Don't Bite the Bridesmaid (19 page)

He boarded quickly. No one waited to get on the ship this time of day. They were all leaving to enjoy the city. Kane had yet to appear, but he was out there, and Noah had no doubt he would show up eventually.

He stepped aboard, and a warm feeling washed over him. He’d never thought he’d miss this garish place that buzzed with people and activity. But this is where he’d gotten to know Alice. Sang karaoke with her. Made love to her. Fallen in love with her.

Noah knocked when he reached the room he’d shared with Alice. The dial in the cabin door had been turned to “Do Not Disturb,” and no sound greeted him. He used the key card he’d forgotten about in his wallet to enter the room. Empty. The smell of her inundated the air, fruity and fresh like her shampoo, but beneath that, the simple scent of her.

But some things were off about the room. Different. She hadn’t made the bed—a first since they’d left California. She’d even remade it one day after he made it, all sneaky-like after he’d gone to take a shower.

But today the comforter and sheets were twisted together, and one of the pillows was in the middle of the bed. She’d set the sun sculpture he’d left for her on the nightstand. And the note…

His gaze swept the room, and finally found the note. It had been crumpled up into a tight little ball, and was wrinkled so badly he wondered if she’d actually crinkled and smoothed it repeatedly. It was on the small table that sat in front of the couch he’d slept on when they first arrived on the ship. His hands fisted at his sides.

Despite her coolness when they’d spoken, she cared. She cared a lot, given the state of the room and the note. He picked up her pillow and took a deep breath, inhaling the smells lingering on the material.

Hope warred with guilt and self-hatred at the salty scent. She’d cried on the pillow. God, he was a bastard. He’d made her cry.

Where was she?

He walked through the ship, feeling more and more agitated as he went. How could he hope to find her soon enough with Kane on his tail? He’d hoped to at least run into a familiar face, a wedding guest who might know where she was, but saw no one he recognized. A cruise ship worker caught his eye. Of course. Why hadn’t he thought of asking an employee sooner?

“I’m looking for a guest. Alice Shepard. Can you page her for me, or tell me where she is?” Noah said.

The young man looked puzzled for a moment, then understanding smoothed his features. “The wedding party, right? The Strub, Shepard wedding?”

“Yes, she’s with that group.”

“I believe they’ve booked The Oasis Room, sir. But—” The man stopped as Noah strode past him.

“Thanks,” Noah told the man over his shoulder.

Thank God. She was still on board. And he could talk to her. Tell her how he felt. He recognized the room name, they’d walked past it a couple of times headed to different dining areas. Ducking in and pulling Alice out to talk to him might be tough if she was still as angry as she’d been the day before, but she wouldn’t want to cause a scene. She’d go with him. He’d tell her he loved her, and make sure she understood how sorry he was. That was the best he could do.

And hopefully he could do it before Kane caught up with him.

The ship would slow him down. The vampire didn’t have a ticket—not that such a simple thing would stop him. But maybe, just maybe, it would slow him down enough for Noah to get Alice back.

If he didn’t get her back—no. He couldn’t think like that. He had to stay fucking positive about this.

The large double doors to The Oasis Room stood closed, and Noah frowned. Had the cruise ship worker gotten the room name wrong? The doors usually stood open when a room was occupied.

He hesitated. Were they doing the dress rehearsal? No, it didn’t matter. He didn’t have time for this.

Noah tried the knobs, and to his surprise, they turned easily. He shoved the doors open, but the hum of noise he’d expected didn’t hit him, instead, the scent of orchids touched his nose, and the gaze of over one hundred wedding guests turned to look at him.

Shit
.

With everything going on, he’d forgotten.

At the far end of the aisle, Alice stared at him, her mouth open and her eyes wide with shock. Her body was adorned in a beautiful yellow dress that highlighted her golden hair. Mimicking her expression, the rest of the wedding party also stared. As did the man officiating the wedding.

Fucking hell.

Chapter Twelve

A
lice would have never guessed that flustered was an expression Noah had in his arsenal, but interrupting a wedding was apparently an event that threw even the normally cool vampire.

“Is…is there an objection?” the minister asked, looking more than a bit flustered himself. She guessed that wasn’t a question he’d ever had cause to actually ask at a wedding before.

Cindy looked absolutely elated, an odd expression on a woman whose wedding had just been interrupted, but Noah’s entrance probably struck her as the most romantic thing ever. And Cindy was nothing if not a romantic.

Alice glanced anxiously at Cindy’s beau. But while Robert appeared a bit surprised at Noah’s entrance, he didn’t look at all angry. To his side, Brent seethed, a deep scowl cutting across features she’d once thought handsome.

“I’m—God, I’m so sorry.” Noah’s eyes found hers, and the raw emotion in his expression stole her breath.

“This isn’t a good time,” she whispered loudly enough to carry across the room at him. “Trying to have a wedding, here.” Her heart hurt to say it, but couldn’t he see that this was Cindy’s big moment? And it wasn’t as if she didn’t want to talk to him badly too, but they could wait ten minutes. It was her sister’s wedding, and leaving before it was over to talk to Noah would be beyond selfish.

And she’d been self-involved enough the last twenty-four hours.

Noah took a couple of steps forward, releasing the doors. But they’d been pushed far enough that they remained open behind him.

“I can’t really explain why, but I really need to—” Noah stiffened. And a second later a man appeared in the doorway behind him.

Asian, he was nearly as tall as Noah, and quite handsome in a scary I-can-kill-you-all-with-my-pinky sort of way. He looked older than Noah, but he had the same wariness in his eyes. Vampire? His head was shaved, but he wore a closely trimmed mustache and goatee. Nonchalantly, he crossed his arms and leaned on the doorframe, his gaze moving over the room. Sand and dirt covered his clothes, as if he’d rolled around in them at the beach.

And he didn’t look like the kind of man who rolled around
anywhere
.

She turned her attention to Noah and really looked at him, beyond the tortured expression that had captured her attention when she’d first seen him. He wasn’t as filthy as the stranger, but if she wasn’t mistaken, he had the beginning of a bruise on his cheek. A mark that, given his vampire heritage, would probably disappear before it ever had the chance to fully form.

What was going on? Maybe she should step outside with him. Cindy would forgive her, even if she wouldn’t forgive herself if it didn’t really turn out to be as urgent as Noah said. She took a hesitant step toward him.

“Why don’t you say your piece right here, dear,” Edna said, standing from her place in the first row to face Noah.

“I don’t think that’s—”

“I think it’s a great idea, Noah. And since it’s my wedding, you’ll do as I say.” Cindy took a step forward and shook her bouquet at him. Alice stifled a giggle at the sight of her sister and her flowery weapon.

“This is ridiculous,” Brent said.

Cindy spun around. “You will keep your mouth shut or I will deck you. I’ve wanted to for a very long time, so don’t you tempt me, Brent.” She slapped her chest with the bouquet, and the flowers rustled. “Bride, remember?”

Brent didn’t open his mouth again.

Cindy turned back to face the door. “And you. No idea who you are, mystery man, but you need to sit down or get out.”

The man raised an eyebrow at that, but then walked to an empty seat on the bride’s side of the aisle and sat, almost primly. He looked ridiculous, a warrior who was probably hundreds of years old obeying a young bride on a cruise ship built for twentieth-century kicks.

“Your turn, Noah.” Cindy smoothed her dress and returned to stand by Robert, whose mouth snapped shut and he gazed at his soon-to-be wife with pride glowing in his eyes.

Alice shot Cindy a glance and her sister gave her an encouraging nod. She took a deep breath and then walked down the aisle and met Noah. Frozen, he stood in the same place he’d stopped just a couple of strides from the door. But his expression was anything but icy.

Emotions crossed his features, some so fleeting she couldn’t catch them as he watched her approach. But hope seemed to war with fear most of all.

Fear of what, she couldn’t be certain. Of the man behind him? She doubted that. Of speaking his piece in front of her family and the rest of the wedding guests? Almost definitely—at least a little bit. Of her reaction to whatever it was he wanted to tell her? Maybe.

She stopped a couple of feet in front of him, and shifted her weight uncertainly. What if he gave in to the fear and ran?

But he didn’t. He unclenched his fists from his sides, and took her hand in his. The man behind him watched with interest, but made no move to interfere. And it felt like the whole room held its breath.

Noah’s dark eyes, stormy with emotion like they had been when he’d looked at her after they made love, met hers, and she lost herself in them. It was as if they were suddenly alone. Only the two of them stood in this room. Only the two of them existed in the whole world. Only the two of them mattered.

“I owe you an apology. I wasn’t entirely honest with you, and I should have been,” he said.

She shook her head. The fault wasn’t his alone. “I should have let you explain.”

He gave her a small smile and her heart melted. “Maybe we both made mistakes. But, Alice, I needed to tell you that I wouldn’t have—” He glanced around, still aware of their audience. “I wouldn’t have wanted to be with you—for any reason—if I didn’t care about you. I know we haven’t been together for that long…”

If the people around them knew how short of a period of time they’d really been together.

“…but I love you. Hell, I think I’ve been falling in love with you since I first met you. Do you remember? You came to my house to get me to sign up to donate a tree.” He smiled down at her, but she couldn’t find her voice.

He
loved
her? She shook her head. She hadn’t heard much after that. The word thundered through her mind.

“You were so forceful, so passionate about some neighborhood thing.”

The memory he spoke of hit her. “The park. I wanted everyone to pitch in—donate some time—to build that small park.”

“That’s right. And you smiled so brightly, with your golden hair…” his eyes grew distant. “You made me think of sunshine.”

No wonder he’d gotten her the glass-blown sun. “I remember thinking you were far too handsome for a man living alone. Then you glared at me and I realized why you were single.” Noah raised an eyebrow at that and glared. She laughed at his mock indignation. “But then…you listened to my spiel.”

“I could hardly interrupt.” His eyes never moved from her, but more loudly he added, “Have you tried to interrupt her during a good spiel, Edna?”

“Dear heavens, no,” her mother said from behind her.

Traitor
. “But then you signed up. You offered materials. You offered to help. And I…I was still unavailable. But more than a tad smitten.”

Someone gasped behind her. It sounded like Brent, but she didn’t turn around to look. She couldn’t have cared less.

“You’re available now,” he said, but while he gazed at her with the same confident smile that had always charmed her, uncertainty traced his eyes. And he looked like he was ready for bad news.

“Actually, I’m not.”

The touch of uncertainty she’d seen in his face disappeared, replaced with a mixture of sadness and anger. His gaze shifted to something behind her, and it suddenly hit her how that must have sounded.

She took a step forward and placed her hand on his chest. He wasn’t cold, like vampires of legend—he was always so warm. His gaze returned to her, but the worry in his eyes remained.

Her gut wrenched at the sight of his sadness. “I’m afraid I’m taken.”

“You are?” he sounded a tad breathless.

She played with the decal on his T-shirt. “Oh yes, and he’s quite a hunk, even though he doesn’t seem to know how to dress for formal events.” She looked up and their eyes met, and her breath escaped her too. He really did love her, she could see the love in his eyes. Brent had never looked at her that way, and she’d certainly never felt anything like this rolling of emotion—love and lust, fear and need—with Brent.

“And I’m so completely in love with him, I don’t think I’ll ever be available again.”

Any reply he might have made was tabled, because he took her mouth with his. The kiss, so tender it swept her away, made her shake in his arms from the excitement of it all.

But the sound of applause yanked her back to reality. She pulled her mouth from his and her face flushed with heat. Noah took the applause in stride, and simply laughed and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close.

She got on her tiptoes and tugged his head down to whisper in his ear. “Maybe we should finish this talk after the wedding.”

In response, he kissed her cheek and then released her. He strode to the doors and then shut them with a loud thud. Noah sat next to the man who’d followed him in, and the other man produced what she supposed was his version of a smile. It looked more like a grimace.

Alice, grinning ear to ear, walked back down the aisle.

T
he ceremony continued as if it had never been interrupted. And a very emotional Cindy wed the equally emotional Robert, sending the wedding guests into their second loud applause of the day.

Noah sat next to Kane as the vows were exchanged, but the other vampire made no attempt to accost or even speak to him. And with his focus on Alice, Noah barely remembered the other vampire was there. Alice’s gaze stayed on Noah. And as the couple spoke their vows, her face took on a tender expression that made him want to drag her off to a corner to kiss her.

After the ceremony ended, the bride and groom left the room under a shower of confetti, and Noah headed for Alice. Her cheeks were flushed with happiness for her sister, but her gaze stayed locked with Noah’s during the ceremony.

A hard grip on his upper arm stopped Noah in his tracks and he turned to face Kane, regretting even the momentary loss of Alice in his sight.

He braced himself for Kane’s words, but it didn’t matter what the older vampire said, he wasn’t leaving this ship. He wasn’t abandoning Alice. And he sure as hell wouldn’t marry a stranger.

“That one will challenge you, but I think you’ll do well together.” Kane nodded in Alice’s direction.

Noah blinked at him. He should have guessed that Kane wouldn’t have pushed him to bond a stranger after he saw him with Alice, but he couldn’t be sure. The man hadn’t been around in a century, and they hadn’t exactly chatted about women or much else of a personal nature before he left.

What to say to that? “I know. Thanks.”

“I will take care of the hotel—fuzzy the minds of the witnesses.” Kane said. “You’ve chosen well.”

Noah turned to look at her, unable to help himself. And when he looked back, Kane was gone.

A soft touch on his shoulder drew his attention away from his vanishing mentor, and he met Alice’s smiling eyes.

“Who was that mysterious man?” She raised an eyebrow at him.

“That was my father, Kane.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Oh, wow. Is he still around? I’d love to meet him.” She leaned to look behind him, as if Kane would suddenly reappear.

“You’ll meet him someday, I’m sure. I think he didn’t want to intrude on the wedding any more than we already did.” And that was almost definitely true. Kanehito was nothing if not painfully polite in social situations. He hadn’t been invited to the wedding, so he hadn’t stayed. Of course, if he’d still thought Noah needed to go back to California to bond a stranger, he would have. But he’d probably still stand outside, waiting to ambush Noah, rather than interrupt the service.

The room was emptying. Noah held out his arm and Alice took it, and together they followed the rest of the wedding guests to the room next door where the reception was being held.

Music already played, and a line formed quickly at the bar. Alice tugged him toward the dance floor.

“Dance with me?” she asked.

“Maybe I should go change first.” He glanced down at his T-shirt and jeans. And he couldn’t see it, but he could feel a bit of blood in his hair.

“After?”

“Sure.”

The music was slow and intimate, and they barely moved, holding on to one another and swaying gently. He buried his face in her hair and took a deep breath, happy to have her scent surrounding him again.

“I missed you,” he murmured into her hair. It was such a stupid thing to say, they’d only been a part for a day, but it was true.

She pulled her head back and looked up at him, a smile tugging on her lips. “I’d play this all cool and stuff, but the second you turn on your phone my cover would be ruined anyway. I…may have left you a few voicemails.”

He grinned and spun her around on the dance floor. “It was off. I’m sorry. I would have answered…but, I’m glad I’m not the only one who took our fight badly.”

She shrugged. “I may have been a teeny bit upset.”

“Well, I wouldn’t want to upset you again,” he said, trying in vain to fight the smile pulling on his lips.

She arched an eyebrow at him, looking so beautiful and confident, his heart warmed. “You really wouldn’t.”

The music changed and her smile blossomed. It took him a second to realize why. “Salsa?”

“My new favorite dance,” she said, throwing her head back as she assumed a dramatic salsa pose, and her hair sparkled in the light.

He laughed and took her hand in his. It was his favorite, too.