proposed the toast to Louise, Charlotte grateful for another swallow of the delicious champagne.
Daniel, she noticed, barely sipped his.
She didn’t look up at him when he stood up, but kept her eyes focused on the back part of the room.
‘Brad might have been to a good few weddings,’ were his opening words. ‘But strangely, I’ve never been to one. So forgive me if my speech doesn’t follow the norm. Firstly, I want to thank my best man for doing such a sterling job today, and the lovely Louise for all the help and friendship she has given Charlotte. I also want to thank the Gales for the wonderful way they have welcomed me into their family. I can honestly say that I have never met their like before. Charlotte is very fortunate to have such exceptionally loving parents. Very fortunate indeed.’
Charlotte resisted the temptation to roll her eyes, but heavens to Betsy, did he have to lay it on that thick? Clearly, he was relishing the role of man of the moment. Every single person in the room was smiling at him. Of course, all her relatives already thought he was the ant’s pants because he was taking troublesome Charlotte off the single shelf. If they only knew!
She sighed, then made the mistake of glancing up at Daniel.
When he smiled back down at her, she found she could not look away. Her gaze remained locked to his, her insides dissolving. She was helpless when he smiled at her like that. Helpless and hopeless.
‘What can I say about Charlotte?’ he said quietly, his eyes caressing hers. ‘She is beautiful, there is no doubt about that. But she is beautiful on the inside as well as the outside. That might sound clichéd but with Charlotte, nothing is clichéd. She is a remarkable woman and any man would be lucky to have her as his wife. No, not lucky. Privileged. My life hasn’t been the same since the first moment we met. Actually, Brad was wrong when he said there were no naughty stories to be told about me. There have been. Quite a few. But no longer. I’m a changed man. Charlotte has changed me.’
At last he looked away from her, and all the breath suddenly rushed out of her lungs from where she’d been holding it.
Louise leant close to her right ear. ‘If I didn’t know better, I’d think he meant all that.’
Charlotte almost laughed. She wished.
He was a good actor, that was all. A polished performer. He’d be dynamite in the courtroom.
Dynamite in the bedroom, too, an insidious voice inserted.
‘I’ve been told I have to propose a toast to my bride. So raise your glasses, everyone. To my lovely Charlotte…’ And he looked down at her again.
Daniel was taken aback by the sarcastic light that glittered in Charlotte’s eyes as he drank to her.
What on earth was going on in that girl’s head?
He’d expected her to be a bit unhappy today. Maybe even bitter. But with Gary, not him. He was trying to be a good guy, as Brad had said.
She hadn’t liked him paying for the wedding. Pride, he supposed. Charlotte was proud.
Well, that was too bad because he’d liked giving the Gales that money. He could well afford it and it had made both of them very happy. If Charlotte chose not to see it in that light, then that was her problem.
Frankly, he was getting just a tad irritated with her. She should have been grateful for all he’d done, not looking daggers at him.
When he sat back down, Brad gave him a poke in the ribs. ‘You have to go cut the cake now.’
Daniel sighed. Would this ever end?
They stood up together with Daniel putting his hand on Charlotte’s elbow as they made their way round to the table that housed the three-tiered wedding cake. More smiles. More photographs.
‘And now,’ the MC boomed, ‘the bride and groom will take the floor for the bridal waltz.’
Daniel winced. He’d actually heard of the bridal waltz and always thought it sounded schmaltzy. Suddenly, it seemed hazardous as well. He would have to take Charlotte in his arms and hold her close, and God only knew what would happen after that.
Daniel hesitated, despite the music having started up.
‘Surely you know how to dance,’ his bride said, again with that caustic gleam in her eye.
Right. He’d had enough of this.
With no further ado, he swept her into his arms and onto the dance floor, twirling her round with elegant ease.
His fears over dancing with Charlotte, however, proved correct. No sooner had one hand been clamped to the small of her back and the other curled round her hot little hand than he felt the none too subtle stirrings of his flesh.
Thank goodness for the bridal gown, with its huge skirt and masses of petticoats. No way would Charlotte be able to feel a thing, he soon realised, smiling ruefully as he danced on, masochistically enjoying his arousal.
‘You’re looking very pleased with yourself,’ she tossed at him.
‘I’ll be a lot more pleased when this reception is over,’ he replied, and pulled her just a little closer.
That shut her up.
‘Did you give the porter your overnight bag like we arranged?’ he asked, his mind now solidly on the aftermath of this reception.
‘Yes,’ she replied a bit breathlessly.
‘Good.’ Daniel didn’t want anything going wrong tonight. He had everything planned, and arranged.
‘Er—which one of the bridal suites did you book?’ she asked.
There’d only been the one available. The most expensive one.
‘The Arabian Nights suite,’ he replied, and listened, with a surge of triumph, as she gasped.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHARLOTTE gasped, then gulped. The Arabian Nights suite!
Oh…my… God…
Somehow Charlotte got through the bridal waltz, and the rest of the reception. She smiled at all her relatives when they came up to congratulate her and thanked them for their gifts, which were piled up on a huge table at the back of the reception room.
Charlotte had known not to bother with that bridal-register idea at any of the department stores where guests could order presents from a list and have them delivered to the bride’s house beforehand. Country folk liked to bring their presents to the actual wedding.
Louise kept asking her if she was all right and she kept saying she was fine.
But she wasn’t fine. In her head, she was already in that decadent bridal suite, in that decadent bed, gazing up at the decadent, mirrored ceiling.
Charlotte had been shown all the themed bridal suites when she’d first made enquiries here at the hotel, so she knew exactly what the Arabian Nights suite entailed.
