Chapter 29
Jordan
In fifteen minutes, he was going to say goodbye to Zinnia for twenty-four hours.
Their return to the show was marked by Levi’s article, which was then usurped by a Zaffre wedding announcement—Bride and Groom to be revealed at a later date.
The media assumed it’d be Sadie finally. Her pregnancy was planned. She’d been dating her partner, Lucas, for seven years. But she’d asserted, repeatedly, that she wasn’t the marriage type.
The truth never stopped anyone from speculating alternatives.
The day after Jordan and Zinnia’s sabbatical ended, camera pods were incorporated into their daily lives easy enough.
They maintained strict bungalow-inspired rules: no filming in their apartment or her townhouse.
In return, work, all outings, and weekends were fair game.
Whether they were grocery shopping, touring apartments, having lunch at ZnO2 headquarters, or making special appearances at Zaffre events, the camera pods had to follow for four months.
Gaining freedom unexpectedly changed Jordan’s opinion about filming. Being cooped up in the estate, living as comfortable as they were, was designed to be a pressure cooker. A camera pod tagging along when he took his wife whale watching on a random Wednesday morning wasn’t so bad.
And as for the wedding, they weren’t required to do anything because everything had been planned down to the smallest flower. The castle-like mansion venue, catering, non-priority guest list, invitations, transportation and accommodations, all of it done.
Zinnia spent a solo weekend with her mom, Grace, Fiona, and Lulie selecting her dress in real time for the cameras.
Fiona kept him in the loop, messaging cryptic snapshots of each finalist. Bits of train here.
Glittering veils there. Occasional pops of unconventional colors.
An out-of-focus bodice immediately followed up by blurry pictures of herself hysterically crying.
His tuxedo fitting with Wylie wasn’t nearly as exciting.
The entire wedding party arrived on location that morning; meanwhile, Sadie had arrived safely at the hospital the day before. They talked at their usual time. Then she randomly called him again at 1:32 p.m. And again at 7:04 p.m.
Each time they spoke, her voice wavered more and more. The silences were getting longer—they were basically just listening to each other breathe at some points. She asked him the same questions on repeat, whispering them every call.
“You’re sure you’re coming? You promise?”
“Where’s Zinnia? Is she there?”
“Do you think I’ll be a good mom?”
“I’m scared. It’s okay to be scared, right?”
He’d set his ringer to full volume. He refused to miss a single call.
“Places!” Wedding Segment Producer Neal gestured for Jordan to go stand on his mark. They were filming the last look before separating, because there wasn’t going to be a first.
Zinnia was waiting for him inside of a stone gazebo in the center of a floral hedge maze. Sunlight shone through the columns and haloed around her—a sun goddess beckoning him to come up the stairway to his personal heaven.
Lulie’s handpicked neutral block colors streetwear wardrobe didn’t feel like Zinnia, though. She chose to wear it ninety percent of the time she was on camera these days. He hoped she packed at least one of her cardigans for their bondingmoon redux.
Jordan was a cardigan man now. No going back.
He loved the way she looked at him, always one feature at a time like she could never quite figure out how to memorize his face and refused to stop trying. She traced along his jaw with steady fingers. “Would you leave me if you found your soulmate?”
Sometimes, storylines needed a firmer curating hand to properly come to an end. They’d been given scripted dialogue to perform—the question was fake, but did have a real answer.
Zinnia was never going to fall in love with him.
She was never even going to ask if he was with her. He’d given her several openings to do it. But she didn’t take a single one, because she didn’t want to. He knew her well enough to understand that. Maybe someday he’d find out why, but he wasn’t counting on it.
The answer was a nonanswer. Jordan was never going to tell her the truth, because it wasn’t something Zinnia wanted to know.
“Do me a favor,” he recited. “Ask me that again tomorrow. I have a surprise planned for you.”
“I do love surprises. It better not involve cake, though.”
He loved that she was comfortable joking about that prank now, but he still had nightmares about it.
The surprise was a performance by a popular singer who had a hit song about soulmates. Sadie tried to get the Spice Girls to attend the wedding as a present, but two of them were busy and another was retired. They all sent their congratulations by video, though.
“Perfect,” Neal said. “And if we could get a shot of you kissing—”
“No. We haven’t done that on camera yet,” Jordan said.
Neal gave them a strange look. He was no Mabel, but he was highly recommended.
“We’re saving ourselves for marriage,” Zinnia joked. “You’ll get your kiss tomorrow.”
The next time Jordan saw his wife she’d be walking down the aisle toward him.
Zinnia
Her wedding dress was hanging in front of the wardrobe—ivory lace and beadwork against dark, polished wood. She felt like a princess waking up in a cloud, surrounded by white plush blankets and pillows. The luxurious bridal suite even had a chandelier above the four-post king-sized bed.
People were talking and moving around beyond the closed door, but her camera pod was already filming inside her room.
“Good morning, Nora,” Zinnia called with a yawn. Having familiar faces on her team made filming much more bearable.
“Morning!” she whispered.
They were also allowed to talk to her now, albeit quietly and never during important scenes. Nora, specifically, functioned more like an assistant at Sadie’s suggestion. “You need a Mabel,” she’d instructed. “Nora has potential. Trust me.”
And so, she did.
“The wedding coordinator is already here,” Nora added. “Your schedule starts in an hour.”
Facials at ten.
Hair at eleven.
Makeup at two.
Bridal party photos at four.
Ceremony at five.
“Ready?” Her dad looked so handsome in his tuxedo.
Heart feeling brilliantly full, she adjusted the pale orange zinnia boutonniere on his left lapel. “Thank you for being here.”
“I would’ve been at the first one.”
She chuckled. “You know me—always have to do everything backward and learn the hard way.”
“And you always get there in the end. I love you, baby girl.” He held out his arm for her to take. The music changed as the processional ended and the double doors opened on cue.
During their venue tour, she’d asked to have the ceremony in the lush botanical conservatory but was swiftly overruled.
They’d be way too exposed in the greenhouse—uninvited spectators might film from the outside and media with drones could set up shop right above them.
Their wedding coordinator had respectfully agreed but then winked at Zinnia.
The generically nice midsized estate room had been transformed into a secret garden.
Everything Zinnia wanted, moved indoors and re-created with custom-made fabric bouquets, vibrant ribbons, and elegant greenery.
An early evening sunset made the stained-glass windows glow, and that light hit what had to be dozens of small mirrors hidden inside the expansive silk wisteria vine canopy.
It created a warm and dreamy effect like walking through beloved memories that had grown hazy with age.
Jordan was waiting for her at the altar. Right where he’d promised to be, with Grace and Fiona, and his best man, Wylie.
Zinnia expected to be anxious, for her heart to try and escape her chest, nerves shredded down to nubs, and her lungs close to collapsing. She thought she’d have to lean on her dad to make sure she didn’t trip or fall over.
Turned out, she was great. Fantastic. Never felt better as she basically floated all the way down the aisle—a solid week of practicing her bride smile for pictures instantly forgotten.
Her dad gave his blessing and kissed her on the cheek before taking his seat.
Jordan had a determined glint in his eye, a gentle smile on his face, and he had never looked more handsome. “Hi.”
“Hi.” Jesus, she sounded like a delirious alien high on laughing gas.
The cameras pushed in close from all sides as the music came to a melodic end. Their officiant began the opening remarks. Since this wedding wasn’t a do-over, and was being heavily recorded, they’d decided to stick to the standard vows again.
They were saving their real ones for the first moment they were alone.
Jordan put the second wedding band on Zinnia’s ring finger—they’d picked out a matching set together. After she did the same, the officiant began the pronouncement.
“With the unconditional love and full support of their friends and family in attendance today, I now present—”
“Wait!” Beatrix was suddenly standing in the middle of the aisle. “Jordan, please don’t do this.”
“Oh, sorry, this isn’t that kind of wedding,” the officiant said loudly. “They’re already married. So, if you could just sit down—”
“Jordan,” Beatrix said firmly. “I need you to listen to me. You can’t marry her.”
“But he already did. Can she not hear me?” the officiant asked.
“That night, at the twins’ birthday party, you said you compared every person you’ve ever dated to me. You said you don’t love her the way you loved me.”
The crowd reacted with a unified gasp.
Jordan’s wide-eyed horrified gaze flicked from Beatrix to Zinnia and her heart sank. She immediately knew he’d really said those things.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” he snapped at Bea. “Why are you doing this? Do you have any idea how important today is to me? I am marrying my wife.”
Zinnia’s worst fear was that she’d never stop feeling insecure about her place in Jordan’s life.
That moments like these would keep happening in her business marriage.
A frenzied murmur began filling the room and her ears.
She didn’t mean to take a stumbling step back—Grace and Fiona were standing on either side of her now, their hands supporting her.
“We used to mean everything to each other,” Bea continued on like a runaway train. “Love like that doesn’t go away. It only gets stronger with age, and we’re all grown up now. Alfie, you belong with me.”
The entire hall became deathly quiet, the air completely still. It felt like everyone was holding their breath and waiting for Jordan’s answer just like Zinnia.
He hadn’t moved while listening to the rest of her little speech. His arms hung limp at his sides, shoulders slightly slumped, and his gaze was fixed straight ahead. She watched the rise and fall of his chest as he took the deep, steadying breaths she couldn’t.
Zinnia had always been a proud open book but had secrets just like everyone else.
When she’d made her marriage-merger proposal, she wasn’t really ready to trust another person wholly and completely, because doing so meant they’d have full access to her.
They’d know exactly what to do and say to hurt her beyond repair.
She gave her secrets, those hidden pieces of herself, to Jordan anyway.
Loving people was her family’s superpower. She’d been living in her parents’ shadow instead of their image because of fear. She wanted her life to be defined by love of all kinds. That meant opening her heart and mind a little bit wider than it had been.
Bea’s gaze never wavered, focused solely on Jordan.
The cameras were rolling. Their families were watching.
Zinnia stepped away from her friends and her husband to face the waiting crowd alone. She tossed her bouquet—Bea caught it with one hand.
“You can have that. You can be next,” Zinnia said and returned to her spot next to Jordan.
“But you can’t have him because he doesn’t want you.
Ask anyone who knows me.” She gestured to her friends and both sides of her family.
“All he would’ve had to do was tell me the truth and I would’ve let him go.
His happiness matters to me in a way that you clearly will never understand. Jordan?”
“Yes?”
This next part would be painful, like pressing on a deep bruise to make sure it hadn’t healed yet, but she had to do it. “Would you like to leave with Beatrix? I’ll understand if you want to keep yours, but my door isn’t open for anyone else, for anything, anymore. Because I love you.”
Jordan simultaneously gasped and smiled, hand clutching to his chest. He turned to the officiant and said, “Please finish. I’d really like to kiss my wife now.”
All hell broke loose—the crowd erupted in chaotic cheers and screams. Phones were out and recording from every angle. The camera pods were in shambles trying to figure out what to film.
“SECURITY!” Lulie ran straight for Bea, yanking her by the arm and back down the aisle. Amber was demanding answers. Damon was reassuring her parents.
Grace, Fiona, and Wylie continued standing protectively by their side.
The officiant looked directly at Zinnia. “You sure you want to remarry him after all that? I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to ask some questions first.”
There’d be time for answers later. She trusted her husband to have good ones. She smiled and said, “No, I’m good.”
“All right, well, with the unconditional love and support of your friends and family in attendance today, I now pronounce you remarried. You may kiss each other.”
She didn’t think she’d ever get used to kissing her husband like this.
The way his hands always cupped her jaw first before sliding down to her lower back and between her shoulders to hold her to him.
The feel of his body pressed against hers, fitting together like puzzle pieces.
The soft magnetism of his mouth that only made her crave more of him.
“I love you,” Jordan said, words running together. “I’m in love with you. It’s not against the rules because you never said I couldn’t and I was never going to tell you, but after that I—”
Zinnia kissed him again before he could say anymore. Their vows were supposed to be private.