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She turned and faced the empty apartment, stifled a sob, and immediately wrenched open the door again.
Carmelo was standing exactly where she’d left him. She hiccuped with relief. He wasn’t going anywhere, he had said it and he meant it. Everyone else had left her. No one else could handle her complicated rage at this stupid marriage, and had left. He understood, and he stayed. She gulped back a hiccup and stood sheepishly and silently at the door.
That smirk on his face. “Can I at least come in and have some sushi?” he asked, tilting his head to catch her eyes.
Despite herself, she felt herself thawing. She smiled slowly and grudgingly let him in.
“Nice dress, by the way,” he said with a wink as he yanked his boots off.
She looked down, realizing she was just in the corset. “Well, I was meant to be trying it on for final measurements, there’s a skirt bit, too, but we didn’t get as far as putting that on… and now I can’t get it off by myself, and it isn’t finished but-”
“Princess, it’s okay.” He opened his arms and she immediately fell into them, as if it was second nature, as if she had been doing this when she was sad all her life. And he held her like it, too, as if he’d always been her safe place.
“We have got to stop this wedding,” she said into his chest, slowly and quietly.
She felt him sigh, so she pulled back enough to look at his face. He was looking at her with a complicated look of angst, empathy and… sadness. She blinked, she must be mistaken, he wouldn’t be sad about not marrying her, would he?
“I won’t lose my freedom like this, I won’t be a puppet they can command, this is it, I make my stand here and now about this.”
He nodded slowly. It was sadness. She bit her lip.
“I still want to… see you,” she said, unsure how to phrase it. Carmelo’s eyes flashed to hers but he said nothing. “Er… if you wanted to still… see me,” she added, awkwardly.
He stroked her face with his thumb in response. She wasn’t sure what that meant.
“I want to be with you, Carmelo,” she said, being brave, embracing honesty. “I just don’t want to marry youtheirway, becausetheysay so, forthem. I want to be with you because I choose it,Iwant to marry you because it ismychoice to commit to you-”
He leaned forward and kissed her. Really kissed her. His eyes were closed, his lips pressed tightly, his chin and jaw pushed for more. And she kissed him back.
Carmelo
“The only thing that officially stops a wedding,” Carmelo palmed his chin pensively, “is if one of the couple is already married.”
She blinked.
“But I sure as hell haven’t got anyone to wheel out of the closet and hitch up to,” he added quickly.
“ …already married?” she repeated slowly, thinking.
Carmelo swallowed. “Do you? A friend, or… an ex or something.” His throat went dry thinking about it. “Who you could call in a favor from?” He looked down, he didn’t want to see her face when she thought of another man.
But a delicate finger slid under his chin and lifted his head up again. And he was forced, compelled, to gaze into her dark eyes again.
“You,” she whispered.
It was his turn to blink now. “Huh?”
“You. I could marry… you. My terms, our terms. Not this stupid big wedding in front of everyone on their terms, for their reasons. We just slip off quietly, find a town hall or chapel or something…”
Carmelo felt his pulse quicken at her idea.“Tonight.”
It was her turn for her jaw to drop. “Huh?”
“Tonight, your bachelorette party. Vegas. Limo is outside waiting. Hotel room is booked. We slip off to Vegas tonight, get married. So we don’t have to go through withtheirwedding.”
She gulped, looked around. “I have nothing to wear…”
His eyes shuttered down to the white lace corset that she was wearing. Her boobs looked like two ripe apples peeking out from some sparkling floral delicate pattern, her waist was cinched in, there was some sort of frilly bit like a mini tutu, then it was all bare legs, down to some strappy little jeweled stilettos. “You’re wearing your dress already, Princess.” Carmelo’s heart was galloping against his ribs.
