I could feel the corners of my eyes start to well with tears. I truly had found my soulmate.
The minister cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. “May I have the rings, please?”
Grace and Jonathan offered the rings to the minister. I hoped Laurel wouldn’t be too upset that I’d picked out our rings for us. If she didn’t like them, I’d be happy to get a different pair later. I watched as she glanced over and smiled at the design. I’d had infinity rings made in platinum with sets of forever diamonds cascading from small to large on the top of each. Our names and the date were engraved inside, to forever seal this day in our hearts.
“Garrett and Laurel, please take each other’s rings and repeat after me…”
We held one another’s ring fingers as we both repeated, “I give you this ring to wear with love and joy. As a ring has no end, neither shall my love for you. I choose you to be my (wife/husband) this day and forevermore.” We slid the rings on our fingers, holding one another’s hands tightly.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.”
I lifted her veil, leaned into whisper, “You are truly, now and forevermore, mine!” My lips found hers and I dove in, not caring that our family and a minister were surrounding us. My hands reached around her back to feel the warmth of her skin, drawing her closer. It felt like time stood still and only the two of us existed in the moment. It wasn’t until Grace and Jonathan cleared their throats rather loudly that we pulled back and saw all of our family and friends clapping with huge smiles on their faces.
Jonathan and Grace were the first to congratulate us, followed by Donny and Hannah. The music started again, as the minister announced, “I now present Mr. and Mrs. Garrett Waters.” Everyone clapped as we walked down the aisle.
The music stopped as we reached the end of the aisle and were immediately rushed by our parents.
“Are you telling us that we’ll have a grandchild to love soon?” my mother asked, clapping her hands together.
Laurel’s dad didn’t look too happy. “You got my daughter pregnant? Is this why you’re marrying her?”
I didn’t know how to answer all the questions. I just looked around at our parents, with our mothers smiling ear to ear, while our dads’ faces looked hesitant.
I looked over at Laurel and saw her nodding. “It’s time we tell everyone. Besides, it’s not like we can hide it much longer.”
I watched as both my mom and Sylvia laid hands on Laurel’s stomach, her mom asking, “How far along are you dear? Are you feeling okay? Do you have any morning sickness? No wonder you didn’t drink anything or go jet skiing yesterday.”
Laurel tried to open her mouth and get her words out, but our mothers were relentless with questions. I had to get everyone’s attention.
“HEY!” I yelled. “That’s enough handling of my wife.” I just loved the way the word slipped over my tongue. “My wife,” I repeated and smiled, pulling Laurel close into my side. “If everyone just promises to remain calm, we’ll tell you the news.”
I’d never seen a small crowd get so quiet so fast in my life. All you could hear were the waves crashing against the shore.
“Hopefully this will answer all your questions,” I began, kissing my bride’s temple. “Laurel had been feeling sick and unable to hold much food down for a while. She thought it was just nerves and the crazy work schedule we’d both been handling. She was quite sick the day I proposed and I was worried there was something wrong. I had the doctor meet us at the penthouse and we confirmed she was pregnant.”
Everyone moved to speak, but I held my hand up to indicate I wasn’t done.
Laurel grabbed hold of my hand and took the next part of our conversation. “I’d thought that I must have had some food poisoning or something, since I was supposed to have received a Depo shot after my attack, but apparently the order was given, but the shot wasn’t.” She took a deep breath in and nearly squeezed my hand in two. “We went for a checkup earlier this week and they confirmed I’m about 13 weeks along, but they were a bit alarmed by the heartbeat. However, upon further inspection…” She looked over my way, smiled, and said, “Should we tell them or make them suffer?”
Everyone started begging immediately, so we cried, “Twins!”
Both our mothers were crying tears of joy. All my siblings came up to hug us. Hannah commented, “No wonder you’re glowing. I can’t believe you’re not showing yet.”
She patted her tummy and smiled. “The dress does a good job of hiding things. I almost thought my cover was blown when Aunt Lisa commented on my new muffin top.”
Grace’s mom came up hugged us both, apologizing profusely on her statement. “I never meant any harm by it, Laurel. I’ve always felt you were too scrawny as a child and as an adult. But look how healthy you look now! I can’t wait to be a Great Aunt.”
We finally made it up to the house where the pool deck and the inside were all decked out for the reception. Laurel noticed I took every detail she’d mentioned to me at my parent’s house. “So this is why you were asking all those questions and your mom was writing everything down?” I smiled, rather sheepishly, but nodded.
“It’s true. I needed to know what you wanted and my mom took all your information into account and began setting the details with the caterers, florist, and dress shop with Charlotte and your family’s help.”
We had a small, two-tiered wedding cake atop of a large pastry stand for us to cut and reserve the top piece for our one year anniversary, while the bottom tiers were surrounded with miniaturized versions of our wedding cake, in bite-size portions. There was a wide selection of other pastries available, along with some finger foods to enjoy.
Laurel had wanted a small event where no one had to worry about sitting down to a huge meal or getting it all over them. She wanted finger foods or miniature versions of regular food. We had small shrimp, chicken and beef en croute, small salad and chilled soup shooters, tiny potato tortes, and so forth. My mom and the caterer did an amazing job coming up with such a petite menu.
Laurel had slipped inside to change into shoes so we could dance our first dance. I saw her slip Grace a piece of paper with the name of a song on it to be played immediately after the one I requested for her.
The music started and I watched, mesmerized, as my beauty found her way to the center of the patio for our first dance. I took her in my hands as Boyzone began to sing “Every Day I Love You.”
“Listen to the words, love,” I whispered. “That’s how I feel about you. I know I messed up once, but you truly are all that I need in this life to be happy.”
Our bodies swayed with the sounds of the music as our lips met and we were lost to one another. When my song ended, her song seemed to reply, “Truly, Madly, Deeply,” by Savage Garden. I had no clue that she was a fan of some of the same groups. Just another reason we were perfect for each other.
She leaned in and whispered, “Ditto, my darling. Ditto, my forever love.”
How did she know how to get so close inside my heart? Did she understand that now that I had her, I’d never let her go.
We paused only long enough for our families to toast us and to share a father/daughter and mother/son dance with our respective parents, opting for classic Sinatra with “The Way You Look Tonight.”
The evening continued on for a couple more hours with the tossing of the bouquet and garter (it was no surprise that Grace and Jonathan caught them both) before it was time to take our leave. Laurel followed me up to our bedroom, where we changed into some clothing I’d laid out for us.
She pouted a bit when she saw all of my preparations. “Why do you insist on dressing me sometimes? Haven’t we had this discussion before? I am an adult, you know.”
I started to unzip the side of the dress for her, running my fingers across the curve of her back and inhaling the vanilla scent that was my Laurel. God, I can’t wait to get her to our location tonight. Does she have any idea what she’s doing t
o me, looking like sin in heals?
“I know you’re an adult, but you have no idea what we’re doing next or how to dress. I thought by placing our clothes out, it would help us get out of here a little quicker.” I dropped my voice a bit as I continued. “Plus, you know I can’t resist opening MY packages.”
Her breath caught and I gave her a seductive wink. “So we’re not staying here tonight? Are we going on a honeymoon?” Her voice sounded curious but excited.
“That’s one of the things I’d asked the doctors about the other day, if you were up to traveling and going on a honeymoon. They have no problem, as long as we send back the blood sugar levels and report any issues to them immediately. They know several doctors where we’re going.”
She stopped getting ready and crossed her arms, looking at me rather intently. “So where are we going for our honeymoon and what are the other things you asked about?”
I walked over to her, laying a finger on her lips. “I’m not telling in regards to the honeymoon. It’s a surprise!” I kissed her chastely. “As for the other things, let’s just say I asked about our adventures in the bedroom and if they could continue. I needed to know what was safe and what we should avoid.”
Her face blushed a deep crimson. I held my hands up in surrender. “Would you rather us be celibate for the next six months?”
“No, but you didn’t have to…I can’t even say the words, I’m so embarrassed.”
I pulled her close to my chest, holding her tight. “They’re doctors; they’ve been asked those kinds of questions before. We’re good to go on pretty much anything we’ve been doing. We can even add some adventure to our repertoire, just nothing too intense. Should you feel any discomfort or cramping, I’m to notify them immediately.”
We continued to change, as we heard my mother tell everyone to gather at the bottom of the stairs, to see us off.
While she was busy doing that, there was a light knock on the door. I cracked it open to find Thompson. “The limo is ready, sir. Stewart is ready for the decoy whenever you are.”
“Have they arrived yet?”
Thompson nodded. “No one should be able to tell the difference unless they get up close. We’re ready when you are. They are dressed in both of your clothes and will depart on your word; creating a false lead. Hopefully anyone watching for the two of you will follow them, allowing you both to leave without event.”
Everyone had gathered downstairs to wish us off on our honeymoon. We stopped halfway down the stairs as two people walked out of the shadows, looking like us, headed towards the door. All eyes looked my direction for an explanation, including Laurel’s.
“Meet Trista and Kent. They’re our body doubles, or as close to looking like us as possible. I hired them in the event the media or the Petersons tracked us down.”
I paused for a moment, trying to figure the best way to explain things, when Thompson took over. “They were hired as a safety, per my suggestion,” he said. “We’ve managed to avoid the media, but we located Chase arriving in Daytona a couple of hours ago. They’ll hop aboard Mr. Waters’ private jet and an illusion will be created as to where they will go on their honeymoon; sending Chase on a false lead while they escape to safety.”
It took only a moment for our families to agree that safety was of the utmost importance, especially considering all that we’d been through to reach this point of happiness. We stayed with the family, hugging them, talking for a bit, and letting the illusion take place to see if Chase was drawn to the airport.
About an hour later, Thompson had reported that both Chase and a few paparazzi photographers who were camped out at the airport had taken the bait and caught flights to follow the jet. “You are now safe to leave, sir.”
We wished everyone well and gave only Jonathan the burner phone numbers in the event something happened with work or a family emergency arose. We piled into the SUV and drove towards the docks to begin our life as husband and wife.
Today had been filled with one surprise after another. I’d never dreamed when I woke up this morning that it would turn out to be my wedding day. November 28th will live in my memory forever as the day my heart was forever sealed with another, my Garrett.
We had been able to have the small, romantic ceremony I’d wanted, at sunset, on the beach, surrounded by all of our family and friends. There were no photographers, reporters, or videographers other than the ones that were hired for the ceremony, and they’d signed non-disclosure agreements.
The day seemed more like a dream than a reality. Everyone was happy about our union and even happier to find out that we were already expecting. When we got ready to leave for our honeymoon, though, the truth hit me like a ton of bricks. We were in hiding from the media and the Peterson family. Married or not, we were still being watched.
We said our goodbyes to our families, promising to all meet up again for Christmas, as Thompson and Dillon surrounded us with dark umbrellas and raincoats. The walk to the waiting SUV seemed like an eternity, but once inside, it was only a short trip to the docks, where we played the same “cover of darkness” routine with the umbrellas and raincoats again and boarded Garrett’s yacht.
I was surprised to learn that Deidre, Dillon, Thompson and two other security personnel, along with the Captain, were all going with us on our honeymoon. I leaned into Garrett. “Will the boat hold everyone aboard?” I asked, concerned that there wouldn’t be much privacy left for us.
His arms wrapped around my waist and drew me close to his side. “Security will share one bedroom, on shift rotation, while the rest have their own bedrooms to rest. Security is a must, but Deidre is along to help plan your meals and make sure you’re eating enough, as well as feeding everyone else.”
He guided me forward to his, now our, bedroom. I was shocked to see gold satin sheets turned down and a pile of rose petals scattered on the floor and forming a heart shape in the center of the bed. Garrett smiled and pointed up, where the top of the cabin was filled with helium balloons in gold and burgundy. The burgundy balloons formed a heart on the ceiling, reflecting the light of the candles floating in tall pillars of water.
I noticed our suitcases were off to the side, while all of our vanity items had been neatly placed on the dresser and bathroom sink. “Where’s my nightgown?”
Garrett nodded to the crew to get underway, then closed the door behind us and locked it. He picked up a remote, which lowered the blinds on our cabin windows. Soft, seductive music filled the room. His arms grabbed hold of my hips and drew my back flush against him, where I could feel his hardness pressing into me. His hands pushed my hair to the side as warm breath danced across my nape. His tongue came out, sucking, biting, and kissing its way to my ear.
“The plans I have for you tonight, my love, don’t include clothing.” He bit softly behind my ear. “In fact, I’m ready to start unwrapping my wedding gift right now.”
His hands moved to unzip the back of my sundress, letting it fall to the floor. My breath caught. I felt exposed, wearing only high heels and the undergarments he’d requested I wear under my bridal gown.
I tried to turn around to undress him, but his voice commanded, “Stay where you are, love, let me look at my wife’s fine backside.” His hands roamed over my back and down to my bottom, where he squeezed each globe before brushing his manhood against me.
My heart rate spiked with all the seduction he was pouring into tonight. I heard buttons fly everywhere as he ripped off his shirt and threw it to the floor. Next I heard a button and zipper, before seeing his pants fly to the corner of the room.
The engines came to life and the boat started forward. Garrett encased me in his arms to keep me from falling.
“Where are we going?” I asked while his hands caressed every inch of my body, as if worshiping it.
His lips descended to my bare shoulders, his hands pinching my nipples through the lace bustier. I cried out. “Right now, darling, we’re not going to talk about our honeymoon. I’ll t
ell you that we’re going to explore sexual heaven. You are truly MINE now!” he growled, going all caveman on me.
I could feel myself melting for him. My panties were soaked through and all I wanted was to feel Garrett deep inside me, owning me. “I’m yours for the taking, my husband, heart, body, and soul.”
His hand traveled down to my mound and slipped inside my lace thong to my folds. “My God, you’re soaked through.” He removed his fingers and brought them up to his lips before sucking them nearly clean. “You taste divine here, Mrs. Waters.” He shoved his fingers in my mouth, where I tasted myself. The idea of what I was doing would normally turn me off, but with Garrett, I could feel my center aching to be filled by him. Everything he did, every touch he made, every word he said, was a direct on switch to my pussy. I sucked on his fingers as he kept swaying us back and forth to the music, slowly inching us towards the bed.
His hands dug into each side of my thong and he slowly ripped it away from my body, leaving only the bustier, silk hose, and garters. The heat inside me kicked up another notch, knowing how badly he wanted me.
Garrett turned me around slowly as his lips licked a trail across my shoulders, up my neck and onto my lips, where he thrust his tongue deep inside my mouth, not caressing, but owning every inch of me. His hands came down past my butt and lifted. “Wrap your legs around my waist, Laurel.”
Learning to Love Again Page 13
