After Tomorrow (Kingsley series Book 2)

by Haylee Thorne

  Your magnificent eyes that change color according to your mood.

  I smile and wonder what color they must be now. I continue but stop for a moment when I look up and see a cellist, a violinist, and a pianist behind a massive piano. Mika really doesn’t do anything halfway. Now I know where the music comes from, and I can’t believe I didn’t even notice them. Granted, I have been single-mindedly focused on my task at hand. I walk a little farther, and Mika is standing between two enormous bouquets of flowers with number ninety-nine and one hundred. And man, is he a sight. That man always makes me weak in the knees. From the very first moment I laid eyes on him, I have had butterflies, and I continue to have those every single time we are in a room together. Simply thinking about him will do the trick as well. He’s wearing the suit he wore the very first day we met. That day I thought he couldn’t possibly look any better, but right now I know I was wrong about that. Mika looks even hotter than that day. Maybe I feel that way because back then, I didn’t know how impossibly beautiful the heart that went with that stunning package is. He doesn’t say a word. He simply smiles at me and gestures for me to read note number ninety-nine.

  The first time you kissed me was the first time I really started living.

  My eyes fill up with tears. He takes a step forward, takes my chin between his forefinger and thumb, and guides my head and angles it so that I look him in the eyes. He leans in and kisses the tears that have escaped and are streaming down my cheeks. He hands me note one hundred. It reads:

  You, Raeva Lindsey Ray, are my true north.

  “Oh, Mika,” I choke out. “This is so beautiful.”

  I look back up at him, and he sinks onto his knee before me. He holds out a small glass box. When he opens it, there is a stunning ring lying on a tiny white satin pillow. I gasp, and my hand shoots up to cover my mouth. Tears are falling freely now; I know that trying to stop them is pointless.

  “Raeva,” he says hoarsely. “I have written down one hundred little things that make me love you. One hundred little things about you that make you everything to me. But those reasons barely scratch the surface. I can write a million reasons and still have more left. You are nothing like anyone I have ever met. I am living in color for the first time in my life, and I implore you, don’t make me go back to the grimness that was my black and white life,” he says, pausing his speech just long enough to kiss my hand. “I have told you before, Raeva, that you’re my tomorrow. You are more vital to my survival than my next breath. I have always believed that I was destined to spend my life alone. I never needed anyone else besides Mik. I never realized I was looking for something, for someone. And then I met you, and everyone else seemed so…so bland. I never dreamed that I could have a tomorrow, but you gave it to me. And now I almost have everything. All that there is left for me to want now is what comes after tomorrow. You made me a very happy man when you agreed to move in with me. But I am a selfish man when it comes to you, and I want more. I want to ask you for one more thing. Please, Raeva, make me the happiest man on the planet by agreeing to be my wife. Allow me to take care of you, to love you, to worship you until my last breath. If you agree, I promise to spend every day being a better version of myself until the day comes that I finally deserve you. Raeva Lindsey Ray, will you marry me?”

  I am at a loss for words. He looks at me expectantly, and I know that he is waiting for an answer.

  “Mika, I—” I croak.

  I clear my throat and try again.

  “Mika, my entire life I have felt mediocre. I always felt like I wasn’t enough, and those feelings were always confirmed by others. I didn’t know how to love myself, and so I never really knew how to truly love another. But you have changed all that,” I say through my tears. “You have made me feel beautiful, you have made me feel appreciated, and you have made me feel wanted, and those are things that I have never felt before.”

  I sniffle a bit.

  “I mean, look at me, Mika. No makeup, hair a mess, and if it wasn’t for this dress Mikaela made me wear—oh.”

  I giggle through my tears. Mikaela insisted I wear this flowy maxi dress today. The weather is amazing, she said. I shake my head.

  “As I was saying…even when I don’t look my best, you make me feel special. You have taught me how to look at myself and see what you see when you look at me. You say that you started living the first time we kissed? I say that my heart was asleep until the moment you touched it. I’m not sure why you think you don’t deserve me, but I think you have it the other way around. There isn’t a woman on this planet that wouldn’t kill to be in my shoes. I treasure the time we spend together, and I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my days with you, Mika Kingsley. So, what I am trying to say in a very roundabout way, is yes. I would really love to be your wife.”

  Mika beams at me and slips the ring onto my finger, and I look down onto my hand and really see it. I am blown away; the ring is simply stunning. The band is covered entirely in small diamonds, and the halo in the center that surrounds the enormous rock in the middle is also covered with smaller diamonds. Mika stands and pulls me closer. His lips find mine in a beautiful kiss, sealing the agreement we just made.

  “I hope you like the ring; it was my grandmother’s. We can replace it if you are not happy with it. I just thought—”

  “Oh, hush, it’s perfect. And knowing it was hers makes me love it even more. Is Mikaela okay with this? I mean, wouldn’t she want to have it for herself one day?”

  Mika smiles and kisses the tip of my nose.

  “Okay with it? It was her damn idea! Besides, she has my mother’s ring.”

  That makes me feel better.

  “I’m very happy you said yes,” Mika says with a smirk.

  “You thought I might say no?” I say with a chuckle.

  “I thought you might need some convincing,” he says as he waggles his brows suggestively.

  I laugh.

  “Maybe I should have played a little harder to get.”

  “Well, you would have just been prolonging the inevitable.”

  “Is that a fact?”

  “It is…and you would have had all these people waiting.”

  “All these…” my voice trails off.

  The entire rooftop is swarming with people now, and everyone we love is here. I am completely speechless.

  “You’ve agreed to marry me, and there is no time like the present. In my heart you are already my wife, but I want it to be true in every sense. I want the world to know that you are mine, and I don’t want to wait. Everyone we care about is here. There is no reason to wait.”

  My mouth drops open.

  “Mika, I can’t get married looking like this!”

  Jill and Mikaela interrupt my resistance. Jill runs up to me and throws her arms around me, and Mikaela does the same to Mika.

  “That was one of the most romantic things I have ever seen. I’m so happy for you, Rae,” she tells me, sobbing in my ear.

  Her crying is making me cry again, too.

  “Let me hug my new sister,” Mikaela says as she dabs her eyes with a handkerchief.

  She hugs me close.

  “Okay, let’s get you ready.”

  “Ready?”

  “Yes, you didn’t think we were going to let you get married looking like that, now did you?”

  I look at Jill, who’s smirking.

  “Besides,” Mikaela continues. “You’re going to be a Kingsley now. There is no way we can let you go around looking anything less than fabulous,” she says with a wink.

  I still can’t believe I am about to get married! Jill and Mik have cleaned this girl up in record time. When we got downstairs to get dressed, I thought that I was all cried out. Boy, was I wrong. When Mikaela presents me with a stunning wedding gown that she especially designed for today, I bawl my eyes out. The dress is simple but elegant. The dress has a plunging illusion v-neckline and an illusion open back; the sequined lace gown is stunning.

&nb
sp; “No more crying after I do your makeup,” Mikaela says sternly.

  “I can’t promise anything of the sort,” I reply, still sniffling.

  She laughs.

  “Ha! I’m not sure if I can either.”

  They get to work, and after helping me into my dress and covering me up with a robe, they get to work on my hair and makeup. Suddenly Mikaela spins around and runs out of the room.

  “I’ll be right back,” she yells over her shoulder.

  I look at Jill, completely confused, but she just shrugs and chuckles.

  “I gave him the talk,” she says. “You know, the if you hurt her, I’ll kill you speech. He took it well, I think,” she says, laughing.

  I chuckle along.

  “I really am so happy for you. I may not always like his methods, but I, and any other idiot, can clearly see that the man adores you,” she says, smiling.

  It occurs to me that I have not asked her to be my maid of honor yet. I tell her so.

  “Um duh, that was already a given, and Mikaela is a bridesmaid. You are my person—my sister—and so it is my responsibility to get you your something blue. You know me, it had to be a little sexy, too,” she says with a wink as she hands me a beautiful lace garter with blue silk woven through it.”

  I hug her tightly.

  “Don’t start, Rae,” she warns.

  I swallow hard and nod. After a few moments, I have collected myself enough to speak.

  “Thank you, Jillybean,” I croak. “You truly are the best person a person could wish for, and I FLOVE you so much.”

  “I FLOVE you, too. More than Oreos.”

  “More than Oreos, always.”

  We hug again.

  “Oh, before I forget, Mika insisted on giving you your something new.”

  “Isn’t this huge engagement ring something new?” I say, amused.

  “Nope, that would be your something old.”

  Jill hands me a small black box, and I recognize it immediately. It is another charm for my bracelet. I open it and smile when I see the little heart lying on the red satin lining. I pick it up to inspect it closer; the outline of the heart has small little diamonds, and it has an M and R engraved on it. It’s delicate and beautiful. When I flip it over, it has today’s date engraved as well. I guess I was a sure thing, I think to myself with humor. There is a little note that reads:

  Thank you for saying, yes. X Mika.

  I’ve barely fastened the charm onto my bracelet when Mikaela bursts back into the room. She must have been running the entire way because the poor thing is out of breath.

  “I want to thank you for giving my brother another chance when he didn’t deserve it because he needed someone to embrace his love, and I didn’t think he would ever let that happen,” she says as she takes my hands into hers. “Our father is a terrible, terrible man, and he has made us suffer more than you’ll ever know. Mika has spent his life trying not to be anything like our father, but everything he does, and everywhere he goes, people associate our father with him. He didn’t want to become what my father was to my mother and to us. While I always hoped that he would one day find love, I was losing hope. Anyway, I digress…”

  She holds out a beautiful pair of dewdrop earrings, the pear-shaped diamonds surrounded by halos and suspended on a string of little diamonds.

  “These were given to me by my mother. I would like you to use them as your something borrowed.”

  I take the earrings from her with trembling fingers.

  “I don’t know what to say, Mik. Thank you so much. Who would have guessed that when I found the love of my life, he’d come as a package deal with a best friend?”

  We hug again.

  “Don’t you dare ruin the amazing makeup job I did on you by crying,” she says, her voice shaking.

  “I’m trying,” I tell her in the same tone.

  “I want in on this,” Jillybean says as she throws her arms around us both.

  We stand here for a bit, hugging each other in silence. Mikaela’s phone buzzes loudly on the dresser.

  “That must be the groom getting impatient,” she says with mock irritation. “Let’s go get you hitched!”

  I swallow hard as I walk toward the man I love. I am clutching the flowers in my hand so tightly, I bet that if I were to look down at my hand, I would see that my knuckles have turned white. My mouth feels dry, my breathing has become shallow, and my heart thinks that it is racing in the Olympics and going for gold. River offers me his arm, and I lace an arm through his. Being as he is the man of the Ray family, he’s agreed to walk me down the aisle, even though I think Jill talked him into it.

  “Are you sure about this, sis? We can still make a run for it.”

  I look at River, who is wearing an expensive suit that I know for a fact he didn’t pick himself. Again, I’m sure it was all Jill. Of course, he has a crazy shirt under it, but at least he’s wearing a tie. To be fair, my little brother cleans up well, and without a crazy pattern, it just wouldn’t be him.

  “I’m good,” I chuckle. “I’m happy.”

  He smiles at me.

  “I know,” he says simply.

  When we walk out onto the rooftop terrace, the sky has turned dusky. It is still warm, but there is a soft breeze that caresses my bare skin. I scan the entire terrace, and I think they have added even more candles. I am not sure if the chairs were there earlier on not, but there are a few rows of chairs for the select guests at our wedding. It’s perfect, it’s intimate, and it’s totally paparazzi free. I love the fact that we are having such small guest list. Besides our wedding party, my mom is here, as well as my sister Serena and her husband. Mikaela’s friends Sasha and Becky are here, and so are Tammy and Laura from Hillcrest. There is a couple that I have never seen before; the guy is quite handsome, and the woman on his arm is gorgeous. I wonder who they are. The music starts playing, and it’s the wedding song by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The moment I see Mika, I cannot stop staring at him. He’s standing beneath a stunning wedding arch with yellow, red, and orange flowers all around and a yellow, see-through fabric that is beautifully draped. He isn’t wearing a tux but a casual suit. Well, as casual as a suit can get. He’s unbuttoned the top two buttons, and I salivate at the prospect of my view when I get to the end of the path of scattered yellow and red rose petals that lead to the arch. Dear lord, he looks good. Eric Hardwick is standing next to him, as is Sean. I totally agree with his choices; those two are the best guys for the job, and I really adore them. The pair of them watch out for my man, and so I adore them just for that alone. Next to them are Jill and Mikaela, who are wearing matching dresses. Leave it to the pair of them to have an outfit that is perfect, even if it is last minute. Well, who knows how long they’ve been planning this, but it couldn’t have been that long. River leads and walks to the beat of the song. I wouldn’t say that we are walking slow, but we are walking too slow for my liking.

  “Easy Rae,” River chuckles. “Enjoy the moment. Watch his expression. He is beaming. That goofy grin on his face makes him look his age instead of always so serious.”

  I look up at Mika once more, and our eyes lock. Even from this far away, I can easily drown in those eyes. Everyone else seems to disappear, and all I can see is the man who has swept me off my feet, the man who has taught me what it is to love, and the man I am about to marry. River says something else, and I can hear the words, but even though he’s right beside me, he sounds miles away. Mika eyes are twinkling with amusement, and he steps forward and holds out his hand.

  “Breathe, Sweet Pea,” he tells me.

  I snap out of my dreamworld and realize that I have stopped moving about five feet away from him. I have no idea how long I have just been standing here staring at him. Every person here must think I am a basket case. I sheepishly take his hand. The very second my hand is in his, I know that that’s where it belongs.

  “We will reach the finish line together,” he adds with wink.

  We walk the last ste
ps hand in hand until we are in place in front of the arch. The man officiating our wedding asks if anyone objects, and to speak now or forever hold their peace. Jill and Mikaela both turn to the guests as if to say nobody better speak. We all burst out laughing. We don’t do our own vows because they threw this on me last minute, and I didn’t have time to write mine. And let’s be honest, at the moment my brain isn’t capable of stringing together a proper sentence, never mind a heartfelt vow, so we opt for the traditional wedding vows. I still cry through mine. When we are pronounced husband and wife and Mika dips me and bestows a mind-blowing and borderline inappropriate kiss on me, everyone bursts into loud whooping and hollering. Instead of rice they throw rose petals, and it’s lovely.

  We do our rounds, thanking our guests for attending our wedding. Mika introduces me to the only people here I have not met yet. The man is Mika’s college buddy, who according to him is one of the smartest men in business. He was also recently married, and Mika insisted he bring his new wife to our wedding. Mike introduces the couple as Drew and Hannah Sapphire. They are a gorgeous couple, and I instantly like Hannah. I’m a little surprised that Mika has friends besides Eric. Foot in mouth kind of girl that I am, I blurt that out, much to the delight of Drew, who adds that Mika should consider himself lucky that he tolerates him as a friend. I chat with Hannah while Mika and Drew catch up. We continue making the rounds for a little while longer until we are summoned by Rose to come and eat. The little cabana-like area where we had dinner not too long ago has been emptied out, and all the previous furniture has been replaced with a table long enough to seat all the guests. Of course, the food is amazing, and when they bring out dessert, I at first protest that I am way too full until I see that they are serving my very favorite: crème brûlée. After dessert and the best man/maid of honor speeches, we walk onto a little makeshift dance floor where we get introduced as Mr. and Mrs. Kingsley and do our very first dance as husband and wife. I can’t remember ever feeling this content before.