Waikiki Wedding: Unforgettable Nights in Hawaii Read online

  "You'd better get down here and straighten everything out before she bursts a blood vessel."

  "Oh, Lord, and I thought a nice simple destination wedding was the answer to all her drama. Live and learn. I'll be down in a minute."

  Amy tapped her phone and slid it back into her purse. Ray was right. Weddings had become a massive stage production. The kids in front of them in line at the marriage bureau should have just grabbed their license and ducked around to the judge’s chambers. The honeymoon would have been the best part of the day anyhow.

  Twisting his wrist, Ray glanced at the time. "Courtney's rehearsal starts in thirty minutes and Carrie's immediately after that. We'd better boogie."

  There was so much to do still. The fun-in-the-sun tourism was over, and the real wedding happenings were about to start with a vengeance. Amy punched at the elevator buttons. "I still think its uncanny how many things Carrie and Courtney booked the same. Not only the place and date, with the ceremonies only thirty minutes apart, but right down to the minister and reserving tables at the hotel's rooftop restaurant for the bridal party, including plus-ones and the parents."

  "Hey, the world is small and getting smaller."

  The doors opened, and, hurrying out, Carrie almost slammed into Ray. "Sorry."

  "No problem." Ray smiled as Carrie flew past, and Amy followed him into the empty space.

  The doors barely shut behind them, Ray pulled her into his arms, his lips crashing down on hers. The kiss was strong and tender. The perfect mix of sweet and sensual. She could hardly wait for all the wedding stuff to end so she could get him back into her bed and keep him there until it was time to fly home.

  A ding sounded, and the doors slid open again. A young couple—hanging onto each other as if they were the only people in the world—stepped inside and pushed the rooftop button. "It's our honeymoon," the girl explained, grinning. The young man squeezed his bride, never taking his eyes off her.

  Amy looked up at Ray. All the air in her lungs froze at the adoration staring down at her. Sucking in her next breath seemed almost impossible. How had she fallen so deeply in love with this man in such a short time?

  Another ding sounded, and the doors opened on their floor. Hand in hand, they stepped into the hall, and, once again, Ray pulled her into another searing kiss. At this rate they weren't going to make it down the hall, never mind back downstairs before the rehearsals, but no way was she stopping him. Her every nerve ending hummed with delight, and all he'd done was kiss her.

  "Get a room," a disgruntled voice muttered from behind them.

  Ray eased back and, staring down at her, mumbled to the irritated guest, "Not a bad idea."

  • • •

  "Where is Melissa?" Courtney stood at the front desk, Drew quietly behind her, his hands gently rubbing her shoulders as she nearly growled at the poor clerk behind the desk.

  "I'm sorry," the petite clerk said. "She's had a family emergency. Her assistant is in the Swan Room with another wedding party."

  Courtney marched to the reception room beside hers. Cobalt blue and soft salmon blended beautifully throughout greeted her. She spotted Carrie at a round table in the corner with an older woman she assumed to be Carrie's mother. Both women were spouting complaints simultaneously to a wide-eyed young lady hugging a clipboard.

  "I am not paying for that, that, thing." Carrie's mom pointed to a three-foot-tall ice sculpture of Cupid. "And, even if I wanted it, the damn thing will be melted by tomorrow's reception."

  "No, ma'am. It's only out now for the rehearsal and your approval. It goes back into the freezers until the actual reception tomorrow."

  "Mother, calm down." Carrie closed her eyes. "Perhaps it belongs to Courtney?"

  "Nope." Courtney stepped up beside them. "Not in my budget either."

  Carrie's mom crossed her arms. "See why we should have had the wedding in San Francisco? Look at this." The woman's arms swirled around the room. "And look at these colors."

  "Mother." Carried sucked in a deep breath and looked at Courtney. "Did you need something?"

  "Yes. If I could borrow"—Courtney paused, looking at the woman still clutching her clipboard—"What's your name?"

  "I'm Brittany."

  "Melissa's assistant?"

  "Well, yes."

  "Well yes?" Carrie's mother asked.

  "Melissa's regular assistant started maternity leave last week. I'm filling in for her."

  "And what did you do before that?" Drew asked.

  "I'm the receptionist in catering." Brittany straightened, her expression momentarily more confident. "I mean, was."

  All eyes looked back and forth.

  "I see," Courtney said. That certainly was a first step in explaining the screw-up with her reception.

  "Perhaps"—Drew looked to the assistant—"if we could borrow you for just a minute?"

  "Absolutely." Brittany practically leapt at the chance to escape Carrie's mother's inquisition. "If you will excuse me a moment." She turned back to Carrie and her mom. "Let me take care of this situation, and then I'll look into the ice sculpture problem."

  Carrie nodded and spoke to her mother. "Please try to stay calm. That's why we have rehearsals …"

  The two women's voices faded away once the three of them turned the corner to Courtney's reception room.

  "These"—Courtney stood in the doorway—"are not my colors."

  Brittany glanced around the room, then at Courtney, and, for a few seconds, Brittany looked ready to heave.

  Courtney almost felt sorry for her. Almost.

  Flipping through the pages, Brittany shook her head. “Mrs. Clarke called on Monday and changed the colors to seafoam green and tan."

  "First of all"—Courtney pulled out her phone—"my mother has never taken charge of anything in her life, and she sure as hell wouldn't start now." Opening the text screen she shot her mother a quick message. Come to the receipt room NOW. "And second, since when does a reputable hotel allow other people to change a bride's choices?"

  "Well, normally that's true." Brittany stabbed at the page. "Yes, here it is. Since Mrs. Clarke is paying for the reception—"

  "What?" Courtney practically screeched.

  "Uh-oh." Tish hurried into the room. "Lisa texted me to come straight down."

  On the other side of the room, Lisa had cornered one of the staff setting up the reception area. Spotting Courtney, she turned and hurried to where Tish and Courtney stood with Brittany. "Do you know there are four weddings going on at the same time in this place?"

  "Four?" Jessica walked into the room, her husband Josh beside her.

  "I don’t care if there are ten. All I care about is mine." Courtney scanned the area again, this time her attention landing on the pedestals beside the buffet table. "What are those columns for?"

  "Flowers," Tish answered. "It's an upgrade."

  Courtney turned to Brittany, already flipping pages again.

  "Don’t tell me." Courtney set a hand on her hip. "My mother, who isn't paying for this wedding, ordered that too?"

  "Well"—Brittany's face pinched with a nervous smile—"yes."

  "Anything else she ordered?"

  "Who ordered?" Courtney's mother, Donna Clark, came up beside her daughter. "Why do you need me twenty minutes early?"

  "Did you order flowers?"

  Donna shook her head.

  "What about these colors?"

  Her mom shook her head again.

  "Excuse me." Carrie's mom crossed the threshold, Carrie and Linda trailing behind her. "We really do need to …" She stopped dead in her tracks. "These are my colors."

  "No. They're. Not." Carrie scanned the room, her gaze settling on Courtney. "Very pretty."

  "Thanks. Too bad—"

  "Is this where the party is?" Matt came into the room, Doug and Emily on his heels. "Look who I found waiting in the lobby. We followed the din of voices and figured odds were pretty good we'd locate the rehearsal."

  "As I was saying,
" Courtney continued, "too bad they're not the colors I—"

  "Mrs. Clarke?" A bruiser of a native Hawaiian in blue uniform pants and a button-down short-sleeved white shirt stepped into the room.

  "Yes," two voices echoed.

  All heads in the room snapped around. Courtney’s and Carrie's mothers stared at each other.

  The poor man in uniform looked from one to the other, as if watching the proverbial tennis match. "Which one of you is Mrs. Clarke?"

  "I am," both women repeated.

  "Your last name is Clark?" Courtney asked Carrie.

  Carrie nodded. "Yours too?"

  "Well, if that isn't the mother of all coincidences." Lisa chuckled. Carrie and Courtney followed suit. The mothers didn't laugh, but, at least, they'd stopped frowning.

  "So which one of you is going to sign for the fresh flower leis?" the delivery guy asked again.

  "I will." Courtney's mother took the pen from the man and signed his machine. "It is Hawaii after all."

  "Which one of you is C. Clarke?" Brittany asked, her forehead pleated in confusion.

  "I am," both brides answered.

  "But that won't help you," Drew spoke up. "My fiancée is Courtney and the other Miss Clarke is Carrie."

  Holding hands with Emily, Doug moved in closer to all the commotion and settled in beside Carrie, his gaze casually taking in the room.

  Pen in hand, Brittany flipped a page and began scribbling. "Who ordered green and tan?"

  "That was me." Carrie's mom lifted a finger in the air.

  "Mother." Carrie rolled her eyes.

  "And the ice sculpture?" Brittany continued.

  "Me." Courtney's mother waved.

  Courtney's jaw dropped in surprise. "You? Why?"

  Donna Clark shrugged. "I never did get the man-thing right. I thought it would be nice if maybe you did."

  "Oh, Mom." Courtney fell into her mother's embrace. This was probably one of the most maternal things her mom had ever done for her.

  "Excuse me." Doug tapped Carrie on the arm. "Have you seen my sister?"

  Carrie looked around the room. "No, but she should be here by now. She was running upstairs, I guess to change."

  "Thanks." Doug moved over to Tish. "Have you seen your brother?"

  "Not since last night," Tish answered.

  Doug's brows shot high on his forehead. "Last night?"

  "Breathe." Emily sidled up beside her fiancé. "She's a big girl, even if she still looks four years old to you."

  A male voice loudly cleared his throat. "You all may want to see this." Josh stood at the open balcony doors and pointed toward the beach with his chin.

  The terrace held a clear view to the wedding bridge for tomorrow's ceremonies. Including one minister and one couple holding hands.

  "What the …"

  Chapter Sixteen

  "We really appreciate you coming a little early on such short notice." Amy couldn't believe this was actually happening.

  "It was no trouble at all. Do we have witnesses?" the minister asked.

  A small twinge of regret tugged at Amy's heart for not having her parents or brother at her side, but none of them would approve of such a whirlwind romance, never mind a marriage. At the license bureau, when the clerk had called for the next couple in line, she and Ray had stared at each other for all of two seconds, and she knew by the huge grin on his face that they both had thought the same thing. Holding hands, they'd stepped up to the window at the same moment as Courtney and Drew, who, relieved to have gotten their paperwork finished in time, had spun around and left the room, never noticing what Ray and Amy had done.

  Ray didn't answer the minister. He'd suggested they invite their siblings to participate, but was happy with whatever Amy had wanted. Even now he was still leaving the choice up to her.

  She'd never been more sure of any decision in her life. Everything she'd ever done—up to this point—had been what was expected of her. Marrying Ray was what she desperately wanted. "No witnesses."

  "Very well." The minister opened a small booklet and faced them. "If you will please take hold of each other's hands."

  "Yo," Drew called at the same time Doug yelled, "What in the hell is going on here?"

  Amy had gone from having no witnesses to a blasted platoon. At least a dozen people marched in their direction, her brother leading the charge.

  "Busted," Ray whispered against her ear, then tucked her into his side. "You're all just in time."

  Spitting fire, Doug's gaze zeroed in on Ray. Doug didn't slow his pace until he was standing nearly toe to toe in front of Ray. "In time for what?"

  The two men in Amy's life faced off. "Your sister is doing me the honor—the very proud honor—of becoming my wife."

  Doug's narrow gaze flew open wide and shifted to his sister. "Is this true?"

  The last thing she wanted to do was disappoint her newly found big brother, but that didn't change anything. "Yes. If you're willing to stand by my decision, please stay. But if you think you can talk me out of marrying Ray, then you can just turn right around and go back to the hotel."

  Doug glared at Ray for so long that Amy was almost afraid he was going to haul off and hit him. Then she realized Doug wasn't angry, at least not anymore. They were doing that male-mental-telepathy communication thing.

  Emily and Tish hurried over to the two men. Emily merely took her fiancé's side, her fingers gently folding around the curve of his elbow. Not in an effort to control but in a show of support.

  Amy really was so happy Doug had found her.

  Tish, on the other hand, looked like she was ready to breathe fire. "Do not say you were getting married and not telling me."

  "Okay. I won't." Ray flashed an impish grin that hinted at years of sibling bantering.

  "Raymond Allan Varner! Have you lost your ever-loving mind? Is this your idea of planning ahead?"

  "Yes, it is." This time Ray lost the teasing grin. "Mom and Pop don't need me hanging around underfoot. Amy and I will fly home so she can meet the folks and I can pack up more than one week's worth of clothes. When we return to San Francisco, I will apply to all the nearby universities with masters programs in education. I want to teach and coach." He paused to look at Emily and smile. She returned his grin and added a nod of approval.

  "Amy and I spent all last night talking," Ray continued. "About my plans, her plans, our pasts, and our future. By this morning we knew where we were headed. This afternoon when we accidentally wound up in front of the licensing agent—"

  "How do you accidentally get a marriage license?" Tish interrupted.

  "Long story for another day," Ray continued. "The point is, we knew there was no reason to wait. Everything in our plans would be better done together."

  "You have lost your mind." Tish shook her head.

  Ray looked pointedly at his sister, throwing out the same When Harry Met Sally quote she'd tossed at him a few days ago. "When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."

  "I know this all seems rather fast," Amy added. "It's hard to understand how two people can fall in love in four days. I'm not even sure either of us understands it—"

  "I do." Doug turned to Emily, kissed her lightly on the nose, and then stepped up to his sister, taking a hand in each of his. "I understand. When it's right, it's right. If you are absolutely sure this is what you want, then I know sixteen ways, with my bare hands, to kill anyone who gets in your way."

  Amy threw her arms around her big brother's neck. "I love you, Doggie."

  "I love you too." Doug shifted and, without saying a word, stuck his hand out to Ray. All Ray did was nod. Amy couldn't know for sure, but, she'd guess, somewhere in that silence was the threat of torture if Ray hurt her in any way.

  From beside Doug, Emily smiled at Amy. "I get it too."

  This time Amy nodded. "Thank you."

  Tish looked from Doug to Emily to Amy and finally back to h
er brother. "Are you sure?"

  Ray nodded. "Very."

  "Then I guess I get it too,” Tish said. “And I'm here for you, and I'll stand in line behind in case he misses anyone."

  "Thanks, sis."

  "We'd better get this show on the road," Drew urged. "The good reverend still has two scheduled rehearsals this evening."

  "And Jessica's probably hungry." Courtney laughed.

  "Look on the bright side." Matt turned to Doug and Tish, now standing back with the rest of the crowd. "At least they're not getting married because she's pregnant."

  Lisa elbowed her husband in the ribs. "So not appropriate now."

  Without any chairs on the bridge, all the new guests stood facing the shore and the soon-to-be-married couple.

  "Very well," the reverend began.

  Amy and Ray resumed their positions.

  With every word of the beachside ceremony, Amy's heart pounded a little faster. This was really happening.

  "Do we have rings?" the minister asked.

  Panic shot through Amy's system. When she'd called Carrie's officiate and asked him to arrive early for a real ceremony, she thought she'd covered all her bases, but she'd forgotten about the rings.

  "Yes." Ray reached into his pocket and pulled out a stretchy pearl band. The kind sold at every Hawaii souvenir shop, including the one in their hotel lobby. "It's not what you deserve, but it will have to do as a placeholder."

  "When did you …"

  "When you stopped to use the ladies’ room, I ducked inside, on the off chance they had something. This was the best I could do."

  If she'd thought she couldn't love this man more, she'd be wrong. With every passing hour she loved him a little bit more. "I don't have one for you."

  Doug stepped forward, pulled a plain gold ring set with a black onyx square from his right ring finger and handed it to her. "For a placeholder."

  She knew this was the ring he'd been given by his foster parents when he graduated from EOD. Even on loan as a temporary token, she couldn't accept such a treasured heirloom. "I—"

  Doug didn't give her a chance to object. He squeezed her fingers around the circle of metal and bobbed his head.

  Taking her left hand in his, Ray repeated the reverend's words. "I give you this ring as a symbol and promise of my everlasting love and devotion." The elastic band of pearls fit perfectly on her finger.