Cherry Girl (Blackstone Affair) (22 page)

She wore a chocolate-
brown lace dress that hugged her shape in a way that should probably be illegal.  Her sky-blue shoes and jewelry, the colour she loved so much, contrasting beautifully.  Her unique cherry-colored hair, arranged on one side, in a long wrap of curvy waves.  I’d have my hands buried deep into it later.  When I got her home and her pretty dress was nowhere in sight.

As she sat on a window seat cushion looking like a princess, she held my face in her delicate hand and returned my kiss.

“Happy New Year, Captain,” she said.

“Happy New Year to you, beautiful girl,” I answered against her lips.

My chest bones felt as though they were going to fracture from the fierce pounding of my heart.  I hadn’t believed I would ever do what I was about to do…in such a public manner.  But, I did.

I went down to the floor on one knee and took both of her hands into both of mine.

A look of surprise came over her face, and then, a quick gasp as she became aware…

“Elaina…
I’m going to ask you something.  It’s a question I meant to ask you six long years ago and I did not.  Now, for the second time in our lives, I am prepared to ask the question, and this time, nothing will stop me.  You need to know something I’ve never told you about, because the time has come for you to hear it.”  I pulled her hands up to my mouth and kissed them both.  “You’ve always made me feel as though the reason I was born…was so I could find you, love you, and that you could love me in return.  I believe that with all my heart.”

Her eyes filled with tears as she listened.
  Waiting on me patiently, as was her way.

I pulled out the
heart-shaped, sterling-silver box I’d seen her eying in the antique’s shop in Washington D.C. and bought, just because I thought she liked it.  It reminded me of her.  Precious metal, finely wrought into a delicate design, but beautiful, bearing great strength to withstand the tests of time.

I held the box out for her
, and then popped the clasp that opened it.

“
Elaina Morrison, this is our second season.  Will you be my Autumn Cherry and bloom for me a second time, marry me, and be my wife?  With you, make it possible for me to be able to live a happy life, to achieve the reason for which I was born.”

I stared at what was nestled in the silver heart
-shaped box.  I looked at him, into the dark eyes I’d always loved—the colour of which matched the dress I was wearing—and answered the question he’d asked me.

“Yes, Neil McManus, I will marry you.
”  I reached a shaking hand out to touch his cheek, his jaw, his lips, and closed my eyes for just a moment to ground myself.  “I want to tell you something, too.”  I opened my eyes and traced over every part of his features, as beautiful now as he’d always been when he was just a boy of seventeen and winked at me over the dinner table.  “On the night Ian brought you to us, I fell in love with you and knew I’d just met the boy I would marry someday.  For me, it has only ever been…you.”

He smiled at me and took the
ring out of the silver heart-shaped box.  “May I?”

“Yes
, you may.”

He slipped the aquamarine-
blue diamond and platinum ring onto my finger, and then kissed me thoroughly, while still kneeling on the floor.  I buried my hands into his hair and held onto my man.

My beautiful, brave, loving
, caring man.

I pulled him up
to his feet amid loud cheering and congratulatory catcalls, which were coming from well-wishers, who’d apparently been paying attention to what we were doing by the window.  Didn’t care.  Didn’t really notice much beyond my beautiful man and the shiny diamond in glittering blue on my finger.

Neil scooped me up and carried me out of that party in his arms.

Then, he took me home and made love to me in our bed.

“So…
now that I’ve got your agreement to have me, when will you let me make this merger official?”

She snuggled up against the side of me, the whole warm, nake
d length of her connecting skin-to-skin with my body, like silver spoons in a drawer.  “We just had a merger,” she teased.

“That sassy mouth of yours is something I hope never changes
, beautiful girl.”

“I am making a note of that, Captain, just in case my
sassy
mouth gets me into deep water someday.”

I kissed her shoulder right over her tattoo.  “You still haven’t answered my question, Cherry.  When do I get to make you Mrs. McManus?”

She turned her body to face me and held my face as she liked to do.  “How long was your final tour in the army?” she asked softly.

“It was ten months.”

“I will marry you in ten months then.”  She kissed me.  “I want to marry you when the autumn cherry trees are having their second bloom in Scotland.”

I nodded at her logic, understanding why she’d chosen that time.  And also
, because I’m not sure I could have spoken any audible words in that moment, my heart very full and finally at peace.

Then she spoke some more words that I wasn’t expecting to hear.  Words that just reaffirmed how much love we had for each othe
r and how fate, once again, demanded its due, and this time, worked masterfully in all its wisdom.

“
I’m going to give to you…those ten months back.  The ones that I took from us six years ago.  Ten months of being here with you every night.  Ten months of our life together, of doing all the beautiful things, and the mundane ones, too.  So you will know that whether it’s ten months from now, or ten years, or any amount of years, nothing will change for me, Neil…I will forever be your Cherry Girl.”

Epilogue

Ten months later

“You’re going to wear a hole in this ancient stone floor
if you don’t stop pacing like a lunatic.  Are you going to sit in the corner and start cradling back and forth, too?”

I gave Ethan my best
sod-off-you-dickhead
look and kept pacing.  “Easy for you to say that to me, now that you’re already married,” I said, truthfully.  “I remember how mental you were in that room before you said your vows to Brynne.  You would’ve smoked your Blacks three at a time if we hadn’t hidden your stash where you couldn’t find them.”

He rolled his eyes and shook his head. 
“Listen, mate, all will be well in a very short time.  You’re starting to worry me.”

“I feel ill,” I said.  “I need water.”

“I think you need a fucking bottle of Scotch, but really, it’s going to be fine.”

I nodded and tried to breathe.  “What time is it?”

“About two minutes later than when you last asked me.”  Ethan clapped me on the back and spoke low at my ear.  “I saw her in her dress all ready for you when I snuck a peek at my girl in that side room where they’re all waiting.”

“You saw her?  How was she?  Did she seem nervous?  Did she look worried about anyth—”

“She looked gorgeous and like she couldn’t wait to get shackled to you, you big great ape.  Do I need to tranquilize you or something?”

“
I’ll remember this, when Brynne is ready to deliver your baby, and you’re a quivering mass of jelly on the floor.  Don’t worry, I’ll return the favour with the offer of tranquilizers.”

That did the trick.  Shut his fuckin’ mouth right up.  He rolled his shoulders as if to release tension in his neck
, and checked his watch again.  “Okay, I’ll be honest.  The ceremony is a fucking stress-ball of bullshit, and I can’t help you even a little bit.  The good news is that in about five more hours you can start on the wedding night and that part is completely golden.”  He rolled his palm in the air like it was gliding, looking like a complete fool.

We both laughed at how stupid we were being and I felt immediately better.

A knock sounded at the door, and the other woman I loved peeked in at us.  “Is it all right for me to come in?”

“Of course,” I said
bringing her into the room and kissing her on the cheek.

Ethan ma
de some excuse and left us alone.  She started fussing with my jacket, brushing at it, adjusting my tie, in that motherly way she’d always had with me.

“
You look so handsome, my dear.”

“Look at you,” I said.  “You look like Elaina’s sister instead of her mum.”  She was a beautiful woman, and always had been, but now that she was sober again, the bloom in her skin had retur
ned and she looked healthy.

“Oh, please, we both know that’s not true.  But really, my darling, I
just wanted to have a moment to come and tell you how deeply happy you’ve made me today, and all the other days since Ian brought you to us.  In my heart, I always knew you and Elaina needed to be together in order to find happiness.  I always knew how you felt.  I know how you used to come to see me and would sneak into her room and touch her things.”  She smiled at me lovingly.  “Some love is just meant to be, and I hope you forgive me for my meddling in bringing the two of you back to each other, but somehow, I think you have.”

“Oh, Mum…”  I really didn’t have words to express my thanks for what she’d done for me.  For us.  But
, I could tell her what it meant to
me
.  “You always made me feel like your son.  Inside here,” I put her hand over my heart, “I am.”

“Yes, you are.  I have two sons and one daughter, and I love them all so very much.”

“I love you, Mum.”

“I love you, son.”  She took a great deep breath and smiled again.  I imagine she was thinking of her husband and h
ow he wasn’t here with her for our wedding.  I liked to think that somehow he was.  That the family’s love for the father, had brought him into the room with us so he could share in the occasion.

“He’s here,” I said softly.

She smiled and nodded at me, her eyes a little watery, but she put the sadness aside and got down to it like the strong woman she was, and had always been.  “Now, I’ve got Ian in the foyer with Elaina where he’s ready to walk her down as soon as the girls go.  He’ll walk her, and then he’ll come and stand up with you and Ethan.”

“I remember the practice from last night,” I said.  “I get to seat you in your place first, so shall we, dear Mum?”  I held out my arm for her.

“Yes we shall, son.”  She took my arm and patted my elbow with her hand.  “It’s well past time for you to marry my daughter.”

“Mrs. McManus, your husband is very tired and wishes
that all of these people would go away and leave us alone, so he can take you upstairs to our bridal suite and commence with the wedding night.”

“Well, I think you’ve forgotten that most of
these people
are staying here with us in this giant house of yours, and will still be here in the morning when we come down for breakfast.”

“Oh, Christ, I’d hoped they wouldn’t
really take us up on the offer.” He nuzzled my neck and inhaled, sending a shiver down my spine.

“I assure you
, that they have every intention of staying the night here.” I laughed.

“I love your dress.  It’s very unusual
, but so perfect for my Cherry Girl.  I especially love the dragonfly right here.”

He tapped the dragonfly that was beaded into t
he blue lace that decorated the back of my white dress.

“I wondered if you would let your tattoo show with your wedding dress,” he whispered.

I shook my head.  “No.  I didn’t want it to show.  My tattoo is for your eyes alone on this day.”

He sat behind me with his chin on my shoulder, letting me feed him small bites o
f the wedding cake that was not quite as beautiful as it had been earlier.  The perfect concoction of cherry blossom beauty, it was far too pretty to eat, but eaten it had been.  Thankfully we had many pictures taken by Benny Clarkson who was here doing our wedding photographs.  Benny had mad skills and I knew our special day had been captured to the fullest extent, so I didn’t mind about the demolished cake.  Everyone who mattered to us had come, and it had been the perfect wedding.

“I love that only my eyes
get see it.”  He rubbed his thumb up and down my neck, caressing softly, never letting me be out of range for his touch.  “I love you…”

“I love you too, and I love these silver spoons.  I think we should feed each other with them every day, don’t you?”
  The gift from Neil to me was two sterling silver spoons with the words, AND THEY LIVED, and, HAPPILY EVER AFTER, stamped into them.  He had a knack for finding the unusual and exquisite, and spoilt me every chance he could.

“No doubt, Mrs. McManus.”

“So, I have something to give you later,” I said.

He groaned.  “Oh, well I want it now, please.”

I laughed at him.  “You don’t even know what it is.”

He nuzzled me some more.  “It’s a gift from you
, so I
know
I want it right now.”

“But what about all these guests that are still here partying like they have absolutely no intention of slowing?”  I teased him.

“They won’t even know we’ve left?” he suggested with a brow up.

“I am sure they will notice that the bride and groom are leaving,” I said
, in a consoling voice.

He sighed
and tried again.  “How about, I don’t bloody care if they notice the bride and groom are leaving?”

“You poor thing, I think I really must take you upstairs and put you to bed.”

His face brightened.  “You are a good wife, already,” he said with a smile that nearly took my breath away.  I would never tire of looking at my beautiful golden man with the chocolate eyes I could drown in.

“Thank you,” I said, reaching for the gift I had prepared just for him.  I put it into his hands.

“What’s this?  My gift?”

I nodded.  “It is indeed, Captain.  I think you should open it.”

“This is the silver heart-shaped box I used when I proposed.”

“You’re
right; it is the same silver box.”

He opened the
clasp and looked in.  He took out what was there.  A piece of paper he unfolded and flattened with his hand.

He snapped his head up to me.  “Is this right, Cherry?”

“Yes.  I stopped taking them three weeks ago.”

He stared back down at the paper: m
y doctor’s script for birth control pills with the letters C A N C E L L E D written across.  I’d also added in some pink cherry blossom flowers and a blue dragonfly to the best of my drawing ability, which wasn’t the greatest, but he would get the idea.

“Well, wife
, it appears we have some very important work to do…and I think we need to get started on it right away.”

“I agree, Captain.  S
ocial etiquette be damned.”

“God, you’re so utterly perfect, Cherry,” he said
, as he swept me up into his arms and carried me up the stairs.  He had marched right across the dance floor with the train of my dress trailing behind him, through the crowd of guests who waved us off with cheers and lewd comments just as soon as they realized what he was doing.

I don’
t think my man even heard them, or ever noticed that anyone else was in the room with us.

He only had eyes for me, his Cherry Girl.

THE END