Accidental Heartbreak (The Accidental Series, Book 2) (14 page)

“
Nice to meet you
guys. I’m Shayla, and this is my
fiancé
, Carter.”

“
Nice to meet
you,” Carter told them.

“
Where are you
guys staying?” Russell asked, looking at Carter.

“
We’re at the
Hawaii Prince,” Carter told him.

“
So are we,”
Kaitlin said with a burst of enthusiasm. “Are you getting married
today or tomorrow?”

“
Today,” Shayla
said, clenching Carter’s hand.

“
That’s awesome,”
Kaitlin replied. “Well, if we run into each other, you guys mind
hooking up for dinner or something?”

“
That sounds
nice,” Shayla said.

By that time, the
plane had stopped at the gate and the seat belt lights went off.
Carter grabbed the carry-on bags from the overhead compartment and
Shayla followed him off the plane, smiling at a flight attendant on
the way out.

“
So we need to get
the luggage and the rental, right?” Shayla asked Carter.

“
Yep. Let’s go
grab the bags first.”

Shayla followed
Carter to baggage claim. After waiting for about twenty minutes,
they took their luggage from the carousel then headed for the car
rental section.

Carter rushed off
to get the car while Shayla waited outside with the
bags.

Moments later, he
drove up in a Dodge Charger, a black one. He jumped out, telling
Shayla how much he liked the car, and how he might get one when
they were back home.

He opened the
passenger door for her, placed the suitcases in the trunk, then
followed the directions to the hotel, by way of Nimitz Highway to
Ala Moana Boulevard.

“
It’s beautiful,
isn’t it?” Carter grabbed and held her left hand with his right as
they drove up to the hotel.

“
It’s amazing,”
Shayla said in astonishment. Besides Virginia, she’d never been
anywhere outside of North Carolina so it was truly an amazing
experience to see the beauty of this place.

Carter came to a
stop in front of the hotel, near the entrance. The bellhop took
their bags, then valet drove off with the car. Two beautiful
Hawaiian women with long, curly black hair and blemish-free,
perfectly-tanned skin greeted them with oshibori towels.

“
Aloha,” they
said, both wearing peach and red flower leis around their
necks.

“
Aloha,” Shayla
and Carter replied in unison.

They proceeded on
to guest services to check in. Shayla watched as Carter whipped out
his credit card, reading his every move, his expressions. He was
happy and excited. He was ready to get married. But was
she?

He handed Shayla a
keycard, then they walked hand-in-hand to the elevator, following
the bellhop, riding up to the thirty-third floor, the royal
suite.

Shayla stood
still, staring at the closed elevator doors, unclenching Carter’s
hand.

Carter frowned
when he felt her pull away. Sure, she was physically standing next
to him, but not mentally. She was some place else and he had an
idea where. This feeling of uncertainty, on her end, had him
frustrated. He was sure of what he wanted but she was
hesitant.

When the elevator
doors slid open, they took a few steps to the suite. Carter slid
his keycard in the slot and quickly pulled it out, opening the
door.

The bellhop
unloaded their bags. Carter tipped him a twenty dollar bill then
the man walked away happy, saying something about how he hoped they
enjoyed their stay.

Shayla walked
swiftly to the large windows overlooking the marina. The view was
breathtaking as yachts floated in turquoise water while green palm
trees swayed in the breeze. This was paradise. Pictures she’d seen
on postcards and in magazines were now real life images.

“
Wow. Look at
this.” Carter gripped her from behind and pushed his lips into her
neck.

Shayla closed her
eyes briefly. “Yeah. It’s beautiful.” She turned to face him. “And
this room is huge. We could have gotten away with a much smaller
one.”

“
Yeah, I know…just
want to make sure my baby has the best.”

Shayla wrapped her
arms around him, squeezed him warmly. This was actually about to
happen. She was about to become his wife, tonight at 8:00 p.m. in a
private ceremony at the hotel’s garden wedding gazebo.

Despite her hug,
Carter could feel her apprehension, the stiffness in her movement
and her lack of excitement, but maybe it was just
nerves.

“
We’re in Hawaii,
baby!” Carter picked her up and twirled her around, trying to
loosen her up a little.

Once he lowered
her to the ground, she pressed her head against his chest. “I love
you, Carter.”

“
Love you too,
sweetheart,” Carter said, closing his eyes, thinking of all she
meant to him. “Let’s go for a walk.”

“
We’re not going
to unpack first?”

“Nah. Let’s worry about
that later.”

“Okay.”

Carter, wearing a
white shirt, khaki pants and white Louis Vuitton loafers took
Shayla by the hand and rode the elevator down to the lobby. Shayla,
wearing a pair of white capris and a blue tank top, felt
comfortable with him, but as she soaked all of this in, she was hit
with a sharp pain in her stomach.

“
You okay, hun?”
Carter asked, gripping her hand.

“
Yeah.”

“
Look at me,
baby,” he said as they stood near Ala Moana Boulevard, cars
breezing by. “I love you. There’s no need to be scared of me, of
marrying me and giving your all to me. I know this is happening
fast, but you have to trust me, Shayla.”

Shayla hugged
Carter tight again, feeling her nervousness rise like morning fog.
This was it, the reassurance she needed that she was doing the
right thing.

* * *

Back at the suite,
Shayla slid into a bubble-filled bath tub, exfoliating her skin,
making sure her legs and arms were smoothly shaven. She then stood
up, turned on the shower, washed her hair, water speeding into her
face, washing away happy tears. But with the happiness came
sadness. She thought she’d shook the sad feeling but she still had
Jacob on her mind. How could she be thinking about him on her
wedding day?

Carter dressed
quickly. He’d taken a shower, shaved and dressed in a black tuxedo.
He glanced at the clock. It was 7:30 p.m. The ceremony was at eight
and he wondered what was taking Shayla so long. She’d been in the
bathroom on the opposite side of the suite since 6:30 p.m. Then
again, women did require more time to get ready. Still, he wanted
to make sure she was okay.

He walked to the
bathroom door and tapped on it. “Shay, you okay in
there?”

“
Yeah,” she said
as cheerfully as she could, disguising any hint of sadness in her
voice. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

She quickly
blow-dried her hair, rubbed lotion all over her body, slipped into
her white-laced panties, strapless bra and the gorgeous, all-white
spaghetti strap gown that looked fashionable on her thin,
model-like body. She poked a pair of diamond studs in her ears and
stepped in some silver stilettos. After applying a little
foundation to her face and some nude lipstick to her lips, she took
a deep breath, opened the door and finally she was
ready.

“
Wow.
You’re…you’re beautiful.”

Shayla blushed.
“You’re
beautiful
, too.”

Carter eyed her
from head to toe again. “You ready?”

“
Yes.”

“
Okay, then. Let’s
do it.”

They walked to the
elevator, riding it down to the ground floor. Upon arriving to the
wedding gazebo, they were greeted with leis again, white flower
ones, then they stood holding hands, repeating vows after the
minister.

“
I’d like to say a
few words now,” Carter said. He looked at Shayla, rested his hands
on her shoulders and slid them down the length of her arms to her
hands, holding them. “Shayla, I know we’ve only known each other
for a short period of time, but there’s a stronger, deeper, most
intimate connection between us than you realize. You have filled an
empty hole in my heart and I’ll always be grateful to you for
giving me something I never had.”

“
And I’ll always
be grateful to you for saving my life,” Shayla said tearfully. “And
loving me.”

Carter took the
ring, slid it on her finger and kissed the backside of her hand. “I
promise to love you stronger, harder and more passionately every
day. I promise with my life.”

They were
pronounced man and wife, and Carter placed his hands on opposite
sides of her face and kissed her lips, whispered a seductive
I love you
and embraced her.

The newlyweds then
went to the beach with a photographer following them, capturing all
of their live shots, their first moments as a married couple
minutes following the ceremony. Hand in hand, they walked, laughed
and danced in the sand and when the photographer had gotten enough
pictures, they thanked him.

Carter looked at
her, thinking that he couldn’t wait to get her back to the suite.
Tonight, he would make her his, and he knew that once they made
love, she could never find out about Jacob. He’d made up his mind
he wouldn’t tell her because it was irrelevant. He loved her, and
tonight, she would know just how much.

Upon opening the
door to their honeymoon suite, Carter
kissed her vigorously,
holding her hostage with his body. He grabbed her face like he was
picking up a bowl and drinking from it, steadily kissing the woman
he’d given his last name.

“I love you, girl,” he said looking at her
with heat and desire in his eyes, “And tonight, I’m going to make
you mine.” Carter hadn’t realized how tightly he held her head
between his powerful hands until he heard her gulp an air pocket
deep in her throat, trying to pace her breathing back to normal. He
had her gripped so tight, he could leave his fingerprints all over
her face.

He picked her up and walked her over to the
bed, laying her there, watching her recline further, flat on her
back. He loved this woman. He married her, and he needed to make
love to her more than he needed to breathe.

“I love you,” he told her.

“I love you, too,” she whispered, feeling
like her body no longer belonged to her. Carter owned it now. Along
with her soul and heart.

Carter felt his eyes begin to water, as he
recalled how she was laid up in the hospital with tubes running
everywhere…how she had no one, but now she had him. She had his
love. His heart. His everything. Because of her, he knew what love
was.
Love was a man dropping to his knees
in a four-thousand dollar suit to help a complete stranger on the
street. Love was cancelling meetings to stay with this same
stranger in the hospital. Love was going above and beyond for
someone you don’t know, moving them in your home to take care of
them. Love was buying a year supplys worth of Snickers bars just to
please someone. He chuckled to himself thinking about
that.

The night had been
everything Shayla thought it would be. She thought about how
fortunate she was to have him, especially when she once thought
being with a man like him was a dream. Her dream was now a reality
and she couldn’t deny how loved she felt this very
moment.

Carter brushed
hair away from her face, thinking about his old ways of being
completely noncommittal when it came to women. He swore up and
down, in and out that he’d never fall in love and never marry. But
as he looked upon her in admiration and awe, he realized that love
is all he wanted. She was all he wanted.

There were
underlying issues – issues that Shayla was not aware of – but there
was no doubt about it. He was in love with Shayla, not because of
Jacob but because he genuinely loved her. What troubled him most,
though, was the fear of Shayla finding out about his kinship to
Jacob. What would she do when she found out? Would she leave? Or
was she the forgiving type? The
I-can-overlook-your-omission-because-you-saved-my-life
type?

“
After last night,
I’m surprised we’re up this early,” Carter said with a smirk,
sitting at a table with Shayla in the Prince Court restaurant,
sipping on coffee as they enjoyed the ocean views, preparing to
partake in a litany of breakfast foods.

His beautiful
smile made Shayla blush, especially considering that fact that
they’d stayed up so late. “I know. We didn’t get to bed until
two.”

“
Nah, I think it
was more like three, or is that the number of times we made love.
I’m confused now.” Carter winked at her then checked his watch.
“Either way, it’s six now, so that means we’re surviving off of
three hours of sleep.”

Shayla yawned.
With the intense workout he put her body through, she could
certainly use a nap. “Why did we get up so early,
anyway?”

“
So we can enjoy
ourselves, baby. Plus, I worked up a pretty, healthy
appetite.”