Wedding Chocolate. Adrianne Byrd
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the meter.
“Okinawa Sushi & Grill,” they answered in unison and then cut startled looks at each other.
“Well.” Derrick settled back in his seat. “Looks like something else we enjoy.”
“Something else?”
He didn’t answer, but his gaze dropped to her bundle of ruined books while she tried to stuff them back into the bag.
She sucked in a breath and jerked her gaze away.
He chuckled, amused by how easy it was to fluster the young woman. While she wasn’t looking, he took the time to assess his riding companion. Average height. Average weight. Add it all together, it somehow equaled adorable.
He couldn’t pull his eyes away from her.
“Will you please stop doing that?”
“Hmm?”
She faced him again and he discovered that she had perhaps the longest eyelashes he’d ever seen. They framed her brown eyes beautifully.
“Stop staring at me,” she ordered with a sharp thrust of her chin. “It’s rude.”
He smiled, unable to help himself, really. “Sorry,” he said, but made no attempt to stop. “Oh, by the way, name’s Derrick Knight.”
Rolling her eyes, she returned her attention to the passing gray scenery while scooting farther away from him.
“Speaking of being rude,” he began. “Are you ever going to thank me for helping you?”
That caught her attention. He was amazed she didn’t get whiplash trying to meet his gaze again.
“Excuse you?”
Derrick’s lips curled higher as he flashed his winning smile. “Forgive me for my stuttering problem, ma’am. It’s apparently worse than I thought.” Her eyes narrowed and drew attention to her cute pudgy nose. He had an insatiable urge to give it a little tweak.
“You want me to thank you for knocking me flat on my butt—”
“Ah, ah, ah.” He waved his finger. “The purse snatcher knocked you down. I caught him and then helped you up and uh...helped you gather your books.” He straightened in his seat and crossed his arms. “I’m a hero.”
“A very modest one,” she droned sarcastically.
He popped the collar of his raincoat. “Well. What can I say?”
They arrived at their destination and Derrick stopped her the moment she reached for her purse. “The fare is on me.”
“I can pay my half,” she protested.
“I’m sure you can, but I’m much too much of a gentleman to allow you.”
“Allow?”
He nodded and handed the cabbie a couple of twenties. “Keep the change.”
“Thank you, sir. Thank you,” said the driver.
Derrick’s mysterious companion bolted from the cab, and he found himself having to rush to catch up to her. “Hey! Where’s the fire?”
The woman quickened her pace without sparing him a glance or answering his question.
“If you worry that I’m some sort of stalker, let me assure you I’m not.”
“You could have fooled me.” She sprinted through the restaurant’s door and scanned the place to see if she saw her mother.
He laughed, though he had to admit his behavior was a quagmire to himself. “Listen. I know we didn’t exactly meet under the ideal circumstances, but uh—”
“There you are, Mr. Knight.”
Derrick turned and smiled at Congressman Jamison Scott. “Hello, Congressman.”
At that moment, Isabella caught sight of her mother waving from the other side the restaurant.
Derrick regretfully watched her slip away. Later, he realized, he never caught her name, but he could have sworn he saw an engagement ring.
* * *
“This is positively going to be the wedding of the season,” Katherine droned from across the table. “Of course, I think we should have it in Martha’s Vineyard, but your father insists on having it at our Arlington estate. What do you think?”
When Isabella didn’t answer, her mother prodded her. “Isabella?” She waved a hand in front of her face.
“Huh? What?” Isabella hadn’t heard half of what her mother was rambling about the wedding.
“The wedding?” her mother said. “I asked whether you wanted to have the wedding in Martha’s Vineyard or in Arlington. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah.” She cleared her throat. “I don’t understand why we can’t just have a small ceremony,” Isabella said, popping two pain pills into her mouth. “At this rate, I would prefer it if we just went to the courthouse and do this.”
Katherine’s face twisted in horror.
“It’s just an idea,” Isabella retracted.
“It’s a terrible one,” Katherine said, reaching across the dining table for the travel-size tube of pain medication. “This is the social function of the year for the Kanes.”
“I think you’ve said that already.”
Katherine pursed her lips together and then tried another tactic. “Well, your father is on cloud nine about this political merger. A highly publicized wedding with the Jarretts in an election year is just what he needs to get the voters to forget about his backing that Davis Bill.”
“I’m not cattle,” Isabella mumbled and resumed playing with her smoked sea bass.
Her mother chased the pills with the rest of her champagne and then returned her attention to Isabella. “What was that, sweetheart?”
“Nothing.”
“Of course, I think a lot of it has to do with Randall reminding your father how he used to be when he first arrived on the Hill.” Katherine leveled a sweet smile at her daughter and then reached over and cupped one of her apple-plump cheeks. “My baby. I can’t believe you’re about to get married. Where has the time gone?”
Isabella smiled back at her mother and covered the hand on her cheek with their own. A measure of happiness bloomed in her heart. She loved being the cause of her parents’ happiness. It was almost worth marrying someone she didn’t love.
“I think it’s time.”
Confused, Isabella stared at her mother. “Time for what?”
Katherine cleared her throat. “You know. Time.”
Isabella stared.
Her mother lowered her hand and shifted around in her chair. After making a few cursory glances over her shoulder, she leaned forward.
Still at a loss, Isabella followed suit and leaned closer as well.
“Time for...The Talk,” Katherine whispered. “You know.”
“The Talk?”
Her mother nodded and resumed looking uncomfortable in her chair.
Finally, it hit Isabella. “Oh.” A rush of heat surged through her. “Oh. The Talk.” Now it was her turn to shift uncomfortably. “That’s okay, Mom. There’s no need for that. It’s okay.” She reached for her untouched champagne and downed the contents in a single gulp.
Stricken, Katherine pressed a hand against her heart. “Isabella Elizabeth Kane, don’t tell me that you’ve...that you’re no longer...you know.” She whipped her head around; making sure again no one was listening, and