“Let’s go get you married.” She opens the door to let me out just as the hotel concierge is about to knock.
“Crap, you scared me,” she squeaks.
“Sorry, ma’am. I have something for Ms. Barrett.” He hands Brenda a box and goes on his way.
Brenda hands me the box. I open it and pull out a yellow Cymbidium orchid bridal bouquet, the stems wrapped in matching satin. It’s the perfect beach bouquet. It is truly breathtaking.
“Those are gorgeous,” she gushes. “Did you know Evan would send these?”
“No,” I say bemused. “I had no idea. Must have been one of his many errands today.” She looks down at her watch. “Shit! We need to go now.” She drags me out the door, and we hurry down the hallway to the main lobby, which leads to the beach. Standing in the lobby is a short blonde woman who works for the hotel. She sees me and strides toward us.
“Good evening, Ms. Barrett. I’m Cindy, your wedding coordinator. I will be taking you over to the beach chapel.”
“Oh, okay,” I reply in surprise. I wasn’t expecting this.
She looks at her watch. “The minister will be there in a few minutes, so follow me please.”
Brenda and I look at each other. I shrug my shoulders, because I have no clue what’s going on. “Sure, lead the way.”
She takes us out the back of the hotel and down the stone path that leads to the beach. We pass by the pools and the outside tiki bars. She brings us over to the end of the path and turns down toward the beach.
She stops in front of a small wooden sign. There are three boards hammered into another board, which is standing in the sand. The top board says “Evan and Olivia.” The middle board is in the shape of an arrow, pointing in the direction of the ceremony and says, “I do.” The bottom board is pointing in the opposite direction and says, “We did.” Cindy turns toward us. “This is where we stop. Brenda, you can go and stand by the chairs and wait for Olivia to walk down to you and Evan.” She scurries down the walk out of my line of sight toward where Evan and I will say our I do’s.
Brenda looks at me. “Are you sure about this? Last chance to bail.”
I pause for a minute, still not sure, but then nod my head. “I’ll see you in a few.” She gives me a quick kiss on the cheek and walks toward the beach.
Cindy appears up the walkway a bit out of breath. “Once you hear the music start to play, that will be your cue to start to walk down the bamboo aisle to your waiting groom. It should start any minute,” Cindy informs me. “We are just waiting on the groom.” Waiting on the groom? Where is Evan?
I stand patiently waiting to hear the music. We are now running fifteen minutes late. I wonder what’s holding Evan up? Funny, he was worried about me being late. He is so punctual. I have this strange feeling that something is wrong. “Olivia!” I hear a voice in the distance. That’s strange, it almost sounds like . . . Chase? I’m being ridiculous. Chase doesn’t know I’m here, and even if he did, we’re over. I suddenly feel sick. Just when I am about to panic, the music starts. Cindy gives me a smile and a wave.
I take a deep breath and start to slowly walk down the bamboo aisle. I’m glad it’s semi solid; my sandals are starting to sink into the sand. I turn the corner and head toward the trellis where the minister stands. Evan turns toward me with a smile, but he looks strange. More nervous than normal. His face is all twisted, even though he is smiling. I keep walking, but I have this really weird feeling. I see Brenda standing to the left of Evan on the other side of the minister. There is another witness who I don’t recognize standing on the other side of Evan. I keep walking. Evan keeps looking past me like he’s looking for something, and then back at me. I finally reach the trellis.
I know it’s warm, and he’s in a suit, but he is sweating more than normal. Wow, he must be beyond nervous. I hand Brenda my bouquet; she has a tight smile on her face. Evan takes my hand and yanks me toward him. What the hell is going on with everyone? We turn to face the minister. He opens a book, looks down, and starts to read.
“As Olivia and Evan take their vows today, we are privileged to witness the joyous love of a new family. A family that will be nourished and nurtured through the devotion of two separate individuals growing together through the common bonds of love.” He looks at both of us and smiles. That strange feeling in the pit of my stomach returns. Except stronger.
“An essential requirement of a good marriage is a bond of real friendship and trust. Olivia and Evan, your love for each other will grow deeper with every passing day, but it’s important to remember that your love stands on a foundation of genuine, mutual trust and respect for each other. To truly love another person is to be willing to accept both their strong points and their weak points, with equal measures of understanding and respect. For it is not the words that you will speak today that will bind you together as one, but the strength of the love, trust, and commitment found deep within your souls.” He stops for a minute and looks up at the both of us. I look from the minister to Evan. Evan looks at me then down the bamboo aisle I came up.
The minister continues. “If anyone here has any reasons as to why these two should not be joined in Holy Matrimony, let him speak now or forever hold his peace” . . .
Being this is my first novel, I don’t even know where to start. But, first and foremost, I’d like to thank my husband, who actually pushed me to write. I mentioned in passing one day, how I would love to write a book. He harassed me day in and day out, and here we are. Without your support, I couldn’t have finished. I love you.
To my editor, Caroline. Without you, this book would have been a hot mess. Thank you for making it presentable.
To my beta readers, you know who you are. You helped shape this book to be the best it could be. Especially Karie. You, are the bomb. Thanks with everything you did to help me, smooches. And a special shout out to Allison, for finding things I couldn’t see.
To Regina, my cover designer. You are an absolute genius. You are an amazing talent, and I am lucky to have had you design for me.
To all of the bloggers who have helped me along the way, your help has not gone unappreciated. Thank you for the blog takeovers, and anything else you might have done to help me promote my novel.
To all the Indie Authors out there. I am so blessed to have been able to join this community. There is so much love and compassion between authors, it truly makes me happy to be part of such an elite group of individuals.
And lastly, but most importantly, the readers. There are thousands of books you could have purchased, and yet you chose mine. I hope it lived up to your expectations.
Jillian Anselmi resides on Long Island (not in Long Island), with her husband and teenage daughter. She studied pharmacy, but decided it wasn’t the right fit for her. She instead received a Bachelor’s degree in chemistry. After receiving her Master’s in Education, she chased a career in teaching but there was always something missing. As a young girl she read an incredible amount of books, reading over a hundred during the summer of her third grade year. As she got older, she dabbled in poetry and short stories. Now, she writes romantic fiction, with a small amount of truth hiding behind her words. She loves a good story, and can usually be found buried in a book at the local Starbucks when she isn’t writing. Her loves include a Starbucks Caramel Macchiato, dark chocolate, a good Sauvignon Blanc, and her husband—in that order (wink). When she isn’t reading or writing, she enjoys spending time at the beach or playing golf.
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