My eyes fly open as I’m startled from my sleep. What the fuck was that?
A flash of light pulses through the window, lighting up my room, followed shortly by a rolling boom. A storm. A fucking storm.
I pull the sheet over my head and moan as I hear the rain thump against the glass in torrents. “This isn’t happening!” I call out to the empty room.
My phone rings beside the bed and I sit up, seeing Lisa’s smiling face flash up on my screen.
“I knew it was too good to be true. She cursed you,” she states the moment the call connects.
“What?” I ask, confused.
“Mrs Bailey. That woman does not apologise. She came up here to bring a curse down upon your wedding day. I can’t believe this – all the planning. All the work! She’s ruining it!” she says in a frantic but hushed tone.
“What’s going on?” I hear Marcus mumbling sleepily.
“It’s a fucking rainstorm,” she hisses at him. “Caused by your mother.”
“What?” he laughs. “She doesn’t have that power. Believe me. It’s just rain. It’ll probably be over before the ceremony even starts. Hang on – are you on the phone?”
“Yeah,” Lisa says as I hear the phone beep. She’s obviously put me on speaker. “Say hi to Naomi.”
“Hi Naomi,” he says. “Are you agreeing with my crazy wife here?” he asks.
“I’m not crazy,” Lisa insists.
“Well, I’m not happy about the rain, but I don’t believe in bad luck and curses so I can’t really blame it on your mum. Plus, she seemed pretty genuine yesterday. I think she really wants to be here.”
“Well, all I know is that the weather report was all clear yesterday and today there’s a torrential downpour. The only thing that changed was her arriving.”
“Man, weddings make chicks bonkers. Hang up and let Nomes get some more sleep. We’ve all got to be up in a couple of hours anyway so just relax. The storm will probably blow over and besides, places like this are always prepared for freak storms – it’s the tropics. They have to be.”
“You’re right, Marcus. I’m sure everything will be just fine. I’m not the first bride to have it rain on their wedding day. It’s just a little hiccup. Everything else will be just fine.”
Chapter Sixteen
The rain doesn’t let up. If anything, it gets even worse but the wedding goes ahead on schedule anyway.
“Unfortunately, the storm that was supposed to stay well off the coast, decided to change course and will be with us for most of the day. I just want you all to feel assured that the resort has put up the storm shutters around the veranda, so the ceremony can stay where it is. You’ll just have an unexpected light show,” the wedding planner informs us with a smile as she tries to put a positive spin on things while we’re all getting our hair and make up done. “They also have a back up generator if the storm manages to cut the power. So I want you to relax. You all look beautiful. This wedding is going to be perfect.”
She excuses herself to go and check on a few things and I take a look at my bridal party and their grim faces.
“It’s just rain – ok? Everything will be fine. Quit your moping,” I tell them.
“We just wanted everything to be perfect for you,” Lisa says from beside Stephanie as they do their best to keep Amanda and Grace entertained while Paige’s and my hair and makeup is finished.
I wait until the makeup artist finishes brushing a rose colour on my lips then press them together obediently before I respond.
“It is perfect. Everyone that Theo and I love is here with us, and you heard Gail – the storm shutters are up. Getting married with flashing lights around us will actually be really cool. Imagine how great the photos will look.”
“Ok, but I still think Mrs Bailey is responsible for all this,” Lisa grumbles.
“Stop it, ok? She isn’t responsible. And I know you worked hard to make this wedding work Lisa. I’m going to be forever grateful to you for all your help. But right now, I need you calm and positive – ok?”
She lets out her breath. “Ok. I’m sorry. I won’t say another word about it. I’m just freaking out a bit.”
“I know. But if you don’t believe in omens and bad luck then none of this really matters,” I say.
“All you need is love and all that,” Paige adds as she stands up and checks herself over in the mirror, the red and yellows of her Phoenix tattoo stretching out around the low v-cut in the back of her dress.
“The Beatles are so wise,” Stephanie agrees before she breaks into song which for some reason gets us all singing that love is all we need.
A loud boom cracks through the air outside, causing the lights to flicker and our sing-a-long to come to a halt. “Everything’s fine,” I say, more to calm myself than anyone else. “Everything is perfectly fine.” Although, I have to admit even I’m starting to worry that disaster is about to strike.
***
“Cue the music,” Gail says into her mouthpiece as she stands with us, ready to pull the curtain to the side that separates us from the aisle and our guests.
My heart beats in my ears in nervous excitement as the strains of a melody I haven’t heard completely filters out of the sound system. I recognise part of it from Theo’s frustrated scratchings. He’s obviously finished it.
I listen the music, knowing that Theo finished it especially for today and wait for Gail to give us the signal to walk down the aisle.
My dad gives my hand a gentle squeeze and leans over to kiss my cheek. “You look beautiful,” he tells me as Gail pulls the curtain apart and ushers us through as the first lyrics of the song in Theo’s smooth recorded voice flow through the air.
I’d sacri–
The sky flashes and a loud boom shudders the building, as the thunder seems to rumble through the earth. The music and the lights cut out and we’re plunged into a grey world with nothing but the glow of storm clouds flashing with lightning to aid our vision.
“Oh no,” I gasp, feeling as though perhaps I was wrong to shun the wedding superstitions. Maybe Mrs Bailey does have the power to curse us. And as preposterous as that sounds, right now, it seems as though if it wasn’t her, then it’s the gods above us, telling us that we shouldn’t be getting married.
“Hurry.” I hear Theo’s voice over the murmurs of the gathered crowd.
“There’s a generator. We’ll be back up in no time!” A male voice calls from behind us while other voices around me offer me reassurances. They’re all assuring me that everything will be all right. But how can it be, we have no lights. No music. I can hardly see. How is this going to work?
I frown suddenly, wondering what Jack and Lachlan are doing as I watch them walk up the aisle, talking quietly to guests on their way toward me.
When they reach the end, Jack says, “It’s going to be ok, Nomes. We’ve got this.” And with a wink, he moves quickly up the aisle and takes his position beside Theo once more.
“Ready, now,” Marcus commands, and suddenly, the aisle is lit by the glow of mobile phones and those in the front row are using their phone’s flash light as a spotlight on Theo as he begins to play a guitar.
My hand flies up to cover my mouth as I try not to cry and ruin my make up. But it’s a losing battle, the tears flow anyway.
“Where did he get a bloody guitar?” my dad asks in amazement as he urges me to walk toward Theo as he begins to sing.
I’d sacrifice eternity to have you
Because perfection is here for us now
You’re my angel, my heart, my life and my breath,
And you found me, you chose me somehow
All I can see is your beauty
And all I can feel is your heart
When times get tough, you’re there for me
We belonged together right from the start
His eyes lock with mine as I slowly move toward him, tears streaming unbidden down my cheeks. All my hopes have been restored. Walking down the aisle to my man, s
inging a song he wrote for me is the most perfect wedding I could have hoped for.
His hands strum out the chords I recognise as he moves toward the chorus and he belts out the words.
No one on earth could see me
Nobody could understand
But baby, when we’re together
Your heart knows the man that I am
And when your tears are flowing
I’ll be there to dry your eyes
And when your heart is shining
The darkness inside me dies
No one on earth could see me
Nobody could understand
But baby, when we’re together
Your heart knows the man that I am
No one on earth could see me
Nobody could understand
But baby, when we’re together
Your heart knows the man that I am
Your heart knows the man that I am
Your heart knows the man that I am
Your heart knows the man that I am
As the song ends, I’m standing in front of him, my lip between my teeth, my face probably red and covered in mascara from my happy tears. He hands the guitar to Marcus as my father kisses my cheek and offers my hand to Theo.
“Are you ok?” Theo asks as his hands reach for my face and his thumb brush over my cheeks to wipe away my tears.
“I’m perfect,” I tell him. “Absolutely perfect.”
Chapter Seventeen
The rest of the ceremony goes off without a hitch. Theo and I say our vows, and as he slides a ring on my finger that is engraved with the notes of the song he wrote, I cry even more.
“I’m such a mess,” I tell him as he takes a hold of my face, ready for our first kiss as husband and wife.
“You’re beautiful,” he murmurs, wiping at my tears before kissing me soulfully while cameras flash along with the lightening behind us.
As we walk back down the aisle, all of our friends and family congratulate us with tears in their eyes.
“Congratulations guys. This was probably the best wedding I’ve been to,” David tells us, as he stands with his arm around a weeping Katrina.
“That song Theo!” she sighs. “It was just beautiful and such quick thinking to use peoples phones for light.”
“That was Lachlan’s idea actually. People use phones at concerts all the time, so…” Theo shrugs as if he didn’t just pull off the best wedding save of the century.
“Well, it was great. I’m sure we’ll all remember it for years to come,” David adds, as he shakes Theo’s hand and kisses me on the cheek.
“We’ll see you inside,” Katrina says as she gives us both a quick kiss and heads inside with everyone else.
Gail moves over to us to quietly tell us that the generator isn’t working as the basement has flooded and as much as that should be a disaster for us, it isn’t. By now, we’ve realised that we can conquer anything the world has to throw at us.
“But, when you go inside, you’ll see that we’ve been working hard to make sure the room has enough light,” she tells us with a smile.
Tea light and pillar candles are set up around the reception hall and with the bevy of musicians we have on our guest list, a wonderful unplugged concert has already begun for everyone to enjoy.
“This is fantastic, Gail. I think it’s worked out even better than planned,” I tell her.
She touches my arm lightly. “I have very high hopes for you two to have a very long and happy marriage. Problems are only as big as we make them.” She gives Theo and I a congratulatory hug and admires the beautiful rings Theo chose before excusing herself to go and check on the food. “Thank goodness for gas cooking,” she says as she leaves us to our guests.
Drinks flow. People talk, and dance and sing. And when it’s time for our first dance as bride and groom, Theo asks Lisa to be the one to sing a rendition of Natalie Cole’s version of ‘The Very Thought of You’.
“Dance with me,” Theo asks, holding his hand out to me as all of our guests stand by and watch as the band plays and Lisa sings about a love that at the very thought of it, causes the singer to forget everything in the world besides their love. It’s soft and melodic and it’s absolutely the way I feel about Theo – my husband.
“We pulled it off,” I say to him as we sway around the dance floor, lost in our own world. “Actually, you pulled it off. That was some pretty quick thinking with the phones and the guitar.”
“Happy wife, happy life,” he tells me again with a smile as he steps back and twirls me under his arm.
“Is that your new motto?” I ask, looking up into his beautiful dark eyes.
“Seeing you happy makes me happy,” he murmurs, his face soft and beautiful as he looks down at me. He seems perhaps even happier than I am in this moment.
“You know, I was worried that all the bad luck I don’t believe in actually existed for a moment there.”
“We make our own luck, babe,” he assures me.
“Well, I feel very lucky to have you. Your song was amazing.”
“Of course it was. It was about you.”
As his lips move toward mine, our guests cheer and before we know it, the dance floor is full with other couples dancing with us as Lisa and Marcus continue to entertain us all with their musical talent.
I look up into Theo eyes, the candles in the room dancing in the dark iris’s of his eyes like tiny flecks of gold, and I feel sure that with this man by my side that every up and every down in this life will be because of him and his love for me.
“This is the start of something very big,” I say to him as we sway together.
“That sounds like a good title for a song.”
I grin. “It does, doesn’t it?”
The End
The Beautiful Series continues on November 28th, 2014 with A Beautiful Star.
Other new adult titles by Lilliana Anderson
Drawn Series
Drawn – book one
Drawn 2 – Redemption (Damien)
Drawn 2 – Obsession (Aaron)
Entwined Series
Our Hearts Entwined
Our Lives Entwined (August 2014)
Beautiful Series
Too Close: The Beauty in Between
A Beautiful Struggle
Phoenix: The Beauty in Between
A Beautiful Forever
Commitment: The Beauty in Between
A Beautiful Melody
A Beautiful Rock
Devotion: The Beauty in Between
A Beautiful Star (Novemeber, 2014)
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Devotion: The Beauty in Between (Beautiful Series book 4.5) Page 7