A TEMPORARY MARRIAGE: PART ONE (AVALON BAY ROMANCE SERIES Book 1) (9 page)

“Well, it’s time to celebrate, I guess,” Cassie said. Then she felt her face pale slightly and saw that Richard had noticed it.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“I just thought of the clanking glass thing, you know, the signal to kiss. That one is always overdone,” she said.

“Well, maybe I’m being callous about our business relationship, but to me, kissing you isn’t such a bad part of the deal.”

“What is the bad part, Mr. Gallagher?” Cassie asked.

“Well, Mrs. Gallagher,” he emphasized, “keeping our unusual agreement a secret.”

“Good point. So many thoughts have come to my mind,” Cassie said.

“Such as?” Richard leaned toward her and put his hand on her thigh.

“Well, if you have anyone to stay and we have separate rooms, what about that?”

“We’ll just keep the doors closed,” he said casually.

“And if someone asks me if you snore,” Cassie threw out there.

“I assure you, I do not,” he said, laughing at it. “How about you?”

Cassie playfully swatted his arm and the two bantered back and forth. Before they knew it, they had arrived at their party.

The Country Club had laid out an impressive buffet with several stations, enabling their guests to have a wide selection of options. There was a carving station with a choice of meats, a pasta station, a vegetarian station, and a salad counter. Fifty round tables were beautifully dressed in crisp white tablecloths. In the middle of each table, as centerpieces were a bunch of calla lilies.

Cassie and Richard stood there, talking with people and making introductions, and wearing permanent “happy” smiles.. She was grateful that everyone seemed to approve of her and not question their “whirlwind romance” too much. During a small break, she leaned over and went on her tip toes to whisper in Richard’s ear. “I’m having fun, but I feel like a phony.”

He smiled and said, “You’re so beautiful, you could pull anything off.”

“And flattery will get you everywhere,” she replied.

Then someone came up. “So in love, how sweet.”

They smiled and Richard said, “Thank you so much. I just got sick of waiting for you, Mrs. Martin.” She giggled and that was it.

“Smooth,” Cassie said, laughing and wrapping her arm tightly through his.

Eventually it was meal time.

Then toast time came and both Philip and Teri, who seemed to get along quite well, debating the world of law or whatever, each gave their toasts. They were both eloquent, from the heart, and surprisingly good considering they knew the truth.

And then it was time for their first official dance as husband and wife. The song—Start Me Up by the Rolling Stones. Interesting choice, but as good as any since they really didn’t have a song. Well actually, now they did.

After a few hours of dancing and socializing, it was time to go. Cassie was eager to get out of her beautiful dress, realizing how cumbersome it was to wear one all day long, especially a long dress. Putting on a pale blue shift dress, she and her husband said their goodbyes and climbed back into the limousine to make their way to San Francisco, and then eventually to Paris.

“Well, Mrs. Gallagher, are you ready for our French honeymoon?”  Richard asked, smiling at her as the limousine glided away from the country club.

“Indeed, Mr. Gallagher, but first, I’m ready for a good night’s sleep,” she replied.

The two talked about the recent sleepless nights they’d had and how they hoped that now the wedding was done, they could find a way to adapt to their new routine while keeping the things they liked as single people.

After they checked into the airport hotel in San Francisco, Richard saw her up to her room. “Well, goodnight, Mrs. Gallagher. Get a good night’s sleep; we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, Richard.”

He leaned in and gave her a warm hug and then kissed her on the forehead, almost like he was a father figure. Then he left for his room next door. Cassie stood there for a moment, feeling strangely disappointed. Her lips were lonely. 

They landed in Paris Charles de Gaulle airport at midday local time, after an eleven hour flight. They had both managed to sleep on the plane, Cassie’s head softly resting on Richard’s shoulder. Even across the ocean, they had every appearance of being a legitimate couple.

Everything that she saw excited Cassie, and she kept pointing things out, admiring the architecture and the way people spoke English with those divine French accents.

“You look as excited as a child at Disney World,” Richard said.

“Oh, this is even better than that,” she replied, looking around. “This architecture is amazing; doesn’t it inspire you, Mr. Architect?”

“Absolutely, I look forward to seeing some of it close up on the tours,” Richard said. “But here’s your inspiration.”

Cassie looked as the taxi started crossing a small bridge to their hotel, which was on the Ile St. Louis, a small island in the Seine River which is almost dead in the center of Paris. It was a small boutique style hotel in an historic building and just three hundred yards from the Notre Dame Cathedral with its dramatic tower and gothic architecture that took one hundred years of hard labor to build.

Cathedral Of Notre Dame

“It’s stunning, so amazing,” Cassie said gently, feeling like she could cry from the feelings that were swelling up inside of her from looking at the hotel. She glanced at Richard and saw him with a similar expression. They were in the city of love and in love, only with hotels and architecture. It was an irony worthy of a Shakespearean play.

The travel agent had booked them a two bedroom suite with a cozy living room in the middle. Each spacious elegant bedroom had its own bathroom. The suite also had high speed internet hook up which Richard immediately plugged his laptop in to check on his emails. Cassie left him to it and retreated to her bedroom to unpack and to have a soak in the bath after the long flight.

Rejuvenated after her bath, Cassie changed into white jeans with a blue silk shirt and returned to the living room where Richard, his hair still wet from his shower stood on the small terrace looking out on the street below.

“Ready to become tourists?” she asked, walking out there to join him.

He turned to look at her and she saw his approval of her, which made her feel wonderful. “Absolutely, let’s see where our feet take us.”

They left the hotel and began to explore the quaint streets of the Ile Saint Louis. While much of Paris has modernized over the years, the Ile remained remarkably the same as it had been for centuries, almost like it was romantically frozen in the 17th century. Walking down the island’s main street, the rue de Saint Louis, they stopped and looked in wonderful specialty boutiques, gourmet shops, art galleries, and more. They stopped for a light lunch at a sidewalk café by the Pont Saint-Louis, the small bridge that connected Ile Saint Louis with Ile de la Cité. As they ate their meal they enjoyed watching the street performers.

After lunch they bought one of the infamous
Berthillon
ice creams and as they licked them they walked to the Notre Dame Cathedral, which was the setting for the classic novel, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” They made their way up what appeared to be seemingly-endless stone spiral stairs for a stunning view of the city and a close-up peek at the famous gargoyles and a glimpse of the hunchback’s famous church bell.

Every once in awhile they’d accidentally brush against each other and Cassie would feel this thrill surge through her body. It should have felt good, but it had become an alarm for her to caution herself that she had to remember that her marriage was temporary. But perhaps, she could earn a good friend.

Next it was the Cathedral and then back to the hotel to prepare for dinner, which was going to be at the Eiffel Tower restaurant, followed by an evening cruise on the Seine River touring the cities floodlit monuments, and after that, off to Moulin Rouge cabaret in the bohemian district of Montmartre.

Cassie dressed in a simple but elegant ankle length V-necked, sleeveless dress the same color as her Cornflower blue eyes over which she wore a black lace shawl and some low heeled sandals so she could maneuver the quaint, cobblestone streets that were scattered throughout Paris.

“You look wonderful,” Richard said, standing up and walking over to her.

“Thanks, so do you.” She admired his black jeans and cream colored linen shirt, thinking he looked like he could be Italian.

They took a taxi to the Eiffel Tower and made their way up to the first floor restaurant sixty-three yards above ground level. The maitre d’ led them to a table by a large picture window with views over the Seine to the Trocadero.

“I still can’t believe I’m in Paris,” Cassie said as she smiled happily. “I keep thinking this is a dream and I’ll wake up.”

“It’s a wonderful city, isn’t it? I’m glad that I chose France for the holiday.”

“I’m thankful for it, too,” Cassie said, looking at him. He was staring out the window and she took in his masculine appeal, so drawn to him. Then he turned to look at her and she started blushing, thankful to be saved by the waiter.

Then they ordered and began to drink their wine, talking like they were on a date and getting to know each other, not like they were on their honeymoon. So strange.

“Where did you get your degree from, again?” Cassie asked.

“University of San Francisco,” he said.

“I remember that you wanted to be an architect way back then, and that’s what you did. That’s great, but it seems like you are building more than designing.”

“True, right now, I am. Most of the designing takes place during the winter months,” Richard said.

“There’s a slow season in California?” Cassie asked.

“Of course, every area has a slow season, doesn’t it?”

“Well, New York never has a slow season for the hotel industry, so I’m not certain.”

“That crazy, huh?”

“It is.”

“And you find it rewarding?” he asked.

Cassie smiled and set her fork down. “So rewarding. I love the people and making others feel welcomed, plus working with upscale boutique hotels, you get to infuse a bit of history, art, and other interesting things into work. It’s a great way to make a living, for me.”

“What about the long hours, nights, holidays, things like that?” Richard asked.

“Well, they’re not always ideal, but I have nothing else to do…” She stopped talking, instantly embarrassed with her confession. How pathetic.

“So, no boyfriends you had to dump?”

“Um, no.”

“When was the last time you had one?” Richard asked.

“Why do you care?”

“Well, if we went on one of those newlywed game shows, they’d expect us to know,” he countered.

“Now that would be something, wouldn’t it? For the record, I haven’t had a serious boyfriend for about three years, and even that one wasn’t all that serious, truth be told.”

“Not into dating, either?”

“It just always gets shoved to the back for my career and everything else. Plus, I’m a married woman now, I can’t date. In fact, I didn’t even need to go on a date to land him, either,” she said playfully.

“Oh, is he a mail order husband?”

“Just someone a nice old man picked out for me,” Cassie said, laughing.

The waiter came up and was looking at the two of them. His expression was so confused. After he asked if they needed anything, the two just started laughing again.

“This is so fun,” Cassie said.

“I’m having a great time, too,” Richard agreed.

“Can I ask you a more serious question?” Cassie asked.

“Sure,” he said, leaning forward a bit and his brow going into a slight frown.

“Why are you such a confirmed bachelor? Always been that way?”

“No, I was engaged for a few years while in college. It didn’t work out.”

Cassie saw a dark look spread across his face and decided not to say anything in response, figuring he would say more if he wanted to.

After a few moments of silence he continued. “I really fell for Jennifer. She was my first and only serious girlfriend and I presumed she felt the same way about me, too. We were together for over a year and she became pregnant. I was ecstatic.”

He paused and took another sip of his wine and met Cassie’s eyes. She saw something dark and raw there. She waited on baited breath for him to continue.

“Two weeks before the wedding she broke up with me and said she’d miscarried the baby. I was shattered. I never saw it coming. I thought I was going to have a family again.”

“Perhaps she was too distraught at losing the baby,” Cassie suggested.

Richard smiled bitterly and a muscle in his jaw twitched.

“No, she said it was because she didn’t love me. Found out a year later that she’d had an abortion and had being seeing someone else; a rich oil baron from Dallas. So I just threw myself into work.”

Cassie could see why he would be opposed to relationships. That was such a painful story. Her heart ached for him and she longed to take away the pain he still carried about it. “So that’s why you don’t want to get too serious with anyone.”

“In my experience, love only ever leads to pain and loss.  I’ve lost too many people that I’ve loved.”

Cassie thought about Richard’s family. They’d been such a loving, happy family when Cassie had known them. It was tragic that they’d all lost their lives much too young. They’d all been out shopping in Santa Maria on Christmas Eve and as they were on their way home, a drunk driver had veered head on into them at a criminally high speed. They were all killed instantly. Richard had been at home in bed with the flu at the time; otherwise he would have been killed, as well.

“That’s enough about me. How about you? Are you as screwed up as much as me romantically?” He said in a teasing tone to lighten the sadness that had descended on them both.

“Well, the last serious relationship I had ended in a tragedy. His name was Marcus and we were in college together, but he died suddenly from a heart arrhythmia that no one realized he had, kind of like a heart attack, I guess. It was really tough and like you, it made me a bit scared of anything serious, although I definitely don’t have a playgirl reputation.”

“Yeah, my reputation has kind of been built up, but larger than what it really is. It’s only a fraction of the truth.”

“Why do you let people talk that way then?” Cassie asked.

“Well, I guess it really doesn’t matter. I know the truth, that’s what matters to me,” Richard said.

With dinner over, they wandered down to the banks of the Seine to join their evening cruise. As they glided past the famous spot lighted landmarks Cassie could see why it was known as the City of Lights.

Turning to Richard, she remarked, “It’s so romantic, it would be a perfect place to come on a honeymoon.” Realizing what she’d just said, she blushed, feeling so silly.

Richard smiled and laughed. “Maybe, one day you will come here on a proper honeymoon,” he said. “You deserve that, for certain.”

Even though she’d said it, Cassie couldn’t imagine anyone she’d rather be here with than Richard at that moment. She was drawn to him; the way he moved, the way he looked, and his personality—they were all captivating to her. How crazy to think she was married to a man who seemed to be what she longed for in a man, but it wasn’t meant to be. Her tall, dark drop dead gorgeous stranger would walk out of her life one day, and she already knew it.

The cruise was nice, but a bit quiet. With the slight chill in the air, Richard had his arm around Cassie and his warmth was an amazing feeling…too amazing. She had to be careful.

Finally, it was time for Moulin Rouge, which was what Cassie was most excited for; especially when she discovered that it was a lively show that was similar to the movie. Instantly, she forgot all about what was troubling her heart. She kept glancing at Richard, who smiled, but didn’t seem to love it in the same way she did. Was he lost in thought, or was he just not that into Moulin Rouge?

Finally, the show concluded with the girls dressed in ruffled petticoats of blue, white and red the colors of the French flag performing the can-can with the girls’ legs progressively kicking higher and higher. They were close enough to the stage that it felt like the skirts swished right over their heads, filling the air with so much energy that Cassie couldn’t help but shout out, “Vive la France!” with the rest of the audience as the show drew to an end.