Craving Cherry Pie

Chapter Nineteen - Speechless

Friday morning rolled around, and I was awake before my alarm went off. Grabbing my things, I quietly stepped out of the hotel room and into the elevator. I headed out the hotel doors and held my hand out to hail a taxi passing by.

I gave him the address and we took off down the road. Stepping out into the familiar driveway, I walked up to the front door and rang the bell.

I heard shuffling and muffled voices before the door swung open, revealing a beautiful women in nothing but lingerie. My heart skipped several beats before she looked me up and down.

In a very thick Spanish accent, she scoffed , rolling her eyes at me.

"Can I help you?" Before holding out her hand to inspect her nails.

"Uh hi, I'm Luna Swan, I'm the planner for the party tonight and I'm here to check up on how things are going" I said nervously.

She stopped picking at her nails the moment I told her my name. She again looked me up and down, but this time more carefully, as if examining any little flaws I might have had on display.

And then she laughed. Her laugh was exactly like you'd expect. Angelic. Of course she laughed like that, you just had to look at her to know she's a special type of perfect.

"So you are the one who has been stealing my Lando from me? Surely he must be losing his good taste" she scoffed.

Her words sliced through my soul. It couldn't be another wife. Surely it couldn't be.

Just as I opened my mouth, Orlando appeared at the top of the stairs, fully dressed in a black cotton T shirt and a pair of green shorts. He spotted me instantly, and noticed who was standing in front of me. He raced down the stairs and over to the front door.

Without hesitation, he swung the door open wide, took me into his arms and kissed me with such passion, I lost my breath. When he broke away from me, I glanced over to see the beautiful women had disappeared from sight.

"My Luna. I have missed you so much" he whispered as he kissed me again and again. Another wave of guilt swept over me, my thoughts drifting back to last night.

Pulling back, I looked up at him, confusion registering on my face.

"Who... who was she?" I asked, fearing the answer.

"That is Camila. She is a daughter of one of my mothers friends. A woman who my family have been trying for years to get me to marry" he said, smiling at some old memory. Shaking the thought from his mind, he took my hand and guided me through to the back yard.

The glass marquees were up, and the lights and decorations were being strung up across the eves. The caterers were set up in one of the far corners of his massive yard, and people were running backwards and forwards from delivery trucks.

"It's coming together beautifully. You have done such amazing work Luna" he said proudly. I smiled up at him before stepping out to speak to the teams who were busy setting up. By the time everything had been hung, placed and set correctly, it was after 3pm, the party was due to start at 7, which meant I needed to back by 7at latest, to make sure the party began smoothly. Placing a swift kiss on Orlando's cheek, I raced off back to the hotel. I had pre-organised hair and makeup for myself, I wanted to look my best.

As the crew arrived and began to work on my hair, my phone buzzed in my hand.

FROM: ORLANDO
What colour is your outfit going to be tonight?

I had purposely kept my dress a secret from everyone. It had been something I'd worked really hard on perfecting and I wanted it to be a surprise.

TO: ORLANDO
It's dark red :) but I can't tell you anything else...

A moment later, my phone buzzed again.

FROM: ORLANDO
it is my favourite colour, especially when it's on you. I can't wait to see you. I know you're going to look stunning.

My heart fluttered wildly in my chest. An hour later, my hair was curled to perfection, and my dark Smokey eye with my dark red lips made me stop and take a second look. It was perfect. It looked exactly how I wanted it to. Sliding the thin straps over my shoulder, I pulled the lace dress up and over my body. Looking in the mirror, the dark red dress stopped just above my knee. Covered completely in lace with a sweetheart neckline, and a tight waist, flaring out as it reached my lower body, it was perfect.

Reaching for the zipper, I tried to tug it up to the top, but it stopped halfway up. Groaning out loud, I heard Tanner outside the bathroom on the phone.
Stepping out into the hallway, my black heels clicked as I approached him.

His back was to me, and I felt extremely nervous all of a sudden. He was wearing a black suit, black shirt and black tie. He looked amazing, so sleek and sexy. Like a temptation sent just for me.

Tanner turned to face me, hearing my heels come down the hallway. He was mid sentence when he completely halted in his tracks. Hanging the phone up without another word, he stepped closer to me and looked me up and down. For once, he was speechless.

"cariño... my god. You look..." he trailed off, never taking his eyes off me.

"Can you please help me with the zipper? I think it's stuck" I said turning around to face my back to him. I could feel him hesitate before he stepped forward and placed his hand on my shoulder, reaching for the zip and pulling it upwards to the top.

Turning to face him, I gave him a small smile in thanks and headed back to the bathroom to put my necklace and earrings on. Grabbing my black clutch, I stepped out into the hallway again.

Tanner didn't say another word the entire time it took us to get back to Orlando's house. We stepped out and admired the view. The glass marquees were shining under the lights. One marquee was set up for the formal dinner, and the other was set for socialising, dancing and games.

"You have done an incredible job here Luna. It is the best I've ever seen. You should be so thrilled, I am so proud of you" he said, kissing my cheek softly before stepping down to meet some of the staff.

Walking to the edge of the stairs, I could see hundreds of guests had already arrived. I knew there were roughly three thousand people expected, so I knew we weren't too late. Looking around, I spotted Orlando almost immediately. He was wearing a full white suit, apart from the pocket square in his jacket, which was a deep red. He was speaking with someone and had his back slightly to me. The gentleman who was speaking with spotted me and immediately looked me up and down, causing Orlando to turn and see why he had gone quiet.

Then, he saw me.