Foreign Affair (3 page)

Chapter Four

Niall left her to get ready with a promise to meet her outside City Hall in two hours. Wearing the same suit from last night he paced in front of the City Hall building downtown. It was a huge building and an architectural marvel when it was built in the early 1900’s with columns that resembled Ancient Greece. But Niall didn’t even look up to see where he was and wished he could hear her thoughts right now. Was she freaking out? Was she going to show? Did she have the realization this was a big mistake? Two rings he picked out at the antique shop by her apartment weighed down in his pocket. He picked matching rings, both gold bands with “Avec amour, 1944” engraved on the outside of both of them. Niall thought, even though it was plain, it was romantic. He prayed her’s would fit.

He watched the people walking on the sidewalk, going somewhere in a hurry. The rush that this would soon be his home just starting to hit him. Niall looked to his left to see her walking down the sidewalk, wearing a simple ivory dress. He couldn’t wait to touch the fabric hugging her body and unzip the back to kiss the soft skin underneath it. She carried a small bunch of light pink peonies in her hand, so delicate and packed together they looked like tissue paper.

“Hey stranger,” she said standing in front of him. Niall was speechless at her being here and how beautiful she looked. His face held a blank look. When he didn’t answer she shook her head. “Well you can’t freak out now, Niall. I’m all the way down here in a white dress.”

He stood quickly knowing what she must be thinking. “No. I was just a little speechless. Is it presumptuous to kiss you right now?”

She mockingly considered his requests, her lips pressed together. “I don’t think so. I think a kiss would be perfect right now. But make it a good one, I’m about to be a married woman soon.”

“Oh then I should make it a little vulgar, should I?” She laughed at rested her arms on his shoulders.

He smelled the roses in her perfume. Roses and oranges and his new favorite scent. Taking her face in both of his hands, his thumbs smoothing the skin of her cheeks. Her eyes were impossibly green this morning, the color of the grass in Ireland. He thought at this moment this whole thing was meant to be.

His lips were soft against her. Calming, even. He sucked gently on her bottom lip and then the top before pressing his lips to her’s. His tongue tasting her. His hands moved from her face and he wrapped her possessively in his arms, slightly dipping her back. When he broke the kiss he looked into her eyes for a minute and then heard the voice of a man calling her name.

“Kate?” The voice broke their trance and they both looked back at the source. “What’s going on here?”

With Kate in a white dress, holding a bouquet and Niall still in his suit from last night standing in front of City Hall kissing, there was little doubt what was happening at that moment. But James, Kate’s date from the night before, stood in disbelief.

“James. Hi. What are you doing here,” Kate asked.

James’ knuckles turned white, he gripped the handle of his suitcase so tight. “I was walking to the office to get some work done and I saw you. You’re not…” he started shaking his head. “You’re not marrying this bastard that you just met, are you.”

The words felt like cotton in Kate’s mouth and she blushed from embarrassment. Niall pressed himself behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist. “Actually, she is. I am a much better choice than you, after all.” Kate half expected James’ to throw his briefcase at them and lunge for Niall. But he just raised his eyebrows.

“Wow, Kate. I’ve never knew you were such an idiot,” he said walking past them spitting one last insult on her as he passed. “Have a nice life, bitch.”

Kate stared at the sidewalk in front of her, suddenly feeling every bit the idiot that James said he was. But Niall stepped to her side and took her hand breaking her from her thoughts.

“Come on then, love,” he said smiling. Kate couldn’t do anything but nod.

***

              Kate couldn’t stop laughing. The muscles in her stomach ached from laughing so hard for so long. Her cheeks even hurt. She couldn’t stop smiling from the moment the Justice of the Peace said “I now pronounce you man and wife,” and Niall kissed her in grand, cinematic fashion. Dipping her back and everything and then lifting her to kiss every inch of her face. Niall turned to the Justice beaming and shook his hand “You just made me the luckiest man in the world.”

They had gone to a little wine shop near Kate’s apartment and picked out some champagne. Niall beaming at the cashier and tilting his head towards Kate, “this one just married me, think she’s a little crazy,” he asked. The cashier smiled and said congratulations, totally skipping over Niall’s question. She walked him to the beach on Lake Michigan and took off her heels before running in the sand to a pier that stood out in the giant lake.

Niall watched her smile and her hair whipping in the wind, feeling like this is the moment that he had been dreaming of all his life. The moment where a woman like Kate was his.

At City Hall Kate had realized while filling out the marriage license that she didn’t even know what Niall’s last name was.

“O’Connor. What’s your’s?”

“Franklin,” she said. “Wait, well I guess it is O’Connor now.” Niall raised an eyebrow and smirked.

“Taking my name, are you?”

Kate tiled her head. “Is that okay?”

“It’s great with me, if that is what you want.”

She nodded and filled in his last name. “It’s what I want.”

Truthfully seeing James had rocked her. It brought her out of the bubble her and Niall were in for the past 18 hours. Kate knew her mother would be hurt and upset with her getting married at the very least and she couldn’t help but feel this whole thing was a little self-destructive and stupid of her. How would they get through the process of moving him over here? What did she really know about him? Pushing the thoughts from her head she decided to go through with everything. Why not think of this as a crazy adventure? The one time Kate Franklin (now O’Connor) married the hot Irishman she met at a bar when he broke up her date.

Now she sat leaning next to him on the pier, the sun setting over the lake. They passed the bottle of champagne between them, like kids. Niall pressed his face into her hair and smelling her scent.

“It looks like an ocean,” he said. People had told him about this lake but he didn’t believe a lake like this could be so massive. Going so far that you couldn’t see Michigan on the other side of it.

Kate smiled. “Yeah it’s pretty great. Now you get to see it all the time.”

“So Mrs. O’Connor, what kind of honeymoon do you want?” She smiled at the thought of this and his sweet question.

“I get a honeymoon,” she asked craning her neck to look at him.

“Of course you do, love. We have to do something traditionally.”

Kate pressed her lips together in thought. “Ireland?”

“Ireland? Don’t you want to choose somewhere warmer?” Kate laughed and turned her body to kneel in front of him.

“I would choose somewhere warmer but I don’t know if your delicate, Irish skin could handle it.” She pressed a hand to her chest. “I’m just being a good wife and looking out for you.”

Niall grabbed her hand and kissed her palm. “So you are. If you want to go to Ireland, we can go to Ireland. But it doesn’t count as a honeymoon because the groom is from there.”

“I have such a demanding husband,” she said smiling at him. His eyes darkened and his face looked as if he had the best secret he was holding in.

“You have no idea, Mrs. O’Connor,” he said his hand slipping up the hem of her dress to feel her smooth thigh.

Chapter Five

              The moment they arrived back at Kate’s apartment building, they couldn’t keep their hands off of each other. All teeth and lips and hands frantically sliding over each other. When they got into the elevator he pressed her back into the wall lifting her hands above her head to pin them there.

              “I could fuck you right here. Is that what you want?” Kate sighed and nipped his bottom lip with her teeth.

              “Did you ever picture your future wife to be dirty?” She smirked at him.

              Niall shook his head. “You’re better than what I pictured. But do you want to be dirty, love?” Kate said nothing, just smiled and arched her back so her hips would just come in contact with where he was already hard. His smiled deepened. “Oh yes you do,” he said turning her to face the wall and unzipping her dress. When the elevator pinged that they were at the right floor, Niall stepped back and released her hands. Giving her a light spank he growled “I think I need a little show, Mrs. O’Connor.”

              Kate gave him a wink and walked past him out of the elevator turning to face where he stood and staring him in the eye as she shrugged her ivory wedding dress off into a pool at her feet. For a dress so demure, Niall had no idea she was hiding a royal blue silk bra with black lace and matching thong. If the Devil was a woman, she would be this. She stood with her hands on her hips, commanding the situation and licked her lips seductively.

              “Coming, Mr. O’Connor,” she asked huskily before walking down the hallway to her apartment. She seemed like a woman possessed. She didn’t know where she got the grace to saunter in front of him, letting his gaze slide all over her backside and unsnap her bra. She covered her breasts in her arms and threw her bra back at him. Not worrying at all if someone walked out to see her nearly naked and doing a striptease in the hallway. Niall followed her like a lost puppy. Not wanting to miss a single move or a single glance over her shoulder. He stopped to pick up her dress and her bra. Right in front of her door she stopped and put two thumbs underneath the waist of her thong and that was enough. He sped up to catch her, picking her up and cradling her in his arms.

              “Hey! Wait!” Kate called in surprise.

              “That’s enough Mrs. O’Connor. The neighbors can’t have all of you. Some things are mine, alone. Besides, I have to carry you over the threshold.”

***

              Woke the next morning to Kate’s smell of roses and oranges but cold sheets where she fell asleep. Rain was falling over the city. Sitting up in the grey light, he slid on his boxers hearing Kate’s muted voice in the other room.

              “I don’t really care what James said, Mom,” she whispered forcefully. Niall froze in his place to hear what she was saying over the downpour outside. She paused. “I know. But I didn’t like him anyway.” Her mom must have heard from James what happened over the last couple of days. Niall should be out there with her, most assuredly, getting it from her mother. “You’re right. It was irresponsible getting married to a man I don’t know.” At this whisper, Niall’s heart fell. He saw her face after seeing James yesterday, but she looked so happy later he thought they could move past it. “Fine, Mom. Fine, whatever you want,” she said quietly.

              Kate tried to hold back her tears, but they burned in her eyes and it was no use. She was about to break Niall’s heart. He looked so happy yesterday and like he couldn’t believe she was there it was hard to turn him down and give into reality. She wiped her eyes and walked back into the bedroom where she hoped he was still asleep.

              Niall looked directly into her green eyes, now red with tears, as she walked back into the bedroom.

              “Oh I thought you were still asleep,” she stared at him for a minute before moving to her closet.

              “Bad conversation with dear Mom,” Niall called to her, trying to lighten the mood.

              “You could say that.” Kate found a pair of yoga pants and an oversized white button up to throw on and walked back out of the closet to put on her earrings.

              “What’s wrong, Kate?”

              Her eyes watered, looking back at him in the mirror. His brow furrowed in confusion. “I, um, I don’t think I can do this.” She bit her lip and then turned to the door. Niall couldn’t let her leave the room. He strode to her and turned her to look at him.

              “What do you mean you can’t do this?”

              Kate looked everywhere but his face. She gestured between them. “I can’t do this. It was irresponsible and self-indulgent and don’t make this harder on me.”

              Niall dipped his head to catch her gaze. “Harder on you?”

              Kate pushed his hands from her hips. “Yes harder on me. I don’t want to do this to you,” she said walking out of the bedroom and packing up her purse.

              He couldn’t believe what was happening. Where this all came from. “So don’t do it, Kate.” When he saw her put on her shoes he said, “Where are you going?”

              She looked up at him with sad eyes. Looking for what would probably be the last time. Kate had only known him a short time, but she would miss his chiseled chest and his Irish brogue in her ear.

              “I’m going somewhere to think,” she said opening the door. Before she left she caught the door with her left hand and looked back at him. “You shouldn’t be here when I get back. I’ll call you. Goodbye, Niall.”

              She left before he could say anything more. But not before Niall could take the tiny bit of hope that she put on her wedding ring before she left and he saw it glinting on her hand as she walked out the door.