Oracle

by Amy Reece

  “Morning,” he said sleepily. “Have you been awake long?”

  “No, just a few minutes.”

  “Were you staring at me while I slept, querida?” he asked with a chuckle.

  “Just a little. I’ve missed looking at you. I can’t seem to get my fill.”

  He reached to push my hair behind my ear. “Yeah, I know what you mean.” He leaned in to kiss me softly. “Are you okay? I’m so sorry I hurt you last night.”

  “Oh, Jack, I’m absolutely fine. Please don’t worry. It’s perfectly normal, you know. I had to lose my virginity some time.”

  “I know, but I hate that you had to feel pain while I…”

  “While you what? Tell me more. This sounds fascinating.” I tried to sound serious.

  He laughed softly and kissed me. “While I had the best night of my entire life. You were amazing.”

  “Really? What a coincidence, Mr. Ruiz. You were pretty amazing yourself. It was the best night of my entire life, as well,” I teased and kissed him. “I’m so glad Mina insisted on that spa day yesterday.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m a huge fan.” He had certainly been a very thorough fan. “Remind me to thank her later.” He kissed me deeply and then pushed himself up on his elbow to lean over me. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Better than okay. I’m amazing, remember?” We both laughed as he kissed me again. “Yes, I’m fine, I promise.” I was slightly sore, but in the most delicious way possible and didn’t regret it in the slightest.

  He pulled away slightly and smiled at me. “Marry me, Ally.”

  I reached up and stroked his face. “You already asked me that last night.” I showed him the ring. “Remember? I said yes, by the way.”

  He took my hand and kissed my fingers just below the engagement ring then entwined his hand with mine and set them on the pillow above my head. “I do remember. Marry me today.”

  “What? What are you talking about?”

  He leaned in to kiss me. “Marry me today, here in Paris.” He looked intently into my face, all trace of teasing gone.

  “You’re serious.” I sat up, pulling him with me. “Talk to me.”

  “I don’t want to wait, Ally. We’ve seriously spent enough time waiting. Rémy and Mina are getting married before a justice of the peace later today and he’s arranged for us to be married, as well, but only if you’re okay with it.”

  I knew that getting married in France involved a legal ceremony in front of a judge before any optional religious ceremony, and there was a strict residency requirement for at least one half of the couple. “I thought there was a waiting period, like two weeks or something.”

  “I’m pretty sure Rémy can bribe his way out of anything. It’s all arranged, querida, but only if you’re okay with it.”

  “Oh my God. Wow. We could actually get married today? What about our families, Jack? Won’t they be disappointed not to be there?” I desperately wanted to marry him, but could I do it without anyone knowing?

  “I’ve been talking to Rémy about this for several days and I warned everyone back home before I left. It would be similar to what Rémy and Mina are doing: we’d have a civil ceremony here and then repeat our vows in front of a priest back home. Trina’s already planning a big reception. But only if you’re comfortable with it.”

  “You talked to Grams and my mom?”

  “I even called your dad,” he explained. “He gave his blessing.” At my incredulous look, he continued. “Well, he gave his blessing contingent upon getting to walk you down the aisle as soon as we get back to Albuquerque. I’m pretty sure they all realized it was inevitable, so they gave in fairly graciously.” He again pushed my hair behind my ears and framed my face with his hands. “I really hope you’ll say yes, Ally. I don’t want to wait. We have waited and been separated long enough. I want it to be you and me from here on out. I want to live with you, sleep with you, eat with you—”

  I gasped. “Jack, what about Tara? Where is she going to live when you move in?” She had been living in my house by herself for the last year, taking care of Wicky and the yard. “I don’t think she’s going to want to move back with her parents. And I don’t really want her living with us.”

  He grinned, obviously sensing victory. “I don’t think you need to worry about her, babe. She’s already moving her stuff to the apartment with Mat. He actually hasn’t spent a night at home in the last six months or so.”

  “What? Mat’s been shacking up with Tara in my house?” I squeaked. “God, I hope not in my bed!”

  He laughed and pulled me down to lie in his arms. “I don’t think so. We can change the sheets when we get back, just in case. I helped him buy a ring before I left,” he confessed.

  “Oh my God!” I exclaimed again.

  “Hey, could you act surprised when she shows you the ring? I don’t think I was supposed to tell you. I’m unable to keep a secret from you.”

  “That’s a good thing. So, what time is our wedding?” I asked. Of course I would marry him today. I got the best of both worlds: an intimate, private ceremony with the man I loved and a family wedding back home.

  He leaned over me again. “Seriously, Ally?” I nodded. He leaned down to kiss me thoroughly. “You have just made me the happiest man in Paris.”

  I rolled over to lie on top of him. “Really? I was kind of thinking I could make you even happier, if we have time.”

  He looked at the clock. “We definitely have time.”

  Chapter Five

  “I go to wed the lord of the dark waters.”

  —Sophocles, Antigone

  Three hours later, after more lovemaking and a shared shower—delightful, but rather more time-consuming than a lone shower—we were nearly ready to meet Rémy and Mina for a late breakfast before our joint marriage ceremonies.

  “We can have a big wedding back home if you want, querida,” he said as he helped me zip the gorgeous aqua dress Mina had bought for me the day before. “You can have a real wedding dress. I really like this one, however.” He pushed the spaghetti strap down and kissed my bare shoulder.

  I leaned my head back against him and let out a moan as his warm lips traversed my skin. “If you keep that up, we’ll miss our wedding.” I saw him grin salaciously in the mirror. “And I don’t want a big wedding. I was thinking we could have a small ceremony, with just our families in Trina’s backyard. I’ll wear this dress. Unless you want a big wedding?” I asked as I turned in his arms.

  “Sweetheart, with my family it will be a big wedding.” We both smiled, realizing his vast number of relatives would indeed turn any ceremony into a big event. “But a backyard ceremony sounds great. I love this dress.” He leaned down to taste my other shoulder.

  “Mmmm,” I pulled his head up and kissed him lingeringly. “We better go. I can hear your stomach growling. I feel bad for keeping you prisoner all night and not feeding you any dinner.”

  “You can keep me prisoner any time you want. Dinner was the last thing on my mind last night.”

  I laughed with him. “Yeah, mine too. But we need to keep up our strength, you know.”

  Rémy and Mina were already seated in the breakfast room downstairs when Jack and I arrived. “You really need to stop smirking, Rémy,” I said as I reached for the coffee pot.

  He laughed as Mina elbowed him. “I can’t help it, cherié. You are blushing furiously and Jack is looking disgustingly smug. I trust all went well?”

  “None of your business. So, I understand we’re all getting married this morning?” I asked nonchalantly. At Mina’s delighted look I thrust my left hand with its new ring at her.

  “Oh, Ally! It’s gorgeous. I’m so happy for you. This is going to be wonderful! We’ll share an anniversary!”

  “So, how do you think Kate and Phillipe will react to you two getting married secretly?” I asked as I bit into a croissant.

  “It’s not a secret,” Rémy said. “I called them yesterday. This is how it’s done in France.
We are required by law to have a mariage civil in front of a government official before any other type of ceremony. The only secret is that Jack is here and you two are also getting married. It truly is best for you to present both the Conseil and the Council with a fait accompli in this regard. I have the distinct feeling they have plans for you, as their new Oracle, that don’t include returning to the United States with an American boyfriend.”

  “Well, in a few hours she’ll be my wife and then no one can separate us.” Jack took my hand and kissed the palm. I leaned over and kissed him on the mouth, not caring that we were in the middle of a restaurant.

  “Don’t mind us,” Rémy said with a chuckle.

  We took a taxi to the city hall, where our ceremonies would take place. I knew Rémy must have called in quite a few favors and spent thousands of euros to bypass all the legal requirements to make this possible.

  “Thank you, Rémy, for doing this. You don’t know what it means to us.” I leaned against him and squeezed his arm.

  “It is my pleasure, cherié. It is long past time we three forged our own path and stop letting Luc and the other Seers make all the decisions. Now, I’m sorry to say that the upcoming ceremony is not very romantic, but it is perfectly legal. You will be married, at least. You can exchange rings and vows when you get home in front of a priest, if you wish.”

  “I think Trina is already planning something for us,” I said. “What about you? Will you have another ceremony or anything?”

  “Oui. Grandmére has a reception planned for early next week.”

  “At least this gives me time to find you a ring, Jack,” I said.

  “Maybe we can find one here in Paris. I have yours that matches the engagement ring and I’d feel more married if we had wedding rings. I’m not going to understand much of the ceremony, so I’ll need you to tell me when to say ‘I do.’”

  “You actually don’t even say that,” Rémy said. “You’ll just say ‘oui’ when the time comes. That means ‘yes.’”

  “Yeah, I know that.” Jack rolled his eyes.

  “Let’s hear it, then,” Rémy taunted.

  “Wee,” Jack gritted out. Rémy cringed and Jack started muttering Spanish curse words.

  “Boys!” I exclaimed as Mina elbowed Rémy in the ribs. “I definitely like the idea of exchanging rings here,” I soothed Jack. “And don’t worry. I’ll translate the ceremony for you.”

  The taxi dropped us in front of the city hall for the 17th arrondissement and we went inside. We had to wait for about thirty minutes before the adjunct was available and then were ushered into an office. Rémy and Mina went first and then it was our turn. We stood face to face in front of a table and I translated the words of the official for Jack. We said ‘oui’ at the proper time, kissed, and within about five minutes were pronounced husband and wife. We signed the livret de famille and were on our way.

  Outside, on the steps of the city hall, Jack pulled me into his arms for a better kiss. “I love you, Mrs. Ruiz.”

  I beamed up at him. “And I love you, Mr. Ruiz.” We pulled apart to see Rémy and Mina still kissing passionately. “Hey, Monsieur and Madame Giles! Don’t we have reservations for lunch soon?” They broke apart, grinning like the love-struck idiots we all were, and led us down the street toward the restaurant where Rémy had reserved a private room. We had a lovely champagne luncheon with many toasts and I ended up rather tipsy, which seemed to amuse Jack.

  “Well, this has been fun, but I think I need to get my bride back to the hotel. She probably needs a nap to sleep off all this champagne.”

  I plopped down on his lap and proceeded to kiss his neck. “I love your neck, Jack. You smell so good. You always smell so good.” I ended on a hiccough, which made everyone laugh, including me. I couldn’t stop once I started, however. Everything was so funny.

  “Well,” Jack said with a laugh. “We need to go.” He stood, setting me on my feet, where I wobbled on my high heels. “Come on, babe. Let’s get you back for a nap.”

  “Well, someone kept me up all night,” I said with a yawn.

  “Jack, you’d better get her back before she tells us more than we really need to know,” Mina advised.

  He held me close to his side and led me outside to catch a taxi back to our hotel. I vaguely remembered Rémy saying that he and Mina would stay to settle the bill and see us later. I dozed against Jack in the cab and reluctantly roused when we reached the hotel. He paid the driver and gave him a decent tip along with a credible ‘merci.’

  “Hmm, that sounded great, Jack. You’re learning quickly.” I hiccoughed again.

  “Yeah, I’m a real linguist. Let’s get you upstairs, babe. You’re nearly asleep on your feet.”

  “I’m sorry. I should be more fun on our wedding night.”

  He punched the button for the elevator. “Oh, I’m not worried, querida. We’ve got hours until it’s our wedding night. We can have a nice long nap on our wedding afternoon. Someone didn’t let me get much sleep last night, either.”

  “I wonder who that could be?” I asked as I nuzzled his neck in the elevator.

  “You keep that up and there won’t be a lot of napping, Mrs. Ruiz.”

  “Mmmm, I like the sound of that.”

  “Which? The no napping or the ‘Mrs. Ruiz’?” he asked, laughing.

  “Yes.”

  He swiped his key card at our door and then scooped me into his arms to carry me over the threshold. “It’s tradition,” he whispered against my lips.

  Our room had been cleaned, our bed made, and there was a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket and a tray of chocolate-dipped strawberries on the bedside table, compliments of Rémy, of course. The last thing I needed was more champagne right now, but I was sure we would get around to it later.

  I turned around and presented my back to my husband. “Unzip me?” He was quick to comply, kissing the skin he bared as he unzipped.

  “You are so soft. I have dreamed of touching you like this for so long.”

  I turned in his arms, loosened his tie, and began unbuttoning his shirt. “Me too. No more cold showers for either of us.” I stepped back and pushed the straps off my shoulders, letting the aqua dress pool at my feet.

  We finally got around to napping an hour or so later; we opened the champagne several hours after that. We ordered dinner from room service even later.

  “So, what do you want to see in Paris, Jack?” I asked in the wee hours of the night as I lay in his arms, swirling my fingers through his chest hair.

  “I’ve already seen everything I came to see, querida. I plan to see it a lot more, though.”

  I laughed and sat up enough to kiss his jaw. “Well, we can’t stay in bed for three whole days. You can’t come all the way to Paris and not want to see any of it.”

  “I didn’t come to sightsee, babe.” He kissed the top of my head. “And I could easily stay in bed with you for at least a week.” He pulled me on top of him and my hair formed a curtain around our heads. “But I need to remember that this is all new for you. I should probably think about letting you out of bed tomorrow, at least for a little while. Where should we go? You probably know all the really cool places.”

  “I’ll get back to you on that,” I said while kissing his neck and moving down to his chest. I had other things to think about right then.

  ***

  We spent the morning strolling through the Tuileries Garden and along the Place de la Concorde. We snapped a few photos in front of the Louvre pyramid, but Jack had no desire to go inside, especially once he saw the hideous lines. We found him a simple platinum wedding band in a shop on the Rue de Rivoli and then I took him to my favorite bridge in Paris, the Pont de l’Archevêché, where we exchanged our rings, placing them on each other’s fingers while we privately made our vows to each other.

  “Aletheia Grace, from the moment you walked into my English class four years ago, I knew you were special. You sat right in front of me, torturing me, every day. I used to m
ake excuses to lean forward on my desk just so I could smell your hair. Sometimes you would lean back and your gorgeous red ponytail would reach my desk. I would reach out and touch the end. That would make my day. I was never going to talk to you, until the day you almost passed out in class. I knew I wasn’t good enough for someone like you, but you didn’t care. You stuck to me like glue and didn’t care about all the stupid, idiotic stuff I had done. You never saw the troublemaker I was; you saw the real me. The day you insisted on coming to my probation hearing was the day I knew I was head-over-heels in love with you. Now you’re my wife and I can’t believe how lucky I am. I promise to love you and respect you until my dying day, and then forever.” He placed the matching diamond and sapphire band on my finger next to the engagement ring he had placed there two days ago.

  I sniffed and wiped away the tears that streamed down my cheeks. “Jackson Iván, from the moment I walked into my English class and saw you sitting in the back of the room looking dark, mysterious, and gorgeous,” I smiled into his eyes as he chuckled self-consciously, “I was drawn to you in a way I didn’t begin to understand. I just had to sit as close to you as I could, and I always sit at the front of the classroom.” We both laughed, as we knew it was true. “I thought my crush was hopeless, you know. Why would a guy like you want to be with a girl like me? But you did, Jack, and I’m so glad. You have loved me and protected me for four years and now, for some amazing reason, you have become my husband. I can’t believe how lucky I am. I promise to love you and care for you today, tomorrow, and forever.” I pushed the ring I had just bought onto his finger then stood on tip-toe to kiss him. We were lost to the world for a few blessed moments until the sound of applause broke through our love-soaked consciousness. A small crowd had gathered around us as we had our private ceremony and was now cheering us. We laughed and kissed again for their benefit and gratefully accepted their offers to snap our picture on the beautiful bridge overlooking the Seine.