Scorched

Chapter Twenty-Eight

“I thought you might be the one to skip out on my wedding this time.”

A guilty blush stole across Lia’s face, and Ari was ready to pounce.

It was the day of her wedding and butterflies were practicing ballroom dancing in her stomach, but she knew this was right, and there were no regrets, zero, or thoughts of running. Her feet were happily warm.

Still, she really did want to know where her bridesmaid had been the last few days. She refused to walk down the aisle until Lia spilled all.

“Cat got your tongue? Come on, Lia. We’re not stepping outside these beautiful doors until you tell me exactly where you’ve been. I’m dying here with curiosity!” Ari said, her hands on her hips, not looking nearly as ferocious as she wanted to look, because she was wearing a big, poufy wedding dress with miles and miles of satin flowing off her.

“This is your day, Ari. Let’s keep the focus on you,” Lia said as she walked into the bathroom and began changing into her crimson bridesmaid dress.

“A closed door isn’t going to stop us, Lia. Spill now, or we get Rafe to interrogate you,” Rachel said as she pounded her fist against the heavy wood.

“Go away. I’m changing,” Lia insisted, her voice penetrating loud and clear.

“Not a chance,” Ari said. “You disappear for three days. It just so happens that no one has seen a lick of Shane in three days, either. From what you told us last, the two of you were kaput, so you had better give us the details.”

“Seriously, you two are a pain in my ass,” Lia grumbled, pulling the door open with a scowl.

“Yes, we are, and we’re extremely proud of it. Now, if you don’t want to make Ari late for her second attempt at a wedding, then I’d suggest you start speaking,” Rachel said. She and Ari stood on either side of the dressing room table while Lia began applying her makeup.

“Fine. You two should both work for the FBI. You’d catch all the criminals and get every last secret from them,” Lia replied with a heavy sigh, looking them both in the eyes for a moment via the mirror.

“Yeah, that’s our next job application,” Ari said with a giggle. “Sorry, my nerves are just fried,” she explained as she attempted to stifle her laughter.

“Is everything OK in there?”

The three girls turned toward the suite door, holding their breath, but the knob didn’t move.

“We’re fine, Rafe. Don’t worry. No one is running away or being kidnapped this time,” Rachel called.

“Well, we’re waiting…” he said with a clearly heard sigh of anxiousness. “It’s bad enough that my best man just stumbled in.”

His voice faded away while he most likely resumed pacing.

“All right, Lia, you have to spill fast because I don’t think he’s going to wait a heck of a lot longer,” Ari said, her own eyes a bit anxious as she glanced toward the door.

“Yes, I was with Shane. I saw him at the bar and sparks flew and the next thing I knew, we were still in bed together three days later,” Lia said, and began putting on her mascara.

“That’s it? You have hot, steamy, hopefully long-lasting sex for three solid days and those are all the details you’re going to give us?” Rachel asked. “It’s a mistake to irritate me, sister dearest.”

“That’s all the time we have for now. Ari is ready and Rafe will bust down this door if we don’t get her out there to him ASAP!”

“Fine, but at least tell us what this all means. Are the two of you a couple again?” Ari asked as she stepped back and Rachel assisted her with her veil.

Lia sighed as she finished her makeup, stood up, and turned toward them with nothing but confusion showing on her face.

“I don’t know what it means. I’m scared,” she admitted, her voice catching.

“Oh, sweetie, please, please don’t cry or I’ll join you.” Ari rushed over awkwardly in her overwhelming dress to throw her arms around Lia and bring her as close as the layers of fabric would allow.

“Then quit questioning me, because I’m on the brink,” Lia said with a watery laugh.

“OK, we’ll wait until the reception, and then you are absolutely talking to us,” Rachel conceded.

“Deal,” Lia promised, and then the three women moved slowly to the door.

Rachel opened it a crack and peeked out. “Go to the cathedral, Rafe. We’re coming out,” she said with a chuckle. She waited a heartbeat before turning to Ari. “It’s time.”

Ari smiled as she walked through the door and out into the hallway. This was it. She was finally going to become Mrs. Rafe Palazzo.

Excitement carried her through the hallway and out the front door. Stepping outside, she smiled at the sight of the carriage parked at the curb.

“Oh, Ari, this is so romantic,” Rachel sighed as the groomsmen stood on either side of the old-fashioned door and waited for the bride to approach.

“Yes. I’m glad we’re getting married here. I have to admit that I feel like a princess,” she said before facing Rachel. “It’s quite unreal to think that you could actually be one if you just say yes to Adriane.”

“No, Ari, she would be a queen,” Lia said, lifting an eyebrow at Rachel as if her sister were crazy for not accepting.

“Yeah, that thought isn’t at all appealing,” Rachel had to say, fear obvious in her voice.

“It can’t be that bad to be a queen in such a beautiful country,” Ari remarked, then the women quieted as they neared the carriage.

“Let me help you,” the well-dressed man said, taking Ari’s hand and helping her inside. The luxurious and surprisingly roomy interior, with its soft white velvet and its gold plating, had hundreds of years of wedding stories to tell.

“This is amazing, Ari,” Rachel gasped.

“I know. I will have to thank Adriane for allowing this,” she said. Ari had to value the man, even if he had been a fool. Would someone unromantic allow this wedding to happen? She had some hope that her friend and soon-to-be sister-in-law would find real love with him.

“Yes, even a dictator can do a kind thing now and then,” Rachel grumbled, but she sat back and gazed at the carriage’s furnishings with awe.

As the horses drew the carriage down the cobblestone streets of Corythia, the three women were surprised but waved and smiled when people cheered as they passed, though the villagers had no idea who Ari was. But since the three were traveling in the royal carriage, the people assumed she was somebody important.

“Imagine if this were you,” Lia said to Rachel.

“It won’t be,” Rachel said, her voice hushed.

Ari could imagine the fear she was feeling. She herself would lose some of her anonymity just being married to Rafe, a man so regularly in the media. But if Rachel married Adriane, she would be an actual queen. There would be no more days of leaving the house on a whim, or being grumpy in the mall. Everything she did would be carefully scrutinized. The thought sent a chill down Ari’s spine. It was so overwhelming to imagine.

“If you love him, then nothing else matters,” Lia said, as if she could read Ari’s thoughts, and Rachel’s fear.

“Sometimes love just isn’t enough,” Rachel reminded her sister.

“Do you love him?” she asked, both the girls focusing on Rachel.

“I just want to know him — want to find out if he’s a person I want influencing my children,” Rachel said, avoiding the question.

“You don’t have a lot of choice in that matter, Rachel. The babies are already brewing,” Lia reminded her.

“I know, but if he’s a monster, how could I let him be in their lives?”

“Is he?” Ari asked.

Rachel sat back as she looked out the window, pausing for several long moments. “No. His actions are sometimes reprehensible, but he’s not a monster. He just doesn’t like to lose.”

“That sounds like you,” Lia commented.

“Yeah, well, I wouldn’t talk if I were you,” Rachel remarked, looking pointedly at her sister.

“I’m not stubborn — I’m just always right,” Lia informed her with a wink and a smile.

The tension evaporated and the three women laughed.

They arrived at the royal cathedral, the steps lined with people, guards keeping a clear path from the carriage to the door. The people of Corythia were wondering who was important enough to get married in the royal cathedral, and, speculating among themselves, they waited for the women to emerge.

They would be disappointed to learn she wasn’t a princess who had traveled from afar to marry in their land. Too bad.

“It’s time, and you are breathtaking,” Rachel said, all her attention turning to Ari.

“Thank you. Yes, it’s time,” Ari replied with a nervous grin as she took the hand of the man ready to help her from the carriage. “I can’t wait to be Rafe’s wife.”

Looking only ahead, Ari made her way to the huge doors, then stood impatiently as Rachel and Lia stepped ahead of her and began the long, stately walk down the aisle.

When they were finally in view of the altar, Ari’s breath left her in a trembling sigh. Shane was there beside his best friend, looking devastating. But Ari’s eyes were only on one man — the man she would stay beside for the rest of all time.

Ari’s steps faltered as Rafe mouthed I love you to her when she was still several feet away.

With her eyes filled with happy tears, she quickened her step, breaking time with the wedding march. She was unwilling to wait any longer to hold his hand in this sacred moment, to look deep into his eyes and take him as hers forever.

“I love you, too,” she whispered as he lifted his arm and caressed her cheek.

Forgetting about what she was supposed to do, Ari lifted her arms and placed them around his neck, leaning against him as she lifted her head. He quickly accommodated her, and bent down, taking her lips in a soft kiss that had her knees trembling.

The priest cleared his throat and the audience laughed softly, as Ari reluctantly pulled back and a blush stole over her cheeks. She turned to look at the man who would preside over the wedding, without an inkling of remorse for having tasted Rafe’s sweet kiss a little too soon.

“Now that the kiss is out of the way, we can begin,” the man said in a beautiful accent and with a sparkle in his eyes. “We are gathered here today…”

The ceremony flashed by in a blur, both Ari and Rafe repeating vows as they promised to love, honor and obey each other. She didn’t miss the mischievous grin on Rafe’s face as she repeated the word obey. She was sure he’d specifically asked the priest to leave it in her vows and to add it to his.

They would just have to see who obeyed whom more, she thought.

“Now you may kiss your bride,” the priest told Rafe with a light chuckle, and Rafe didn’t hesitate, pulling Ari into his arms.

After a few heartbeats, he drew back and looked into her eyes. “I’m a very lucky man, Mrs. Palazzo.”

“And I am one lucky woman, Mr. Palazzo,” she said, holding him tight, and praying this wasn’t just a dream.

“Mmm, how soon do you think we can ditch the party and leave for our honeymoon?” he asked, his hand resting low on her back and sending a myriad of chills through her body.

“Right now?” she asked hopefully.

The look in his eyes told her he might just whisk her away.

“Not a chance, lover boy,” Shane whispered from behind as he nudged the two of them to take their walk down the aisle as man and wife.

Rafe sent an irritated look his best friend’s way, but then he turned back toward Ari, releasing her body only to grab her hand.

Leading her down the aisle, he whispered in her ear just before they left the church. “I can’t wait to enforce the obey part of our vows.”

Ari gasped and looked around. But she turned back to him and said, “And neither can I. Get ready.”

Oh, this would be one very passionate honeymoon.