“What did you decide?” I asked, scared to hear his answer because I wasn’t sure about the gleam in his eye. He looked worried about my reaction, so I knew it had to be something big.
“We’re headed to the airport. Your dad called ahead to make sure the plane would be fueled up and ready to go so he could fly us back to your hometown. When we get there, you and I are going to Town Hall to apply for a marriage license. Luckily, there’s no wait and no blood tests are needed in Ohio,” he started.
“But we already have a marriage license,” I interrupted.
“Yeah, for here we do, but we’re not going to get married here. We’re going to do it there,” he told me.
I sat up straight and bumped my head on the roof of the car. Rubbing it, I looked at him in a daze. “What did you just say?”
“Baby, please let me tell you all of it. And then, if you think it’s a horrible idea, you can yell and scream at me all you want, okay?” he asked.
I nodded my head in response before he continued.
“I’ve been telling you that this wedding is about you and me and nobody else, but, baby, it’s really about you. As long as you’re happy, then I’m happy. And the only way I can see to make that happen is if we get on your dad’s plane so he can take us where we should have planned to have our wedding in the first place. Where we would have planned it if I’d been paying closer attention to what you needed.”
“No—” I argued, but I didn’t get far because he placed his finger over my lips. I hated the idea he felt like he’d let me down when I was the one who’d agreed to get married at his parents’ place when his mom had offered.
“It doesn’t matter how we got to where we are today. What matters is this is easy to fix. We’re going to get married in a place where the people who are most important to both of us will be there. And then, after I’ve made you my wife, we’ll celebrate with the huge party my mom planned for us. The best of both worlds with a short two-hour flight in between,” he told me.
I was stunned silent for a moment as I realized what he and everyone else must have been up to last night in order to make this work. And then I felt a huge sense of relief.
“You really did all of this for me?”
“I’d do anything for you. You have to know that by now,” he said.
“And your mom isn’t mad about the change in plans? Everyone’s okay with this?” I didn’t want her to think I didn’t appreciate everything she’d already done for us so we’d have the perfect wedding, but the picture of Drake and me standing in the little gazebo and exchanging our vows where Aubrey and I used to play pretend wedding brought happy tears to my eyes.
“She was a little freaked out at first when I talked to her last night, but she’s fine now. She’s been on the phone and Internet making sure we’d have everything we need for tomorrow.”
“But I don’t even have my dress,” I realized out loud.
“Taken care of,” he assured me.
“Or the flowers.”
“Aubrey’s mom called up the local florist and sent her pictures of what you wanted. She assured her that she’d be able to duplicate what the florist here is going to do. You’ll just end up with two bouquets instead of one,” he explained.
“My shoes, makeup, lingerie…” I rattled off a list of things I’d need if I really was going to be a bride in a whole other city tomorrow morning.
“All packed up and ready to go. Aubrey gave me a list and double-checked to make sure I had everything you’d need.”
“We’re really going to do this?” I asked in wonder.
“As long as it’s what you want,” he replied. “You ready to fly away with me and elope, but with our families surrounding us?”
“Abso-freaking-lutely!” I squealed.
****
Drake hadn’t been joking when he’d told me that they had thought of everything. The next twenty-four hours flew by in a happy whirlwind. I woke up the next morning in my childhood bedroom with the man who would soon be my husband by my side. He’d put his foot down when Aubrey had said that we’d needed to spend the night apart. He’d told her that there was no way in hell that was going to happen and carted me off to my room for the night while she and his mom laughed their asses off.
We were on our way to Aubrey’s house now. Although they let him get away with disappearing with me last night, we’d already gotten texts and calls asking when I was going to be at Aubrey’s house this morning.
“Hey, did you forget where Aubrey lives that quickly?” I asked when he turned down the wrong street.
“Nope. We need to make a quick detour,” he answered.
After a couple of turns, I realized where he was taking me. I could barely see him through the tears welling in my eyes. “The cemetery?”
“Yeah,” he admitted as we turned into the parking lot.
He pulled into the spot closest to her grave and turned to me after shutting off the engine. Then he reached behind my seat and grabbed a bouquet of flowers. Red roses and white lilies—the same flowers I’d be carrying later in the day.
“For my mom?” I asked.
“I thought you might want her to be part of our day,” he explained.
“Oh, God,” I gasped as I threw myself across the seat and into his arms. “Yes, I do.”
“C’mon,” he urged.
We climbed out of the car and walked hand in hand to her plot. Drake stood waiting behind me as I took those last steps to reach her grave. I reached out to sweep some leaves off her headstone.
Marie Anne Hewett
1967 – 1992
Who knew that angels lived amongst us?
Let alone in our homes?
Beloved wife and mother.
“Hey, Mom,” I whispered softly as I laid the flowers on the grass. “It’s my wedding day. I’m marrying the most amazing man today. I think you’d love him as much as I do. Daddy even approves.”
The wind blew gently against me and I imagined that it was her letting me know that she approved. So I told her all about how we’d met and our plans for the wedding.
“I’m sorry, baby, but we need to go,” Drake came up behind me and whispered into my ear as he grasped my shoulders.
“Okay,” I agreed. “I’m ready.”
And I was ready. Drake had given me exactly what I’d needed today with this stop. A moment to feel connected to the mother I’d never gotten the chance to know on the most important day of my life. As we walked back to the car, I felt lighter than I had in months. It made the entire trip back home worthwhile.
****
I stood staring at myself in the mirror in Aubrey’s room. Aubrey and her mom had made sure I’d gotten into my dress without messing up my hair or makeup, but then I’d asked for a moment alone before my dad came to get me for the ceremony. My dress looked even better than it had with the new cap sleeves, and I felt like a fairy princess. When I heard the music begin playing from outside, I knew it was just about time. Then there was a soft knock on the door before my dad peeked in the room.
“You ready to go, sweetie?” he asked.
I turned to face him and he stopped walking as he stared at me in awe.
“My baby girl is all grown up. You look beautiful.”
“Thanks, Daddy.”
“I know between Drake and Aubrey you already have something new, something borrowed, and something blue covered. They left something old to me,” my dad explained before pulling a jewelry box out of his tuxedo jacket pocket.
Aubrey had assured me that they hadn’t forgotten the something old earlier in the day when I had worried it was missing. Drake had taken care of the something new with a set of teardrop diamond earrings and something borrowed with a fabulous diamond necklace that his mom had asked me to wear today. Aubrey had gone the traditional route with my pastel-blue garter.
“The day I married your mom was one of the two happiest of my life, and she walked down the aisle with this wrapped around her wrist,” my dad continued.
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My hand trembled as I reached down to touch the simple gold bracelet he revealed when he opened the box. Knowing my mom had worn it on her wedding day made the bracelet priceless to me. I traced along the rope of gold with my fingertip.
“Your mom would be so proud of you, sweetie,” he said as he pulled the bracelet out of the box and clasped it onto my wrist. “You’ve turned into such an amazing woman. Every time I look at you, you remind me so much of her.”
“Oh, Daddy,” I sighed as I felt the tears well in my eyes, threatening to drip down my cheeks and ruin my makeup.
“It’s not just your looks. You have her heart too,” he continued. “You were always so open and trusting. Willing to bend over backwards for other people. Until you weren’t anymore because your trust had been shattered. For years, I worried that I’d never see that side of you again. Then it was like you started to come back to life when you were near Drake, and I hoped it meant what I thought it did. That you’d met the person you were meant to be with—the one who’d protect your heart the way I protected your mom’s for the time I was lucky enough to have with her.”
I threw myself into his arms, feeling the loss of my mom more on this day than I ever had before. “I never got to know her, yet I miss her so much, Daddy.”
“I miss her too,” he admitted, and in loving Drake, I finally understood how acutely he must feel her loss. “But she’s always with me in my heart, and she gave me the most precious gift in the world—you. Now let’s do her proud and get you down the aisle, where Drake is waiting for you.”
chapter 7
Drake
The moment Alexa stepped out the door on her father’s arm, I had to stop myself from walking towards her. She’d always looked beautiful to me, but today, she took my breath away. Everyone around me fell away as my focus centered on her as she glided down the aisle towards me. I heard the preacher in the background before he father said that he was proudly giving her away to me today. I knew he turned and walked to his sit, but I still couldn’t tear my eyes away from hers. Time felt suspended until Alexa giggled up at me when my childhood friend, who was serving as my best man, nudged me in the ribs.
I turned to look at the preacher as he cleared his throat.
“I understand the bride and groom wrote their own vows,” he prompted me.
“Yes, we did,” Alexa answered. “But it seems my groom might have forgotten his.”
“Not for a minute,” I assured her before taking a deep breath. “Alexa, the feeling that hit me the moment we first made eye contact… It was so immediate and powerful—far deeper than anything I had ever expected to feel for anyone. I had no idea what to expect, and then you opened your heart to me and showed me what love truly means. I vow to have the patience that love demands, to speak when words are needed, and to share in the silence when they are not. And to protect and cherish your heart always.”
Alexa needed no reminder to begin her vows even with tears rolling down her cheeks. She gripped my fingers more firmly as she began. “Drake, you know me better than anyone else in this world, and somehow, you still manage to love me. You are my one true love, and there’s a part of me today that cannot believe that I’m the lucky one who gets to marry you. I see these vows not as promises, but as privileges. I get to laugh with you and cry with you although I know you’ll do everything you can to stop my tears. I get to walk with you, run with you and even fly with you. More importantly, I get to build a life with you and live with you until my dying breath many, many years from now.”
I couldn’t help myself as I leaned down to kiss her beautiful lips. The love shining from her eyes combined with her heartfelt words made it impossible. I brushed the tears from her cheeks with my thumbs as I reluctantly pulled away from her mouth.
“Ahem,” the preacher cleared his throat to get my attention again. “The wedding ring is the outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace, signifying to all the uniting of this man and this woman in holy matrimony. Dear Lord, bless the giving of these rings, that they who wear them may abide in thy peace and continue in thy favor.”
When he handed me Alexa’s ring, I slid it on her finger, repeating my pledge after him. “In token and pledge of our constant faith and abiding love, with this ring, I thee wed.”
Then he handed Alexa my ring and she did the same before he joined our hands together. “Forasmuch as Drake and Alexa have consented together in holy wedlock and have witnessed the same before God and this company, and thereto have pledged their faith each to the other and have declared the same by joining hands and by giving and receiving rings, I pronounce that they are husband and wife together. Those whom God hath joined together let no one put asunder. Amen.”
And just like that, we were finally married. My wait was over and Alexa was now my wife.
****
The one disadvantage to my plan for us to wed in her hometown and then fly back to mine for the reception was we barely had any time to enjoy ourselves until the night was over. We said our goodbyes to Jackson, Kaylie, and his parents, who decided to stay behind before the rest of us went to the airport. The two-hour flight flew by, as Aubrey had arranged for the photographer to come with and had her snap a million pictures en route. Before I knew it, we were back at my parents’ house enjoying the reception with all of our family and friends.
Once the night was over and we were able to leave, it was straight back to the airport for us. I wanted to spend my first morning with my new bride on our honeymoon, just the two of us. The flight was less than three hours, and I had plans for that time, too. I made sure her dad wasn’t the one in the pilot’s seat since that would have been incredibly awkward, and once we were in the air, the pilot knew I wanted absolute privacy.
“Are you ever going to tell me where you’re taking me?” Alexa asked before taking a sip of the champagne I’d just poured for her.
“I told you already. We’re going to Paradise,” I said.
“Yeah, but paradise could be anywhere. C’mon. Give me a hint,” she pleaded.
I laughed lightly, pleased that she hadn’t figured out my little joke in the last month since she’d gotten me to admit that much. “I really am taking you to Paradise, Alexa. Paradise Island in the Bahamas. To the most amazing hotel I could find with a private villa just for the two of us. White sand beaches, romantic gardens, tennis courts, and a golf course.”
“Are we staying long enough to enjoy all that?”
“Did I mention they have amazing room service, too? Since, odds are, we’ll barely leave the room even though we’re going to be there for a whole week,” I teased.
“Room service and you? Sounds like the perfect honeymoon to me,” she said. “But golf and tennis are out since you only told me to pack lingerie and bikinis.”
“See, you married a brilliant man. He has the best ideas,” I replied. “In fact, he’s about to show you one of his better ones right now.”
“Oh he is, is he?”
I lifted the glass out of her hand and set it down. Pulling her into my lap, I whispered my idea into her ear. “How about you and I finally join the mile high club together?”
“Seriously?” she gasped.
“It’s just you, me, and the pilot. Nobody to bother us back here, and I suggested he take a page from your book and put on some noise-canceling headphones for the flight,” I explained. “Seems fitting to me now that I have the brains behind the mile high club charter flights in the back of the plane all to myself that I take full advantage of the opportunity.”
“Yes,” she whispered, leaning down to place a kiss against my lips. “I’ve always wondered what it would be like to do my favorite thing in the world in my favorite place in the world.”
“Your wish is my command, baby. All you ever have to do is ask,” I told her before smashing my mouth against hers
I tugged on her bottom lip down with my teeth, making her gasp. My tongue dove inside as soon as her lips parted, mimicking what my coc
k was going to do to her pussy soon. Clenching her hair in my hands, I held her in place so I could devour her mouth. Once we were both gasping for air, I cupped her ass and pulled her over me so her pussy was resting right over my cock. Feeling her wet heat through her dress, I couldn’t stop myself from grinding my hips against her.
“Please, Drake. Make love to me, my husband,” she begged.
“Fuck,” I groaned as I swiftly unzipped the front of my pants to open them.
As soon as I got them open, my cock sprang free—fully erect and throbbing in need. When Alexa lifted the hem of her dress, the sight of her white-lace-clad pussy made my mouth water. I couldn’t resist pulling her body up as my head dipped low so I could get a little taste first.
Running my tongue over the damp material, I inhaled the scent of her arousal as it drifted up to me before I ripped the panties off her body and drove my tongue inside. She was dripping wet and tasted amazing. I held her ass in one hand while she balanced herself on her knees and held on to the back of the seat. Flicking my tongue over her clit, I pumped two fingers inside until she came.
“Drake,” she moaned as her pussy fluttered against me while she trembled in my arms.
As soon as her climax ended, I pulled her down and slid up inside her wet pussy. Buried deep, I felt her walls grip me tight as I savored the feel of her wrapped around me.
“Baby, this isn’t gonna last very long. I need to move,” I moaned.
I felt another flutter as she heard me, and she began to move too, rotating her hips in circles at the end of each of my thrusts. I hammered into her, so deep that my cock was nudging her cervix. Wanting her to go with me, I released her hip and started to rub her clit with my thumb. The added stimulation was just enough, and she came for me again.
I continued to pound into her, holding her hips in place now so she couldn’t move.
“So fucking tight like this,” I groaned. Our eyes were locked together, so I could tell when she came back to her senses.
Winter Wedding (Blythe College #5) Page 5
