He gave me a spectacular kiss, then, without letting me go, said, “I waited until we were here to tell you I want you to be my wife.”
We were married in a small, very romantic ceremony in a cute little stone church almost six months to the day later. I wore a long ecru lace gown and a crown of flowers in my hair. He wore his dress military uniform. It was a very different (and much more traditional) wedding than we had first planned.
Since then life has been a roller coaster. My mother, ill for many years, passed away three weeks after the wedding. The company I worked for imploded. The Husband convinced me that I should stay home and try to write again, after having had to give it up for over ten years to take care of my mother. He is still my biggest cheerleader and personal patron of the arts. After years of simple reserve duty, The Husband was deployed overseas for four years out of eight—two of them to Iraq. We celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary in Paris last year. In spite of all the ups and downs I would not change one iota of our relationship. He is indeed the other half of my heart and life is not complete without him.
Love does indeed begin late.
About Inheritance of Shadows
INHERITANCE OF SHADOWS is a traditional Gothic romance.
Daughter of a fabled fantasy writer whom she never knew, Aurora Mathis not only must save her own life but find out if the strange world her father created is truly fictitious.
Excerpt from Inheritance of Shadows
“Which door did you use out of the house?” Corwin asked in a voice no louder than a breath.
The cold air had started me thinking again. Why was Corwin afraid of being caught by the security guard? He was a guest here, after all.
And what was a guest doing in a dark garage after midnight?
“The front one.”
“Did you leave it unlocked?”
“Yes.”
“Lucky for us there’s no alarm system,” he muttered and again my curiosity arose. I hadn’t learned that there was no alarm until it was necessary for me to go around it.
When had Corwin found out?
And why?
“Corwin, I want to know—”
“Keep it down, will you? If we have any luck at all we can get back in before someone discovers the door is open.”
“Why—”
He ignored me and slid out the door for another careful look around before grabbing my hand again and dragging me out. We took a circuitous route around the yard, going from deep shadow to deeper shadow as if the faint starlight would advertise our presence. In truth, I was glad he had my hand, for as close as Corwin was I could barely see him.
It must be very late, because the stars were getting brighter. I wondered muzzily how strange it was that the bright stars were just along the horizon. Stranger still, they were moving…
“Corwin, look.”
Corwin’s hand muffled my mouth and not very gently. “Hush, dammit!” he hissed softly. “Keep your mouth shut. Maybe they didn’t hear.”
If they had, they gave no sign. Now even I could see that the line of sparkling lights were not stars at all, but torches. Real, burning torches, not flashlights or plastic facsimiles. They weren’t bright enough to push back the night well, but gave enough light to show that those who carried them were nothing human.
His hand still tightly over my mouth, Corwin dragged me into the deep shade of a tree. His encircling arms were like steel bands. Whispering directly into my ear, he ordered me to silence.
I didn’t have to be told twice. Now I could see that the marchers were costumed as creatures from the Land of the Two Suns and were probably nothing more than conventioneers living out some sort of role-playing fantasy instead of signboards to my madness. I could see the Racontraneux, ever the eternal politicians in their elegant multi-colored flowing robes and several triads of Eisfodea, the unpredictable mountain creatures who were covered with long silky hair that eddied in the breeze like a cloud. There were a band of soldierly Melphs, looking more like martial teddy-bears in brown fur and shiny armor than vicious mercenaries, and even several short round Ghrones, their traditional red and blue outfits making them appear to be some kind of squashy beach ball. And lastly…
I caught my breath as a supernatural fear gripped my throat.
At the tail end of this eerie procession came a Shining One, all in white. The torchlight danced off his tiny wings and golden horns, making it look as if he were surrounded by a cloud of fireflies. His suit was so white that it seemed to glow a pale blue. His face was dead white, too, and from this distance looked as featureless as an egg.
James?
What would James be doing with this group?
Then rationality set in. This imposter was visibly shorter than James, and much chunkier, with a definite pot belly. James was quite muscular in spite of his lean frame. I had learned that when we danced.
The group turned and trod off into the trees, moving with the precision of a military drill. I watched, holding my breath, until they were swallowed by the dark woods.
“Did you recognize any of them?” Corwin whispered in my ear.
I shook my head. Not one face had been recognizable even as human, let alone as an individual. They must, I decided with painful slowness, have worn masks.
Still, there was something uncanny about the whole procession. In spite of its size and number the crowd had been so very silent. Even their feet made no sounds. There was no talking, no singing. I would have expected some jollity, some laughter, perhaps even some song from such a group. Instead there was a solemnity and sense of purpose that was frightening in its intensity. Apart from the wild diversity of their costumes, they could have been a procession of spectral monks from some raped and dissolved abbey in England, treading across the land as they had for centuries.
For more information about Janis and her books go to one of her websites: www.JanisSusanMay.com or www.JanisPattersonMysteries.com
The End?
I hope this isn’t the end for you! I hope you have found, or will find, your own real-life romance! And I hope you will look for and enjoy some of the books featured in this book.
How I Met My Husband: The Real-Life Love Stories of 25 Romance Authors Page 12