by Jianne Carlo
He focused the lens on Alex and Dee as they waited for the wedding song to begin.
Quarreling as usual.
The heat between those two could power skyscrapers, buildings he wasn’t certain he approved of.
A small steel band played a lilting version of King Harvest’s “Dancing in the Moonlight,” and the music wafted upwards, casting a hypnotic spell over the wedding guests basking in the sultry Caribbean evening. The soft, tropical trade winds whispered across the bay, cooling the sun’s warm rays.
And the bride wore a long, flowing, ivory, sleeveless silk gown brushed with hints of tawny gold. Her curly, bronzed hair flirted with the gentle sea breezes. The setting sun hung like a glowing ball above the blue horizon of the Caribbean Sea line. It cast a radiant luster over the secluded bay, highlighting the center of the sandy cove.
And the groom wore white. His linen shirt hung loose over his trousers. It fluttered in the wind. His black curls grew damp from the faint sea spray misting off the foamy turquoise waves lapping the powder-fine, brilliant, white beach fringe.
The bride’s bare toes slid over the cool, damp sand as she glided to her groom. Her father whispered words of pride and joy on the seemingly interminable walk to her mate.
The groom tapped his bare foot against the coarse sand and shifted from one foot to the other. His best man clamped a hand around his bicep to still his movements.
A soft neigh drew everyone’s attention.
Brandy stamped his disapproval of the pink ribbons weaved liberally in and out of his coarse black mane, the feminine touch incongruous on such a powerful stallion. If a horse could look embarrassed, this one did.
Something brushed the back of the groom’s neck, and he flicked a finger against the skin there. Another feather touch tickled his right cheek, and he swiped a hand at the spot, capturing something in the center of his palm. His lips curved into a foolish grin.
It was raining rose petals.
THE END
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jianne Carlo knows multi-cultural romance. Born to an Indian father and a Hispanic mother intent on becoming a nun, she met and married her Dutch-bred immigrant husband in her last year at college. Their children check off the majority of the boxes under the category, Ethnic Origin.
Add to this the fact Jianne grew up on a sixty by forty Caribbean island where the population mixture represents the world's religious, cultural, and ethnic diversity (and some mixtures no one's dreamed up) and you have a multi-cultural woman who believes the word, 'Mutt' represents the best of human nature.
For the factually inclined, Jianne has a Bachelor's Degree in English and Sociology, and a Master's in Management Science with three areas of concentration, Computers, Finance, and Statistics.
She's lived and worked in Canada (Ontario, Vancouver), the United States (San Francisco, various small cities in southern California, Miami, and Parkland) and the Caribbean (Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Barbados, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Tortola) and South America (Guyana).
Her passions in life center around her proudest achievements, a happy marriage (measure of happiness varies with level of irritation), and three grown sons of the finest caliber who she's proud to call friends, although they're never allowed to forget the mom factor.
Other areas of interest include, travelling, meeting new people, reading, dressage, all animals, cooking eclectic food, eating said food, and sipping good wine, while hanging out, ('liming' in Trini-speak) with friends. Jianne's proud to announce the only carbonated beverage she drinks is champagne. Who needs Coke?
And you never want to be in the same room if she picks up a dart and aims for the target.
Run for your life.
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