She chuckled. 'No, the lingerie is in a wrapped box for tonight.'
'You didn't!'
'Who else would?' She smiled mischievously and then went back to being a mother. 'There's also a box of condoms. No babies until you graduate.'
'Yes, I know. We've discussed this a hundred times.' My stomach tightened. I wasn't so concerned about babies yet…it was the actual activity that created babies I was worried about. 'Mom…I'm kind of scared. I don't know what to do.'
'Oh, I'm sure Tristan will do it,' she said casually as she hung the dress back on the hanger. I stared at her in confusion. 'Surely he knows how to put a condom on.'
That visual made my insides squirm with panic.
'I mean the whole thing! All of it!' I cried.
'Oh.' She looked at me with surprise and then her expression dissolved into understanding. 'Honey, it will all come naturally.'
'How do I know what natural is, though? How do I know what's right? What if I do it all wrong ?'
She smiled. 'The thing about men, Alexis, is they generally don't find any of it wrong . In fact, usually the more wrong it is, the more they like it.'
' Mo-om…! '
She shrugged. 'I'm serious. There is very little you can do that would scare him away. Just don't belch, fart or call out anyone else's name and you'll be fine.'
'Sophia!' I couldn't help the laugh that escaped, though. Just one. Before the panic set right back in. 'I just want to do it right. I want to make him happy.'
'Oh, you will, honey. Trust me—you'll make him extremely happy. When I say it'll come naturally, I mean it. This is something Amadis daughters instinctively do very well.' She smiled coyly and winked at me. I didn't feel any better.
Butterflies grew and multiplied in my stomach as the day went on. It felt like it dragged on forever and, at the same time, evening raced toward us, as if someone played with the hands on the world's master clock. Mom and I spent the afternoon driving all over two counties, stopping at bridal stores and flower shops, trying to bore anyone who might be following. Finally, a little after six o'clock, Mom made sure no one pursued us and we headed out to Gasparilla. She followed Tristan's directions down a road covered in sand from lack of use.
I felt so nervous by then, I practically danced a seated jig in the car. Stefan said the Daemoni had learned about the September First wedding, but he had no indication they knew about this one. If we could get through this next hour or so, we'd be on our way to peace. Of course, then I would have more personal issues to worry about….
'Looks like this is it.' Mom pulled into a space of patchy grass and sand between palmetto bushes. 'We'll have to walk the rest of the way.'
I changed in the backseat of Mom's car. She checked me over and fixed my hair she'd piled onto my head, using her finger to curl the stray locks around my face. She straightened the dress, adjusting my boobs, which nearly flowed right over the top of the bodice. We hadn't walked five steps on the uneven terrain when I decided the heels were a bad idea.
'Love the shoes, Mom, but they have to go.' I stopped to pull them off and she frowned, but couldn't argue. Bare feet on the rough ground didn't work well either. I had no idea how far we had to walk and I grew more frustrated with each slow, careful step. I stopped, exasperated. 'This isn't working either! How am I supposed to get to my wedding?'
'Can I help?' Stefan had come to meet us. He gently picked me up in his arms and carried me. He had a smooth stride, not affected at all by my extra weight. His pure vanilla scent brought back memories of when he carried me when I was little. 'You look quite lovely. I remember your great-grandmother in a similar dress.'
Wow. I never knew how ancient he was.
'Thank you. But I feel like a helpless child playing dress-up in mommy's naughty clothes.'
He laughed, the sound of a baritone saxophone skipping through various notes.
'Are we still safe?' I asked.
'Yes, I am positive.'
'I feel quite good about it, too,' Mom said.
'All you need to focus on is becoming Mrs. Tristan Knight,' Stefan said.
My heart pitter-pattered with delight to hear him say it. The statement also re-energized the butterflies and I was shaking by the time we reached the small, crescent beach—a little cove where the island indented just enough to be nearly surrounded by wild brush and trees. We had full view of the water and the lowering sun. Rina, Owen and Tristan stood near the water, waiting for us.
'Your bride, sir,' Stefan said to Tristan as he set me on the soft sand.
'Thank you, Sheffie,' I whispered. Stefan smiled and pecked me on the cheek.
Tristan took my breath away as he strode over to us. Dressed simply in white slacks and a white silky t-shirt just tight enough to emphasize his physique, and the gold sparkles in his eyes shining, he was even more beautiful than I thought possible. He gave me a once-over and raised an eyebrow with appreciation, then took my hand and kissed it. I stopped trembling. He smiled and winked. I stared at him, completely loving him and totally forgetting why we were there.
'Are you sure you still want to be my wife?' he murmured.
'Uh…yeah,' I stammered, trying to clear my head. When the fog finally lifted, I smiled and said confidently, 'Of course .'
'Good,' he whispered, 'because I'd never let anyone else have the pleasure of taking my place.'
He led me over to Rina. She nodded at Mom, Stefan and Owen, who all stood in silence behind us. Tristan gently squeezed my hand as Rina began by reciting 1 Corinthians 13. I knew it by heart. It was one of the passages Mom made me memorize when I was five. We'd never gone to church, but Mom had taught me the Bible, saying she knew more than any pastor this side of Heaven.
''And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.' Tristan and Alexis, is this the love you both share?'
'Yes,' we answered together.
'Do you promise to uphold this love throughout eternity?'
'Yes.'
'Tristan, you may state your vows,' Rina commanded.
He turned toward me, smiled warmly and looked into my eyes. I was sure he purposely set his voice to its loveliest tone.
'Alexis, my love, with a happiness I had never known possible before I met you, I receive you into my life that together we may be one. I promise you my unequivocal love, my unending devotion, my tenderest care. I will love you faithfully through the best and the worst, through the difficult and the easy. What may come, I will always be there. Entrust me not to leave you or to return from following after you. For where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God will be my God. I will take care of you, honor and protect you, for as long as I live, into eternity. I lay down my life for you, Alexis, my friend and my love. Today I give to you, me.'
Rina smiled and turned to me. 'Alexis?'
I took a deep breath to steady my voice and then recited my vows, blinking back tears.
'My sweet Tristan, with deepest love I did not know could exist, I come into my new life with you. I thank you for who you are to me—my one love, my true soul mate. God created me for you and you for me. I will ever strengthen, help, comfort and encourage you. I will trust you and honor you. I will love you today, tomorrow and forever. Throughout life, as long as it lasts, even into eternity, I pledge to you my life as a loving and faithful wife, no matter what lies ahead of us. My love will never be taken from you. Today I give you my life to keep.'
Tristan flashed the most sublime smile that reached into the depths of my heart. We turned back to Rina.
'Tristan and Alexis, with these vows you pledge your lives to each other for eternity. Do you promise to fight for your love and for each other for as long as you both shall live?'
'I do,' we said together.
