After The One (The One Series Duet)

by Danielle Allen

  “Hello, Beautiful,” he whispered, blinking back tears. He reached over, wiping a third tear that had managed to escape from the corner of my eye with the back of his hand.

  “Hello, Love,” I uttered weepily as we moved in front of the officiant. I couldn’t stop grinning. “This is the wedding we said we wanted. I can’t believe you did all this.”

  His grey eyes, wet with tears, burned into mine. “I would do anything for you.”

  My stomach flipped.

  Hold it together. Hold it together.

  “Are you two ready? You want to save some of that for the vows?” the officiant joked, causing all of us to laugh.

  “Sorry about that,” Julian apologized, amusement lacing his words. “Please continue.”

  The officiant spoke about love conquering all and what marriage represented and I pushed my feelings back down. As he spoke, I studied Julian’s handsome face. He seemed happy, genuinely happy. I couldn’t see my own face, but the way my heart leaped from my chest between flutters, I was sure I had the same goofy smile on my face as he did. I loved him and he loved me, but more than that, I chose him and he chose me.

  “Would you please join hands?” The officiant directed us. “Now I was told that instead of traditional vows, you two are going to just speak from the heart. Julian since you knew about this, I will give you the opportunity to go first.” He turned his head to look at him. “Julian Evan Winters, please recite your vows.”

  I watched Julian’s Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed several times before he began.

  “Zoe…” His voice trembled as my name tumbled from his lips. “My life makes more sense with you in it. My goals, my decisions, my direction became clear when we got together. Everything I’ve done in my life was to get me into a position to meet you and be a man worthy of you. You are beautiful and I’m not even talking about your physical beauty yet. I’m talking about your energy, your heart, your soul…all the things that make you you.”

  My eyes began to water and I didn’t care. I didn’t try to stop them.

  “You are beautiful and I felt that unique beauty the moment you walked into the garden. It could’ve been anyone else and I probably wouldn’t have looked up from my notebook, but my heart ached as if it were longing for something, then I looked up and there you were…” He shook his head and swallowed audibly.

  I let go of his hand temporarily so I could wipe the fat tears that dropped from both eyes simultaneously. I let out a shaky breath as he continued.

  “I felt a spark or something between us at the meet-and-greet, but I didn’t think too much of it at the time…until I couldn’t get you out of my head. So when I saw you in the garden, everything that makes me me recognized everything that makes you you before I even had a chance to look up. As clichéd as it sounds, I knew I was in love with you in that moment right there in the garden, but over the last twenty-two months, I’ve grown in love with you and grown in my love for you. Every day I love you more than the day before. I vow to spend my life showing you that love. I will honor you, treasure you, respect you, and protect you until the day I die. I will never hurt you. I will never leave you. I will never break your heart. My life is your life and your life is mine. I look forward to building our family and our legacy together.”

  I was certain my entire body was shaking. Staring into his eyes and listening to his words, I felt overwhelmed with emotions. My eyes burned and so did the back of my throat.

  “So, Zoe, I commit my life to you and to building a life with you. The second best decision I ever made was every decision that led me to you. The very best decision I ever made was to ask you to be my wife. I look forward to our life together and I look forward to the poem we wrote. I love you. Forever.”

  The sincerity of his words moved me so deeply that I wasn’t sure my heart still resided in my chest. I moved our intertwined hands to my belly as discretely as possible.

  “I love you,” I said breathlessly, as each heaving breath racked my body.

  “That was beautiful, Julian.” The officiant turned toward me and stated, “Zoe Elise Jordan, please recite your vows.”

  “Well…” I began, taking a deep breath. “Now that the bar has been raised to impossible heights, I guess I’ll go.”

  Everyone laughed, which broke the intensity of the moment and relieved some of the pressure I felt behind my eyes. I was fighting a losing battle against crying, but the laughter gave me a brief reprieve.

  “No, but seriously, I won’t even try to compete with Julian’s words because there’s no competition.” I smiled up at him. “Your words are the reason I was more agreeable to going on a show I didn’t watch with a premise I despised. Your words are something special and I had to meet the man behind the lyrics that moved me to tears. I printed out your songs and read them like poems. I saw the poet in you and something happened. It almost felt as if you had lodged yourself in my mind and burrowed yourself deep in my heart. So deep, in fact, that I had to defy everything about my life trajectory and meet you.”

  He licked his lips and gave me a glassy-eyed smirk.

  “Oh Julian,” I sighed, closing my eyes briefly, allowing myself to be consumed by my feelings. “Then I met you and it was over for me. I didn’t want to admit it, but I fell hard and fast. You are everything people see at face value—you’re devastatingly handsome, you’re extraordinarily talented, and you’re fun and welcoming to be around. At face value, you’re good. You’re a good celebrity.”

  I paused, stepping just an inch closer to him. I wanted to see myself in his eyes. I wanted to feel his breath on my face. I wanted to smell his intoxicating scent.

  “You’re a good celebrity, Julian, but you’re a great man,” I continued. “I went on a show to meet the good celebrity, the poet, and ended up falling in love with the greatest man I’ve ever known. You’re strong, but not just in physical strength. You’re strong in mental endurance, emotional resiliency, and in faith. You love hard. You work hard. You can also be hard headed, but that’s another story for another day.”

  He chuckled before bringing my palm to his lips and kissing it softly. The small gesture caused a ripple effect through my belly.

  “You encourage me. You challenge me. You push me. You support me. You love me. You make me feel safe.” My voice cracked as a few tears fell slowly but surely—not a stream, but one followed by another in unhurried succession. “I will spend the rest of my life adding to your happiness and your success. I will spend the rest of my life being creative with you and celebrating our creativity. I will spend the rest of my life being your advocate, your cheerleader, your rock, your lifejacket, your champion, your love. I will be your everything because you are mine.”

  I let go of one of his hands and put my palm on his chest, directly over his heart. I could feel the quick beats and I marveled at how they matched my own. “You are home to me and I love you. I can’t wait to be Mrs. Winters.”

  Julian opened his mouth and let out a shuddering breath. His eyes closed and he brought his hand up to cover mine on his chest. I saw him swallow hard a few times. When he opened his eyes, he was unable to blink back the solitary tear that trickled from the corner of his eye.

  “Zoe…” His voice was hoarse and had a slight break as he said my name. “I love you.

  My heart beat erratically and for a moment, it was just me and Julian. It was just us. My heart was thumping longingly for him more so than it was working to pump blood through my veins. I was his and he was mine.

  “That was beautiful, Zoe,” the officiant stated. “It is my understanding that rings will be exchanged at an additional ceremony tonight, but what I’d like to point out is that rings are symbolic. Rings are to advertise your commitment to others. The vows you said to one another speak to your commitment to the marriage and to one another. So, by the power vested in me by the state of California, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Julian, you may now kiss your bride.”

  Julian let go of my hands to
wipe my tear-soaked cheeks. I wrapped my arms around his middle while his hands moved from my cheeks to my neck. Settling into their position, he used his thumbs to tilt my head upward.

  “I love you, Mrs. Winters,” he murmured before covering my mouth with his.

  I instantly whimpered at the intensity of the kiss.

  It felt like he was trying to express what he felt for me through his lips. With the soft pressure of his tongue against mine, he weakened me. Butterflies spread across my belly and through my entire body. My legs shook and he untangled his hands from my hair to grip me around my waist. He held me tight, keeping me on my feet, keeping me grounded, keeping me safe. I felt like I was either going to float away on a cloud or melt into a puddle at his feet. With that kiss, he told me how much he wanted me to be Mrs. Julian Winters.

  The officiant cleared his throat and I stilled, suddenly remembering the twenty-five close friends and family were seated a few feet away from us. We pulled out of the kiss, stifling laughter as we looked around like we’d gotten caught doing something we weren’t supposed to be doing.

  The officiant smiled and turned us around to face our loved ones. “Officially, for the first time, I give to you…Mr. and Mrs. Julian and Zoe Winters.”

  Everyone was on their feet applauding as Chele King started singing “Always The One.” We didn’t walk down the aisle as we would’ve in a typical ceremony. Instead, Julian took my hand and spun me around in a circle before pulling me into him and we danced.

  I buried my face into his neck and swallowed the sob that almost emanated out of me as we swayed to the music. I wanted to say so many things to him, but nothing felt like enough. Even if I would’ve been able to think of something to say to describe how thankful I was, I wouldn’t have been able to say it without sobbing. I was beyond happy tears.

  “That’s how I feel about you, too,” Julian whispered as he kissed my head.

  My body trembled with the effort to keep the emotional outburst at bay. I nodded to acknowledge I’d heard him, but anything else would’ve broken me down.

  “And listen, I won’t ever keep anything from you,” he promised softly as his lips grazed the shell of my ear. “I had to contact Lillian to arrange for Chele King to be here. She was recording at Black Hearts Studios New York, but since I paid Lillian to pull some strings, Lillian moved things around so Chele was able to record at Black Heart’s California studio.”

  “What?” I gasped, my voice barely above a whisper as I lifted my head. Our eyes met and I could see nothing but love and devotion. It took my breath away. He held me tighter as we danced to the slow, yearning melody.

  “I’m sorry I kept it from you and made you worry, but I wanted it to be a surprise. I wanted to give you the wedding you deserved. I wanted to give you the wedding we talked about—the small wedding that’s just for us, that we don’t have to share with the world. This whole weekend has been about what’s good for the show and you’ve gone along with it because I was contractually obligated to do it.” He spun me around slowly when the tempo changed. “So I rented the space and they decorated. I had Beverly let everyone know when they arrived, and I gave Koko money and let your friends pick out your dress. I didn’t want to see this dress because I wanted to be surprised. And I was. You look beautiful, by the way.”

  My head was spinning. “Julian, this is so romantic. I can’t believe you did all this.”

  “Like I told you before, I would do anything for you. I wanted to give you the wedding you wanted. I wanted to give you the song you wanted. I didn't tell anyone about the Chele King surprise until you made me tell Koko to put you at ease. I just wanted to do everything I could to—”

  My mouth crashed into his, interrupting his sentence. The kiss was slow and decadent. I wanted him to know how much I appreciated him, but I also wanted him to know that I loved him more than anything.

  “Thank you. I…love…you,” I murmured between kisses.

  I didn’t know when the tears started slipping from my closed lids, but when our kiss went from sweet to salty, I tried to pull away. Julian put his hand on the back of my head and lured me back in.

  His lips caressed mine softly as he uttered, “I love you, too.” He pressed his forehead against mine. “And you don’t have to thank me. This wasn’t just a gift for you. This was for us.”

  The final chords of the guitar were strummed and the last note was held for an exhaustive amount of time as our first dance as a couple came to an end.

  Our friends and family cheered as we eased out of our bubble and faced them. Each of them had a glass of champagne in their hands. Beverly popped up from behind Julian with two champagne glasses for us.

  “To the bride and groom!” Julian’s dad called out, causing everyone to cheer again.

  We smiled at one another as we brought our glasses together until we heard them clink. I waited until he finished his and then we switched glasses so he could drink mine as well. After a quick round of hugs and well wishes, our beautiful ceremony was abruptly cut short.

  “It’s almost two o’clock! We have to leave now,” Koko yelled, looking at her phone. “Bryce just texted me. They are halfway done with the treatment meeting and then they are going to come to the hilltop to film us getting ready. We have to go now!”

  Everyone scrambled to pick up their belongings before they headed to the elevator. Julian had arranged for us to ride back to the resort together so while half of the group crammed into one elevator, the other half crammed into the other.

  Julian held my hand and took me over to introduce me to Chele and her guitarist. They packed up their belongings while I peppered them with questions. The four of us walked over to the elevator together and I listened with rapt attention as Chele talked about the inspiration behind the song I loved so much. The twist ending to her story came as her town car pulled up to get them.

  The love song was written about her guitarist!

  We said our goodbyes and before I could express my excitement, the valet pulled up with Julian’s car.

  “Are you ready, Wife?” Julian asked me as I finished fastening my seatbelt.

  Slipping my hand into his, I looked over at him with an excited grin. “Yes, Husband.”

  Julian hit two buttons and music pumped through the speakers. “It doesn’t matter what happens for the rest of the day.” He lifted our hands to his mouth and kissed the back of my hand. “Robert Brady can kiss my ass.”

  I tossed my head back and laughed. “As long as he doesn’t find out about today, we should be good.” I paused for a second. “You’re not going to owe him money for violating your contract, are you?”

  He smirked. “Well…after my lawyers and my brilliant wife couldn’t find a loophole, we stopped looking and we drafted new contracts for the special. In the new contract, I noticed that the new terminology specifically said we had to have a wedding on January first. That’s it.” He maneuvered around two slow driving cars as he accelerated on the highway. “So, I asked my lawyers to look into it and they assured me that having two weddings on January first didn’t violate the contract. They said we had to get married on the first; they didn’t say anything about multiple ceremonies.”

  I sat up with my mouth agape and stared at the handsome man beside me. “Well played, my love. Well played.”

  “Thank you. Thank you. Now, we need to talk about something serious.”

  My eyebrows lifted.

  “You mentioned something about me being devastatingly handsome. I like that and I’d like more information about it.”

  I laughed hard.

  Chapter 15

  I stood in front of the oversized renaissance mirror in the quiet hallway, taking a minute for myself in a lounge area that they’d converted to a bridal suite. I spun around in my gorgeous mermaid style wedding gown with the formfitting white satin skirt. The train fanned out behind me in dramatic fashion. The top was a white lace corset with a deep V-neck design. It was unique, sexy, and elegant, and wit
h my upswept hair and beautifully applied makeup, I felt gorgeous. I was also still riding the high of my real wedding ceremony to the love of my life that had happened three and a half hours earlier.

  “You look beautiful.” The deep tenor of his voice cut into my thoughts and startled me.

  Is there no security? Can anyone just show up unannounced?

  I turned around to find my ex-boyfriend Tate watching me. His eyes glazed over my body before settling on my face again.

  I looked around the empty room. Eyeing the door he’d come in and the other door where my friends and family stood guard, I shook my head. “Tate, why are you here? How did you get in here?”

  “I wanted to talk to you.” He stuck his hands in the pockets of his black pants. He ambled over to me, staring at his shoes. “Last year a friend had a party here. This was the poker room so I knew about the second door. It leads to the kitchen area.”

  I didn’t even notice that door was unlocked. That hallway is supposed to be closed anyway.

  The building for the ceremony and the building for the reception were next door to one another. The cocktail hour was being held in the winery—in another completely separate building. The entire kitchen area in the ceremony building was closed and should’ve been blocked off.

  “I’m supposed to be in here clearing my head. Alone.” I put my hands on my hips and stared at him.

  “This won’t take long.” He took a step toward me. “Are you happy? If you’re happy, I’m happy for you. I’ll move on. I can accept that I blew my shot with you if I know you’re happy.”

  “I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my entire life.” I sighed. “Tate, I appreciate the apology. There was a time I wanted to hear that and felt like I needed to hear it to get past what we had, but that time came and went a long time ago. It’s been five years.”