Merry & Seduced (22 page)

“You think?” Camryn asked.

“I think Gabriel would like Ry,” Max said. “I bet he’s cheering from heaven.”

Camryn closed her eyes for a brief sec, then opened them and gave a brilliant smile. “I think so too, but I hope he doesn’t peek in on our wedding night.”

Max barked out a laugh. “Thanks for putting that vision in my mind.”

Amme chuckled because she understood Camryn’s eagerness and her touch of trepidation. She felt the same way about Marcus.

At a more decorous pace, Max guided Camryn outside into the garden. A saxophonist started playing the wedding march as they passed the first bed of roses.

A male celebrant—rotund and serious in a black suit—stood with Ry under an arbor twined with flowers and ribbons. Potted roses surrounded the arbor in a semicircle and the sweet scent of the flowers filled the air.

Amme waved at Autumn and Marcus and flashed a grin at her friends and Olivia. Ellen stood with Luke. She waved at Max and Camryn and blew her husband a kiss. The
Indy
crew clapped, and Ellen, Olivia and Marcus joined in with the applause. A crack appeared in the celebrant’s grave demeanor, and his lips twitched.

The music halted when Camryn reached Ry’s side and the celebrant began the ceremony.

Amme listened to the heartfelt exchange of vows and contentment settled over her like her favorite butter-soft yakish coat.

“I now pronounce you man and wife,” the celebrant said.

Ry wrapped his arms around Camryn and kissed her long and tenderly.

Everyone cheered and cameras snapped.

When calm returned, the celebrant said, “Now, I have one more special ceremony to complete. Marcus and Amme.”

“Amme,” Marcus smiled at her and she took his arm, even though she didn’t understand what was happening. “We can’t get married yet, because we don’t have a license, but I want to commit myself to you in front of your friends. The celebrant agreed to perform the ceremony for us.”

Camryn and Ry stepped aside to join the rest of their friends.

“Go on,” Camryn said, giving Amme a shunt in the small of her back. “We’re taking photos and everything.”

Amme stepped over to Marcus and accepted his hand.

“Is it time now, Daddy?” Autumn piped up.

“Soon, sweetheart. You can come and stand by me so you’re ready,” Marcus said.

“You can say your vows now,” the celebrant said.

Marcus dipped his head in a slight nod and shifted to look at Amme. “You have become my best friend in a short time. Having you at my side has filled a gap I didn’t realize I had in my life. My love for you is bigger than the Earth, bigger than the universe, and I can’t believe how lucky I am that you return my sentiments. I intend to love and cherish you and can’t wait to start our life together. Thank you for agreeing to be my wife.” He squeezed Amme’s hands then glanced down at his daughter. “Your turn, squirt.”

“I’m not a squirt,” Autumn informed him.

A ripple of laughter came from behind them, and Marcus’s lips quivered.

“I’ll remember that,” he said. “You can talk now. Can you remember what to say?”

“Yes. I promise to be good and pick up my toys when you tell me. Daddy said I should promise to eat Brussel sprouts, but I don’t know what they are. Mostly, I’m gonna be good. Is that all right?”

Marcus’s grin widened when he noticed Amme’s misty smile and the roll of a tear down her cheek. He reached over and smoothed it away. “Perfect, Autumn. Well done!”

“Amme, would you like to say something before I pronounce you officially engaged?” the celebrant asked.

Everyone turned to Amme in quiet expectation. Her mind raced, and a tremor sped to her knees. Thankful she had practiced her English since her arrival and soaked up the language, she began, “I-I l-love you, Marcus, and I love your daughter. I love Autumn, as if she were my own child.” Her nerves settled and her thoughts cleared to perfect clarity. “I’m grateful for your acceptance and the way you’ve welcomed me and my friends into your life. While I’ll miss my friends when they leave, I’m excited to start this new journey with you at my side. I wake up each morning with such happy anticipation, and my life is full of joy. I can’t wait to be your wife, Marcus. And, Autumn, I can’t wait to be part of your family. I promise to be the best wife and mother I can be.” She squeezed Marcus’s hand then stooped to kiss Autumn on the cheek.

“Are we married now?” Autumn asked.

“Soon,” Marcus said, his face aglow with anticipation.

“I now pronounce you officially engaged,” the man said.

“Good,” Marcus said and promptly kissed her.

She kissed him in return, her mind full of love and the sound of cheers and ribald laughter when the kiss took such a long time. Finally, they parted and turned to their audience.

Marcus lifted their joined hands into the air. “Time to party.”

He stayed to talk to the celebrant while everyone else trooped into the house. The house phone started ringing almost as soon as they walked inside.

“I’ll get it,” Olivia called.

“Time for champagne,” Max called. “Sparkling water for you, my dear,” he said to his wife.

“Daddy said we have special drinks for us,” Autumn said.

“That’s right,” Max said. “W. A. T. E. R. with bubbles and fruit garnishes.”

Marcus walked into the large conservatory where they’d decided to hold Ry and Camryn’s wedding breakfast. “The celebrant couldn’t stay. He has another wedding in an hour.”

Gweneth and Mogens appeared carrying trays of drinks.

“A toast,” Max said when everyone had a drink.

“Wait, where’s Olivia?” Amme asked. “Is she still on the phone? I’ll go and get her.” She hurried into the kitchen and found Olivia hunched over with tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Liv, what is it? What’s wrong?”

Olivia swiped the tears away and only succeeded in smearing her makeup. “That was my mother. They heard from my friend’s mother about my terrible behavior. Since they can’t trust me to behave, they’ve arranged a job for me as a nanny with one of their friends. My mother said if I didn’t turn up in Switzerland, dressed in a conservative manner with normal-colored hair, they’d disown me. I tried to tell them I didn’t want that but she wouldn’t listen. What am I going to do?”

Amme gave Olivia a swift hug then pulled away. “You’re going to fix your face and come out to join us in our celebration. Then, once everyone leaves, we’ll have a family conference and decide how to handle your parents. I thought you were staying with us? Both Marcus and I would like to have you here.”

“Oh, Amme. You’re the coolest sister-in-law a girl could have. Marcus is so lucky to have you.”

“He is,” Gweneth said, appearing from behind them. “We’re all going to miss Amme when we leave. Let me help you with your makeup. You don’t want to scare Ellen into having her babies too early.”

Olivia gave a watery chuckle. “I’m gonna miss you guys as much as Amme.”

“We’ll be back,” Gweneth said in a gruff voice designed to imitate a male star from a movie she’d recently watched.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Amme said. “Two minutes, okay? Otherwise you’ll have Marcus out here. We’ll work this out, Olivia. I promise.”

* * * * *

“T
hat was so much fun,” Amme said as she climbed into bed beside Marcus.

Marcus wrapped his arms around her and drew her against his chest. “I’m going to miss your friends.”

“Me too. At least Olivia seemed more cheerful. Your mother upset her. You’re not going to let her go to Switzerland, are you?”

“No, not if she wants to stay with us. She said she wants to get a job, but I’m happy to support her until she’s financially secure. She asked if we could talk tomorrow.”

“Good. That’s good.”

Marcus rolled them, so he was looking down at her startled face. “We’ll sort out Olivia tomorrow. Tonight is for us.”

Amme grinned up at her fiancé. “I don’t have any argument.”

Their kiss was unhurried and thorough—a meeting of souls as well as lips. Hands caressed and bodies rocked together, propelling them both into a sea of need. A long time later, Marcus slipped inside her, joining them in the most elemental way.

“I love you,” she whispered.

He paused his luscious strokes into her warm depths to smile at her with love and longing. “You have made me the happiest man alive, Amme. I know how much you’re giving up to stay here with me, and I intend to spend my days making you happy in return.”

Their lips met, the slow plunge into her body and retreat commencing again. Her climax began like the twirl of a ribbon, unfurling and reaching, reaching to frisk her pleasure receptors. She gasped and tumbled into freefall, glorying in this man, her happiness and her renewed sense of purpose.

“Marcus,” she gasped, holding tight to his shoulders.

His big frame shuddered, and he stilled, gulping for breath. He kissed her then pressed his forehead to hers. “Thank you for everything.”

She felt the hard pull of her lips and the formation of something Camryn said was a dimple. An anomaly for sure, but according to Marcus, cute. “My pleasure, Marcus. I live to make you happy.”

“And I live for your happiness, sweetheart.”

Amme kissed him, relaxed and happy and fulfilled. A cyborg and a human. A strange mix to be sure, but it felt right, and that was all that mattered.

Their bodies parted and realigned for comfort, and Amme let her system go into rest, her last thoughts of Marcus and Autumn and happiness.

A childcare cyborg didn’t get any luckier.

Chapter Twelve

“W
here’s Olivia?” Marcus demanded for the fifth time, glancing around myriad bags and milling friends. “She’ll miss the takeoff.”

“I don’t know.” Amme frowned as she tried to remember. Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t seen Olivia since their shared early morning cup of coffee. In the madness of helping Gweneth and the others pack the last of their Earth souvenirs, she hadn’t noticed Olivia.

“Has anyone seen Olivia?” Amme asked.

“Not since earlier,” Jannike said. “I’m sorry but we can’t wait any longer. Ry wants us to leave on schedule.”

Marcus sighed. “Okay. We’ll go. Autumn, are you ready?”

“Yes, Daddy.” The little girl jumped into the rear of Marcus’s vehicle and waited for Amme to strap her into her car seat. The others piled into the black hire van.

Seconds later, they were following the van and on their way to Max’s training stables. Marcus pulled up by Max’s SUV, and everyone jumped out.

“I want to come with you,” Autumn said.

Amme crouched beside the little girl. “Not today. Just grownups today. You’re going to play with Luke. I think Luke’s mother said you’re going to make ANZAC biscuits—the cookies the mothers made for their soldier sons a long time ago—and bacon and egg pie.”

Autumn’s brow furrowed then cleared. She gave a quick nod and trotted over to where Ellen waited with Luke.

One by one, Amme’s friends strode over to Ellen and said their goodbyes. One by one, they shook Luke’s small hand and patted Autumn on the head.

Camryn joined Amme. “I’m going to miss you. I’m so glad you’re happy with Marcus. He’s a good man, but part of me still wishes you were coming with us.”

Amme turned to her friend. “We’ll see each other again.”

“Not for hundreds of rotations.” Camryn brightened. “But we will return. Ry promised, and he keeps his promises. I can’t wait to hear about the changes that will occur in your life. Besides, we can contact you before we leave the solar system in about three days. Why don’t I call you each day?” Camryn shot a glance at Marcus, saw he was chatting to Max and Ry. “Have you changed your mind?”

“No.” Amme’s reply was instant, and some of the angst dancing in the pit of her gut dispersed at the realization. She would miss her friends, but she did want to stay with Marcus. “I love Marcus.”

Camryn squeezed her hand. “He loves you too. Don’t worry. You have Max and Ellen for backup.”

“I do. Don’t worry about me. You’re the one who’s flying into the unknown.”

“No guts, no glory,” Camryn muttered, and they both laughed.

“Time to go,” Ry said.

Like the rest of the crew, Amme picked up a couple of bags and followed Ry as he trekked through the paddocks toward the spot where the
Indy
waited for their departure.

“Holy Hannah,” Amme said after a while. “Who belongs to this bag?”

“Um, that’s mine,” Kaya said, her bright blue hair flashing in the sunlight. None of them had bothered with disguises this morning since they were leaving.

“It feels as if you have bricks in here,” Amme said.

“No, white chocolate,” Kaya said. “I wanted enough to last for most of the voyage. It’s like the food of gods.”

“You couldn’t have taken it to the ship yesterday?” Amme asked and resettled the bag over her other shoulder.

“She did,” Jannike said. “During the small hours of this morning she dragged me down to the twenty-four hour supermarket to purchase more.”

“You won’t be so smartass when I share my bounty,” Kaya said.

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the
Indy
.

“Great camouflage,” Marcus said. “I could walk past and not notice a thing.”

“Job done,” Nanu said and nudged Camryn. “Told ya we wouldn’t have any trouble.”

“We haven’t left yet,” Camryn said. “Someone could still knock us out of the sky.”

Nanu’s braids clicked when he shifted position. “The shields are fully active. Not one of Earth’s security forces will see us on their instruments. I’m damn good at my job.”

Camryn gave one of his braids a sharp tug. “Big-headed too.”

“I wish Olivia was here to see. It’s probably not safe to take a photo,” Marcus said.

“No, not of the
Indy
.
” Ry opened the door and stood aside. “Stow the luggage and then we’re off.”

Amme caught Mogens peering at the clouds on the horizon. A swirl of black swept across his face like a network of veins.

“What’s wrong?” she demanded.

“I don’t like the look of the clouds. We should go now.”

Ry exchanged a glance with Camryn. “Move it.”