“They know how I am and respect it. I wasn’t much fun at the parties in college.”
“So you were the one in the corner looking sexy and broody?”
He gave me a mischievous grin and didn't have to tell me he wasn’t always alone. I rolled my eyes and elbowed him. Catching my elbow, he pulled me into him.
“I’m your sexy and broody man now, luna mia. Only yours. These hands will never touch another body because yours is the only one I’ll ever hunger for.”
My insides somersaulted, and I smashed my mouth into his, pushing him back on the bed. Days of barely touching had his hands shoving at my clothes and mine doing the same as our suitcases tumbled to the ground. By the time the food arrived, he’d feasted on me, then taken me, and left me too weak to answer the door. That man’s tongue was a deadly weapon, almost as deadly as the rest of him.
The reflection in the mirror was that of a fairytale princess, not me. Wrapped in a plethora of white satin, I turned to view the back of the dress. This was the one. I’d known the moment I saw it, but the clerk had insisted on sending me out with ten other dresses before she let me try this one. Simple and elegant, it gave me an hourglass figure and sat softly on my skin. And I knew Gabe would love it, that he would look at me like every man in a romance movie looked at his bride-to-be when she walked down the aisle.
I pushed the curtain aside, and the woman shook her head. “I guess I should have listened to you. This is beautiful on you.” She gathered up the train and followed me into the showroom where my mother, my cousin Anne, and my best friend Cindy waited. Their gasps informed me they loved the dress just as much as I did.
The three had invaded our peace two days before, and I knew Gabe was going crazy with all the commotion. Cindy was loud, and with Anne, the volume only increased.
“Victoria, you look so beautiful,” my mother said with tears in her eyes.
“You look like a princess,” Anne added, with Cindy agreeing with vigorous head nods. She was sniffing, her eyes glossy.
“This is the one,” I told them, swiveling to the standing mirrors and looking at the dress again.
The clerk took some measurements to make a few minor adjustments while my mother brought over a handful of veils. It hit me again that I was getting married in three months. A month had passed since Gabe had proposed, and each daypassed quicker than the day before. A giddiness set in, and I hopped up and down on my toes.
“I’m getting married, Mom.”
She hugged me, squishing the veils, and I heard the clerk huff.
“Come on, you two. It’s time to find our dresses,” Cindy said. “And I better look as good as you, Tor.”
“You can’t look better than the bride,” Anne scolded.
“I didn’t say better, but I can look as good.”
My mother and I shared a look before breaking out in laughter. The day continued that way because there was no other way with Anne and Cindy. It was a taste of home I’d missed, not having noticed that Gabe consumed my existence now. I didn’t mind because I loved him so much, but it was nice to have other parts of my life coming in to show me how complete he had made me.
“Did you have fun today?” Gabe asked me that night, his fingers draping up my arm.
“I did. Thank you for putting up with them.”
He peered down at me. “Put up with them? They’re your family.”
“I guess so.” I’d known Cindy long enough that I considered her family, as did my parents. “But they’re a lot to deal with.”
Kissing my head, he rested his head back, shifting me so I was looking down at him. Pushing my hair back, he said, “I want you to be happy, Tori. If a group of chatty women makes you happy, then so be it. If a stadium of that made you happy, I would fill every seat just to see you smile.”
And my heart swelled further. I didn’t think my love for Gabe would ever fade; he took up too much room.
“Wait until the wedding,” I said, giving him a kiss. “When my entire family is there.”
“Can’t wait,” he mumbled, a grin tugging at his lips.
Smoothing my hand down his chest, I asked, “Are you sure you don’t want to invite your family? The invitations don’t go out until next week.”
As I’d expected, his mood soured, the grin eclipsed by the shadow that always lurked over him. “No, they won’t come, so why waste the ink?”
“Did you tell them?” I hadn’t asked, afraid of upsetting him.
“No.” His gaze rose to the ceiling. “I’ll need to, but…I don’t want them to spoil this moment.”
