Free The Billionaire's Unwanted Virgin by Doris O'Connor

have the
horrible suspicion that she wouldn't have to act much.
    She hadn't seen Lakota since that day
in the hospital. Percy had said he was busy with business, and had relayed
Lakota's instructions to her in minute detail. Not one moment of their wedding
was left to chance. From her underwear to her dress, the bouquet she carried,
and her hair and make-up, expertly applied by the stylist who had shown up at
her house this morning, everything had been taken care of.
    She couldn't fault his taste. The
cream lace dress fitted her like a second skin and showed her curves off to
perfection. The off the shoulder design cinched her in at the waist, and the
skirt gently flared over her hips, and ended just above her knee. The slightly
off kilter hemline finished off a timelessly elegant look, and with her hair
arranged in a messy up-do, and her new smoky eye make-up making her look rather
mysterious, she at least looked the part of Lakota's bride.
    Theirs was to be a quiet registry
office wedding at a secret location to throw the ever nosy reporters off the
trail. As far as Alice could ascertain, Percy was to be Lakota's witness, and
hers was the ever efficient, if slightly nervous, wedding planner Lakota had
employed.
    The knock on the door shook
Alice out of her internal musings.
    "Are you all right in
there? We'll have to go, or we'll be late, and Mr. Kemnay does not appreciate
tardiness." The words held an almost pleading tone, and Alice forced a
smile on her lips and opened the door to a rather relieved looking Susan.
    "Oh, you do look
beautiful in that dress. You will make such a stunning couple. If only Mr.
Kemnay would have allowed a more open wedding. It would make for the society
wedding of the year."
    Alice drew a face at the
thought, and Susan shrugged her delicate shoulders.
    "Yes, yes, I know. He
said you wouldn't care for all the hoopla, but really, if I snared myself a
hunk like him, I'd want the world to bear witness to that fact." Susan
beamed at her, but quickly sobered when Alice simply stared at her.
    "Were you not berating
me mere minutes ago that we would be late? I wouldn't want to cost you your
commission, so perhaps we ought to get moving," Alice said.
    The overly styled and primped
wedding planner's practiced smile slipped a little more, and she gestured for
Alice to follow her.
    Flashlights exploded in her
face the minute she stepped out of the front door, and Alice was rather
grateful for the quick appearance of Lakota's driver, who had both her and
Susan settled in the back of the limo in record time. Safely hidden behind the
tinted windows, Alice breathed a sigh of relief, and the driver smiled at her
through the rear view mirror.
    "If I may so, Miss, you
look stunning. Now, relax, I'll have you there in no time at all."
    Alice smiled back at him and
tried her best to ignore Susan's excited chatter in her ear, until the woman's
phone rang, and something in the tone of her voice drew her attention.
    "I see … well, yes, but
at this late hour… Right, and this was arranged, when? Fine, but I still
expect to be—" She clicked her phone off with an affronted,
"Harrumph," and sank back into the plush covers with a frown.
    "Is everything all right,
Susan?" Alice asked.     
    "Oh, yes, everything is
fine, or so I am told. He's only gone and changed the venue at the last minute.
Lord knows who he has employed to do that. It certainly wasn't me, and how I am
expected to work in these circumstances is beyond me. The man is simply
impossible."
    Before Alice could ask her to
explain those cryptic comments, the limo stopped, and Susan got out without as
much as a good bye. In the blink of an eye they were moving again.
    "Don't worry, Miss, I
know where we're going. The boss has got it all sorted. Just sit back and
relax." Again he smiled at her, and Alice snapped her mouth shut. Lord
only knew what was going on.
    Half an hour later they
pulled up at the back of the hospital, and a bewildered Alice scrambled