Fateful 2-Fractured (14 page)

Danielle sighed at the sight of a dining
room lavishly decorated in white and silver with detailed French
accents. Her girlfriends noticed them enter and jumped from their
seats, wove their way around the tables and sandwiched Danielle in
a hug between them.

“Dannie!”

Danielle beamed at Lindsey and Mandy as they
released her. It felt like forever since she’d seen them. So much
had happened, so much had changed…. She’d changed. “I’m so glad you
guys could make it.”

“Are you kidding, D’? This is incredible. I
wouldn’t miss it for the world. Well, and your husband-to-be was
rather compelling. I hope you thank him for this.” Lindsey reached
a hand into her black hair and adjusted her earring while she
spoke.

“Oh, I plan to.”

“Dannie, you are so spoiled. Do you know how
expensive this hotel is? I need a foreign fiancé with a load of
cash too. Could you please point me in the right direction?” Mandy
said, shoving her wild brown curls over her shoulder.

Danielle laughed.

“Let’s begin, ladies.” Nadia led them to a
table for six at the back of the dining room.

The afternoon was filled with giggles,
delicious French cuisine, and girlish chitchat.

Stirring honey into her tea, Danielle could
see that Mandy was fretting over something. It was hard to miss
with the way her friend was picking at her food. “What’s the
matter, Mandy?”

“Are you sure about this? I mean you’re
still so young…”

“You just said you wished you had a foreign
fiancé too.”

“Yes, but the truth is, neither one of us is
old enough to settle down. Look at Ryan and Ambry, they’re already
divorced…”

“They got married much earlier. You know
that. I turned twenty a few months ago. It won’t be long after
we’re married and I’ll officially be legal.”

“Still, shouldn’t you finish school
first?”

Mandy had always been the voice of reason
amongst them. However, her girlfriend was starting to sound too
much like a parent and her eyes landed on Mom seated to her right.
Apparently Mom was listening to this conversation quite
intently.

“I have finished school,” said Danielle.

“I thought you were here for a four year
degree.”

“She was. Ethan had her test out and she
passed,” Brianna said, joining the discussion.

Yeah, she’d passed. Well, she thought so—but
couldn’t help but wonder if Beon and the Order had fixed it so she
would. She’d never know the truth though. Danielle had already
asked that question and only got vague answers in reply. It seemed
Ethan didn’t really know if Beon had meddled or not either. She
figured maybe that was a good thing. It was their integrity in
question and not hers or Ethan’s.

“Why so early? You only attended Central St.
Martins for what, like a year or something?”

A little less than
that
, Danielle thought as all of the real reasons
marched through her head: She was trapped in the middle of what
could turn out to be a bloody vampire civil war. She was constantly
being stalked by either cursed bodyguards or cursed souls wanting
to be un-cursed with a bite from her, or cursed ones who wanted to
remain that way, and were plotting to do her harm. She and Ethan
were
never
forgotten. They
had no freedom … no privacy.

She’d already made a mental note of all of
the men with ear wires right here in the restaurant. The truth of
her situation never left her. Never. And the easiest way for them
to protect her and Ethan was for them to be together. Danielle did
agree that she was getting married a bit sooner than she’d
originally planned. The only other option she suspected her friend
might be suggesting was living together. But that arrangement had
never been an option she’d considered, would never consider
actually. With her love of all things Jane Austen, Danielle wanted
the vintage-style commitment as much as Ethan wanted to give it to
her.

“It’s a good time of year to get married,”
Danielle supplied lamely, knowing she could never explain such
un-cool notions as wanting to legally tie the knot.

Mandy’s brown eyes rolled; apparently her
friend also felt the response was lame.

“We said she could marry after she
graduated. She met the requirement, so we have supported her
decision. And we were deeply impressed with Ethan,” Her mom said,
unexpectedly coming to the rescue, and Danielle thanked her with a
smile.

“Okay,” Mandy conceded. “When he called to
talk me into accepting the plane ticket, I was impressed with him
too.”

“And that engagement picture ... wow,” added
Lindsey.

Attempting to change the topic all together,
Danielle said, “Bri, do you have the bridesmaid’s gifts with
you?”

“Of course.” Her cousin began digging around
in the bottom of her tote.

She breathed a sigh of relief as Brianna
handed over three satin pouches that had been tied up with pink
ribbons. Danielle passed one each to Nadia, Mandy and Lindsey.
Brianna was still holding hers and tugging on the ribbon to release
the bow. They all gasped as they each lifted a strand of gold
pearls from the wrapping. Well, except for Brianna, who’d helped
Danielle pick them out, so it wasn’t new to her.

“They match your dresses,” Danielle
said.

“Really?” Lindsey said as she fastened the
necklace around her neck and stroked the pearls with her
fingertips. “What a relief. I was hoping we wouldn’t have to spend
the evening smothered in hot pink.”

Danielle laughed.

“Be glad we’re not sticking to English
tradition in that, because if we had, you’d be wearing wedding
dresses,” Mom said.

“What?” Lindsey and Mandy asked
together.

“English bridesmaids used to wear white
gowns very much like the bride’s. Your father had mentioned it when
we married. I was young and beautiful then, and British men can be
so traditional, and—”

“You’re still beautiful, Mom.”

Danielle’s mom smiled, blushed prettily and
gave her knee a loving pat.

“Why in the world would they do that?
Wouldn’t that be like trying to outshine the bride?” Lindsey asked,
again twisting an earring.

“
No, darlings, it was not for such a
petty reason. It was done to protect her. It was so the bride could
not be singled out by any jealous or evil wishers who might attempt
to take her happiness, or even abduct her,” Sophia said.

Nearly choking on her tea, Danielle set the
cup down a little too sharply. The china clinked together and the
liquid sloshed, but luckily didn’t spill. Sophia held her gaze and
she knew that this tradition, even as medieval as it sounded, had
been seriously considered. She wondered why they hadn’t insisted on
doing it for security reasons alone.

“I talked the men out of it,” Sophia said
solemnly, appearing to have gathered Danielle’s thoughts from her
expression.

“Are they worried about people who mean
Danielle harm?” Mandy asked. The tension in her voice had risen to
a squeaky pitch.

Danielle swallowed the mouthful of tea that
she hadn’t realized she was holding along with her breath. Of
course they were worried about that. But she couldn’t say a word
about it, and she’d recognized the looks of terror brewing on
Brianna and her mom’s faces as they apparently recalled her past
disappearances. “No, silly, they’re not worried about that or you
would be wearing white,” Danielle said, struggling to play it
down.

“Then why did they even consider it?”
Brianna asked with accusation weighting her words.

“Because they’re men,” Sophia muttered, “and
they’re an overprotective bunch of chaps.”

Danielle noticed the “overprotective bunch
of chaps” stop Celeste from entering the dining room with what
looked like a gift, and it felt like the air had completely left
the room because she couldn’t find any to fill her lungs.

How did she know where the shower was? And
what was in the bag? A bomb? Scorpions? Or worse, spiders?

Dessert arrived then, distracting her from
the quickly defused commotion, and halting the previous
conversation. Danielle could have kissed the waiter, because if he
had not shown up then, the other girls might have noticed before
the men hindered Celeste’s attack. French confection was enough to
shut them all up, though she struggled to get the treat down her
constrained throat.

And later, as Danielle opened her gifts,
Mandy brought the topic back to life. “Are there any other British
traditions we need to be worried about?”

Danielle slid the ivory lace negligee
Nadia had given her back into the gift sack after thanking her for
it. “Well” –Mandy stiffened at the single word— “I let Ethan select
the menu, and he went with conventional English fare.”
And when Ethan hears about Celeste showing up
today, he may insist you all wear white.

“That can’t be so bad, can it?” Lindsey
asked.

“No, but I’m sure you won’t like my wedding
cake.”

“Why not?”

“It’s fruitcake covered in fondant.”

Lindsey and Mandy made gagging sounds.
“You’re kidding, right?”

“Oh, it’s scrummy. I fancy it,” Brianna
said.

Lindsey and Mandy shared a look which she
figured was concerning her cousin’s use of British words. And it
seemed Brianna noticed as well, as she then decided to start
spewing some of the English jargon that she wouldn’t normally use.
“Come now, ladies, don’t get your knickers in a bunch. Once you’ve
tried it I know you’ll be utterly gobsmacked. Blimy! Don’t bodge
the party. Anyone need the loo? Now don’t look at me like you’re
confudled. Oh, maybe I should stop waffling and belt up now.”

They all started laughing.

Brianna went on, “Word of advice, girls,
don’t try any of those words on your own. To be honest, you’ll just
sound silly with your American accents.”

Danielle took a breath to calm her giggles
and then drove the conversation back to what they’d been talking
about in the first place. “You’ll like Ethan’s cake. It’s chocolate
and definitely ‘scrummy.’”

“See what I mean?” Brianna said. “Danielle,
you’re not allowed to use the word scrummy.”

“Actually,” said Lindsey, “I disagree.
Dannie seems to have picked up your English accent a little.”

“Yeah, I can hear it too.” Mandy smirked at
Danielle. “That’s kind of funny. Say something else British.”

“Um, knickers?” she said, pulling her brows
together as she listened to herself.

“Yeah, totally!” Lindsey laughed.

“Hmm,” said Brianna. “Now that you mention
it, I see what you mean.”

“Weird, how come I never picked it up from
Dad?” Danielle asked her mom.

“Probably because you were surrounded with
people without it.”

“Mm. And I’ll probably lose it whenever I go
back.”

“Most likely.”

“Anyway, back to the cakes—Why does he get
chocolate and you get some holiday travesty?” asked Lindsey.

Danielle laughed. “I have no idea. But I’m
certain Ethan will love them both.”

“Any
good
traditions?” Mandy asked.

Nadia jumped in this time. “There’s the
ribbon pull. That’s done before the bride and groom share their
first slice of cake. The bridesmaids each pull a ribbon with a
sterling silver charm attached to it from the cake. Each charm
represents a different future promise. A heart charm means that
you’ll find true love, a horseshoe means you’ll have good luck, and
a ring means you’ll be next to marry, and so on and so forth.”

“I thought that’s what tossing the bouquet
was for,” said Mandy.

“There’s that too, but the charms are only
for the bridesmaids.”

“Oh.”

After the gifts had been opened and stored
in their suite, they went to the spa, which helped Danielle to
relax after having seen Celeste. That, and the fact that the wicked
vampire never showed her face again that day.

After their spa treatments they had
the bachelorette party back in the suite. It wasn’t too exciting,
Danielle and her friends would have preferred going to a dance
club. Unfortunately, Danielle had to find excuses to avoid that
because she’d been told that her guards wouldn’t allow it. Instead,
they played a few games, ordered room service, and watched
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
.
What a funny old film that was! They’d watched it out of nostalgia
because it had been one of their favorites when they were
younger.

Chapter 9

Solidified

It was a cloudy day in London…. Not that
Danielle noticed or even cared as her hands traveled over the satin
fabric of her wedding gown. In the upper bride’s room of the
cathedral, she peered at herself in the cheval mirror, admiring how
the dress had turned out.

Because it was irresistibly inviting,
Danielle couldn’t seem to stop sliding her fingers over the white
material. With a sweetheart neckline, the bodice was covered with
ornate beadwork consisting of tiny sequins and pearls in a design
that was much more intricate than her ball gown had been.

Ruching at the sides of the skirt made it
swoop in the front, adding a vintage touch to the mostly modern
design. The sides were then embellished with a continuing spray of
the same delicate beading as on the bodice. The fabric rustled as
she turned to eye the chapel-length train which was gathered up at
different points. Each gather was accented with more pearls and
sequins.

The sheer veil fell down her back like a
waterfall of lace and was almost as long as her train. Crystals
glittered and flashed from the tiara Jean Claude had insisted on.
Feeling like a princess, she was glad he had. Maybe what she had
was even better than anything she’d read in Austen’s books. But
fear of being attacked on such a special day did dilute the joy
struggling to burst inside her chest.