Eden

Eden

Jamie McGuire

Copyright © 2012 by Jamie
McGuire

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Published by

Jamie McGuire,
LLC

11 Providence
Road

Enid, OK 73707

ISBN-10:
1475145578

ISBN-13:
978-1475145571

The characters and events
portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real
persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the
author.

Cover by
JustinMcClure.tv

Edited by Jim
Thomsen

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For Mimi.

Thank you for being there
for us in every way you knew how.

For your support, love,
and your smiles.

For Beth.

You said I could, and you
always have.

Chapter One

Tomorrow

Happily Ever After. That was The End,
right? The hard part was over. It was smooth sailing now. I lay in
bed next to my handsome, celestial Prince Charming, the tropical
breeze blowing through the window screens of our little Caribbean
hut, waiting for the sun to rise so I could begin my wedding
day.

Funny how Happily Ever After isn’t the
end after all…at least, not when Hell is trying to kill
you.

That trivial little fact was easy to
ignore with the light rain tapping the tin roof, and the palm
fronds brushing against our casita as the wind gently pushed its
way through the trees. The first glimmers of sunlight danced along
the ceiling as translucent dashes of warmth. Those shuddering,
glowing dots above me were the first thing I saw when I opened my
eyes. Jared Ryel was the second. He smiled, waiting for my eyes to
focus.

“
It’s tomorrow,” he
whispered.

Splatters of pinks and purples had
just breached the windows, and the rain had all but left us for the
bigger island, reduced to droplets. The fading purple splotches on
Jared’s forehead, cheek and chin stood out in the early light, and
they brought back a flood of memories from the days
before.

He and I had already survived the
impossible—coming face to face with one of the most frightening
beings in Hell and a few hundred of his minions, human and demon
alike. Simply celebrating another day would have sufficed. That was
the moment realization hit, and Jared’s eyes brightened with
amusement as my sleepy expression perked.

“
It’s today?” I said
softly. I reached up to touch his skin, and the residual marks from
his skirmish with Shax.

Jared pushed himself onto his elbows,
and then leaned his head closer to my stomach. “Good morning,
little Bean.”

“
Bean?” I said, one
eyebrow shooting up.

“
Yes, she’s no bigger than
a bean. That’s what the book says, anyway.”

“
The book.”

Jared reached to the floor, pulling up
a thick book, its cover dripping in hideous pastel colors and
childish writing.

“
I thought I should be
prepared for anything that might come up.” Jared flipped through
the pages, and then peered up at me, waiting for
approval.

“
Is there a chapter on
balance-disrupting angel babies?” I said, grinning when Jared’s
eyebrows pushed together.

He tossed the book to the floor and
then playfully situated himself over me, nuzzling my
neck.

“
Jared!” I squealed,
making a poor attempt to push him away. “Stop!”

“
I’ll stop if you say it,”
he said, his voice muffled against my skin.

“
Say what?” I laughed,
wiggling in vain.

Jared lifted his head to look me in
the eyes. “Bean,” he said, his eyes a soft blue-gray.

I pressed my lips together, forming a
hard line, but when he tickled me again, I caved. “Okay!” I
pleaded. “Bean!”

A wide grin spread across his face. “I
wish I’d known how well this tactic of persuasion works on you
three years ago. Life would have been somewhat easier.”

I swatted at him, knowing he would
duck. “Not fair.”

Jared kissed my lips, his warmth
soaking into my skin. It didn’t seem as warm as usual, but I
attributed it to the tropical heat raising my own
temperature.

“
You know what’s not fair?
I don’t get to see you until this afternoon.” He left me alone on
the bed, pulling a white T-shirt over his head.

“
What do you mean?” I
said, pushing up on my elbows.

“
You’d better get dressed,
sweetheart. We’re expecting company in five minutes.”

“
Company?”

Jared tossed a tan summer dress to the
bed, and I scrambled to put it on, knowing better than anyone that
Jared wasn’t mistaken about things like time. I pulled my hair into
a messy ponytail, and then stood awkwardly while Jared opened the
tin door. A line of villagers made their way to our casita, led by
a frazzled-looking Beth. She held a white garment bag, and when her
eyes met mine, her smile widened to its limit.

“
Beth!” I said, rushing
down the steps. Mud squished between my bare toes as I ran to her,
enveloping her in my arms. Her auburn hair was damp, plastered to
her forehead and cheeks. She was sweaty and red-faced, trying to
catch her breath as Chad pulled the garment bag from her
fingers.

“
She wouldn’t let anyone
else carry it,” he said, shaking his head. He held the bag out for
Jared, but Beth quickly grabbed it back, smacking his hand
away.

“
Jared can’t see it!” she
said. She held the long bag up, away from the mud, but behind her
to protect it from Jared’s hands.

Jared was amused. “I won’t look, Beth.
I’m going to take Chad to the chapel now. You two have the whole
day.”

I shouldn’t have been surprised—Jared
could arrange anything—but I was speechless. Beth and Chad had
arrived just eight hours after us.

“
How did you…?” I
began.

Jared’s smile widened. “We’ve taken
care of everything. I didn’t want you stressed.”

“
We…?” I frowned, more
confused.

“
Mom is waiting for me at
the chapel. See you there.” He grinned from ear to ear. I’d never
seen him so happy. He leaned down to kiss my cheek, and then
gestured for Chad to follow.

“
You’ve maneuvered a
motorcycle before?”

Chad paused. “Yeah. Why?”

“
It’s a bit of a drive.”
Jared patted Chad on the shoulder, encouraging him along. Poor Chad
seemed totally out of his element. Even though the men weren’t that
close, I had full confidence in my husband-to-be to make Chad feel
at ease. That responsibility would serve as double duty to soothe
Jared’s nerves.

“
Wait ‘til you see this
dress!” Beth squealed, pulling me inside. She hooked the bag onto a
wooden lip above the closet, and then rubbed her sore shoulder. “It
was a long, muddy walk.”

“
It is,” I nodded. “Would
you like me to get some ice for your shoulder?”

Beth’s eyes lit up again. She pulled
down the zipper of the garment bag, turning to me.

I blinked in disbelief. “That’s
the…um…”

Beth’s eyes were wild with excitement.
“The dress from the magazine that you picked out two years ago?
Yes!”

“
But...how is it here? How
did he….”

Beth couldn’t wait for me
to spit out the words. “I have been hanging on to this thing
for
ever
! Can you
believe it? Lillian brought it to the apartment. She said you had
picked it out, and Jared bought it, and they made me bottle this up
for two years! It was awful! Why do you think I hounded you about a
wedding date all those times?”

“
But…
why
?”

Beth nodded. “I know,
right? That’s what I said. His mom said he was excited; he wanted
to surprise you, blah, blah, blah. I personally think he just
wanted to torture me because it’s been
hell
.”

I couldn’t stop staring at the
flowing, silky whiteness in front of me. I remembered sitting on
our couch in the loft while I healed, thumbing through magazines
with Lillian and pausing on a picture, unable to turn the page. It
was just days after I was discharged from the hospital, the day
Claire left to eliminate all the humans that threatened us. A dress
identical to the one I showed a partisan interest in almost two
years earlier dangled from a hanger just feet from me.

“
Beth?” I said, still
staring at the dress.

“
Yes?”

“
You’re going to have to
take it down a few notches. I’m feeling a little
overwhelmed.”

Beth’s head bobbed quickly, and then
she took a seat in the corner. After a deep breath, she began
again, “It’s beautiful.”

I almost asked Beth if she knew why
Lillian didn’t keep the dress at her house, but it was a foolish
question. Beth was safe. No one would blow up her apartment, or
bust through her windows in the middle of the night—and it would
give Jared an extra ally in vying for a wedding date.

“
He’s brilliant,” I said,
in awe.

“
What?”

“
Nothing.”

Beth gripped her knees and bit her
lip, struggling with every passing second. “Are you still
overwhelmed?”

“
I’m
feeling better.”

She leaned forward in her seat,
quickly losing the fight to remain composed. “I brought two bags
overflowing with makeup, hairspray and curling irons. I think I
have every size known to man. I can make big barrel curls, or
little spiral curls. If you don’t want curls I brought a flat
iron….”

“
Beth?”

“
Sorry.”

“
You take a Valium. I’ll
take a shower...wait. Is it ridiculous that I don’t know what time
my wedding starts?”

“
One o’clock. We have
plenty of time.”

I nodded, grabbing my robe and a
towel. I couldn’t imagine how difficult the wait must have been for
her. It was endearing and disturbing at the same time.

Under the warm stream of the casita’s
humble shower, it wasn’t difficult to let go of any anxiety. Birds
sang to each other from the branches of the palm trees, and the
sounds of the ocean gave away its close proximity. Feeling stressed
in paradise was wonderfully impossible.

“
Did you want an up-do? I
brought bobby pins just in case!” Beth called.