Sweet as Honey (The Seven Sisters) (21 page)

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, “
Fuck
,” 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.

Honey stood in front of the celebrant,
Koru’s arm around her the only thing holding her up. She desperately wanted to
collapse into a chair, but forced herself to remain there as gradually all the
guests’ eyes turned back to her to gauge her reaction to the scene.

She kept her eyes fixed on Dex. He was
watching Cathryn walk away, and she couldn’t see what he was thinking. Was he
regretting marrying her yesterday? Had she done the right thing?

He’d taken her completely by surprise the
previous afternoon. He’d held her hand and led her down the bank to the water’s
edge, away from Jude, Wendy, Koru and Daisy.

“What’s going on?” Honey had asked, now
thoroughly puzzled. “What’s Wendy doing here?”

Dex had looked across the inlet and she’d
followed his gaze. A bunch of teenagers were making their way across the ford
from the Stone Store to the park on the other side. They could easily have
taken the footbridge, but the boys were showing off, balancing and jumping from
rock to rock, the girls squealing their support. No doubt at least one of them
would have wet feet by the time they reached the other side, she thought distractedly.

“It started after I proposed,” he said, and
they watched a seagull land near a family picnicking in the park and carry away
a crust of bread. “I was talking to Jude one night about Cathryn and how I knew
that, as the wedding got closer, I’d worry about what happened last time. Not
that the same thing would happen, but that it would play on my mind, and yours,
and overshadow our wedding. And as much as I hated Cathryn for what she did to
me, and I believe she deserved what she got, I know it was cruel to leave her
at the altar. And I knew you would worry I’d do the same to you. It’s only
natural.”