“Have you been gardening a bit?” I sign.
“Gardening? No, I’m head over heels under knitting projects. Mia is trying to teach me, but…I’m a hopeless case.”
I smile then quickly sign, “What are you working on then?”
“Working…project? Oh yes, you mean what project am I working on?” I nod. “I’m trying to make a sweater for Shadow, but I keep messing up the sleeves. Anyway, what about you? Gardening? Work? Tell me everything. Oh, and thank you, love, by the way, for the lovely picture of the skating rink this morning, you looked so cute with your big scarf.”
“Notebook,” I sign, then grab my notebook and write for her, which happens when I don’t want to impose signing on people who aren’t quite fluent yet. I tell her about my gardening project, about work with Olga at the shop, and how I’m improving my bouquet skills, about the class I’m currently following, and the little bit of anxiety that’s been blooming in my belly since this morning.
“Um…” she taps her finger on her lips, “sadly, I think there’s nothing you can do. Can’t think a bride in the world didn’t feel like this the day before.”
“I know, I know… The thing is…I’m scared he won’t like the dress.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s…a bit daring.”
“My my, Rosy Rosy, what have you done?” I shake my head, blushing, as Vox and Shadow enter with the bags. Erin gets quiet, keeping my little secret tucked in her pocket.
“You guys alright?” Vox asks, zeroing in on me, and I nod, knowing he can read me like a book.
“Guest bedroom over there,” he says to Shadow, and they both go to the bedroom on the first floor, while ours is on the second floor. My gaze follows Vox as I notice his biceps flexing under the weight of the bag. Erin’s hand lands softly on my shoulder.
“So, bachelorette night, uh? Want to hear what I planned?”
Vox
Something’s churning in my girl’s head, and I wish I could dig into it, find the answers needed to appease myself. Tomorrow, she’ll have a piece of metal on her dainty finger, binding her body and soul to me forever. Is it necessary? No. Am I obsessed with the world knowing she’s mine? Hell yeah. Don’t think she’s having second thoughts, but until she’s in her white dress saying yes, I won’t be a hundred percent sure. After all, Rose is everything and more, and I’m…just a guy whose hands won’t ever get clean no matter how hard I try to wash them. She’s an angel fallen from heaven into the arms of a beast like me, and I guess I’ll never stop wondering why I got so lucky to even share the same air as her in the first place.
When sleep gets hard to attain at night, Rose likes to kiss the hurt away, drawing letters on my chest, telling me she loves me, that she’ll always stay. I won’t complain, ’cause it doesn’t hurt to hear. And because her drawing letters on my skin is still very much my favourite thing in the world, along with her laughter. This silent melody, I swear, only I can hear.
“That’ll do?” I ask Shadow once we settle his and Erin's bags in our guest bedroom. It’s quite large, with a cottage feel thanks to Rose’s touches, the quilt on the bed, the tartan curtains, and the wooden beams. There’s also a small bathroom with a shower, so they should be alright here for the night. One night only, ’cause tomorrow Rose and I are starting this marriage alone in our house. No way I’m having guests on our wedding night. My mind drifts to dangerous waters when Shadow snaps me out of it.
“Yeah, perfect. What’s the plan? We let them stay home and get a few beers?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Are they…?” He scratches the back of his neck.
“Safe?”
“I’m just not really into Jameson expanding in the West. Makes me wonder if he’ll target our women if we’re not here.”
“I’ve dealt with him. If he even crosses eyes with our families, he’ll lose half the block near the docks,” I assure him, knowing I also called reinforcement on our block just for the day. You can never be too careful.
“Yeah, Ares told me you settled an agreement with them.”
“They stay on their turf, we stay on ours. If they break the agreement, hell will unleash, and for now, they’re clearly outnumbered.” I pat his shoulder. “The girls are safe here. I have alarms, cameras, and Rose has a GPS on her at all times, so we’re set.”
“Tracking her phone?” he scoffs. “You know that’s the first thing they get rid of during kidnappings.”
“Necklace,” I deadpan.
“Smart.”
“You?”
“Bracelet. Erin says it doesn’t matter ’cause she’d become such a nightmare they’d release her after a few hours.”
