John Aaron nestled his head against her chest, and Aaron heard the love in Lia’s voice as she sang to him. It was a moment that overwhelmed Aaron’s heart.
“I want to get married,” he burst out.
She stopped rocking. Her green eyes pinned him with an amused gaze. “Are you asking or telling?”
Oh shit. He raked his fingers through his hair. “I just wanted you to know that I have serious intentions. The new me definitely wants to marry you, but we can take our time. Be sure about everything. No rush.”
She met his gaze and grinned. “It does take a couple of months or so to plan a wedding.”
“How about October?”
* * *
On an enchanted October afternoon, when warm colors filled the woodlands surrounding Aaron’s house, Lia and Aaron were married beneath the fairy house where white roses covered a wedding arch.
Fairy lights twinkled in the old oak tree while garlands of ribbon and flowers decorated the fairy house and the deck. After their first kiss as a married couple, they were greeted with good wishes from the gathering of friends and family who had joined them for their wedding and reception in Aaron’s backyard.
Natalie Harris, who was expecting a baby boy in January, adjusted her camera attached to a tripod as her husband brought her some punch. “Thanks.” She took the plastic punch glass from Brett.
“You feeling good?” he asked.
“Fine,” she replied as she pressed her hand against her rounded stomach. “The Slacker Baby is being rowdy.”
“Natalie,” Brett scolded. “Stop calling him Slacker Baby. You know I hate that.”
She laughed as she drank the punch. “Revenge is sweet, my love.” She gave him a quick kiss. “Now I need all the groomsmen and the groom under the arch.”
As Aaron posed with his father, his three brothers, and Brett, Lia joined her father and Gilda. They admired her wedding dress made of white silk brocade. It had a fitted bodice with a V waist and a full skirt that flared out over the stiff sewn-in petticoats. The sides of her dark hair were caught up by a sparkling headpiece, and the rest of her hair hung in thick ringlets down her back.
“You look just like a fairy princess,” Gilda said.
Julian nodded. “I always knew you’d make a beautiful bride, Songbird.” He gave her a kiss on the cheek before she returned to the wedding arch for pictures.
Julian shrugged as he glanced around and said to Gilda, “She could have done better. Why she wanted a country bumpkin doctor and a baby I’ll never know.”
“Darth,” Gilda scolded him. “Quit being such a snob. He’s her destiny. Her spirit guides opened her heart to him, and the planets all aligned. The rest is history, as they say.”
“Yoda, that’s bullshit,” Julian said as he stopped one of the servers and snagged a glass of champagne.
Hot chick on the radar. Stevie checked out a leggy blonde with a great ass from Nashville. One of Lia’s guests. He sidled up beside her. “How’s it going?”
“Fine, thank you.”
“I’m Stevie Kendall, brother of the groom.”
She told him her name, but all he caught was Carly. He never paid any attention to last names. “Say, Carly, we could go for a drive later if you want.” Then he brought out his secret weapon. He pointed to the red Jaguar parked on the grass at the fence line toward the front of the house where all the cars were parked.
“See that red Jag?” Guaranteed chick magnet. “That’s my car. How would you like to take a ride in something that cool, babe?” So far, no girl had refused.
She gave him a bored glance and pointed in the direction of the cars. “See that white Ferrari? That’s my car.” She walked away, leaving Stevie with his mouth agape.
Dr. Marla Grant made her way through the guests milling about the reception area and the deck. She saw her friend, Kayla, on the deck. The tall redhead wore a strapless black maxi dress, and she was with the current man in her life. Those men usually didn’t last long with Kayla.
“Have you seen Carson and Sophie?” She inquired about her husband and their little girl, who had been the flower girl in Aaron’s wedding.
“I think he took her in the house to the bathroom,” Kayla said.
“Natalie is ready to take pictures of her.” While Marla waited on the deck, she and Kayla talked about the wedding. “I haven’t been to very many outdoor weddings, but the weather has been great this afternoon, and the wedding was so pretty. Don’t you love her dress?”
“Yeah. It just fit the whole fairytale mood,” Kayla agreed. “And Aaron is so in love with her. Bless his heart.”
Marla nudged Kayla. “You’re next.”
“No.” Kayla grinned. “Been there, done that, and don’t want to do it again.”
“Mommy!” Sophie ran up to her mother. “I have more rose petals.” She tossed a handful from the basket she carried.
“No, honey. You don’t throw any more.” She smoothed her daughter’s dark curls and the frilly white dress she wore. “It’s time for you to have your picture made with Miss Lia.” She glanced up and smiled at her husband. “I need her play clothes from the car. After the pictures, I’m going to get her out of this dress.”
“Okay,” Carson replied. As his wife and daughter headed toward the wedding arch, the billionaire dad swiped a bite-size petit four and headed to get Sophie’s clothes.
As sun dropped low in the sky, Frank stepped away from his second son, Terry and Terry’s wife. Standing by his garden, where all the plants were gone now and the beds filled with compost, Frank smiled as he watched Aaron and Lia pose with John Aaron beneath the wedding arch.
Lia held the baby, who now weighed almost twelve pounds, facing the camera. John Aaron wore a dressy blue smocked one-piece with white shoes, and he gave the camera a wide-eyed stare. Standing behind Lia, Aaron circled his arms around her and the baby and held them as if nothing in the world mattered more.
Nancy. Frank spoke silently to his late wife. I wish you were here. I wish you could see our boys now. Aaron got married today, and he got the right girl this time. It’s important to have the right girl. I knew that the day we met. Frank gazed at the fairy lights in the oak tree. I still miss you so much, sweetheart.
The entertainment for the evening was twenty-year-old Tyler Stokes, whose career was beginning to take off. The lanky singer adjusted the microphone and spoke to the wedding guests. “If you have any requests, just let me know. I’ll give it try.” He tipped the brim of his cowboy hat to Lia.
She took Aaron’s hand and led him to the open space where the folding chairs and white aisle runners had been removed. “Our song’s up first,” she told her husband as she draped her arm around his shoulders.
With his fingers moving effortlessly over the strings of his guitar, Tyler’s body swayed in a slow rhythm as he sang “Not Through Loving You” for the bride and groom.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Patricia Preston is a Southern writer who spends more time than she should in her writing cave. She loves writing lighthearted, feelgood romances where love matters most. Must haves in her writing cave include sweet tea, music, and story boards. Besides writing and reading, she loves bargain hunting, movies, taking country road trips, and anything containing chocolate. She welcomes readers to visit her at www.patricia-preston.com
Twitter: @pat_preston
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