Ashlei
“You look absolutely radiant, Miss Daniels,” Riel says, tucking a beautiful fuchsia flower into the crown she’s been weaving into my hair.
The electric blue water of St. John can be seen out of every window of Brandon’s yacht, and it reflects off Riel’s dark eyes as she puts the final touches on my updo.
She pulls back with a smile, clapping her hands together. “All done.”
With her hands on my arms, Riel gently turns me to look in the full-length mirror in my cabin.
And I gasp.
I did my own makeup, wanting to be sure I still looked like me for such a special day, but I chose not to look in the mirror after I slipped my dress on, nor did I sneak a glance as Riel did my hair.
And now here it is, all at once.
Me, in a delicate, flowy, A-line wedding dress — the straps delicate around my collarbone, waist cinched, elaborate beading covering the bust and a weightless, silky, long skirt with four deep slits all the way to my upper thigh.
I know with just a little turn that those slits will allow the fabric to flow all around me in the Caribbean wind.
My hair is woven into a thick braid, the most colorful flower crown playing with the warm pinks and oranges of my eyeshadow and bringing out the gold in my hazel eyes. Brilliant Swarovski crystals cover the straps of my high heels, highlighting my immaculate pedicure.
I touch my neck, the simple diamond hanging on the end of a slim gold chain.
And that makes me look at my ring finger — the one about to be covered with the perfect engagement ring Brandon picked out for me.
And a wedding band, too.
My eyes well, and I turn back around to wrap Riel in a hug. “Thank you,” I whisper.
We met Riel when we first arrived in St. John, and she’s been our wedding planner of sorts, helping us find everything we desired for our ceremony — which wasn’t much, but what we did want, Brandon wanted top of the line.
She’s been a saving grace to me, helping me with flowers, choosing a photographer, decorating the bow of the yacht, and ensuring we have the best local chef onboard for our wedding night dinner.
“One last thing,” I tell her, turning around to face the mirror again. “Help me get this off.”
I’m already fidgeting with the straps of my arm sling when Riel stops me. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Riel, I am not wearing this monstrosity while I get married. I refuse.”
I sigh when I see the worried look on her face.
“I’ll put it on as soon as the vows are exchanged and that man gives me the kiss of my life, okay? Just… please. Don’t make me wear this out there.”
Riel smiles softly, and with a nod, she does as I ask.
When the arm brace is off, I chuckle a little at how that arm is slightly paler than my other, but nevertheless, I feel one-hundred times lighter.
I let myself take in the whole image one last time before my eyes wander to the bits of Cruz Bay I can see off in the distance through the magnificent windows in my cabin.
The lush green mountains stretch up over the cerulean blue water, sailboats and yachts peppering the shoreline, and my heart leaps into my throat as I realize where I am.
Realize what I’m doing.
I close my eyes on a smile, thinking of how many times I’ve played through what this day would be like. From the time I was a little girl, I’ve dreamed of what I’d wear, the kind of cake I’d have, the party…
And now, it’s just me and the man I love on an island far, far away.
It couldn’t be more perfect.
“Okay,” I breathe, opening my eyes and taking a long, slow breath. “I’m ready.”
Riel nods, leading the way for me out of my cabin and carefully down the stairs to the main deck.
She hides me in the back of the parlor, curtains pulled over the usually open airway that leads out to the bow.
I haven’t seen the decorations come all together yet, haven’t seen the lilies and roses and baby’s breath wreaths or arch that match my bouquet.
I haven’t seen the freshly polished teak deck, or the fairy lights hung in a zig zag fashion over the bow.
And I haven’t seen my groom — not since dinner last night.
It was torture for both of us to sleep in separate cabins, but it was the one thing I wanted to keep old-fashioned.
And when Riel comes back in through the parlor bar entry, nodding to let me know that everything is ready, I step up to stand right at the edge of the curtain as two of Riel’s friends pull open opposite ends of it back in sync.
And I see him.
And he sees me.
And all the wait, all the time apart was worth it.
I wish I can say I hear the music playing — the sweet, soft sounds of a violin from the musician we hired our first day on the island.
I wish I could hear her playing our song, “Unchained Melody,” as I slowly drift across the teak toward where Brandon waits for me at the bow.
I wish I could take in the golden rays of sun on the island, the shockingly blue water, the waves softly lapping at the sides of the boat, the flowers and the lights and everything we’d set up for this very occasion.
But I can’t see, can’t hear, can’t feel anything or anyone else but Brandon Church.
He stands tall and regal as ever at the bow, his cream suit casual yet sophisticated, highlighted by the Carolina blue dress shirt underneath.
Diamond studs glisten in each earlobe, his hair in a neat, styled fade, facial hair trimmed to perfection.
Every inch of the outfit is tapered to fit him, hugging and hanging off all the right places.
I take my time letting my eyes wander the length of him, feeling the pulse of his heartbeat even with the distance still between us. It’s an energy, I realize — one I’ve been in tune with since the moment he stepped onto the same elevator with me at Okay, Cool.
When my eyes finally crawl up to meet his, he lets out a slow, steady breath. His jaw tightens, nose flares, and he shakes his head once, twice, before he tears his eyes away from me and bows his head down.
He pinches the bridge of his nose, one shake of his shoulders telling me he was moved to tears before he finds the strength to stand tall again.
And those warm brown eyes glistening in the sun, those slender wet streaks staining his cheeks, those lips rolling together as he tries to fight back his emotion — they’re what undo me.
My own eyes water, and a single tear slips free before I can even think to stop it.
I don’t make it all the way to him before he’s meeting me halfway, pulling me into him for a soul-shattering, life-altering, you’re mine forever kiss.
His lips are warm and commanding, his hands wrapping around the beaded bodice of my dress, and he still shakes with emotion as he holds me tighter and tighter.
When we finally pull away, our foreheads pressed together, I chuckle. “I think you were supposed to wait until the end to do that.”
“I couldn’t.”
I smile, pulling back to look him in the eyes, and he shakes his head, his gaze one of absolute reverence.
“You are a masterpiece,” he whispers.
My eyes gloss again, and I press up on my toes to kiss him again before Riel clears her throat and ushers us the rest of the way down the make-shift aisle.
The sea breeze is cool and lovely, the sun still warm on our skins as it slowly makes its descent over the island.
Brandon holds my hands in his, our tear-filled eyes flicking back and forth between each other’s as Riel’s officiant reads the sweet but short ceremony we selected.
He has us laughing and smiling all the way up until he says it’s time for us to exchange our personal vows.
The entire time, all I can focus on is where Brandon’s thumb smooths the top of my knuckles, a sensual promise of what’s to come after the vows.
“Brandon Church,” I say first, and his dazzling smile makes me smile, too. “I wish I could say I’ve known since the moment I met you that you’d be my husband one day, but the truth is, I was doing everything I could back then not to think of you as anything other than my boss.”
That earns me a chuckle from Riel and the officiant, both.
“But I knew… something. From the moment you stepped into the elevator, from the first time our eyes met and I heard your voice, a part of my heart that had been dormant all my life came alive. I stirred beneath your gaze, and though I tried to deny it, tried to fight it, I think I knew even then that there was no way I’d be able to stay away from you. ”
“That makes two of us,” Brandon chimes in.
I chuckle. “I don’t think either of us can deny our chemistry, but it’s our love that makes me happiest. I know at the end of the day, no matter what we go through — you have my back, and I have yours.
There’s no better feeling than that.” I squeeze his hand.
“There was a time when I didn’t know if I’d walk life alone or with someone by my side, a time when I wondered if life was worth living at all.
But then I found you. And you saved me.”
“We saved each other,” he amends.
I smile, nodding with tears glossing my eyes once more. “I love you. And I am yours, for today, tomorrow, and evermore.”
Riel sniffs and wipes a tear from the corner of her eye before it can fall. I offer her a soft smile before Brandon clears his throat, pulling my attention back to him.
“Contrary to the many public events in which I have delivered speeches deserving of a standing ovation, I have to admit… I failed every time I tried to write down in words what you mean to me, Ashlei Daniels.”
My heart throbs in my throat, and I swallow it down as my eyes blur.
“I never knew what it was to be truly hungry until I laid eyes on you and knew I couldn’t have you.
That desire, that wanting is something I will never forget.
But as you said before, what started as something so carnal swiftly turned into something I couldn’t place, couldn’t name, because I’d never experienced it before in my life.
” He takes a breath. “Love. Love so pure and powerful and sweeping that I had no choice but to get caught up in the wave of it.”