Sunny's Love

chapter Twelve





The meeting with the minister went well. He seemed genuinely excited about the upcoming wedding.

“Chase, you don’t know how happy I am you’ve found someone to share your life with. I know the last two years can’t have been easy for you and the children. And Sunny, I’m delighted to meet you.”

“Thank you, Reverend Key. I’ve heard good things about you from Chase.”

“I’ve known Chase since he was a boy. He and his parents used to come here every summer.”

They chose August first as their wedding date. That would allow them a week for a wedding trip, before they had to get back home in time for Ali to start first grade. When everything had been arranged, Chase promised to be back in touch with details as the plans progressed.

“I’ll look forward to hearing from you,.” Reverend Key said as he walked them out.

Having set the date, phone calls were made to their mothers and Chase took care of sending them plane tickets to arrive the last week in July.

Sunny called Dr. Rose, who was happy for her. “I’d be proud to walk you down the aisle, Sunny.” He and his wife planned to fly down a few days before the ceremony.

Everything was coming together nicely. The next few weeks were a flurry of activity as they were all busy getting everything in order for the big day. Chase arranged for Alma and George to fly down a few days before the wedding, as well.

One day, in the middle of all the planning, Sunny caught a glimpse of a tall, classy, redhead dressed in an expensive business suit being escorted into Chase’s office. Not meaning to eavesdrop she heard Chase call her Lindy.

A short time later, John found Sunny in the kitchen and informed her Chase wished to see her in his office.

Steeling herself to meet the woman who was trying to seduce and destroy her fiancé, she walked toward the office. She stopped outside the door as she heard voices coming from within.

“I don’t understand, Chase. Why are you marrying your nanny? Did you get caught with your pants down again and knock her up, like you did your first wife?”

Brittney had been pregnant when Chase married her?

“No, Lindy. I’m marrying for love this time around,” was Chase’s reply.

Did he not love Brittney?

She entered the room and Chase immediately went to her. Putting his arm around her waist, he said, “Lindy, I’d like you to meet the future Mrs. Chase Dupont. This is Sunny Drake, and I’m sorry if you were under the mistaken impression that Sunny is the children’s nanny. She did accompany me to Florida to help care for the children. After all, she’s going to be their stepmother soon, but she’s not their nanny. She’s my fiancé, the love of my life.”

Sunny looked at him for a moment before turning to Lindy. She smiled and extended her hand. The redhead took her hand in a somewhat weak handshake and shrugged her shoulders.

Chase smiled at Sunny and said, “Sweetheart, I’ll wrap this meeting up as soon as I can and join you upstairs. I know you said you wanted to go over some last minute things with me for the ceremony while the children are napping.”

There was just a hint of suggestiveness in his tone, as if they really weren’t going to be discussing the ceremony at all. It was as if he wanted Lindy to think he was about to indulge in some afternoon delight with his beloved. If only...

Sunny was sitting on her bed reading when he entered her bedroom.

“She’s gone, thank God.” He sat down on the bed next to her and pulled her close.

“I’m sorry you had to deal with her, Chase, but we knew she’d make an appearance when the news of our engagement made the papers.”

“Sunny, I’m so proud of you. You handled yourself well down there this afternoon.” He kissed the top of her head.

“I heard some things before I came into the room, Chase. Tell me about you and Brittney. If I’m going to share your life, I should know about your past, shouldn’t I? I told you about Scott.”

“You’re right, Sunny, and I probably should have told you about Brittney sooner.”

“She was pregnant with Ali when you married her?”

“Yes, we met in college and dated off and on. We’d been in one of those on again periods when she became pregnant. I married her.”

“And did you love her?”

“In a way, yes, I did love her. But I probably would never have married her had she not been carrying my child. We were happy to a degree, but we weren’t a passionately, madly-in- love couple.”

“I see.”

“She was as good a wife as she knew how to be, and a wonderful mother. I was never unfaithful to her, and I would have stayed with her, had she not died. But it wasn’t a match made in heaven by any means. She had her own bedroom. There were nights she slept in there and there were nights she slept with me.”

“And yet, you want to enter into a marriage-of-convenience with me? Don’t you want a real marriage, Chase?”

“Yes, I do, Sunny. But I’m willing to wait until the time is right for us. I want a real marriage with you.”

“You do, really?”

“Sunny, I told you the marriage would come first for us and the courtship later. That’s just the way it has to be for now. We’ll have our time, but we can’t rush into it. I’m rushing you into marriage to save my company. I refuse to rush you into a relationship just because we’re man and wife.”

“You want things to evolve naturally between us?”

“Exactly, how do you feel about that?”

“I’d never have agreed to marry you so readily if I didn’t think there was a chance we could fall in love. After all, I agreed to a lifelong commitment.”

“I was hoping you would feel that way. I know I’m asking a lot of you, but let’s save our business first. The rest will come.”

“Oh, Chase…it won’t be hard at all to pretend at being your wife.” She looked up at him as he leaned down to kiss her. It won’t be hard at all.