Everlasting Embrace (Embrace Series) (8 page)

Surprise Arrangements

Waking, I roll over and watch the love of my life sleeping. He looks so peaceful. Today Nathanial and I will begin the arrangements for our wedding. After his training session with Elijah
’
s friends,
Tryphosia, and her husband Azubah,
the
M
agnificent
O
nes are going to bless his grad ring. We replaced the stone with a day crystal
, a
black diamond called
veneficus lamia sol solis partonus
, which is Latin for
‘
magickal vampire sun protector
’
. Tryphosia and Abzubah have the ability to transfer all their knowledge to others, making training other vampires much faster. They
’
ve been able to help Nathanial and Nik since Nathanial
’
s
Embrace
. They have been working with them for months now, but because of Nik
’
s age
,
it takes much longer for the implants to stick. They did intensive training when Nathanial was first
Embraced
, but now return once a month to reinforce their training. This will continue until Nik is a little older and we are su
re he
has retained everything.

Today we are going to look at various wedding stuff. Funny thing is we haven
’
t decided on a date yet, so I think all the planning is just a little premature. Of course
,
my family doesn
’
t seem to agree. Glancing at the clock, I see it
’
s already
9 A
.
M
.
, only an hour until our first appointment.
As I lean
over to kiss Nathanial
while
he sleeps, his eyes pop open and he rolls
,
pinning me to our bed.

“
Good morning beautiful. Did you think you could steal a kiss?
”

“
Maybe,
”
I say with a grin.

“
No stealing necessary. Y
ou can have them for free.
”
He lowers himself closer to me, pressing his soft lips to mine. Lifting his hand, Nathanial tucks the loose strands of my hair behin
d my ears.
Then with one ha
n
d cupping my head, his lips slowly move for mine
,
kissing my cheek, then trav
el towards my neck. Tiny kisses
,
a
nd a nibble on my ear
,
send
colorful
fireworks bursting through every inch of me. I wrap my arms around him and pull him even closer to me. My heart bu
r
sts with love and admiration for the man before me. As his tongue wrestles with mine, I feel the platinum rod piercing in his mouth brush against my lips. Nathanial got his tongue pierce
d
after graduation. Just when I didn
’
t think he could get any sexier, he did something as simple as a small discreet piercing that adds sex appeal I never imagined.

As passions begin to rise
,
Nathanial
’
s hand slips under my shirt in an attempt to pull it off
—
then we hear a knock on the door.
“
What?
”
I ask.

“
Sophia, you need to get ready. We are all waiting on you two to go plan this thing called your wedding. Maybe you can save what you are doing for later,
”
Alexander jokes.

“
Are you freaking kidding me? You butt in on our private thoughts in our room too
?
”

“
It
’
s kinda hard not to hear both your thoughts screaming.
”

“
Oh piss off
;
we
’
ll be righ
t out.
”
Frustration consumes me
as our lack of privacy becomes more apparent.

“
I better go take a cold shower before we go,
”
Nathanial jokes.

“
Yeah
,
I better get down there.
”


  

  


Within ten minutes
,
Nathanial joins the rest of us in the family room. Matilda has been showing me the portfolio for the wedding planner
,
and I
’
m grateful for the rescue.

“
Well
,
now that you finally decide to join us, maybe you two can pick a wedding date
,
”
Matilda smirks.

“
Wow, you know I really haven
’
t thought about it much. What about a summer wedding?
”
I suggest.

“
You really want to wait that long?
”
Ebony jokes.

“
I know
,
r
ight
.
Sophia
,
that is way too long,
”
Matilda gasps.

“
Seriously, it is like
—
what
—
six months away. There is no hurry to get married. I
’
ve waited this long. Plus
,
Nathanial and I have only been together for like two years
—
ok
ay,
almost two and half
—
but still
,
we have time. Why don
’
t you and Alexander do the deed? What has it been
,
like a hundred year
s since you have been together
,
and still no official ceremony
?
”
I turn the pressure to my siblings.

“
Ahhh
…
ahhhh
,
um, thanks Sophia,
”
Alexander stumbles.

“
Yes
,
why don
’
t we talk about that? Why have you not made an honest woman out of me yet?
”
Matilda lectures
,
and the rest of us bu
r
st out
with
laughter.

Nathanial l
eans over and whispers to me,
“
You
’
re in trouble now.
”

“
What did I do?
”

“
Well
,
I guess you will find out now.
”

Alexander excuses himself for a moment. Mati
lda looks at me and asks,
“
W
hat did I do? Is there some reason that after so long he still won
’
t marry me? I mean
,
we
’
ve been living as man and wife for as long as we
’
ve been together.
”

“
Mati, it
’
s not you. It
’
s me,
”
I defend
,
remembering a promise Alexander and I made.

“
You? Do you not approve of me?
”
T
ears well up in her eyes.

“
No, it
’
s not that
…
”
I begin as Alexander walks back in the room.

“
It
’
s okay Sophia
,
I can handle this
.
”
He smiles and winks at Nathanial.

“
Now I have to be handled?
”
Matilda pouts. I have neve
r seen her this insecure before.
I guess my impending marriage is affecting her in more ways than any of us knew.

“
No, my dear Mati
,
y
ou do not need t
o be handled
;
t
his situation does. Please allow me to explain.
”

“
Well
,
go ahead then
.
”
She plops on the oversized chair.

“
In 1894
,
a
s you know
,
Sophia was to marry a much older
duke
. When we were
Embraced
,
the marriage obviously never too
k
place. I promised her that neither of us would get married until we were both ready
,
and we would always have each other until that day came. She has told me several times over the years that I should make you my wife, but I refused until she found the same happiness. Now Sophia
has Nathanial and I have you. We are both complete. W
ith her about to make things official, I have been waiting for the right time to do the same.
”
Alexander pulls out a perfe
ctly polished round wooden box
and kneels before Matilda.
“
I hav
e loved you for over a century
,
and have held this near and dear to my heart for almost as long. Now that my sister has found true love
,
and I have kept my promise to her, we can both bask in the happiness of love together. Matilda, this is long overdue, but will you make me t
he happiest man in all eternity
a
nd agree to be my wife
—
a
nd partner
—
i
n the eternal life?
”

Tears stream down everyone
’
s face in the
room as we all await the answer. T
hen Matilda takes in a deep breath.
“
Of course I will
.
I have loved you and wanted this since the day you saved me.
”

Alex pulls out a ring
—
a 1900
’
s Edwardian, perfect yellow gold band encrusted with hundreds of tiny diamonds
,
a round setting on top
,
with at least eighteen diamonds circling a gold sett
ing that resembles a sunflower. I
n the center
is
a large cognac diamond. Taking her hand
,
he
slips the ring on her finger. W
ith a soft kiss of her hand
,
Alexander pulls her into his arms.
“
I have waited so long for this moment, and I h
ave one more surprise for you
;
w
ell
,
for Sophia and you. Nathanial and I have been talking. We are wondering what you ladies would think of a double wedding?
”

Matilda and I look at each other, then at our men and back to each other. Running towards one
another,
we begin to scream,
“
Oh my god...YES!
”
We grab a hold of each other in the biggest hug, then turn to our men and hug them. Matilda and I
’
ve always joked about a double wedding, but there was
never anyone for me, until now
;
u
ntil Nathanial.

“
Well now
,
girls
,
if you will stop this screeching
,
maybe we can still make our appointment with the wedding planner in Boston
,
”
Florence announces
,
trying to shoo us out the door.

“
Before we go
,
I just wanna say something.
El
ijah and Florence
,
you have brought us all together and made us a family.
You have created a true family
—
a family that w
e are lucky to be a part of
. Thank you for taking us in,
and
showing us what family means. We owe everything we are to the two of you,
”
I announce
,
and they both come towards me, throwing their arms over me in a big hug. Florence begins to tear up
,
and the rest of the fa
mily races over for a group hug.