“Let’s go, Aubrey,” Jess bellowed. I jumped and finished shoving my cosmetics in a bag before hurrying down the hall. I smiled, heart pumping wildly, as I faced him. He was dressed in a black tuxedo, his hair curling slightly on the collar of his jacket. His face was screwed up in a scowl as he tugged on the bow tie around his neck. “Let’s get this over with,” he muttered, taking the bag from my hand. I grabbed my dress from the kitchen door and followed him to the car.

He fussed the entire way to the church about his tux and the shoes and the tie – whatever he could think of – and I had to turn my head and grin.

“We’re not dressing up this fancy when we get married, Aubrey Rose,” he threatened. “We’ll run off to Vegas or Mexico or something.”

“Whatever you want, Jess,” I murmured, patronizing him. I knew he’d give me what I wanted if I insisted.

He glanced at me, his scowl changing to astonished confusion. “Really?”

I shrugged, still waging a battle with a smile. “Sure. Not every girl needs a fancy ceremony with a gorgeous gown, you know.”

He snorted scornfully. “Just the ugly ones who are desperate to get married.”

“Jess!” I chastised. “That’s not very nice. It’s downright rude.”

His lips curled into a smirk. “It’s true.”

I shook my head in disgust and watched the scenery fly past my window. To be perfectly honest, I’d never really thought about what I’d want my wedding to be like. I didn’t think I’d like to have a tacky drive-thru Vegas wedding but a ceremony on the white sandy beaches of Mexico didn’t sound too bad.

We pulled into the church parking lot and I gathered my things, pecked Jess on the lips, and scurried to find Kendra. I was certain she’d be a trembling ball of nerves.

And I was right.

“Aubrey! I’m so glad you’re here,” she said. I literally lost my breath at the sight of her. Her gown was simple, but lovely. It clung to her waist and flowed to her feet in swirls and swirls of lace. The bodice was strapless and sparkled with tiny beads. Her hair had been pulled to the top of her head and adorned with white roses. She’d balked at a veil, telling me once that the dress was fancy enough.

“You look beautiful,” I gushed. Her pretty face radiated happiness through the nervousness and she smiled.

“Thanks. Can you help with this stupid skirt so I can sit for a second?” I laughed and gathered up the material, allowing her to sit in a chair. She fanned her face and took a deep breath as she introduced me to Troy’s two older sisters and to her sister-in-law, Kelly.

Three little girls toddled in the room, ushered in by Kendra’s mother and Troy’s mother. Kendra explained the tiniest was her niece and the other two were Troy’s. They were darling in miniature gowns almost exactly like Kendra’s, except they had spaghetti straps and were a pale lavender – the same color as Kelly’s and my gowns.

I hurriedly dressed and stood still as Troy’s sisters painted my face.

All too soon, Kevin, Kendra’s brother, was knocking on the door announcing it was time to go. I handed Kendra her bouquet of white roses while Kelly collected lavender rose bouquets for each of us bridesmaids.

The girls marched beautifully down the aisle with only one minor incident when little Chelsea, Kevin’s daughter, started picking up the rose petals the other girls were dropping.

I followed Kelly down the aisle and smiled warmly at Troy, hoping he’d get a little color in his pale face before he fainted. He tried to smile back but failed and I had to suppress a laugh.

I chanced a quick glance at Jess and the look in his eyes caused me to falter. Heat shot through my body and I had a sudden urge to push him behind the pulpit and ravage him. I flushed, embarrassed by my feral thoughts while in a church and concentrated on the pastor instead.

Kendra floated down the aisle on Kevin’s arm. Her pretty face shone brilliantly as her eyes remained firmly on Troy. Her dress trailed behind and never before had I ever seen a fairy tale come to life.

Kevin handed her off after a quick peck to her cheek and Troy eagerly took her hands. The color had finally returned to his face as eyes devoured every inch of Kendra. He loved her so much that it was painfully obvious and it made me long for Jess. I glanced at him and was mildly surprised but extremely happy to see him watching only me.

Once the ceremony finished, we all headed to the reception hall. Chandeliers sparkled from above and cast subtle light on the intimate tables below.

Yards of lavender and white chiffon streamers weaved in and out on table tops and pillars as crystal candle holders held twinkling candles.

The dinner finished and the new couple was asked to go to the dance floor for their first dance. Jess draped a careful arm over my shoulders as we watched Troy sweep Kendra in his arms. I looked up at Jess’s face, expecting to see a smirk on his lips and amusement in his eyes, but I found neither. He watched them carefully and, feeling my gaze on him, smiled softly at me before pressing his lips to mine.

When the time came for the attendants dance, I looked around for Derrick as he’d escorted me down the aisle but Jess stopped me.

“You’re with me on this one, sweetheart,” he said, conniving look in his eyes. “I bribed the groom.” He held me close as we twirled to the music. “Is this what you want, Aubrey? Something like this?”

I peered around the hall at the beautiful decorations and the simple elegance. I lifted a shoulder before meeting his eyes. “It is beautiful but I’m really not too picky. I just want to be your wife.”

The smile that broke out on his face was even more breathtaking than Kendra in her gown.

XxX

The semester ended as the holidays approached. I couldn’t be happier, either. The excitement I’d felt when I’d enrolled in college disappeared rather quickly.

I hurried to my car after my meeting with my advisor, feeling as if one huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I’d finally decided what I wanted to do and college wasn’t it.

I eyed my watch in disdain. Jess would be expecting me soon but I had one more stop to make. His surgery before Thanksgiving went extremely well and he was able to do more things for himself. But I still couldn’t resist pampering him when I could. Of course, he ate it up.

I smiled softly. Jess would always be Jess.

I parked at Spitz Records and rushed inside. The December wind chilled to the bone and the clouds threatened to dump snow at any given time. I wanted to finish my errands and get home before it happened.

“Hey, Aubrey!” Jon greeted. “I wasn’t expecting you today. Is everything okay? Jess isn’t having complications, is he?”

“Nope,” I grinned, eyes sparkling. “Everything is fine.” I herded him to his office and closed the door. The worried frown on his face caused his forehead to crinkle. “I just need to talk to you.”

“What?”

“I want to sign.”

His face changed in a snap. His eyes lit up and his face couldn’t hold his smile. He hugged me close, thanking me over and over.

I pulled out of his embrace and tried to appear stern. “There are a few stipulations, though.”

“I knew there would be,” he said. “Name them.”

“I want to be able to travel with Jess as much as possible. I don’t want my career to interfere with my relationship,” I demanded.

“I’ll do everything I can,” he promised. “But you know, sometimes the stress of the road and recording can put a strain on any relationship. That’s why a lot of musicians go through spouses like underwear.”

“I know,” I conceded. “But I’ll quit before I let that happen.”

He nodded, apparently not doubting my words. “Make me a list and we’ll put it in the contract.”

“Thanks,” I said as I hugged him. “I’ll give it to you next week.”

“Thank you, Aubrey,” he repeated.

I left him still smiling and rushed home. I found Jess lounging on the sofa watching a cheesy Christmas movie. His left arm was propped on pillows and I fluffed them before leaning over to kiss him softly.

“Everything set?” he asked. I sat next to him and he wrapped his right arm around me.

“Yes. He said to make a list of stipulations and it would go in the contract.” I snuggled into his shoulder.

“How do you feel about all this, Aubrey?”

He’d asked me this several times over the past few months as I agonized over my future. He’d listened patiently to each of my suggestions and threw in a few of his own. And he’d supported me one hundred percent when I’d come to the decision that I really wanted to sing.

“I feel pretty good,” I said, meaning every word.

“Good,” he sighed, kissing the top of my head. “Now maybe you’ll shut up about it and we can have a little peace and quiet around here.” I smiled at his teasing tone as I slapped him lightly on the stomach. “Maybe things can finally return to normal.”

“Maybe,” I said, wondering vaguely what normal would be like living with Jess. I was about to find out.

A/N: Took forever, I know. So very sorry. I just struggled to end this somehow and I'm not particularly happy with it. Oh well...

I'll update Three and O when I get to it. I'm losing interest in it. But I'm determined to finish it.

Oh, my Phone Calls series was nominated for Best Series on SKoW. And, Out of the Shadow was nominated for Best M-Rated. Thank you so very much for the nominations and I hope you all vote. Voting starts July 12th I think.

Thanks for the wonderful reviews. I really appreciate it.