Veiled Passages (23 page)

Chapter Fifty-one

Bradley stood at the front of the church, his heart in his throat as he waited for the wedding to begin.  He was dressed in a black tuxedo with a black vest and a black tie with a thin stripe of salmon. Ian stood next to him, glancing around the chapel. “Gillian hasn’t arrived yet,” he whispered.

“Are you worried?” Bradley asked, praying that Ian wouldn’t desert him to go and search for his fiancée.

“No,” Ian said, shaking his head. “She’ll be here.”

Mike appeared next to them. “Well, I checked on Mary,” he said casually. “Her dad’s driving her home. She changed her mind.”

The blood drained from Bradley’s face and he turned desperate eyes on Mike. “What?” he exclaimed.

“Oh, dude, sorry,” Mike said quickly. “Bad joke. Really bad joke. She’s as nervous as you are and looks like a dream.”

Bradley inhaled a deep breath. “Mike, if you weren’t already dead…”

Mike nodded. “Yeah, I’m sorry,” he said. “I figured since this was, you know, your second wedding, you wouldn’t be nervous.”

“He wasn’t marrying Mary that time,” Ian said.

Taking another deep breath, Bradley nodded, “Whole different experience,” he acknowledged, and then he noticed that Mike was wearing a tuxedo that matched Ian’s. “What’s with the getup?”

Mike grinned. “Well, I know the only reason you didn’t ask me to be your best man was because, well, I’m dead,” he explained. “So, I decided I would be your best ghost or best angel, whichever you prefer. Figured you could use the extra help up here.”

Smiling back at him, Bradley nodded. “Thank you,” he said. “I certainly could.”

The processional music began to play and the knot in Bradley’s stomach tightened. Ian leaned over and patted him on the shoulder. “Sealbh math dhuit,” he said.

“What?” Bradley whispered anxiously.

“Good luck,” Ian replied with a quick grin.

Bradley looked at the open double door and took another deep breath. He was sure this was worse than facing a firing squad. Suddenly Clarissa and Maggie came around the corner and stood in the doorway.  In matching salmon satin and tulle tea-length dresses, they looked like princesses.

“Now there’s a sight,” Ian said.

“Adorable,” Mike added. “They couldn’t be cuter.”

The girls looked up the aisle to Bradley and waved, and then they both blew him kisses. “I lied,” Mike added. “That was cuter.”

Bradley blew a kiss back to the little girls and they both giggled.

They turned to each other, nodded and then started forward up the aisle, sprinkling salmon-colored rose petals on the white runner. When they reached the front of the church, they both ran over to Bradley and gave him a hug.  Then they gave Ian a hug too.  Both of them turned to Mike, undecided on how to proceed. “You both owe me a hug later,” he said with a smile. 

Giggling, they tossed the remaining flower petals at Bradley and Ian and hurried to their seats.

Sean stepped forward, took Linda Sterling’s arm and led her slowly up the aisle. He was dressed in a black tuxedo with the same light salmon vest as his father was wearing and Linda was in a seafoam green tea-length chiffon dress.  Art was next down the aisle with Ashley Deutsch on his arm and Tom was the final groomsman with Katie Brennan as his partner.  Finally, Rosie stopped in the doorway, a wide smile on her face, and stepped forward, resplendent in the same color seafoam green as the other women, but she was dressed in a silk suit.

When Rosie made it to the front of the church, she turned and winked at Bradley before taking her place to the left of the altar.

The first chords of the Wedding March echoed in the chapel and Bradley’s eyes were glued to the doorway.  She moved from the hallway and stood in the doorway. His heart stopped for a moment as he beheld his beautiful bride. She was simply perfect: from her veiled head to the hem of her dress. It was like she had stepped from the pages of a fairy tale and he really did get to be Prince Charming.  Eager to be with her, he started to move forward and only stopped when Ian placed a restraining hand on his shoulder.

“Easy boy,” Ian whispered. “She’ll be coming to you, just bide your time a while.”

Bradley stepped back, his eyes never leaving Mary’s face, and watched her slowly walk up the aisle toward him.

“Who giveth this woman to be married to this man?” the minister asked, and Bradley realized, with a start, that her dad was standing next her.

The smile on her father’s face told him that he’d noticed eagerness and, with a nod in Bradley’s direction, Timothy replied, “Her mother and I do,” lifting his daughter’s veil and placing a kiss on her cheek. “I love you, Mary-Mary.”

“I love you too, Da,” she replied.

He stepped back, replaced the veil and moved to his seat next to his already weeping wife. Mary turned and stepped next to Bradley. He took her hand and brought it to his lips. “You are perfect,” he whispered.

She smiled up at him. “I feel perfect,” she whispered back.

Ian started to turn and saw Gillian sneak in the back of the chapel and slip into a pew. He caught her eye and winked at her before he turned around to face the altar.

Chapter Fifty-two

The minister stepped forward. “I welcome all who have come to witness the marriage of Mary and Bradley,” he said. “And although this is a sacred event, it is also a joyful event that is to be shared with friends and family.”

“These two young people have chosen the holy institution of matrimony to pledge their love and their devotion to each other,” he continued. “I know that God is pleased with their decision and I would not be surprised if there were holy angels witnessing this marriage with us today.”

Mary and Bradley glanced over at Mike who winked and nodded. “Yes, that’s me,” he said.

“And now, Mary and Bradley have decided to write their own vows,” the minister said. “Mary, you may go first.”

Mary gazed into Bradley’s eyes, took a deep breath and began. “I, Mary Margaret O’Reilly, take you, Bradley William Alden, to be my husband. I vow before God, angels and all who are present here today to love you with all my heart. I pledge my faithfulness to you. I promise to respect you, to work with you and to grow with you. And I vow to continue to love you beyond this life and into the eternities.”

It took a moment for Bradley to be able to speak. He cleared his throat and exhaled slowly and finally began. “I, Bradley William Alden, take you, Mary Margaret O’Reilly, to be my wife. I vow before God, angels and all who are present here today to love you with all my heart. I pledge my faithfulness to you. I promise to respect you, to work with you and to grow with you. And I vow to continue to love you beyond this life and into the eternities.”

He took her hand and brought it to his lips.

She smiled up at him. “We’re not done yet,” she whispered. “We need the rings.”

“Oh, the rings,” he said, turning to Ian who handed them both to him.

Bradley handed Mary his ring and he held hers. “I go first this time,” he said.

“I give you this ring to wear with all my love. And as a ring has no end, neither shall my love for you.”

He slipped the delicate gold ring on her finger and then placed a kiss on it.

Mary took his hand in hers.  “I give you this ring to wear with all my love. And as a ring has no end, neither shall my love for you.”

She slipped the gold band on his finger and pressed a kiss on it.

“By the authority vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the minister said. “Bradley, you may now kiss your bride.”

Bradley lifted the veil and looked down at Mary’s face for a moment. “I love you,” he whispered, and then he kissed her with all the love he was feeling.

Wrapping his arms around her, he lifted her up. “I love you so much,” he exclaimed, twirling around with her.

Throwing her arms up in the air, she laughed out loud. “I can’t believe we are finally married.”

He lowered her gently to the floor. “Believe it,” he said, just before he kissed her again.

A moment later, with the recessional music playing, Sean led Linda back down the aisle towards the door.  As he passed the back pew, a flash of red hair caught the corner of his eye, and he turned his head, but couldn’t locate it again.

“Come on, Sean,” Art said, “There’s food waiting for us.”

Reluctantly, Sean moved out of the church and onto the sidewalk in the front to await the bride and groom. He scanned the crowd, trying to find the red hair again.

“Sean, are you okay?” Linda asked him.

He smiled down at her. “Sorry, I’ve just been working on a case in Chicago and something caught my eye that reminded me of her…I mean it,” he said. “But that was fairly rude of me.  Let’s go find Bob, so he can show off his beautiful new wife.”

They wandered through the crowd, Sean keeping his eye out for the red head and Linda looking for her husband.  They spotted Bob just before the announcement that the bride and groom were coming out of the church.

The crowd moved to the front of the church and applauded as Mary and Bradley came out. Bradley bent down and kissed Mary again and the applause increased. She smiled up at him. “Don’t get used to it,” she teased. “You won’t get applause every time you kiss me.”

“Well, applause will definitely not be what I’m after,” he whispered, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

She blushed brightly and he laughed and placed another kiss on her lips.

As he led her down the stairs to the waiting car, Sean rushed up the stairs to meet them. “Hey, congrats,” he said casually.

“Thank you, Sean,” Mary said, hugging him. “The tuxes were just what I wanted.”

“I told you I knew a guy,” he replied with a grin. “Hey, did you happen to see someone, a woman, with red hair?  Bright red hair?”

Mary smiled at him. “Sorry, Sean, she’s taken.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“That’s Gillian, Ian’s fiancée.”

Chapter Fifty-three

The elevator door closed and shut out the sounds of the reception. Mary and Bradley had said their good-byes and escaped while the party was still going on.  After a few moments of canned music, the elevator doors opened and suddenly Mary felt like she couldn’t breathe. “Mary, are you all right?” Bradley asked.

She nodded slowly, not able to find her voice at first. Clearing her throat, the first noise came out like a squeak and she jumped. “I’m just a little nervous,” she confessed.

He took her hand in his and led her out of the elevator and the doors closed behind them. Then he stopped and turned her towards him. “I love you,” he said.

She nodded again, and swallowed hard.
What if he looked at her scarred body and was repelled? What if she was no good at sex?  What if she…

He placed his hand under her chin and lifted it slightly so she would meet his eyes. “I said I love you,” he repeated. “Let me show you how much.”

He bent forward and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. She kissed him back. He kissed her again, lingering and tasting her. She felt her heart pound against her chest. He softly feathered kisses across her face and along the side of her neck. She shivered and felt her body respond as warm, liquid fire coursed through her veins.

He continued teasing her with soft kisses on her neck, her throat and her face. She moaned softly. “Mary,” he whispered, his breath soft against her cheek.

“Uh, huh?” she sighed, angling her head back so he could have better access to the sensitive skin under her chin.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“So, good,” she exhaled. “So very good.”

He scooped her up in his arms and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He waited until she looked up at him. “I love you, Mrs. Alden,” he said.

She smiled up at him, emotion shining from her face. “I love you back, Mr. Alden,” she said.

He carried her to their room and set her down next to the door. “Just a moment,” he said, slipping the keycard into the pad and opening the door.

He scooped her up again and carried her into the room. “Don’t want to risk any bad luck,” he said.

“You just like picking me up,” she teased.

“No, I just like holding you in my arms,” he replied, the smile fading from his face.

He kissed her again, pouring his emotion into the kiss. She slid her arms up around his neck and threaded her fingers through his hair, pulling him closer to her. He slowly lowered her body, so she was pressed against him, dangling in the air, and he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close.

“Bradley,” she whispered, panting softly.

He nibbled on her neck. “Yes?” he asked.

“I need…” she breathed. “I need…”

“What darling?” he questioned. “What do you need?”

“I need to get out of this dress, so it doesn’t get ruined,” she finally said, her breath coming out in gasps.

Chuckling, he slowly loosened his hold on her so her feet could touch the ground. “Ruined?” he asked. “As in ripping it off you?”

She blushed. “It could happen.”

He leaned forward and kissed her again. “Oh, yes, it could have,” he said soberly.

This time the blush started on her face and spread over her body.

He stepped away from her. “Okay, you go change and I’ll wait here for you,” he said.

She lifted the skirt of the dress and hurried into the bathroom. Only when she closed the door behind her, she realized there was no way she would be able to get the dress off by herself.  She opened the door and peeked out from behind it. “Um, Bradley,” she said.

“Yes, Mary,” he replied, as he walked around the room and examined some of the features.

“I seem to have run into a little problem.”

He turned towards her. “What is it?”

She sighed. “I can’t get out of my dress by myself,” she admitted.

A slow smile spread across his face. “Well, one person’s problem is another person’s good fortune. Come out here.”

Her skirt lifted slightly, she made her way back to him and turned around. “See, the lacings, I can’t reach them.”

He pulled up a chair and sat behind her. “So where do they start?” he asked.