Finding Peace (Finding Series Book 1) (51 page)

“Hey, gorgeous. Are you being a bad girl on the day of our wedding?”

She bites her lip and turns a delicious darker shade of pink. The pinks, reds and oranges in the sunset bounce off of her blonde hair and the beads on her dress. She looks majestical, my princess, my rose. We stare deep into one another’s eyes as the preacher goes through his part of the ceremony. The preacher prompts us to recite our vows to one another.

“Kayla, before I met you I thought I was content. But then you came barreling into my life and I knew that what I had thought was a life of contentment was empty and shallow. It was not until after I met you that I truly began to live. I had a purpose. A reason to strive to be better and do better. I love the long talks we have and the times we can sit and just be silent together. My love for you is immeasurable. No one will ever love you the way that I do and no one will ever touch my heart the way that you have. So today, I promise to stand by you no matter what, to love you in the good and the bad times. To lift you up and support your dreams, whatever they may be. I promise to be faithful and true to only you. I promise to follow the path that God has laid out for us, to kiss you every day, to remind you how incredible you are and how blessed I feel to have you. My soul mate, my friend, my love, my forever. I vow to be the best husband I can be.”

“Kayla, you may now recite your vows to Blake.”

“Blake, my life was a shambles when you walked into it. I thought I knew what love was until I met you. You showed what it means to truly be loved. Your kindness, understanding, and love will never be matched by anyone else. You remember everything that I say and then surprise me by showing up with small things I said I liked and I don’t even remember telling you I liked them. You show me in everything that you do every day that you love and think about me. My heart is so full of love for you that it is overflowing. God made you for me, it just took me some time to find you. I promise to kiss you every day, to remind you how incredible you are and how blessed I feel to have you. My soul mate, my friend, my love, my forever. I vow to be the best wife I can be.”

Kayla is wiping her eyes and I’m trying really hard not to cry in front of all of these people.

“Blake repeat after me. I, Blake, give you, Kayla, this ring as an eternal symbol of my love and commitment to you." The preacher says.

“I, Blake, give you, Kayla Rose, this ring as an eternal symbol of my love and commitment to you."

I take the ring and slip it on her finger. I mouth the words
I love you
to her.

“Kayla repeat after me. I, Kayla, give you, Blake, this ring as an eternal symbol of my love and commitment to you." The preacher says.

“I, Kayla, give you, Blake, AKA Mr. Sexy, this ring as an eternal symbol of my love and commitment to you."

Only my Kayla Rose, could make me blush the way she does. Laughter fills the air and then our song begins to play. The song I sang to Kayla the first night I met her. We stand there looking at each other as I mouth the words to her and then she mouths the words to me.

“I don't mind not knowing what I'm heading for. You can take me to the skies... Oh, it's like being lost in heaven. When I'm lost in your eyes”

"By the power vested in me, by the State of North Carolina, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

Taking Kayla into my arms, I dip her and kiss her deeply. Hearing the whooping and hollering, we both smile against each other’s mouth. Bringing her back to an upright position, she smiles at me.

“I love you.”

“I love you more.” I say.

"I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Blake McGinnis." The preacher declares.

Everyone stands and applauds, as we turn to make our way back down the aisle and toward the porch of our home. Kayla suddenly freezes.

“Blake, what is that?”

She nods toward the empty seat beside her Grandpa, which has a single white rose sitting on it. This is one of the last minute details Dad was taking care of for me.

“I wanted to make sure that Elle got her invitation to the wedding and that when she did arrive, she would have a seat reserved for her.”

She turns to look at me then places a hand on the side of my face.

“You, my husband, are the best man I have ever known. Your heart has to be made of gold. Thank you for remembering my Grandma today. If my love for you continues to grow the way it does everyday, before long my body won’t be able to contain it all.”

She has tears slowly rolling down her cheeks.

“The feeling is mutual my marvelous wife.”

We kiss again before being prompted by everyone to walk down the aisle and get the party started. This isn’t the party I’m ready to start, but it will do for now. This is the first moment of our life together and nothing could ever be sweeter.

Kayla

3 Years Later

September 1992

Lying on our bed, I slowly turn each page of our wedding album. Blake’s at work and I’m feeling sentimental today. He’ll probably walk through the door and find me a blubbering mess. God bless him, he is always so patient and understanding with me. Looking at these pictures always takes me back to that day as if it was yesterday.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

September 9, 1989

“Attention!”

Tessa is banging a spoon against the side of her glass so that she can give her maid of honor speech. The D.J. gradually turns the music down.

“It’s payback time, my beautiful friend.” She says looking right at me.

Laughing, Blake takes my hand in his, brings it up to his mouth and kisses it gently. Tessa points her finger at Blake.

“You! You, took my sister from me, but I’m okay with it because you took away her pain. You made her see what the rest of us already knew. Kayla, you are our angel. You’re sweet and caring to everyone you meet. You go above and beyond for those that you love and you never ask for much in return. A word of warning Blake, she does have one major flaw.”

Everyone laughs.

“She is not, at all, and never will be, a morning person.”

More laughter.

“Believe me when I say, I tried to help her with that one flaw, but it can’t be fixed. So learn to deal with it, buddy.”

“When you two met the stars finally aligned that night. I’ve never seen two people more meant to be together, than the two of you. So, I wish you joy, peace, and years of happiness. Oh, and lots and lots of babies.”

“Here, here!” Everyone shouts.

“I love you both. Congratulations.” Tessa shouts over the cheers as she raises her glass to us.

Maxwell begins to hit on his glass.

“Blake, my man, my friend. He has always been a ladies man.”

Blake is pursing his lips together and squinting his eyes and moving his hand in a cutting motion across his neck.

“Blake, hush, its fine. They all know you were a stud with the ladies.”

Blake puts his head down shaking it back and forth.

“I mean, look at this guy. What woman wouldn’t fall at his feet and heck maybe even some men?”

There is a huge round of laughter. Maxwell our comedian.

“Seriously though, Blake used to just go through the motions in his life. Never staying with any girl very long until Kayla walked into his life. Blake changed that night. It was shocking to see my friend become a man over night. Blake had one goal after that night and that was to make Kayla his. And he didn’t just set out to get the girl. No, he set out to get the life that the girl deserved.”

“From helping Kayla, any way he could, to stopping the weekend drinking and girl chasing, to building her dream home, buying her a fantastic ring, and treating her and loving her the way she should have always been. And as you can see my man, got his girl. And a fantastic girl she is. Congratulations guys. I love you both. I wish you nothing but happiness together.”

Wiping the tears from my eyes, I look at Maxwell’s smiling face in the picture. We lost Maxwell last year in a car crash. Never getting the full story of what happened, hurt Blake unbelievably. Maxwell was a passenger in the car a friend of his was driving. The roads were slick and as they went into the curve the driver lost control. They said that Maxwell died on impact, which they say should make us feel better. Although the toxicology report said that Maxwell had not been drinking the driver had. Blake couldn’t believe his friend would get into a car with someone who had been drinking. Blake had warned Maxwell to never do that and Maxwell never had. So what was different that night, why was he in that car? We will never know those answers, which has been hard for Blake to accept. Blake misses his friend everyday. But now when we talk about him, Blake remembers the good times.

Flipping some more pages I get to our honey moon shots. Now that was a vacation to remember. Hawaii, I couldn’t believe we made it to the airport and I saw our destination.

“Hawaii? Oh my gosh, Blake! I can’t believe we are going to Hawaii.”

He only smiles and kisses me.

Once we landed in Hawaii we took a cab to our hotel. Blake of course had booked us a villa with a private beach, pool, and a panoramic view of the ocean. We couldn’t see anyone for miles
.

“Enjoy your stay, Sir, Ma’am. If we can do anything to make your stay more pleasant please let us know. And congratulations on your marriage.”

Blake tips him and then turns to me, spreading his arms wide.

“This is even better than the brochure they sent me. I’m impressed with myself.”

Taking my bottom lip between my teeth, I slowly stalk toward him. He looks delicious in his khaki shorts and white button up shirt.

“You Sir should not brag. It’s not very becoming.”

I run my hand up and down his chest. We’ve been waiting a long time to make love to one another and I don’t think I can wait another minute. Blake roughly pulls my body to his. Oh, I feel my eyes widen as shock over takes me. Blake runs his hands up into my hair at the back of my head and pulls me to his lips. Running my hand up under his shirt I stop to rest it over his heart, its pounding and his breathing is increasingly becoming erratic. This is not my sweet gentle Blake, this is a man that has patiently waited to make me his wife and we don’t have to wait any longer. He leans my head back, then bends down putting his arm under my legs, he sweeps me off of my feet and into his arms. He walks over to the bed that is in the center of the room facing the wall of glass that gives us an unobstructed view of the crystal clear ocean. Gently he lays me down in the center of the bed. Reaching up he unties the sheer white material that surrounds the canapy of the bed and lets it fall around us creating a romantic veil.

“Blake, I have something special to put on for you.”

“Later, we have plenty of time for that. Right now, I want to make love to my wife. I plan on showing you what I’ve been holding back since we met. I don’t plan on leaving this room for at least two days.”

“Oh, okay.” My words sound shaky and unsure.

He runs his hands down my body touching every inch of me making my body come alive. Chills cover me and I moan from the pleasure. He stops at my feet slipping my sandals off and dropping them to the floor. Placing kisses on each ankle as he makes his way back up my body. Resting on his forearms, which are on either side of me, he looks deeply into my eyes.

He lowers his lips to mine and I melt into the mattress beneath me. I’ve never known this type of pleasure and love. We are connected on a deeper level, a blessed level. Man and wife coming together as God intended. Committed to one another and only to one another.

From the moment I met Blake, I knew that looks were deceiving. The man has been patiently waiting to be in this moment right now and yet he still takes time to take in every inch of my body. From my ankles to my lips, there is not a single inch he neglects.

Blake slowly removes everything that seperates us leaving nothing between us. My skin tingles in anticipation. Anticipation of finally coming together as husband and wife overwhelms me and I succumb to the intensity of falling over the edge with nothing more than his lips and hands on me.

Pulling back Blake smiles down at me, nothing but love shining in his eyes. “I love you, Mrs. McGinnis, now and for the rest of my life. Nothing and no one will ever change that. You are the most important thing to me on this earth. Everything and every decision I make from here on out, will be made with you.”

Blake wasn't lying when he said he was holding back. This moment was unlike the others that we have shared. It was intense, and loving, but there was more, a lot more.

"Oh, Blake," I breathe out as he continues to show me his love. "I love you so much."

Closing my eyes, I arch my back off the bed pushing firmly against his chest, losing myself in the moment. Suddenly, fireworks shoot off behind my eyes, my whole body reacts to everything he is doing. There was no stopping me from calling out Blake's name. It was probably loud enough that people back home could hear me.