Liam's Best

by Grace Kagni

  “Dalton normally loses interest in a girl really quickly so it is a wonder how she has kept him interested this long,” Liam replied.

  “Really?” She smiled as she continued to watch the two.

  “Yes, really,” Liam said, smiling down at his beautiful wife.

  They walked to the table and took their seats with Rachael and Dalton on Liam’s left whereas Tessa and James sat to Milania’s right.

  “Is Serena feeling okay?” Milania leaned over to ask James.

  “Yes, she’s sleeping. I think the New Year’s Eve inauguration party was too much for her and she just needs to rest.”

  “Okay, well I’ll go see her before we leave. Let her rest as much as possible.”

  The food started arriving and as waiters came and went with the numerous dishes, Milania felt the need to get some air. The emotions of the day were catching up to her and she started to feel cold.

  “Can we go out for some fresh air?” she mumbled.

  He turned to look at her and suddenly saw her pale expression. “Darling, are you not well?” He placed the back of his hand over her forehead but it felt cold. “Let’s get some fresh air.” He turned to Rachael and Dalton to let them know they were going for some fresh air.

  They bumped into James, who had gone upstairs to check on Serena, and asked how Serena was on their way out.

  “She’s still sleeping so it seems she’s okay.” James’ relieved face was a good sign.

  “We’re going out for a breath of fresh air. Milania is feeling a little overwhelmed right now,” Liam expressed, patting James on the shoulder as they continued out. James returned to the table to join Tessa, Rachael and Dalton.

  As soon as they went out, Milania started to feel better. They walked to one of the pergolas and sat down taking in the view. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes to listen to the birds chirping as they sat in silence.

  After a short while she heard him softly snoring so she remained immobile to let him take a short nap. About fifteen minutes later, he woke up on his own and looked down at Milania as her head still rested on his shoulder.

  “I think I fell asleep for a few minutes there,” he mentioned, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

  Milania looked up and saw the strain of the last few days in his eyes and knew he needed to sleep more than a few minutes. “How about we go back in for the last course and then we go upstairs to rest a little before they bring the cake?”

  “Baby Doll, that sounds like a great idea. I guess I need sleep more than I realized,” he replied, getting up and reaching out to help her up.

  They walked back into the ballroom and saw people were dancing to the DJ’s music. Milania loved to dance but didn’t have the energy to do it right now so they walked to their table to sit down.

  As soon as they sat down, the DJ called them over to dance their wedding song.

  “We have a wedding song?” Milania asked, confused by the DJ’s comment.

  “We do now,” he smirked.

  “What do you know about this?” She was curious to know how he picked a song to be known as their wedding song.

  “It was easy. I feel I’ve been blessed since the moment you walked into my life.” He got up and reached out to lead her to the dance floor.

  “I don’t understand. What song are you talking about?” She didn’t know of a song that was about blessings.

  “Come, my love, and I’ll tell you all about it while we dance,” he said, kissing the back of her hand as they reached the dance floor. The music started and Milania recognized the song. It was Blessings by Laura Story. He had heard her listening to it when she first arrived in Malibu and the words had meaning after the flood. He remembered and made it their wedding song, which made tears suddenly fall as she listened to the words while they danced.

  “It’s beautiful. Thank you for remembering what it meant to me,” she looked up, smiling through the tears.

  “Hey, I wanted a song to make you think about what we went through to be where we are today. I didn’t mean to make you sad.” He regretted the way it made her feel sad.

  “No, these are happy tears because it reminds me that there was a reason for what I went through - what we went through, on that fateful night. It brought us together as it was meant to be and I am truly thankful to have you by my side, not only as my savior, but as my husband.” She placed her head on his chest as they continued to dance.

  He knew the song would speak from the heart and it was exactly what he wanted. Liam wanted her to know that he would walk the path of life hand in hand with her. When the song finished, they went up to their room for a little while to rest and change into their travel clothing to be ready to leave for their honeymoon as soon as they cut and served the cake.

  The moment they reached the suite, he pulled her close to kiss her passionately on the lips. “I’ve been waiting all day to do this.”

  She lost herself in the kiss that started passionately and turned tender toward the end.

  He pulled her to the bed and started to unbutton the back of her dress. When he was done, he helped Milania slip out of the wedding gown and took a step back when he saw what she was wearing underneath. “You’re going to kill me like that,” his eyes glowed as he looked at the bridal lingerie she wore.

  “Serena, Tessa and Rachael insisted I wore it. I’m sorry we are forced to wait still due to my surgery,” her eyes were sad, understanding it made him wait longer than he’d expected.

  He pulled her into his arms and then took her face in his hands, turning it up to look down into her eyes. “Baby Doll, I’ll be happy to lie down on the bed with you beside me. We will have our proper wedding night when the time is right, so don’t be sorry about it. I’m grateful that you are healthy again.” Then he sat her down on the bed while he continued to take off his shirt and dress pants. Once he was in his underclothing, he moved her to the pillows to lay her down so he could lie down beside her. “Now close your eyes and let’s try to rest for thirty minutes. I’ve set a timer on my phone to wake us up when it’s time.”

  She closed her eyes as she felt his arm pulling her back toward him. Milania snuggled her head underneath his chin as her legs curled up. She fit perfectly into his lap as they spooned. A few minutes later, she heard his soft snore and remained still to let him sleep. She was content feeling the warmth of his body next to hers and as she kept her eyes closed, she listened to his heart beating.

  The alarm rang and Liam groaned, making Milania smile. Poor Liam – he’d have to wait until they departed for their honeymoon to get some sleep. She felt sorry for him, understanding how tired he must be.

  Liam pulled her closer and placed his face in her hair, taking in the scent of her shampoo. “Can we stay like this one more minute, please?”

  She didn’t say anything but worried he would fall asleep again so when the minute was over, she told him it was time to get up.

  He rolled over onto his back and placed his arm over his eyes, trying to shut out the daylight. “All right. I’m awake. I just need a minute to get up.”

  “Liam, you’ll fall asleep if you don’t get up now. I’m sorry but we need to go back downstairs.” She moved her fingers to caress his face while his arm still covered his eyes.

  He turned to look at her and then sat up, pulling her close to kiss her passionately as he’d done before. “I needed a kiss to recharge my batteries,” he grinned.

  They dressed in their travel clothes and then on their way downstairs, they bumped into James who accompanied Serena back to the ballroom.

  “Do you feel better now that you’ve rested?” Milania asked Serena.

  “Yes I certainly do. Sorry that I had to sneak out like that on you,” Serena confessed.

  “No worries. I needed to take a nap too so we’re just getting back ourselves,” Liam said. “We’re just about to cut the cake so you’re just in time.”

  “Oh, I would have scolded James if he made me miss the
cake and your send off,” Serena chuckled. She didn’t mean to be away that long but she really needed to sleep.

  They walked back into the ballroom and took their seats at the table as the cake arrived. Milania turned to Liam and smiled when she saw it was a proper wedding cake.

  “You thought I’d get a chocolate party cake for the wedding?” he snickered. “Baby Doll, I wouldn’t want to make you angry on our wedding day, now would I?”

  She looked at the beautiful white wedding cake elaborately decorated with red and pink candy roses that looked incredibly real. The bride and groom that stood at the top looked very much like the two of them and when she took a closer look at the figurines, she noticed it was them. “Where did you get these?” Milania turned her bright eyes up to look at Liam.

  “Sweet Pea, I can find just about anything on the Internet which is where I ordered them. Personalized bride and groom cake figures,” he shrugged.

  “I love them but are they eatable? I mean, can we keep them to remember our special day or will they go bad after a while like the cake?” she wondered, wanting to keep the figures as a keepsake.

  “They’re statues so you can put them away to remember our wedding day.”

  They took pictures in front of the cake and then pictures while they cut it and fed each other a piece. He missed and got her nose whereas she laughed so hard her stomach started to hurt. She had to stop a moment to let the pain pass and then she took a piece of cake when he wasn’t expecting it and rubbed it over his nose. “Now we’re even.”

  He leaned down to rub the cake off his nose with her cheek and she giggled trying to get away from him as he smeared her face with frosting. “How about we sit down and have a slice of cake?”

  “Yes, it would be a good time to sit down,” she remarked, following him to their table.

  The cut from the surgery throbbed for a little while but then the pain subsided and as she had a glass of champagne, the room stood to wish the happy couple all the best. Dalton said a few words about the bride and groom to start and then James said something, leaving Liam the last word.

  Milania didn’t expect Liam to get up and give a speech but there he was standing beside her, holding her hand.

  “Darling Milania, I’m not sure if you’re aware of what you’ve gotten yourself into by marrying me but I will tell you that you’re beautiful smile and wit attracted me from the moment we met. I could tell you hated the sight of me and wondered why I wasn’t picking up your obvious hints for me to disappear but it was your spontaneity and feistiness that made me persevere until I captured your heart. Okay, I will say that I didn’t have your heart when our story began but I believe you have grown to love and care for me as I do for you.”

  The room broke out in applause and the moment she stood to kiss him on the lips, the guests started to whistle and cheer. “For better or for worse, right?” she smiled.

  “Yes, for better or for worse, Baby Doll.”

  It was time for Milania to throw her bouquet and all the single women stood in a group, Milania turned to throw the beautiful bouquet of red and white roses over her shoulder. As soon as it flew through the air, the women reached out to try to catch it and there was such a jumble of heads that some knocked against each other in the process. When Milania turned around, she was happy to see Rachael lift her arm triumphantly holding the bouquet.

  Dalton ran to her and spun her around in an enthusiastic moment. They walked back to their table as Rachael smelled the roses.

  “I’m so happy you caught the bouquet. Who knows, it may bring you luck,” Milania winked.

  Liam suggested to Milania it was time for them to leave and when they started to say goodbye, Milania’s eyes became moist from emotions. First she hugged Serena and Rachael, and thanked them for their help and support. It was hard to break away but then she hugged the rest of Liam’s family and promised Tessa to call her when they got back to the US. Tessa lived in Los Angeles, which was close to Liam so it would be nice to spend time with her sister-in-law once Milania settled into her new life in Malibu.

  Tears flowed down Milania’s face as they stepped into the hired car to take them to the airport. As the car drove off, Liam pulled her close to comfort her as her body was racked by emotions. “Hush, Baby Doll. Don’t be sad. This is the beginning of a new life together and I promise to show you a life worth waking up to every morning.” He kissed the top of her head.

  She leaned into the warmth and comfort of his body and finally relaxed when her tears eased up. “I’m sorry, it’s just that I’ve been alone for such a long time and after the flood I thought my life was over only to wake up with a man who cares and loves me to the moon and back. What did I do to deserve you in my life?” she hiccupped as she talked.

  “You’ve found your way into my heart and that is all that matters. You have friends and a family that care about you and with time, we’ll have our own family to fuss over.”

  She went silent wondering if she would have children. It was a tender subject and she didn’t know how it would be until they try to have a family. Only time will tell. She let out a sigh.

  “Give it time, Sweet Pea,” he kissed her on the lips after rubbing the tears away with his thumbs.

  The car drove to the Ciampino airport and they stepped out when the car stopped by his aircraft. She was so tired by emotions that she stepped onto the aircraft and took a seat beside Liam in the daytime section of the aircraft. “Buckle up as we’re about to leave and as soon as we’re airborne, I’d say we retire to the bed to get some sleep.” He saw the weariness in her eyes and took her hand in his while the plane lifted.

  The attendant came to ask if they needed anything and Liam told her they would be retiring to get some sleep. He unfastened his seat belt and waited for Milania to do the same but when he saw she didn’t move, he caressed her face to wake her from the reverie. “Come on, it’s time I take you to bed. We’ve had a very long day and you must be exhausted.”

  They went to the bedroom and took off their clothing, leaving only their undergarments. Then as soon as they went to lie on the bed, their eyelids felt heavy – too heavy to force open.

  “You haven’t told me where you’re taking me,” she gestured, curling up against him.

  “You’ll see when we arrive,” he whispered into her ear just before he drifted off to sleep.

  They’d been sleeping a while when the plane suddenly hit an air pocket and it dropped altitude quickly, knocking them both off the bed. Liam fell onto Milania and her arm hit the night table as she flew to the floor. He lunged into action as soon as he realized something was happening and brought her to one of the chairs in the bedroom to secure the seatbelt. “Baby Doll, are you okay?”

  She looked at the back of her right shoulder and saw the scratch the cabinet had made when she fell off the bed. “I’m okay. Put your seatbelt on before it does it again.” She tried to raise her arm but felt pain radiating down from the shoulder.

  “Can you move it?” he asked, fearing the fall may have caused an injury. He moved her arm around, trying to understand if anything was broken.

  “I’m okay. I just feel a little sore but I can move it. Now sit down and put on your seat belt before I unhook mine and force you down until you obey,” she exclaimed.

  He loved her playful mood and a moment later, he sat down and buckled his seat belt. Then he called the pilot to ask if everything was okay. Once he was told it was an air pocket the plane went through, he was assured they would be going through smoother skies.

  Milania watched his expression soften when he spoke to the pilot who reassured him the flight would be smooth coasting from here. When he hung up, he ran his hands over his face to rub off the anxiety he’d felt thinking Milania had been hurt.

  “How long do we need to stay here?” she questioned, feeling suddenly cold in her undergarments.

  He opened the compartment in the side paneling and pulled out two blankets and two pillows. After giving her a pi
llow, he opened up the blanket and covered her with it before pulling the bottom where her feet rested upward and forward to make the chair recline into a bed. “Now close your eyes and try to sleep.” He did the same with his recliner and soon after, when she heard his soft breathing, she knew he’d fallen back to sleep.

  She’d been awake a long while before she succumbed to sleep. When she awoke, Liam was not in his seat. In fact, he was nowhere to be seen so she got up to go to the bathroom. She noticed he’d had a shower and imagined he was hard at work on his laptop. Milania took a long hot shower before getting dressed and ventured out to look for Liam. She found him where she believed, working at a desk. He was wrapped up in what he was reading and didn’t hear her walk up to him so it was a pleasant surprise when she leaned down to kiss the top of his head.

  “Hey, sleepy head. How do you feel?” his face expressed worry from the fall she’d taken over night.

  “I’m fine – really. How are you? Have you had breakfast?”

  “I’ve had coffee but I was waiting for you to eat something. Shall we go to the dining area?” He stood and looked down at her beautiful green eyes that looked more serene than the night before.

  “You still won’t tell me where we are going, will you?” she grumbled.

  “It won’t be a surprise if I tell you,” he pointed out.

  With her shoulders slumped in defeat, she followed him to the table and sat down, waiting for a cup of coffee to wake her up. They had been traveling for nearly nine hours and she knew they’d either arrive at destination or stop somewhere to fuel up soon.

  “You’ll enjoy where I’m taking you so have faith in my choice of destination,” he uttered. They had a quiet breakfast and then he went back to work a little while longer while Milania read a book.

  She dozed off again while reading and when she awoke, she was covered in a blanket. She turned to see Liam still at his laptop and wondered if he ever took a break from it. He seemed to be attached to it since they departed and it was time she tempted him away from it so she got up and walked up to the desk. When she caught his attention, she pulled his chair back and sat on his lap, hoping to stir some emotions.