Mosaic (41 page)

“It’d be much easier if you’d just let me get it. I’m already here!”

“Five minutes!”

The antique wooden door with its arched, stained-glass inlays slammed in his face. Jules was back to the staircase in a flash, dashing up to the bridal party on the second floor.

Female clothing was scattered across all the upstairs rooms in the large home, and natural light streamed in through open, oversized windows. Jules found her mother in Lexy’s room, smiling and speaking quietly with her nana.

“There you are!” Juliet cried, running to where they were.

“There
you
are,” Lexy smiled, hugging her pet granddaughter. “Did you find them?”

“I don’t know how you get them to grow right now. It’s completely out of season.”

“Your nan is a gardening wizard is how.” Lucy swept into the room wearing an asymmetrical-cut knee-length chiffon dress in antique lavender and took the heavy blossoms from her niece’s hands. “I’ll arrange these in the bouquet and we’ll have all the colors represented.”

Lexy put an arm around Jules. “The lady who owned this house, who adopted me when I was much younger than you, taught me all about flowers and how to trick them into growing, how to manipulate their colors…” She leaned closer and whispered, “She also taught me the benefits of a greenhouse. Your aunt told me which flowers she wanted months ago, and it was just a matter of cultivating them at the right time.”

The two smiled at each other. “Miss Stella sounds divine. I’ll let you adopt me like that, and we’ll just spend all our time gardening. I can sit on the shore and paint and do everything you did at my age.”

“I was actually kind of lonely as a child until I met Meg.” Lexy’s smile was a little sad as she straightened the strap on her own dress, another chiffon ensemble in pale rose. Her graying dark hair was pinned up in a French twist.

“Well, you won’t be lonely with me here. We’ll do everything together.”

“You still have to go to school, Jules.” Anna pecked a kiss to her daughter’s head. “But you can spend every other minute here.”

“Come with me, Nan, your son is demanding drinks for all his groomsmen, and we have to help Gran carry them out.”

“She keeps me young,” Lexy winked at Anna and allowed Jules to drag her out of the bedroom and down the stairs.

Lucy had just returned with the large bouquet finished and wrapped in a champagne silk bow. “You’ve got to get into your dress now. We’re at the ten-minute warning.”

For a moment, Anna paused in front of the oval mirror with her future sister-in-law looking over her shoulder, and she couldn’t help remembering another set of girls she’d read about. Anna’s hair wasn’t as dark as Lexy’s, but Lucy was the image of her mother, smiling from the past.

“Everything is gorgeous.” Anna hugged her friend before following her across the hall. “You’ve really done an amazing job planning it all out.”

“It was a cinch once you decided to have it here. This old place has the perfect landscape for a wedding.”

It was true. With lush, oversized gardens leading out to an arbor covered in wisteria and opening to a clear view of the Gulf, it was breathtaking. Her remaining three bridesmaids were already downstairs hanging with the guys. Anna peeked out the window and saw Rachel dressed in antique lavender chiffon like Lucy, only without the asymmetrical skirt. Gabi was in a grass-green chiffon dress that was short in the front and long in the back. The two were laughing and chatting with Brad, Julian, and Jack, who had Casey, also in the grass green chiffon, holding his arm. They’d only invited a small group to the ceremony, and Anna was cautiously pleased to see even the eldest Kyser sibling had chosen to attend, albeit alone.

Lexy and Jules marched out at that point, each carrying a glass pitcher filled with what appeared to be lemonade. Anna’s mother was right behind them in her own rose chiffon dress carrying cups and ice.

Anna leaned further, and just then Will looked up. She jumped back with a squeal. “I almost got busted!”

Lucy laughed and hopped over to the window then waved. Then she let out a little growl. “Oh, goody.”

“What?” Anna frowned as she took her floor-length champagne-colored gown off its hanger. It had a sleeveless lace bodice that went over her shoulders in two panels, forming a deep V in the front. A single, fabric rose clustered with seed pearls was in the center at the base of the V, and a beige underlay extended from her breasts down to her knees.

“I see old rat-monster Will’s down there.”

“I’m glad he actually came. He needs to be a part of this—of the family.”

“You’re seriously a saint for inviting him.” Lucy gently lifted the floor-length, full chiffon overlay that made up the skirt and sighed. “When that breeze starts, this is going to billow out and be gorgeous. You’ve got really great legs. I don’t know why you hide them all the time.”

“I don’t hide anything! I just wear the clothes I’ve got.”

“Well, then we’re going shopping. But first we’d better get down there and get you married. Hang on.” Lucy caught her friend and dusted powder on her nose. Then she straightened a few of the pins holding her loose up-do in place and tugged on a few spiral tendrils. “You’re perfect.”

In the yard below, Julian waited as his daughter attached the boutonnière to his blue dress shirt. “I like the yellow,” he said, watching her eyebrows clutch as she worked. “Do all these colors mean something?”

Finishing with a pat, Jules met his blue eyes—the same color as her own. “I think I’m in yellow because you always gave Mum those yellow flowers on her birthday.”

He couldn’t stop a smile at that memory. “Who told you about that?”

“Oh, please. Mum has all kinds of sappy details in that private blog of hers.”

“And according to her, some not so G-rated details as well.” He frowned as his daughter’s face flushed.

“Trust me. I skipped over all of that business.”

Lexy walked up and inspected them both. “Look at you two. My absolute favorite surprises, both of you.”

Julian draped an arm around her waist. “I have to say, it made a big difference to me, knowing you’d only found out about her a year before I did.” He kissed his mother’s cheek. “Although how you could keep her from me a whole year is troubling.”

“As many things as I asked Anna to sit on through the years, the least I could do was honor this one request of hers.” Lexy shook her head. “She’d never asked me for anything before.”

“You know what?” Jules interrupted. “We’re all together now, and that’s all that matters. Right?”

“Yes.” Julian put an arm around his daughter and squeezed them both. “And I think it’s time for me to head to the front. I’ll be glad when all these formalities are over.”

“You look really handsome.” Jules caught his hand as he left. “Good luck.”

* * *

The minister finished speaking and turned to introduce the wedding vows written by Anna and Julian. The pair hadn’t taken their eyes off each other the entire time, but now Julian blinked down to his hands.

“I’m sorry I don’t trust my memory.” Anna giggled along with everyone else as he fumbled a sheet of paper out of his pocket. “You’ve got more experience at this sort of thing than I do.”

She had to fight the urge to lean forward and kiss him right then. “Not true,” she whispered. “I was always behind the camera.”

Julian cleared his throat and glanced once at her hazel eyes before starting. “Anna Sanders, I told you once before I was in love with you in tenth grade. You quickly pointed out that I didn’t do anything about it until we were seniors, and you were right. I think I said something like, just because I found you didn’t mean I was ready to trust myself.”

A soft ripple of laughter floated across the group.

“Trust was something we had from the start in our relationship. It was something we thought we lost for a little while, but we should’ve known we never did. I’m so thankful we found each other again. I’m so thankful you came back after saying you never would.

“It was a song before I said it, but you are my Anna Sunshine. I know you hate the other thing we call you, so I’ll leave it out here. I’m so thankful you flickered into my life and changed it. I hope we have many years to go on discovering all the amazing things about each other.

“I promise to love you always, to take care of you, to never leave you, and to never give you a reason to want to leave me again. Of all the things you are, you’re my angel, and I can’t live without you. Thank you for my beautiful daughter, and thank you for agreeing to be my wife. I loved you then, but I love you so much more now.”

Sniffs punctuated the silence all around, and Anna giggled as she touched her eyes. “I don’t know if I can say mine now. I’ve already started crying.”

More laughs echoed from the group. She cleared her throat and began. “Julian LaSalle Kyser, you said you loved me first, but that was only because I was a terrible communicator when I was young. Even still, I’m pretty sure I said those three little words before you ever did, even if you weren’t awake to hear them.

“We’ve been through so much together, but the only thing I remember is your smiling face always waiting for me, always coming for me. The one time it didn’t, I realized I couldn’t live without you, and I had to come back for you.

“I’m so thankful I’m better at math than you.” His brow clutched and she exhaled a laugh. “So I was able to be your tutor. And I’m so thankful you’re brilliant at art. You taught me to surf, you taught me to love, and you gave me two beautiful gifts, one being our gorgeous girl.

“You say I’m your angel, but I’m no supernatural being. I’m just a girl who fell in love with the most romantic boy she ever dreamed she could never have. And then she could.

“I promise to communicate very well and very quickly from this day forward. I promise never to give you a reason to doubt me again. This next one’s easy. I promise to love you until I die, because I’m pretty sure I’ve now lived longer in love with you than I have out.” Her brow creased. “If that makes sense.”

He was grinning, and she caught him bite his lip. Their eyes met, and she knew he was dying to kiss her just as much as she was dying to kiss him.

“I think that’s all I wrote… it’s all I can remember.” She laughed with the group. “Oh, except you dreamed of this day, when we’d never be separated again, and I’m so, so happy you shared your dream with me. You turned us into art, and now both our dreams have come true.”

The minister moved quickly through the vows for the rings. Julian’s was solid white gold, with a dragonfly engraved inside the band against his finger. Anna’s was another of his handmade creations. A white-gold band, thicker than the other two, that fit perfectly under her dragonfly and engagement rings.

They had arrived at the part everyone was waiting for. “I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

Anna was in Julian’s arms in a sweep, and he only held her a moment, looking deep into her eyes before covering her soft lips with his. Her fingers threaded into his hair as that old swarm of fizzy butterflies took flight, swirling through her stomach and up to her arms as the audience broke into clapping and laughter punctuated by tears.

Their mouths parted as they hugged each other so tightly. Julian’s lips pressed against the top of her shoulder, and for a moment she held him just a little longer while the applause continued. A few of the guys and Gabi whistled through their fingers, and more laughs broke out.

At last they released each other and were introduced as Mr. and Mrs. Julian LaSalle Kyser, and Anna reached out and pulled Jules to them as family and friends rushed together to hug and laugh and cry happy tears over the long-awaited union.

* * *

Pictures taken, a live band started playing. Friends were going through the buffet line, and the reception was set to last all day. Anna and Julian had promised to stay as long as they could take it, although Julian kept saying they should do a quick surfing break and come back.

“It only seems right, since that’s how I finally got you to admit you love me.” They were dancing to a slow song, and she kissed his nose.

“I admitted I loved you when you foolishly tried to kill yourself racing Brad’s car. I don’t think we should do that today either.”

He laughed and squeezed her tight against his chest. “I’ve heard there are some good spots around here for skinny dipping. We should explore.”

A little thrill tingled in her stomach and she leaned forward to whisper in his ear. “Later. We need to thank all our guests for coming to our special day.”

“Silly guests.” He kissed her neck, and she wrinkled her nose in a smile.

The two parted, and Julian went off in search of Brad and a beer. Anna headed into the house to change into a lighter sundress. She was headed toward the stairs when she noticed the door was ajar on the large downstairs room Lexy used as her art studio.

Taking a short detour, she walked over to see if someone was inside. “Hello?” Anna called as she went through the door.

The room was filled with stretched blank canvasses and a few easels that held paintings in varying stages of being finished. The actual finished works were stacked along the walls, and all were in Alexandra LaSalle’s signature style.