by Sian Ceinwen
Sources say that it’s being held at an exclusive hotel in the center of Chicago. We’re not sure exactly when the wedding was officially back on again, as confirmed in last month’s interview with Carol Sampson, but this must have been put together quickly.
We’re told that it’s going to be a very romantic affair, and the couple has handwritten their own vows for the occasion. We can’t help wondering if Harrison has written a special song for his love to celebrate their special day?
Chapter 27
THE WEDDING
HEATHER WAS SITTING IN a limousine, and they were about twenty minutes away from Galena. Ariana, Ally, and Jake were sitting with her. Her brother was walking her down the aisle today.
“I didn’t think that I’d be nervous!” she announced to the car.
“It’s pretty normal to be nervous, sis,” Jake said to her, with a grin, “I was so worried that Chloe wouldn’t show up on our wedding day!”
“That’s dumb,” Heather rolled her eyes at him, “she loves you. Of course, she was going to show up.”
“Exactly,” he smirked.
Ariana laughed, “You can all remind me of this when it’s my turn!”
“I wonder how all of your celebrity friends took the news when they were told they had a three-hour-long drive to the wedding,” Ally said.
“Oh god,” Heather laughed, “I’m going to cop some major shade for that, no doubt! I wish I could look online and find out.”
The others laughed because Heather had been subjected to a social media blackout, and Ariana was holding Heather’s phone hostage this morning. Any of their guests who hadn’t known in advance that the wedding was being held out at Sebastian’s estate had been given the address of an upscale Chicago hotel as the venue. A lot of their guests had booked into the hotel, and everybody had been warned to plan for two nights in Chicago.
When their guests arrived for the apparent eleven o’clock wedding, they should have been directed to limousines that took everyone to Galena. Every limousine had been decked out with food and drinks for the trip.
After arriving at Galena, everyone was to be treated to cocktails before heading out to the area where the wedding ceremony was being held. Heather’s breath caught as they pulled up to the gates. There it was, the fancy gold script on the gates always looked impressive to Heather.
Maison De L'amour Et De La Musique
The place that she would marry the love of her life. The man who was her heart’s song.
They drove up the long driveway, and Heather felt her nerves rising. This day had been a long time coming. She had loved Harrison since she was a teenager; they had been through so much to get to this place today. Heather looked at her hands and realized that they were shaking.
“You’re going to be fine,” Ariana smiled at her kindly, as they pulled to a stop under the porte-cochère.
Callum opened the door to the limousine and poked his head inside, “It’s time, Miss York.”
“Which means that you’re officially off the clock, Cal. Go find Ellen and sit down; I need all the guests there when I walk down the aisle,” she smiled at him.
“Yes, ma’am!” He gave her a salute, and she laughed.
Heather stepped carefully out of the car; her dress was just as amazing as she’d always hoped that it would be. In the end, she’d ended up making it with an intricate lace-detailed bodice that had a plunging, V neckline, coming down to a tulle skirt that flared out with the lace detailing carried down the skirt. Underneath the tulle skirt, she’d gone with a baby blue fabric. The end result was absolutely gorgeous, and she couldn’t be happier with it.
It was her ‘something blue.’ She had a pair of her grandmother’s pearl earrings on, her tiara was a stunning one that had been loaned to her from an exclusive jewelry designer in New York City, and Harrison had promised to take care of her ‘something new.’
Before he’d left for Galena last night, he had given her the most amazing, diamond, heart lock necklace. It was absolutely stunning in white gold, and the diamonds sparkled. Heather loved it, and Harrison told her as he helped her to put it on that he couldn’t wait for her to become his wife today. She knew that she would never take it off; it was her favorite piece of jewelry, ever, after her engagement ring.
“Are you ready for this?” Ally asked her as they stood in a group, waiting for their cue to head down to the ceremony.
Heather grinned at her, despite her nerves, “I feel like I’m going to be sick, but I’m also more than ready for this. Thank you guys so much, not just for today, but for everything this year. I’m not sure what I would’ve done without your support.”
Ally and Ariana both hugged her as one of the support staff that were assisting with the event arrived to tell them that it was time.
Heather could hear beautiful classical music playing as Ally started walking away from them. She didn’t know who had pulled the strings required to hire people from the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra to perform at their wedding, but the result was amazing. Ariana gave her a final hug and a wish of good luck before she started off.
“You’ll be fine, sis,” Jake assured her, as he held his elbow out to her for them to link arms.
Heather hooked her arm around his, then went back to gripping her pastel pink and blue bouquet in a death grip before replying with, “Thanks, Jake.”
Then they were signaled to go. They walked through an archway near the garage that led down to the grounds. Sebastian had a gorgeous gazebo down by a beautiful lake that had made for the perfect place to hold their wedding ceremony. As it came into view for Heather, she could see that it had been decorated with tulle and flowers in keeping with the pastel theme.
The guests that had previously been seated on white, wooden chairs were all standing and looking at her now. There were a lot of them, more people than she ever could have expected. Jake’s steadying arm was comforting as she continued walking the long, red carpet toward the ceremony, and the bridal march continued playing.
Her eyes flew to her goal—there in the gazebo, standing in front of their celebrant, was Harrison. The tension and nerves left her as she started to make her way through their guests toward him and caught his gaze. This familiar path was soothing, knowing that it would lead her to his arms. Once again, she was heading home. It didn’t matter that this was the most important day of their lives; all that mattered was that she was going home.
Gabriel was standing next to Harrison as best man, Ariana opposite him as Maid of Honor. Hayden and Ally were opposite one another next to them. Sebastian stood next to Hayden. It was oddly fine with Heather that there was no partner for Sebastian, it felt strangely appropriate in her mind, and she grinned at him as she passed him.
Then she had arrived at her place, in the ceremony, and in life. She was standing next to Harrison. Everything in her longed to just run straight into his arms, but her brother stood between them for the archaic tradition of ‘giving her away.’
Finally, Jake gave her a hug and took his place sitting down next to her mom in the front row. There was nothing and no one between her and Harrison now. As they moved closer, he held her hand in his, and she caught her breath.
“Hi, angel,” he said quietly to her in an undertone that only she could hear.
“Hi, honey,” she smiled back at him.
The celebrant had started talking again, about love and what it means. As if he could tell Heather anything that she didn’t know. He was talking about love as a concept, but all she could think about was love in regards to her relationship with Harrison. Smiling up at him, their love felt all-consuming. She knew now that their love could withstand some of the toughest things that had ever tried to test it.
It wasn’t long before the celebrant was asking Harrison to say his vows. He let go of her hand and pulled a sheet of paper out of the inside pocket of his tuxedo, unfolded it, and began to read.
“I’ve thought a lot about wh
at to swear to you in my vows today, angel. Heather York, I promise to be the person who will love you more than anyone else in the world. I promise to be the person who will support your dreams, no matter what they are. I promise to spend every day of the rest of our lives proving to you that I am worthy of loving you. I promise to do my best to make you laugh and to try never to make you cry.”
Heather already had tears starting to stream down her face as she was hit with the force of his love.
“I see that I’m off to a terrible start,” he said, and their guests all laughed, along with Heather, who dabbed at her tears with a tissue that Ariana handed to her, “I can’t promise that there won’t be tough times. I can promise, though, that I will hold your hand through those times. I promise these things to you, Heather York, with every part of my heart and soul, which have always belonged to you.”
Heather wanted nothing more than to kiss him, to be in his arms right now. There were things that needed to be done before she could reach that point, though. Step one, swear her love to Harrison in front of everyone here, which was what the celebrant was asking her to do right now.
“Harrison Fletcher, you are my constant. When I’m with you, I’m home. I know that you will be everything that I need you to be. What I promise to you is to love you with everything that I am, to be by your side even when the world tries to tear us apart. I will never forget that you love me. I will rinse all dishes immediately and always use a coaster and only eat in my car sometimes but never, ever in yours,” Harrison laughed at her.
“I will accept all of the love that you deign to give me. I will be the angel you desire and also the one that you need. I will do everything in my power to bring as much happiness and joy to your life as I possibly can, every day, for the rest of our lives.”
Harrison seemed to be glowing. She vaguely wondered if this is what Ariana had meant about Gabriel the night they’d been drugged. The entire world was aglow, but nothing glowed brighter than Harrison, who she beamed at with pride.
The celebrant led them through exchanging their rings, and Heather loved the feeling of sliding Harrison’s wedding ring on to his finger. Heather felt as though all of her love for him was bound in that ring, in the promises that she’d made to him today. That seal of her love would be worn on his finger for the rest of his days.
Once that was done, the celebrant said, “You have kissed a thousand times, maybe more. But today, the feeling is new. No longer simply partners and best friends, you have become husband and wife, and can now seal the agreement with a kiss.”
Harrison’s gaze locked with hers as he lifted her veil over her head. The world was clear now she didn’t have the veil in front of her eyes, but Harrison still glowed, burning brighter as his lips pressed against hers. His arms made their way around her waist and pulled her to him, continuing to kiss her for another few seconds as their guests cheered before he let her go.
“Honored guests, if you could all please stand, I present to you, Mister and Missus Fletcher!”
Their guests all cheered as they made their way back down the aisle, hugging people here and there on the way. Eventually, they reached the back and began greeting friends and family before they were whisked away by their photographer to have photographs taken.
“Heather Fox, isn’t it?” Sebastian grinned, as they were having bridal party photos taken.
“Wrong ‘F’ name, darling,” Heather poked her tongue out at him.
Harrison put his lips close to her ear and whispered, “I’ve got an ‘F’ word that describes exactly what I’ll be doing to you later, wife.”
Heather shivered as she looked up at him; he was her husband now. He was still glowing; she loved this man so much, and they had truly come out the other side of what would hopefully be the worst thing they would ever experience.
Once the photos were all done with, they made their way to a massive marquee that had been set up on the expansive lawn area, where their guests were waiting for them. Heather was talking to Ariana, Ally, and Hayden, when a very excited and nervous-looking Megan came over to her, trailed by an older woman who Heather assumed must be her mother.
“Hi, Heather! Thank you so much for inviting me. The wedding was gorgeous!” she said with clear excitement in her voice.
“Thanks, darling. Is this your mom?” Heather asked.
“Yes! Mom, this is Heather York…wait, Fletcher!” Megan corrected herself, and Heather shook her mom’s hand.
“Hi, Heather. It’s lovely to meet you. Megan talks about you all the time. I’m Pamela.”
“I’m flattered. Megan is a sweet girl; you should be very proud of her,” Heather smiled at her.
“I am,” Pamela said.
“Megan, this is Hayden, Ally, and Ariana,” Heather introduced them, and Megan looked completely blown away, particularly at meeting Hayden.
“I’m such a huge fan!” she said to him repeatedly, and he laughed.
“Well, thanks,” he smiled.
“Come on, Megan,” Heather grinned, “how about I go take you to meet Sebastian, Gabriel, and Harrison.”
Megan and Pamela followed Heather until she managed to find Gabriel and Sebastian over by the bar.
“Hi, guys,” Heather said to them, “I wanted to introduce Megan and her mother, Pamela. Megan’s a big fan of Cruise Control.”
“It’s great to meet you, Megan,” Gabriel said, smiling at her.
“Can I give you a hug, Gabriel?” she asked him, looking more shy than Heather had ever seen her look.
“Sure.” He was so kind, and Megan looked like all of her dreams had come true when he hugged her.
“Nice to meet you, Megan,” Sebastian said to her.
“Thanks, Sebastian!” She grinned at him.
“Call me Seb,” he said with a smile, and Heather and Pamela both laughed at the expression on Megan’s face.
“I’m. Dead.” Megan said, dramatically, to them both as they left Gabriel and Sebastian behind to go and find Harrison, “I am dead, and I’ve gone to heaven and Cruise Control are there!”
“I did try to tell her that celebrities were normal people,” Heather said to Pamela, as they made their way across the marquee and through a bunch of people, toward Harrison, “I don’t think it stuck.”
Pamela laughed, “No, I don’t think it has. Thank you again for inviting us. It’s just Megan and me, so getting to attend an event like this is pretty exciting for us.”
Heather hadn’t realized before, but as she said this, some things clicked into place for her. Pamela was a single mother. They didn’t live in a terrible area of Chicago, but Pamela obviously must have worked very hard to give Megan as much as she could.
They reached Harrison, and Megan was very excited, once again, to be meeting a member of Cruise Control.
“I love your music so much! ‘If I Were You’ is my favorite song, like, ever! You and Heather are my favorite people in the world, and I’m so glad you got back together. I’m so sorry you had that shitty thing happen to you guys, but I knew that you guys could work it out. I can’t believe I got to be at your wedding! This is the best day ever!”
Megan finally finished, and Harrison laughed, “I agree, Megan, today is the best day ever! Also, you said that ‘If I Were You’ is your favorite Cruise Control song?” Megan nodded, “Well, I think there’s a surprise later that you should look forward to,” he winked at her.
When Megan and Pamela walked away to find their seats, Heather put her arms around Harrison, and he kissed her. He’d been given a clean bill of health at the hospital on Thursday, but she was still glad that he would have another two weeks until their honeymoon started. She wanted him as healthy as a horse for that.
“I love you, Mister Fletcher,” she smiled at him.
“I love you, too, Missus Fletcher.” It was so weird that she wasn’t Heather York anymore.
They made their way to the bridal table and took their seats for
the rest of the festivities. Later in the evening, Gabriel, Sebastian, and Hayden took places on a stage where their instruments were set up. One of the Cruise Control backup musicians was on bass, and they performed “If I Were You” while Heather and Harrison had their first dance.
All in all, it was an utterly perfect day, and sometime near midnight, as their tired guests were making their way to the line of limousines that would take them back to Chicago, Heather and Harrison headed inside the main house. Sebastian had kindly offered for them to spend the next three days here before they had to go back to Chicago for Heather to get some work done at Serenity to make sure everything was in place for their two-week honeymoon.
They were back in the room they’d stayed in when they were out at Galena back in October. It felt like forever ago. It felt like yesterday. Every day of her life had led up to this single, perfect day. The day where she finally got to marry the man she’d wake up to for the rest of her life. Harrison looked devastatingly handsome, standing in the middle of the room wearing his tuxedo, face aglow as he looked at her. She walked over to him, and he wrapped his arms around her.
She was home.
EPILOGUE
HEATHER WAS STRETCHED OUT on a sun lounger under a parasol on their private beach. She and Harrison had been married for four weeks now and were having their honeymoon in the Seychelles. She watched Harrison from behind her sunglasses as he swam in the beautiful, aquamarine water in front of her.
It was his birthday, today, and their second last day here on the island. They probably hadn’t spent as much time as they should have doing sightseeing while they were here, but they’d been completely preoccupied with having so many free hours in the day to explore each other’s bodies.
Heather watched as Harrison made his way back to the beach, enjoying the view immensely as he walked toward her wearing nothing but swim trunks, with water dripping off his muscled body. She bit her lip as she felt a growing ache between her thighs.
