He smiled, “Of course I do, baby. What I meant was that this doesn’t seem to be what you want anymore. I know what it felt like seeing the lake in your premonition, but this is all just getting out of hand. I mean my mom even ordered an ice sculpture of a cherub ready for tomorrow,” he said shaking his head frowning. “I’m pretty sure I didn’t see that in your premonition.”
“I don’t want to call it off. I want to marry you, Sean,” I promised.
He smiled, “We could sneak away. Get on a plane right now and head to Barbados a day early, I’m sure we could find someone to marry us there….. on a beach, just the two of us?” he asked, looking at me with an almost hopeful expression on his face. “See if you can see that happening.”
I closed my eyes, and sighed wistfully. I actually loved the sound of that, just us alone and no craziness surrounding our day. I tried and tried to see that in our future, but nothing was coming to me. Which only meant one thing…… it didn’t happen like that.
I shook my head, looking at him apologetically. “Nope, lake wedding it is, Lover boy,” I said, even I noticed the sad tone to my voice.
He frowned but nodded, rolling me onto my back, hovering above me. “At least it’s only the ceremony and then a couple of hours for drinks and finger food after. Then I get to take my beautiful wife onto a plane and get her on her own for two whole weeks,” he said, stroking my hair lightly, his eyes burning into mine.
Honeymoon. The word alone made my body tingle, as did all of the things I knew would come with it. It was a beautiful word, when you broke it down into two words, both of those were incredible things in themselves. Honey and Moon. Deliciousness and sexiness. Since I’d met Sean I viewed the moon differently, it had an effect on him, on all shifters, a full moon gave shifters the ability to shift into their wolf. That in itself I found a sexy and compelling thought. Not that Sean had to wait for the moon now of course, our bond made that possible.
His cell phone rang again and he groaned, pressing his face against the side of my neck. “Why can’t they just leave me alone?” he grumbled.
I laughed and grabbed his cell phone from under my pillow from where he’d shoved it last time it started ringing. I pulled it out and looked at the caller ID. Dan.
“Yes Dan?” I asked sweetly, as I answered it.
“Where’s my brother? Tell him to get the hell out of your pants and come back here or Mom’s gonna pitch a fit! She’s wailing about it almost being midnight so technically it’s almost your wedding day and he’d not allowed to see you before the ceremony. Apparently you two will bring upon yourselves, bad do-do if he does,” he said, in a mock horror voice.
I burst out laughing, “Bad do-do? Kate said those words?” I asked, grinning.
He laughed too, “Not exactly, I improvised but that was the general gist of what she told me to tell him.”
I looked at Sean and he shook his head, pressing himself to me tighter. “Sean, apparently you need to leave before you bring down any bad wedding mumbo-jumbo on us,” I told him, nodding sternly.
“It’s just a crappy old tradition. Besides, I don’t want to stay away from you for the night. We’re not getting married until two so that means I’ll have to wait hours to see you again,” he complained, pouting at me.
In total honesty this wasn’t my decision, it was our moms decisions. They had decided that Sean needed to stay away from me tonight so that we could stick to the usual wedding ritual of not seeing the bride on the wedding day. Apparently, according to Kate, we didn’t need any more bad luck heading our way what with the whole prophesy thing hanging over our heads all the time.
I smiled at him sadly as I spoke into the phone. “He’ll be home soon, Dan.”
Sean raised one eyebrow at me as I pushed his phone back under my pillow, “I’m not leaving,” he stated, smirking at me confidently.
“Just one night, it’ll build the anticipation ready for the wedding night,” I countered, raising one eyebrow at him.
He smiled and kissed me softly, making my whole world spin a little faster and my will to make him leave crumble completely. When he pulled out of the kiss I clutched him closer to me, not ready to say goodbye yet. This would be the first night I had spent away from him since he went to LA after my stepdad and I wasn’t looking forward to the nightmares that I might have tonight. I wasn’t sure if I would have them though, I knew I was safe now, Sean would never let anything hurt me and my stepfather was dead so I had nothing to fear, I hoped my unconscious mind remembered that.
I flicked my eyes to the clock, it was 11:47pm, he really needed to leave soon, Kate was right it would technically be our wedding day in a few minutes and bad luck wasn’t something I wanted to chance.
“Go on, you need to go,” I mumbled grudgingly.
He frowned and pushed himself off of me, sitting next to me on the bed, just looking at me with that look he has for me all the time, the look that made my heart flutter. “Fine. Please don’t stand me up tomorrow, if you want to call if off and run off with me somewhere private then call me in the morning and I’ll come and get you,” he said, stroking the side of my face.
“Can you imagine our parents faces if we skipped out of our own wedding? We’d never live that down.” I laughed and shook my head, thinking about the nagging, whining and complaining that we would get if we did that.
Sean smiled and shrugged, “It doesn’t matter. It’s not my job to make them happy, it’s my job to make you happy.”
So. Damn. Sweet!
“I am happy. By this time tomorrow we’ll be on a plane to my dream destination and I’ll be your wife. I couldn’t ask for more than that,” I promised, kissing him gently before pushing myself up out of the bed.
He gripped my hand as we walked through the house. My mom was sitting on the sofa, anxiously checking her watch, when she saw us walk into the lounge she seemed to visibly relax.
“Thank god you came out, I was giving you another three minutes then I was coming in there to throw you out, Sean,” she said grinning happily.
“I’m going, I’m going. Jeez, these demanding women in my life!” Sean joked, rolling his eyes.
Ryce walked around the corner, stuffing his face as usual. “You want to marry into this family?
More fool you,” he stated, laughing as my mom slapped him on the shoulder.
Sean just laughed and kissed me again at the front door. “I’ll see you tomorrow, ok? Just remember what I said, it’s never too late,” he whispered, looking at me with a serious expression on his face.
I nodded, I really didn’t want him to go. “Ok. Love you, Sean,” I pouted.
He smiled, “Love you too, baby.”
I watched as he climbed in his car and drove down the road to go and stay at his parents for the night. I leant against the door frame, just savouring the last night of being Tyler Morgan. Tomorrow I could start afresh. All of those horrible things had happened to Tyler Morgan, not Tyler Houston, so I had a new life to start and I was going to make the most of every second my life with Sean.
I sighed and closed the door, I kissed my mom and Ryce goodnight and headed to my room. Now that Sean had left I was actually really tired, also the sooner I went to sleep the sooner I would wake and the wedding would be over with and our lives together would properly start. I headed over to my chair and grabbed the hoodie that I’d stolen off of Sean’s back a couple of hours ago. I slipped it on and was immediately surrounded by his smell. I sighed contentedly and climbed into the bed and fell into a peaceful nights sleep.
I was awoken way to early the following morning by my mom and Kate, both of them grinning excitedly at me as they stood there with a bottle of non-alcoholic champagne and a carton of orange juice. “Seriously? I can’t have a couple more hours sleep?” I asked, wincing at my alarm clock that only read six thirty on it. Why on earth did this have to start so early?
“Get up lazy bones! You’re getting married today!” Kate chirped, grinning like a maniac.
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I plastered on a fake smile and sat up, running a hand over my face sleepily. “Yep, but not for another eight hours!” I joked, rolling my eyes.
“Yeah but we’re having breakfast together, then we’re all having our nails, hair and makeup done.
It’ll take a lot longer than you think so it’s best to get an early start!” Kate countered. My mom agreed and I saw Ryce come in, he looked at me helplessly as they handed him a glass of bucks fizz.
He frowned slightly, “Tell me again why I have to get up this early? I’m not having hair and makeup done!” he whined, yawning. I burst out laughing and raised my glass to him in toast.
Eight hours later, I’d been premed, primped, plucked and waxed to within an inch of my life. I was standing in the little tents that had been set up for us to dress in. Everything had been done at the house, but I was still standing in my underwear, waiting to put my dress on. It was a beautiful sunny day, just as I had seen it would be. I could hear the buzz of people as they gathered on the site out by the lake, exactly where Sean and I had our first date.
I stood there as they fixed my hair again, checking and rechecking my makeup to make sure it looked exactly like they wanted it to. To be honest though I don’t know what they were doing it for, I could go out there in a t-shirt and sweats with wild bed hair and a huge spot and Sean would still think I was the most beautiful girl in the world.
I sighed and let them help me put my dress on me. Once it was on I smiled to myself, this was the only thing I had full control over. They wanted something fancier and bigger but this was exactly what I saw myself walking down the aisle in. A simple, V-neck white silk dress, that had no frills, no beading, no over-the-top merengue to the skirt. It was just beautiful and I was proud of myself that I had actually come up with most of the design for it. I had drawn the dress and Kate knew a designer who knocked it up in next to no time as a favour to her. It was incredible and this dress alone was worth suffering through all of the stress of the planning of this day.
My mom and Kate stood back and looked at me, my mom ruining her makeup by crying, Kate just gushing about how beautiful her grandchildren were going to be with me as a mother. I just laughed and waved them off, looking at Ryce for help, they were driving me crazy and actually making me nervous with all of their fussing over me all morning.
“Right then ladies, out you go, I need to speak to my daughter,” he joked, nodding at me.
I laughed and smiled at him gratefully. He’d been great all week, making excuses for me and Sean so that we could get out of wedding plans. He knew they were getting carried away with the plans, but he just said that we needed to suck it up and play along for their sakes.
“You ok there, Tiger?” he asked, looking at me sympathetically.
I nodded and hugged him, “Thank you so much for giving me away, Ryce. It really means a lot to me,” I said, smiling at him gratefully.
He shrugged, he looked a little sad about it and I couldn’t help but wonder if what my mom and Sean thought were true, was Ryce in love with me? I had never felt that way about him, I had always loved him but it would always be more of a brotherly love, I had never once looked at him any other way. Apparently according to my mom and Sean, he looked at me that way, if that was true then maybe he was a little jealous that I was marrying someone else today.
“Sure, Tiger. I feel honoured that you asked me.”
I hugged him tight, “You’ll find your bond mate one day Ryce,” I said reassuringly, though of course that was just a wish, a hope, nothing concrete.
He pulled back and looked at me curiously, “Have you seen that?” he asked, looking almost hopeful.
I frowned, was he asking if I’d had a premonition of him meeting his bond? I gulped, I hadn’t seen that but usually they just came and were nothing exciting or important, just little things. “No,” I admitted.
He gave me a half smile and shook his head, “Ok, that’s cool,” he said, obviously trying not to appear concerned even though I knew he’d love to meet her, he’d told me that before. “So, are you sure you want to marry Sean? You’re definitely doing the right thing?” he asked, smirking at me.
I laughed and pushed him away from me playfully. “I’m sure, can you go see if they’re nearly ready, I just want to get this damn thing over and done with so that Sean and I can slip away to paradise.”
He nodded and slipped out of the little tent, leaving me on my own. I immediately closed my eyes, relaxing myself and tried to concentrate on Ryce and his future, I crossed my fingers and hoped I saw something good.
“Ryce, can you grab me another soda?” The girl asked. She shifted in her seat slightly, her long blonde hair fell over her face so he brushed it behind her ear.
He smiled at her, rubbing his hand over her swollen tummy with a loved up expression on his face.
She bit her bottom lip and smiled gratefully as he nodded. He kissed her gently before pushing himself up off of the sofa and heading out of the room. She watched him leave, a dreamy expression on her face.
She turned back to me, “You sure you don’t want something to eat, Tyler, Sean?”
I opened my eyes and laughed to myself quietly. I had no idea if that was his bond mate or not, but he sure looked happy with her and they were expecting a baby, so at least his future was a happy one. I debated on whether I should tell him or not, this was what I hated about this ‘gift’ the choice as to whether I should share it or not.
What if I caused one of these visions to happen by actually telling the person about it? What if Ryce was meant to be with a brunette girl but because I told him I’d seen him with a blonde, then he missed the one he was truly supposed to be with? Would these visions happen if I hadn’t told them about them? It was like that part in the Matrix where the oracle tells Neo not to worry about the Vase and he turns looking for it, and knocks it over. Would he have knocked it over is she hadn’t said anything? It was difficult, which is why I tended to keep things between me and Sean unless it was necessary to tell other people. I’d tell Sean later and see what he thought, we could always tell him after the honeymoon…..
As soon as I thought about the honeymoon I felt the excitement build up inside me. Mrs Tyler Houston, I couldn’t wait any longer.
I called Sean in my head. ‘Sean?’
‘Yeah, baby? Please tell me you want to elope.’
I laughed quietly to myself and walked over to the little door of the marquee that I was in and pushed it to the side, peeking out to make sure that Sean wasn’t around, our mothers would kill us if he saw me in the dress before he was supposed to.
‘I’m afraid not, lover boy. Listen, this waiting around is killing me, can you speed it up? Is everyone here? Can we get married already so I can be your wife? ’ I begged, walking up to the corner and peeking around.
What I saw made my breath catch in my throat, it was exactly like my premonition. The white wooden chairs all lined up on the grass, facing towards the lake. The wooden arch at the end with the pink lily’s and white roses on it. The four violinists sitting at the end off to one side, ready to play as I walked up the aisle. The maroon carpet going up the middle, leading to where I knew Sean would stand and wait for me to approach him. Everything was perfect.
I felt excitement bubble up inside, my whole body started to tingle and I could barely keep still. All of the pain and stress, arguing, decisions and loss of control over the last six weeks had been completely worth it. This was my dream wedding…..literally.
‘Sure, baby. I’ll tell them we want to get started now. Can’t wait to see you,’ Sean sent back to me.
Something smacked into my legs, I looked down to see Rachel clinging to me, hugging my legs tightly. I patted her back awkwardly, trying not to crease her dress or touch her hair.
She pulled back and grinned at me, and I felt a wave of love wash over me, she looked beautiful.
“You look beautiful, Rach,” I said honestly.
She giggled and did a
little twirl, making her white dress flair out at the bottom, the netting blowing in the slight wind. The maroon of her belt matched the carpets and the boy’s cravats perfectly, and I was suddenly grateful to my mom and Kate for making us put all of this effort into the wedding. I knew it would be special even if it was just me and Sean in City Hall, but this day was going to stick in my head forever.
“I’m just like a real Princess,” she chirped, clicking the heels of her shoes like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.
I nodded, “But you’re much prettier than a real Princess.”
I saw movement from behind her so I looked up to see Ryce walking towards me, grinning. He patted Rachel’s head making her scowl at him, probably for touching her hair. “Rachel, go to your mom sweetie, I think we’re ready to start,” he said, winking at her.
She squealed and ran off without saying anything, making both me and Ryce laugh. “You ready, Tiger?” he asked, holding out his arm for me to take.
Was he kidding? Jeez, of course I was ready. I was so excited I wanted to run down the carpet.
I took and deep breath and nodded, praying that I didn’t fall over and embarrass myself. We both looked around the corner to see Rachel walking up the aisle, scattering petals as she went, she beamed at me and waved and I couldn’t help but wave back at her.
Ryce nodded to me that it was our turn and chewed on my lip, trying to stop grinning like an idiot, but I just couldn’t help myself as I followed the petals up the aisle towards the arch at the end. I glanced up to see Sean standing with his back to me, facing the front. I felt like home, I felt like this whole mess that I called my life was all building up to this point, this was where my real life began, my life with Sean.
He turned back when I was about half way up the aisle, he smiled the most beautiful smile at me and it actually took my breath away. He looked like a dream, better than a dream even, I don’t even think I had enough imagination to make up something like Sean. He was watching my every step, every movement, he looked like he’d suddenly just remembered why it was that we wanted to get married in the first place too.