Trial Run: Addicted To Love Romance Collection (20 page)

When they finished with the make-up, the girls started taking out various dresses and parading them in front of Amelie. She chose a pale pink, almost white, knee-length dress with a lace bodice and ruffled skirt, also finished up in lace. The spaghetti straps would be hidden by her hair, when she put it on.

Ty nodded his approval, not that anyone asked for his opinion. What came next took both Amelie and Ty by surprise.

“Put it on,” Michelle said, holding up the dress.

Amelie’s face fell. Her eyes darted around the tight space, and then settled on Ty. He cleared his throat, once again embarrassed, and his eyes dropped back to his sculpture.

“Oh, don’t worry about him,” Michelle said. “We can make sure he doesn’t peep.” She grabbed a wide-brimmed hat from her bag and placed it over Ty’s face, then tied a scarf over the top of it, finishing it in a bow at the back of his head.

“Hey! I can’t breathe,” came the muffled sound of Ty’s voice.

“You’ll be all right,” Tina assured him. “We’ll hurry.”

Hurry? Amelie was certain she didn’t want to be an accessory in the murder of her only investor, so she let them whip her travel clothes off and tug the dress on. It was a perfect fit. What a lovely surprise!

She watched worriedly while Ty was let out of his confinement, and smiled back when he smiled at her to show her he was fine.

“Suits you,” he said.

Amelie blushed and busied herself with packing her clothes in her bag. Her hand touched the leather camera case, and she stroked it gently, unaware of her actions. Hurriedly, she zipped it back up.

“How much longer, do you think?” Amelie asked, peeking out of the window. All she could see was blue ocean beneath and cloudless sky above. No trace of islands, nothing. “Where did you say we were going? I thought you said Cuba.”

“I said we were going over Cuba, not that we would land there.”

“Oh.”

“Will you do me a favor?” Ty asked. Before Amelie could agree, he held out a small pouch. “The rings. It was my job to get them, and I’m worried they’re not good enough. Can I get a second opinion?”

“A bit late now, isn’t it?” Amelie asked, but she opened the little velvet bag and pulled out the rings wrapped in soft tissue. “Oh, wow!”

She couldn’t control her reaction. The groom’s ring was a black titanium creation with sleek smooth parallel bands that encased a platinum middle. It was modern and sophisticated, and she would have probably picked one like it for Rob herself… if money was no problem and she knew where to find such beauty.

If the groom’s ring was out of this world, the bride’s ring was exquisite. It completely eclipsed anything she’d ever seen before. The thin platinum band was split half-way through by a string of black diamonds set between smaller white ones. A circle of white and two of black diamonds inset among delicate platinum lace surrounded the most beautifully cut black stone she had ever seen. The two rings matched in both design and beauty. As for how much they had cost – she didn’t dare think about it.

Amelie closed her mouth after a while, though she was sure her face was still reflecting her awe.

“You like them?” Ty asked, sounding hopeful.

“Like them?” She shook her head with reverence. “These are the most stylish, tasteful and beautiful rings I have ever seen. You have good tastes, Ty.”

Amelie tried to smile, shoving the less deserving thoughts of how these rings might have looked on her own and Rob’s fingers out of the way. They had been happy once, happy enough to go shopping for rings, perhaps, but life was cruel and it had had other plans for the two of them.

She sighed and put the rings back in the pouch. Here and now. She needed to focus on the present. With a trembling hand, she handed the rings back to Ty… and then she noticed something.

When his fingers brushed hers, she felt the same hot current run over her skin, as if it had been Rob’s touch. She swallowed hard, blood whooshing in her temples. No. It couldn’t be. Her eyes stayed glued on his hand. The ridge of his nail, the scar on his knuckle… the dark hair showing under his shirt cuff…

He flicked back the pouch to slide it in his pocket with the same familiar wrist gesture. Amelie’s breathing sped up. On impulse, she grabbed his sunglasses and pulled them off.

Rob’s eyes stared back at her with concern.

Amelie’s hands were still covering the lower half of her face in shock when Jon, the pilot, started the ‘special surprise’ disembarkation countdown. Rob spotted the smoke before Amelie did, but then he was expecting it. At the same time, the helicopter banked sharply.

Right on cue, Tina and Michelle began to scream. They shuffled around, helping each other into their parachutes. So far, everything was going to plan. Everything except Amelie’s reaction. She was frozen, not even looking around. Her eyes were still fixed on his.

“Rob?” she whispered.

Instead of an answer, Rob grabbed hold of his wig and pulled it off, then wiped most of the facial hair off his face, too. He unzipped her bag and pulled out the camera case.

How did he know?

He pulled the leather strap through his latest sculpture, then hooked it over Amelie’s neck and shoulder. Next, he began strapping a parachute on her back.

All through this, the helicopter was banking this way and that, jerking and steadily losing altitude. Jon seemed to be slumped over the controls. Was he dead?

“I can’t believe this is happening again,” Amelie said in a feeble voice. “You are seriously bad luck for me, Rob Tyson.”

He smiled and kneeled in front of her.

“Amelie Watts,” he said, grabbing hold of her hands. “My sweet, sweet Ammy, will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me?”

Amelie was silent, frozen. Rob eyed the sea through the window. It was getting close fast.

“Hurry up,” Tina squeaked. “I’m too young to die.”

“I love you, Amelie. I think I always did. I was just too stupid to see it. You showed me what true love is, so now I’m asking for the chance to show you my love in return. Will you take that chance? Will you marry me?”

“Um… guys?” Michelle said. “You really, really need to hurry up.” She took one look at the two of them, then shook her head and pulled a lever. The helicopter door slid open. With one last glance over their shoulder, Tina and Michelle jumped.

“You mean it?” Amelie said so quietly, Rob had to read her lips over the whoosh of the wind.

Rob nodded. “I’d do anything for you. I’d die for you. I love you, Ammy.”

She blinked and swallowed. “Well, maybe we shouldn’t test that.” Her eyes drifted toward the open door and the open sea below.

“Trust me?” Rob asked, his arm suddenly around her middle.

“Of course. I’ll be perfectly safe with you…”

Rob chuckled at her sarcasm, then pulled her toward the door.

“Wait!” she shouted suddenly. “Your parachute!”

“No time,” Rob answered, and then jumped out of the crashing helicopter with Amelie in his arms.

With Amelie’s parachute deployed, floating through the air was an exhilarating experience. Amelie watched as he carefully maneuvered them toward the tiny crescent of sand below, wondering vaguely whether she would get wet and ruin her make-up and pretty dress. She looked around after Tina and Michelle, and spotted them making a safe landing at one end of the beach. Someone was helping them gather up their chutes. Lots of someones.

What was going on? And where was the crashing helicopter? Shouldn’t it have passed them on the way down by now?

“Hold tight,” Rob said in her ear, and she tightened her grip around his neck, and he around her middle.

The beach was coming toward them fast. It made her feel queasy, so she squeezed her eyes shut and… bump. Rob stumbled a few feet, his arms tightening around her like steel cables, and then they were surrounded by people, helping them, holding them up, touching her hair, cheering, for some reason. Rob placed Amelie’s feet gently on the sand and took a step back.

Amelie recognized Tina and Michelle, but no one else.

“Ammy, meet Tommy, head of Pyrotechnics. And Sam, Atmospheric Effects. Gideon, equipment technician…” Amelie shook everyone’s hands, as Rob introduced them or they came to introduce themselves. Some came right in for a hug or kissed her on the cheek. “You’ve already met Jon, the pilot and stunt double. He’ll be touching down soon.”

“So this is the famous Ammy, who has our Rob enchanted. Nice to meet you, Ammy.”

“Amelie,” she corrected them weakly. No one but Rob was allowed to call her by her nickname.

They were overwhelming. Everything was overwhelming. Intimidated, Amelie leaned back into Rob. He placed a gentle arm around her shoulders and drew her to his chest.

“Guys, guys,” Rob spoke over her shoulder, trying to settle them down. “Can we have some space, please? Thank you. She’s mine and I’m not sharing,” he joked.

He kissed the top of her head and turned her away from the crowd, leaving just one arm around her middle. Amelie clasped his free hand between hers and looked around. Really looked around. Her feet tangled and she stumbled.

“Oh! Our little beach!”

“Yes, our little beach.”

She began walking down the beach toward the shelter, and the people around them parted to allow them passage. Rob walked alongside her, holding her close. Behind them, the helicopter landed carefully, swirling the fine sand into a mini-sandstorm. Amelie stopped right in front of their shelter. How different it looked now!

There was a narrow red carpet that started on the sand and finished up inside. The walls and roof of the shelter had been adorned with so many orchids, it was virtually impossible to see the greenery beyond. Little sparkling lights shimmered everywhere, and a pair of tall candles swathed in silk ribbons and flowers had been positioned on either side of the entrance.

“You came back to look for our little beach.” Amelie heard herself saying the words, but couldn’t figure out how she’d said them. She was certain she couldn’t have moved a muscle if she tried.

Rob placed a kiss to the top of her head instead of an answer.

Amelie stepped onto the red carpet that had been rolled into the shelter, but Rob held back. His hand dropped from around her waist, and the absence of his touch unsettled her. She rushed to grab for his fingertips.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, knees trembling.

“I need to mend something first. If you’ll let me.” He stretched his hand toward the camera case still looped over her shoulder.

Amelie waited as he opened the unbuckled the flap and pulled out the wooden heart without the slightest hint of surprise.

“How did you know what was in there?” she asked, her eyes filling up with tears.

Rob’s hand disappeared into his pocket, and for a moment she thought he might take out the rings. She was wrong. He pulled out a chunk of wood. The missing piece. He grabbed her hands, cradling them in one of his, placed the heart gently in her palm, and then very, very slowly, not dropping his eyes from hers, he slid the missing piece of wood home.

“You weren’t prepared to leave it behind, not even when it was broken. Now it’s whole again.” A sob choked in her throat and the tears began to leak over. “I love you, Amelie. I’ve loved you since the day you wobbled into my arms at that dreadful tattoo parlor, and I haven’t stopped loving you even one second since.”

More tears poured out. She sniffed and shook her head. “Then why did you go along with Jason’s sick plans? Why would you do that to me?”

“Because I was an idiot, and I didn’t think things through. And I didn’t know what I felt for you was love, though you did your best to show me. I’m sorry, Ammy. So, so sorry! I was a fool, and now I’m paying for it. I know it won’t be easy for you to trust me again, but please know that I’ll be right here, at your side, doing all I can to gain your trust back. Every single day of my life.”

Another sob issued from her closed lips, but the tears didn’t stop.

“So please, please don’t push me away. And when you’re ready,” Rob reached his hand in his pocket again and pulled out the little pouch with the rings. “Marry me.”

Her gaze moved from the puzzle in her hand to his eyes, down to his lips and back up to his eyes again. Slowly, intent on not frightening her, Rob tilted his head closer and placed a small, soft kiss on her lips. Just light enough to taste her, yet weighty enough to matter. She threw her arms around his neck, heart and all, and pressed herself into his chest, her lips seeking his with a passion that might have set the earth on fire.

Cheers erupted all around. Rob chuckled. “Is that a yes?”

“Yes,” she whispered between kisses. “Yes –
kiss
– yes –
kiss
– yes! I love you, Rob Tyson. I’ve loved you for more than half my life.”

All around them, fireworks went off, the loud noise assaulting their eardrums. Hundreds and thousands of colorful balloons floated from several places around the island and drifted up into the sky with the gentle breeze.

“Mmmm,” he groaned under her lips. “How did I not notice?”

“Simple,” Amelie laughed. “You’re a man.”

“I wish I was a wiser one.”

“I wish that, too. But you’re wise enough now.”

“I wish I hadn’t wasted all that time… and I wish I hadn’t hurt you.”

“Shh, no more dwelling on the past. Hang on. Are we playing ‘I wish’ again?”

“Maybe. What do you wish for?”

“Umm… I can tell you, but we can’t do that in public,” she whispered in his ear.

Rob laughed and swung her around in a circle. Then they both heard a jet ski approaching.

“Who’s that?” Amelie asked, craning her head to look over Rob’s shoulder.

Rob shrugged. “I figured you’ll need someone to walk you up the aisle.”

Amelie looked at him, then back to the sea, and then understanding dawned on her and she squealed. She started running to the shore, then changed her mind and came back to give Rob another huge hug. “I love you so much!” she cried, then ran back to the jet skier, who was just pulling the ski out of the surf.

“Make-up! I need a facial,” Rob called, watching from the distance as Jason and Amelie hugged tight. “This glue is making me itchy, and it probably won’t look all that good in the wedding photos, either.”

As Tina wiped the last of the glue off his face, he decided today would be the best day of his life. Yes, today would be a wonderful day, a day they would both remember forever.