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Ray had called Lester, his way of working his connections, and explained that he and Jesse were stuck in traffic. Within ten minutes, two cop cars showed up in the middle of the New York City chaos. The officers gave them an escort to the church, using their flashing lights and sirens. Cars moved out the way and stayed out of the emergency lanes as they whizzed by everyone. Another perk was they could speed without getting pulled over. Ray and Jesse were at the church ten minutes after two. Ray was relieved they were finally there, but he wasn’t relieved to see reporters and photographers outside of the church. “Good God,” Ray said with disgust. “What do they expect to see? People have weddings all the time.” “They expect to see the lucky man who is marrying a popular New York heiress and super model. Now plaster a smile on your face and let’s get in there,” Jesse said in a no-nonsense tone. “I’m sure poor Ava is wondering what the hell
Ava was in a dressing room at the church with her mother and bridesmaids. Ava’s dress was a fit and flare silhouette with a two-foot train. It had long sleeves and a bateau neckline. At the lower half of the skirt, three peonies were sewn in a group in light gray threading. The length of the veil came to her lower waist. The lining of the veil was etched with white thread peonies shape designs. Her bridesmaids had long-sleeved dresses and were a fit and flare design like Ava’s except their dresses did not have a train. The rose-colored bridesmaid dresses complimented all their complexions. They had taken pictures at the Bartholomew mansion where they had gotten dressed. Now they were waiting for Ray and the groomsmen to arrive so they could start the ceremony. There was a knock on the door. Ava’s sister, Ruby, answered it. Ruby’s red hair was up in a loose bun with curls at the top and ringlets around her face. It was Eduardo
Three and a half weeks later . . . Life had become a whirlwind. Everything was moving so fast. Ray was happy to be marrying Ava, but the wedding preparations and the wedding itself had gotten out of hand. At first, they were going to get married in Montana, but after Ava had conversations with her mother, father, and her sisters, they were now getting married in New York – to Ray’s chagrin. Some nonsense about social obligations and wedding etiquette. The wedding coordinator and his staff of twenty had grated Ray’s nerves by bothering him with mundane details. And pestering him with his little reminders and tight scheduling of things.And Ray hadn’t expected to have such a large wedding party either. Not only did Ava want Catherine Townsend to be her matron of honor, she wanted all five of her sisters to be bridesmaids. So, not only was Jesse Ray’s best man, but his sons and three of his future brother-in-laws were going to be his groomsmen. When Ra
Ray yawned as the limo driver pulled up along the waiting jet. It was a big sucker. Whatever. As long as it got Ray home in one piece, he didn’t care. He didn’t care much about anything now. Ava wasn’t coming back with him this morning, which had put him in a slight depression. He knew there was still a chance she would say yes to his proposal and come to him but waiting for however long was excruciating. Some sort of flight attendant took Ray’s luggage from the driver. He carried it up the steps to the plane. “It’s been a pleasure serving you, Mr. Steele. I hope I get the opportunity again when you come back to our great city,” the driver said. Great? Shit. Everything is ridiculously expensive, my son nearly got killed by some methed-out driver, the traffic is the shits, the citizens are rude as all hell - bumping into you in the street and don’t say excuse me, and it’s louder than a military base in this place. Fuck this city. I don’t know what ev
“Gracious!” Catherine exclaimed as she entered the living room. “When you had said Ray sent you a lot of flowers you weren’t exaggerating.” “You haven’t seen the den or my bedroom, yet,” Ava said with a smirk. “Good Lord,” Catherine said as she took a seat in an armchair. “Derek did something like this for Chelsea once, but I don’t think he bought so many flowers that it covered half the house. My god, Ava. You finally found a man who loves you enough to make a gesture like this. Bravo.” Ava chuckled as she eased down on the couch. “Yes. I just have some reservations.” “Oh?” “I know you helped Ray plan that special evening for me last night.” Catherine lightly exhaled as she leaned back in the chair. A smile spread across her lips. “Yes, he had called asking for my help. He had said he wanted to plan a special evening for you – to make you feel special.” “Did he also tell you that he was pl
The next day . . . Ava had gone to her mother’s penthouse. She and Simon were going back to England tonight. Ava caught them up on the latest. “I’m so glad he proposed to you,” her mother said. “But I can’t believe you told him you think about it.” Simon had left them to enjoy a cup of tea in the parlor. They were sitting in the den. “You can’t? You think I should have said yes?” “Do you love him?” “Yes.” “Then, yes, you should have told him yes right away. But it’s your life. I had promised you I wouldn’t interfere, and I would support your decisions.” “Hold on,” Ava said putting her finger up in the air. “Pretend – just this once I didn’t ask you to make that promise and tell me why you think I should have said yes right away.” “First of all, you love him, and he obviously loves you considering everything he has done to try to impress you and show you that.” “Wait