Page 20

Three years before Derrick Bell’s murder

Their wedding was the society event.

It was every little girl’s dream of what a wedding should be. Masses of flowers, a perfectly sunny day, a dreamy setting at the country club.

Tons of friends and associates Noelle had never met before.

Noelle had chosen the dress with the sheer sleeves after Miranda the consultant agreed with Derrick and his mother that it fit the image they wanted to present.

Miranda had then chosen Noelle’s nail polish and earrings and added a small tiara.

Apparently, along with creating the optimal presentation of a political candidate, her experience included wedding planning.

Noelle had just smiled and nodded as her input on her wedding was consistently overruled by Derrick’s mother and Miranda.

Let them do whatever they want.

The end result is what matters.

As she walked down the aisle on her grandfather’s arm, her gaze locked on Derrick’s, and he wiped away a tear. She blinked hard, keeping her own tears at bay. Her grandfather patted her arm. “You’ll be just fine,” he told her.

“I know,” she whispered back.

Her sisters, Savannah, and Derrick’s sister, Lora, made up her wedding party.

A lovely palette of pale peach and pink dresses.

Derrick’s friends and Eve’s boyfriend, Adam, were his attendants.

Derrick had hired Adam to work on his campaign and been so impressed by his skills that he’d promised Adam a job when he was elected.

Keeping it in the family.

Eve and Adam would be married next spring.

Tears streamed down Lucia’s cheeks as her grandfather helped Noelle up the few steps and kissed her cheek.

As she handed her bouquet to Eve, Noelle paused and touched her youngest sister’s face.

“I’m sooo happeee,” Lucia managed to whisper.

Behind Lucia, Savannah covered her mouth, her eyes dancing at Lucia’s wet declaration.

She winked at Noelle and set a comforting hand on Lucia’s shoulder.

Noelle eyed her line of attendants, thankful that she had such good women in her life.

She turned to Derrick, who’d been patiently waiting, and he took both her hands.

Her heart jumped at the sight of the love in his eyes.

How did I get so lucky?

Her grandfather took his seat next to Daisy and gave Noelle a firm nod.

They’d agreed to skip the “Who gives this woman” line.

Noelle was her own woman. She wasn’t her grandfather’s possession to be handed off to another man.

Catherine had wanted the traditional line included, saying it would add a sentimental moment to the ceremony.

Noelle had stood firm. She’d allowed Catherine’s influence on her dress, the cake, the decor, and the band. But not this.

Fifteen minutes later they turned to their friends and family, and Derrick bent her over backward for a kiss, raising a cheer from the audience.

Noelle melted into the kiss as she gripped his shoulder to keep from falling, hearing dozens of camera shutters click.

Derrick righted her and raised her hand into the air with a loud whoop, triggering shouts from his friends and a wave of laughter from Noelle.

We did it!

He gripped her hand. “Grab your skirts,” he whispered.

She hoisted them with her other hand, and a second later he led her in a dash down the aisle, faces blurring as they ran by.

At the back of the room, a row of photographers stood ready, and more shutters clicked as Derrick paused to dramatically kiss her again.

Then Miranda opened the doors and pointed down the hall as they ran past. Moments later they were alone in a small room with a tall, wide window that overlooked the lake and greens at the country club.

Someone had laid out a charcuterie board and sandwiches with several bottles of water on a small table between two overstuffed easy chairs that faced the window.

“What’s this?” Noelle managed to gasp after their sprint.

“Sustenance. I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t eat this morning,” said Derrick, leading her to a chair and then plopping into the other.

He grabbed a bottle of water and drank deeply.

“We’ve got a long afternoon and evening ahead of us.

Miranda said sometimes it’s difficult for the bride and groom to eat during the reception, so she wanted to make sure we had a quiet moment alone to do so. ”

“Bless her.” Noelle reached for a sandwich. The consultant was right. She was suddenly starving and grateful for the peace to catch her breath and prepare for the rest of the day. “What was with all the photographers at the back of the room?”

“Press.”

“Eeeesh. I didn’t know they’d be indoors.”

“They practically demanded it.” Derrick layered a cracker with meat, cheese, and apricot jam. “It’ll be helpful. Six weeks until the election.”

Noelle silently nodded, not wanting to discuss politics on their wedding day.

She couldn’t wait for the election to be over. Maybe their lives would have some semblance of normalcy then.

Ever since Derrick had won his party’s primary last spring, he’d been on cloud nine and their lives had been upended—even more than before the primary.

Business associates had backed him, and people they’d never heard of had contributed huge amounts to his campaign.

Noelle had been stunned to learn the amount of money required to run a campaign for a simple assemblyman position.

She couldn’t imagine what it would take to elect someone to a higher office.

Derrick had been busy for months. He’d come home late to the condo, collapse into bed, and then be gone before Noelle woke in the morning.

Her days had felt empty. There was only so much wedding planning she could do. Especially with Miranda and Catherine taking the lead. They’d wanted to carry much of the weight of planning so Noelle wouldn’t feel overwhelmed.

So they’d said.

She missed her job, so Catherine and Lora had connected her with volunteer opportunities and invited her to social events to meet other women in the area.

Clones in the area.

That was how she viewed the women she was introduced to at the social events. She’d learned to recognize high-end designer dresses and shoes. And plastic surgery.

So much plastic surgery. Both good and bad.

There was some invisible level that these women seemed to be striving to attain; their lives were a competition.

Who was the thinnest, fittest, and tannest and who had the biggest diamonds.

Feeling greatly out of place, Noelle had frequently turned to Savannah and her sisters for companionship, doing normal things like going to movies and barbecuing at home, where they wore flip-flops and no makeup.

Nothing that took an hour of prep time to make sure her face and hair were perfect.

After Noelle had passed on a few social invitations so she could attend the four nights of Lucia’s school play, Derrick had brought it up.

“You missed the heart disease fundraiser,” he casually said one evening as they were getting into bed.

“I made a donation.” With Derrick’s money. She was still uncomfortable spending money she hadn’t earned. Even when it was for charity.

“Mother said they missed you.”

Aha.

Catherine was on the fundraiser committee. “I couldn’t miss Lucia’s performance.”

“You’d already seen it last night.”

“It’s tradition that we all go every night the play runs.” Lucia had been in drama for three years. This was the first year she’d had a lead role.

“It’s important for you to make the right connections.”

Connections.

The word was like fingernails on a chalkboard. She’d heard it too many times from both Catherine and Derrick. Their world seemed to rotate around meeting and schmoozing with people whom they could ask later for favors.

Welcome to politics.

Noelle was growing to hate the constant outings. She liked deep, meaningful friendships, not shallow relationships that pretended to be more than they were. Each time she attended an event and was introduced while on Derrick’s arm, people labeled her as candidate Derrick Bell’s fiancée.

Not as Noelle. Even though they were consistently in the limelight, she felt as if she were disappearing, becoming a new person who was known simply by association. Not for who she was at heart.

Even here, at their long-awaited wedding, she knew the reception would consist of meeting dozens of people whose names she’d never remember who had attended the wedding to keep themselves on Derrick’s radar in case they needed a future favor from an assemblyman.

And Derrick kept them close in case he decided in the future to move even further up the political ladder; he’d need their money and their support.

She watched her husband ( husband! ) finally relax in the comfy chair looking over the country club grounds. A look of peace on his face. He’d been carrying a heavy weight for more than a year as they planned the wedding and his campaign.

“Achievement unlocked,” she whispered. “On to the next.”

He turned to her with a grin, and she reached over to wipe some jam from the corner of his mouth. He lightly caught her thumb with his teeth, his gaze heated, and Noelle felt warmth rush from her head to her toes.

“I know what I want to do next,” he whispered, squeezing her hand. “And it has nothing to do with this wedding or politics.”

She swallowed hard. Their sex life was an active one. Innovative and passionate. The best she’d ever experienced.

He stood, strode to the door, and flipped the lock. “All during the ceremony, I wondered what you had on under that dress, Mrs. Bell.”

She grinned and then showed him there wasn’t much.