Gone Black (34 page)

Black just grinned, pleased, and kissed her very gently, and she realized how happy he was to know all those things, and that made her happy, too.

Less than three days later, Nicholas Black stood at the front of the glittering Ozark Ballroom at Cedar Bend Lodge, his eyes focused intently on the white double doors at the end of the wide, candle-lined wedding aisle. He had just arrived in front of the altar, where his best man and the other groomsmen had been waiting for him, as they had been a week or so ago, before Black had made his trip down into purgatory and back. But now the wedding was going forward in just the way he had always wanted but thought it would never happen.

The place looked great, all decked out with white netting, twinkling white lights, white roses, and white candles glowing everywhere. More candles were ablaze in all the sets of tall French doors that led to the terrace, and Black could see the stars twinkling in the beautiful black velvet night sky. Nancy and Laurie had come through again and had made the place as magical and romantic as it ever could be. He was pleased with them. He was pleased with everything in his life.

Claire had been right about the wedding party, though. Except for the black tuxedoes, it looked like a battle triage unit in an active war zone. Black still had lots of dark bruises on his face but his black eyes were healing well enough. Not so swollen anymore. Holliday was walking with a cane. Novak had his arm in a sling. Booker stood beside him as best man, and he had a gauze bandage wrapped around his forehead and on lots of his other shrapnel wounds. Everybody sported bruises in various colors, but Black didn't care about any of that. They were all alive and would heal. All he wanted was for Claire to hurry up and walk down that aisle and become his wife.

Finally, after what seemed like days to him, the music began. The traditional “Wedding March,” soft and slow. What that brought to Black, however, were visions of that terrible white room and that same blaring song playing over and over and the sleep deprivation and getting hit with the sap and the drugs that made him go crazy. All of it came crashing down hard inside his mind, staggering him mentally for a few seconds. He forced the bad stuff away, determined that those ugly memories were not going to ruin his wedding. He was going to replace them with this night, with Claire in her wedding gown and all his friends there watching him get married.

Then Laurie came out the doors, looking tall and elegant and beautiful in her simple black strapless gown, and then Nancy followed, looking just as lovely and graceful with her long auburn hair and matching black dress. Then came Bud Davis, as Claire's man of honor, looking very sharp in a traditional tuxedo with a black cummerbund and tie like the ones that Black and his groomsmen wore. They gained their places on the other side of the altar and turned their eyes on little Lizzie McKay when she came out the door in a tiny white lace dress and a basket of rose petals. Rico was walking beside her with the wedding rings tied onto a white satin pillow and leading Jules Verne on a leash. The tiny poodle was wagging his tail to beat the band and sniffing everybody sitting along the aisle. The audience oohed and ahhed as the two small, adorable children made their way to the front. Then everybody's attention went to the back where Claire would appear.

Black could not take his gaze off that door, afraid to blink his eyes, afraid something else would go wrong at the last minute. He had closed the hotel to everyone except the wedding party and his guests, had surrounded the entire property with security guards. But he was still afraid. Afraid that Marcel Soquet would find a way to disrupt the wedding and kill Claire with a bomb or a grenade thrown in her path. But then the doors opened wide, and Harve Lester rolled out in his wheelchair and took his place to escort the bride down the aisle. The bridal music started, and everyone stood up.

Then Claire was standing there, framed inside the threshold. She stepped out into the room and took the hand that Harve held out to her, just the way Black had always envisioned. His breath actually caught inside his throat. He couldn't believe his eyes at first. And he knew instantly what her surprise was and exactly why she'd chosen to do it.

Claire looked absolutely gorgeous, and elegant, and beautiful, despite her bandaged hand and bruised, sunburned face. She had chosen to emulate the wedding dress that the actress Grace Kelly had worn when she was very young and marrying the Prince of Monaco, way back in the 1950s. And he knew why Claire had wanted to wear that particular gown. Black had told Claire numerous times that she was every bit as beautiful as Princess Grace was back then, and she would scoff and said, “Get real, Black.”

Black was amazed that the dress seemed identical down to every tiny detail, the same long veil that trailed behind her, the same blond hair swept back into an elegant chignon, and the same small bouquet that the princess had carried. Nancy had copied the design so completely that it looked like an absolute duplicate of the royal gown.

Hell, Claire could be Grace Kelly in that moment. On the other hand, nobody else could be Claire. Not ever. She was one of a kind. And she probably hated every single thing about the way she looked and the way she was dressed and all the hoopla going on around her. Not to mention, being the center of attention. She had gone to all this trouble just for him, and it touched his heart, as nothing else ever had.

Claire continued slowly down the aisle, very different from her usual brisk stride, between about a hundred white folding chairs. Harve was beaming with pride, and Claire was smiling at Black the whole time. She also appeared a trifle flushed and embarrassed by the fancy getup and all the eyes now focused solely on her. But the guests were watching her in awe, some gasping aloud at her transformation. Black grabbed her good hand the minute she got to him and brought it to his lips. She looked embarrassed by that, too, but he wanted her to know how pleased he was with her surprise. He remembered how they'd argued once about choosing her gown, and now he realized why she had gotten so defensive about it.

The priest was waiting, and they turned together and faced him. He spoke for a while, and then the lovely young girl named Rebekah Northern sang the songs that Claire had chosen for the ceremony. The priest spoke some more, about life and love and honesty and fidelity, but Black was hardly listening to him. He kept looking down at Claire and thinking it was really going to happen this time. More songs were sung, more verses were read, and then he was repeating his vows and then Claire was repeating hers, and they were exchanging the diamond-studded wedding rings that he had chosen the day after Claire had finally agreed to marry him. And then finally, at long last, he slid a ring on her finger, and they were really, truly, legally married. The crowd behind them applauded, and Claire laughed at the expression on his face and whispered to cut it out because he looked really goofy. Then he laughed, too, but he had never been this happy, not ever in his life. They walked down the aisle and over to the next ballroom where a magnificent reception was set up.

A huge dinner had been prepared by the chefs in Cedar Bend's restaurant, Five Cedars. They sat at long, white, linen-draped and candlelit tables and ate and listened to all their friends congratulate them and enjoyed the evening and more of Rebekah Northern's romantic music, especially when she sang “Truly, Madly, Deeply,” which was Claire's song dedicated to him. When the magnificent fireworks display started, they watched from the terrace with their guests, and the champagne toasts followed, and Black just kept smiling, because they were both still alive and now man and wife. But they grabbed Jules Verne and took their leave as soon as they could, and flew out on Black's brand-new, bigger and better private Gulfstream jet, wanting to spend their wedding night alone and on their way to their new honeymoon destination.

Once they were aloft and lay facing each other in bed with their little dog snoring at their feet, Black had never felt the kind of contentment he felt in that moment. He really hadn't thought that their marriage was ever going to happen. He really hadn't. They lay looking at each other, quiet now, just smiling.

Claire finally said, “So are we headed back to the Amalfi Coast?”

“I don't think so. I don't think I ever want to lay eyes on Italy again. No, we're headed straight to Hawaii and a very private estate on the island of Kauai. It is unbelievably beautiful there, with the most breathtaking views you've ever seen. Just wait until you see it.”

“Please tell me that it's not hanging on the side of a cliff. I can't take the thought of any more cliffs. And I am not jumping into any water ever again, not anywhere, anytime.”

“Actually, a good friend of mine owns it. And it's very secure. Very remote and private, and he's got guards that patrol the property night and day.” Black knew they were both worried about Marcel Soquet still being on the loose with an even bigger grudge against them now. But he didn't mention it, didn't want to think about it, not now. Instead, he told her about the estate. “There's an infinity pool right over the beach, and he's got stables, and we can ride horses down on the beach, or up into the hills where there are the most beautiful tall waterfalls pouring down into pools of the clearest water you've ever seen in your life. You're gonna love it.”

“That does sound very good to me. But what friend? Not some crime lord?”

“No. Just a good friend of mine.”

“Who?”

“He's not a criminal, believe me, but he likes his privacy. Nobody knows he's got this place except for a few close friends. I've been out there a couple of times before I met you.”

“Well, good. What I need now is some major relaxation, Black. I really need that more than anything else. Trust me on that. And bring on those guards, the more the merrier.”

“He said we could have it for a year. Forever, if we want.”

“Oh, that's not superextravagant. What'd you do, save his life?”

Black didn't want to answer that, and luckily Claire didn't push it. “We deserve some pampering and privacy. You deserve it, Claire.”

“Yes, I do. I sure do. I wish Rico could have come along, though.”

“He'll be fine with Harve. They really hit it off, didn't they? And Joe's gonna bring Lizzie down to play with him a lot, too.”

“Yeah, I know. Harve's gonna take good care of him. And I guess a honeymoon is no place for a kid his age. Especially since we're after lots of peace and quiet.”

“Yeah, I plan to make this really special for you. But give me a couple of weeks alone with you, and then, if you want, we'll fly Rico and Harve over there. There are plenty of rooms, plenty of everything. It's so beautiful up there, such a relaxing place. I wanted someplace really special for you.”

“Sounds good. And don't you dare ever forget how special I am.”

He smiled. “Not likely.”

“I hope they allow weapons on this property because I am never taking my weapons off again. I even had one strapped on my ankle under that big silk skirt and all those petticoats.”

“Yeah, I noticed that when I undressed you. Not to worry. We're in a safe place.” He kissed her gently and then he leaned back and gazed into her eyes. “You happy?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“I like the song you picked for me. Did you mean all that stuff?”

“Well, everything but the standing on the mountain part. Not gonna happen. Huh-uh. No cliffs in my future. Nope, never again.”

“So you love me truly?”

“Yep.”

“Madly?”

“Yes sir.”

“Deeply?”

“You bet.”

“Well, good.” He grinned, thoroughly pleased to hear it. “So, tell me, sweetheart, what was your favorite part of the wedding?”

“Other than both of us not being dead on that godforsaken island?”

“Yeah, other than that.”

Claire pretended to think. “Well, I do believe that it was probably when you ripped off that big heavy wedding gown that I had to drag around all night. It felt like I was wearing an anchor or a giant albatross around my waist, maybe.”

Black laughed softly. “I rather liked that part, too. And what came after.”

“Oh, yeah. What came after was definitely a highlight in my wedding book.” She snuggled in closer to him. “What was your favorite part of the wedding?”

Black pulled back where he could look into her eyes, very serious now. “I know exactly when it was. It was the moment I saw you walk down that aisle and I knew you were coming straight to me. That you were going to be mine. My wife. That was definitely the best moment for me. In fact, I think that's the best moment I've ever had in my entire life.”

Claire stared at him and then laughed at his sentimentality. “Black, that sounds just so proprietary. And you've just got to be the sappiest guy I've ever met up with. That little speech just then was so super syrupy that it could go straight into an Aunt Jemima bottle. In fact, it was beyond description, saccharine even. You ought to be embarrassed to even say something like that, you being a big, tough guy, and all that.”

“But you love me, anyway. And what I said is true. Every word of it.”

“Oh, yeah, I do love you, too, since you're now my husband and everything. So what are you gonna do about it? Just let your new wife lie here, waiting for something good to happen to her?”

Black knew exactly what to do about it, and he turned over until he was lying on top of her. Claire laughed softly as he threaded his fingers through her hair but then she moaned when he started kissing her. She was his wife now and he didn't plan to stop kissing her for at least a month, maybe more. Oh, yeah, his life was looking pretty damn fine right now, despite all that had happened to them in Sicily. And he was going to enjoy every minute of this time they spent alone, starting right now. Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Black. Claire Morgan Black. Oh, yeah, he really did so like the sound of that.