Diana collapsed against the back of the couch and said, “I’m just so excited about the wedding. We need some happiness now and then, after all the bad we’ve gone through in the last year it will be nice to have something to look forward to.”
I laughed. “You can say that
again.” I grabbed Jonathon’s hand and squeezed it. He gazed down at me so lovingly that it almost broke my heart. Our love was unexplainable, it wasn’t chemical, it was more than that. It was magical. It was special. It was one of a kind. We were soul mates and our love was so much more. I had experienced more love in the last year than most people did in one lifetime. That didn’t mean we hadn’t had our ups and downs, but it meant we were strong enough to not let it break us. I knew that Jonathon and I could survive anything as long as we were together. We were stronger than most people. We had to be. The bad things that happen to us aren’t meant to break us, or make us weak, they’re meant to make us stronger. Jonathon and I were both strong people now, due to circumstances out of our control.
He leaned down and whispered in my ear, his sweetly cold breath tingling my skin, and making me shiver, “I can’t wait to be able to call you my wife and hold you in my arms forever. I promise I’ll never let go.”
“You better not ever let me go,” I squeezed his knee giving him a smile.
“Get a room already,” taunted Mason.
I blushed something fierce. We had already done that but thank God they didn’t know or Jonathon and I would never hear the end of it. I could already predict the taunts we would receive about our wedding night. Just the thought made my stomach queasy.
Jonathon threw a pillow at Mason’s face, which he swatted away. It landed on the floor. Jonathon glared daggers at Mason. “You just wait, your day will come.”
Mason chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. “I hope she’ll be able to handle all of this,” he made a funny face and motioned to his body.
I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped my lips, and I found once I started, I couldn’t stop. I laughed so hard that it brought tears to my eyes. It was relief for once to shed tears. It had been a long time since I had shed a tear out of happiness. Most of tears came from heart wrenching sadness. I couldn’t help but think of Isaac’s body in the ground. He was dead because of me. I hoped no one else would have to die for my sake. I had lost my best friend, my only human companion, that night. My heart clenched. I hated myself for what had become of Isaac. He had loved me in a way I could never possibly love him back and he had lost his life because of it. Love could make you silly, crazy even, and Isaac had been no exception.
I finally managed to tear my thoughts away from Isaac. It was hard, but I managed it. I leaned my head on Jonathon’s shoulder for the simple reason that I just wanted to be close to him. I wanted to take him up on his offer to never let me go. I wanted his hands to never leave my body. I felt complete when I was with him and empty when he was gone. “I love you so much,” I whispered.
“I love you more than any man has ever loved a woman,” he whispered back.
I was beyond happy, and I hoped to stay that way for the rest of my life.
Two months later…
It was the end of November and plans for the wedding were well under way. Diana and Amelia were engulfed in plans all day and night. It was a funny sight. Every little detail mattered to them. I had never known how much went into planning a wedding. Plus, ours was even more difficult, because we wanted to keep some of my American traditions and some of Jonathon’s Roman ones. It boggled my mind. Color for the wedding? I had decided on the classically simple black and white. What kind of invitations did I want? Table settings? Flowers? Then I had to pick the venue. That was hard. I had always imagined getting married in my large backyard at my childhood home in California. When I voiced this to Diana she said that was fine but I quickly said it held to many bad memories. I didn’t want thoughts of my father’s death to consume me on my wedding day. She suggested their backyard. Upon seeing my face she began apologizing fiercely.
“I’m sorry, so sorry. That was so thoughtless of me. Please forgive me. I don’t know what I was thinking,” Diana rambled.
“Diana, it’s okay really. I know you didn’t mean to upset me. Don’t worry about it, okay?”
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“I’m fine,” I nodded.
“Okay, let’s just forget the venue for now. What about flowers?”
I huffed. Jonathon chose that moment to walk by and tapped his little sister on the head, “I’ve got the flowers covered. Or did you forget that this is my wedding too?”
I couldn’t help but laugh at her discomfort. I had already told Jonathon that I wanted him to get flowers for the wedding from his mother’s enchanted garden. I thought that if his mother, Katherine, couldn’t bear a physical presence at the wedding, this would be a way to bring her to it. The others wouldn’t know, but Jonathon and I would. Plus, I knew he desperately wanted to be included in the wedding preparations.
“I am perfectly aware that this is your wedding, brother, but I want it to be perfect for Kylie. A girl only gets married once and I can’t have you ruining it with less than superb flowers,” she snapped.
“I think I can handle it,” he bent and kissed me on the cheek. I smiled up at him. I didn’t mind Diana taking charge of the wedding, but she was Jonathon’s little sister, and I guessed you could never stop being bickering siblings no matter how long you lived. He took the dining room chair next to me and held my hand. The large table was covered in all kinds of wedding related details.
“That reminds me,” Diana looked up at Jonathon, “you are due to meet Christian in two hours so he can get your measurements. Patrick, Mason, Danny, and Joseph as well.”
Jonathon groaned. “Are you serious?”
She arched one blond eyebrow, “Yes, I am. You are all to have custom tuxedos and that means Christian needs your measurements.”
“Is that the cake?” asked Jonathon picking up a picture I had drawn of what I wanted the cake to look like.
“Yes,” I snatched the paper from him.
“Mm,” he moaned, “what I wouldn’t give to have a piece of cake.” I felt bad that he wouldn’t be able to enjoy a piece of our wedding cake. I had told Diana I didn’t see the point in getting one, because it would mostly be vampires at the wedding, but she said we had to keep up appearances especially for my brothers’ sake. I had agreed, although reluctantly. Jonathon stood and put his hands on my shoulders. “Well, I better go around up the boys. They’re going to be just as reluctant about this as I am.” He sighed and placed a tender kiss on my lips that left me wanting to beg for more. He disappeared out through the archway and I could hear groans coming from the living room. I shook my head. They may be several hundred year old vampires but they all still tended to act like little boys.