Til Death (Jane #5) (2 page)

Sitting in front of a large mirror, I watched
the woman behind me. She was the best hair stylist in the city,
according to my vampire wedding consultant, and she was proving her
worth. Donna and Annie already had their hair done in simple yet
fashionable pony tails. Together, the styles took less than an
hour. I’d been sitting there for an hour and a half already and my
patience was barely in tact by the time the woman set the last
curl.

I attempted to stand, only to be shoved back
into my seat by Donna. “Time for makeup.”

Another hour found me plastered and caked
with goop of all sorts and I barely recognized myself when she
finally stepped away. The woman in charge of timing was already
bugging us as I slipped into my dress and donned the white shoes
with heels too tall and straps too tight.

I was ushered out into the hall as Donna
hooked the snap on the halter top. She stepped away and smiled at
me. Then she began to blur. I leaned against the wall, taking deep
breaths to steady my nerves.

“Don’t tell me you’re getting cold feet
now.”

Annie stood beside me, a hand on my shoulder.
Her eyes were hard and threatening. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Not about Felipe.”

Donna grunted and put her hands on her hips.
“You better not back out on this. I’ve put too much time into
creating your dream wedding. Don’t you ruin this for me.”

I laughed again. I knew Donna wasn’t trying
to be mean. People just get funny when it comes to weddings. But I
couldn’t keep my mouth shut.

“No, Donna, I have no intention of ruining
your dream wedding. I promise I’ll be a good little girl and head
down the aisle when it’s my turn.”

The snarl on her face would’ve been enough to
scare even the toughest human, but I’d had enough. It was supposed
to be my big day, right? Thankfully, the woman standing at the door
beckoned Donna through as the music changed and managed to avoid a
nasty confrontation that probably would’ve gotten blood on my
beautiful dress.

Annie put an arm around me and kissed my
cheek. “It’ll be over soon, then you get to party like there’s no
tomorrow.”

I watched her walk through the door, then
closed my eyes. I pictured Felipe’s face. He was the only thing
that mattered. He had never been married and he wanted a wedding.
It was an hour, two tops. I could handle two hours. They would fly
by, and then I would spend the rest of my undead life with him,
happily ever after and all that jazz.

I snorted as I thought of what our happily
ever after would likely entail, drawing a raised eyebrow from the
coordinator. She didn’t like me; that was clear. She adored Donna,
though, and did her job well. I stepped to the door as she opened
it and looked out.

Every pew was filled and there were actually
people lining the walls. They were all standing and staring in my
direction. I had taken on some of the baddest baddies in the world,
but a church full of people all looking at me sent my knees
a-knocking. I was thankful that Donna hadn’t forced me to wear one
of those tight, stomach-constricting undergarments because it was
all I could do to breathe as it was.

“Go,” said the woman behind me, giving me a
little nudge.

Biting my lip, I started down the aisle. It
was a lot longer than I remembered it being during rehearsal. I
felt almost like I was riding on one of those airport conveyor
belts. My movements were jerky and I was not at all as graceful as
a vampire bride should be.

My eyes darted all over the room, taking in
everything and nothing all at once. The flowers were beautiful, but
the faces were blurred. I tried to focus on the front of the room.
Donna stood off to the left of the pulpit, holding her bouquet in
both hands, a big, cheesy, completely fake grin on her face. Annie
stood to her left and slightly in front, an encouraging smile
offering me support.

I looked to the right. Benton stood across
from Donna looking very dapper in his black suit. His face was hard
and his mouth firm, but I could see the light shining in his eyes.
Jax was glowing like a schoolboy. He had been ecstatic when Felipe
asked him to be the best man and he took the job very seriously, as
evidenced by the bachelor party that Felipe refused to talk
about.

Then my gaze settled on Felipe. There he was,
hair slicked back with too much gel and clean-shaven when he was
normally wonderfully scruffy, but he was perfect. He was staring at
me, his beautiful smirk pulling at the corners of his lips. My
jerky ride turned to an easy float and before I knew it, I was
standing in front of him, lost in his handsome face.

Beside me, Father Bellini cleared his throat
and addressed the crowd. “We are gathered here today to celebrate
the union of these two wonderful people in holy matrimony.”

The wedding sped along surprisingly fast.
Poems were read, songs were sung, rings were exchanged, and
promises were made. I had a very hard time focusing on Father
Bellini’s words until Felipe leaned over and wrapped an arm around
my waist.

“You may now kiss the bride.”

The smirk that had been growing all through
the ceremony broke into a full grin and he pulled me to him. I
threw my arms around his neck and he pressed his lips to mine. It
felt like our first kiss, full of hunger and passion and need.
Bellini had to tap us both on the shoulders to break us apart.

“You still need to make it through the
reception, kids,” he said, throwing Felipe a wink.

The crowd laughed and we made our way down
the aisle. Considering how fast the wedding went, the next two
hours dragged on endlessly. The guests took ages to give their
blessings and tell us how lovely the wedding was, then, at Donna’s
insistence, we took a gazillion photographs, most of which would
never be looked at again.

Finally, when my eyes were watery from too
many camera flashes and my brain was about fried, Felipe steered me
away from the rest of the wedding party to the limousine waiting on
the corner.

“Beautiful blushing brides first,” he said as
he held open the door.

I gave him a kiss on the cheek and climbed
in, dragging the train of my dress with me. He climbed in after and
settled beside me, wrapping his arms around my waist.

“Let’s never do that again.” His lips pressed
against my poofy hair and he sighed.

“I told you we should’ve gone to Vegas.”

“Yes, you did, several times.” He smiled and
kissed me softly. “But every girl needs a wedding at some point,
and considering this was your last chance, I wanted you to make the
most of it.”

I kissed him again and leaned my head on his
shoulder. “I hope they have coffee at the reception.”

Chapter 3

We arrived at the reception hall after all
the other guests. Donna and Benton were waiting outside the doors
and greeted us as we left the limo. I hadn't been allowed to see
the reception hall while it was being decorated and to say I was
impressed would be an understatement. Donna had truly outdone
herself.

The entrance to the hall was a circular drive
with a long, covered walkway. A red carpet had literally been
rolled out, running the whole length of the walk, and white roses
in enormous silver vases lined the sides. Strips of white and
silver fabric shimmered alternately on the poles holding up the
roof and each had been adorned with a single white rose.

I looked up as Felipe and I walked toward the
double doors and it took my breath away. Thousands of tiny lights
shone against the black canvas, twinkling like the unseen stars
above. They were even arranged correctly and I stopped to look for
the big and little dippers-- the only star patterns I really
knew.

“Keep walking, Jane. We have a schedule to
keep.”

I smirked at Donna, but bit my tongue. She'd
earned the right to pester me.

When we reached the doors, Donna made us wait
outside for what felt like ever. I fidgeted in my high heel shoes,
which were making me feet scream in protest and making me long for
my comfortable combat boots. At long last, she opened the door and
ushered us through. The hall was filled and I was sure it was
beyond the legal capacity. Tables were arranged so closely that the
guests bumped chairs when they stood up.

A small aisle had been created between the
mass of bodies and at Donna's gesture, music started. She grabbed
Benton by the arm and dragged him toward a long, elaborately
decorated table that marked the end of our journey.

Annie appeared beside me with Jax in tow and
gave me a kiss on the cheek before she too swept into the crowd. I
stood alone with Felipe once again and he slipped an arm around my
waist. A new song started and someone began to clap in time. Within
seconds, the entire crowd was clapping and cheering and pretty much
asking for a noise ordinance complaint. It was the coolest thing
ever.

Donna waved from the far end of the aisle and
Felipe stepped out into the crowd of crazy guests. I followed
beside him, feeling like Angelina Jolie at the Oscars, minus the
intense security. People I didn't even know were grinning and
cheering for me, some of them even reaching out to touch my arm or
dress. It was so weird, but oddly enjoyable. I even shook a few
hands. Sadly, no one asked me for an autograph.

We finally reached the end and emerged into
an open area that was blocked off by red velvet ropes. I turned to
look at the crowd behind us. Everyone was returning to their seats,
making a right old ruckus with the clanging of chairs and scuffling
of feet. I could hear a few arguments here and there after someone
set a chair leg on someone else's toe, mostly from the humans.

I noticed another table located with ours
behind the red ropes, off to the left. It was small and round, and
it brought an even bigger smile to my face. Father Bellini sat
between Captain Albertini and Marta. With them were Ronin, Rossi,
Nathan, and Romano. I felt much better knowing they were all close
at hand.

After we were seated at the table of honor, I
leaned down to unstrap my shoes, earning a glare from Donna.
Luckily, she was seated on the other side of Annie and couldn't
reach over her to swat me. The spread in front of me was amazing.
There were little silvery trinkets covering the table, arrayed in
between the beautiful arrangements of even more white roses. I
tried very hard to not imagine what Felipe had spent on this
wedding. I had offered to pay for half--I had Steven's money, after
all--but he flat out refused to take any of it.

A gaggle of young people dressed in very
classy serving outfits swept into the room from a side door. Some
held trays covered in wine glasses, both white and red, and others
carried very medieval-looking goblets. A woman carrying a tray of
the goblets stopped in front of us, a smile plastered across her
otherwise stony face. I couldn't tell if she was just apathetic to
her job in general or if she was unhappy about serving
vampires.

She placed a goblet in front of me and I
looked inside. It was a thick red liquid and I could feel the
warmth through the glass. A quick sip confirmed what I already
knew; somehow, Donna had secured fresh blood for the affair, a
lovely treat compared to the bottled stuff I usually drank.

After everyone hushed at the urging of the
unseen man on the microphone, Annie stood and gave a speech. It had
been a tough decision between Annie and Donna as my maid of honor,
but the distance between Donna and I had been too great. In her
absence, Annie had become my best friend. She was like a sister I
never had. I knew it hurt Donna to not have that role, but I hoped
that letting her plan the entire wedding was enough to soothe the
pain.

When Annie finished, Jax stood and gave his
own toast. It was filled with crude humor and boyish remarks,
drawing gasps from several of the more uptight folks in the crowd.
I laughed until my sides hurt.

After he finished, about a dozen more people
stood up, uninvited, to give their salutes to Felipe and I. Donna
finally called a halt to it and had the meal brought around. Our
server placed huge plates in front of us filled with massive steaks
just this side of rare. The steaks were accompanied by salt
potatoes that were the creamiest I've ever had, steamed vegetables
that tasted like they'd just been pulled from a garden, and the
most flaky, buttery rolls.

I ate until I thought I would pop, which
probably wasn't the best idea, then leaned back to chat with Annie.
Marta left her table and floated over to squat between us and Donna
wandered off to take her seat beside Bellini.

I looked around, watching my closest friends
chatting with people I couldn't place and smiled in satisfaction.
They were all there for me. They were all there to support me on
what was possibly the best day of my life. My heart was filled with
a feeling of elation.

Annie, Marta, and I chatted for a long time,
all of us sipping the always-full goblets. I found myself giggling
excessively over the smallest thing, but I attributed that to the
general excitement of getting married to the sexiest man on the
planet. The servers were on the ball and kept the drinks of all the
guests full, too. The wine kept the humans in high spirits and
small cups of coffee were passed around for the vampires.

Almost an hour later, Donna came prancing
over to me with a smile on her face. "Guess what, kids? It's time
for the first dance! Then after that, you can cut the cake."

Felipe held out a hand to me and I put my
gloved fingers in his as I downed the last of my coffee. When he
pulled me up, my head swam and he reached an arm around my waist to
steady me.

"Easy there, girl. Too much excitement?" His
easy smile echoed in his sparkling eyes and I leaned up to kiss
him.