Behind me there came the shouts and sudden applause as our friends and family, rockers, roadies, and actors all congratulated us. It was a long while before I lifted my head though. When I did, it was to find Marissa smiling that one smile that I would have paid any price to have perfected on canvas so that I could have that sight forever. “Hi,” she whispered.
I cleared my throat. “Hey.” My eyes drifted closed as she wiped my tears away with the soft pad of her thumb. “Did you really say yes?” I asked, needing to make sure I hadn’t dreamed her answer.
She giggled. “Yes, I said yes. I love you, silly man. There was no other answer I could have given you.”
“When?”
“When will I marry you?” I nodded. “As soon as you want.”
Another breath of relief left me and I stood up, finally putting the ring on her finger. She didn’t even glance down at it, her blue eyes were glued to mine and I bent to brush a kiss over her soft lips. I’d sweated bullets over what ring to pick out for her, and she didn’t even care what it looked like. Damn, I loved this woman. “Now?” I breathed.
“Now what?” she asked, sounding dazed as I brushed my lips over hers again.
“Will you marry me now? Right now?” She gasped and took a step back, her eyes demanding to know if I was serious without her having to ask the question. “I told you a few days ago, Mari. The only man who will be taking your virginity is your husband. I meant that.”
“But… there are things that we need to do. Like find a minister and get the license and…” She broke off. “I’m sure there are other things that we would have to do. We couldn’t possibly…”
I grinned down at her and glanced over my shoulder to where Emmie and Natalie were standing with their clipboards in hands. Emmie nodded her head to the side and I saw a man in a suit step forward. Marissa followed my gaze first to Emmie and Natalie and then to the minister who pulled a Bible out of his suit jacket pocket.
Marissa snorted. “Of course we can get married today.” She rolled her eyes and laughed. “Okay then. Let’s get married.”
Chapter 16
Marissa
I had to be dreaming. There just wasn’t any other explanation for how happy I was or for how fast everything was moving.
As Emmie snapped the last of the buttons on the wedding dress that she had had ordered for me, I pinched my cheek. When a shot of pain flash through me, I shook my head. “I still don’t believe it.”
In front of me, Layla, Lana, Dallas, and Harper gave me knowing grins. “Sweetie, it doesn’t matter how long you wait to get married once that ring is on your finger,” Layla informed me as she glanced down at the rings on her left hand. “When it’s the man you’ve waited your entire life for, it’s going to feel like a dream regardless if you wait an hour or a year.”
“But what about a honeymoon?” I asked and then blushed when I got another round of knowing smirks from my friends.
“Wroth can’t leave the tour right now for a honeymoon,” Emmie told me as she got the last button into place and came around to face me. “But he did ask me to get you guys your own bus. It’ll be waiting for you when you meet up with us in a few days. Tonight and tomorrow night you guys will be in the honeymoon suite at the Hilton.”
“But…”
“Drake will fill in for Wroth tomorrow night,” Lana assured me as she smoothed something through my hair and then placed a tiara on top of my head. “There. Perfect.”
“But…”
Dallas stepped forward and took my hands. Thankfully the Glinda costume was now gone because I doubted I would have been able to take her seriously if she were still wearing it. “No more buts, Rissa. You’re getting married, girl. There isn’t anything else to worry about but going out there and starting the rest of your life with the man who has proved above and beyond how much he adores you.”
I sucked in a deep breath in hopes of keeping my sudden tears at bay. “Okay. You’re right. This is really happening. Oh. Damn.” I fanned my hands in front of my eyes, trying not to ruin the makeup that Dallas and Layla had just applied for me. “I don’t want to cry again.”
The other women laughed and then one by one kissed my cheek. “It’s show time,” Emmie told me as she stepped back and opened the door to the make-shift dressing room everyone had used earlier in the day to get ready for my Wizard of Oz experience.
When the door opened, my brother, now free of his Tin Man outfit and paint free, stood there waiting for us in a tux. When he saw me, his eyes began to glimmer with what couldn’t have been mistaken for anything but tears. I walked into the arms he opened and hugged Liam. “You look good,” I told him.
“You look beautiful,” he said and pressed a kiss to my brow and offered me his arm just as he had earlier. Only this time we both knew he was leading me off for the last time. I was getting married. I was really getting married.
With more tears threatening to spill from my aching eyes, we followed the others out to the gates of Emerald City. With a smile the five women stepped through the door, leaving Liam and me alone until our cue. A cue no one had bothered to explain to listen for. I shook my head, hoping that Liam would know what to expect.
“I’m really happy for you, Rissa. I know that Wroth has always been the one for you and I’m glad that you two are going to spend the rest of your lives together.” He smiled down at me a little sadly. “But no matter what, you will always be my little sister. Okay? If you need anything, you only have to say the word and it’s yours.”
“Thanks, Li. But right now I have everything I will ever want or need.”
He nodded. “Yeah, Ris. I know.” The first strings of violin had his head snapping up and he gave a small grimace before reaching for the door to the gate. “That’s us.”
We walked through the door and I saw that the chairs had been rearranged in front of the arbor so that I now had an aisle to walk up. As we got to the back of the aisle, Liam stopped and my favorite song softly filled the air. I frowned when I saw the little Italian rocker standing just off to the side of the arbor singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” I chanced a glance at Liam and he just shook his head.
“She was the perfect person to sing this song for you, Ris. Even Emmie knew that. Which was why she made the call.” I opened my mouth to ask him how he felt about this, but he shook his head again. “This is your day, Rissa. Whatever makes it perfect is all that matters to me.”