most of the time he worked for his daddy and Rudy wanted him to learn the business from the ground up. Two years ago, he decided Uly needed to get used to the
Kuwaiti end of things. Hmmm.” She narrowed her eyes. “You’re thinking she was still after him?”

  Belle shrugged. “Seems possible. He is quite a catch.”

  Lulamae smiled happily. “I am so glad to hear you say that. Oh, dear. What now?”

  Tex was tapping on the glass of the sliding doors to the great room and waving at them to come inside.

  Lulamae sighed heavily, then brightened. “Oh, maybe we are saying good-bye. Would you push me, cherie?”

  “Of course.” Belle was happy to have something to do besides wait around.

  Tex was all smiles. “We’re about to leave for another, er, business meeting. But we wanted to celebrate for a few minutes with Belle and Uly.”

  Music began playing in the background. Belle wasn’t sure, but it sounded like a waltz. It reminded her of the awkward dance evenings that were arranged for the teens in the home. She looked for Uly and saw him drooping on his crutches against one wall. Ahmed was with him, talking a mile a minute. Uly met her gaze, put up a hand to stem the flow of Ahmed’s chatter, and crutched laboriously across the room toward her.

  Belle’s heart filled with sympathy. He looked so tired. She went to meet him, just as Tex was explaining what he had in mind.

  “I just wanted to see my godson dance with his wife. I know, Lulamae, he’s on crutches. But they don’t have to do any fancy footwork.”

  Belle protested, “Mr. Franklin, Uly cannot put weight on his injured ankle. Period.” She stopped directly in front of Uly. Their eyes met and his were full of gratitude.

  “We’ll just sway to the music,” he said softly. “Just to make Tex happy.” His gaze darted to Ahmed and back. “Pretty please.”

  Belle looked down to make sure he wasn’t putting weight on the cast. “All right. Put your arms on my shoulders.” She knew from his covert glance that some secret was being shared between him and Ahmed. She had no idea what it could be, but if swaying to music would help, she was game. After all, it wasn’t like they had to really dance. For all her involvement in sports, dancing was one activity she’d never mastered.

  Uly draped his arms over her shoulders. He rested his forehead against hers and said softly, “Thanks.”

  Belle slipped her arms around his torso. Doing so forced her to close the gap between them. They were now close enough to dance cheek to cheek. She could feel the heat from his body and she inhaled his scent, a heady mix of male and sun and cocoa butter. The aroma stirred feelings in her that she usually tried to stifle, but hey, they were married. Besides, if Uly was trying to convince the doubting Ahmed that their marriage was real, she should flow with those feelings, not cover them up with her usual no-nonsense nurse persona. She eased her body against him and a sudden rush of desire took her by surprise. An overpowering longing moved her to press even closer, and she shifted her weight from one foot to the other in time with the music. She heard an intake of breath.

  It was Uly. Their closeness had taken him by surprise as well.

  Belle pulled her head back to try to read his expression. Should she break it off? Step away?

  Their eyes met, and the power of his gaze locked her in position. Her lips parted, but she couldn’t think of anything to say. A moment later, Uly lowered his head and pressed his lips against hers.

  The feel of warm velvet and the tang of his sunburned lips sent arrows of heat racing through her. Every nuance of the kiss woke a different stage of desire. Without realizing it, her hips had begun pressing against his, and her feet stopped moving altogether. The tip of Uly’s tongue caressed her top lip and she moaned and let her mouth fall open to welcome the rest of the kiss. For the first time in her life, she felt the magic and the chemistry she’d heard about in movies and books. She wanted to melt into Uly and become a part of him. She wanted the kiss to go on forever.

  The sound of applause broke the spell. Belle flushed hotly. She and Uly were kissing in front of an audience. She stepped away, but didn’t go far, because his crutches were now on the floor. She glanced around and saw Tex and Ahmed applauding. The other three men had moved quietly toward the door, so she was spared having them see the display. She realized the whole setup had been for Tex’s benefit. Or maybe for Ahmed? Either way, she was highly annoyed, and still very aroused.

  It was difficult to stay mad at Tex, though, especially when he apologized at once.

  “I am so sorry to embarrass y’all,” he said. “I just wanted to distract you while your present was delivered.” He moved behind Lulamae’s wheelchair and began pushing it toward the entry way. “Lulamae told me you borrowed the Escalade to go sightseeing, and what with Uly all stove up, I thought you might find this useful.” He moved as he spoke, and Ahmed darted ahead to open the front door. Tex hit some light switches on the wall, and the large driveway out front lit up bright as day. His guests parted so he could wheel Lulamae outside.

  Belle had retrieved Uly’s crutches, half afraid to look him in the eye. When he had them in hand, she turned to follow Tex and the others, wondering what she’d say to Uly when they were alone again. Was he feeling the same things she was feeling? Or had she just humiliated herself irretrievably with the man she was going to spend the next year with? She focused on Tex and ignored the other men as she stepped through the front door. The sight on the driveway stopped her cold.

  She felt Uly bump into her back and heard him exclaim, “Tex, you shouldn’t have!”

  Parked on the driveway was a brand new red Escalade with an Airstream behind it.

  Tex was all puffed up and looking proud as a peacock. “Just a little wedding gift from your godparents.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Uly was relieved when Tex finally ushered his guests into a limousine and waved good night to Lulamae. He had a hundred questions for Belle, but since they were all about the kiss they’d just shared, he didn’t ask them. It wasn’t something he wanted to bring up in front of his godmother.

  Besides, Belle kept avoiding his gaze. Well, he didn’t blame her. It was all so confusing. He’d seen her lips parted and glistening, and he just couldn’t stop himself. Those impulses were causing him a lot of trouble recently.

  Lulamae patted Belle’s hand. “Would you mind rolling me inside, cherie? The Caddy and the Airstream will still be there in the morning.”

  “Of course.” Belle pushed Lulamae’s chair inside. “Where to?”

  “If it weren’t so late, I’d say the pool,” said Lulamae. She sounded weary and her words came slowly. “But at this hour? Maybe you could push me to my bedroom.”

  Uly took over. “I’ll take you, Lulamae. Which way?”

  “Other side of the kitchen. Back side of the house. It’s quiet there.”

  Uly turned and handed one of his crutches to Belle. “I’ll balance with one crutch and push with the other hand,” he said.

  Belle looked like she was about to ask him a question, then decided against it.

  “I’ll be fine,” Uly assured her.

  “Then I’ll say goodnight.” Belle took Lulamae’s hand and squeezed gently. “Thank you so much for everything. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Good night, cherie.”

  Once they reached Lulamae’s door, Uly asked, “Did you need Belle to help you get ready for bed?”

  “No, no. I’m just tired.”

  “Tex went way overboard with his wedding gift.”

  Lulamae stood up from the chair and balanced herself with a hand on the wall. “That was my idea. I never get to buy you anything. Besides, this way you two kids can have some privacy. Go park that rig up on Mount Charleston. Enjoy yourselves.”

  “That’s very thoughtful of you,” said Uly. Darn his crafty plan anyway. There was nothing he would love more than to park that new Airstream in the forest and spend his days hiking and exploring. He had to go and get himself a cast. But maybe he’d been in it long enough. He’d check the internet, try to figure out when he could shed the clumsy thing. Of course, now that he had a nurse around,
he’d have to figure out a way to do it without admitting that he’d never really needed it.

  Out of the blue, Lulamae said, “Oh, what a tangled web we weave.” She paused with one hand on the door knob. “Good night, dear boy.”

  Uly wasn’t sure, but he thought she was growing a smile as her bedroom door closed.

  Just how much real psychic ability did that woman have, anyway?

  When he returned to his room, Belle’s door was closed. He pressed his ear to the door and heard water running. His second crutch was leaning against the wall, waiting for him. He was grateful that Tex had left and everyone was settled for the night. He wouldn’t have to explain why he and his bride were still sleeping apart. He felt a twinge of disappointment, but shook it off and reminded himself that this was supposed to be a ruse. He collected the crutch.

  Once inside his room, he propped his crutches against the wall by the door and hopped his way around, getting ready for bed. When he stepped out of his shorts, the money Ahmed pressed on him fell onto the floor. Part of him was impressed that Ahmed wanted to repay him for the favor he’d done in Kuwait, but another part was annoyed. He wanted to finally be free of it all. This made him feel like those ties would never dissolve.

  And now Ahmed was in orbit around Tex. Ahmed wasn’t a bad guy, but he knew way too much about Uly’s past. There was always the concern that he would divulge things that Uly would prefer remained secret. But most of those things fell within the realm of college pranks. Uly’s bigger worry was the knowledge Ahmed had of more recent events.

  He sighed heavily. No matter what he did, he would have a ton of explaining to do. He picked up his bottle of pain pills, but before taking any, he twisted his torso left and right, testing for soreness. Then he took a deep but careful breath. Not bad. His real injuries were finally healing. He set the pills down. They’d be there if he needed one. He drifted off, dreaming about hiking in the woods with Belle and returning to the Airstream together for more intimate exercise.

  ****

  Belle was relieved to have survived the evening without offending anyone. She slipped out of her clothes and into the shower. Memories of the day floated pleasantly through her mind. It had been a long time since she’d enjoyed herself so much. Having her anxiety over the ER incident lifted made it possible for her to think about the future. And thanks to Uly, she was gainfully employed, armed with a team of lawyers she hadn’t even met yet, and having a good time to boot.