Chapter 17
Club Meryton was packed for Lydia’s birthday. Friend or enemy didn’t matter. Lydia invited everyone she knew—and didn’t know—to come and celebrate her. Because it meant more presents for her, so she told me, and partially because she was, well, Lydia.
The Grey Doors were deep into our set, the music weaving through the club like a living thing—rich, pulsing, and warm.
On stage, lights shimmered in blues and golds, casting soft glows over the crowd.
Tiny sprites flitted through the beams, their gossamer wings catching the colors and scattering them like glittering confetti.
The dance floor swayed with movement, laughter, and the occasional burst of stardust when someone spun too fast. Toward the back, couples nestled close at candlelit tables, where enchanted bubble hearts rose lazily into the air, popping with a soft shimmer overhead.
The entire room hummed with something sweet and spellbound—like joy you could breathe in.
After about the third song, I came up and grabbed the mic. “Where’s Lydia Wickham? Is she here? Can I get her to come up on the stage?”
Lydia climbed onto the stage, a huge smile on her face.
“This woman has been a constant in my life,” I said to the crowd, then turned to Lydia. “Even though at first things were a bit rough, her determination and love saw us through. I didn’t stand a chance. Lydia, I’m completely under your spell. I’ve written this song for you.”
I grabbed an acoustic and played the song I’d worked on over the past few nights after Lydia was asleep. The song was slow and gentle, and Lydia and the crowd swayed to the music.
A thousand words couldn’t tell the way you’ve made me see,
That I am lost without you here next to me.
I need you by my side, you buoy me up,
And have filled the emptiness of my hollow cup.
A hundred reasons why didn’t tear you away from me,
And still you find the best in who I try to be.
You’re light in my life, please don’t ever leave,
And we’ll discover where our love will lead.
When I finished, Lydia had tears in her eyes. I handed the guitar off to Bradley and knelt on one knee, pulling a thin black box from my pocket. “Lydia, I give you my heart. I don’t wish to be with anyone else. Will you be my wife until the end of our days?”
Lydia took the black case from me and opened it, revealing two chained necklaces, each with half of a heart charm on it.
“Yes. Yes!” Lydia cried.
I rose, and she threw herself into my arms, kissing me.
For a moment, I forgot where I was, and it was just me and her lost in the softness of each other.
I burned with desire for this woman who’d captured my heart even when I pretended she hadn’t.
Even when I believed I was a lost cause, she’d fought for me, for us.
And now she was mine, and I’d hold on for dear life.
After we parted, I faced the band. “I’m going to dance with my wife. You've got things covered?”
“It’s covered,” Bradley said.
I held Lydia’s hand as we moved off the stage and down into the crowd of onlookers.
“I figured he’d be a fabulous husband.” Mrs. Bennet, who stood with a gathering of ladies, clapped her hands and gazed at me as if I was a saint from heaven.
Not quite, but I would take her goodwill.
We passed Darcy along the back wall, staring longingly at a certain Bennet sister across the way.
“Darcy, go ask her to dance,” I said.
He shook his head.
“If she understood what you did for her, and for us, I don’t think she’d hate you so much,” Lydia said.
“I’d prefer she didn’t find out. I don’t want anyone to know,” Darcy said quickly. “I don’t want her to assume I did it for recognition.”
“You did it for her. Shouldn’t she know that?” I asked.
“Please,” he said.
“Don’t worry, mate, we won’t tell anyone,” I said.
“Thank you. Happy birthday, Lydia.”
“Thanks, Darcy.” She tugged on my hand, bored with the conversation and ready to dance.
As we moved onto the dance floor, I noticed the Midnight Kitchen Society hanging out in the back corner, and I looked at Lydia. “You invited them?” I nodded toward the other vampires.
Lydia followed my line of vision. “Of course! They agreed to help find the killer and risked exposure for it. I look forward to baking with them as an honorary member. Mason already said I could join.”
I stared at her in shock. “Did he? Mason made me wait at least a month before he let me come.”
“He knows a talented baker when he sees one. I also invited our neighbor.”
“Mr. Rothschild?” I turned to see him coming toward us in the middle of the dance floor. “Not to the Midnight Kitchen Society?”
She laughed. “No, I invited him here.”
“Good evening, you two!” Mr. Rothschild said. “I’m glad to see that you have a wife, Wickham. I was beginning to wonder. Besides, we need someone to watch over you to ensure that no more altercations occur on your doorstep, and to make sure the flowers by your front porch are better attended.”
“I’m afraid, Mr. Rothschild, that I’m terrible at tending plants. They always die on me,” Lydia said.
“Then I guess there’s no hope. Still, welcome to the neighborhood.” Mr. Rothschild nodded and then went to talk to Mayor Pembroke, hopefully not about any parking spots.
The mayor greeted him. She wore a long faux-fur coat and white leggings with holographic snowflakes printed on the side. To top it off was a massive faux ice tiara, complete with LED lights that changed color from icy blue to blinding sparkle mode.
I loved the residents of Austen Heights.
“So what if we go home and discover another body on our doorstep?” Lydia asked.
“Then I know who to turn to help find the culprit. Who wouldn’t want a fae-witch on their side?” I gave her my most charming smile. “It’s foolish to believe I can do it all on my own.”
“Completely ridiculous.”
“I love you, Lydia. We’re in this together.”
“I love you, George Wickham. I knew one day we’d get married.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
“Yes, from the moment I saw you, I determined you’d be the person I’d marry and spend my life with.”
This woman. I tugged her a little closer. “I’m glad I could give you what you wanted.”
She leaned into me as we danced. “You’ve given me everything I wanted.”
“Everything?”
“Yes, it’s been a perfect birthday.”
“There might be one more thing you wish for on your birthday.”
“What’s that?”
I whispered in her ear as if it were a secret. “For me to take you home and officially carry you over the threshold as Mrs. Wickham.”
“You’ve read my mind.”
“I’ve grown quite good at that.”
And under the lights of the club, I knew I'd found the fae-witch I was in love with. I’d never let her go.
The End
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