Page 66 of Axel
He laughed at the dazed expression on her face. “We decided that there was no point putting it off. I asked and she said yes, and we flew to Vegas and tied the knot in a gaudy chapel where an Elvis Presley impersonator did the honors.”
His grin widened. “We didn’t want to upstage your big moment and decided we were much too old to be dancing around.”
“You got married without me in attendance?”
“You had too much to deal with. I still don’t see why this wedding has to be so rushed.” He grumbled. It had been rushed. She was surprised she was not suffering from whiplash.
As soon as Axel decided that he wanted to marry her, he had started the ball rolling and apparently, when her fiancé decided on doing something, it was done with alacrity. His mother, sister and very capable assistant took over everything and she was caught in the middle of it.
“How do you feel about three weeks from now?” He had asked her that night when he told her for the first time that he loved her.
“That’s not possible.”
“Anything is possible as long as you have the resources, and I am not willing to wait.”
He had been true to his word and within three weeks the wedding had been planned. The publicity their getting together had generated went through the roof, but his PR department and his assistant had taken that in hand.
She had encountered his ex at one of the many functions they attended. It had been at the Elite Club where he was a member, and it had been awkward at first. But he had proven to her that he was completely over her.
Later that night, he had assured her that she had nothing to worry about. “I see only you.”
*****
“I am happy, daddy and if you are with mother, then I am also happy for you.” She murmured sincerely, linking her hand through his arm.
He stopped her before they left the room. “She wants to make amends for what she did in the past. I am asking you to give her a chance to do so.”
Staring up at him, she was moved by the quiet intensity on his face.
“You are the most amazing father a girl could ever wish for and a wonderful individual.”
“You are stealing my line,” he told her gruffly. Pulling her against him, he kissed her cheeks fondly. “Now let’s get you hitched.”
*****
A bower of incredible colors. If she were authoring this story, that is how she would have named it. Caitlin and Cathy as well as the team of gardeners they had hired had done a spectacular job with the place.
River Glades had been alerted to the celebrity type wedding taking place in their own small town and the excitement had started as soon as it was known they were a couple.
Their courtship had started at the local haunts. Dinners at the restaurants, drinks at the local bars. A stroll through the now renovated park and several visits to the museum and art galleries.
Their pictures had appeared in the local newspaper, with the writer making glowing comments about their love story which had started in River Glades and was now culminating in a wedding ceremony.
The gazebo was set in the middle of the garden. A river ran through the middle of the immaculately landscaped grounds. The weather had cooperated and was in fact unseasonably warm for the month of October. To ward off the chill, Ellie had donned a fitted cashmere jacket over her dress.
The wedding itself was small and intimate. Several people from his company, including his assistant, a few friends from his club and her two best friends as well as the editor of the magazine where she worked.
“I am guessing you have me to thank.” Marge said teasingly. “If I hadn’t assigned you the article, this wouldn’t be happening.”
Ellie would like to think it would have happened without her intervention but had remained silent.
“Ready, sweetheart?” Her father placed his large, callused hand over hers and squeezed gently.
“Ever since I met him.”
Axel felt his breath backing up in his throat as he caught his first glimpse of her walking towards him. He had been denied her presence last night because his mother insisted on her staying here instead of spending the night at his place.
The bachelor party held at the Irish pub had held little interest to him and he had to force himself to participate in the activities his soon to be father-in-law had planned. All he could think about was her and the fact that he could not wait to make her completely his.