The Vine

by C. A Ellis

  My eyes continue to stay locked with his, and I smile as he grins at me, noticing he is off the chart sexy today. His grin, accompanied by my memories of his secret visit to my room earlier, and the fact that he’s looking mighty hot in that suit—Mmm, I could just eat him up. In this instant I know I will truly remember this moment for the rest of my life.

  We are now face-to-face and Katy has to physically remove my hand from her arm and place it into Luke’s hand, but as soon as my hand is in his, it’s like I’ve come home and my nerves diminish into thin air.

  So captured in the moment are we that the minister has to clear his throat gently to retrieve our attention. At this subtle gesture, Luke and I turn to face him while he does his introduction to our ceremony. I am trying to take every moment in, but the ceremony is a blur, so I memorise the most memorable parts, like the reading of our vows, the exchanging of our rings and being pronounced man and wife.

  When we say our vows, I look right into Luke’s eyes and hold his hand as I sincerely say from my heart to his, “Lucas, you certainly didn’t have to fight your way into my heart; in fact, I truly believe a tiny bit of my heart was always missing because of the way you slotted so perfectly into it. We have been through so much tragedy, but instead of splitting us in two, it is like it’s been glue for us, and it has made us stronger. I have learnt so much too; you have taught me to love again, to trust and to be strong. You are my prince charming, the captor of my heart and undoubtedly the love of my life, for now and eternity. My heart was not made for anyone else but you.”

  When I finish, Luke squeezes my hand, kisses my cheek and then locks his gaze back to mine before his face turns solemn and he begins. “Lizzy, I call you my Angel because that is exactly what you are. Before I met you, I now realise I was miserable. Then one day, this Angel from heaven came crashing into my life, and in an instant, I realised I could live without anything in my life, but what I couldn’t live without for one second is you. You are the reason my heart kept beating when it should have given up. You are the reason I kept breathing when I should have taken my last breath. You are the reason I’m alive, and that is how I feel, baby, every second I’m with you—alive—and it’s the most incredible feeling in the world. You are beautiful inside and out, and I am proud to say you are mine, and I’ll be even prouder when I can call you Mrs. Elizabeth Castle. Being yours is a privilege and an honour; I can’t believe you chose me, but I’m eternally grateful you did. I love you, Angel.”

  Luke wipes a tear off of my cheek. So much for my no-crying pact, anyway, happy tears are okay, and in all my life I’ve never been happier. We both look back to the minister, then Luke delicately places my ring on my finger, and I push his on firmly with very little grace.

  Finally, we are pronounced man and wife, and Luke is given the all-clear to kiss his new bride, and he certainly does just that as I hear him say, “Come here, Mrs. Castle.” He pulls me into an embrace and presses his lips to mine. We forget time, we forget our guests, we forget everything, and for that moment, there’s just us…Luke and Lizzy…Mr. and Mrs. Castle…man and wife.

  When we finally pull apart, we clutch each other’s hands and turn to our guests, where we are met with a room half-full of smiles and half-full of gaping mouths. We laugh as we walk through our guests to a rapturous round of applause.

  Our guests are escorted outside and down below the famous balcony of Romeo and Juliet; Katy and Smyth stay with us to sign the register before they too are escorted downstairs. Luke and I wait for our cue, which is Cole introducing us as man and wife.

  Suddenly, we hear him loud and clear. “Everybody, please put your hands together and welcome Mr. and Mrs. Lucas Castle!”

  We smile at each other excitedly as we hear clapping and cheering from down below. Our hands meet and our fingers entwine around each other’s like a vine, then we both step out onto the iconic balcony. The cheering and clapping hits a crescendo as Luke and I wave. I giggle shyly like a schoolgirl, while Luke wears the biggest, proudest smile on his face. The photographer is in his element snapping away, and I lean up to whisper into Luke’s ear, “Best. Day. Ever.” If it is possible, Luke’s smile widens even more; I know how much it pleases him when I’m happy.

  He leans into me, whispering, “You deserve a happily ever after, Angel.”

  “Yes,” I agree, “we do.” And then the breath leaves my body as Luke kisses me, and the only noise I am able to make is a contented sigh.

  When we arrive at our wedding reception at The Vine Palazzo, we are both handed a glass of champagne and join our guests in the stunning gardens. I look around at the incredible architecture of this great building and it is breath-taking, much like my new husband. I smile to myself. I know it should sound alien saying the word husband, but it doesn’t; it just sounds right, how it should be—perfect.

  I have been kissed and congratulated by almost everyone when I see Luke and Katy talking to someone, but I can’t quite make out their identity. Just as I move my head to the side, Luke steps out of the way and I see a familiar face, nearly unrecognisable all suited and booted, but the messy blond hair and cute, lopsided grin he gives me totally gives him away. My mouth is still open in shock as my champagne glass slides from my hand to the grass, and I run as fast as I can in my huge dress and throw my arms around him.

  “Jett!” I say in his ear, and he holds me to him for as long as I need. When I eventually pull back and look at him, I scream at him excitedly, “How are you here?” but before he can answer, in my excitement I continue, “I mean, I’m glad you are; I’m so glad you are, but you told me it just wouldn’t be possible with your tour and everything.”

  “I made time, Lizzy. In truth, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world, and your wedding ceremony was amazing—even brought a tear to my eye.”

  “Wait a minute; you were there?”

  “Yeah, I slipped in at the back and left before you saw me. My band mates are here too, as they fancied a break. We had to keep it on the down low or you could have ended up with a whole bunch of groupies crashing your wedding.” He sniggers, but I know it’s the truth.

  I take his arm and walk off with him, running through all that’s been happening and finding out what’s going on in his life. I also catch up with Luca, who even though is still bruised and battered, still manages to look nothing short of perfection in his suit.

  After the million and one photographs we have taken, the hours fly by, and before I know it, we’re about to sit down to the most gorgeous meal. Luke and I are ravenous and eat everything put in front of us, until eventually it’s speech time. Katy does a lovely speech where she talks about us growing up, her hopes and dreams that my future will be nothing short of blissful and how she knows that Luke is the man who will fulfil her wishes for me and how we are both and so perfectly suited. There are giggles when she admits she hadn’t always felt that way about him though. She also pays homage beautifully to my mum and dad, saying what wonderful people there were and how they are so sadly missed, especially on a day like today.

  Katy then sings my praises when she says my parents had brought me up perfectly, and they would have been so proud of the wonderful woman I have turned into and the wonderful choice of husband I have made. I dab a tear from my eye, and Luke squeezes my hand he’s holding on his lap.

  Luke does a quick speech thanking everyone for coming and playing their part in such a momentous day. He then takes my hand and looks deep into my eyes when he speaks of what this day means to him, mentioning the words significant, amazing and meaningful. He also speaks about what marrying me means to him, how joyous I make him feel, how blissfully happy he is now that he can call me his wife and how he’s looking forward to every second of our future together, which causes even more eye-dabbing from me. He sits down and cuddles me to him to soothe me.

  Cole then stands up for his best man speech; he thanks everyone on behalf of himself and Smyth for attending this wonderful day. Luke and I smile at each other.
Cole eyes Katy up and down explicitly when he thanks her for giving me away, and rouses a few chuckles when he says he doesn’t think much of the maid of honour, but thanks Stefano anyway. I move awkwardly in my seat, as I’m not sure if I like where this speech is going when Cole turns his eyes to me, saying how absolutely hot I look, and that it is a good thing his brother had branded me with a wedding ring or he might have had to step in.

  I feel Luke go rigid beside me as his mum gives Cole daggers and his dad rubs his head in exasperation. I want to crawl into a hole and put my fingers in my ears as Cole goes on to graphically describe Luke’s sordid past of female conquests. I brighten slightly when he mentions meeting me has changed Luke for the better, but any hopes I had of a recovery are dashed when he goes on to say that Luke isn’t quite the Rottweiler he used to be.

  Cole finishes off his car crash of a speech by saying it must be true love between Luke and me, because if a girl he had loved had left him when he needed her most, it would have been the end, but Lucas was obviously a bigger man than him, because he went on to find me and rekindle our romance, even though he could’ve had the choice of any woman waiting there for him.

  “Cole, enough,” I hear Smyth say, but Cole just shrugs like he doesn’t know what his problem is, and then quickly raises his glass, saying, “May car crashes and psychos be behind you, and you both live a happy and healthy life from here on in. To Lucas and Lizzy.” The wedding party all raise their glasses and Luke smiles at me but it comes across as a grimace since he is so mad at Cole.

  I whisper to him, “Don’t let Cole get you down; we all know he has no filter. It’s just his way. Let’s not let him ruin our day, eh?” Luke nods at me and kisses my cheek. “Anyway,” I continue, “by the look on your mum and dad’s faces, he’s going to get a right earful.” We watch amused as Luke’s mum and dad go marching over to Cole.

  We all mingle with drinks in the gardens before we are escorted back into the Grand Hall, where Luke and I cut our cake before an evening of fun and dancing. We are waiting to start off the dancing with our first dance as man and wife to the song we both chose—Always and Forever by Heatwave. I bet everyone will think it’s a bit of a cliché first dance number, but we both love it, and it was also my mum and dad’s favourite. They used to dance to it around the house, and I feel the lyrics are very apt for us.

  All of a sudden, I see Jett on the stage and watch as he grabs a microphone and starts to speak into it. “Good evening, everybody. Could you all put your hands together as the stunningly gorgeous Lizzy and her new husband Lucas take to the centre of the dance floor for their first dance?”

  Everybody claps as Luke and I move to our spot, I am looking extremely confused. “Don’t look so worried, Lizzy,” Jett continues. “Your husband asked me to do him a little favour, and I told him I’d be honoured.” Jett pulls a guitar over his head, smiles at me and then proceeds to play some opening bars, but I instantly recognise it is not Always and Forever as I expect.

  I eye Luke suspiciously, silently asking him what he is up to now when he clasps my waist intimately to him with one strong hand, and delicately holds my hand with the other as I hear Jett’s husky voice sing the opening line to the song, “You are so beautiful…” In that moment, Luke starts to move me around the dance floor.

  I silently move with him, not daring to speak for fear of losing it and bawling my eyes out. This man I am holding is undoubtedly the most amazing, incredible man in the world, and I am the luckiest woman on the planet because he loves me.

  This Joe Cocker song is not only one of my favourites, but my dad also chose it to be sung for my mum at their wedding. Also, as Luke looks into my watery eyes and sings it softly to me, I know he means every word. As Jett finishes, he then starts Always and Forever; while everyone else joins us on the dance floor, and I can see there is not a dry eye in the house.

  Once Jett has finished, he leaves the stage to a rapturous round of applause and makes way for the band we’d booked to play during the reception. Luke and I dance for quite a few songs, mainly because he won’t let me dance with anyone else. Men from our close friends and family keep asking if they can cut in and have a dance with me, and I just keep giggling at Luke, who’s acting like a complete child and giving each person who asks an abrupt, “Not yet,” “No,” and in the end, “Go away.”

  I love this petulant side to him; it only rears its head now and again, and usually involves him having to give up time with me for some reason or another. Eventually I am manhandled and physically removed from Luke’s arms by Stefano for a dance, and I think Luke only concedes because for one, Luke doesn’t see him as any kind of threat, and two, because Katy and Stef accosted us at the same time, Katy whisked Luke off before he had time to argue.

  Much to Luke’s disdain, I then dance with his dad, George, Jett, Cole, Smyth and Luca, because I have a distinct feeling that once I’m back in Luke’s arms, he is never going to let me go, and I also know I won’t want to leave him either.

  Luke and I are finally alone, standing on the balcony just outside of our wedding reception looking up at the darkened sky and the monumental amount of stars that are out on such a clear evening. Luke’s arm is around me, and I press myself further into him, when he asks, “Angel?”

  “Mmm?” I respond contentedly.

  “Do you want to give me my first huggle as husband and wife?”

  I laugh. “I love that you’re so soft under that hard exterior you portray, Lucas Castle, and yes, I do need a huggle,” I say as I turn to face him. I put my arms around his waist and press my head into his chest. He wraps his arms around me, and I think there is no place I’d rather be than wrapped in this man’s arms forever.

  “Have I told you, Lizzy, that you have made me the happiest man in the world today?”

  “A few times,” I say as I smirk to myself, “but I do love hearing it.” I can feel Luke smiling, as his chin rests on my head, and I think that all I have ever wanted in life is to be happy and to make Luke happy, and today I have finally achieved both, and for once I can say it feels amazing to be alive.

  It was the worst day of my life the day I lost Mum and Dad, and I now know I lived on for a reason—to experience the happiest day of my life. My eyes search the sky for the two brightest stars next to each other, and I wink at them and smile because I know my two angels will look out for me always. They saw me get married today and will one day see their grandchildren, and I know they are ecstatic I am finally happy and living the life they gave to me.

  I look up to Luke, who is looking down at me with pure adoration in his eyes, and I smile as I think, I will always be his angel, and he will always be my beautiful man. Our lips meet and I once again melt into him.

  Chapter Thirty-four – Lucas

  I smile as I hold tightly onto my Angel, and it doesn’t feel like life can get any better than this, but I know with this girl in my arms it will. Lizzy is amazing, more woman than I could have ever dreamed of; she’s beautiful, kind, caring and has more courage than anyone I have ever known. I used to be a good-looking, arrogant, self-obsessed arsehole, but after meeting Lizzy, I am still obviously good-looking, but also an all-round good bloke. I smirk to myself, Well, most of the time I am. Lizzy absurdly used to doubt herself, but I love her new confidence; it’s the icing on the cake for me.

  Her only slight worry at the moment is that she hasn’t been on the pill since my accident, and obviously since our reunion we haven’t been able to keep our hands off of each other.

  Lizzy is quite relaxed about if she falls pregnant or not—what will be, will be—but I know she worries that the stress she’s been through could slow the process down, or that it might never happen for us. When we spoke about it, I told Lizzy exactly what I thought—of course I would love to have children someday, but at the moment, she is all I need, and she laughed when I went on to say I’m quite happy I don’t have to share her just yet.

  I also comforted her by saying if things never hap
pen for us then we could always adopt children who’ve had shitty upbringings like Katy’s—being told they’re unloved—and we would show them the meaning of the words ‘Loving Home’. She was calmed by my words, but I know her worry is there buried deep within; I’m sure that’s natural for a woman.

  It’s funny because of all that we’ve been through, each time we make love, we make sure it is so amazing and special—not that we need to try very hard, but it’s like we’re frightened that each time it will be our last. Mind you, if that’s the only part of our past haunting us, then I can live with that.

  I look down at her, she meets my eyes and we’re like magnets. I have to kiss her, and as I do, I think of how much I love her and what a lucky bastard I am. Then my mind goes to mush as I’m lost in her lips.

  When we finally come up for air, Lizzy turns her head to the side and I follow as we look around our wedding reception still clinging to each other. It melts our hearts to see our loved ones in one place all looking so happy.

  We see Katy and she’s talking to Cole. I hear Lizzy ask, “Is that a spark I see between Katy and your little brother?” I can only shrug.

  Chapter Thirty-five – Katy

  I can’t believe what I’m hearing from Cole; sometimes he’s so obnoxious. “I know you’re attracted to me, Katy, so why don’t you just admit there’s more to us than just the sex we used to have. I mean, look at you; you’re so turned on by me right now you’re practically squirming.

  “Don’t flatter yourself, Cole. I just need a wee,” I say cattily, and with that, I strut off sexily toward the ladies room, leaving him to watch me go, and if I know Cole the way I think I do, he’s probably thinking, Yeah, she wants me.