by Aja Cole
“I called the men to come gather their wenches,” Faith said low, “Thank me later.”
“Your friend is married too?” Manuel asked, admiring Daya.
“Yep. To a huge hockey player. No offense cutie, but my bet’s on him purely for possessiveness.” Faith put a sympathetic hand on Manuel’s shoulder then went to open the door.
“Looks like you have to sleep alone tonight.” I pursed my lips like it was unfortunate.
He looked over to where Cassie was flirting with Blair. “It’s okay,” he sighed, “I have my imagination.”
“Luc?” a deep voice asked behind me, and I turned around, seeing two guys. One was an inch or two taller than me with blue eyes who I immediately recognized as another athlete. The other was a guy a couple inches shorter and had a slightly more polished look to him. When Faith took his hand, and gave him a short kiss, I put the who’s who together.
“Si,” I stuck out my hand and he shook it then pulled me into a man-hug. “You must be Daya’s husband? The hockey player?”
“That’s me. Greyson. Slave to a crazy woman.” He smiled easily, and excused himself to stop his wife from over-filling her wine glass after talking to Manuel.
“I’m Jackson, Faith’s husband. I know who you are though, man.” He gave me the same greeting as Greyson had, and I decided I liked these men. They seemed easy to get along with. “Faith tells me she’s invited you to our place in London. We’d love to have you when the timing works.”
“Can’t wait,” I told him honestly, seeing Mr. James close the door behind him.
“Son in law!” he exclaimed and I hugged him.
“Father in law!” I laughed, both of us looking over at Mrs. James. She was in rare form, finally finishing her thought about the time she’d dated a girl.
“But you know, I never really could get into ea—,”
“Kitty Kat!” Mr. James cut her off before she could finish, helping her up from the couch and grabbing her purse from the table. “I think that’s enough fun for you. Big day tomorrow.”
“Why’s it a big day, dad?” Thea came over to me and leaned against my side, blinking sleepily. Everyone went quiet, and Mr. James froze, caught off guard by the coherent question.
My mind scrambled. Mierda. I couldn’t think of a lie.
Shitshitshit
“Yard sale,” Manuel blurted out. “Big yard sale.”
“I didn’t know you two went to yard sales.” Her brow wrinkled.
“It’s something we do together now. You know, older people stuff. It’s eventful. Okay. Love you. Bye now!” Her father kissed her on the forehead and fled with Mrs. James in tow.
There was a collective sigh of relief from the people in the loop.
Everyone said their goodbyes, and Manuel sulked to his room after I cock-blocked him again with Blair.
I helped a drowsy Thea shower, and then we went to bed with her cuddled into me like I was her favorite teddy bear.
Tomorrow would be perfect.
It had to be.
36
Theodora
I peeked one eye open and immediately saw Luc staring at me with a goofy smile on his face.
“You are way too chipper, way too early.”
“It’s a day to be chipper, mi cielo,” he crooned, tugging a chunk of my hair. “Now get that delectable ass up and into the bath I’ve run for you, because I’ve got plans, and they don’t include spending all day in bed.”
“But it’s Saturday,” I pointed out, pouting a bit. “It was invented for staying in bed, preferably with a delightful, blue-eyed so—,” he gave me a look and I rolled my eyes, “futbol player with a beautiful cock.”
“While I’m flattered at your glowing description of me, babe, levántate. Now,” it was like his voice underlined the word. It was hot when he got all commanding.
But whatever reason he needed me to get up, it must’ve been important or he wouldn’t have been interrupting my precious sleep.
So I got up and went to the bathroom, where I stopped short.
“Luc…” I called, bending back a little to look out of the bathroom. But he wasn’t in the room. “Holy shit.”
I crept closer to the counter, reaching out to touch the little box but pulling my hand back quickly. No way it was what I thought it was.
Debauve & Gallais chocolate.
Oh god, a gorgeous king blue leather box with gold embossing and 12 decadent bonbons inside. I’d tasted the chocolate before, but the boxes were crazy expensive.
I couldn’t believe he’d remembered. I’d mentioned it maybe once, and I’d tasted them before I met him that year.
Fuck, he was one of a kind.
He’d run a bath, and the water was the gorgeous pink of my favorite bath bombs. He’d laid out everything I used before a more upscale night, and I couldn’t believe it.
He paid such attention to me. The little things that I thought would slide under the radar for a guy, he knew. I couldn’t imagine what he had planned for the day if this was the morning.
Stripping off my t-shirt, I sank into the water and carefully opened the chocolates, moaning when I took a small bite of one of them.
What on earth did Luc have planned?
I didn’t think it was possible to start to fall more in love with Luc, but I was, I so was.
I wasn’t a huge crier, but so many times during the day…I’d teared up just thinking about him caring for me this way and spoiling me.
First, he’d come up with cooking skills somehow, and made us an amazing breakfast with maple bacon, brioche French toast, fruits, and wonderfully seasoned cheesy omelets.
He admitted that he’d been taking private lessons just to make the one meal, but promised he’d have more under his belt eventually.
I didn’t care if he never cooked for me again, because I never expected us to be able to actually eat something he made. The last time, he’d managed to break his oven, and we decided I would handle the food.
Then we’d gone to a little boutique where he picked up three packages, one a bigger one and the other two smaller. He’d put them in the car, and then he dropped me off at a Spa place while he said he had to go and run a few errands.
I’d gotten waxed, plucked, scrubbed, and buffed. I felt like a shiny new coin, ready to take on the world. And the massage? I was a walking mass of liquidy muscle and bones.
He picked me up, and we ate lunch at a little bistro nearby that had the best chicken club I’d had in a while. Bacon made everything better.
Now we were holding hands and walking down Fifth Avenue. I just wanted to crawl up under him and never leave. He’d gotten a haircut and the few days’ growth of near beard that he had was trimmed neatly back down. I didn’t mind it, but beard burn was a thing.
“I hope the next place we go has a bed, because I could get very appreciative right about now.” I reached up and kissed his cheek, squeezing his hand.
“We have a bit of time before we get to the bed part, but I think you’ll enjoy the rest of the night. Or I hope you will.” For the first time ever, I saw real nervousness on his face. Well, not ever, but recently. Luc didn’t get nervous, he was confidence personified.
“Is that nervousness in your voice right now?” I teased.
“I get nervous when it comes to you.”
“You’re kidding.” I tugged his hand so he stopped walking and looked at him. “Why?”
“I’m nervous you’ll wake up and decide we’re better off apart. I’m nervous I’ll do something wrong and mess things up. I’m nervous Kimmy will somehow get in your head again and then hemos terminado. We’d be finished.”
He looked so vulnerable. The last time I’d seen him quite this vulnerable was when he asked me to take a chance and marry him. I didn’t want him feeling this way, at all. Not when there was zero doubt in my mind that I was exactly where I wanted to be.
“All of that is nonsense. I am here to stay. I love you even more now than I loved you then, even
. You couldn’t get rid of me if you tried. And if I see Kimmy, well…the last thing I’ll be doing is listening to her.” I pressed a sweet, lingering kiss to his lips and started walking on. “Now stop that doubt, and tell me what’s next.”
“This is next.” He pulled me to a stop and I looked at the name beside the ornate black and gold doors.
We were in front of Harry Winston. I swung my head to him and he grinned. “I think it’s time to replace your rings.”
I squealed. Oh, yeah, he wasn’t getting rid of me anytime soon.
We’d looked at rings for what felt like forever, wanting to make sure that we picked ones that we really loved, that represented us and how we felt about each other.
I was also just terribly indecisive, but when I saw the ones…I knew. We’d picked out rings for him too, and they just happened to be the right sizes. It was kind of uncanny. Almost like it was the plan all along and they were meant to be.
Now we were going to end the night at the Chelsea Pier Lighthouse, where Luc said he had a special dinner set up. He must’ve remembered me mentioning I’d love to watch the sunset over the water there.
It was the perfect day and I couldn’t think of a better way to end it than with good food and an even better man. Except maybe a very, very private dessert.
I started to go up the stairs after Luc left the car with the valet, but he circled my waist with his hands and faced me.
“I may have lied a little,” he confessed, a pensive look on his face.
“About?” my voice was soft, understanding. The day had been too amazing for me to get angry. Most likely, it was nothing. Either way, I would forgive him no matter what.
“We’re not just having dinner.”
“What are we doing?”
“I wanted to give you everything I didn’t give you the first time around. Mainly, being surrounded by the people we love while we cement our love for each other.” He brought his hands up to my face, rubbing his thumb over my cheeks in the way he loved to do.“Everything today was in preparation for our do-over.”
“Our do-over for?” The dots weren’t connecting themselves in my head. I was a little too far relaxed from that earlier pampering.
“Our wedding, mi cielo. When you walk through those doors, your family and friends will take you to get dressed. Your shoes, dress, lingerie – it’s all waiting for you. Makeup and hair, they’re waiting too. Everyone is here.” My eye sprung a leak and my breath hitched as he wiped away the steady tears. I couldn’t speak, I was so overwhelmed. “If this isn’t what you want, you can say no. I won’t be angry. I won’t break up with you. I’ll just wait patiently for you to want me the same way I want you. I’ll wait forever if I need to.” Luc’s voice was hoarse with emotion, and I wondered how I’d gotten to be so blessed.
“No other answer crossed my mind but hell yes!” I sniffled, clutching at his hands on my face and dropping my forehead to his chest as he grabbed me up in a strong hug.
“Well then let’s do this, baby. The right way this time.” After a kiss that scrambled my senses even further, we walked up the stairs and separated to get ready.
My mom gripped my hand and pressed a firm kiss to my cheek when I saw her. “That man of yours is something else.”
I cleared my throat, keeping her hand as she led me to the private bridal suite. The girls erupted into cheers when I entered and someone passed me a glass of champagne.
“To my best friend, may she live a long and happy life with that sexy ass soccer player!” Blair yelled and we all laughed and cheered, throwing back our drinks.
“Teodora,” a soft, accented voice came from my side. I turned to see Senora Silva in a beautiful blush colored dress, her still thick dark hair streaked with elegant amounts of grey.
“Mrs. Silva.” My eyes were leaking again. I loved Luc’s mom. She was so sweet and welcoming to me when she would visit, immediately accepting me and teaching me little dishes to make that were his favorite.
“Call me mamá, querida. You are the daughter I always wanted.” She pressed kisses to both of my hands after hugging me, and smiled at my mom. “I hope you don’t mind sharing her with me.” She spoke in perfect English, her smooth accent wrapped the words in tenderness.
“I do believe my daughter has more than enough love to go around,” my mom’s voice sounded as if she was tearing up, and I wrapped an arm around her.
“Alright people, let’s get this show on the road. Sunset is soon!”
With Cassie’s declaration, we started to move in a flurry of activity. I laughed and tried not to cry more so the photographer wouldn’t only have pictures of me in tears.
I couldn’t believe Luc planned all of this in secret for me.
He loved me in ways that exceeded my wildest dreams.
“Yo, Luciano, que toma, Teodora a ser mi legítima esposa, para tener y mantener a partir de este día, para bien o para mal de ricos o más pobres para, en la enfermedad y en salud a amarte y cuidarte, hasta que la muerte nos separe.” Luc had memorized the vows in Spanish, and I was very near to tearing up again. I was fighting it, because raccoon streaks weren’t pretty. I didn’t trust the waterproof assurance that the makeup artist had given.
“Theodora, please repeat after me…” the minister said his words, and I repeated them until I’d said them all.
“I, Theodora, take you, Luciano, to be my lawfully-wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse; for richer or for poorer; in sickness and in health; to love and to cherish, till death do us part.”
He blessed the rings we’d chosen earlier that day, and then we exchanged them. My eyes never left Luc’s, the brightness in his gaze mirroring mine.
I could hear sniffles coming from our very intimately sized audience, and my dad had tears glazing his eyes when he walked me down the aisle.
“In as much as you have each pledged to the other your lifelong commitment, love and devotion, I now pronounce you husband and wife, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Luciano, you may kiss your bride.” The minister closed his book and smiled, kindness crinkling the corners of his eyes.
Fire burned in Luc’s gaze. I went breathless as his lips came nearer to mine and he gripped my hips in his strong hands.
“Te amo, mi reina,” he murmured, just before his kiss took the little bit of sense I had left in me and made me clutch at his broad shoulders in his deep blue tux as he tipped me back against his arm in a mind-blowing display of his skills.
“Hey now!” we heard my dad call sternly and we separated, laughing and raising our joined hands to everyone as they surrounded us with hugs and love.
With a gorgeous dark pink and deep purple sunset lighting the water behind us, we celebrated our love with friends and family.
Gerard was there with his baby girl, but there was still no sign of Kimmy. He told us that he’d started the divorce proceedings. He was thinking about moving to the states and taking an analyst job to be home more. Vivi seemed quite taken with him and his little girl.
Cassie and Blair were cozied up, and Luc had invited my boss and friends from work too. Faith, Daya, Greyson, and Jackson were there with their families. Even Matt was there with a new girlfriend. My mom actually worked with Faith’s mom. It was really a small world.
We ate, we drank, we laughed, we danced. As Manuel twirled me around the floor, attempting to show me more salsa moves, I noticed a tattoo peeking from his rolled-up shirtsleeves.
“Manuel, what’s your tattoo of?”
He glanced down, like he’d forgotten it, pushing the sleeve away from it. “Oh, it’s an outline of Spain. Luc and I got matching ones when we moved to the UK.”
The images from years before flashed in my brain and I stopped in my tracks.
That conniving bitch! That’s how she’d done it.
Luc and Manuel looked like near twins back then. Now, Luc was more filled out and Manuel had a leaner look to him and dyed hair. She’d used
him as a fill in for Luc.
I wanted revenge so badly that it made me shake.
But when I looked around, at everyone gathered to celebrate with me and my husband, and felt the love that filled the room…I realized that maybe this would have to be enough.
I couldn’t let bitterness and revenge make me forget about everything I did have that was so much more important. And soon, even the family Kimmy had connived to get wouldn’t be hers anymore.
So what if I never got a chance to slap her right across that evil face of hers…
I had more. So much more. And no room for hate in my heart.
I had a husband that seemed to love me more and more every day.
I had old friends and new friends that I would get to watch grow and love and prosper.
I had parents who made it known how proud they were of me and how much they cared for me.
I had it all. Even though Kimmy had tried to take that away from me, and almost succeeded.
“Thea?” Manuel questioned when I didn’t continue to following his steps. “Esta bien?”
I placed my hands back on his arms, and let him spin me in a circle just as I caught Luc’s eye where he was talking sports with my dad, Matt, and the rest of the men. He mouthed I love you, and I answered Manuel.
“More than good, Manny. I’m fucking phenomenal.”
THE END
37
Epilogue
Theadora
“Thea, are you almost finished?” Luc asked, his voice low and wrapped in smooth velvet. The man had the patience of a saint sometimes, but it was impossible to get him to use some of that patience on shopping.
Well, my shopping.
I did tend to a get a little preoccupied. I was terrible at making shopping decisions. I had to see what everything looked like, before I bought it.
Truly, it turned my manly husband into a big baby. It was absolutely amusing, and why I always dragged him along if he was free. Since his team was in the midst of a bye week, I got to have a little vacation time with my man.