Zach entered the Bellagio lobby carrying a suitcase and presented himself at the front desk. He had debated about whether to call first, but decided that whatever happened it had to be faced in person. The return trip from the desert had been blessedly free of the agonizing thoughts he had grappled with overnight, and he was once again looking toward the future with interest. Once back at The Seasons, he had showered, shaved and dressed in one of his immaculately tailored suits and packed a bag with enough changes of clothing for at least two days. If she had left the Bellagio, he would spend the night in the penthouse and consider it research. That would give him time to decide his next move before returning to Pine Valley.
"Good morning, Mr. Slater," said the clerk responsible for premium accommodations. It was part of his job to know the name and face of every person registered to a suite on a secure floor, and he was very good at his job.
"Good morning," Zach answered. "I left my key card upstairs. Could you please let Ms. Hart know that I'm here?"
"Ms. Hart asked me to give you this note and your key card when you arrived," the clerk responded as he handed both items to Zach.
Zach felt his heart sink as he realized that Kendall must have decided to leave. He wondered to himself if she ran back to Ethan's arms or if she had decided to purge all the Cambias men from her life. He couldn't blame her… but he found himself even more disappointed than he expected. He quickly opened her note; it was better to accept the bad news and move on quickly than to wait and read it in private. Turn around. That's all the note said… Turn around. Zach frowned a moment before doing as he was instructed. He pivoted, not certain what he expected to see… and saw Kendall walking toward him with an affectionate smile on her face. She was wearing the dress they had purchased at St. Laurent the previous day, carrying a small spray of calla lilies. Her hair was held back in a loose knot with curls dancing around her face. He had never seen her look more lovely…
Kendall had been standing in the shadows for more than ten minutes waiting on his arrival. Her time at the spa had invigorated her despite the lack of sleep. She had explained to the attendants that her pre-wedding jitters had kept her up much too late and they pampered her accordingly. After a mineral bath, she had been treated to a stone massage, a facial and finally enjoyed a manicure/pedicure while having her hair and make-up done. When she returned to the penthouse, she had only to dress in the clothing she had selected before waiting on Zach. She decided that he still deserved to be punished for abandoning her – even though it had worked out for the best. The clerk had been more than willing to oblige her small request in teasing Zach… and she got the impression that he had accommodated much more outrageous requests in the past. The look on Zach's face was humorous … changing from disappointment to consternation, but even she was unprepared for the way his broad smile brightened his features as he saw her emerge beneath the glorious hand-blown glass flowers on the ceiling. He had never looked more handsome…
Zach quickly strode forward, holding out his hands to her, "Kendall… you're still here!"
"How could I leave? I've never been spoiled so much or so well… a girl could get used to this," she answered with a sultry laugh as she placed her hands in his. She was gratified to see a flare of desire light in his eyes. She pulled her hands from his and twirled around before asking, "Do I look the part of the blushing bride?"
He gave a low whistle before answering, "Even better than I imagined when we picked out that dress. You're beautiful, Kendall."
She leaned forward and kissed him as he drew her close, neither of them noticing the stares and interest of other patrons in the lobby. However, since weddings in Las Vegas were commonplace… no one considered it out of the ordinary, although not many couples were quite so handsome together.
"Did you sleep well?" Zach asked her, assuming that she must have quickly gotten over her pique to look so fresh and beautiful.
"It was more like not at all…" she answered playfully. "But they were able to rejuvenate me at the spa this morning."
He took her hand in his as he said, "They certainly did an excellent job." Leading her to the counter, he arranged for his luggage to be taken to the penthouse and then turned his full attention once again to the woman at his side. "I hope you changed your mind… I'd really rather not spend tonight at The Seasons."
"Well… I guess it will be alright…" she said flirtatiously. They walked together toward the bank of elevators that would lead to the small East Chapel and their wedding. Kendall spoke softly as they waited for an elevator, "I hope you don't mind, but I made a small change in the ceremony."
"I'm sure that I won't," he answered in surprise. "Was there something not to your liking?"
"No… everything was perfect. I just wanted to stack the deck in our favor before going back to Pine Valley. Otherwise we'll be sitting ducks for plots by my mother, and Ethan, and every other well-meaning friend either of them has," she answered earnestly.
"And how do you plan to do that?" he said with an arch of his eyebrow. What was she up to? And why did he get the feeling that his simple plan would suddenly become complicated?
"…With a little help from a friend. We have a secret weapon from Pine Valley right here in Las Vegas… and the very helpful people at the concierge were more than happy to locate him for us," she answered with a laugh.
Zach's brow furrowed as he puzzled over her cryptic comments, "I'm afraid you've lost me…"
Their conversation was interrupted as an elevator arrived containing several passengers. After stepping off the elevator at their floor, Kendall continued speaking, "We need to change the rules before we go home, and he's going to help us do that."
Zach looked at her with a puzzled expression, "Change the rules? We've already discussed our agreement in great detail."
"I'm not asking you to change the agreement between us… I'm asking you to play along with a little scheme. We're going to make everyone believe that we've fallen in love with each other," Kendall said pulling Zach into a secluded corner to finish their conversation.
He looked at her, an expression of irritation briefly flickering across his face before he schooled his features to impassivity, "Kendall… we don't love each other and everyone in Pine Valley already knows that. No one is going to believe that we fell madly in love in the space of two days… and quite frankly, the effort to make them believe that is more than I'm willing to expend."
Kendall looked at him and let out a small growl of frustration, "Don't do that, Zach. Will you please just hear me out?" He sighed deeply and nodded to her before she continued, "I'm not asking you to do anything except continue to behave as you have since we came to Vegas. You can be quite charming and civilized… and… oh… you know what I mean. In Pine Valley you have this way of making people feel like you're pissed off at them all the time…"
He threw back his head and laughed, "But I like making people think I'm pissed off at them… and in Pine Valley I usually am."
"See… that's what I mean… you'd surprise everyone if you just acted like you are right now," she continued earnestly. "And that's all I'm asking you to do… it's all you need to do… just… just be… attentive… to me and act… um…"
"Kendall," he said to her softly, realizing how distressed she was becoming, "It's never going to work… forgetting the obvious time factor… Ethan and Maria will be constant reminders of the fact that we have been in love… with other people… very recently. Now let's get going, you don't want to be late for your own wedding."
As Zach made to walk away, she placed herself in front of him with her hand on his chest, "Wait a minute… I… we… we need to resolve… this before we get to the chapel."
He stood still and waited patiently for her to continue. When she didn't speak he glanced at his watch with an air of impatience, "They won't hold the chapel for us if we're not there, Kendall. Weddings are a business… if we don't show up they'll just go on to the next one."
"Alright," she said breathing deeply. "Please listen to what I'm trying to say… This marriage is a business arrangement and everyone knows that's what it is. We haven't lied to anyone and we won't lie to them… we continue to insist it's strictly business to everyone. But… we have an unbiased third party to spread the word that we've fallen in love with each other… that becomes an armor we use to protect ourselves from any plots to overturn our marriage – my mother, especially, will think twice about breaking us up if my heart is involved."
Zach shook his head, "Kendall… this was a simple and straightforward business arrangement. Why do you need to make it so complicated? Besides, even if we fool your mother… which I highly doubt we can accomplish… there's still Ethan. Don't you think that he will be even more likely to cause trouble if he believes that you… or I… have more to lose than money? In gambling terms… this is a very bad bet."
She looked crestfallen and he felt a twinge of remorse that he couldn't provide her with what she asked. He felt even worse when her face suffused with color as she said softly, "…but it seemed like such a brilliant idea."
He lifted her chin and kissed her forehead gently, "I give you full credit for originality. Our casinos will do very well with creativity like that." Wanting to bring the sparkle back into her eyes, and feeling very sorry that he had made her feel sad and embarrassed just before their wedding, he drew her into his arms and said quietly into her ear, "Well… since you've already made the arrangements… I don't see what harm a little… um… special treatment will do… if it's that important to you, I promise… your 'secret weapon' will never be the wiser."
Kendall smiled to herself, surprised that she had been able to get Zach to let his guard down so easily. She'd have to remember that embarrassment worked better than tears on him. Still determined that her plan would work, she laughed lightly, "Exactly! And isn't living well the best revenge… if we seem happy together…"
"… we will put all of our detractors to shame." he said with a smile as his lips traveled from just beneath her ear, down her neck to her bared shoulder. She shivered and allowed him to capture her mouth with his own as he cradled her in his arms.
"Kendall?" a voice said from behind them. "Now… you need to save that… until after… after the wedding…"
Zach reluctantly pulled out of the kiss and looked over the top of Kendall's head to see Stuart Chandler standing in the hallway wearing a suit – and looking very much like his brother.
"Stuart?" he asked.
"I really look like Adam in this get-up don't I?" he answered. "But you can't be the witness to a wedding in a sweater. You have to dress up for weddings."
Zach looked down at Kendall, amusement lighting his eyes. She laughed with him, glad that he wasn't angry with her, but still determined that her plan would work. Kendall was sure that Stuart would waste no time in notifying his wife Marion of the nuptials he had the opportunity to witness, and she would be unable to keep that news to herself … and to make sure that his tale was the one she wanted him to tell, she pulled Zach's head down for a very passionate kiss.