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The hair stylist added the shoulder-length veil. I was really a bride.
The blonde held her clipboard. “Let’s get you to the chapel.”
“Okay.”
A private elevator brought us down to the white-and-yellow side room next to the chapel. Classical music was playing. I heard Kir speaking inside, so I peeked through the door. His tux clung to those muscles of his as if the suit was made just for him. He had my heart.
The blonde returned and directed me to the edge of the aisle. I lifted my chin. This was it. I was about to pledge my life to him forever.
She handed me a bouquet of peonies, and I whispered, “Thank you for everything.”
She nodded, and the Wedding March started. I turned and walked toward him.
The second our gazes met, my heart stirred. I passed white and yellow roses that graced the empty aisles, but everything else was a blur. All I could see was Kir. Somehow, I was lucky enough to be there.
I reached his side, took his hands, and said, “Kir, you look handsome.”
He pushed my veil back and quickly said, “Before we get started, I wanted to tell you I love you, and having you beside me is all I want.”
I took a deep breath. “Let’s get married.”
Then the minister spoke, and I listened to his words about love, but I was in a daze, holding Kir’s hands. I used to think we were too different, but now I was excited to wake up every day with him.
The minister broke through my dream state. “Do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?”
I said, “I do.”
Kir’s brown eyes were mesmerizing. He stared at me, and then the minister asked him, “And do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?”
His lips curved into a smile, and my heart beat faster as he said, “I do.”
“Then by the power vested in me by the state of Nevada, I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
Kir took out a diamond ring that rivaled his mother’s rock, and I smiled. He slipped a gold band on my finger, and I did the same for him. Now the world would see that we were married.
His lips met mine. The ceremony had been fast and simple, but his kiss wasn’t. I was his for the rest of our lives. The kiss deepened, and I forgot about everything else.
I needed air, so he let me go, and we signed our marriage certificate. Then we walked out onto the balcony overlooking the fountains for some daytime pictures. As the photographer had us stand for a photo, I told Kir, “Nothing fake about us now.”
He hugged me tighter. “Absolutely not.”
We smiled for the camera and then were told we could go. We stepped back into the air-conditioning, but he stopped me in the aisle. “Now I need to tell you something.” His face seemed so serious.
I tensed. “What?”
“My brothers wanted to hire you back to run their data analysis.”
I kissed his cheek. From here on out, I trusted in love and my skills, and working for a start-up airline was going to be fun. I said, “Tell them no thanks. I found a new job.”
He hugged me. “Good.”
I glanced around the hallway that led to the elevators. “So, where do we go to get on the plane?”
As we walked together, he asked, “You want to go now?”
I shrugged. “If I don’t, I’ll chicken out, and that’s not how I want to start my new life with you.”
He inched closer to the elevators. “We don’t need to prove anything.”
