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Her nose wrinkled, but she did look a little amused. He nudged her knee with his. “What’s your idea of a dream wedding?”
“I’ve never thought about it.”
“Liar.” He could tell she had. It looked like an entire wedding start to finish was ready to burst forth from her tongue.
She turned to the camera, taking a deep breath, like she was steeling herself to be on camera. “My dream wedding would be in an English garden, with roses everywhere. An arch made of roses, rose petals in the aisle.” She started to get in to it, her hand coming up to indicate the arch. “I want a bubble machine, pearl divers, and champagne bottles descending from the ceiling. Oh!” She turned to him excited. “The Queen Mary! Or the Titanic! That would be the perfect aquatic meets upscale theme.”
“Baby, the Titanic sank and almost two thousand people died. I don’t think a watery grave is a good wedding theme.” Or a good theme for any party. Slightly too gruesome. Actually, a lot too fucking gruesome.
“True. Good point. But the Queen Mary would be amazing.”
“Except that thing is docked in LA, correct?”
“It’s my dream wedding,” she said in protest. “We’re just collecting ideas so the perfect surprise wedding for us can be planned.”
“But you’re planning it. So it’s not a surprise.”
She wrinkled her nose at him again. “You’re not getting it.”
“Nope. Not one bit.” He reached out and tapped her nose. “But I trust you to get it. I’m just here for the cake and the wedding night.”
Jackson laughed from behind the camera. “Dude. I feel ya on that.”
“That’s tacky,” Leighton said.
“I never claimed to be classy.” He gave her a grin. “Sure you want to marry me?”
Leighton bit her lip, as if she were giving it actual thought and this wasn’t an elaborate scheme to save their asses at work. “Yes,” she said softly. “I’m sure.”
Without warning, he felt his gut twist. Her words sounded so sweet. So real. He studied those lips, so full and pink and perfect. Then he covered her mouth with his in a kiss that was spontaneous but also necessary. Because if he let her see into his eyes she might uncover the truth. That yes, he liked being alone. But he was also lonely.
He didn’t admit that to himself very often. But he was resigned. Women he’d dated had made it damn clear he didn’t give enough. If three girlfriends had all said that, the problem was clearly him.
Ignoring those thoughts, he pulled back and told her, “You can have anything you want. You deserve roses and champagne and fine dining.”
His gut twisted again.
He must be hungry.
That was the only reasonable explanation.
Not that he was falling for Leighton for real.
* * *
Leighton was having trouble breathing and it had nothing to do with a panic attack. The way Axl looked at her was robbing her of all the air in her lungs. It reminded her of the way he had stared down at her intently when he was buried deep inside her body. She felt herself shift closer to him on the couch so that their legs were touching.
“This is your wedding too,” she told him. “So fish cake it is.” He was actually pretty sweet in addition to all his other very sexy attributes. God, she was so attracted to him. He made her feel beautiful and sensual and cherished. Her nipples were hardening in her bra and she felt the sudden urge to cross her legs to quiet the desire sparking to life.
Of course none of this was real, so it was easy for him to say she could have her roses.
That thought threw metaphorical ice water on her libido. She broke their eye contact and swiveled so she was facing the camera again. “Next question, Jackson.”
“What is the most important part of the wedding day?”
It was a polarizing question. About fifty percent of the time it resulted in the groom saying something like “the open bar.” It was designed to gauge if he was a sentimental groom or a joking kind of guy. That way they could direct events and footage to either go for the tears or to come off as a big entertaining party.
Axl surprised her. She had assumed he would make a joke about it. But he said, “The most important part of the wedding day is the first time you see the bride. That’s a really special moment. Knowing this woman is willing to walk through life with you.”
