Riley's Redemption (A Moon's Glow Novel) (17 page)

“Oh Mari, its perfect,”
Sadie said softly, her approval shining in her dark eyes.

Marisa smiled, her
whole face lighting up. “Can I use this one?” she asked me.

I nodded. “Of course,
it looks like it was made for you.”

Lauren took the light
gray one she had in her hand earlier and slipped into the closet with Sadie.

“How is Joe doing,
Lauren? Is he upset at Nate?” I asked, knowing she would hear me through the
door.

I could hear her loud
sigh from the closet. “Yeah, he is. He said he hated that Nate was angry with
him and he should have told him a while ago. But he was worried about
Sebastian. He’s never met anyone like him and didn’t want to.” She was being
cryptic because of Marisa. She knew about us werewolves, but we didn’t think
she was ready to know about Vampires.
I
wasn’t ready to know about them,
the idea still creeped me out.

“I don’t blame him,”
Sadie said as she emerged from the closet, wearing the purple chiffon dress
with a flowered neckline halter.

“Wow, that looks
awesome Sadie,” Marisa beamed, still standing in front of the mirror. I wasn’t
sure that we’d be able to pull her away from it or get her to take the dress
off.

She was right though,
the color was the same as the last dress, but the style suited her more.
“That’s the one.” I couldn’t wait to see Adrian’s reaction.

Sadie grinned and her
face lit up, a nice change from her earlier gloomy expression. “Yeah, I like
this one too.”

I nodded. “Well that’s
two down.” I moved to the closet and turned the knob. “How about you, Lauren?”

She stepped out wearing
the maxi dress and she looked awesome. “What do you think?”

“It looks great, but I
think my mother mentioned that she was wearing gray.”

Lauren moved passed me
to stand in the mirror.

“I like the rust one
better,” Marisa commented, holding her hair up and twisting around in front of
the mirror, her long inky tresses hanging over her arms.

Lauren spun on me.
“What do you think?”

I considered her
appearance and even though she looked great, the rust was better for her sand
colored hair. “I agree with Marisa.”

“Okay, the rust one it
is.”

“What about you?”
Lauren asked me, admiring herself behind Marisa.

I pulled out a black
and pink one I had my eye on and slipped into our makeshift change room. When I
emerged, Lauren whistled. “Wow, speaking of hot. Nate will fall over his tongue
when he sees you in that one.”

I stood in front of the
mirror and smiled. It did look good. The halter style top was pink with a
beaded belt at the waist and the bottom was black with a high slit, coming up
to mid-thigh. It was a dress that belonged on the red carpet and I felt
glamorous.

“It does look stunning,
but I’d love to see you in the ivory one,” Sadie suggested.

I frowned. “The one my
mother wants?” I asked, my eyes wide with surprise.

“Are you going to turn
it down just because she wants it? It is a wedding reception after all.”

I narrowed my eyes at
Sadie. “Fine
Mom
, I’ll try it on.”

She laughed softly as I
slipped back into the closet with the offending garment in hand. When I came
out five minutes later, they all gasped. “That’s it, we’re done,” Lauren
gushed.

I smiled at myself in
the mirror and was shocked at my reflection. I hated to admit it, but my mother
was right. It was perfect.

Unexpected

After we changed back
to our own clothes, Mona stopped by and asked to speak to Lauren.

Although my curiosity
was peaked, I was distracted by Marisa’s babbling. She was so excited about the
dress she had picked and couldn’t wait for the next part in our day of beauty.

When Lauren returned we
made our escape, barely slipping past all the chaos. Marisa bumped into a
standing vase filled with bright purple lilacs; the tiny flowers were larger
than any I had ever seen. If Sadie didn’t have heightened reflexes, the
sparkling crystal would have shattered. Disaster averted, we rushed outside.

Lauren had booked us an
appointment at her favorite salon and we were there for hours getting pampered.
By the time we finished, we barely had enough time to go back to my parent’s
home to get our dresses. In hindsight, we probably should have taken them with
us, but we were so excited about the rest of the day we hadn’t thought of that.
Cars were already parked in the driveway when we stepped through my patio
doors.

“I told you we didn’t
have time for the massages, now we’re going to be late.”

Lauren frowned. “I’m
sorry, I got carried away.”

“My mother is going to
kill me. We still have to go back to the estate and get dressed.”

Lauren shrugged. “Let’s
just get dressed here.”

Her suggestion caught me
off guard. “Uh…What about the guys?”

“They have vehicles,
they can drive themselves.”

I sat down on the bed
and tossed my throw pillow onto my lap, playing with the tassels around it. As
I thought her suggestion through I realized she did have a point. There was no
way we’d make it home and back on time. But if we did it her way, we could
relax. I hated rushing; it always made me anxious. I leaned back on my pillows,
keeping my head upright so I wouldn’t wreck my new hairdo. “Fine, we’ll stay.”
I paused and glanced at Marisa and Sadie. “If that’s okay with you two?”

Marisa fell on the bed
next to me, careful not to mess her curls that took hours to put in. The
pillows bounced around me “I’d much rather get ready in your huge bedroom, than
my tiny one.” She winced and turned to Lauren. “No offence.”

Lauren only smiled,
taking no offence about the carriage house she had nothing to do with. She sat
on my burgundy, velvet arm chair and started to lean her head back onto the big
cushion…then thought better of it. Her hair was in an intricate up-do, she
wouldn’t want to flatten it.

I dug through my bag
for my phone and when I found it I texted Nate, giving him our new plan. He
responded right away saying that he’d let the guys know what was happening.
“Okay, everything is under control with the men.”

“Cool, should we start
getting ready?” Marisa asked, her eyes bright with excitement.

Lauren was typing on
her own phone. “I just told them to let us know when they get here, we can
change then. Our makeup and hair are done; it won’t take long.”

Ten minutes later,
Lauren’s phone beeped. She looked down at it and grinned. “It’s time to get
ready girls!”

I sat back and waited
until all my friends were dressed before carefully sliding the silky material
over my head, making sure not to mess up my hair. The dress was a silk ivory
halter with crystals along the collar and bodice, a small train flowed out at
the back. My hair was wavy with pieces pulled back in a diamond crusted clip
and then falling around my shoulders, tiny white flowers were woven throughout.
I gazed at my reflection in the mirror and couldn’t help the smile that pulled
at the corners of my mouth.

“You look beautiful,”
Lauren gasped, stepping up behind me.

“Thank you,” I said
softly, feeling self-conscious about my appearance.

I stepped into my heels
and looked around. “Are we ready?”

They all nodded and
headed into the hall ahead of me.

As I was about to
follow them my father appeared in the doorway blocking my exit. He was wearing
a black tuxedo and his thick brown hair was styled to perfection, not that I’d
expect differently. He gazed at me with something that could almost be mistaken
as emotion in his eyes.

“Is there something
wrong?” I asked him, suddenly feeling anxious as I watched my friends disappear
around the corner.

“No, of course not. I
just thought I’d escort my daughter to the party. I saw Nate out there and
decided to take the chance to get you alone.”

I narrowed my eyes at
him. “Have you been drinking already?”

His lips twitched in an
attempt at a smile. “
No.
Your mother told me what you said to her a few
weeks ago and...” He trailed off. I waited for the lecture that was sure to
come. The few times I had said something against my mom he would let me have
it. I braced myself for the inevitable. “…you were right,” he finally said.

“Whatever,” I mumbled,
not in the mood for his usual rant. “Wait.
What
?” I asked, sure I had
heard wrong.

This time he allowed
the smile to appear. “I said you were right.”

All I could do was
stare at the man that was impersonating my father. I wondered where my real one
was.

“We haven’t been good
parents to you and I’d like to try harder. I don’t know how to fix this, but
maybe we can figure it out together,” the imposter continued.

I stood in the doorway
of my room with my mouth hanging open. “I…uh…
what
?” was all I could
manage. He had caught me off guard. Who was this man and what had he done to my
father; the man that barely spoke to me for weeks on end and who thought of me
as no more than a burden?

“I’d like a chance at a
better relationship, if you’ll let me.”

Again, he’d shocked me
speechless. Since words were not possible, I simply nodded my head.

“Alright then, let’s
go.” He held his arm out for me and I threaded mine through it. I could smell
his spicy aftershave. It was a scent I had craved as a child wanting the
attention of her father, but was always let down.

The halls were clear as
we made our way to the back patio where the party was being held. When we
stepped through the glass doors, we entered a different world. Flowers and
twinkling lights were everywhere. Dusk had fallen and the tiny lights, along
with the moon, created a soft glow. The scent of multiple flowers drifted in
the air.

There was a long thin
white carpet down the center between two rows of white chairs. The party guests
were turned in their seats and watching me and my father as we approached. Nate
was standing at the end of the carpet wearing a black tuxedo. His usually
tousled blond hair was brushed smoothly, making him handsome in a more mature
way. His vivid blue eyes were locked on me. His expression was intense, showing
tenderness and love. Reverend Markus was standing next to him, a bible in his
hands.

I blinked my eyes,
expecting the image before me to disappear, but it didn’t. Everyone was
focussed on me. I thought I was walking into a party to celebrate our marriage,
but this? No way. The image before me was exactly what I had described when I
began to plan my wedding with my mother. But she hadn’t listened and instead
planned the exact opposite.

I spun on my father.
“What…?” I whispered, unable to finish the sentence.

“Your mother wanted to
give you the wedding
you
wanted,” he said softly. “We’re just sorry it
took us so long.”

My heart warmed and my
eyes began to water.

My father must have
sensed my surprise and my inability to move, because he began the walk down the
aisle, pulling me along with him. The crowd stood up as guitar music started to
play. When I looked in front of me again I saw my mother in the front row. She
was standing with her hand clutched above her heart and a huge grin on her
beautiful face. Mona was standing next to her, her expression filled with love
and happiness. Her eyes went to the woman next to her then back to me and
winked. I smiled at her. She had been like a mother to me and I knew that she
was happy that my real one was finally trying. I didn’t know what had come over
my parents, but I decided that it didn’t matter. Whatever the reason, I just
needed to enjoy it for as long as it lasted. As the shock started to wear off,
I grinned and moved toward my husband to renew our vows with all of our family
and friends present, just like I had always wanted.

Once we said I do, Nate
leaned forward and kissed me. I smiled against his lips as the crowd broke into
applause. I was beaming with happiness as we turned to face the people we loved
the most. I thought I was happy the first time we did this, but it was nothing
compared to how I felt now that I could share it with everyone. When we walked
down the aisle, the guests threw rose petals. We ducked as a clump was tossed
at us, hitting Nate in the side of the head. I turned to see Adrian grinning
widely and I knew instantly who had thrown it.

When the guests filed
out of their seats they took turns congratulating us. My cheeks hurt with my
constant smile. When Lilly, Eddie and Ally approached, Ally whispered in my ear
asking who the hottie with the black hair was. Adrian. I had to tell her he was
taken and point out that she had a date. She only shrugged as they moved on to
the reception.

It was an hour later
that the group had thinned out and moved to the dining room. Finally with a
kiss to my husband, I was able to escape to find Mona. I caught up with her in
the kitchen. She was coordinating the first course, the salads. “Mona,” I
called out through the noisy chaos of the room.

She turned around at
the sound of her name and smiled. “You look beautiful,” she mumbled as she
wrapped me in her arms. I inhaled her gardenia scent, feeling comforted by the
familiarity of it.

She pulled away and
brushed a strand of hair out of my eyes. “What did you think? Were you
surprised?”

“Surprised doesn’t even
cover it. How did this happen? Why did you guys plan a wedding instead of a
reception?”

A string of emotions
flashed over Mona’s face. “It was all your mother’s idea. The day she came home
from your place, she was upset about what you had said to her. But instead of
blaming you, which I was afraid she might do, she sat down with me and asked me
about you.”

My eyes widened with
shock. “Asked what?”

She sat down on a
kitchen stool and waved her hand in front of her. “Questions like: have you
always felt neglected and unloved and why you felt that I was more of a mother
than she was?”

“Are you serious?” I
gasped and she nodded. “What did you say?”

She shrugged. “The
truth. I told her that after her mother died, you lost your parents as well as
your grandmother.” She placed a few salads onto a waitress’s tray before the
girl rushed out of the room. “And I told her I didn’t know why she pulled away
from you, maybe it was her own grief, but she left you when you needed her
most.”

Mona had always been
outspoken, but had never spoken her mind like that. I guess the difference was
that my mother was finally asking.

“And what she said
hurt, but it got me thinking of all the times you reached out to me and I
dismissed you,” a soft voice said from behind me.

I spun around to see my
mother standing in the kitchen doorway. Her eyes were tortured with
uncertainty. She was wearing a soft gray silk dress that hugged her curves, but
was elegant instead of sexy. Her platinum hair was down; flowing over her
shoulders and diamond teardrops sparkled from her ears. She was the
picture-perfect, mother-of-the-bride.

Mona gave me a small
smile and glanced at my mother.

Mom stepped up to me,
the smell of her perfume hovered in the air around us. “And finally, I thought
of my mother and imagined how disappointed she would be by the way we’ve been
treating you.” She wrapped me in her arms and I snuggled into her hair. My eyes
and throat burned with the threat of tears. I couldn’t remember the last time
she hugged me. “I’m so sorry,” she rasped into my ear.

When she pulled away
from me, I gazed at the woman who I had both loved and hated my whole life. “But
what about the phone call last week. You yelled at me again.”

She sighed. “I know and
I’m sorry. I wanted to surprise you with this wedding so badly. I was hoping it
could make up for some of the way we treated you. But when I thought you might
not make it, I panicked.” She lifted her hand and brushed her manicured finger
against the corner of my eye wiping away a tear. “I’m trying honey, but it’s
going to take time. Just be patient with us, alright?”

I nodded wordlessly.
“Okay,” I whispered, unable to say more.

She smiled at me, her
face alight with… if I didn’t know any better, I’d say love. “Let’s go eat this
amazing meal Mona has prepared.” She draped her arm around my shoulder and led
me out.

Mona and I shared a
look of surprise as I exited the kitchen with my mom.