by Sable Hunter
She held out six envelopes. “Everyone gets a new hairdo, on me!”
“Yay!” Glory jumped up to hug Flora and the tech who was just finishing applying the final coat of clear lacquer tried to pull her back.
“Yay!” Lily echoed, going to her sister to give her a proper thank you. “I appreciate you being nice to my friends. I’m sorry I’ve been such a grouch lately.”
“Hey, you’ve had reason to worry.” Flora pushed a strand of hair off Lily’s cheek. “I talked to Jay this morning and he said everything is set up for the testing. Just think, by this time next week, you could be looking at a whole different future.”
“True.” Lily nodded, trying to not let her pessimistic nature rule the day. “I’ve just been doing some research on other tests they’ve done and while there’s some reason to be optimistic, there’s no guarantee.” She hung her head. “I just don’t want everyone to get their hopes up, especially Blade.” If she’d been looking up, Lily would’ve seen her friends’ eyes meet as they exchanged a knowing expression, but she missed it.
“I wouldn’t worry about Blade if I were you, that man can take care of himself. I bet he could fight off a dragon with one arm tied behind his back,” Dinah said dreamily.
“You need to find a man of your own, Sister,” Bliss said, rising to make her way to the hot tub. “Who else wants to join me for a soak? We need to take full advantage of this spa experience.”
Flora spun in a circle checking everyone’s progress. “Let’s just make sure we work in lunch here at the spa and the hair appointments. We need to be out of here by two for the rest…of the…plans.”
Lily narrowed her eyes at her sister. “What plans? I figured we’d go out to eat together before everyone heads home. I’ve already told Glory and Harper they could spend the night with either me or you. Do we have plans I don’t know about?”
Holding up her hands, Flora put a bland expression on her face. “That’s what I meant, going out to eat together, maybe some clubbing.” She did a couple of awkward dance moves.
“You’re such a swinger.” Lily laughed at her sister. She did wonder if something was up, but figured they were just going along with Blade to try and keep her spirits up.
For the next couple of hours, they took advantage of everything the upscale spa had to offer. The hot tub, the sauna, the hair and makeup emporium, all received their share of attention and over lunch they giggled and gossiped, oohed and ahhed over photos of Glory’s Alice and Harper’s little Lee. Lily and Dinah shared their plans for Harper and Waco’s showing with Glory and Flora.
“So, I saw you hung Mirage. Looks incredible,” Dinah commented, waving her fork over the fancy Cobb salad she was consuming with gusto. “Did you give up on finding the secret message Abraham left behind?”
Lily glanced around at her sister and friends, wondering how much she should say. “Actually, Blade found it.”
“Really?” Bliss was intensely interested. “What was it?”
With all eyes watching her intently, she gave a hesitant smile. “In tiny letters written in one of the ocean waves, it said Arthur Loves Charlotte Forever.”
“Awww, how sweet.” Flora retorted with a hint of mockery in her voice. “Who’s Arthur? Did he marry Charlotte?”
“I don’t know, that’s part of the mystery,” Lily answered, rubbing the condensation from her glass of iced tea with one finger. “I think I’ve seen him with Charlotte in the courtyard.” At Flora’s frown, she sighed. “I thought we were past this ridicule.”
Her sister looked contrite. “You’re right, I caused you to doubt your memories with Blade and if…” She bowed her head. “I keep thinking how horrible it would’ve been had you not woken up from the coma and you died thinking all of it was a…mirage – for want of a better word.” She dabbed her eyes with a cloth napkin.
Glory shivered. “How awful that would’ve been. Heartbreaking.”
“Well, it didn’t happen,” Harper reminded them. “Lily’s doing better and she’s going to get a clean bill of health next week.” She covered Lily’s hand with her own. “We’ve got to stay positive.” Glancing at Flora, Harper smirked. “And anytime you want to meet another ghost, just come to Wildwood, I have several active ones.”
Flora’s eyes widened. “No, thank you. Even though I don’t believe in such things, I certainly don’t seek them out.”
“I’ve seen one at Harper’s, I thought she was another guest,” Glory confided to Flora with big, wide eyes.
“Charlotte and Arthur don’t appear as flesh and blood people, they’re more…ethereal, more like a memory.” Again, she remembered the Asian psychic calling Blade by the same name and she remembered the dream she’d had the night before about the Lili of St. Philip’s Island. Could there be a connection? Were Lili and Charlotte more than ghosts or memories to her? And Blade, what were Arthur and William to him?
“Lily!” Bliss snapped her fingers in front of Lily’s face. “Where’d you go? Come back to us.”
Lily shook her head. “Sorry. I was just thinking.”
Flora pointed at her watch. “Well, I’m thinking we should head back to the gallery.”
Lily raised her hand to call for the check, but the waiter told her their bill was prepaid. “Oh, Blade,” she whispered and the girls all gave her knowing smiles. “Well, here we are all dressed up with nowhere to go. Anyone want to head to Bourbon?”
“Oh, I’m sure we’ll think of something.” Glory caught Lily’s arm, winking at the others over her shoulder. “As beautiful as you look, Miss Lily, we’d better think of something special.”
When they stepped out into the sunlight, two limousines awaited them. “What is this?” Lily asked, seeing Blade standing next to one of them. He was impossibly handsome dressed in a black tuxedo. “What’s going on?”
“Your chariot awaits, my lady.” He gave her a thousand-watt smile.
Her sister and friends all piled into the second one, aided by their chauffeur. “We’ll see you there!” Harper waved to Lily. “You’re one lucky lady. We’re all so happy for you.”
Lily could see garment bags hanging on one end of the other limo and there was also one hanging in the one she was about to climb into. “Blade, are we going to a party?”
Taking Lily by the hand, he helped her to sit on the wide, luxurious seat. “Oh, this is more than a party, kitten.” As he joined her, he nodded to their driver. “Just get us to the church on time.”
14
“What church?” Lily asked, mesmerized, her pulse rate skyrocketing through the roof. “Why?”
Blade could see she was taken aback, he’d expected as much. “The Episcopal Church in Clinton, just like you’ve always planned.”
Lily placed her hand on her chest, she was finding it hard to breathe. “What have you done, Blade Jensen?”
He gave her a tender look of love. “I’m making your dream come true, Lily.”
“We’re going to our wedding?” She looked out the back window to the other limousine following them. “But you know I wanted to wait until I was sure, until I knew for certain.” She touched the beautiful amethyst on her finger. “I told you I’d keep your ring safe until I found out if I am…” Her eyes darted around the interior of the fine automobile. “I can’t believe you did this. You knew how I felt.”
Blade went down on one knee in front of her. “How do you feel? About me? Don’t you want to spend the rest of your life with me?”
Lily felt her chest constrict, she couldn’t breathe. This beautiful, precious man kneeling at her feet loved her so much and she loved him more. “If I have a life to live, yes.”
He kissed her hand, then buried his head into her lap. “I don’t want to wait, I don’t want to miss a thing. Not a single minute with you.”
Lily looked out the window as they left New Orleans behind. She knew where they were heading, a quaint country church, white-steepled with ivy growing up the sides, the one where she’d always pictured hers
elf walking down the aisle to…her husband. “This isn’t fair, to you. What if?”
“What if?” Blade shrugged one big shoulder. “What if we’re happy? What if we end up with everything we’ve ever wanted? We never know how long we might have, kitten. Look at how I drove off that bridge, look at Katy. We’re not promised tomorrow, we have to learn to live and love today.”
“I just don’t want to hurt you,” she whispered softly.
“You let me worry about that, okay?”
Lily threaded her fingers through his hair. “How did you know about Clinton? Did Flora tell you?”
Blade looked sheepish. “No, I found your Wish Book.”
“You took it out of my desk,” she said quietly. “You read my private journal.” A million thoughts began racing through her mind. “All the things we’ve been doing, the little things…” Her voice cracked. “You did it all for me.”
“Of course, I did, beautiful.” He joined his lips to hers and kissed her gently.
A small part of Lily wanted to get angry, he’d read her secret thoughts. The bigger parts were amazed and awed that he loved her enough to do all of this for her. “I just wish I could give you a guarantee of a future.”
He cupped her face and rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip gently. “If the situation were reversed and it was me who faced an uncertain future, would you walk away from me?”
The thought turned Lily’s stomach. “Of course not!” An emphatic denial burst from her lips and as soon as it did, she understood.
“See?” He gave her a tender smile. “Just know you’ll hurt me so much if you say no.”
“Sometimes things don’t work out, Blade, look at Lili and…her lover.” She almost called him William, from her dream. “They lost one another forever.”
“Maybe not forever, Lily.” He kissed her hand. “Don’t you understand? I’d rather have a minute’s worth of happiness with you, than have a lifetime of living without you.” Blade watched the emotions fly across her face. He was fighting her fear of death with the power of his love.
All of Lily’s resistance melted away as she allowed herself to comprehend the depth of Blade’s devotion. “I can’t believe you did this for me.”
“Believe it, beautiful.” He stood to sit beside her, pulling Lily against him. “All you have to do is sit back and enjoy the day. I’ve taken care of everything.”
As with all things, Lily soon realized that Blade was a man of his word. During the two-hour drive, he revealed a little of what was in store. “The church will be full of your friends, and many of your clients and faithful customers who have made the trip. I pulled some strings and arranged for a clerk to issue us a marriage license and all you have to do is sign it at the ceremony.”
“You thought of everything,” she whispered, reaching out to touch the garment bag. “Even a dress.”
“Yea, I hope you’ll love it. I used all of your notes and photos so Flora and I could create your dream wedding.”
“Flora? She helped?”
Seeing Lily’s wondering expression, he chuckled. “Yes, she did. Your sister’s not so bad, she’s just a little…pushy.”
“Pushy, yea, that’s a good word for it.” Lily laughed, then trembled. “I just can’t believe this is happening.”
“This is just the beginning, Lily, just day one of the rest of our lives.” Blade drew her close to kiss her deeply and before she knew it, they were pulling in front of the picture-perfect church for a romantic wedding.
“The guests will be arriving soon, but you have plenty of time to get ready,” Blade told her as he helped her from the limo, carrying her garment bag over his arm. The other vehicle, bearing her bridesmaids, pulled in behind them and in a moment, the whole group was filing into the side entrance of the church where the space that would serve as their dressing rooms were located.
When they passed near the entrance to the sanctuary, Blade pulled her aside. “Come, look, is this what you envisioned?”
Lily let him guide her to the vestibule where she could see through the open double doors and into the chapel. As she surveyed the magical setting, her heart fluttered and tears came to her eyes. “Oh, how beautiful.” She was amazed at the labor of love before her. Everything she’d fantasized was laid out before her in meticulous and perfect detail. “This is incredible.” Baskets of white lilies and graceful candelabras flanked the altar, garlands of natural silk ribbon and magnolia blossoms were draped over the frames of the pews, and tiny twinkling lights were hung on the overhead beams. “There’s even a unity candle for us to light.”
“Yes, and Tammany Benoit is providing the music. She’ll be playing all your favorites and singing the songs you chose.”
“I never thought…I never expected.” She turned into his arms and trembled against him. “Hold me.”
Blade cradled her close. “Be happy, my Lily. Don’t you know I’d do anything for you?”
She was beginning to believe him. “Whatever time we have left, it’s going to be an adventure, isn’t it?”
“At the very least.” He kissed her temple. “Now, go put on your dress and I’ll meet you at the altar.”
He led her to the room where the girls were waiting and as he let her hand slip slowly from his fingers, the women inside the room let out a collective sigh.
For Lily, her fantasy kept unfolding. When she unzipped the garment bag, a gasp escaped her lips. “Oh, Blade.” He’d found her perfect dress. With a shaking hand, she touched the gossamer material, allowing her fingers to graze the seed pearls and intricate lace. “This is so beautiful.”
“Oh, it is,” Bliss agreed in awe. “Our dresses are stunning, too. Look.” She twirled around for Lily, who was overwhelmed by it all.
“All of you look gorgeous.” She took a moment to appreciate the exquisite gowns in shades of cream and sage. “Flora, Blade told me you had a hand in all of this, thank you.” Holding her arms out to her sister, she gathered her close. “I appreciate all you’ve done.”
Flora kissed her cheek. “You’re welcome, but I did very little.” She wiped a tear from her sister’s cheek. “I must say, that man of yours is like no other I’ve ever seen before. He would turn the world upside down for you, I hope you realize that.”
Lily knew what Flora said was true, but to see all the evidence of his love unfold before her eyes was astounding. “I do, I really do.”
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Dinah came to her and unzipped the dress Lily was wearing. “Let’s get you into this fairy tale gown. We don’t want to keep that handsome groom of yours waiting for his bride.”
Over the next few minutes, Lily felt like she was floating on a cloud of surreal joy. She was thankful Blade had thought of the spa trip, her hair and makeup only had to be touched up to be complete. The bridal bouquet she would carry was everything she’d ever hoped; white roses, orchids, and orange blossoms. When she slipped into her wedding gown, the reality of what was happening hit her. Lily clasped her hands to her chest and tried to breathe. “I’m getting married. I’m marrying Blade Jensen.”
“Hell, yes, you are.” Glory giggled. “Now, do you have everything? Something old, new, whatever?”
Lily quivered. “I don’t know, I don’t think so.”
“Yes, you do,” Flora told her, “we’ve taken care of this for you.”
“She’s right.” Bliss came forward first with a small wrapped box. “Something old.”
Lily held her friend’s eye as she unwrapped the box. “What is this?”
“Look and see.” Bliss gave her a big smile. “My mother was given this by her grandmother, but we want you to have it.” As Lily pulled out the small ring, just big enough for her little finger, she could see the ornate letter C engraved on the top. “It belonged to Charlotte and now it belongs to you.”
Lily slipped it on the little finger of her right hand. “It just fits.”
“Of course it does, you were meant to wear it.”
Her
heart was hammering fast as she accepted a box from Harper. “Something new for you, Lily.”
As she opened the small gift, Lily could hear music coming from the sanctuary. “This is really happening, isn’t it?”
“Yes, Lily, this is no dream.” Flora stroked Lily’s hair as she watched her sister pull out a delicate ankle bracelet.
“This is fabulous!” The delicate chain held a trio of charms. Wedding bells, a pair of doves, and two tiny wedding rings. “I love it!”
“Lift up your dress, I’ll put it on you.”
As Harper fastened the bracelet on Lily’s ankle, Dinah came forward with a slightly bigger box. “Something borrowed, my friend. I know you’ll take care of it.”
Lily opened this gift with unsteady hands. “I can’t imagine.” When she pulled out a dainty tiara, she smiled in surprise. “How lovely!”
“Yes, this was worn by our grandmother when she was a Mardi Gras princess. It’s supposed to bring you good fortune,” Dinah explained as she helped Lily affix the sterling headdress to her veil. “You look like a princess.”
“I feel like one,” Lily murmured.
“Now, something blue.” Glory gave her a mischievous smile as she held out another box.
When Lily opened this one, she found an elegant garter, complete with crystals and silk bows. “Oh, Blade’s going to like this.”
“You bet he will.” Glory giggled. “Now, put it on, it’s almost time.”
Lily did so, then raised up to see all five of the women who’d gone out of their way to help make this day so special. “Thank you all, for everything.”
“You’re so welcome,” Flora said, as they gathered together for a group hug.
When the doors opened behind them, Lily could hear the melody of the Wedding March swelling in the air. To her surprise, a tuxedo clad Gene stood there and held out his arm. “May I give the bride away?”