004

Aurora

He was late.

Five times. I called him five times this morning to remind him —obviously a waste of time — that the wedding was still on, but he still chose to be thirty minutes late.

Sierra came to my side, and the next second, my phone was swiped out of my hand. “Rory, you’ve called him so many times already. He isn’t magically going to pick up now,” she said softly. “How about you take a seat while we wait, so you won’t be too tired to stand when he finally arrives?”

My eyes shifted to the hall’s entrance. “But it’s been thirty minutes already. Why isn’t he here?”

“I don’t know. But he’ll be here soon, I promise.”

How could she promise that when everyone had already called him more times than I could count, and he still didn’t pick?

A scary thought crossed my mind.

Oh my god. What if he ditched me?

My eyes darted to the entrance again, wishing the doors were going to burst open by him. But there was no chance of that happening, so I let Sierra guide me by the elbow to a bench beside the altar.

As I say, I instantly became more aware of the murmurs and pitiful glances being thrown my way.

The few people we’d invited all looked at me like they had already accepted what I wasn’t willing to admit to myself. That I was officially a jilted bride.

Thank goodness we’d kept it away from the media, else my face would’ve been over the tabloids by now.

“Miss.”

I looked up and the priest was in front of me.

“We have another wedding to officiate in thirty minutes. Please contact the groom to arrive faster if he is still—”

“He’ll be here soon. Five more minutes, please, priest,” Sierra cut in.

He folded his lips and gave a brisk nod, then turned to return to his position when the doors finally burst open and my name was yelled from the entrance.

“Aurora!” Asher’s voice thundered through the now quiet hall.

I shot up from my seat, my eyes on Asher as he sprinted down the aisle to me.

He was in a completely disheveled state, his white shirt untucked and rumpled, his hair mussed, and there were specks of dirt on his black slacks. He looked like he’d been through hell before he got here.

“Shit, Ror,” he panted when he finally got to me, struggling to catch his breath. “I’m so sorry I’m late. My car broke down, and I lost my phone, and—shit,” he held my face in his hands. “Please forgive me. I’ll explain better later, I promise.”

As I stared at him, my initial anger slowly subsiding, the only thought on my mind was…

I’d never heard him curse so much before.

I also wanted to slap him and kiss him at the same time for hurting me.

“Please tell me you’ll still marry me,” he pleaded when I wasn’t saying anything.

I took my time responding. “Do you think I’d still be here if I didn’t want to marry you?”

A huge grin split across his face, and he leaned in to kiss me, but as if realizing something halfway, he stopped and dropped my face before taking a step back.

I wanted to ask why, but then the priest asked from behind me, “Shall we proceed?”

I turned and gave him a curt nod.

***

Since Asher had taken so much time to arrive, we’d been rushed through the vows and everything between. We were now at the end of the ceremony.

“…With the power conferred on me, I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the priest announced. “You may now kiss.”

I stepped toward him, and he did the same, until the distance between us closed. He then took my face in his hands, and I closed my eyes, anticipating the kiss. But then, at the last moment, I felt his lips graze my…

Cheek. Barely.

My eyes snapped open only to see that he’d already moved away from me.

As if his being late wasn’t enough embarrassment for me, it seemed like he was also hell-bent on bringing me to tears in front of everyone with how weird he was acting.

He didn’t even say his vows fluently, for crying out loud!

Before I could call him out for his attitude, he leaned down and whispered in my ear, “I’m sorry, Ror. But the way I want our first kiss to go as a married couple doesn’t need an audience.”

My frustration already forgotten, I felt heat pool in my cheeks from his words.

I swallowed dryly.

Asher never talked dirty to me, and I had to admit, I loved this side of him. His words sent me flowing with anticipation for what was happening later.

Regaining myself, I gave my best flirty smile. “I’ll be counting on that kiss.”

***

After the church wedding was over, we headed to the reception.

I wish I could say time had flown by beautifully, but it’d have been a lie.

I was the bride, but the reception felt like it was more for our guests than for me, especially with Asher fielding all my attempts at being close to him.

I had to coerce him into having our first dance as a couple, and I wish I could blame his behavior on being shy, but I knew he wasn’t a shy man.

To top it off, he disappeared for almost an hour during the reception, leaving me to awkwardly answer the questions I got from our guest, and when he returned, he didn’t so much as glance at me before heading to the bar and remaining there throughout the rest of the reception.

I was so close to breaking down, but Sierra helped me keep it together.

At least it was night now, and we were back to the hotel room we’d rented for the week, and I actually had something to look forward to — our first time having sex. My first time having sex.

I knew that even though the day wasn’t as perfect as I’d imagined, nothing could ruin this for me, especially because Asher had apologized for his behavior on the way here and explained that he’d found out during the reception that his twin brother had escaped from prison earlier, which was also why he’d disappeared for some time.

There was no way I could stay angry at him after that, especially after meeting his brother yesterday.

The door to the en-suite bathroom opened, and Asher entered the bedroom.

With a smile on my face, I stood and smoothed my hands over the front of my outfit for the night… if I could call it that.

It was time.