chapter Twenty-Four
At three thirty on Saturday afternoon, Dex still had a very small—almost insignificant, he told himself—hangover.
He’d tried extremely hard not to get drunk the night before. Had refused beer, which always got him plastered quickly, stuck to shorts and drunk a full glass of water in between each one. But it had been a long night, and Koru, Jude and Chase, along with half a dozen of their other mates, had not been prepared to let him get off lightly.
Still, it could have been a lot worse, he thought, closing his eyes and letting the warm afternoon breeze play across his features. And what better way to clear the cobwebs than to stand here, looking out over the Bay of Islands on the last day of March in the still-warm autumn sun, waiting to marry the girl of your dreams?
“Don’t doze off,” Koru said beside him.
Dex opened his eyes and gave his best man a wry smile. “I’m not asleep. I was enjoying the breeze.”
“Yeah, yeah. I swear I heard you snore.”
“Have you got the rings?”
“Will you stop asking me?”
Dex chuckled. “I…”
His voice tailed off as a ripple of whispers began behind him, and he turned and stood, Koru rising beside him.
Honey had exited the hotel and stood with her father while Daisy and Jasmine fussed over her gown, straightening the skirt and making sure her veil hung properly.
“Told you it would be a meringue,” Koru murmured in his ear.
Dex smiled. “She looks like an angel.”
Usually Koru would have given a sarcastic remark to that, but for once he said nothing, his silent agreement bringing a lump to Dex’s throat more than anything else could have done.
The music started and everyone stood, waiting for Honey and her father to approach.
Dex took the opportunity to have a last glance around. They’d chosen to have the wedding at the Carlton Hotel just south of the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. Although she had been brought up a Catholic, Honey had decided she’d prefer a civil wedding, and Dex had been happy to go with whatever she wanted.
The hotel’s wedding team had organised everything for the day, and the location was just amazing. They would be exchanging their vows beneath two palm trees with the glorious Pacific Ocean as a backdrop, and afterward they’d go into the hotel and have the reception in one of the Treaty Rooms. Then they would spend the night in a special luxury suite before heading off the following day to the exotic island of Rarotonga.
Dex was glad for Honey that the sun was shining and the weather was as beautiful as the setting, but he wouldn’t have cared if it had been thunder and lightning. Today he would be married, and tonight he would have her in his bed at last, and everything would be right with the world.
She approached the guests and paused with Cam at the top of the walkway, but even from there Dex could see she had eyes for no one but him. He hoped she liked the suit—he and Koru wore matching dark grey tuxes, silvery-grey waistcoats with a subtle paisley pattern and light grey ties. He’d even used product in his hair, much to Koru’s amusement. He winked at Honey, and saw her answering shy smile before she lowered her head.
Cam—also dressed in a dark grey tux—led her down the aisle, and her sisters took their places among the guests. All five girls wore the same plum-coloured long gowns, and with their varying hair colours looked like jewels in the bright sunlight.
“I thought all seven sisters were supposed to wear gowns,” Dex murmured to Koru. “I’d like to have seen you in one of those.”
Koru muttered something rude in his ear and Dex stifled a laugh.
“Last chance,” Koru whispered. “No getting out of it after this.”
Dex just smiled. He couldn’t wait.
He glanced toward the hotel door. No one there except a few of the guests, come out to watch the event. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
Honey and Cam approached the front where Dex and Koru stood with the marriage celebrant, Peter, an older guy in his sixties with silver hair and a patient, calm and reassuring manner.
Cam helped Honey lift up her veil, then he kissed her on the cheek. Finally, he took her hand and passed it ceremoniously to Dex before taking a seat at the front with the guests.
Honey turned her big brown eyes up to Dex, and his heart swelled. He raised her hand and kissed her fingertips, not missing the collective sigh that rolled around the crowd at that little gesture.
The celebrant smiled. “Good afternoon, everyone, I’m Peter Jordan, I am a Registrar of Marriages, and it is my pleasure to welcome you all here today.”
He gave a small speech about marriage and how it shouldn’t be taken lightly, and Dex listened, although he didn’t need to be told. He smiled at Honey, who lowered her lashes, a flush spreading across her cheeks. Blushing again, he thought with amusement. Would she still blush once he’d taken her to bed, and they knew each other in the most intimate way a couple could know each other?
He noted her beautifully applied makeup, the fancy way she’d pinned up her hair with flowers that matched the bouquet in her hand, and loved the fact that rebellious tendrils of her silky hair were already escaping to curl by her cheeks in the light breeze. She wore a lovely pinky-red lipstick that made her lips looks luscious and soft. He wanted to kiss her—God, how he wanted to kiss her. But he contented himself with holding her hand for now. There would be plenty of time for that later.
Peter paused and gestured for them to face each other, and Dex took both Honey’s hands in his.
“Do you confirm that you are Dexter Mark Concannon?” Peter asked him. Dex answered yes. “And do you confirm that you are Honeysuckle Summers?” Peter asked the bride-to-be.
Honey nodded. “Yes.”
Peter went on to explain the short ceremony they’d chosen. Neither of them had wanted elaborate readings of poetry or friends playing music, and they’d decided to keep it simple. Peter said they had to declare in his presence that they knew of no impediment to the marriage, and they would then say the vows they had written themselves, proclaiming that they took the other to be their legal wife or husband. Then they would exchange the rings.
Peter asked Dex to repeat after him, “I solemnly declare that I do not know of any impediment to this marriage between me, Dexter Mark Concannon, and Honeysuckle Summers.”
With a brief thought whizzing through his head that they’d nearly made it, Dex opened his mouth to answer. But before he could say anything, a muttered, “F*ck,” from Koru and an outraged “Hey!” from Lily among the guests made him turn.
Cathryn stood to one side. She must have approached the hotel via the long walk across the beach, he realised, and had avoided the two plain-clothes police officer friends of his he’d asked to wait on the hotel door. And then she’d waited until the appropriate moment to interrupt.
How predictable. He’d expected something like this. She’d always had a talent for the theatrical and had known exactly when and how to pull stunts to draw the most attention—had thrived on it, in fact. So different to quiet, unassuming Honey, who’d stiffened beside him, but remained quiet.
He waited for Cathryn to walk closer. His heart thundered at the coming confrontation, the final showdown.
She walked closer, to the top of the aisle, and stood with arms crossed defensively over her breasts. Lily—still angry over being tricked—tried to pass her father, but Cam gestured for Daisy to hold her, and instead he stood and walked down the aisle toward the trembling Cathryn.
Koru twitched at Dex’s side and went to join them, but Dex put a hand on his arm. With his other hand, he squeezed Honey’s fingers gently and gave her a smile before releasing her and walking down the aisle.
“I’d like you to leave,” Cam was saying firmly. “You are not welcome here.”
Cathryn didn’t appear to have heard him, her eyes fixed instead on Dex. She’d obviously spent a long time getting ready in a tight black dress that showed off her fabulous figure, and her makeup was immaculate, but with her black lashes and scarlet lips she looked overblown and tarty next to Honey’s fresh and subtle beauty.
He’d expected her to shout, to scream, to throw things, even to attack him, but instead she stood still, silent tears beginning to roll down her face, genuinely broken. “You can’t marry her,” she whispered. “She’s not right for you, Dex. We were perfect for each other, you know that deep down. I’m sorry I tried to trick you—it was only because I loved you. I won’t do it again—I don’t care if we never get married, but please come back to me.”
He hesitated. He’d planned to get aggressive with her if she turned up, to make a show of throwing her out of the grounds for Honey and her family, to put her in her place once and for all and to sink the point home cruelly in the hope that she’d finally get the message, but suddenly he didn’t have the heart. Although she’d hurt him terribly with the false pregnancy fiasco, he’d treated her badly most of the time, aware of the fact that she was crazy about him and using that passion to make her do whatever he wanted. He’d never loved her, and she was a human being who deserved to be loved in return. Whether she would be able to contain her crazy tendencies enough to let a man fall for her he didn’t know, but she should at least have the chance.
“It’s too late,” he said, not wanting to draw it out any longer.
She bit her lip and shook her head. “It’s not, you haven’t exchanged vows yet.”
“It’s too late,” he said again, gently. “Honey and I got married yesterday. This is just show for friends and family.”
She stared at him. “You’re already married?”
“Yes.”
She glanced at Cam, who nodded. Dex had put the suggestion to Honey’s father on the Friday morning, and Cam had agreed it would put all of their fears to rest.
Dex took a deep breath. “It’s over, Cathryn. I’m sorry for any pain I put you through, and I’m sorry it ended badly, but it’s done. You have to get on with your life. There will someone else out there for you, and you have to go and find him now. Go and be happy. You deserve it.”
She looked into his eyes. Whatever she saw there sapped any remaining hope from her, and her shoulders sagged. “I love you,” she whispered through her tears.
His throat tightened, but he forced himself not to step toward her. She’d faked a pregnancy, he reminded himself, and threatened to kill herself. She didn’t really love him. Love was kind and gentle and thoughtful, not harsh and manipulative.
“I know,” he said anyway. “But I belong to someone else now.”
He glanced at Cam, who beckoned to Jude, sitting nearby. Jude came up, took her arm and walked her away toward the hotel, talking softly to her.
Dex watched her go, his throat tightening as a whirlpool of emotions washed over him. Sadness, resentment, regret and relief all intermingled, making his head spin and his stomach—still uneasy with the hangover—churn. He watched Cathryn sag against Jude, who he knew would take her to one of the constables on the door. They would ensure she returned safely to her cousin. He hadn’t loved her, but she’d cared for him, and the realisation that that part of his life was finally over loomed in his head until it seemed to blot out everything around him.