Modern Arrangements: Complete Trilogy (Modern Arrangements #1-3) (24 page)

Viola and Sarah left the room to be
escorted to their seats. I took a deep breath as a knock resounded on the door.
Assuming it was Dixon, since he agreed to walk me down the aisle, I kept my
eyes on my reflection in front of me.

"Lilli?" I spun around.

"Dad?" Rushing to him, I knelt
down next to his wheelchair. "What are you doing here? How...you should be
–"

"Calm down." He chuckled.
"Did you think I wouldn't be here?" I smiled and fought my tears.
"Of course I was coming. Thanks to Aidan, I got here."

"Aidan?" I furrowed my brow.

"He sent his jet to get us and he
had the plane set up with anything we would need for the flight." He
rubbed his head a little bashfully. I was shocked, stunned into silence for a
moment. I didn't think of Aidan as a bad guy, but I didn't expect this from
him. "So, you gonna let your old man walk you down...well, roll you down
the aisle?" I laughed at his joke.

"Of course, roll away." My
smile couldn’t be contained.

"Well, then, let's get this show on
the road." He held out his hand.

Maggie, Phoebe and Celia lined up behind
Aidan's distant cousin or something who was acting as the flower girl. I
couldn't see into the room since I was being kept hidden until the 'right
moment'. At least that’s what the wedding coordinator told me.

"You sure about this?" Dad
whispered to me.

"Oh, don't tempt me to run." I
giggled quietly. "I don’t think I could make it in these damn death trap
shoes." I winked.

"Lilli, you don't have to do
this." He looked up at me worried.

"It will be fine. I'm in too deep
now. Things will be...okay." I smiled reassuringly at him, it was our
turn.

Donald was wheeled into position with
Dixon helping him. Standing next to him, I took one more deep breath. The Irish
music started and the doors were opened.

Windows starting at the hardwood floor
rose to the tall ceiling. Mahogany chairs, wrapped in white satin, held our
guests. The aisle lined on each side with ivory lace draped from candle poles.
Each pole holding a lit ivory candle and snowball flowers bundled together at
the base of each candle. It was simple but beautiful. Viola had done amazing.
The Alter was a large canopy of snowball flowers and ivory lace draped to the
floor.

Donald nudged me and I snapped out of
the awe and began my walk. As we approached the canopy I focused on Aidan. His
eyes were intense and I started to feel self-conscious. Swallowing hard, I
pulled my eyes away from him. When I looked back I couldn't avoid his gaze.

We reached Aidan and I don't remember how
I made it down the aisle because I’d been lost in my own mind.

"Do you present this woman?"
My eyes snapped from Aidan to the priest.

"Yes." Donald answered and
placed my hand in Aidan's.

Our hands met with a pulsating tingle as
he gripped mine tightly within his own. Perhaps, it was nerves? Or, maybe, he
thought I would run? I smiled at him and squeezed back, hoping to reassure him.

The Iverson's Irish heritage was
important to them, so the ceremony held many aspects. The priest began in
common fashion,

"We have gathered today to join
Lillian Pearl Snowe and Aidan Walsh Iverson in matrimony."

With familiar blessings over the
marriage complete, he asked the question.

"If anyone objects to this union,
please speak now or forever hold your peace." Aidan squeezed my hand
tightly. I shifted my eyes and head a little to look at him. Was he nervous or
warning me not to speak? He kept his eyes straight ahead so I couldn't tell. I
looked back to the priest. "Very well."

"Please face each other."
Aidan and I faced each other, my hands in his. "Please repeat after
me."

"We swear by peace and love to
stand," he paused allowing us to repeat his words, "Heart to heart
and hand in hand." Pausing once more as we replayed his words. "Mark,
O Spirit, and hear us now," again the same words flowed from our lips.
"Confirming this, our Sacred Vow," we both seemed to pause but spoke
the last of the wedding vows.

"The rings?"

The priest looked to James who was
handing them over, placing them on a small silver plate. The priest said a
blessing in Gaelic and then handed my ring to Aidan.

"Please repeat after me while
placing the ring on Lillian."

Aidan seemed to take a deep breath and
held the platinum circle at my ring finger's tip. I sucked in a breath and  held
it. The priest spoke.

"With these hands, I give you my
heart," Aidan repeated, continuing the vow without prompting.

"With these hands I give you my
heart and crown it with my love." I looked up, startled that he finished without
the priest’s guidance. His eyes were intense again, as if they were seeking
permission into my soul.

The priest was caught off guard for a
moment but quickly recovered.

"Lillian, please repeat after
me."

Holding the ring at Aidan's hand, a knot
formed in my stomach. This was it, this was it...this was me being bought and
paid for like a prize mare. The priest spoke the first line of the vow.

 "With these hands, I give you my
heart," I repeated and quickly finished the vow before even realizing I
had.

"With these hands I give you my
heart and crown it with my love." It came out so effortlessly, I was still
in shock. I knew my eyes were wide when I quickly looked up at Aidan who was
smiling crookedly at me.

The priest broke our moment.

"Now Aidan and Lillian will drink
to celebrate their union," The priest blessed two silver goblets as he
poured wine into both. Handing each of us a cup, he began the 'Loving Cup'
ceremony.

"And, now, please drink to the love
you've shared in the past." We drank. "Drink to your love in the
present, on this, your wedding day." We drank. "And drink to your
love in the future and forever more." We drank.

"Lillian and Aidan have committed
themselves to their love, their future together and to their families. Aidan,
you may kiss your bride."

Aidan grabbed both sides of my face and
pressed his lips to mine. His tongue slid slightly between my lips and I swore
I heard him moan quietly. The knot in my stomach changed into a different type
of tension as heat consumed my body. He pulled away from the kiss, whispering against
my lips, "Thank you."

The priest completed the ceremony with
one final traditional Irish blessing.

"May the road rise to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,
the rains fall soft upon your fields.

May God be with you and bless you;

May you see your children's children.

May you be poor in misfortune,

Rich in blessings,

May you know nothing but happiness from
this day forward.

And may the hand of a friend always be
near.

May the road rise to meet you

May the wind be always at your back

May the warm rays of sun fall upon your
home.

May green be the grass you walk on,

May blue be the skies above you,

May pure be the joys that surround you,

May true be the hearts that love you.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His
hand."

When he finished he nudged us to face our
families and guests.

"I present to you, Mrs. Lillian and
Mr. Aidan Walsh Iverson."

The music started, Phoebe handed me my
bouquet and Aidan and I walked down the aisle as husband and wife. We stopped just
outside the opening doors and lined up for the receiving line.

"You look beautiful, Lilli." I
turned towards him. I hadn’t expected him to say anything.

"Um...thanks. You're not too bad
yourself." I winked and smiled.

Before I could turn away, he cupped my
cheek and kissed me tenderly. I was slightly taken aback. But, our guests
started to approach us so I didn't have too much time to think about it.

The receiving line went smoothly, though
it took over an hour. Once finished, we were ushered to different locations in
the large room for photos.

"We’re seriously taking photos of
this?" I whispered into Aidan’s ear as we posed in front of the sunset
through the windows.

He rolled his eyes. "It is our
wedding day, you know."

I snorted, trying not to break into a
giggle fit.

Aidan pulled me closer and kissed me.
The flash went off. The photographer had been shouting out posing orders and I
hadn’t been paying attention. There were photos with the wedding party, our
parents, the priest and Aidan and I alone.

After all of the posing and the
plastered smiles, the wedding coordinator hustled us up a floor to the
reception room where the wedding party was waiting for us. Phoebe and Celia
were all smiles when Aidan and I arrived. A Uillean piper began playing
traditional Irish music, indicating the arrival of the wedding party.

Walking into the room, I was again
awestruck by the décor. There were walls and walls of windows that looked out
into the early evening and over the water. It was a stunning backdrop to the
snowball flowers, candles and ivory and sage green lace that decorated the
room.

Our guests stood and clapped as we entered.
Once we reached the dance floor area, the Irish Wedding song began to play and
Aidan wrapped his arm around my waist. We swayed on the floor. Viola had
suggested we use the song and I agreed since I had no clue which song would
suit our situation.

As the song started to come to an end, Aidan
spun me slowly and  dipped me backwards. I jumped, not prepared for this move.
He started to chuckle and I smacked his arm slightly, laughing at myself.
Flashes went off around us.

Once the song ended we sat down at our
table with our family. Aidan was on my right, my mother and father on my left.
Viola, Liam and Maggie were to Aidan’s right. We sat in small conversation
about the wedding ceremony. Viola was beaming. Traditional Irish music played
quietly in the background as dinner was being served.

"Ahem," everyone turned.

James stood near the DJ table with a
microphone. "It’s my duty, as the best man, to toast the new couple."
James smirked at Aidan.

"Oh dear God," Aidan groaned
and rolled his eyes. I couldn’t help but giggle.

"Dear cousin, we have stood next to
each other throughout the years, more like brothers than cousins. I wish you
the best." James raised his glass and drank.

"Wow and I thought that he would
–"

"Dear, Lilli." My head snapped
back to James, eyes wide with nervousness. "Lilli, Lilli, Lilli…you have
had such an effect on our dear Aidan, more than you realize." James smiled
mischievously, winking at Aidan. "Here’s to you! Keeping doing what you do
to him or, rather, don’t do." Aidan groaned while everyone drank again.

"What –?"

"Don’t ask, please." He shook
his head.

I laughed lightly. "Ok."

Once the dinner course was finished and
dishes cleared, the music got louder and the bar saw more attention.

"So, Viola said you two will be
going to a private island for your honeymoon, how long will you be gone?"
My mother inquired while taking a drink.

I cleared my throat.

"Um…two weeks."

"When are you leaving?" Donald
looked at me with guilt and tension.

I placed my hand on his.

"Not till the morning." I
leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"Yes," Aidan cleared his
throat. "We’ll take the jet part of the way and then we’ll have to take
the boat to the island." He took a large drink.

Celia, Phoebe and Maggie came over and
grabbed my arm, pulling me onto the dance floor with them. Reaching the middle
of the crowd, we started dancing.

I plastered a smile onto my face. I
couldn’t keep my thoughts from wandering back to the honeymoon. Mostly, I think
I was nervous about being alone with him for so long. However, I know that
wasn’t all that was bothering me. What of all the sexual tension forming
between us? What if we ended up hating each other?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Aidan

I could feel my palms sweating and my heart
racing. Standing at the altar, in front of family, friends and business
colleagues, I was waiting for Lilli to walk down the aisle. This was it. After
today I would be married. Part of me was relieved while the other part was
nervous. Four years, four years with Lilli. She wasn’t too keen on having sex
or being a married couple, which worried me. What would this be like? I was
about to hyperventilate.