Beautiful Series Boxset, books 1-4

by Lilliana Anderson

  “I thought it would look really pretty, just above your curls.” She removes the comb from my hand and slides it in above the pinned curls. I twist my head from side to side to see. She’s right – it does look really pretty there.

  “Thank you. This is perfect. Everything is perfect,” I tell her. I think I may need to pinch myself.

  David

  “Is she ready? Is she ok?” I ask at lightning speed as my mother enters the room I’ve been given to dress in. Her partner, Alex, has been sitting with me and trying talk to keep me calm, but I’m so obscenely nervous that I feel like I might need to take another shower.

  “Just relax darling. She’s fine - she’s dressed and will be ready soon. How are you doing?”

  “I just… has she got the flowers?” I ask, now that it’s all coming to a head, I’m petrified I’ve forgotten something or that something will go wrong.

  “I’m going to take them to her once I leave here.”

  “It’s just that the timing has to be perfect mum, or this is all going to blow up in my face.”

  “I know. I know. It will be ok. Everyone knows the time. We’re going to be ok.”

  She smooths her hand over the side of my face and straightens my silver and royal blue striped tie.

  “You look gorgeous,” she says to me, kissing me lightly on the cheek and then rubbing it with her thumb to remove the lipstick she shared with me. “I’ll go and get everybody into their places.”

  She leaves the room and I blow out some air so I can suck more in. I’m so nervous I might need a paper bag soon.

  Katrina

  A gentle knocks sounds at my door and my mother rushes over to see who it is.

  “It’s your father,” she says opening it and letting him in.

  “Oh hi dad,” I say, walking over to him and giving him a hug. “I guess I understand why you were so nervous now.”

  “Well, it’s not every day your only daughter gets married. You look beautiful honey. A real vision.”

  I thank him while I take his hand in mine and squeeze gently. I don’t think I’ve ever seen my dad look so proud.

  He clears his throat. “Well, I think it’s almost time for us to go out there,” he says.

  “Not without these,” David’s mum says as she opens the door, carefully sliding inside so she doesn’t drop the flowers she’s carrying.

  “Oh Helen! They’re beautiful. Is this my bouquet?” I ask, moving over to the white orchid and blue delphinium arrangement. “It’s just gorgeous!”

  Helen smiles kindly at me as she hands over my bouquet.

  “I must sound really funny today,” I laugh. “All I’ve done is gasp and giggle since we got here.”

  “I’d be worried if you didn’t” she imparts, rubbing her hand down my arm before taking my hand in hers. “If I don’t get the chance to say it before tonight is through – I’m so glad that you’re going to be my daughter. I know it’s kind of been like that all along, but I’m really glad that it’s becoming official.”

  “Thank you Helen, that means a lot to me.”

  “Ok, well your dad knows what to do so he’ll take you out there soon,” she says moving towards the door.

  “See you soon honey, you look absolutely beautiful,” my mother says, her eyes sparkling with happiness as she clasps her hands together and then follows Helen out.

  “Champagne?” I ask my dad.

  He checks his watch and shrugs. “Sure, we’ve got time.”

  David

  Everyone we’ve invited is gathered around, waiting for Trina to appear. We’re all set up on the deck at the bow and so far everything looks perfect. The sun has recently gone down and there are still slight hues of pink and orange in the sky. It’s the perfect setting for a wedding. I just hope it’s enough of a fairy tale for Trina - I want this all to be perfect.

  One of the staff members is standing near the door on the lookout for Trina and her father. He raises his hand to signal that they’re there, and the coordinator looks at me with a raised eyebrow. I nod, butterflies fly about madly in my stomach. She’s coming.

  Music floats through the air and everyone quiets down to shift their attention to the door.

  I steel my breath and wait.

  Twenty-One

  Katrina

  We stand just outside the doors of the reception hall and Adele’s rendition of ‘Lovesong’ starts up. I take a deep breath.

  “Are you ready?” my father asks.

  “I’m nervous, but I’m ready.”

  “You look beautiful.”

  The lyrics start and he tells me that’s our cue.

  Slowly we walk up the pristine white carpet that is our aisle, as it leads us through the group of friends and family who have come to witness our union. But I don’t see any of their faces. I’m focused solely on my man, standing beneath a white archway decorated with blue delphiniums to match my bouquet and fairy lights. It all looks so beautiful against the dark of the night sky and the lights of the city surrounding us.

  David

  I chose this song because the lyrics say exactly how I feel about Katrina. Watching her walk towards me, on the arm of her father, I almost start to cry like a fucking baby. She’s stunning, an absolute vision as she walks through our friends and family.

  Around her is a blur. She’s all I can focus on. My heart swells in my chest as Adele’s voice cries out with emotion. She’s singing that no amount of distance, time, or harsh words could ever change how she feels. The lyrics are so true to me - Katrina is my home, my joy, my life, my freedom.

  I watch her intently, drinking in every detail. I want to remember this moment, it’s the moment we’re to become permanently joined.

  As the music fades out, she is standing right in front of me. Our eyes are locked. My heart thuds loudly in my chest. This is it.

  Katrina

  My dad takes David by the hand and shakes it firmly. There’s a glint in his eyes where tears are forming and as he kisses my cheek, then places my hand in David’s. I swear I see his lip quivering.

  He takes my bouquet and then moves aside to stand with my mother. Now it’s just David and me, holding hands and grinning stupidly at each other.

  “You look amazing,” he whispers.

  “So do you.” He’s wearing a charcoal grey suit with a silk white shirt and a silver tie with diagonal blue stripes. He’s even wearing cufflinks. I drink in every detail. He looks like every meal I could ever want or need. Delicious.

  The celebrant, a woman of around 40, with long dark hair held elegantly on her head in a French roll, moves so she’s standing between us as we hold hands. She’s wearing an ivory suit with a blue delphinium attached to the breast. She matches the setting perfectly.

  When she begins the ceremony by introducing herself and saying a few lines she’s legally required to. It makes the wedding official. Those gathered stand so quietly that we can hear the lapping of the water against the side of the boat.

  “Welcome everyone, we’re all gathered upon this boat on a beautiful New Year’s Eve to witness the union of David and Katrina. They are each important to you all for many reasons, and I believe this is an especially happy occasion because you’ve all waited so long for it. As I understand it, David had to resort to trickery to get his bride here today. But let’s pretend I didn’t say that – I wouldn’t want anyone to get into trouble,” she jokes, a small rumble of laughter goes through our audience. David and I gaze intently into each other’s eyes as we listen. Smiling happily and absorbing every word she says. He squeezes my hands gently, in silent communication as she continues.

  “When I look at this young couple before me, I see something very special between them. They stand here today committed to nurturing the love they have between them, and continuing their life long journey together as husband and wife. Today is the day when they will formally and publicly make their promises to each other.

  “While the wedding is truly one of the highlights in
a couple’s relationship, it is but a drop in the great ocean that will be made up of the moments you will share.

  “If we think of each moment like a drop of water, each on its own may be seemingly insignificant, but when collected over a lifetime they become something so vast and all-encompassing that an ocean of moments can be created. It surrounds us, filling us up and reminding us how important we are to each other.

  “Every act of kindness, every loving touch, and every tear that is wiped from a cheek, holds in it a drop of love to add to our ocean.

  “Today is but one moment, one drop of the vast ocean that will represent David and Katrina’s life and love for one and other.

  “David has planned vows for Katrina that he would like to read out in front of you all, and Katrina, has also prepared vows that were sent to me in a sealed envelope with strict instructions that I wasn’t to let David even peek at them. So here they are, still sealed tight,” she says to me, handing me the envelope that I had secretly given my mother for safe keeping. I wanted to be sure that I got to say what I wanted, so I prepared my vows early and asked her to make sure they made it here.

  David

  I lift Trina’s trembling hand to my lips as she takes hold of the envelope. I can’t believe she’s prepared her own vows and I’m fighting tears as I release her hand and watch her tear open the envelope and remove the paper from inside.

  Taking a deep breath, she looks at the paper, then at me. “David, by now I’m sure you know the truth. But if that wedding album I’ve been harbouring all these years didn’t tell you, then I’m going to do it now - I have loved you for as long as I can remember.

  “From the moment we met on that bus as kids, you captured my heart.

  “I was yours, and you were mine.

  “When I think of all the years we spent being only friends, I wonder if they were wasted or whether they were needed to help us grow close and to understand how important we are to each other.

  “Not one day passes by where I don’t think of you, wish to see you, or feel saddened in the moments we’re apart. I can’t breathe without you David. You are my air, you are my sustenance. You are my life, the one person in this world that makes me whole. I can’t imagine my life without you in it, and I never want to.

  “For the rest of my life, I promise to stand by you, to love you, to back you up in your decisions, to have your babies and to never give up. I love you David,” she finishes, her voice catching toward the end as she struggles against her tears.

  “That was beautiful,” I whisper, leaning forward to kiss her. The emotion is bursting out of my chest and propelling me forward.

  “Whoa there big boy. You’re getting a little ahead of yourself,” the celebrant cuts in. Our audience chuckles in response. “David would you like to read out your vows to Katrina?”

  I nod and take the cards she hands to me. I can’t stop my hands from shaking the words about. I blow out a breath to get a hold of myself and flex and fist my hand, trying to regain some control.

  “God, I can’t hold them steady,” I laugh.

  Trina reaches for my hand and holds it to her chest. We’re only inches apart. “It’s just me and you. Focus on me,” she whispers.

  I breathe out again and give her a quick nod. I just want to kiss her, but I get a grip on my emotions and I start to speak.

  Katrina

  I’ve never seen David so nervous before. It’s a far cry from the usual self-confident man I see on a daily basis. Right now he’s actually shaking and has broken out into a light sweat. I hold his hand tightly and stand close against him so he can forget about what’s going on around us. My heart beats wildly in my chest as he draws his breath to begin. I can’t wait to hear what he’s written.

  “Katrina, I’ve been waiting for more than sixteen years for this moment. I have never said the words ‘I love you’ to any woman but you.” He looks up and me and pauses, then grins that gorgeous grin of his and adds “except my mum of course, but that’s different.”

  It causes laughter to ripple through those gathered and seems to help relieve his tension. My confident David returns before me, his eyes sparkling. I can practically see his love for me radiating off him in waves. Nothing can describe this feeling. I’m just so… full.

  “I promise to be your husband, your friend and your partner for life. I promise to give you the best of myself, to keep myself open and honest and to grow along with you, and most importantly, I promise to love you with every piece of my heart and soul.

  “During our life together, we have endured things that have tested us and driven us to our limits. But no matter how much the world pushed, we always pushed back harder and have become forever stronger and united because of it. I know that in the future, whatever may come at us isn’t going to change things because we will conquer it – together. Just like we always have.

  “I um, actually came across this poem that I wanted to read to you. I don’t know who wrote it, but it made a lot of sense to me.

  “Love is a friendship that has caught fire.

  It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving.

  It is loyalty through good and bad.

  It settles for less than perfection,

  and makes allowances for human weakness.

  Love is content with the present.

  It hopes for the future and it doesn't brood over the past.

  It's the day-in and day-out chronicle of irritations, problems,

  compromises, small disappointments, big victories,

  and working toward common goals.

  If you have love in your life,

  it can make up for a great many things you lack.

  If you don't have it, no matter what else there is,

  it is not enough.”

  He looks up at me when he’s finished and shrugs a little. “I truly believe Katrina, that you are the spark that lights up my soul and shines on my path to keep me strong. You are my heart, my reason for living, my everything and I want to spend the rest of my life with you by my side, as my friend, my lover, the mother of my children and of course, my wife.”

  I wipe at my eyes, my tears are falling and I can’t seem to stop them. David helps by brushing my tears away with his thumbs. I can’t stop them.

  “I love you so much,” he whispers.

  The celebrant steps forward again and takes a breath to begin the next part of the ceremony.

  “Katrina. Do you come this day with the intent to marry David - for him to be your wedded husband, living together in the state of matrimony? Will love him, comfort him, honour and keep him, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others keep only to him as long as you both shall live?”

  I smile, noticing the slight fleck of worry cross his eyes before I say, “I do.”

  “David. Do you come this day with the intent to marry Katrina – for her to be your wedded wife, living together in the state of matrimony? Will love her, comfort her, honour and keep her, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others keep only to her as long as you both shall live?”

  “I do,” he says immediately.

  “The promises that you have made to each other today, are inscribed forever in your minds and in your hearts. These rings are tangible symbols of their commitment and their emotional and spiritual connection.”

  She holds out her leather folder and lays out two rings.

  “When you wear these rings, you announce to the world that you belong to one another. They are a reminder and a celebration of the promises you have made today and knit your two lives together.”

  She nods her head towards David and offers him my ring.

  “David, take Katrina’s ring and place it on her finger then repeat after me:

  “I give you this ring as a sign that I choose you to be my lover, my partner and my best friend, to the end of my days. Wear it, think of me, and know that I love you.”

  He slips the ring on my finger. It’s the partner t
o my engagement ring and curves slightly so they’ll fit snuggly together. I wiggle my finger, admiring the shine of the diamonds as they sparkle against even the light provided by the wedding arch.

  My cheeks are actually starting to ache from smiling so much as she offers me David’s solid platinum band.

  “Katrina, take David’s ring and place it on his finger and repeat after me:

  “I give you this ring as a sign that I choose you to be my lover, my partner and my best friend, to the end of my days. Wear it, think of me, and know that I love you.”

  I slide the ring over his finger, twisting it slightly so it makes it over his knuckle and hold on tight. I know what’s coming.

  “Congratulations!” the celebrant calls out, “You may now seal your union with a kiss.”

  I fling my arms around David’s neck and press my mouth against his, delighted in the fact that we are now husband and wife while our audience claps and cheers us on. The nine o’clock fireworks erupt from the side of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and it’s as if they’re exploding to celebrate us.

  We’re surrounded by happiness. I couldn’t have asked for anything more wonderful.

  “I love you so much Mrs Taylor,” David beams at me when we finally part lips.

  “Not as much as I love you,” I murmur.

  “Let’s just call it even,” he winks. “I don’t want to start this marriage off in a fight.”

  Laughing, we follow the celebrant over to a small table where we sign the legal documents that officially recognise us as legally married. Lots of photos are being taken as we smile and take turns signing. My mother signs as my witness, and David’s mother signs as his. It’s fitting, because no person could stand in to be ‘best’ anything to either of us. We are all of that and more to each other.

  As we stand from the table the celebrant officially pronounces us husband and wife. We hold hands and beam at each other. All the while shaking hands and accepting kisses and well wishes from our friends and family members.