“I can’t.”
“You don’t love me.” He puffed out a breath.
“You know that’s not true. But getting married without any of our family members present is a recipe for disaster. It would never work.”
He slid the ring on her left finger, and it was a perfect fit, the diamond picking up the lights from the moon and stars and sending shafts of fire around the room. Athena studied the stone and admired the setting. Her career had taken off in just a couple of weeks and her face was on billboards all over the city. She could not go anywhere without being recognized and the sensation was heady. Everything was going so well except that she was in love with a man she had to be seeing in secret. It was not who she was and even when she was wrapped in his arms after they made love, she would think about it.
He got to his feet and her heart ached as she looked at his blonde handsomeness. She loved him so much that her heart would splinter just to think about him. Her mother had asked her if she was not going to start dating again and she had felt remorse that she could not tell her that she had fallen in love for the first time in her life. It had been a whirlwind affair and hard to believe that she had only met him last month. It was the end of October and she felt as if she had known him her entire life.
“It will work.” He said firmly as he cupped her face, his expression intense. “We will make it work.”
“We cannot be seen together.” She pointed out.
“For now but maybe it’s best that way. We get to spend time with each other.”
“I will never be able to go with you when you travel.”
“I will make sure that they are not long trips.” He lifted her face to his. “I want you to be my wife. I want the security of knowing that I am your husband. I have seen the billboards….” His voice petered off as he reflected on how jealous he had been when he had first seen one. It had been a plain black background with the woman displayed against it wearing a silky soft white robe just drifting off one shoulder. The makeup had been minimal, the lips highlighted with a cranberry red lipstick and her lips slightly parted to reveal startling white teeth. One hand had been suspended at her long neck and the bottle of Self-Absorbed Cream, in her other hand. The entire beauty line was flying off the shelves and making her extremely visible. He looked down at her tensely. “I want to put my brand on you….” He broke off again. “I am sorry, but I cannot bear the thought of other men looking at you. It is driving me crazy.”
Athena placed her hands against his chest. “You attend functions where I don’t get to go. I torture myself into thinking about the women who are there, the ones who are doing more than just looking at you. You were photographed with Rachel only last week!“
“I already explained to you….”
She put a finger at his lips. “I know darling, but I am trying to make a point. I am not going to be able to wear this beautiful ring in public….”
“But I will know that you are my wife.” He insisted.
“I am not going to be able to tell the people I care about that I have a husband!”
“It would just be for the time being.”
“Then there is no harm in waiting.”
“No!” He ameliorated his tone at the look on her beautiful face. “I am afraid that if I wait, you will get tired and decide that you no longer want to be with me. Marry me Athena, right now.”
She looked at him startled. “Now - as in tonight…!”
“Yes. I acquired the license and the jet is fueled and waiting.”
“Darling, I am not prepared….”
“Athena, I love you so much.” He brushed his lips against hers. “Please be my wife.”
She stared at him for a few minutes and felt her heart racing. She loved him – there was no doubt about that. She had tried to fight it and deny it ever since she had met him, but it was apparent that it was more than just lust. The main reason she had been fighting was that they were not suited. He was white and she was black. That would not matter much but he had told her how his parents felt about her ‘kind’ and that had brought out the self-righteous anger inside her. When she looked at people, she did not see the color of their skin or even the color of their eyes. She had grown up knowing that even though they had become progressive in terms of accepting one another, racial profiling still exists, and it angered her. She had never gone out with a white man before, not because she had anything against them, but she always felt that she should stick to men of her own culture. Now fate had slapped her in the face by making her fall in love with the whitest of them all. Alan McGregor was blonde with blue eyes and had come from a long line of people who had never ‘tainted’ the family line by marrying someone black. He would be the first and being the first to do anything- to try and overturn tradition was a scary thing and never ended up well. But she loved him so much and knew without a shadow of a doubt that she could never love anyone else the way she loved him.
“This is crazy!” She whispered shakily. “Your family is going to disown and disinherit you when they find out.”
“You could always be the breadwinner.” He whispered hoarsely.
“My money can in no way compare to yours.” She whispered back.
“I don’t care.”
“You will when you can no longer afford the Romano’s and Armani’s you are accustomed to. Not to mention the private jet, which by the way, I cannot afford or your position in the company.”
He did not even flinch at that. “I love you.” He told her fiercely. “And I am prepared to lose anything except you.” He kissed her roughly, his fingers biting into her flesh. Athena returned the kiss, her body arching towards his, the tremors wracking her body as she felt the evidence of his desire against her. She practically lived with him, spending more time at his place than she did at hers. She had argued about it, but he had reminded her that he stood the chance of being recognized when he was at her apartment, so she had made her way to his place each time she was finished with her shoot. He had given her a key and she would come by and slip into something sexy and have dinner prepared for when he comes home, and it felt good. They would eat with her sitting on his lap and him feeding her from his plate. She felt comfortable with him and knew that she wanted to be with him.
He dragged his mouth from hers and pressed his forehead against hers. “Please say yes.”
“Yes.” She wrapped her hands around his neck and stroked the back of his neck. “God help us.”
*****
“You would like to repeat your own vows?” The man had a slight accent that was not readily identifiable. They had made the quick trip in the jet and had arrived at the Las Vegas chapel in a few hours and now were standing in front of the minister and his wife as well as their two grown children who had agreed to act as witnesses for the ceremony. Alan had taken the man aside and had told him that utmost secrecy was required and had made sure of that by passing money to ensure their silence. Even though the ceremony was not what she had envisioned for herself, she had dressed appropriately in a stunning champagne colored dress with thin straps and a bodice that hugged her like a second skin. Diamonds sparkled at her lobes and around her throat, a gift from her soon to be husband. He was wearing a dark blue tux with a single white rose in his lapel. His dark blonde hair was brushed back from his forehead, burnished from the overhead light, his handsome face sober as he faced her.