Chapter Nine
Here Comes the Bride
WE HAD GOTTEN HOME JUST BEFORE the sun came up and immediately crashed. I think the events of the night just about had wiped me out. When I woke up, neck stiff and mouth dry, I slowly came to the realization of it being my wedding night. Tonight is the night. Tonight I will no longer be Joanna Garth, the loner, the badass, the ex-druggie, the fighter, the independent woman with the greatest comebacks. No, tonight I'll be Joanna Foster, the human wife of a power vampire. That will be my only title from then on.
When I was fully awake I also realized I was alone in the bed. At first I thought Matthew was in the shower, yet again, and didn't want to relive that moment. But I quickly observed the bathroom light being off and no sound coming from anywhere in the room. Confused, I sat up and looked around in case I was missing something. I was.
A note was sitting on my nightstand, leaning against my clock. I opened in, completely puzzled over what it might be about. The note read the following in elegant writing.
Anna,
I thought it best for us to not see each other until the ceremony.
Venus and a few others will be up to help you get ready. Nicholas will be meeting you right outside the bedroom door.
I'll be waiting at the end of the aisle.
Love eternally,
Matthew
I felt a bit dizzy after reading the note. It all was becoming too real. I wanted nothing more than to go running. That's how I've always gotten my frustrations and anxiety out in the past. But I couldn't even leave the room right now if I wanted. My heart began to flutter, and not in the way a bride's heart is supposed to do. I just wanted to drop the note and take off out the door, down the stairs, and out of the house. Instead of completely running away from my problems, I ran in place.
That's how Venus found me half an hour later.
I didn't stop running next to the bed when she entered, I just ran faster. She raised a perfectly drawn brow and placed a covered silver tray on the end table. "Running won't make the dress fit better," she commented.
Tonight was not the night to mess with me. No, tonight was the night to get your head chopped off for looking at me wrong. "Excuse me? At least I don't have bra fat."
She blinked at me, her lips twitching in amusement. "You're a bit fiery tonight. Wedding jitters?"
I stopped running and began violently stretching by throwing my arms left and right. "You can say that."
"I'd hate to interrupt your, err, exercise, but we're on a tight schedule tonight. I brought you a light breakfast consisting of bagels, a bowl of fruit, cream cheese, and jam. A crew will be up shortly to get you ready. Nicholas will be up in no less than two hours to walk you down the aisle."
That's it, I'm going to throw up.
The doors flung open before I could begin heaving. I was both surprised and relieved to see it was Lacey and Kym and not any of the people on my list.
"We'll have to do the mask tonight for sure. You haven't been moisturizing, have you?" Lacey commented, grabbing me by my chin and surveying my face.
"What're you doing here? I thought Beth would have you rolling her hair in curls," I mumbled, my lips currently being squeezed by Lacey's fingers.
She lips curled into a wide grin. "Actually, she thought I might help out with your big day. Something must have changed her heart..."
We exchanged a grin, knowing exactly what had caused Beth to become a decent person for once.
Everything began to happen in what felt to be seconds; I was forced to eat, a maid cleaned the room, Lacey smeared blue stuff on my face, Venus stacked suitcases by the door, and Kym started a bath for me. Before I could take a single step on my own, Lacey hooked her arm under my arm and pulled me into the bathroom. I was practically thrown naked into the bath full of exotic smells. They didn't even let me bathe on my own, which I guess I'd had complained more on if I cared about being naked in front of people. After all, I've been arrested for public nudity once, so clearly I don't care.
Kym massaged some sort of treatment in my hair while Lacey scrubbed the face mask off and smeared some pink one on. I complained the entire time, of course. The bath took me about half an hour before Lacey literally pulled me to my feet and began towel drying me. I think that's where I felt the most uncomfortable, or maybe it was when she applied lotion?
After being given a robe and a glass of juice, I was thrown into a chair and had my hair yanked at by Lacey and my nails cut, cleaned, and painted by Kym. Lacey seemed rather chipper during all of this, probably relieved to not have to work for Beth for once. She told me all about the fights between Beth and Liam, claiming Liam was flirting too heavily. Apparently he later brought a girl from my bachelorette party to his room after Matthew had ditched his own bachelor party. Nicholas chastised him for it while Beth had locked Liam out of the guest house. Lacey also told me a ton of gossip she had overheard from Beth's drunken rambles after the party, one of the bits apparently involved a scandalous affair that occurred in the room I had been staying in for over two weeks.
"I think she's been uninvited," Lacey stated, referring to the woman who had been cheating on her mate. "I can't believe she was not only caught with human, but with two humans. What a scandal!"
I coughed loud and dramatically. "Excuse me? What's so wrong with humans?"
She smiled sheepishly. "You don't really belong in that category anymore, I guess. I barely consider you human."
My jaw dropped as I took offense to this. Have I already lost my identity? I haven't even said my vows! "Excuse-"
The blow dryer cut off my possibly offensive comeback. My hair was yanked at as Lacey began to brush and roll every strand into a curler. Kym, having finished the French manicure and pedicure, began to wax my eyebrows and upper lip. That was the moment we became enemies. Honestly, I wasn't in that bad of shape before we started. I've been getting groomed daily for the past three nights, so I saw all of this as overkill. I must have had over six creams applied to my face alone. For fifteen minutes I wasn't able to speak because Kym had shoved a piece of plastic into my mouth with some nasty tasting stuff on it, all to give me a blindingly white smile.
After that horrific ordeal, Kym began to apply my makeup with a careful hand. At one point I was allowed a small snack consisting of cheese and fruit, so at least my time of confinement wasn't too torturous. It occurred to me after Kym had finished my makeup time was running out.
"How long?" I asked Lacey, my tone flat and without the humor I had been using this whole time.
She noticed my change of attitude and immediately became just as serious as I was. "About fifteen minutes. We'll have just enough time to get you in your dress. Kym and I will change and then take our seats."
My world was spinning out of control, and I could actually hear my heart pounding. "I-I..." My words became lost in my panic.
Lacey looked over at Kym and gave her a wide smile. "Do you mind fetching the dress? It should be in the very back of the closet, in a silky black bag."
Kym, who hadn't said a single word the whole night, simply nodded and disappeared into the closet.
Lacey leaned forward, her bright blue eyes intensely caught mine. She placed her hands on my shoulder and tried to get as close as she could to me before whispering, "Is it worth it?"
My mind became a tangled web of thoughts and memories. I thought of the night I brought Cindy to Matthew, desperate and in tears for him to save my sister's life. I thought of the night I left Cindy behind with our abusive mom to be on my own, and how that night ruined her life. And then I became lost in a memory from when we were little kids. We were banned from the house that night because our mom wanted to have a guy over, so we just laid in the middle of the park and made up some story involving us actually being the daughters of a rocker. That's the memory I clung onto when I looked up at Lacey, my head bobbing up and down with certainty.
She let some air escape between her lips and pulled my chin up so we were now level with each other. "You can do this. You're strong enough to make it through anything, and I'm not just saying that. Follow his lead, smile, and never forget your reasons for doing this."
My face felt frozen, numb. "Okay, okay..." I looked at the door, waiting for someone to burst in and drag me down the stairs.
"Joanna?"
I slowly turned back to Lacey, having absolutely no clue of what my expression was.
Her brows were pushed together and her forehead was wrinkled, showing the intensity of whatever she was about to say. "Don't ever forget your reasons of hating him or our kind. I haven't for a second."
This made my expression melt and my nerves begin to fade. Her words made a fire light within me, and I was lost in another memory. It was the memory of me walking down the hall of a house I had grown to love, searching for David, the guy I had actually planned a future with. We had planned to move to Virginia once, before chaos consumed me like a raging fire. I became lost in the memory of stepping into the bathroom and seeing David's cold, still body leaned up against the bathtub. The memory became my fire, my reason to set myself apart from everyone here, including Lacey. Lacey felt the same rage towards her own kind after Beth had turned her and basically forced her to become her slave. We were alike in a way, and I made a promise to myself I wouldn't be prisoner to the night as she has become.
"Not for a second," I replied through my teeth.
She nodded, pleased with the amount of emotion I was showing.
We were both startled when Kym stumbled out of the closet, the dress draped over her arms. I quickly pushed the anger away and forced a smile.
After much tugging and holding my breath, I was in my wedding dress. It looked amazing, admittedly. It was perfectly fit for my form, and exposed my entire back so I could still breathe somehow. I smoothed my hand over the lacy gown, admiring how the design seemed to wrap around me like an exotic plant. It was possibly the first dress to ever make me look like I had cleavage with its sweetheart neckline. The bottom, where it flared out, covered a pair of rather high white pumps, covered in rhinestones because why not?
My hair was done up to the side in a mixture of braids and curls, allowing greater exposure of my bare back. I ran my finger over my simple pearl necklace, pleased I wasn't forced to wear a cluster of diamonds. My makeup was perfectly painted in a rather 1940's style; my eyes were lined a thick cat-eye while my rips were painted a deep, crimson red. Pulling the look fully together, Lacey placed a short, birdcage veil on my head, covering only half of my face.
When I looked in the mirror, I may have choked in panic for a few seconds. I was only able to look at myself for about a minute before Venus came in and grabbed me. I was hauled to the bedroom door where Nicholas stood in a tuxedo. His eyes widened when he saw me, and I swear I even heard him make a tiny gasp.
"Well?" I pressed, nearly shaking from my nerves.
He simply nodded several times, seeming at a loss for words.
I tried to smile and mask my panic by pretending to simply have wedding jitters. "I'm hoping that's a good sign. Ready?"
Nicholas stuck his arm out for me to hold. "Ready."
"Wait!" Lacey shrieked from the bathroom, running as fast as her heels would allow.
She came to a halt in front of us, reaching out to me with her hand holding a bouquet of crimson roses wrapped together in a white ribbon.
I grabbed the bouquet with a trembling hand, still somehow keeping my smile. "Thanks."
Nicholas and I made our journey towards the ceremony in silence at first. I came to the shocking realization I had absolutely no clue where the ceremony was to take place. Matthew had been doing all of the planning, and I really didn't want to hear about it back when he doing it all. I trusted Nicholas would know and clung onto him. Embarrassingly, I jumped every time we rounded a corner, half-expecting to see people sitting with Matthew at the other end of the hall. It wasn't until we made it down to the first floor when Nicholas began to slow.
"You look stunning, by the way. Also a little frightened," he mentioned.
A nervous laugh escaped my lips. "Thanks. Just nervous, I suppose. I've never done this before."
He smiled and patted my arm. "You'll do just fine. I'll be with you down the aisle and Matthew will take it from there."
I'm definitely going to run.
We rounded another corner, now making our way towards the back of the house. I don't think I had actually been close to the backyard until that point. That's where I realized it would be in, the backyard, because we stood in front of a pair of French doors covered in a sheer white fabric.
Nicholas straightened his posture and squeezed my arm lightly. "We walk when the music starts."
By this point I think the sweat began to form across my neck and forehead. I silently thanked Kym for powdering my face so much because I was certain I'd be drench in sweat if she hadn't of done it. I listened for the music, slightly trembling, but could only hear a light bit of murmuring on the other side of the door.
At least for a minute.
The music started softly and had risen to a louder tone before Nicholas thought it was ready to move. I swallowed hard, trying to pay attention to the piano's rhythm, hoping my heart would follow its slow melody.
The doors swung open, revealing blinding lights at first. I tried not to flinch or lose my smile the entire time. When my eyes adjusted, I became fully aware of how many people were watching me, and it wasn't just a few hundred.
Around a thousand pairs of eyes locked in on me.
My legs shook slightly at the sight. They all sat in rows in a large circle, surrounding the center of the backyard where two people stood on a stone platform. Paper lanterns hung from all of the trees, providing a soft amount of lighting, while little metal lanterns sat on the sides of the walkway. Where we walked red rose petals covered every inch. I tried not to look around too much in fear I'd just shove Nicholas over and take off through the yard. Instead I focused on the end of the walkway, which was directly in the center of all of the chairs. That's when I locked eyes with him.
I don't think I'll ever forget the way Matthew looked at me in that moment. His eyes held more emotions than I think I could ever begin to describe. Up until that point I don't think I fully believed how much Matthew loved me, not until I saw it in his pale green eyes. He looked at me as if I were some goddess, and I've never been looked at that way before. It sent chills down my spine and made it impossible to look away from his eyes. For some reason I actually was comforted by him being there. Deep down, I knew I was safe with him, even amongst all of these people.
When we reached where Matthew stood, Nicholas released me and placed a tiny kiss on the top of my head before taking a seat at the front next to Beth. Matthew's cold hands took my clammy ones and pulled me closer to him.
Matthew leaned down until his lips were at my ear. "You look absolutely breathtaking."
He didn't look too back himself.
Matthew was dressed in a traditional black tuxedo with a silky red bowtie and a single red rose pinned to his jacket. I could only appreciate how he looked for a few seconds before a man's voice startled me.
"Tonight we are gathered for an event no one expected to happen for at least four centuries," the man beside us stated with a grin.
Everyone laughed, including Matthew, who made a kind of embarrassed laugh I had never seen before. The man standing beside us definitely was not human. I think he took the award for palest man and vampire to walk the earth. He was also somewhat short, with dark hair to his shoulders and a groomed goatee. I had absolutely no idea how old he was, though he seemed to have been turned in his mid-to-late thirties, judging by the slight crow's feet at the corners of his eyes.
"I, along with many others, am honored to be a part of this phenomenal event. Although hardly anyone knows Matthew's beautiful mate, I know she must be absolutely extraordinary to have captured his eye and heart," he proclaimed, sending the crowd into adoration.
Matthew gave my hand a light squeeze, either agreeing with the man or to remind me to focus.
"Matthew asked to do traditional vows tonight because he's a traditional man." He paused as everyone broke into laughter, probably because Matthew is nearly a thousand-years-old. "They have been tweaked a bit for this occasion."
I only had a small idea of what traditional vows sounded like, which made me curious what had been tweaked.
The man turned to Matthew, still grinning as if he hit the lottery. "Do you, Matthew Foster, take Joanna Marie Garth, to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, to honor and to treasure, in good times and bad, and to love and cherish with all of your heart, forever and always?"
Matthew turned to me, catching my eyes with his, making it impossible to look away. "I do," he swore, his words sending chills down my back.
Quickly, he produced a wedding band the same rosy gold as my engagement ring. It was simple, elegant. Matthew held it up for a brief moment as he reached towards my hand, which was when I noticed something engraved on the inside of the band. It was small and curvy, yet easy to read from where I stood.
Forever & Always.
He grasped my left hand and slid the ring on my ring finger where the engagement ring sat. The ring was heavy, or maybe it was just the meaning of it was.
It took me a second to realize what had been tweaked with the vows. I may not know much about weddings, but the movies had given me enough information. In every movie I have seen with a wedding, the vows traditionally end with "For as long as we both shall live." Matthew had removed that part and instead added "Forever and always." Although death didn't apply to him, it definitely applied to me, yet he removed. We both knew this would be forever.
Or is it just me?
I looked over at the man officiating the wedding, unable to fully look into Matthew's intense eyes.
"Do you, Joanna Marie Garth, take Matthew Foster, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, to honor and to treasure, in good times and bad, and to love and cherish with all of your heart, forever and always?"
Forever and always.
I turned my attention back to Matthew, still gripping tightly to his hands. Until death do us part, I swore internally before smiling up at Matthew. Never would have I thought I'd be saying wedding vows to anyone ever. I had always thought I'd just be that crazy, single old lady pushing a grocery cart in the middle of the city. Yet here I stood, in front of hundreds, forming the words slowly yet clearly.
"I do," I softly stated, knowing those two words costs me everything.
Something touched my shoulder, causing me to spin around where I came face-to-face with Nicholas, who held his hand out towards me with a shiny object in it. I reached out and took it, realizing the wedding band looked exactly like mine, only larger. It even had the same engraving on the inside. I immediately mimicked what Matthew had done by taking his left hand and gently sliding the ring onto his ring finger. When I looked up at him after I had been successful, Matthew was smiling at me.
"With all of our friends to witness this joyous event, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride," the man beamed.
Matthew's hands cupped the sides of my face as his lips took mine. The kiss was sweet, delicate, savoring. My fingers brushed over his jacket as they had the previous night, pulling lightly at the seams. Before I could really put some passion into it, it was over. And, despite myself, I actually was grudgingly disappointed it had ended so soon.
Matthew grasped my hand tightly in his as we practically jogged back towards the house, a task proving difficult in a tight dress and heels. People were cheering behind us. Their cheers became muffled after the door shut behind us. We didn't stop jogging until we were upstairs and in the library, just the two of us. Matthew closed the door behind us and turned to me with a sort of grin playing on his face.
"Did it work?" I questioned slowly. I wasn't sure if we had more steps to take or maybe another set of lines to say.
His grin didn't cease. "Oh, it worked," he assured
Before I could say anything else, Matthew surprised me with another kiss. His fingers trailed over my spine, making my knees wobble at the cool touch. I automatically moved my lips against his, allowing him to close the distance between our bodies. He placed both hands on my back, making it impossible to move away as he deepened the kiss. I wrapped my free hand around the back of his neck so I wouldn't lose my balance. Matthew responded to my touch with a shiver, taking me by surprise because I knew my fingers weren't cold. Could someone, a vampire, actually respond to someone's touch like that? I ran my fingers down the base of his neck where his hair was fine and smooth, making his shiver once more. I didn't realize vampires were as sensitive to touch, in all honesty. After realizing this I began to pull my hand away, only to have Matthew grasp my wrist and hold my arm in place.
"It feels amazing," he murmured against my lips.
I hesitated for a few seconds, mostly because I thought of the wedding currently still going on, before my fingers returned to the back of his neck. Matthew brought our lips back together for a longer, savoring kiss. I don't think I've ever kissed someone as long as I had kissed Matthew at that moment. My mouth was both numb and tingly while my mind seemed to just go into shock from the events of the night.
Matthew rested his forehead against mine, his breath coming in short, cool puffs. "I would love nothing more than to just hop in the car and leave right now."
My mind was a sort of a haze at this point, not quite taking everything in. "Let's do it," I breathed, immediately realizing what I had just implied.
Matthew pressed his lips to my forehead once, twice, and a final time. "I believe we have some people impress, my love."
My love. The new name for me was weird and uncomfortable to hear. It pulled me out of whatever haziness the kiss had pulled me into. I tightened my hold on the bouquet of roses still in my hand, almost wishing they had thorns to remind me of what was happening.
He leaned down until his lips were close to my ear. "Remember this moment later, okay?"
I looked down when he pulled away, unable to meet his eager eyes. Remember this moment? I knew he meant to remember what I had said about leaving with him. His fingers ran over my open hand, locking our hands together in an unbreakable hold. I was dazed, unable to process everything in such a short amount of time.
Whatever electricity was happening right now made the room thick and difficult to breathe. The way his other hand kept running its fingers up my arm made it all the more difficult. "We should head back," I hoarsely mentioned.
His smile didn't falter the least bit; it was endearing and dazzling all at once. "Of course."
I noticed my red lipstick had smeared across his lips and down his chin a little. "Oh, you got a little..." I pointed to his lips. "It must have rubbed off on you."
He tried to wipe it off with a handkerchief from his pocket, but failed miserably. "Gone?"
"No. We can stop by a bathroom mirror before-"
"Mirror?" he asked incredulously. "Did you honestly just tell me to stop by a mirror?"
It took me an embarrassingly long time before I realized what he meant by it. Vampires and mirrors equals no reflection. "How do you get through a night without one?"
"Dim lighting helps." His lips curled into a crooked smile.
I gave a long and exaggerated eye roll before grasping him roughly by the chin and scrubbing at the spot with my thumb. "You can just tell them it's just blood."
He gave me an affectionate smile. "I'd prefer them to know the truth." With that, he caught my hand that was still scrubbing at his face, and placed gentle kisses on my fingertips.
My shock was evident as I watched a side of Matthew I wasn't quite used to. The Matthew I've known in the past near-two years has always been extremely reserved, stoic, a little snarky, and completely professional. This Matthew, however, had no mask; he was vulnerable.
"Let's go face our guests, hmm?" he murmured, his lips faintly touching the back of my hand.
I tried to contain my wonder as I stared up at him, trying to figure out the new creature in front of me. Our eyes were locked, making it nearly impossible to speak clearly with the way he was looking at me. "Uh, yeah, I guess."
He gestured towards the doors, catching my hand firmly in his. "This way then, Mrs. Foster."
............................................................................................................................
IT HAS HAPPENED!
I've been wanting to write their wedding since before I even started The Deal Maker (Book I). Seriously. As always, it never turns out exactly what I had originally imagined, but I still really love their simple yet beautiful wedding.
I'm just so excited! I've been wanting to write about a marriage forever, especially Matthew and Joanna's marriage. <3 The dress pictured above is the dress I had pictured Joanna wearing. I adore it. It seems so Joanna.
What did you all think? Excited for their future? What was your favorite part? Ready for the honeymoon? Predictions?
Thank you all for your patience, support, votes, and comments <3 Love you all!
-Currie