Chapter 50
“I do.”
-Celia
When I asked Flint to marry me, I had a simple beach wedding in mind. But not a Florida beach. I wanted a more exotic locale - the Cayman Islands.
After solving Octavio’s murder, we transferred the money out of his offshore accounts and into the trust for the community center charity. And it was during that transfer The World’s Greatest Hacker, a.k.a. Tatiana, found some other hidden money from the world’s most wanted criminals. So, tomorrow, my brand-new husband and I are headed to the bank to make a withdrawal and “Robin Hood” it to people in need.
But we need to get married first.
“You look beautiful,mija,” Mama fawned over my hair.
I touched my new choppy hairdo for the hundredth time today. “Maybe I should wear the wig?”
“No way, sis,” Wysdom hugged me from behind. “Now we’re twinsies! Except your hair is that beautiful brown-cinnamon-Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover Model color.”
I snort-laugh. Leave it to my sister-in-law to provide comic relief in the situation. She came up with a great solution when my hair fell out. She took me to her hairdresser Sage, who fixed me right up with a spiky pixie cut.
For years, I have spent hours in the bathroom, smoothing out my long hair and making it perfect. Now, ten minutes and I’m out the door. It suits my new lifestyle much better. About to marry my soulmate, new job at Saber Security, and a hands-off policy with my grown sons. If they make a mess, they clean it up.
They’re out on the beach waiting for me to walk down the aisle, along with Flint’s family, my brother, my nieces and nephews, and a handful of other people. This elopement became a destination wedding in the blink of an eye.
My sister Carolina, the only one of my sisters to make it, has been acting weird all day. Rubbing her chest and muttering about indigestion and drinking Sprite like it’s going out of style.
“I’ll be back in a moment,” Carolina announced.
“Where are you going?” I panicked. “You’re the Maid of Honor!”
“Relax, Bridezilla,” she kissed my cheek, then left. “I’m going to take a lap around the resort. I’ll be back before you know it.”
“Maybe it was the barbecue at the rehearsal dinner last night,” Mama offered. “It was pretty spicy. You know how sensitive her stomach is.”
Someone knocked on the door. “Five minutes,lalelei. Then, I’m going to marry you.”
I smiled at Flint’s muffled voice. “Not if I marry you first, you big lug.”
Wysdom grabbed me for another big hug. “You are truly the Goddess Among Men. Now, I’m going to sit with my husband and children before Luke starts getting murdery ideas in his head.”
I looked at her in alarm. “What?”
Wysdom rolled her eyes. “It’s nothing. Carolina and Luke were just talking about the number of ways to dispose of a body. I think it was up to 42, just in Flamingo Cove alone. But I’m sure they were kidding.”
Before I could squeak out anything else, she flitted out the door with a cry of “FLELIA!”
“You ready,mija?”
I turned at Papa’s voice. It was time. And that meant the nervous butterflies in my stomach turned right into velociraptors.
I wonder if Carolina left any Sprite in the mini-fridge?
Papa led me out of the bridal dressing room. I watched Carolina saunter down the aisle. And I noticed a certain Saber Security lab hottie staring a hole right through her face. But before I could think too hard about that, they were playing my song.
Mama and Papa stood on either side of me as I hooked my arms through theirs. We stepped to the top of the aisle, and everything melted away. No more nervousness. No more velociraptors. No thinking about my sister’s love life, or lack thereof.
The only thing that mattered was the most amazing man on the planet, waiting for me a few steps away. He wore tan linen pants and a white button-up shirt. But it wasn’t his outfit that caught my attention. It was his eyes. They welled up with tears when he saw me.
At the end of the aisle, I vaguely remember leaving my parents to move toward Flint.
