PART ONE HUNDRED TWENTY NINE
*Jess’ POV*
“Maybe I should go down there and see if the boys need help,” I said to Marnie for the third time.
“Jess, I promise that they don’t.”
“But…”
“Aston said he has things 100% under control,” she stated.
“I know but…”
“Jess, just relax,” Marnie said sharply, “Just let him do this!”
“Ok ok!” I said, defeated.
Just about every female who’d been staying at the house was crammed into my bedroom, the lot of us sipping glasses of champagne while the boys toiled away downstairs. Most of the girls had been kicked out by their boyfriends or husbands and had taken refuge with me, while others had been summoned up by Marnie specifically to help get me ready.
“Right, now we need to worry about getting you ready to walk down the aisle.”
“If there is an aisle,” I mumbled.
“JESS!” about five people shouted.
“Sorry!” I said, my hands in the air, “There will be an aisle, I know I know.”
“Seriously girl, you need to learn to let someone else take control!” Marnie laughed, going to dig through her things again in an effort to get started.
Over the next hour I was treated to some rather luxurious pampering from the girls, my nails taken care of by Monica as Marnie got to work on my hair.
“Leave it down,” I told her, as she dried it.
“Shall I pull a straightener through it?”
“Sure,” I said, “It can be a bit too wavy. Maybe put a few gentle curls in it once it’s straight?”
I sat back as Marnie did what I told her, my body relaxing slightly as I became distracted with getting ready. My hair was soon finished and the girls got to work on my makeup, and then the jewelry was pulled out.
The other girls filtered in and out of my room over the course of the morning as they got themselves ready for the day. I was impressed to see quite a few gorgeous dresses, and when it was finally time to get into my own I was ushered into the en suite with my mother and Marnie.
“This dress is so exquisite,” my mother sighed as she unzipped the garment bag.
“I’m a little bit in love with it,” I smiled, stepping into the gown. The silk fit me like a glove and the lace accentuated all the right places.
Marnie did up the buttons on the back as my mother checked over my front, making sure all of the lace detailing was in place.
“Gorgeous,” my Mum sighed as she stood before me.
“Thanks Mummy,” I whispered.
“I’m so happy for you Jessica,” she said, a tear in her eye.
“Don’t cry or I’ll cry!” I laughed.
“Don’t you dare cry!” Marnie exclaimed loudly, doing up the last few buttons. “There done.”
“Thanks,” I said, turning and giving her an awkward hug.
“I love you Sissy,” she said with a grin.
I left Marnie in the en suite to get into her own dress as my mother clipped my veil into place. Most of the girls had filtered out at this point, only my bridesmaids remaining.
A soft tap on the door signaled the arrival of my father.
“How are things up here?”
“She’s all ready,” my mother said proudly, as my father stepped into the room and took in my appearance.
“What’s happened to my little girl?” he asked,” She’s all grown up!”
“I’m right here!” I laughed, hugging my father as my mum watched on.
“You’re a very lucky girl Jessica,” my father said, “That boy has pulled out all the stops for you today.”
“Has he?”
“Just wait!” my Dad grinned, a twinkle in his eye.
I could feel the nerves coming on as my parents stood and whispered for a minute, Marnie finally emerging from the en suite in her maid of honor dress.
“You all ready?” my Dad asked, “We’ve got a girl right here that needs marrying off!”
“Let’s go!” Marnie shouted, causing the other girls to laugh.
My mother left the room first, and then the girls followed the practiced routine from the rehearsal the night before. But, instead of heading out into the garden they went down the main hall to the ballroom.
“I’m proud of you,” my Dad whispered to me as we wandered down the hall, the last in line.
“For what?”
“I so thought you were going to be Miss Dragon Lady and come running downstairs the minute the rain started. But you stayed put!”
“Wait a second,” I said, “You know about Dragon Lady?”
“Course!” my Dad laughed, “Everyone in the office called you that.”
“And you didn’t care?”
“It takes a powerful woman to run a tight ship,” my Dad said, “I wouldn’t have you any other way.”
I smiled up at him, kissing his cheek gently as we made it to the ballroom.
The butterflies in my stomach were flying out of control as the door was pushed open and I had absolutely no idea what to expect. Aston had known my vision for the wedding when we were planning on having it outside, but with most of the decorations ruined and a change of location, I had no idea what sort of magic he worked.
As I stepped into the ballroom I felt my heart explode. The dim lighting was accentuated by fairy lights that were strewn all over the room, and hundreds of lilies lined the aisles and the alter.
The groomsmen were stood to one side with silly grins on their faces as they took in my reaction, and the bridesmaids were smiling away clearly impressed by the boys’ effort.
And then I caught eyes with my groom and my heart melted.
It was perfect. All of it. It was the fairytale wedding I’d imagined when I was a little girl, the memories of making Freddy marry Marnie in the back garden finally coming back to me.
“See,” my Dad whispered as we made our way down the aisle, “You’ve found a good one.”
“Yeah I have,” I breathed out.
My hands were shaking with excitement as we finally made it to the end of the aisle, my father giving Aston a hug as he passed my hand over to him.
Aston’s eyes glittered in the fairy lights as he stood in front of me, my hands in his.
“You like it?” he whispered to me.
“I fucking love you,” I whispered back, leaning forward and giving him a kiss right on the mouth.
“Hey! Save that till after I do!” one of the boys shouted, the whole room bursting into laughter.
“Sorry!” I laughed, grinning away at Aston as the proceedings began…
PART ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY
*Jess’ POV*
“I still can’t believe it,” I whispered to Aston as we stood in a quiet room at the end of the main hall, the boys and the caterers resetting the ballroom for the reception while our guests were served glasses of champagne in the dinning room and formal living room.
“Can’t believe what?” Aston replied, his arm tight around my waist and his face nuzzling into my neck.
“All of it…” I sighed.
“I love you,” he whispered against my collarbone.
“I love you too,” I replied, turning just in time to catch his lips on mine for the hundredth time in just minutes, a huge smile on my face.
I couldn’t stop grinning, the moment when we’d finally made it to “I Do” running through my mind. The ceremony was short and sweet, the pair of us ready to just be married more than anything. I’d cried a bit during our vows, as I knew I would, and was shocked when Aston shed a few tears too.
“You seriously did an amazing job,” I whispered, “It was even more beautiful than what was originally planned. I’m so proud of you.”
“All for you,” Aston said.
“I loved it,” I sighed, kissing him again.
“I’m proud of you too you know,” Aston said as he pulled away.
“For what?”
“Not coming downstairs and trying to take control. Or having any sort of meltdown really!”
“You and Marnie both told me to trust you if something came up, and I did. It took everything I had, but I actually managed it.”
“God I love you,” Aston grinned.
I just smiled back, playing with a button on his shirt idly. A nice silence hovered between us for a few minutes as we enjoyed a quiet moment alone.
“Remember when you made me wish for you on your 26th birthday? At that little café where I insisted on getting you the cake even though you didn’t want it…” Aston whispered to me suddenly.
“Oh wow,” I said with a laugh, “That feels like a lifetime ago.”
“You told me to tell you when the wish came true…”
I stared at him for a minute, surprised that he could remember that moment, it had totally slipped my mind. Or maybe I’d pushed it away because it had turned out to be a disaster of a day. I couldn’t possibly fathom what he had wished for me all those years ago? “Yeah…” I said slowly.
“I wished that one day you would learn to just let things go and live your life in the moment,” he said, looking down and playing with the wedding band that now sat with my engagement ring, “I think that day is today.”
“I think so too,” I smiled, kissing him hard on the mouth.
“I couldn’t wish for you to change your mind about things, or anything like that because I didn’t think that was entirely fair. I just wanted you to learn what it felt like to let someone else be in control. To just play along.”
“You did a fab job teaching me,” I told him.
“And you,” he said.
“It took three and a half years, but you make good birthday wishes,” I told him, just as there was a knock on the door.
“I vowed to myself that I’d help you see it come true,” he replied, linking his fingers with mine and dragging me to the door, “I said to myself in Costa Rica that it had to come true.”
“You’re just full of surprises,” I grinned, pulling him in for one more kiss before we went out into the hall to see Aston’s mum, beckoning for us to make our grand entrance into the reception hall.
Hours later and the party was still in full swing, Aston and I sat side by side at the head table as we sipped on champagne and laughed at our friends on the dance floor.
“I can’t wait to head out to the islands with you,” Aston mumbled as his hand stroked up my thigh gently.
“Oh really?” I laughed with a raised eyebrow.
“Just the two of us. You in bikinis. Hot sun. And the beach.”
“Hmm sounds familiar,” I said.
“This will be even better than Costa Rica,” Aston grinned, “And I’m so going to get you to come skinny dipping in the ocean again.”
“Gosh, you’re going to try and get me to do that in every ocean or something aren’t you?” I joked.
“Actually…”
“The Arctic, yeah right mister,” I laughed, swatting his chest lightly as my brother and Hilary came to sit by us, Gabe in Hilary’s arms. “Little man is up late,” I laughed, signing to my brother as he rolled his eyes.
“He wanted to come wish you guys goodnight, we’re off to bed.”
“Give him here,” I said, “I want a cuddle.”
I could just catch the knowing look shared between Aston and Hilary as I took Gabe in my arms, cuddling him for a minute before passing him to my brother.
“What was that look?” I whispered to Aston after they’d departed.
“Nothing…” he grinned.
“Yeah right,” I laughed.
“I thought you hated babies,” he challenged.
“I can’t hate my nephew.”
“What about Monica’s girls, you were dancing away with them an hour ago.”
“So?”
“Jessica is getting broody…” Aston sang.
“Shut up, am not.”
“So stubborn,” he laughed, grabbing my hand and pulling me up from my seat, “Come on let’s dance.”
I was soon passed around for a dance with all of the drunk groomsmen, and then finally a slow song came on and I was back in Aston’s arms. “We should head upstairs soon,” I whispered to Aston as he held me close and swayed to the music.
“Is it too soon?”
“The only people that are left is the wedding party and their dates,” I laughed, “I think we can go.”
“Well then fuck it, let’s get out of here!” Aston laughed, dragging me off the dance floor by the hand and straight out of the ballroom. We could hear catcalls behind us, but we just laughed them off as we ran up the stairs.
Pushing open the door to my room I was ready to cringe at the mess Marnie had left behind, but was shocked to see piles of fairy lights on the floor and lilies in vases all around the room.
“Did you…” I whispered to Aston as he stood behind me, taking in the gorgeous ambiance.
“No.”
“Wow, Marns done well!” I grinned.
“Yeah she has,” Aston whispered, his lips on the back of my neck. “This dress seems familiar by the way.”
“You like it?” I questioned, turning in his grip and wrapping my arms around his neck.
“Hell yeah,” he replied, kicking the door shut behind him. “Where is it from? Why do I recognize it?”
“Think of our first event out…”
I watched him narrow his eyes as he looked down at the bodice of my dress in the dim light, the light bulb finally switching on, “That teal one…”
“Yeah…”
“I loved that, way too much for the time…”
“I’ll have to dig it out for an event sometime,” I whispered, pulling him in for another kiss.
“Can I take this off you now?” Aston asked, twisting me so my back was too him again.
“Be my guest, husband.”
“Oh you sound so sexy when you say that,” he whispered, kissing the back of my neck again.
Slowly he worked his way through all of the buttons on my dress, and then helped me slip it off gently, taking care to hang it back up before things escalated.
And escalate they did to create a most perfect wedding night.
“Thank god George didn’t show up,” Aston whispered as we lay side by side in bed, our bare bodies curled together lovingly.
“George?!” I laughed.
“When you kept saying something was going to go wrong I had this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that George was going to come and try to break things up.”
“Oh god!” I exclaimed, “That would have been horrible.”
“I would have actually punched him,” Aston said.
“And I so would have had my meltdown.”
Aston caught my eye after a moment and the pair of us dissolved into another fit of giggles, Aston rolling on top of me as another wave of lust arose between us.
It was crazy to think that I’d met the love of my life whilst he was waiting for my flatmate to get ready for a blind date, me in my sweats drinking a beer watching football on my one day off. But sometimes that’s just how life is… and you just have to play along…
THE END