Not drop waisted but designed like a 1920s evening gown Clara Bow might have worn, the dress fit like it had been made for Annette, hugging her breasts and hips and the beading design accentuating her waist. Valentina had bought shoes in Annette's size to match it, 1920's inspired heels with a t-strap. She had also managed to find a veil with an art deco styled jeweled circlet that could have been made in tandem with the dress.
Joyce joined them with Mrs. Banning in tow, a laden breakfast tray in her hands. All four women found somewhere to sit in Annette's room and ate.
Joyce rested on the bed, her expression as happy as on her own wedding day. "Oh, Annette, I'm so glad you and Carlo found your way back to each other. You two are soulmates and I think the universe would be really mad if you hadn't."
Annette laughed and shook her head but left her younger sister to her romantic fantasies. Soulmates or not, she was marrying the love of her life and that had to be enough.
Annette looked in the mirror ninety minutes later and felt tears tighten her throat.
"Don't you dare cry and mess up your makeup," Joyce warned her. "You'll ruin all of Valentina's efforts and start your marriage on the wrong side of our mother-in-law."
All three women laughed as did Mrs. Banning and the stylist Valentina had brought in to do all their hair and the other women's makeup.
Valentina had insisted on doing Annette's makeup herself though. She'd done the same with Joyce, despite their mother's protest. Valentina really was a formidable woman when she wanted to be. And continuing family tradition brought it out in her.
"I'm just…it's…" Annette shook her head.
"It is your wedding day. You are overcome with emotion," Valentina said complacently. "It is as it should be."
"Exactly as it should be," Joyce agreed.
Alceu met the women at the top of the stairs and surprised Annette by putting his arm out to escort her, and not his wife.
He walked her down the stairs and to the formal living room in the Upstate New York mansion. Decorated in a more formal style than the rest of the house, it would have made a pretty setting for the ceremony to come without all the gorgeous winter floral arrangements giving the space a festive air.
Annette did not know who was responsible for the flowers, but she was grateful. She hadn't wanted a spectacle, but itwasher wedding, and they gave the ambiance that took from convenience for the sake of an accidental pregnancy to something more.
Looking gorgeous in a dark bespoke tuxedo with short waist and tails, Carlo stood with a judge who had been chosen to officiate near the large, ornate fireplace.
Fantino sat in a wheelchair beside Carlo, his broken leg raised as it was supposed to be. Alceu leaned in to kiss Annette's cheek before stepping back and leading his wife to a white Queen Anne style sofa, where they sat down together. Pamina sat in a matching armchair, with Jo-Jo, who had been provided a frothy lace dress for the occasion in her lap.
Joyce took her spot beside Annette, as it was supposed to be.
Only one other person was in the room: a professional photographer. It was a private ceremony for a private event, but there would be pictures to put out with the press release.
Annette met Carlo's gaze as she crossed the floor toward him. His grey eyes were almost black, his face inscrutable, like he was intent on not letting any emotion show through. However, the heat in his gaze could be felt across the expanse of the large room.
That warmth gave her feet the impetus to move. She could do this.
When she reached him, he handed her a beautiful bouquet of crimson roses mixed with white star lilies and baby's breath. It was the bouquet she'd wanted eight years ago and been vetoed by her mother, who had wanted pastels.
Annette's gaze flew to his. She was touched and she let him see that in her expression. Carlo smiled, the pleasure at her approval seeping through the emotionless façade.
"Thank you," she said, her voice low.
Carlo nodded. "It is my pleasure."
She saw the flowers around the room with new eyes. They were all in the same festive, red and white theme. Suddenly she knew Carlo had ordered them and no one else.
Yes, maybe therewasa bit of Prince Charming in the man she was marrying.
The ceremony was brief, but they both spoke vows they technically did not have to. The judge could have signed off on the marriage without any verbal promises being made.
She and Carlo had agreed that theywantedto make verbal promises. And so they did.
Vows of fidelity, honesty, respect, and to live together for as long as they were both alive. The weight of those promises hit Annette much harder than she expected.
The kiss took Annette by surprise. They hadn't talked about includingthat. However, she responded immediately, allowing her lips to part and soften under his.