Bella Vita (16 page)

“
It was great! I'm glad we
ate here before the club opened.” He was so handsome.

“
I want to be able to give
you everything that you could ever want, forever.” He reached
across the table as the waiters cleared the dishes away.

“
That would be awesome if
it meant eating this good all the time.” I teased him.

“
Emma, I know that I
haven't always been what you wanted or even needed, but I can't
bear to think about living the rest of my long vampire life without
you. When I was told about your change and that you had left, I
thought I had surely lost you. I should've known better, but it
scared me beyond belief. That's when I realized that I can't and
won't live without you if I have a choice.” There was a slight
dampness to his palms.

“
Dom, you don't have to
live without me, silly, I've got control of the inner wolf.” I
smiled at him.

He moved to my side of the booth and knelt
in front of me between the curtain and the table. “Emma Mary
Hutchinson, will you marry me? I can't promise that I'll be
pleasant every day or that we will always get along, and I'm sure
at one point or another we will both doubt our sanity for getting
involved with each other in the first place. But I know I would
rather have my heart ripped from my chest and burned than to live
in a world where you're not by my side.” Dominic clicked open a
little black box.

The platinum ring sparkled at me from its
black velvet resting place. The oval cut diamond in the center
shimmered in the candle light. I could see the intricate engraved
filigree scrolls that wrapped around more diamonds across the band
of the ring. My heart physically pinged at the sight of it.

“
So, will you, Emma, will
you be my wife?” He asked once more, his face blanching just
slightly.

“
Dominic. I don't know what
to say. Of all the things I could've thought of for all of this. I
would've never guessed this.” I wanted to squeal. “Of course I'll
marry you!” I pulled him up into a hug and kiss. Deep in my heart,
I felt the slightest guilt for agreeing so readily without thinking
if I was making the right choice. That part of me merely
asked,
what about Mike?

The rest of the evening passed in a blur of
faces and words. I felt giddy and drunk off of life. I called my
parents and told them the news. They were in some small foreign
country seeing to political vampire business, but they were
excited. I decided to tell my grandparents in the morning. The
entire club heard the announcement first. It was a beautiful night,
so very different than my birthday when my dad announced our
betrothal.

The next day when Kelly
arrived at
Castello di
DeDominico
,
I
knew exactly what we would do- plan my wedding. I was so happy to
see her, I hadn't realized just how much I had missed her. Kelly
had a dark side that was usually masked by her pleasant
attitude.

The car pulled up to the front of the house.
Kelly got out and looked like a perfect magazine ad. It was almost
nauseating. She kept blowing bubbles with the pink gum she was
chewing. It made me want to laugh at how typical dumb blonde she
looked and she either didn't care or wasn't aware of it.

“
Kelly!” I shouted as I ran
down the steps.

“
Em!” She squealed and
caught my hug easily.

“
I've got something to tell
you... I'm getting married!” I flashed my ring at her.

“
Oh. My. Gawd! Look at the
size of it! When? Do you have a date yet?” Her voice was fast and
high.

“
Not yet. Probably months.”
I knew the date of our wedding was something Dominic and I would
have to talk over.

“
Do you have anything
planned out yet?” Kelly actually looked excited about the idea that
she might get to help.

“
Nope, nothing. You wanna
help?”I looked up at her with pleading puppy dog eyes.

“
Of course! There's so much
to do and to think about! I doubt that we'll have time to do it all
while I'm here. Maybe we could keep it going via email after. Hmm,
where to start?” She was staring off into space.

“
Hey, how about we start by
getting you settled in and grabbing some cocoa from the kitchen,
kay? Oh and don't freak out about the house.” I smiled at
her.

“
Um, okay.” She went to
pick up her bag but I grabbed it first.

“
You're the guest, let me
get that.” It was good to have her here.

Kelly reacted the same way I did when I
first saw the castle, utter amazement. When I finally got her to
her room, you'd think I just gave her the keys to the city. I had
made sure the room was decorated and subtle for a model- including
a secret mini fridge that had water and chocolate in it. The walls
were a light golden color, and the bedding was done in rich, warm,
fall colors. One of the guest laptops was on the desk, and I had a
large flat screen TV mounted directly across from the bed. I knew
that Kelly would like it. I also ensured that the bathroom, a
similar design to mine but in light colors, was stocked with thick
towels and a soft thick bathrobe.

“
Um, can you say money?!
This place is like a fantasy land.” She did a little twirl in the
middle of the room before she landed with a whoosh onto the
bed.

“
So, you like it?” My heart
was warmed that I had gotten the room right.

“
Like it? I love it.” She
sighed.

“
If you want to take a
shower before we head downstairs, that's cool. I can come back in a
little bit and get you.” I gestured to the door that led to her
bathroom.

“
You know that would be
great. Thanks, Emma.” Suddenly Kelly looked really tired, like she
was letting some of her front slip.

“
Don't mention it. Maybe
later I can give you a little tour of the castle, or at the very
least show you my room. You'll get a trip from it, I'm sure.” I
smiled.

“
Okay, see ya in a bit.”
She grabbed her bag and started to dig through it, I left
silently.

After I left Kelly's room, I found my cell
and called Dom.

“
Hey.” I said as soon as he
answered, I was pacing around my room.

“
Hey, did Kelly get there
okay?” I loved how he remembered what was going on.

“
Yep, how's school?” I
hated to think I would have to go back to that place soon
enough.

“
It's going good. I haven't
started classes yet for the day. What's up? I feel like there's
something wrong.” His words sounded concerned.

“
Nothing. I guess I just
wanted to talk about wedding stuff. I know it's soon and all, but
Kelly's here and she's all gung-ho about working on it.” I breathed
it all out.

“
I, um, am glad you called
about it. After I left this morning, I realized that there were
some things that you probably don't already know about.” He sounded
nervous.

“
Okay, so tell me.” My
stomach pinched as my mind flooded with a sea of
concerns.

“
Stop worrying, it's
nothing bad. It's more vampire tradition stuff. Okay, so just
breathe.” Dom's voice was reassuring, but that didn't really help
because I knew that 'vampire tradition stuff' meant more stuff that
I probably won't like.
Ugh
.

“
Okay, shoot.” I took a
deep breath.

“
So since you've accepted
my proposal for marriage, then we should be wed within a month.” He
huffed out the words at me.

“
Say what?!” I stopped
breathing.

“
It's a tradition.
Something that our families will want us to keep to. But I figure
then we could get married on Halloween. Make it a theme.” His voice
was pleading, but my mind had shut down.

I stared at my phone.

“
Emma? Don't be mad.
Everyone we invite to our wedding will know that it's short notice.
If you and Kelly could decide on the invitations tonight, we could
get them sent out tomorrow. The printers are vampires so they will
know.” He was trying to show me how it could be done- it was just
so shocking that in just about a month I would be
married.

“
Okay, we can do it. But
what about everything else? Will we be able to get it all expressed
in time? I have so many questions and so much stress now. Is there
anything else I need to know?” I was wondering what the wedding
would be like.

“
There is another problem.
Humans typically aren't allowed at our weddings. But I think we can
let Kelly come if she is under a spell. She's can't remember
anything that has to do vampires, but merely the theme. You know
that we drink each other's blood during the ceremony.” It sounded
like he was shying away from many of the details.

“
That's kind of kinky,
Dom.” I laughed, I was trying desperately hard to calm
him.

“
You would think so.
Sei la mia anima gemella, voglio passare il resto
della mia vita con te.
You are my soul mate and I want
to spend the rest of my life with you.” His words were like
honey.

“
Well, you don't really have a choice
about that now.” I laughed at him.

“
I have to get ready for my first class
now,
mia bella
.
Ti amo con tutta l'anima
, I love you
with all my heart. Everything will work out fine.” He blew me a
kiss.

“
And I you, I know it'll be fine. Go
teach, Professor.” I blew him a kiss back.

“
Ciao, cara
mia
.” He said.

“
Ciao
.” I hung
up.

I took a deep breath and sat down on
the edge of my bed.
What am I going to do
now?
I felt desperate. I seriously doubted
that I could get everything done for the wedding in less than a
month. Suddenly, visions of all those shows with bridezillas on
them flashed in my mind and I cringed. I was determined to keep my
cool. We had the funds to make it happen. I took another deep
breath and went downstairs to make some cocoa.
Cocoa will fix everything, and now I've to break this to
Kelly. Ugh.

Once the cocoa was done, I carried it back
up to Kelly's room. I knocked lightly. Part of me was hoping she
might have fallen asleep after her long travels. She opened it with
a huge smile on her face.

“
Good gawd, have you seen
my bathroom?! What kind of shower is that? It's like a spa! And you
stocked the mini fridge with smart water and galaxy bars! You are
the bestest friend ever!” She hugged me, almost knocking down the
tray I held in one hand.

“
Well, it wasn't any
trouble. But I've got some serious stuff to drop on you.
Apparently, there is some funky tradition that makes it so Dom and
I have to be married within a month after the engagement. So we're
looking at a Halloween wedding.” I looked apologetically at
her.

“
That's really soon, but so
cool. You guys could have a Halloween themed wedding. Maybe let
everyone dress up in costume. You and Dom could be vampires or
something. Oh, your dress could be black and red, with a black
train and veil. It would be awesome. So what's the problem?” Kelly
started to plan instantly.

“
Wow. When Dom told me I
damn near died, and I tell you and you're like 'let's make this
happen!'” I laughed.

“
Well, you two are going to
be married, and I don't see you breaking that tradition. So what's
there to stress over? It will get done.” She smiled at me and
shrugged, and I was suddenly very thankful for Kelly.

I took another deep breath and we sat on her
bed and started to plan.

It took us hours to figure out some of the
most basic things. But in the end, the invitations were decided on,
there was a rough sketch of my dress, the Halloween theme was set,
and I had a rough idea of what I wanted my maid of honor to wear.
After all that work, it didn't seem so overwhelming. I also started
out a guest list. It was all vampires, which was kind of boring.
But Betty and Bernard were on my list. I figured that Leland would
be Dom's best man so I started to talk to Kelly about what matching
costume she wouldn't mind having. It was like a whirlwind of ideas.
By the end of it all, I was exhausted.

I heard the front door close, long before I
heard Dom's knock on Kelly's door. He opened it slightly and stuck
his head in. He quickly surveyed the mess surrounding us and
chuckled.

“
How are my ladies doing?”
He stepped into the room.

“
Good. Here are the
invitations I want and the guest list that I can think of, you'll
have to add to it.” I handed him the printout of the bat invitation
I wanted and the rather long list.

“
Wow, that's a lot by
itself. What else did you get done?” His voice was
curious.

“
Well, here's a sketch of
my dress, we decided that the wedding party will be dressed in
traditional stereotypical vampire gear. Red and black will be the
main colors for that. Everyone else can come in costume. I want the
décor to be very Halloween, so jack-o-lanterns and fall leaves. You
know what I mean right?” I really wanted him to see the picture I
had in my head for it all.