TWENTY
TALK ABOUT A VISION and what a gown. Jane’s voluminous full skirt beneath the diamond-encrusted bodice—yes, they were real diamonds—completed the fairytale look.
Roxie went one step closer to the perfection and delight of her friend emerging from the foyer at the head of the aisle.
This was it: Jane’s wedding day. Of every memory in life, now and in the future, this would be a pinnacle snapshot. Beautiful, precious, incredible Jane. Fulfilling her dream was a humbling moment.
Hand tucked in the crook of her father’s elbow, Jane glided down the aisle, smooth, effortless, buoyant, luminescent.
One. Two. Pink spots fell from above. Another. Another. Dozens. Hundreds. What the hell was… The whole room was being showered in… cherry blossoms. My God, the man was good. That wasn’t her or Jane, it had to be Knox. Astounding. Outstanding.
Her friend’s delight came in a gasp and slight falter. Basking in the romance raining down upon them, her joyful laugh floated through the room.
They’d come a long way from their early days in Chicago eating cereal for dinner and drinking cheap wine from a box. She pulled her and Zairn’s joined hands to her belly, gaze never leaving Jane.
Knox was there, descending to receive the hand of his bride with such pride, love bloomed in her heart. It was something. Getting this view, from this angle, being up close, was poignant, like living in a movie. A tear tumbled from her lashes as Toria blocked her view.
Right. Wedding.
Why was her friend so—
“Flowers,” Toria whispered.
Flow—the bouquet, yes. Toria took both her and Jane’s flowers and went to stand on the other side of Jane.
Zairn’s finagling reminded her to turn her back on the room.
They’d gone through all of this. Rehearsed it.
Her, Jane, and the other women yesterday before her bachelorette party.
Funny that her groom wasn’t the one knocking her on her ass, Jane had delivered the real killer blow. What a picture.
Happy to take the lead, her guy was there, still holding her hand, poised to direct.
Wherever the maneuver, she’d go, so long as it was with him.
That shifted her wonder. Casanova, there, at her side, intent on the officiant’s opening speech.
From the backstreets of Chicago to Pleasantropolis, New York City.
Okay, maybe not Pleasantropolis for everyone, but no one could deny her life these days was pleasant.
“…if anyone objects to either of these unions, speak now or forever hold your peace,” the officiant said.
Damnit, why hadn’t she been thinking? What a perfect moment for drama! They should’ve set something up to make sure—
“I object!”
Ooo, that got the place roaring instantly.
Whispers joined their turn to the congregation and, who was on her feet?
Yeah, that was Roux. Rourke slouched at his wife’s side, finger curled over his mouth, yeah, good try, that didn’t hide his laugh.
What were the chances he’d prodded his wife into it? Pretty good.
“You object?” the officiant asked, flummoxed.
Fair response. These objections couldn’t come every day. Presumably. How would she know? Crimson should get into the wedding game.
“I love them both,” Roux declared.
“Both…” The officiant stuttered. “You’re in love with both grooms?”
“Not the men.” Roux rolled her eyes. “Both women. I love them both. Those guys up there better treat them right, or they’ll be answering to me.”
As Roux sat, she winked. Yep, her friend had read her mind. Jane was probably having a coronary. Zairn wouldn’t care, drama happened and he dealt with it. Knox may be building up a steam, but Jane would work that out of him later.
“Should…” the officiant started, “should I keep going?”
“Yes,” she said, wrapping both arms around Zairn’s, anchoring herself as she twisted to the room again.
“Any more objections? Do we need a talking stick? Form an orderly line if my hubby’s exes need to plead their cases.
I could very easily have drugged and taken advantage of him, might be you’re in with a shot. ”
A few whispers and head shakes rippled through the room, but no one else spoke out.
“She’s kidding,” Zairn said, yanking her hard against him. “Behave yourself, Lola.”
Yeah, yeah, he loved her, even when she was naughty. Sometimes because of it.
“That’s not what your smile says, Casanova.”
It was coming closer, his mouth on a trajectory for hers when…
Jane yelped. “Not yet.”
“Right, not yet,” she said and bumped Zairn again. “Sex pest. You heard the woman, keep those babies to yourself until later.” Her focus landed on their emcee—was he an emcee? “Please carry on. We don’t have all day.”
“Sex and drama,” Zairn muttered.
She peeked up. “Less of one and more of the other?”
“Mm hmm.”
Drama didn’t bother him. By now, he was used to Roux and the other rabble rousers in her pack.
Others may not be accustomed to such spectacle, but to have those whispers and curiosities following them for the rest of the day, yeah, that was Crimson gold.
She just couldn’t help herself. The thrill of Zairn’s utter acceptance, not only acceptance, but love, boosted her excitement.
This guy was her husband. It didn’t matter what happened that day, or any other, they’d always have love.
After Jane and Knox exchanged vows, all eyes fell on them. Yep, this was it. Not particularly nervous, she wasn’t sure just how deep they might get while under such examination. They shared honesty as a couple. They didn’t always share it with the world at large.
As they faced each other, her world narrowed to one. Him. Only him. They were in fancy clothes, surrounded by luxury, scrutinized to the hilt, but they may as well have been naked in their sex sheets.
“We never put boundaries on each other,” she said.
It might be traditional for the groom to go first, but this was her Casanova.
She would never top whatever came from his mouth.
“Constraints, limitations, they don’t exist between us.
No matter what happens, we stand proud beside each other even when there are oceans between us.
“You’re a man few people know, and even fewer know well.
I don’t understand what I did to deserve this, you, your love, and maybe I never will.
You have this way…” Sinking deeper into him, inching closer, she rested both hands on his chest. On instinct, his arms coiled around her.
“You look at me and I understand. You hold me and I’m saved.
You only have to say my name and I know what’s in your head.
“This is innate, that’s what you said once, that this is instinctual.
And that’s the truth. I live it every minute.
Being yours. My love for you is forever and even that doesn’t feel like enough.
I couldn’t exist without you. You are the sun, my oxygen, the life blood that rushes through me.
You’re the future, and all I need in the now.
Every part of me was created to be with you and I always will be.
Every second until eternity, I will be yours. ”
The collective sigh of the room was encouraging, though it didn’t seem that Zairn heard it.
“Roxanna…” On an exhale, he grew discerning.
“What can I possibly say that would be an honest measure of how much I love you?” His lips met and he breathed for a couple of beats.
“Words. Actions. Nothing I can give you will match how you overwhelm me every day. If this is luck, it better never run out. I wouldn’t just cease to exist without you, I’d take the whole damn world with me, and you know it.
“Your smile. Your grace. Your gentle touch… I could never have known a woman like you existed; there is no other woman like you. From the second we met, you enlivened me. You stir my blood as much today as you did then. That will never change. You’re pure truth.
True passion. My delight.” They shared a smile.
With each passing second, more and more of her weight relied on him to keep her upright.
Damn the dress. “You crawled inside me, Lola.
Took over my body, my heart. I will never be the same.
You sharpened my wit, my vision. You make me a better man.
“The world makes new sense to me. You are now, and always will be, my single guiding force. The rest of it can go to hell, I don’t give a damn.
Everything that came before was a prelude to you.
Loving you is what I was made for; being with you is my life purpose.
You…” He cupped her face, “are the sun which my world revolves around.”
“And you are mine,” she whispered.
His lips touched hers, just the slightest brush and then they ebbed. They’d probably never shared a kiss so delicate, nor one so powerful.
The whole room swooned.
“We have an audience,” she said to the officiant though it would be picked up by the microphones projecting their voices. Yes, there were microphones secreted in the flowers. That’s how many people had shown up to witness this. “It’s when he does his best work.”
“I do my best work for you, baby.”
Pushing up to her tiptoes, it was almost impossible to resist his mouth. She only managed it because although he bowed, he kept it just out of reach.
“You’re too hot and rich for your own good,” she whispered. “You know that?”
“Mm hmm.”
Curse her lack of foresight. Quick access in her wedding dress should’ve been a primary demand.
If she had to go upstairs and take it off, even without being explicit about her purpose, Zairn would follow.
This was a SIAG day, that’s “sex is almost guaranteed” day.
He’d know if she was alone, in private… and naked.
Though, in fairness, with Zairn, whenever he decided it was one of those days, it instantly became one.
Man knew how to talk, and tantalize, his way into a woman’s panties and now all that superpower was reserved for her.
Rings.
“With this ring, I thee wed…”
The best men produced the rings and words were said. Wedding bands were the one thing taken care of by the grooms. Well, groom, with Jane not knowing her guy would be a groom that day and all.
The black band with its ring of rubies gave her further proof this was the right guy. That certainty didn’t come in its shine or likely high cost, no, that came in how well it suited her. Beautiful. Unique. Different. Them.
His was just the same only thicker, the stones square and flat. They matched in case anyone was keeping score. Before the Empress Ruby, she hadn’t been one for wearing rings. Now she felt naked without it. Already the band felt at home. By wearing it, she was more complete.
The bow on top came with the hands that curved around her waist and squeezed. Zairn teased her like that in bed too, when she was on top and he wanted to possess her.
She loved it when he possessed her.
“And now…” the officiant said, “you may kiss your brides.”
Three pairs of eyes went to Jane.
On a giggle, she nodded once. “Now’s the time.”