by Jenna Payne
Gina rolled her eyes at the ‘finally’ part. She wasn’t even thirty yet and her family had been ready to write her off as a spinster until she had started dating Rafe. Although their first year together had been rocky, after she had come to accept that her boyfriend was a werewolf things had settled between them and their relationship blossomed.
It was no easy task dating a werewolf prince, or Beta, as the title was referred to in the pack. Rafe had a lot of responsibilities to tend to, including diplomacy with other packs as well as other species. And yet, despite all of them, he had fallen head over heels for the quiet librarian.
It had taken quite a bit of adjustment on Gina’s part, especially once she learned that most of the supernatural and fairy tale creatures she read about were real, but Rafe had guided her through this new world with gentle patience. In fact, he still found great amusement whenever Gina would learn something new about their secret world and stare at him with amazement.
As much as he loved to joke around, Rafe was a very serious man. However his boyish charisma made him well suited to his duty as a diplomat. While he never belittled anyone’s concerns, he did encourage a lighthearted approach to life. There were few matters he did not laugh about, one of those being when someone voiced the thought that a human did not have a place among the supernatural species.
It was a rare occasion when she had seen his ferocious temper flare up, but there was no other issue that riled him up as much as someone who looked down upon the humans as if they were unworthy to be privileged to the world that they lived in. Rafe was fiercely protective of Gina and would not stand to hear such ignorant mutterings. These brief glimpses of his temper had proven beyond a doubt that as long as Rafe was around, she had no need to worry about any harm coming to her.
Gina was pulled from her thoughts as a bobby pin was jabbed tightly into her scalp and she winced while her mother muttered something about how she wasn’t holding still. In the mirror, Gina could see her six bridesmaids going through a milder version of her primping.
Gina loved the strapless mermaid gowns that she had decided on. The shimmering teal and sea foam colored fabric was elegant against all of the different skin tones of the girls, and with their matching teal chokers and pearl earrings she thought they really did look magical.
Of course, she was a whole other version of magical in her dress, a sweetheart ball gown with sleeves that fell off of her shoulders and flowing ruffles that made her feel like Cinderella.
Her mother gently tilted her head down as she finished pinning up Gina’s hair. Staring at the unnecessarily tall heels she had been strapped into, Gina wished for her familiar flats. She wondered how Leila, her maid of honor and Rafe’s sister, had talked her into these monstrosities. Then again, she had talked Gina into a great number of things that ordinarily, she would have never considered.
When she looked back up, Gina could see Leila directly behind her, having finished her dressing well before anyone else. However, how could you compete with the experience of a professional model, especially one that was also a werewolf?
She was a dazzling creature with a slim muscular frame that curved in all the right places. The curves of the dress highlighted her figure, and the color was vibrant against her darkly bronzed skin and brought out her bright blue eyes. The pearls in her hair and her earrings sparkled against her jet-black hair done up in a halo braid. Her winged eyeliner was sharp enough to cut, but was softened by the shimmering eye shadow and the dusting of powder on her cheeks.
Although all of the bridesmaids had identical dresses, hairstyles, and make up, Leila definitely stole the spotlight from them all. It wasn’t something she did intentionally, let alone maliciously, but Gina had overheard a couple of her other bridesmaids gossiping jealously about the model. A couple of Gina’s friends that she’d had since high school were doubly upset about Leila’s beauty as well as not getting to be the maid of honor despite their long standing history with the bride.
“How are you feeling?” Leila asked as she helped fasten the triple strand pearl necklace on Gina while her mother was off to fetch the veil.
“Oh you know,” Gina laughed nervously, “just running over all the things that could go wrong in my mind.”
Leila smiled both knowingly and reassuringly as she planted a kiss in the top of her head. “Don’t worry about the shoes, we practiced that walk a hundred times.”
“But I-”
“I’ll make sure we bring your flats out for the reception,” Leila promised. “Now smile for me.”
Gina did and her soon to be sister-in-law did some quick searching across the cluttered vanity table before finding the perfect shade of lip-gloss. After the application, Gina took Leila’s hands in her own.
“How do I look?”
Without hesitation, Leila answered, “If this wasn’t a wedding, my brother would have to fight off every other man here to keep you all to himself.”
Gina laughed. She knew Leila’s words were sincere. Just outside the door, she could hear her mother going over checklists and making sure that everything was in order. The familiar stern voice calmed her nerves and Gina knew that everything would run smoothly in her mother’s capable hands.
“Alright, I have the bouquets here, and Gina’s veil. Kate is supposed to be getting the kids dressed,” she said with the authority that only the mother of the bride could posses. “Tanya is supposed to have the flowers ready at the archway for the flower girls. And the guests need to be seated by 5 o’clock…”
*****
Rafe had picked up Gina for dinner at 5 o’clock that March evening, six months ago. It had been raining all day. It was that light springtime rain that sparkled with sunlight and brought out the smell of warm fresh earth. Gina had been shelving books about biology, courtesy of the upcoming high school science fair, when warm arms reached around her.
In her ear she heard Rafe’s voice, “Mmmm, I’m so hungry.”
Gina laughed as he took the books from her arms and spun her around to look up at him. She threw her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his cheek. “What are you hungry for?”
“Well I think you know the answer to that.” He winked as he flashed her his devilish smile. “But I think we’ll start with some Italian food down at Georgio’s before we get to that.”
“That sounds like a good idea.” Gina took the books back from Rafe. “Just let me finish up here.”
Rafe took the stack back from her and teased her with his height by holding the books up out of her reach. “I already talked to Charlotte, she said I could steal you away and she’d take care of things here.”
Huffing with mock annoyance, Gina managed to take the books back again. “I can at least put these away. And then I’m going to check with Charlotte to make sure you aren’t trying to get me into trouble.”
Letting out a soft chuckle, Rafe allowed her to shelve the books with his arms wrapped around her waist. When she finished, Gina leaned back and rested her head briefly on his shoulder and Rafe kissed her exposed neck. “Can I take you now?”
“I thought we were doing that after dinner,” Gina responded and they both laughed at their immaturity.
Rafe walked her to the front desk to retrieve her jacket and purse. The other librarian, Charlotte, was sitting at the computer and writing the reminder emails to the patrons who had overdue books. The quirky middle-aged woman insisted to Gina that she would finish up everything and that she go enjoy herself with Rafe.
They walked out the door arm in arm into the light, persistent drizzle. They laughed as the droplets clung to their hair and rolled down their intertwined arms. She loved how he looked in the rain, and how it reflected the evening sunlight.
It made his sharply chiseled brow and jawline more prominent. And the way it dripped from his button nose past those full lips made her giddy. His long, dark eyelashes glittered when he blinked the rain away, and she was momentarily lost in the depths of his caramel colored eyes.
/> Returning to herself, Gina pulled an umbrella out of her purse and Rafe held it over them as they walked down the street.
Georgio’s was on the opposite side of the town square from the library. There weren’t many restaurants in the small farming town, but Georgio’s was the best. It was what some people referred to as the ‘fancy’ restaurant since it had centerpieces on all the tables and didn’t have a jukebox.
When they entered they were greeted by the hostess, a blushing high school girl who clearly watched too many makeup tutorials on YouTube. She took them to a table for two on the far side of the restaurant where not too many others had been seated yet.
As they glanced over the familiar menus Rafe asked Gina about her day and she about his. Naturally, their conversation turned to their house. At the beginning of the year, Rafe had bought a house and asked Gina to move in with him. After the server had taken their orders, they began to discuss details of the kitchen they were currently remodeling while they enjoyed a bottle of wine. The food was as excellent as always when it arrived and their idle conversation continued through the meal.
Afterwards, they ordered cherry cheesecake for dessert and Rafe pulled out his phone. “I wanted to know-”
The device slipped from his hand and clattered to the floor. Gina smiled and leaned forward, but Rafe was already out of his chair to retrieve it.
As he knelt down to pick up the phone, he pulled out a small box from his pocket. He looked up at Gina.
“I wanted to know,” he opened the box, “if you’ll marry me.”
Gina was speechless and her mouth hung open. She stared at the ring inside of the box. It was had alternating sapphires and diamonds in a white gold setting and a marquise cut center stone. Still unable to speak, she nodded as he reached for her hands and slipped the ring on her finger.
Distantly, she could hear the soft “awww” and clapping from everyone else in the restaurant. She could feel the tears running down her face as the little metal band slipped around her finger and the diamond caught the candlelight.
Rafe stood and pulled Gina to her feet as well. His soft hands brushed away the tears from her cheeks before gently taking hold of her and kissing her. The small crowd cheered for them.
The server brought them their dessert in a to-go box and Rafe handed her a stack of bills. Then he scooped Gina up in his arms provoking another round of cheers from the patrons and staff of Georgio’s. Gina laughed and kissed him as they made their exit out into the evening rain.
*****
Butterflies welled up inside of Gina as she stood and accepted all the compliments of her bridesmaids and the other women who had helped them all get dressed. She felt like a precarious stilt walker in her heels, but she was steadily balanced, even as the women all took turns coming up and hugging her.
All of the girls departed to take their place for the wedding. Gina waited anxiously at the doorway of the dressing room. She could see down the short hallway to foyer of the back door where the bridesmaids and groomsmen waited for their cue. From the other end of the hallway, the smell of the food being prepared for the reception wafted towards Gina and the butterflies in her stomach settled slightly at the familiarity of food.
Outside on the patio figures were moving to take their seats. It wasn’t a huge wedding, but there were still roughly 300 guests who had sent in their RSVP and they knew for certain that there would be people showing up who hadn’t. Gina was glad they had gone with an outdoor wedding rather than the church. The town’s church was nice, but a bit on the dark and gloomy side.
It was too kind of the pack leader to offer his estate for the wedding and reception. The grandeur of the plantation-style house lent a sort of elegance to the wedding that the charming old church never would have been capable of. Additionally, with the reception being held here as well, they only had to decorate one location.
The weather had turned out perfect and even from here she was in love with the colors of the bridesmaids’ dresses against the bright reds and oranges of the leaves outside. Taking a deep breath, she heard the chiming of the town clock tower in the distance as 5 o’clock struck. Next, the music started and the wedding party began to make their way out the door.
Gina turned to her mother, who was smiling brightly as she tried to hold back the tears. She handed Gina her bouquet of teal roses and white lilies.
“Your father would be so proud.”
Suddenly, at the mention of her father, Gina felt tears of her own threaten. Words failed her and so she smiled and hugged her mother. After all these years she still wore the same perfume, and Gina briefly remembered her childhood. She remembered all the times that she and her cousins would have pretend weddings as little kids, and then planning dream weddings with her friends when she was a teenager. Of course back then she dreamed of marrying Brad Pitt.
“Come now,” her mother said as she regained her composure, “we need to get out there.”
Gina laughed nervously as she held her mother’s arm. The last of the bridesmaids had just walked out of the door. As they reached the end of the hallway, the music shifted to announce the bride. Taking a deep breath, Gina stepped outside.
The back porch was lined with Ionic columns and between the two center columns a white archway had been set up with teal and white tulle, and flowers. Her heels were solid against the hard wood as she walked. The sound seemed to echo when she stopped at the top of the porch stairs.
She could feel the eyes of everyone upon her, but her attention could only focus on the end of the stone path where Rafe stood waiting for her in front of the manmade pond. Swallowing hard, Gina gathered up the front of her skirt as she had practiced with Leila and descended the steps.
With every step, Gina could feel the emotion building up in her throat. She wanted to cry but held back the flood only for the sake of her makeup. Instead, she smiled brightly as she stared into Rafe’s eyes.
Rafe stared back into her eyes. His smile was calming as she walked down the stone path. Gina blocked everyone else out of her mind and focused solely on his smile and how it lit up his golden caramel colored eyes.
As she neared the end of the aisle she saw something creep into Rafe’s eyes. His smile began to drop and Gina heard a voice behind her.
“How can you possibly think this is a good idea?” A voice behind her called out. She recognized that voice as Blake, a young cousin and member of the werewolf pack who didn’t approve of Rafe’s decision to marry her. It was an opinion she had voiced on many occasions.
Gina was stopped in her tracks as a foot stepped down on the train of her dress. Suddenly everything was overwhelming. She could feel all the eyes on her as some of the guests let out gasps. There was no stopping her momentum as she pitched forward.
“How dare you!” she heard her mother exclaim.
“Blake! What are you doing?” Another voice from the crowd yelled out.
Gina saw herself about to crash into the stone when a pair of strong arms caught her. She looked up and saw that Rafe saved her. She was too stunned to react as Rafe straightened her and held her close.
Gina winced as she saw Blake in a tight black dress and a scowl on her face. Beneath her heel was the torn hem of Gina’s dress. She had a finger pointed accusingly towards her.
“You don’t deserve to be with him! There’s no place for you at his side,” she cried out as the ushers tried to escort her off the premises.
As they took hold of her she lashed out at them. Her hands began to transform into claws as she struck out at the two men and she tore their jackets.
“Get out her out of here,” Rafe said, his voice an unsettling growl that almost sounded calm in his anger.
Blake shrieked as she was pulled away from the crowd. Her echoing threats filled the air as she was taken around the side of the house away from the ceremony. Everything fell into silence as her yelling ended.
Gina returned to herself and realized that the entirety of the wedding party had stepped
up to surround her protectively. Leila’s hand was gripping her forearm tightly.
After a moment, it was Leila who broke the silence. “Well, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s get this show on the road.”
This seemed to jolt everyone out of their shock of the scene that had unfolded before them. Guests returned to their seats and Rafe escorted her the rest of the way down the aisle.
Gina looked up at him in awe at his composure. Rafe looked back at her and his eyes melted back into liquid caramel and a small smirk crawled across his lips.
Leaning towards her he whispered, “By the way, you look amazing.”
*****
The rest of the wedding ceremony went smoothly, although that could have partially been attributed to people’s remaining surprise from earlier. Either way, when Rafe and Gina were pronounced man and wife, everyone stood and cheered.
When she kissed her new husband, Gina quite forgot about the threats that Blake had made earlier. The violent young wolf was far from her mind when Rafe took her face in his hands and kissed her with the same passion he’d had since their very first date. Her head was swimming as the chorus of whooping cheers, whistles, and applause assaulted her ears.
Their lips still attached, he picked up Gina and spun her around. She giggled and clung to him as her veil slipped off and clattered to the ground along with her shoes. Rafe kissed her again as he carried her back up the stone pathway to the porch as they were showered with rice by the guests. After climbing the steps, he set Gina down on her bare feet and she was glad to have her sense of balance back as she felt the smooth polished wood beneath her.
Rafe held up his arms to gather everyone’s attention before announcing, “Dinner is ready, if everyone could make their way to the banquet room and take their seats while I find my wife a new pair of shoes…”
