I Thee Wed (Wedding Dreams) (24 page)

“Well, who are you, sexy?” Ugh,
this is going to be a long day if Nick’s going to hit on every woman here.

“I’m Sierra and I’m not
interested. I need to talk to Drew, so get the fuck out of my way.” She pushes
past Nick and I have to smile at how she handled him.
Good for you, Sierra!

“Hey, will you please give this
to Lily and make sure she puts it on before she comes downstairs? Tell her it’s
her something new, or whatever.” I hand her the gift-wrapped box. She smiles
and takes the box.

“I’ll be sure she does and I
can’t wait to see what it is. You sure know how to sweep a girl off her feet,
Drew. I didn’t think you had it in you.” She pats my cheek as she walks out the
door.

I shake my head at her parting
statement.
I was thinking the same about you, Sierra
. When I’m dressed,
Nick and I go downstairs to greet the guests and wait for the ceremony to
start.

*
* *

Lily

Sierra zips my dress and gasps as
she steps back. I look at the other women in the room and they all have tears
in their eyes.

“What? What’s wrong?” I’m not
sure if they’re happy or sad and I’m too nervous to try to figure it out.

“You look beautiful, honey.
Absolutely stunning,” my mother says as she comes to hug me. Everyone else
chimes in at how great I look. Needing to see for myself, I open the closet
door to look in the full-length mirror. They’re right. I look like a princess.
I don’t think I’ve ever looked this pretty in my life. This dress was made for
me, I’m sure of it. I’m glad I kept it hidden and didn’t sell it. Sierra comes
up behind me and hands me a small gift.

“Drew told me to give this to you
as your something new. He wants you to wear it today.” She smiles at me in the
mirror, and I can’t help but smile back. I tear off the paper and open the box.
Inside is the most beautiful diamond pendant I’ve ever seen. It’s unique and
sparkles like nothing I’ve seen before. I take it out of the box and Sierra
clasps it around my neck.

When she finishes, I can’t hold
back the tears that pool in my eyes. The necklace is absolutely the perfect
thing to finish off my look. It’s like Drew knew it would be exactly what I
needed.

“Hey, no crying.
You don’t want
to mess up your makeup,” Sierra scolds me. I smile and laugh and it helps the
tears go away. I look at everyone and they agree the necklace is beautiful.

Sierra looks at her watch and
squeals. “It’s time to go, Lily! Are you ready to see your groom and get
married?” I can’t stop the huge smile on my face.

“I’m ready. Let’s go!” Sierra
gets everyone in line and starts down the hall to the stairs. I know Drew is
going to be at the bottom of this staircase, waiting to walk me down the aisle.
I take a deep breath and say a prayer to my dad, knowing he’s looking down on
me today. Sierra runs down the stairs to make sure everyone is in their place.
When she comes back, she nods at the mothers and they walk down the stairs
together. They look like they’ve been friends forever with the way their arms
are linked.

Sierra comes back to where I can
see her. She says everything is ready and I should come down when I hear the
music change. She dashes up the few stairs that separate us and gives me a big
hug.

“I’m really happy for you, you
know that, right?” She smiles and captures my hands.

“I know, and I’m so glad you’re
here with me today. Thank you for making all this happen for me. I couldn’t
have done it without you.” I start to get misty-eyed again and she shakes her
head.

“No tears. It’s my pleasure. Now,
I’m going to head down and you follow when you hear the wedding march. I’ll see
you down there.” She kisses me on the cheek and turns to go.

I’m standing in the hallway, just
behind the wall, so no one downstairs can see me. I’m holding my bouquet and
taking deep breaths. I have to remind myself this is real. I never thought I’d
be a bride. I never thought I’d find a man who loves me like Drew. The music
changes and it brings me back to the present.

It’s now or never.
I take a deep
breath and walk down the steps to my groom.

*
* *

Drew

When I see Lily coming down the
stairs, I nearly fall to my knees. She is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever
seen in my life. Her dress hugs her in all the right places and the necklace
draws attention to her chest. It looks like it was made to go with the dress.
All I can think of is taking it all off her and making love to her all night.
Not fucking, but making love. I feel my cock start to get hard so I have to
think about something else. I don’t need my family to see me walk by with a
boner.

Lily arrives at the bottom of the
stairs and I look into her eyes. I see love and lust there and it makes me
happy. The nerves I was feeling are
gone,
and I take
her hand in mine to lead her down the short aisle to where my friend is waiting
to perform the ceremony. There are only a handful of people here, which is exactly
how we wanted it. Lily and I stand together in front of our family and friends.
She hands her flowers to Sierra, who takes them and straightens Lily’s dress.

I can’t stop looking at her. She
is absolutely gorgeous. I can’t believe she wants to be with me. I decide right
then I will do everything in my power to make her happy. She’s brought so much
to my life and I want her by my side forever.

“We are gathered today to join
Lily Kramer and Drew Hamilton in marriage. Is there anyone here who does not wish
to see these two joined? If so, speak now or forever hold your peace.” I can’t
help but hold my breath. I know nobody will say anything, but stranger things
have happened. Thankfully, no one utters a sound, and Judge Baxter continues.

Lily and I had decided to just go
with the standard vows, especially since we were originally planning to do this
for show. But now it doesn’t seem personal enough to me. I’m trying to figure
out what I’m going to say when I hear Judge Baxter call my name.

“Drew, do you take Lily to be
your wife? Do you promise to love her and comfort her, honor and keep her, in
sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, keep yourself only to her for
as long as you both shall live?
If yes, say, I do.”

“I do, and more,” I reply.

“Lily, do you take Drew to be
your husband? Do you promise to love him and comfort him, honor and keep him,
in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, keep yourself only to him
for as long as you both shall live?
If yes, say, I do.”

She squeezes my hands as she
says, “I do.”

“Since it is your intention to be
united in marriage, please join right hands and declare your consent to each
other by repeating after me. I, Drew, take you, Lily, to be my wife, to have
and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for
poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, for as long as we
both shall live.”

I start to repeat the words, but
I add in my own. “I, Drew, take you, Lily, to be my wife. I promise to take
care of you, and be your best friend. I’ll hold your hand when we go out, and
I’ll cook you dinner whenever you want. I promise to support your hopes and
dreams, and be your constant companion.” I can’t help but smile as she grins.
“I also promise to do all that other stuff he just said.” Everyone laughs and
Lily smiles and rolls her eyes.

“Okay, well that’s good enough,
Drew,” Judge Baxter says. “Lily, do you want to do your own vows or would you
rather repeat after me?”

She looks at him and back at me.
“I’ll just wing it, if that’s okay with you.” I nod and she closes her eyes
briefly.

“I never thought I’d have someone
who loved me for me. I never thought I could be happy like you make me. You are
the half of myself I’ve been missing my entire life, Drew. I promise to make
you happy, to be your friend, to support your dreams, to cook you dinner, to go
swimming with you late at night, and I promise to always be by your side, for
better or worse, until the day we die.” I wipe away the tears that are starting
to run down her beautiful face. I lean in for a kiss but Judge Baxter has other
plans.

“Not yet, Drew,” he says
chuckling. “Do you have rings to exchange?” 

Lily looks at me in a panic. I
can tell she thinks she forgot the rings. I pull them out of my pocket and hand
both of them to the judge. He gives me Lily’s and tells me to put it on her
finger.

“Repeat after me, Lily,
take
this ring as a sign of my commitment and fidelity to
you.”

I repeat it word for word this
time as I slide the ring down Lily’s finger. She looks up and smiles. Judge
Baxter gives her my ring and says the same thing for her to repeat.

“Drew, take this ring as a sign
of my commitment and fidelity to you.” She slides the ring on my finger and looks
at our joined hands. It’s something I never thought I wanted, but it’s exactly
what I know I can’t live without.

“By the power vested in me, I now
pronounce Drew and Lily to be husband and wife. Drew,
now
you may kiss
your bride.”

“Try and stop me,” I say as I
pull her face to me. I try to keep the kiss appropriate for the situation, but
I’ve missed having my lips on hers and I don’t stop kissing her until I hear
Nick clear his throat. Reluctantly I pull back and Lily gives me the sweetest
smile ever.

“I’m pleased to introduce Mr. and
Mrs. Drew Hamilton,” Judge Baxter says as we face our guests. Everyone stands
and applauds, coming to congratulate us.

We move the party to the patio,
where there is champagne and hors d’oeuvres. Everything is perfect, exactly how
I pictured it when Lily talked about it. She’s smiling and talking with Sierra
and her mother. I sit down next to my mom, who is talking with Julie.

“What did you think, Mom? Are you
happy?”

“Oh, Drew, everything was
wonderful. I’m so glad you have found your bride. She’s so pretty and sweet. I
know you’re going to be just as happy together as your father and I were.”

I kiss her on the forehead.
“Thanks, Mom. That means a lot to me. I’m so glad you’re here.” I smile at
Julie and head off to find Lily so we can mingle and I can introduce her to my
friends and colleagues.

After an hour I get a glass of
champagne for me and my bride. I tap my glass to get everyone’s attention.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I wanted
to thank you all for coming and being with us today. It means a lot to Lily and
me that you’re here. We hope you know how important you are to us. This wasn’t
meant to be a conventional wedding, but it has been wonderful. I hope you don’t
think poorly of us, but I’m going to whisk Lily away now. We have a plane to
catch and I don’t want to be late. Please stay as long as you’d like and enjoy
the food and wine. We’ll see you when we get back.”

Lily’s looking like I’ve lost my
mind. I throw my champagne back and take her hand, pulling her toward the
house. She seems to be rooted to the patio. Sierra comes up and takes her other
hand, which seems to get her moving. She finally looks at me and I smile. She
smiles back and tells everyone goodbye while we pull her into the house. I drop
her hand and Sierra takes her upstairs. I make sure the luggage is in the car.
I’m so glad Sierra packed Lily’s suitcase when she was in the bath. Once I’m
sure everything is ready, I go wait at the bottom of the stairs. Mr.
Clausman
comes up to me and shakes my hand.

“Wonderful
wedding, Drew.
We’re very happy for you. I hope you don’t mind, but I took the liberty of
cancelling your plane tickets. You’ll be flying in my private jet, and there’s
a limo out front waiting for you. Consider it our gift to you. Let my secretary
know when you plan to return and she’ll make the arrangements to bring you
back. I hope you enjoy your honeymoon.”

“I’m stunned, sir. Please know
how much I appreciate this and I know Lily will, too. Thank you so much.” I
shake his hand and he returns the gesture with a man hug.

“I’ll have the driver come get
your bags. I assume they’re in the car already?”

“Yes, they are. Thank you, sir,
sincerely. This is more than I could have expected.”

“It’s my pleasure, Drew. Have
fun.” He takes my keys and walks out the front door. I can’t believe we’re
going to be flying in a private jet. It’s one thing I never indulged in because
I just don’t travel that much to justify the expense. We were going to fly
first class, but this will be even better. I’m so excited to tell Lily, but I
think it’ll be better to surprise her when we get to the airport. Lily, wearing
a beautiful summer dress, comes down the stairs and I know it’ll be hard to
keep my hands off her.

When she reaches the bottom step
she looks into my eyes. “What did you do, Drew? Where are we going?”

“You’ll have to wait a tad longer
to find out, my sweet wife. Now just trust me and come on.” I wink at Sierra as
she walks by and lead Lily to the waiting limo.

*
* *