Here Comes The Bride

by Sadie Grubor

  "Aidan?" I furrowed my brow.

  "He sent his jet to get us and he had the plane set up with anything we would need for the flight." He rubbed his head a little bashfully. I was shocked, stunned into silence for a moment. I didn't think of Aidan as a bad guy, but I didn't expect this from him. "So, you gonna let your old man walk you down...well, roll you down the aisle?" I laughed at his joke.

  "Of course, roll away." My smile couldn’t be contained.

  "Well, then, let's get this show on the road." He held out his hand.

  Maggie, Phoebe and Celia lined up behind Aidan's distant cousin or something who was acting as the flower girl. I couldn't see into the room since I was being kept hidden until the 'right moment'. At least that’s what the wedding coordinator told me.

  "You sure about this?" Dad whispered to me.

  "Oh, don't tempt me to run." I giggled quietly. "I don’t think I could make it in these damn death trap shoes." I winked.

  "Lilli, you don't have to do this." He looked up at me worried.

  "It will be fine. I'm in too deep now. Things will be...okay." I smiled reassuringly at him, it was our turn.

  Donald was wheeled into position with Dixon helping him. Standing next to him, I took one more deep breath. The Irish music started and the doors were opened.

  Windows starting at the hardwood floor rose to the tall ceiling. Mahogany chairs, wrapped in white satin, held our guests. The aisle lined on each side with ivory lace draped from candle poles. Each pole holding a lit ivory candle and snowball flowers bundled together at the base of each candle. It was simple but beautiful. Viola had done amazing. The Alter was a large canopy of snowball flowers and ivory lace draped to the floor.

  Donald nudged me and I snapped out of the awe and began my walk. As we approached the canopy I focused on Aidan. His eyes were intense and I started to feel self-conscious. Swallowing hard, I pulled my eyes away from him. When I looked back I couldn't avoid his gaze.

  We reached Aidan and I don't remember how I made it down the aisle because I’d been lost in my own mind.

  "Do you present this woman?" My eyes snapped from Aidan to the priest.

  "Yes." Donald answered and placed my hand in Aidan's.

  Our hands met with a pulsating tingle as he gripped mine tightly within his own. Perhaps, it was nerves? Or, maybe, he thought I would run? I smiled at him and squeezed back, hoping to reassure him.

  The Iverson's Irish heritage was important to them, so the ceremony held many aspects. The priest began in common fashion,

  "We have gathered today to join Lillian Pearl Snowe and Aidan Walsh Iverson in matrimony."

  With familiar blessings over the marriage complete, he asked the question.

  "If anyone objects to this union, please speak now or forever hold your peace." Aidan squeezed my hand tightly. I shifted my eyes and head a little to look at him. Was he nervous or warning me not to speak? He kept his eyes straight ahead so I couldn't tell. I looked back to the priest. "Very well."

  "Please face each other." Aidan and I faced each other, my hands in his. "Please repeat after me."

  "We swear by peace and love to stand," he paused allowing us to repeat his words, "Heart to heart and hand in hand." Pausing once more as we replayed his words. "Mark, O Spirit, and hear us now," again the same words flowed from our lips. "Confirming this, our Sacred Vow," we both seemed to pause but spoke the last of the wedding vows.

  "The rings?"

  The priest looked to James who was handing them over, placing them on a small silver plate. The priest said a blessing in Gaelic and then handed my ring to Aidan.

  "Please repeat after me while placing the ring on Lillian."

  Aidan seemed to take a deep breath and held the platinum circle at my ring finger's tip. I sucked in a breath and held it. The priest spoke.

  "With these hands, I give you my heart," Aidan repeated, continuing the vow without prompting.

  "With these hands I give you my heart and crown it with my love." I looked up, startled that he finished without the priest’s guidance. His eyes were intense again, as if they were seeking permission into my soul.

  The priest was caught off guard for a moment but quickly recovered.

  "Lillian, please repeat after me."

  Holding the ring at Aidan's hand, a knot formed in my stomach. This was it, this was it...this was me being bought and paid for like a prize mare. The priest spoke the first line of the vow.

  "With these hands, I give you my heart," I repeated and quickly finished the vow before even realizing I had.

  "With these hands I give you my heart and crown it with my love." It came out so effortlessly, I was still in shock. I knew my eyes were wide when I quickly looked up at Aidan who was smiling crookedly at me.

  The priest broke our moment.

  "Now Aidan and Lillian will drink to celebrate their union," The priest blessed two silver goblets as he poured wine into both. Handing each of us a cup, he began the 'Loving Cup' ceremony.

  "And, now, please drink to the love you've shared in the past." We drank. "Drink to your love in the present, on this, your wedding day." We drank. "And drink to your love in the future and forever more." We drank.

  "Lillian and Aidan have committed themselves to their love, their future together and to their families. Aidan, you may kiss your bride."

  Aidan grabbed both sides of my face and pressed his lips to mine. His tongue slid slightly between my lips and I swore I heard him moan quietly. The knot in my stomach changed into a different type of tension as heat consumed my body. He pulled away from the kiss, whispering against my lips, "Thank you."

  The priest completed the ceremony with one final traditional Irish blessing.

  "May the road rise to meet you.

  May the wind be always at your back.

  May the sun shine warm upon your face, the rains fall soft upon your fields.

  May God be with you and bless you;

  May you see your children's children.

  May you be poor in misfortune,

  Rich in blessings,

  May you know nothing but happiness from this day forward.

  And may the hand of a friend always be near.

  May the road rise to meet you

  May the wind be always at your back

  May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home.

  May green be the grass you walk on,

  May blue be the skies above you,

  May pure be the joys that surround you,

  May true be the hearts that love you.

  And until we meet again,

  May God hold you in the palm of His hand."

  When he finished he nudged us to face our families and guests.

  "I present to you, Mrs. Lillian and Mr. Aidan Walsh Iverson."

  The music started, Phoebe handed me my bouquet and Aidan and I walked down the aisle as husband and wife. We stopped just outside the opening doors and lined up for the receiving line.

  "You look beautiful, Lilli." I turned towards him. I hadn’t expected him to say anything.

  "Um...thanks. You're not too bad yourself." I winked and smiled.

  Before I could turn away, he cupped my cheek and kissed me tenderly. I was slightly taken aback. But, our guests started to approach us so I didn't have too much time to think about it.

  The receiving line went smoothly, though it took over an hour. Once finished, we were ushered to different locations in the large room for photos.

  "We’re seriously taking photos of this?" I whispered into Aidan’s ear as we posed in front of the sunset through the windows.

  He rolled his eyes. "It is our wedding day, you know."

  I snorted, trying not to break into a giggle fit.

  Aidan pulled me closer and kissed me. The flash went off. The photographer had been shouting out posing orders and I hadn’t been paying attention. There were photos with the wedding party, our parents, the priest and Aidan and I alone.

  After all of the posing
and the plastered smiles, the wedding coordinator hustled us up a floor to the reception room where the wedding party was waiting for us. Phoebe and Celia were all smiles when Aidan and I arrived. A Uillean piper began playing traditional Irish music, indicating the arrival of the wedding party.

  Walking into the room, I was again awestruck by the décor. There were walls and walls of windows that looked out into the early evening and over the water. It was a stunning backdrop to the snowball flowers, candles and ivory and sage green lace that decorated the room.

  Our guests stood and clapped as we entered. Once we reached the dance floor area, the Irish Wedding song began to play and Aidan wrapped his arm around my waist. We swayed on the floor. Viola had suggested we use the song and I agreed since I had no clue which song would suit our situation.

  As the song started to come to an end, Aidan spun me slowly and dipped me backwards. I jumped, not prepared for this move. He started to chuckle and I smacked his arm slightly, laughing at myself. Flashes went off around us.

  Once the song ended we sat down at our table with our family. Aidan was on my right, my mother and father on my left. Viola, Liam and Maggie were to Aidan’s right. We sat in small conversation about the wedding ceremony. Viola was beaming. Traditional Irish music played quietly in the background as dinner was being served.

  "Ahem," everyone turned.

  James stood near the DJ table with a microphone. "It’s my duty, as the best man, to toast the new couple." James smirked at Aidan.

  "Oh dear God," Aidan groaned and rolled his eyes. I couldn’t help but giggle.

  "Dear cousin, we have stood next to each other throughout the years, more like brothers than cousins. I wish you the best." James raised his glass and drank.

  "Wow and I thought that he would –"

  "Dear, Lilli." My head snapped back to James, eyes wide with nervousness. "Lilli, Lilli, Lilli…you have had such an effect on our dear Aidan, more than you realize." James smiled mischievously, winking at Aidan. "Here’s to you! Keeping doing what you do to him or, rather, don’t do." Aidan groaned while everyone drank again.

  "What –?"

  "Don’t ask, please." He shook his head.

  I laughed lightly. "Ok."

  Once the dinner course was finished and dishes cleared, the music got louder and the bar saw more attention.

  "So, Viola said you two will be going to a private island for your honeymoon, how long will you be gone?" My mother inquired while taking a drink.

  I cleared my throat.

  "Um…two weeks."

  "When are you leaving?" Donald looked at me with guilt and tension.

  I placed my hand on his.

  "Not till the morning." I leaned over and kissed his cheek.

  "Yes," Aidan cleared his throat. "We’ll take the jet part of the way and then we’ll have to take the boat to the island." He took a large drink.

  Celia, Phoebe and Maggie came over and grabbed my arm, pulling me onto the dance floor with them. Reaching the middle of the crowd, we started dancing.

  I plastered a smile onto my face. I couldn’t keep my thoughts from wandering back to the honeymoon. Mostly, I think I was nervous about being alone with him for so long. However, I know that wasn’t all that was bothering me. What of all the sexual tension forming between us? What if we ended up hating each other?

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  Aidan

  I could feel my palms sweating and my heart racing. Standing at the altar, in front of family, friends and business colleagues, I was waiting for Lilli to walk down the aisle. This was it. After today I would be married. Part of me was relieved while the other part was nervous. Four years, four years with Lilli. She wasn’t too keen on having sex or being a married couple, which worried me. What would this be like? I was about to hyperventilate.

  Lilli began walking towards me, wearing Viola’s wedding dress. She was more beautiful than anything I had ever seen. My heart picked up speed. I locked onto her eyes and stared intently, in pure awe of her presence. This woman was amazing. When Donald gave her hand to me, I had to latch on tightly before she had a chance to change her mind. After my behavior at the rehearsal dinner, I was worried she would back out and run.

  My worries subsided the moment there was skin to skin contact. The familiar tingling heat between our hands never seemed to dull or fade away, but this time if felt like a fire starting between our palms.

  As the ceremony progressed I couldn’t help but feel different about her, about everything between us. When we kissed I felt a wave of passion overtake my body, having to pull back before I got carried away. Instead I thanked her before pulling away to face our guests.

  I thanked her for doing this, going through with everything and for the feeling she created within me. The moment I put the ring on her finger, I knew I could fall for her and that I may just want to. I shook off my thoughts as we proceeded down the aisle to stand in the receiving line.

  "You look beautiful, Lilli." She looked at me in surprise.

  "Um...thanks. You're not too bad yourself." She winked and smiled. The gesture was so endearing, I cupped her face and kissed her before she could turn away.

  After the receiving line, we were rushed around for wedding pictures and then led upstairs to the reception. Our first dance started innocent and routine, but the more I looked at her, the more she captivated me. I began to save to memory the light freckles across her nose and cheeks, the deepness to her hazel eyes, and the way her cherry floral scent filled the air when we spun. I couldn’t help but dip her. She jumped in surprise, but we both started laughing.

  Dinner was being served when James felt the need to get up and grab the microphone. I could only imagine what would come out of his mouth. At first, I thought he was actually just going to be nice, then he addressed Lilli. I groaned.

  "What –?" Lilli had started to ask what he meant. There was no way I was telling her how everyone found it hilarious that I wouldn’t be having sex with her anytime soon.

  "Don’t ask, please." I begged.

  "Ok." She agreed with a laugh.

  The night was going well. Everyone seemed to be having a good time and soon it was time to cut the cake. Lilli and I stood at a large table, holding handfuls of cake with evil smirks on our faces.

  "Don’t mess up her make-up!" Phoebe yelled.

  "Yeah, what she said." Lilli said, nodding toward Phoebe.

  "Play nice, Lilli." I laughed as our hands approached each other’s face.

  Before anyone could say anything else we were shoving cake up each other’s noses and laughing hysterically.

  "Kiss her!" the photographer shouted and I didn’t even think twice. Grabbing her by her waist, I pressed our cake covered faces into each other, making sure to greedily lick a little from her mouth. Pulling back, I couldn’t read her expression completely, but I definitely saw a hint of lust. I wanted to kiss her again but she pulled away and started to wipe her face.

  Phoebe appeared and pulled her off.

  "You two are horrible! Now we need to do a touch up." Phoebe grumbled and hurried them to the restrooms, Lilli laughing the whole way.

  Once we were cleaned up and everyone had taken a seat for their cake and other desserts, Lilli and I were called out to the middle of the dance area. It was time to toss the garter. Lilli blushed and covered her face while the DJ’s helper brought a chair out for her to sit on. Lilli sat down. I knelt in front of her.

  "Be good." She whispered, playfully scowling at me.

  "I’m better than good." Winking, I grasped her ankle. She gasped at my touch and I couldn’t help but feel smug by her reaction.

  I slid my fingers up her calf. She shivered. I reveled in the feeling. Moving one hand behind her knee I brought the other up the side and started to move toward her thigh, she shifted a little. Bringing both hands smoothly up her thigh, I went a little further than the garter belt, caressing her skin.

  "Aidan," she whispered a warning.

  I smirked and
grabbed the garter, slipping it down and off of her leg.

  The single men lined up and I tossed it over my shoulder. Turning, I watched it land directly into Dixon’s chest. His reflex was to catch it and that’s what he did. He smiled broadly and put it around his head like a headband while doing a victory dance. Laughing, I shook my head and helped Lilli up from the chair.

  "You’re lucky I didn’t kick you in the balls," she said through a plastered smile.

  "Aww, come on, how could I resist?" I grinned. She laughed and shook her head.

  The night was coming to an end and Lilli was called out to the dance area with all the single ladies. She did a couple of fake tosses before she threw her bouquet. It landed in Maggie’s arms. I could hear Viola laughing beside me from the look on Maggie’s face. Lilli doubled over laughing. Maggie tossed it up in the air and it landed on Celia, who caught it.

  Guests were slowly starting to leave. Once it was just down to immediate family, we started to wrap everything up.

  Lilli kissed Donald and Sarah goodbye and then moved on to Viola and Liam. She stopped to talk to Celia, Phoebe and Maggie before turning to me.

  "Ready?" I asked. She nodded, reluctantly. We climbed quietly into the car that would drive us back to the apartment.

  "So, it was a nice evening." I broke the uncomfortable silence.

  "Yes, it was. Viola did a great job." She smiled down into her lap.

  "Are you okay?"

  She snapped her head up quickly. "Yes, of course."

  Sighing, I furrowed my brow. I wasn’t completely buying her response. The remainder of the drive home was quiet.

  Once we arrived to the apartment we both headed toward our own rooms.

  "Lilli?"

  She turned at her door and looked at me curiously.

  "Yeah?"

  "Thank you," I tried to put as much sincerity into my words as possible.

  "Sure." She smiled easily and headed into her room, closing the door behind her.

  Once in my room, I sat on my bed. So, I’m spending my wedding night alone, great. Sighing, I walked towards the bathroom, stripping my tux off along the way.