by Cee, DW
“Our favorite of all the activities were the costumes Bee designed while using us as her minions to bring them to life,” Becky explained. “There was generally a theme, and no matter how lame our ideas, she did her best to include them in the design.”
Rachel spoke next. “To honor the tradition of ‘Something Old,’ we Taylor sisters dug through our closets and found every last outfit Bee designed and created for us during our youth. With these creations, Missy and her crew spun their magic and here are the results.”
The lights went dim, a screen appeared from the top of the tent and music blared. What appeared on the screen were pictures of the inside of my warehouse. While I was in Hawaii, someone had framed every outfit I’d made as a child and decorated the walls. Comically, the songs coordinated with the outfits.
The Brady Bunch theme signaled the corresponding outfits I’d created for one Halloween. Scott and Jamie’s Carol and Mike Brady costumes, along with the six children’s outfits, were all displayed beautifully in a gigantic frame.
“I can’t believe you found all of those,” I exclaimed while watching the Marvel Comics outfits right before YMCA blared on the speakers, and all the Village People outfits popped on the screen. What made these frames even better were the pictures of the Taylor models who wore them so many years ago.
“Not to be outdone by my sisters,” Laney began the next part of this tradition, “Donovan and I have a few pictures of our own to wow this crowd. Introducing, ‘Something New.’”
The lights went down again and the first frame on the screen was that of Donovan’s wedding tuxedo that I painstakingly made, as well as Laney’s wedding reception dress with red tulle. Both articles of clothing were encased in a very long frame surrounded by pictures of the two of them at their own wedding. The next pictures showed teeny-tiny frames with all the clothes I’d made for the boys, along with blankets and burp cloths. I couldn’t wait to get back to the warehouse to see these decorations as the backdrop of my everyday workplace.
“And most recently, these are all the beautiful creations Bee lovingly made for our wedding.” Jane drew our attention back to the screen and there were all the bridesmaids’ dresses, the flower girl and ring boy outfits, and Jane’s wedding going-away outfit. Every one of these outfits meant so much to me because of my deep affection for the people who wore the clothes.
“Thank you.” I mouthed and stood up to give all the women a hug.
Once the ladies finished their gifts, my groom squeezed my hand and stood up for his portion of this tradition. “With the rush on time, coupled with the pressure-filled tradition of picking diamonds for my bride, I thought my head might explode.” Everyone laughed. “But, with the help of Bee’s right-hand woman, Missy, I was able to finish ‘Something Old’ and ‘Something New’ an hour before I hopped on the plane to Hawaii. However, it bothered me that ‘Something Blue’ was still missing, I thought about using this wedding on the beach as a filler and calling it a day, or asking Laney and Emily to have all the boys’ clothes framed and terming that as ‘Something Blue.’ Then, a brilliant idea came to me.”
“No!” Doug called out. “He’s not adding to this tradition, is he?”
“And people say I’m the smart one in the family,” Nick showed off his signature grin, to the chagrin of all this male cousins. “When my brother Jake decided to give diamond earrings to his wife as part of his tradition, he forgot that most of us don’t earn a heart surgeon’s paycheck. Then Donovan, Mr.-I-make-more-money-than-a-heart-surgeon, came along and committed the asshole deed of the century by buying his bride even more diamonds than the two my brother bought.”
“My two are much bigger than Donovan’s few. And plus, he didn’t buy most of those diamonds,” Jake complained.
“Ha!” Donovan snorted. “You’re just jealous you didn’t come up with the tiara idea, first.”
Everyone enjoyed the best friends’ “argument.”
“So my brother buys two diamonds, Donovan buys like ten pink diamonds…”
Donovan interrupted with, “Sixteen pink diamonds,” as he took the tiara converted into a fancy headband off Laney’s head and wowed the crowd.
“Yeah, yeah,” Nick rolled his eyes, and did a little of that snorting, himself, “sixteen…whatever…!”
“You tell ‘em, Nick,” Doug yelled. “Fight for the rest of us…though you better not have bought your wife a blue diamond.”
Nick laughed at his cousin. “The rest of us normal people who may have regular nine-to-five jobs, or may even be a student, can barely afford one diamond.” Nick came over and waved my hand that showcased a beautifully simple solitaire diamond. “But, my brilliant brother-in-law outdid both his asshole-predecessors and gifted his wife with one-hundred fifty diamonds in the most clever way.”
“One-hundred fifty-two,” Max called out from the front row. “Let’s not short-change my effort.”
We all laughed again. “Thanks to my fellow med-student brother-in-law, that got me thinking. Since we normal folks can’t beat the high-rolling rich folks, we need to use our God-given ingenuity to beat those who use their wallets to solve life’s problems.” Nick’s tongue-in-cheek tone had us on the edge of our seats, wondering what clever present he’d invented.
“Get on with it, will ya?” My nephew’s attempt to sound bored failed miserably when he couldn’t contain his grin. “We get that you and Max couldn’t afford to get your women real diamonds.”
“Ooohhhh…” The entire tent erupted looking for a verbal brawl.
“I’ll let that one pass since I saw you grab a hold of your newborn son before making that snide remark.” Everyone howled at the ribbing.
Donovan laughed with everyone, and held up his son like Rafiki holding Simba. “I concede.” He gestured for my groom to continue.
“Where the hell was I?” Nick laughed at himself.
“Diamonds.” I called.
“Thank you, Wife.”
“You’re welcome,” I answered abashedly.
“Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I decided to show you all what THREE HUNDRED SIXTY diamonds look like.”
On the screen was a huge Beeautiful signage along the south end of my warehouse wall.
“What the hell is that, and where are the diamonds?” Donovan questioned.
Nick showed us a few more slides, and then one of them zoomed in to the southwest corner of the letter “B.”
“As you can see, this is Bee’s design label. I found old blue fabrics Bee had created years ago, and Missy helped me dye new blue fabrics. When we thought there were enough, I painstakingly cut out diamonds of all shapes and sizes from these fabrics to create the signage, Beeautiful. Round brilliants, princess cuts, ovals, trilliants, pear shapes, emeralds—every diamond Wikipedia spoke of, they’re all there.”
More pictures passed through the slide show, and the close-ups displayed all the types of diamonds Nick mentioned. Between the different shades of blues, the textures of the fabrics, and Nick’s hand that went into cutting out each diamond, I was even more in love with my husband.
“Thank you. I love it,” I whispered.
“If you’ll notice,” he wasn’t done explaining his gift. “There are smatterings of yellow diamonds throughout the blue, because my wife’s favorite color is yellow.”
“What a cool sign.” Jane exclaimed. “I can’t believe you came up with that idea.”
“Why thank you, Sis.” Nick answered. “My dear wife,” his attention was back on me. “There’s your ‘Something Old,’ ‘Something New,’ and ‘Something Blue’ along with THREE HUNDRED SIXTY DIAMONDS.”
He was all smiles when he came over to claim his well-deserved kiss.
“Did you really cut all those diamonds for me? It’s not easy cutting fabric.”
“No kidding.” Nick put up both hands to show me all his scrapes and cuts.
“Thank you. That’s a gift that topped all gifts.”
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“I had to do something to outdo those three who bought monster-sized diamonds for their women.”
I held up my gorgeous engagement ring and sentimental gold band that once belonged to his mother. “I love my rings not because of the size, but because of the man who gave them to me.”
“I love you, Bee Lauren Reid. You think life with a student-husband will be exciting enough for you?”
“And I love you, Nicholas Gerald Reid. I am honored to be your wife, and I think life with you holds serious potential!”
A Note from the Author:
Nick and Bee were not on my radar when I was writing Delaney’s Story, but while writing Donovan’s Story, I took a second look at both characters. I realized how much I liked Bee and I knew a story needed to be written from her point of view.
I like to think that all my characters are different from one another. Emily is tenderhearted and kind, balancing a husband whose only priorities are his wife and kids. Jane is the typical middle child, asserting her independence, but showing many vulnerabilities. Of course, she needed to be paired with a selfless, laidback man who brings out the best in our heroine. Delaney is sassy and love-struck, but her strong will and determination pushes her to continue with her life when all appears lost. As with all my stories, she eventually marries the man who starred in her every dreams since she was ten. Confident, proud Donovan Taylor was brought to his knees when he realized he had lost the one woman who means everything to him.
Now Nick and Bee—what to say…? When I started this blog, I was torn about these two characters. Both Nick and Bee were too headstrong, too independent, and too different. When I create characters, I like to see them complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses. These two…I didn’t know if I should keep them together.
Up until April blogs, I was going to have them go their separate ways. I loved Luke, and saw him as a good fit for Bee. There was a strong chance Nick was going to stay single and possibly have a second go at love in another blog—kinda like a bachelor on The Bachelorette becoming The Bachelor. I struggled for months on this decision.
Finally, when Bee got injured, I realized I needed to keep the two together. They had “dated” longer than any other of my couples and no matter what happened to them, they couldn’t stay apart. They needed to find their happily ever after.
I hope you enjoyed Nick and Bee’s Story. They were two unlikely characters who brought a lot of joy into my life the last nine months.
As always, feel free to chat with me at [email protected], and www.dwcee.com.
Indelible Lovin’ – Max & Jane’s Wedding
By
DW Cee
Copyright © 2014 by DW Cee
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be copied, reproduced, transmitted, or downloaded, whether electronic or mechanical, without the written consent of the author.
This story is a work of fiction. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Ebook Edition
Chickygirl Publishing
Books by DW CEE
Indelible Love Series (ebooks)
Indelible Love – Emily’s Story
Indelible Love – Jake’s Story
Indelible Lovin’ – Max & Jane’s Story Vol. 1
Indelible Lovin’ – Max & Jane’s Story Vol. 2
Unlikely Attraction – Delaney’s Story
Near Perfect Attraction – Donovan’s Story
Unyielding Love – Nick & Bee’s Story Vol. 1
Unyielding Love – Nick & Bee’s Story Vol. 2
Indelible Lovin’ – Max & Jane’s Wedding
Finally, Love! – Michael & Chloe’s Story Vol. 1 (April 2015)
Finally, Love! – Michael & Chloe’s Story Vol. 2 (Sept. 2015)
Indelible Memories – Estelle’s Story
Harmony Series (ebooks)
Unfinished Melody
Perfect Harmony (Summer 2015)
Stand-Alone (ebook)
Entwined
Paperback Books
Indelible Love – Emily’s Story
Indelible Love – Jake’s Story
Indelible Lovin’ – Max & Jane’s Story (combined volume)
Unlikely Attraction – Delaney’s Story
Coming Soon
10,000 Reasons Serial
This book is dedicated to the man who reminds me most of Max.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Summer
Chapter 1 Jane: 15,000 Unexpected Guests
Chapter 2 Max: The Uninvited Guest
Chapter 3 Jane: The (un)willing Guests
Chapter 4 Max: The Friend(ly) Guests
Chapter 5 Jane: The Surprised (Engaged) Guest
Fall
Chapter 1 Max: Planning Be Damned!
Chapter 2 Jane: Planning Be Dreamy
Chapter 3 Max: Planning Be Doomed
Chapter 4 Jane: Planning Be Dollared
Winter
Chapter 1 Max: Celebrating Memory Lane
Chapter 2 Jane: "Celebrating" Rebirth
Chapter 3 Max: (Not) Celebrating Stud
Chapter 4 Jane: Celebrating Celibacy
Chapter 5 Max: Celebrating Bacchus
Chapter 6 Jane: Celebrating Family
Spring
Chapter 1 Max: The Sweetest Plans
Chapter 2 Jane: The Sweetest Meetings
Chapter 3 Max: The Sweetest Reunion
Chapter 4 Jane: The Sweetest Ceremony
Chapter 5 Max: The Sweetest Escape
Chapter 6 Jane: The Sweetest Gift
Chapter 7 Max: The Sweetest Camaraderie
Chapter 8 Jane: The Sweetest Day
Chapter 9 Max: The Sweetest Bride
Epilogue: Estelle Cowper Reid Ascot
Author’s Note
Sneak Peek: Unfinished Melody
Prologue
“If you put me through a wedding one more time, you will send me to an early grave!” My husband complained while we were lounging in our honeymoon suite.
“It wasn’t that bad.” I tried to convince him that this whole wedding experience wasn’t a forgettable one. “We all had fun. You bested Jake and Donovan by giving me more diamonds than a girl knows what to do with in one lifetime. Besides, all the women agreed that yours was the best gift and ours was the most romantic wedding. Not even Aunt Babs, with Donovan as her sidekick, can outdo a Tuscan sunset.”
“Are you still competing with your cousin?”
“Hell yeah! She had a fairytale wedding that put Cinderella at the ball to shame, while we were riddled with problems from the start. There were times when I thought we’d never make it to Tuscany.”
“Oh ye of little faith. Do you think Jake and Donovan are the only romantics who would move heaven and earth for the woman they love?” I hadn’t doubted since that morning in New York, when Max and I finally resolved our issues. Since then, I believed we would make it to the finish line. “It mattered not to me where we got married; I was willing to give in to your every desire. You are my life, Gem. Till death do us part.”
“Till death do us part!”
Summer
Chapter 1 Jane: 15,000 Unexpected Guests
“Did you really just propose to me in Tuscany in front of fifteen thousand people?” I was still reeling from our night.
“I did.” Max was happy. I was happy. We were freakin’ happier than happy.
“Was it planned?”
“Are you accusing me of winging it?” His pretend shock explained that what happened last night was the result of “winging it.”
“Explain the whole night to me.”
“I will, after you explain to me what happened when you went down and confessed your sins to your cousin.” I loved this teasing Max. Actually, I loved any Max right now.
“I said a few words, she said a few words in response and now all is good.” Max laug
hed aloud. “Shut up. You’re going to wake up everyone in this house.”
“I think you already accomplished that after you woke me up with your eager mouth.” He smirked.
“You complaining?” I challenged.
“Hell no. You can wake me up any day with an eager or a not so eager mouth.”
“Let’s go take a walk to the bakery and you can tell me all about this impromptu proposal.”
We quickly dressed and walked hand-in-hand with one another. Max answered the one question that had seriously bugged me since, just about, the beginning of our relationship. I finally learned whatever happened to Emily’s old engagement ring. My brilliant fiancé gave it to the one person no one would object to—JR, our beautiful godson—and brought all of our lives full circle.
“Is that a good enough answer for you? I assume you didn’t want the diamond for yourself?” He had that fiendish smile that made me want to kick his rear end at times.