Page 44 of The Spare (The King Dynasty #2)
Chapter twenty-five
Our Souls Linger
" O h my God," I whisper, so nervous.
I sit in front of the vanity and blow a gentle breath, fanning my hand in front of my face to keep the tears away.
My eyes are drawn to the flurry of activity behind me.
My mother and Teresa are wrestling Mariah into her flower girl dress, and Isobel is bent over awkwardly with a steamer, obsessively going over the satin fabric even though there's not a wrinkle to be found.
"Be still girl, or I'm going to smear it," Karissa whispers, holding her tongue between her teeth as she swipes my eyeliner on , brown, because I know Mason doesn't like me to wear a lot of makeup, and I want to please him today. Just like he likes to please me.
So, I met in the middle and did a more natural look today, but still having Karissa play up my eyes with different browns and rose colors on my eyelids.
"Sweetheart," my mom huffs, standing up straight and smoothing her mother of the bride dress down. "I can't wait for you to see the reception. It's beautiful."
"I bet it is," I say, reaching over to tear off a small piece of croissant and pop it in my mouth following it with a sip of mimosa.
It's all I wanted: a croissant, a mimosa, and the song “Going To The Chapel” playing. Which we did on the way to the beautiful cathedral we're being married at. We're having an intimate Catholic wedding with a priest and communion. It was all Mason requested.
"All done," Karissa sings, swiping the brush over my cheeks with one last flourish before backing away.
I turn to my mom who clasps her hands together with tears in her eyes.
"Oh, you're so beautiful, honey," she says in a quivery voice.
I give her a smile and eye her dress. It's a beautiful dark-purple satin, off-the-shoulder number with a draping pattern that accentuates her hips and legs.
Her dark skin gleams under the lights, and her locks is pinned up in an elegant updo. She looks positively royal.
"You're beautiful, too."
Standing up, I go to give her a hug, knowing this wedding was extra special to her because she didn't get to see Isobel's.
I look over at her, putting the steamer away and fussing over my dress.
She's still hurt over her and Mason's interaction a couple days ago, and this is the first time we've talked or seen each other since.
She met us here at the cathedral and hasn't looked me in the eye yet.
I grab the sash of my robe and fidget, walking over to where she stands and put my hand on her shoulder. "Hey, sis," I say, waiting until she meets my eyes to give her a smile. "You look beautiful, too."
Isobel's eyes soften.
Seeing her break out into a reluctant smile, I walk into her and wrap my arms around her, leaning over her round tummy and rubbing her back.
"Thank you for everything you've done for me, sis.
All the sacrifices you've made, some I'm sure I don't know about.
You're the reason I met Mason." I sniff, pulling away and wiping a stray tear that falls down my cheek.
She shrugs her shoulders and gives me a sassy eye roll. "Well," she says, clearing her throat, "all I've ever wanted was for you to be safe and happy."
I nod, giggling. "He makes me very happy," I whisper behind my hand.
Izzy snorts and holds her hand to her mouth, her eyes sparkling as she looks at me with wide eyes. "Yeah, I could tell."
We're in the middle of laughing when Hendrix's voice interrupts us.
"Ladies, you all look so beautiful!" he says, walking through the wooden door and then closing it behind him. He's holding a tray of what looks to be swirling purple and pink drinks and something else in his hands.
"King," Isobel gushes, leaving my side to go to him. She stands up on tiptoe to give him a peck on his lips, and he smiles down at her.
Out of the corner of my eye I see Karissa visibly preen as Isobel steps away from King to attend to Mariah, who's trying to throw rose petals around everywhere.
She walks up to King and smooths her hand down her beach blonde waves, letting her hand caress down her breasts for a second before she reaches forward and snags a drink off the tray.
"Thank you, Mr. King!" she sings, twirling away with a dramatic hair toss and walks back over to the vanity.
King gives her a little once over before walking towards where I'm standing by my dress. "Melody you look angelic!" he says, giving me a smile.
"Thank you, Henny." I eye the drinks, seeing there's also a long stemmed white rose as well and a note. "What's all this?"
"Compliments from my brother," he says, putting the tray down on a lone table.
"A drink he had specially made called The Melody, a rose, and a note for you.
" He hands me a drink and then reaches into his pocket pulling out a box.
"Oh and… he was worried about your lack of something blue, so he sent me to give you this. "
My fingers fly to my lips at the beautiful aquamarine, emerald cut cocktail ring nestled in the velvet box.
"Oh, Hendrix," I breathe. "This is beautiful."
He nods, pulling it out of the box. "May I? He wanted to see you wear it at the altar."
I nod and hold out my right hand, letting him place it on my ring finger. I burst into tears, and it sends Karissa into a fit. She flies over to me with a tissue and pushes at Hendrix's chest.
"No, no, we can't have her crying! I just perfected her makeup!" Karissa scolds, dabbing at the corner of my eyes with the tissue.
Hendrix frowns at her, taking a step back and then cautiously holding the handwritten note out to me. I take it, trying and failing to get control over my sobbing.
"He said he wants an answer, and I'm to bring it back to him. So, if you could just-" he sidesteps Karissa who's shoved her hips at him in a dramatic movement, leaning into my face with a brush to go over my face again.
"Karissa," I scold, narrowing my eyes at her. "Hang on a second."
I open the note and read it.
Mel,
I need this in writing so I forever have proof.
Do you agree to marry me? Circle one.
Yes No
And just like that I burst out laughing, chasing the tears away.
Hendrix peers around me trying to see what it is.
"Do you have a pen?" I ask.
He reaches into his inner pocket and pulls one out, handing it to me. I draw a heart around yes and then write 'you dork' next to it. I give it back to Hendrix with a smile.
The next couple hours happen in a whirl.
We have a traditional catholic wedding, and it's so beautiful it's going down as a day I'll never forget.
He wiped a tear away when I walked down the aisle, his face full of emotion.
Not just his eyes. I'll never forget it.
Just like I'll also never forget the way Mason looked at me as he slid my wedding ring on my finger.
The way his lips felt on mine as he kissed me after we said “I do."
I laugh the short drive to the reception venue, the cans bang after our car as we drive along and he holds my hand the entire way.
He carries me bridal style into the reception, and my eyes widen at the explosion of purple and white flowers everywhere.
They're hanging from the ceiling and in massive floral arrangements on the perfectly decorated table scapes.
Our name is lit up on the floor.
And there are butterflies flying around.
"Oh my God," I breathe, looking at Mason excitedly. "There's butterflies!"
He smiles playfully, giving me a deep kiss. "That was my request, love. I wanted you to see yourself everywhere today."
I melt as he sets me down, and we commence to having so much fun. Which is quickly dampened when we get to the part of the night when it's time for the father and bride dance. I feel that tug of sadness that's been eating at me lately deepen, the only thing that puts a cloud over our day.
I glance at Mason, silently imploring him to get us out of here, but he just smiles and leans forward to stand me up, promptly handing me over to Hendrix.
After the tumultuous past few days we've had, I feel guilty at how I've spoken to him when I glance into his eyes.
But when I do, I see nothing but love and forgiveness in his.
I hope he sees the same in mine.
Smiling shyly, I take his hand, and we walk out on the dance floor, where he spins me around until we're interrupted by Richard who taps Hendrix's shoulder and takes me into his arms next. I'm almost in tears I feel so cared for. After our dance, I’m back in Mason’s arms.
"When I get you to Italy, I'm going to lay you down, spread these gorgeous thighs of yours and spend some time finding the honey that's in honeymoon. I'm going to eat you up, girl. I hope you're ready."
I burrow deeper into his neck, giggling. "Mason!" I gasp. "You're so bad."
Mason nuzzles the top of my head. "I'm ready to go. We've got a flight to catch."
I turn worried eyes to where my sister stands with Hendrix and our parents. The only request his mom had was we stay for a reception .
Mason turns my face to him. "Hey," he says softly. "Can we have a day where it's just about us? And we don't worry about anyone else? Is that okay, butterfly?"
I smile. "That sounds fine with me."