Mine To Honor (Southern Wedding Series Book 7) (Southern Weddings)

“Knock, knock, knock.” I hear as the door to the bridal suite opens. I’m sitting down in one of the plush chairs, wearing a white satin robe that says Bride on it. The room is filled with vases and vases of roses. The woman behind me is curling my hair, as I’m drinking my second glass of champagne. I’m trying not to think about the fact that my chest feels weird. I’m trying not to think about how my stomach flips and flops when anyone gushes when they come in the room, excited about me getting married. I’m trying not to think about the fact that by the end of the night, I’m going to be married to Levi. “I come with gifts.” I look over to see Stefano’s mom, Vivienne, come in the room with two bags in her hands.

“What?” I ask as she walks in. She’s wearing an ice-blue dress that matches her eyes perfectly. It’s satin and tight all the way down to the floor, with little cap sleeves.

“Well, it’s your wedding day.” I look at her, knowing full well that she knows this isn’t a real wedding. I know this because yesterday we sat down with Mark to explain what was going on. We did it at Luke’s to make sure everyone kept their voices at a reasonable level. I was more nervous telling Mark than anyone else. He’s been like a father figure to me, and I didn’t want to let him down. I don’t wear my heart on my sleeve. I don’t tell people my problems. I deal with it and move on, so having to sit down and tell him what was going on was a lot for me. It really helped that Levi was there holding my hand. He’s been holding my hand since I got the call about Lisa. Even when I asked him to marry me and he thought I was joking, in the end I knew he would agree to it.

“It’s my fake wedding day,” I mumble to her and she just smiles at me.

“Well, whatever it is,” she says, her French accent very apparent right then and there. I don’t know the whole story, but I know she came here when she was in college from France and fell in love with New York, so she stayed. From the little bits and pieces here and there, I think she’s even related to royalty back in Paris. “I wanted you to have a couple of things.”

“A couple of things?” I remark, putting down the empty glass of champagne and hoping it gets topped up sooner than later to help me with all the nerves.

“They are just little things,” she assures me, handing me the first bag, “so you know we support you.”

“I don’t know what to say.” I put the bag on my lap and pull out the white tissue paper before pulling out a brown box. I place the bag on the floor before opening the box and seeing a silk handkerchief in the middle of it. I take it out, seeing it’s got lace on the outside of the silk. In the middle of the silk is Levi & Eva with the date.

“It’s to help dab your tears away,” she explains. “It will look nicer in pictures than a tissue.”

My eyes get suddenly so dry they hurt to blink, or maybe they are filled with tears and I’m ignoring it all. This little secret wedding has turned into a party for thirty. It went from just the two of us with two witnesses to Stefano’s parents. Then I couldn’t leave the sisters out of it, so I invited them also. Needless to say, it isn’t going to be just the four of us. This morning when I woke up in the honeymoon suite I was staying in, I kept thinking to myself we should have just gone to Vegas. “This is so thoughtful,” I tell Vivienne, trying not to ruin my makeup with tears.

“It was nothing; I wish I had enough time to do more.”

“It’s not supposed to be that big of a deal,” I remind her as she hands me the next bag.

“This,” she says, “is from the Dimitris family.”

“Good God.” The sting goes from my eyes right to my nose. “This is really too much,” I tell her, “like, this is just for show.”

“Regardless,” she goes on, “it’s for you and you can pass it along to Cici when it’s her turn.” I take the box out of the bag and the little box should tell me I shouldn’t take this gift. However, I know if I fight it, they will start to lay on the guilt. “Your father would have wanted you to have this.” And there it is—the guilt—as I open the box and see diamond earrings. “They match the outfit perfectly.”

“Yes, they do.” I don’t even fight it because it’ll be a losing battle. I also don’t have time to fight it because my phone rings. I reach for it, seeing it’s Alice.

“Hello.” I pick up the phone on the second ring.

“Eva,” she greets breathlessly, “good news. Just got off the phone with the lawyer and we have the reading of the will in two days.”

“Oh my God,” I say, putting my hand to my mouth. “Will I be able to get Cici?”

“CPS is already aware that there is a will in place. They will be meeting with the lawyers tomorrow, so hopefully they have everything they need and you can get Cici.”

“I have no words, thank you so much.”

“It’s my job,” she reminds me. “What are you doing?”

“Well,” I stall, looking into the mirror at myself, “I’m getting married in about an hour, give or take.”

“What?” she huffs. “Today?”

“No time like the present,” I tell her and she laughs.

“It’s a good thing you both signed the prenup yesterday.” It’s my turn to laugh, as soon as we filed our paperwork for a marriage license, we got on the phone with Alice to discuss a prenup. It was pretty simple and she emailed over the copy and we just signed it and returned it.

“Thank you for squeezing it in so quickly,” I reply and hear another knock on the door.

“I have to go. I’ll call you tomorrow, Alice.”

“Happy wedding day,” she gushes before I hang up on her.

“Can we come in?” Presley sticks her head in the door and I just smile at her.

“Come right in,” I invite her and Vivienne looks over at me. I can see she’s hiding something.

“We come with gifts,” Presley says, walking in followed by Shelby, Clarabella, and Sofia who are carrying wedding dresses.

“What are those?” I point at the dresses they are carrying.

“We have three choices for you to choose from,” Presley says. “Now, we know that you chose not to have a wedding dress and to be married in pants and a top, but—” She points over to the pantsuit I picked up in town.

“You are getting married,” Sofia reminds me.

“Yes, but—” I put my finger up.

“You have to have a wedding dress, even if it’s fake,” Clarabella states. “It’s like bad karma if you don’t.”

“Look at JLo,” Shelby points out, “she went to Vegas to get married with Ben and she brought her glam squad and a Ralph Lauren gown.”

“Well, she’s JLo.” I laugh nervously. “I am not.” I look at the girls. “And if I’m not mistaken, she actually loved Ben.”

“How about we save that debate for another time?” Clarabella suggests. “We are still debating if Jake has Taylor’s red scarf.”

“Ugh,” Presley says, “I bet he does.”

“Okay, fine.” I give in. “I don’t care which one as long as we can return it after the wedding.”

“Good,” Sofia cheers, “I thought you would say that, so we are going with this one.” She picks up the dress in her hand and it’s absolutely stunning. The top is a sweetheart neckline, but it’s full of sparkle. Even the spaghetti straps have sparkles on them. But then white silky material looks like it’s draped over from one side to the other, going all the way to the floor. There is a huge slit on the left side, and the same sparkly material from the top is layered under the silk. It’s sexy and glamorous, and if I was getting married, it is what I would choose. “Wait until you see the back.” She turns it around and it looks like it’s sheer all the way to the bottom of my back, where the silk drapes giving you a little train. “It’s stunning.”

“Isn’t it a bit too much for a wedding that, you know, is small?” I ask them.

“We are just following orders,” they say, avoiding looking at me.

The hairdresser finishes the beach curls I asked for and pins the hair on the side in the back. I get up and slide the white robe off me and step into the dress. I hold the front to me as they zip up the back. The beads and pearls of the front are so delicate I’m afraid to touch them. “Maybe we should go for the other one.” I point over to the plain dress. “It looks like it’s less likely to get damaged.”

“You can change after,” Presley assures me and the door opens and this time Addison steps in wearing a coral silk dress.

She gasps when she sees me. “I knew that was going to be her dress,” she boasts, holding a massive bouquet with orchids, white roses, and blush flowers. “I got the flowers.”

“Okay, this is getting a bit ridiculous,” I say when music starts playing.

“What is that?” I ask them, and everyone avoids looking at me as they pin a veil in the back of my hair. I don’t have time to second-guess anything because Addison comes over and places a pair of shoes in front of me and I slide my feet into them.

The door opens and Avery comes jumping in. “Look, I’m a princess.” She twirls as she goes to Vivienne, who holds her face and kisses her cheek.

“Okay, we need to go,” Addison urges and we walk out of the suite and head toward the reception space.

“We’ll go get our seats,” the girls say, leaving me with Addison, Avery, and Vivienne.

“Hey.” I hear someone say from the side and look over to see Markos coming toward us. “I’m just in time.” He smiles at me. “You look so beautiful.”

“Thank you,” I answer him, as Vivienne goes to him and kisses his lips.

“I took it upon myself to help you down the aisle,” Mark says nervously. “You don’t have to accept it.”

I smile at him, the pain in my chest feeling even more pressure. “Thank you,” is all I can say because the lump forms in my throat.

“It’s time,” Addison announces, and I hear music even louder now.

“Is that music for us?” I ask, but all she does is turn and walk into the venue.

“Shall we?” Mark offers me his arm and I slip my hand in his.

“On a scale of one to ten, how crazy is this plan?” I ask nervously when I hear the music stop.

“One thousand and fifty percent,” he jokes as the chords of a harp fill the room. “It’s time.”

He leads me, and when the doors open, it dawns on me that it’s “Here Comes the Bride” I hear. I gasp when I see the room filled with people. “Oh my God, this is not happening,” I say, but Mark just leans over.

“Smile, you’re on video and there is a photographer.” My eyes go big as I look down the aisle to see Levi standing there wearing a beige linen suit. His hands are on top of each other in front of him as he watches me walk down the aisle. I don’t even think I’m walking down the aisle, it’s more like I’m floating. I must be floating because I don’t think my feet are touching the floor. I blink away the tears, suddenly pissed I forgot the handkerchief in the room.

I don’t notice all the decorations around us. I can only focus on Levi, who is trying not to laugh at me. I hope he can tell from my stare that I’m about to freak out. When we get to the end of the aisle, he comes forward and shakes Mark’s hand before holding out his hand for me. I slide my hand in his and he leans in. “Breathe,” he whispers in my ear, right before he kisses me on the cheek. “Ten minutes and this is over.”

I look over and I glare at him for being calm, cool, and collected. “Smile for the camera,” he mumbles as he stands next to me.

“What the hell is all this?” I hiss at him as the guy in front of me starts talking about gathering today to witness the marriage of Levi and Eva.

“Surprise!” he says to me, his eyes filled with mischief, before looking back at the guy in front of me.

“Levi and Eva,” the man starts, “face each other holding hands.” I hand the bouquet to Addison, who stands beside me. “And repeat after me.”

“This is it,” I mumble under my breath, turning to put my hand in Levi’s. I don’t bother looking at all the people sitting here because I might just run out the back door. Also, I make a mental note to kick the shit out of Stefano for knowing all these people.

“Evangeline.” He uses my real name. “Repeat after me, I, Evangeline, take you, Levi, to be my husband.”

The lump in my throat grows so big I’m not sure I’m able to say anything. I blink faster and let out a big exhale before I look into his eyes. “I, Evangeline, take you, Levi, to be my husband.” My eyes never leave his as I finish repeating what he says, “To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until parted by death.”

A lone tear escapes and Levi lets go of one hand to wipe the tear away. I hear the aw coming from somewhere, and if I was in my right mind, I would laugh at them. “Now, Levi,” the man says, “please repeat after me.”

Levi smirks and then his smirk leaves his face. “I, Levi, take you, Evangeline, to be my wife.” He smiles when he says the word, before finishing. “To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until parted by death.”

I can’t help the smile that fills my face. “Now, do we have the rings?”

I look at Levi, my face filled with horror. “We forgot rings,” I tell him and he just shakes his head.

“I got them.” He turns to Stefano, who hands him the rings.

“This is why I’m marrying him.” I look over at the guy who is officiating the wedding.

He chuckles. “Levi, place the ring on her finger and repeat after me.”

My hand shakes in his as he holds the ring he is slipping on my finger. My eyes look down at his hand as he says the words, “I give you this ring as a sign of our love for and commitment to each other.” I look back up at him as he continues and the ring reaches the bottom of my finger. “I promise to support you, care for you, and stand alongside you for all of our days.”

All I can do is smile at him as he hands me his ring. I hold his hand in mine, and whereas mine was shaking, Levi’s is steady. I take the black band and place it on his finger, repeating what he said to me, “I give you this ring as a sign of our love for and commitment to each other. I promise to support you, care for you, and stand alongside you for all of our days.” Only when it’s at the bottom of his finger do I look up at him. He has his own tears in his eyes, no doubt regretting saying yes to my favor.

“You are lucky you didn’t put honor and obey in that.” I lean in to make him laugh.

“I thought about it.” He laughs. “But I figured I’d be pushing it.”

“Good call,” I agree while the man is declaring us husband and wife.

“You may now kiss your bride,” he invites and Levi steps forward.

“Your lips had better be clean,” I say right before he smiles and leans in and kisses my lips.

It’s very quick but long enough for the photographer to get the picture. The crowd is on their feet clapping for us.

“Well, husband,” I say, reaching up and wiping the gloss off his lips, “only three hundred and sixty-four days to go.”

He laughs when I say that, shaking his head and slipping his hand into mine, leaning sideways to me. “But who’s counting?” he replies.