Chapter IX
At 6:30 am my alarm sounded and I jumped out of bed.
Today was the day. I ran to the shower and washed my hair as quick as possible. As I was drying off I heard the front door of my hotel room open and the little giggles coming for my bridesmaids as they snuck into my room. I smiled and slipped into the silk robe hanging o the back of the door. I wrapped my long dark hair in a towel and stepped out of the bathroom with the most bored look on my face.
They jumped out at me all screaming 'boo' at the same time. I just stood there much to their disappointment.
"You girls ready to make me pretty?" I asked.
Their disappointed faces flipped upside-down to show the happy anticipation they had built up over the last six months since Edi and I had gotten engaged, known only to our closest friends.
They shoved me into a chair and within a second had all their beauty products set up around the room. They took my hair out of the towel and started combing and drying it.
I squeaked as a drop of cool liquid touched my face.
"It's sunscreen, we don't need you getting sunburnt at you wedding and looking terrible for pictures." Mariana said. She had been one of Edi's closest friends growing up and I had gotten to know her very well over the past couple of months. I had chosen her as a bridesmaid after Edi had asked, but now that I knew her as such a smily and caring person, I was glad to have her by my side.
She rubbed the cool lotion all over my face and down my jaw. After she finished she grabbed a make-up bag and started dabbing a bit of foundation under my eyes. I closed my eyes and relaxed. I started doing a mental checklist of everything I would need to do before and after the wedding. After what seemed like two minutes they all stopped.
"Chris! You look so good." Blaire squeaked. I had gotten in touch with her when Edi and I went on a short trip back to the city where we met. She had been teaching dance at our old studio and immediately recognized us.
I opened my eyes and peered into the mirror in front of me inspecting their work.
I looked perfect. My make-up was simple with a needle thin line of eyeliner on my top eyelid. There was a light coating of pale sparkly pink eyeshadow that contrasted with the blue-green color of my eyes. My lips were the soft color of fresh pink roses. My skin was a light cream that would contrast Edi's bronzed complexion. My hair was shaped into soft and subtle waves that looked natural, yet it would hide any frizz the humidity caused. Overall, I looked perfect. I turned my gaze to my bridesmaids.
"You guys are the best friends I could ever hope for. Mariana, you have been a great friend, you helped Edi and I through many problems and always emphasized the good in him even when I was mad and didn't want to hear it. I hope that we stay in touch even once Edi and I move back to Canada.
"Virginia, you have been a great friend and after Marisa..." I trailed off, "you have been the best sister I could have hoped for. I can't wait to be able to officially call you my sister.
"And Blaire, you have been one of my dearest friends since high school and without your stubborn insistence at the beginning this wedding might not be happening. I love all three of you so much and I hope I never loose contact with you guys." I stood up and pulled them all into a big hug. "That being said, I have a gift for each of you!"
They all started squealing again and I danced over to the small closet I pulled my dress out and handed it to Mariana, she whisked it over to the bed and rushed back to me. I pulled three small gift bags from the back of the closet and handed one to each of them. I watched as they opened them. Blaire was the first to get her's open and clasped a hand over her mouth when she opened up the jewelry box. Inside each of the three boxes was a delicate silver chain with a small diamond heart on it. Mariana gasped with wide eyes when opened hers and Virginia just smiled. For Blaire and Mariana this was probably one of the more expensive gifts they had received. For Virginia, she had probably started her diamond collection when she was born and had her ears pierced with diamond earrings.
"Oh my goodness! Chris! You shouldn't have!" Blaire exclaimed.
"Consider it a taste of what it will feel like to be best friends with two billionaires. Just don't expect something this nice for every occasion."
"Thank you Chris. You are amazing." Mariana gushed.
Virginia gave me a sideways look, "Does my brother know you bought us these?"
"He helped pick them out." I smirked at her. "I better get my dress on before my mother gets in here and starts yelling about yet another wedding that didn't start on time." As soon as things settled down with our engagement, I contacted my old family and told them the reason for my sudden disappearance and how I was back together with Edi. We all met up for a weekend and talked a lot. I let them back into my life and it was good to have family again.
We all scurried over to the bed where my dress laid. I unzipped the garment bag and pulled out the white stretch of fabric. I handed it Blaire before pulling my slip out of the bag as well. I skipped off to the bathroom and changed into the thin, tight slip. I shivered at the thought that the next time I took it off, I would be married to my dearest Edi.
I shook my head of the thought and quickly finished doing up the zipper. I gave my curves a final once over. My hips were round, my stomach was flat, my rear looked great and my chest didn't have the flatness that came with being stick thin. I stepped out of the bathroom and smiled at the looks on my bridesmaids' faces. It was a mixture between shock, envy, and awe.
"So girls, do you think Edi is gonna like what he sees?" I asked.
Mariana was the first one to speak up, "Dang girl, you look fine." She said Blaire and Virginia just nodded their head in agreement.
"Thank you girls, would you mind helping me get my dress on?" I picked up my dress and carefully stepped into it. I slipped the dress over my body and smiled as it settled into place at the bodice before drifting away in waves of white starting at my waist. I turned around and felt someone do up the zipper. The fabric pulled taught as the zipper climbed my back.
I walked over to the mirror and took a look at myself. Everything was perfect. I looked liked I just stepped out of the pages of a glossy bridal magazine. My dress was fitted at the top and glared out into a ball gown skirt that started at my waist making it look that much smaller. There was elaborate beadwork that trailed over the dress and made it look spectacular. Overall, the dress was elegant and detailed.
I turned around and noticed for the first time that my bridesmaids were not yet dressed.
"Girls! I'm ready, you guys need to get dressed still, we only have one hour until the wedding starts and we need to be ready before that."
I started pushing them toward the door. I had my hand on the doorknob when someone started knocking on it. We all looked at one another.
"Who is it?" I asked.
"I have a delivery from a Mr. Enrique Mendez." Said a male voice. I opened the door and saw a balding man with a tray and one of those metal lids room service puts on top of food to keep it warm.
"Thank you." I said taking the tray.
"Mr. Mendez requested that I stay to make sure you like your gift."
"Of course. Come in for a minute." I offered. Virginia took the tray from my hands and held it so I could open it. I lifted off the cover and saw a square, flat box. Lifting off the lid of the box I gasped when I saw the contents. There was a necklace and matching earrings. and it was all diamonds. It glittered in the light and bounced rainbows across the ceiling and walls. I shook my head almost furious that he would spend that much money on me. In the corner was a small note. I lifted it and opened the folded piece if paper.
It read:
My dearest Tina, you are worth more to me than all the diamonds in the world. I love you, Edi.
p.s. now you can look like the princess you really are.
My thoughts immediately jumped back to all those years ago when we were standing in Tiffany's the day he bought me that little copper ring that became the symbol of our love.
I choked back the tears that threatened to ruin my make-up and turned to the man. "Tell him it's perfect, a bit extreme, but perfect."
He left and I turned back to my bridesmaids. Mariana cautiously picked up the necklace and did it up around my neck. Blaire took the earrings and pressed them gently through my ears.
"Wow." They said together.
"That reminds me." Virginia said,"We got you a little something too." The three exchanged sly grins. "It's in my room I'll run and get it." Blaire said as she sped out the door. A minute later she returned with a moderately-sized gift bag. I looked back and forth between them. Considering the giggles and snickers I was willing to bet that their gift wasn't a diamond necklace. I opened the bag and reached inside. I felt my fingers brush against something lacy and knew exactly what they had bought me. I pulled out the black lace garment and felt my cheeks redden when I examined the skimpy piece of materiel in my hands. I quickly shoved the lingerie back into the bag.
"Thanks guys. You can go get ready now." I said shoving them out the door.
"Don't you like it?" Virginia asked laughing.
"I love it, gonna wear it all the time." I replied sarcastically. I could tell that my cheeks were flaming red and growing hotter every second. I closed the door behind them and took a deep breath. Today was going to be perfect. This was our perfect wedding with only close friends and family. We had tried to keep it as small as possible and in the end our guest list was around forty-five. It had been very hard to keep the list that short, but once people found out the wedding was in Guatemala it started thinning itself out. I wandered around the large suite and peeked out the window a couple of times to look at the progress that was being made down at the beach. It was hard to see very much from fifteen stories up, but the gazebo we had made for us and put together here looked fabulous. It was white with pale turquoise accents to match my wedding colors. I stepped away from the window to look at my new necklace. I was admiring the way that the diamonds sparked when I heard a knock on the door.
"Who is it?" I call crossing the room to the entrance.
"Your super sexy brother." Jamie called back. I laughed as I opened the door. Jamie waltzed in looking very dashing in his grey suit.
"What do you want?" I asked.
"I wanted to make sure you weren't getting lonely by yourself, and to make sure you didn't look like something from the black lagoon." He joked.
"I highly doubt that I could look that bad in this dress." I smirked doing a spin for him.
"Nicely done, wait. That necklace, where did you get it?"
I gently brushed it with my fingertips, "Edi." I said with a small half smile.
Jamie's eye grew wide with realization. "Does that mean...it's real?" His eyes had grown to the side of dinner plates. I nodded sheepishly. To be honest I did feel a bit ridiculous wearing a necklace that probably cost more than some people make in their lives.
"Are you sure you don't want to pawn the necklace and run?" He asked.
I looked at him skeptically. "Really Jamie? If I was going to run, I'd run with him, not you. I love you, but I like him a wee bit more."
Jamie gasped in mock shock. "How could you say that! I'm really hurt!"
"Ah, Jamie, you know you'll always be my favorite sibling." I smiled at him as he dramatically wiped away a fake tear. He froze as I said sibling. I realized what I said and felt the smile fall from my face. I met his eyes and felt my eyes water.
"I miss her Jamie." I blinked my eyes repeatedly trying to make sure I didn't ruin my make-up.
"Me too." He said stepping forward and pulling me into a tight hug. We stood there just remembering and missing Marisa. I let myself remember the night she died. The panic. The joy of finding my family. The panic and confusion when she was shot. The shouting coming from a different direction and the red and blue lights twirling over Marisa's body. Running back and holding my sister, watching as she bled out in my arms. The numb feeling that crept over me and consumed me. The feeling of a hole being punched through my heart when Marisa closed her eyes. Looking around in a daze searching for the only other person I cared about in that moment. I was looking for Edi. Leaving with Henri and ending up in a place where no one understood my pain. Drinking myself into normalcy and then deciding I wasn't good enough for Edi. But he was stubborn, and he left me no option but to love him again.
This is why I was marrying him. Not because he was rich. Not because we had similar interests. Not because of the way we clicked when we danced. Not because he was crazy and handsome. I was marrying him because he saved me. Everyday he saved me. I was marrying him because after Marisa died I wanted him, not my parents, not Jamie, I wanted my Edi. He's the one I knew I could lean on. He is still the one I know I can lean on.
"Jamie, thank you for accepting me back into your family. I know you don't blame me like I blame myself, but it still means a lot to me that you accepted me back with open arms. Thank you." I stepped away from him and walked to the mirror pretending to be concerned about my make-up.
"She approved of Enrique. She saw how happy you were when you were with him. Chris, when you dance with him, it's magic. I have never seen you dance like that with anybody else. There aren't many guys like Enrique, he is one of the few I would ever trust you with. He's one of the best guys I know and he loves you." Jamie smiled at me and it warmed my heart. I knew he supported me and now I knew that Marisa did as well.
With that Blaire, Virginia and Mariana burst through the door carrying bouquets for the girls and boutonnieres to go on the suit jackets. They had done their hair and were wearing their bridesmaids dresses.
"Look alive Chris, your mom is coming." Virginia said as she handed me my bouquet. I carefully examined the flowers. It was a mix of white and pale turquoise roses. My bouquet was the mirror image of my bridesmaid. My bouquet was white with a few turquoise roses, while theirs was turquoise with a few white roses. I took a single turquoise rose and tucked it into Jamie's lapel. I looked up and saw my mother enter the room. She looked lovely in a purple dress with a white scarf. Even though she was over fifty she barely looked older than forty-five.
When she saw me she stopped in her tracks and clasped her hands over her mouth.
"Hi Mom."
"You look so grown-up Christine. My little girl is getting married and leaving me." She said smiling through her tears.
"I'll be ok. Edi will take good care of me." I said soothingly.
"Excuse me ladies, my men are in need of my handsome face." Jamie said as he exited the room. We all laughed at his excuses.
After he was gone Mom turned her attention to me again. "Alright Christine. Are you ready? Completely ready? Because if you knew how many weddings a year happen and out of the millions of weddings how many actually started on time, you would be horrified."
"Mom, it will be okay."
"Do you have your shoes on?" She asked starting her mental checklist.
"No, but they are in the closet."
"Put them on." She snapped. I watched Blaire scurry over to the closet and retrieve the shoe box. She hurried over and helped me slip them on.
"Where's your veil?" She asked.
"Right here." Virginia called bringing it to me and placing it on my head.
"Very good. Are you wearing your garter?"
"No, I forgot." I said mentally slapping my forehead. I hurried over to my suitcase and pulled it out of the small front pocket. I slipped it over my foot and up my leg until it rested a couple inches above my knee. I walked back over to my mother and let her finish her checklist.
"The ring? His ring? Your engagement ring?"
"I'm wearing mine, and Blaire is going to carry down the ring box. She won't forget it because she is only carrying two things, her bouquet and his ring."
"Now for the poem. 'Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.' Do you have everything?" She asked.
"Diamond jewelry is new, flowers are blue enough, bobby pins are borrowed from Mariana, and something old would have to be..." I thought hard about what I could bring that was old. I thought through everything I had brought with me. Then I knew. It was the most obvious choice and the most meaningful. I crossed the room over to my jewelry box and searched threw it. I wasn't looking for diamonds. I wasn't looking for gold or silver. I reached to the back of the box and pulled it out. The small ring made of copper wire with a heart twisted into the middle. I placed it on my middle finger and smiled as it slid into its long engrained place. This was the first ring Edi had given to me the night of the thunder storm in the middle of our field. I had worn it everyday for so long my finger had become permenently indented.
I walked back to the group and smiled. "I have something old."
"What is it?" Mariana asked. I showed them the ring.
"Edi gave it to me many years ago. A few months before I had to leave. He bought it when we were in New York. Now I have some thing old, it's been almost eight year since we met." I trailed off thinking back to grade eleven and our lovely adventures.
My mom checked her watch before snapping into action. "We have fifteen minutes until show time. I'll take the boutonnieres to the boys room and have them down in five minutes. Christine make sure you are on the ground floor five minutes before the wedding because those elevators are slow and if you miss it, you'll be late. So grab your bouquets and I'll text you when Edi is out of the line of sight." With that she hurried out of the room. We all did as she said and waited by the door for the ok. A few minutes later Virginia's phone beeped.
"They're in the elevator. Time to move." She said opening the door and heading to the elevator. We hurried down the open hallway and paused momentarily for the elevator. We all piled in and I started tapping my foot as the slow pace of the elevator. On floor seven the doors opened and I was faced with a large group of people in beachwear. I gave them a warm smile before letting the doors slide closed again. There was no way we could fit anymore people on this elevator due to the amount of room my dress was taking up. We reached the bottom floor and stepped out of the elevator. I greeted my father and hurried away around a corner with him. We were to hide here until we heard the music. It seemed like mere seconds before Blaire was back and telling me the music would be starting in one minute. I took a few deep breaths before looking at my dad.
"Thank you Daddy. You have been the best second Dad I could have asked for and I love you so much."
"I love you too Christine. I hope you know that I gave Enrique my blessing. You have grown up now and I would rather he have you then anyone else." He mumbled. I threw my arms around his neck a held back my tears.
"Thank you, that means so much to me." I smiled at him and heard the music start. He took my arm and tucked it into the crook of his elbow.
"Time to go." He said pulling me forward. We stepped out into the bright light and made our way down to the beach. I kept myself about fifteen feet behind Virginia as we walked. We paused before we were in sight of the guests and let Gini finish her walk down the isle. When she was just about at the alter we started walking forwards. I recited the steps in my head as I did them. Five steps down, pause, smile over the crowd at Edi. Turn right, go down seven steps, turn back and make my way back to the center isle. I walked as carefully as I could because pretty shoes and sand do not mix well. When I reached the center isle, I looked up to the little gazebo and saw his smile. I felt my face break out into the same smile. The smile reserved for the few things in life that makes him and I completely happy. Dance and each other.
I kept my eyes locked on him as I walked up the isle. He looked perfect in his light grey suit with a white shirt and turquoise tie. I was suddenly very glad that we decided not to do the white suit. White suits have always been tacky in my mind.
We reached the end of the isle and I kissed my dad on the cheek and watched as he set my hand into Edi's. He took my hand and led me the last three steps to the alter.
The pastor started speaking and I tried to listen, but I found I kept getting distracted by the honey brown eyes staring into mine.
A few words caught my attention again. "Enrique Mendez will you please repeat after me."
I tuned out of the pastor and concentrated on Edi's voice.
"I hereby take Christine Sterling to have and to hold in joy and in times of sorrow, in sickness and in health till death do us part. I promise to build her up and protect her at all times. I promise to love her with all my heart for the rest of my life. Tina you are my greatest joy in life."
"Do you take this woman, Christine Sterling, to be your wife?"
"I do."
"So with this ring, as an everlasting covenant of my love," he paused as he slid the platinum band onto my finger. "I thee wed."
The pastor turned to me. "Christine Sterling will you please repeat after me." I repeated after him not breaking eye contact with Edi.
"I hereby take Enrique Mendez to have and to hold in joy and in times of sorrow, in sickness and in health till death do us part. I promise to build him up and protect him at all times. I promise to love him with all my heart for the rest of my life. Edi you are my greatest joy in life."
"Do you take this man, Enrique Mendez, to be your husband?"
"I do."
"So with this ring, as an everlasting covenant of my love, I thee wed." I vowed sliding the ring onto his finger.
"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride. " Edi stepped forward and wrapped his hand around the back of my neck. He gently pressed his lips to mine and I felt my heart take off. When he pulled back I had to force myself not to lean with him. We turned to the audience and smiled. We signed the documents and were announced as Mr. and Mrs. Mendez. Edi led me back down the isle passed our dearest friends and family and back to the hotel. He didn't let go of my hand as we headed toward the elevators. We slipped into the elevator and as soon as the closed he was kissing me. My heart picked up a frantic pace and didn't slow a beat until he released me as the doors slid open to his floor. We had ten minutes to move his suitcases to my room then he had to check out of his. Edi hurried down the hallway and opened the door to his suite. There were two suitcases and a duffle bag sitting it the doorway. He stacked the duffle bag on one of the suitcases and wheeled them both out the door.
"Could you take these to your room, I'd like to go check out." Edi said to me as we reached the elevators.
"Of course." I replied gazing at his handsome face. "Did I ever tell you that you look very handsome today?" I added.
"I probably look like yesterday's leftovers next to you, especially with those diamonds." He smiled and leaned in to kiss me.
I quickly placed my finger against his lips stopping him. "Yes, the diamonds are very nice, but are you saying you don't like my choice in suits?" I said in mock anger.
"No, I'm saying you look so beautiful that no matter what I am wearing, I will never look as beautiful as you."
"Wow, I'm impressed. Ten bonus points for you." I said as I slowly leaned into him. He pressed his lips to mine and I kissed him back. We pulled apart when the elevator doors opened. Edi moved to step out of the elevator, but I grabbed his hand and pulled him back to me for a second.
I leaned in and whispered in his ear. "Hurry back to me." I breathed before letting him go.
I watched as he stood there still a bit wonderstruck as the doors slid closed. I smirked to myself, I don't think I would ever get over the fact that I could stun him as easily as he could stun me. I pushed the button for the fifteenth floor and waited patiently for the lift to go up. I wheeled the suitcases out before pushing the button to send the elevator back down to the lobby and walking away down the hall with the suitcases. I slipped into my room and placed the suitcases in the bedroom off of the main suite. I quickly did a little bit of clean up before I heard a knock at the door. I opened it and let Edi in. He immediately had his hands on my waist and his lips against mine. He pushed me back until I was pinned against the wall. He pressed himself against me and I felt a storm of butterflies take flight in my stomach. He softly bit at my lip and I moaned quietly. He responded by pressing closer to me and grinding with his hips a bit. I unbuttoned his suit jacket and slipped my hands inside wanting to be closer. He moved his hands up and down my figure marvelling at my soft curves and appreciating parts of me I had never allowed him to feel before. As he started to move us toward the bedroom I pulled away from him.
"Not now Edi. We have the photos in less than ten minutes. We don't have time for that." I said.
"We can go fast." He said kissing my neck. Just as he was about to start nibbling at my collar bone I pushed him away.
"No hickeys for the pictures." I scolded.
"Just one. I could give it to you somewhere the camera won't see it." He said smirking.
I looked at him with my best unimpressed face before replying with a simple. "No."
He gave me a bit of a pouty face.
"Maybe tonight if you're good." I added. His frown turned upside down in an instant and I couldn't help but laugh. "I need to fix my makeup, and you need to fix your tie." I said before leaving the bedroom and heading into the en-suite. I added another coat of mascara and added a bit more lip stain. We had decided to use stain instead of lipstick because after an evening of kissing, Blaire and I had decided that Edi would end up wearing as much lipstick as I was.
Someone knocked on the door just as I touched the stain to my lips. "Could you get that Edi?" I called.
He shuffled off and let in someone in. A moment later Blaire appeared next to me and started touching up my makeup. In less than two minutes she was done.
"Ready for a couple hours of pictures?" She asked.
"For sure." I replied walking out of the bathroom. I took Edi's hands in mine. "As long as it's with this guy." He smiled as pressed his lips to mine for a brief second.
Blaire let out a sigh behind us and we broke apart. "You guys are the cutest couple ever. Please promise me you still be like this in fifty years."
"That was kind of the intention of the line, 'till death do us part.'" Edi said before kissing my cheek quickly. "Anyways, we need to meet the photographer soon, so we should get back to the lobby."
We hurried down to the lobby and met the photographer before we piled the whole wedding party into two limos.
We spent the next three and a half hours posing, smiling and kissing for the the camera. Finally, we were done and headed back to the hotel. We had half an hour before the reception started, but an hour before Edi and I walked in. We decided to go up to the roof and spend a little time together to chill and talk.
"Did I ever tell you why I love you?" I asked as we sat down.
"Maybe, but you could tell me again."
"First of all because you are the only one I can completely understand your thinking, yet you constantly throw curveballs at me to keep me on my toes."
"Curveballs?" He asked questioningly.
"Yes, like six months ago, I said goodbye and you said marry me. Or eight years ago, I was freaking crazy dancing in the rain and you gave me a ring with your heart." I lifted my hand to show him the copper wire ring sitting on my right hand.
"You still have that?"
"I couldn't bear to throw it out. I even wore it sometimes, on those days when I missed you." I smiled at him and gave him a quick kiss, or what I meant to be a quick kiss.
We spent the next hour talking laughing and kissing before Edi pulled away to check his vibrating phone.
"We need to go. Everyone is waiting for us!" He leaped up to his feet and pulled me up too. We hurried down the stairs and walked to the elevator. We stepped into the elevator and went down to the lobby. When we stepped out Edi hooked his arm through mine and led me toward the private reception hall. As we strolled through the lobby every person in sight turned their heads towards us. We must have looked stunning. A man in a light grey Armani suit custom made and tailored, and a woman in a flowing white wedding dress made for her specifically by Vera Wang with more than a million dollars of diamonds hanging around her neck. But I couldn't be happier, Edi was finally mine and nobody would ever take him away from me.
With these confident thoughts streaming through my mind, we stepped into the banquet hall and glided down the center isle to our table. Before we sat down we heard the sound of silverware on champagne glasses. Edi pulled my hand back to him and I twirled into him like we had done so many times. He gently pulled me close to him and pressed his lips tenderly to mine in a kiss as delicate as a if I were a completely cracked pane of glass where one soft breath could cause it to shatter. He pulled away and let go of me to pull out my chair for me. Virginia helped me get my dress lined up properly and I sat down. Edi sat beside me. We talked with our bridal party and after what seemed like three minutes the food was served. We ate and before I knew it, it was time for the speeches. Edi and I stood off to the side of the podium as first Virginia, Luis and Jamie did their speech. Jamie ended it with smugly declaring that he knew Edi and I would get married back when he first saw us dance. Edi and I gave all three of them hugs.
Next were my parents. They wished us luck in our life together and encouraged us by saying that even though most of the couples that had the spotlight on them didn't last, they knew we would because of our foundation of honesty and mutual trust.
The second they said we had mutual trust my mind flashed back to when we danced and one jump was of blind faith. I jumped into the air completely unable to save myself and I had to believe Edi would catch me.
I pulled myself out of my memories and listened to the rest of their speech. After they finished Edi's parents said their speech and basically said that when I had left Edi spent more time trying to find me then he spent learning how to run the company. At first Edi's father thought he was crazy, but eventually realized that Edi spent so much time looking for me because he loved me more than he loved the multibillion dollar company.
When Edi's father finished speaking everyone started tapping their glasses again. This time I grabbed Edi and kissed him for all I was worth, which was actually quite a bit. When I was done there were a few cheers from a few of the guests. I blushed a bit and was suddenly very glad there were no children here to witness that kiss.
Finally, it was our turn to give the speech. We read out our pre-planed speech and gave out hugs to all. After all the speeches were done Edi walked me over to our cake and we posed in front of it for pictures. We cut the cake and as we discussed before he could smash as much cake in my face as he wanted. I took a piece of cake with my fingers and Edi did the same. I faced him and searched his eye to see how much of an evil glint there was. By look in his eye I could tell I wouldn't quite have a cake face, but something equally embarrassing. I shoved my piece mostly in his mouth and he took his time carefully placing it in my mouth. I smiled at him thankful that he was such a gentleman. Then he leaned in and whispered in my ear.
"I'm not as nice a you think." I barely caught his works before I felt him smear something on my cheek. I gasped and shoved him backward. Edi grabbed my hand that had used to shove him back and pulled me back in before flicking his tongue out to scoop most of the icing off my cheek. My eyes widened at this open form of sexual lust before I heard the chuckles in the crowd. A second later I heard the delicate clinking sound of glass being struck by silverware and Edi swooped back in for a real kiss. As we were walking back to our table I stopped him and leaned in to whisper in his ear. "You're going to have to make up for that little stunt you just did."
I looked him in the eye and I could see the same thing was running through his mind.
"Sexual favours are definitely an option." We whispered together before letting out a small giggle. "I was hoping you would say that." He said with an evil smirk. "I have been keeping track, and you have quite a few favors to repay."
"You are a sick-minded child, but thankfully we have a bit of time to repay all out debts." I said quietly back. Edi kissed my cheek before pulling out my chair for me. We ate our cake and waited for most of our guests to finish as well before we stood up and moved to the freshly cleared dance floor for our first dance. I couldn't help but smile as Edi took my hand and pulled me close. I placed my other hand on his shoulder and we stepped elegantly together in time with the music. We had decided that our first dance would be to the song A Thousand Years by Christina Perri. We floated around the floor as graceful as ever and by the time the song finished I had tears in my eyes. I kissed Edi once more before I left to go and change into my second dress. Blaire and Mariana followed me to the washroom and we quickly did the switch from my long, heavy, yet beautiful wedding dress to my cute, white party dress. I slipped into it and Blaire zipped it up. I did a quick spin and giggled as the fluffy, tulle of the knee-length skirt flared up. I slipped my feet into ballet flats and skipped back to the reception room.
I noticed that in the shadows was a familiar man who I had only met briefly a few times. I waved off my bridesmaids and hung back for a few seconds before I approached him.
"Henri?" I asked not quite sure due to his grey streaked hair.
"Hey Tina." He said wrapping his arms around me in a gentle hug.
"Hi." I awkwardly wrapped my arms around him not really understanding his behaviour.
"Sorry, you probably don't know me that well yet. I just wanted to say that even though you won't find a gift from me with the others, it's coming." With that he vanished and I stood there for a moment trying to decipher what he meant. I gave up and headed into the banquet hall.
I immediately headed over to Edi's side and I did a little twirl for him when I reached him. He caught me and as I had been suspecting he dipped me back and kissed me. I couldn't help but let out a little giggle at the applaud our kiss was getting and as we straightened up, I was very lightheaded. I took a few deep breaths to steady myself before I signaled the DJ to play our second song which was much more meaningful to the both of us.
I pulled Edi out onto the dance floor and smiled as the opening chords played. We started our dance and I was reminded once again of how perfect we were together. The song brought back so many memories of our dances and first year together. We smiled and smiled as we danced the night away with our closest friends and family.
As the night came to a close, I leaned into Edi's ear and whispered, "This has been the best night ever. Thank you."
"I hardly planned any of it though."
"You were here though. Promise me that you will always be here for me." I said pulling myself closer to him.
"Forever and always." He whispered twirling me away in utter contentment.
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That you so much for reading my book! You are the best! Give yourself a highfive!