Road to Casablanca (36 page)
“I decided to take the shy blind date to
Morocco
to get to know her because the deadline for his offer is today.
I admit all that. But what I found in the desert of Africa wasn’t some shy wallflower. What I found was you, the only woman who’s ever been able to put me in my place and give me a hard on at the same time.
I mean, look at me now….”
Erick blatantly pointed out the growing bulge in his crotch as a humiliated Cindy took her hands from her ears and covered her face with his last remark.
“Oh, sorry for that folks.
Anyway, you know what I mean, Cindy.
You know the connection we’ve had since the beginning and it’s only gotten stronger.
I never planned to actually marry anyone when my dad came up with this whole thing. I was going to hire someone to pretend we were married until this whole thing blew over, but then there was you.
Unmistakable Cindy Brown, the only woman I’ve ever wanted to marry in my whole life, and now here we are, in the most beautiful hotel in the world, other than the one we stayed at in
Morocco
, of course, and I am about to marry you, commit my life to you…forever.”
A slight applause began to erupt from the crowd and Cindy turned to them angrily.
“Shut up! Stop listening to us!”
Once the eavesdropping became more subtle, Cindy resumed her sulking demeanor as she considered all Erick had told her.
She thought about the trouble he went to tracking her down and the nice little things he did for her.
The way he made her feel like the only woman on earth, that is when he wasn’t emblazoned on the cover of the
National Enquirer
….
“I love you, Cindy. Please, won’t you marry me?
If you want we can call this whole thing off and I’ll prove to you the money isn’t a factor to me because it’s not.
You’re the only thing that matters now. Please, won’t you be my wife?”
Chapter Thirty-Three
“Will you, Cindy Brown, take Erick Michael Redmund to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward until death do you part?”
Cindy looked up into the hopeful eyes of her soon-to-be-husband Erick and said the words he’d waited so long to hear, ones he would cherish for the remainder of his days: “I do.”
“And do you, Erick Redmund, take Cindy Claire Brown to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward until death do you part?”
“I do.”
Erick spoke with feeling and passion as he held Cindy’s hands and stared lovingly into her eyes.
“Then by the power invested in me by the State of
Nevada
, from The World Famous Little White Chapel, I now pronounce you husband and wife.
You may kiss the bride.”
As the neon lights of the chapel began to flash in recognition of the special moment, their minister, Elvis, closed his book of wedding ceremonies and photographers finally took the kind of photos Erick could be truly proud of.
He kissed Cindy passionately as their families and friends looked on, and when their lips finally separated, Cindy asked him an important question.
“Was it worth the wait?”
“Yes, I think Valentine’s Day in Vegas is super romantic, don’t you?”
“Yeah, it is, but the more I think of it, I could’ve just gone ahead with it in
Beverly Hills
, you know?”
“Oh, so now you tell me!”
Erick recalled the events of the past two months, the public apology of his father to the entire gathering in
Hollywood
on New Year’s Eve, his reinstatement of Erick’s inheritance and how he handed the keys to his entire company over to Erick on January first.
“Well you have to admit, things certainly turned out better than we ever could have imagined.”
“You’re right, they are better than I ever imagined.
You’re the only thing I ever wanted.”
“I feel the same way.
After all you’ve done for me—for us—I now know for certain what my heart was telling me all along was true.”
“Oh?
And what was that, exactly?”
“That you are
the one
.
You always have been.
I am so happy, Erick.
I love you.”
“I love you more than I can tell you.
If we’d married in
Beverly Hills
, everything would have been just fine.
I know that now.”
“Yeah, but they don’t have Elvis in
Beverly Hills
, so what fun would that have been?”
Erick chuckled and kissed her as they walked hand-in-hand out of the Little White Chapel and into the neon lights of
Las Vegas
as man and wife.
The End
HOMEPAGE URL:
www.leahleonard.com
SHORT AUTHOR BIO
Leah Leonard is the pen name for Shelley Kaehr, Ph.D., critically acclaimed author of over fifteen books in the mind-body arena and international lecturer whose lifelong dream of becoming a published fiction writer is now fulfilled through her titles at Red Rose Publishing.
Red Rose Publishing
Kiss at Blarney Castle
Road to Casablanca.
The Sheikh’s Design- coming soon
Lady In Red- coming soon
Familiar- coming soon
Love Letters from Sunset Hill- coming soon
Country Gold-Coming soon