Her bottom lip quivers. “No.”
“That’s why I can’t marry you. This is my sacrifice. My responsibility, not yours. I love you too much to put you in a situation that’s going to make you unhappy and potentially feel like you're trapped.”
“That’s where you're wrong. I wanted to say yes before I learned about what’s going to happen to you, but I didn’t have a chance to. Yes, I hesitated. I was scared. It took me all of a breath to realize I did want to spend forever with you. But then you left, and you never came back.” She starts to ramble. “And when you did, you kept me at a distance. And then I saw with Willow and I—I—”
“Shh.” I meet her lips with mine for a chaste kiss. “It’s okay.” I whisper.
“It’s not. I don’t want to live the next ten years without you. Stone, I allowed my previous relationships to influence what I thought I wanted out of life, but the thing is, none of those men were you. And I’ve come to realize, all I want out of life, is a lifetime with you.”
Chapter 30
Camilla
“Your parents are ready to see you now,” Willow says.
“Are you sure?” She nods. “Okay, send them in.”
“I’ll see you on the other side,” she says bowing her head and backing out of my bedroom.
Great, she made it sound like I’m going to die during the ceremony. Shit I should’ve got more detail about what to expect instead of worrying about if my parents are going to throw themselves off the roof of the building when they find that we are surrounded by gargoyles. Maybe not surrounded, but amongst them.
“It’s going to be fine,” Raven says, rubbing my back. “Everything is going to be beautiful and it will be the most special day of your life.”
Sure. Because planning a wedding isn’t stressful at all. Putting one together in twenty-four hours in a supernatural community with a supernatural groom and families that don’t know what to expect and have never met each other... I stop myself mid-thought to slow down my breathing and catch my breath.
“The only thing you need to focus on is your groom.”
I nod. It would’ve been so much easier if he agreed to do this yesterday, just the two of us. But no, he had to honor my humanity and give me the wedding experience. Stress and all.
“Oh, Camilla!” My mother’s shocked voice grabs my attention. I don’t know if I’m ready for her criticism that my dress isn’t fancy enough.
Honestly, if she goes there, I can’t blame her. I’m dressed in a long flowing robe held closed by golden ropes, tied by magic that will only release if the eternal vows between us are spoken with love and truth. One ounce of doubt and we’ll never be able to join physically to complete the ceremony and the ceremony will be null and void.
Taking my face between both of her hands, she leans back, then drags her eyes over me, from head to toe. “You look like a goddess.”
My father reaches out and touches one of the lengths of silk wrapped in my hair.
“You’re mother is right. You are breathtaking.”
Raven looks at me, smiling with pride. When she wrapped me in the sleeveless robe and tied my hair up in a simple ponytail, I thought this was to prepare me to get dressed, not my actual wedding attire.
“Mom, Dad,” ready to explain and apologize.
“Do not!” Mom warns. “This is all we ever wanted for you. A partner in life that will be there in the good times and bad.”
