Page 141 of The Genius
“No, I can’t imagine you doing anything without analyzing the situation,” Khan said.
I stared at him. Had he forgotten how she almost volunteered for a tournament ten minutes ago? Why were people so blinded by Shelly’s brain that they didn’t see the spontaneous and adventurous woman she really was? His words made me cough. If only he knew how we’d met.
As if Pearl had read my thoughts, she tilted her head and asked. “You said that you’ve been seeing each other for months now. How did you reconnect? Was it random?”
“Ehhm, yes, you could say that.”
Shelly elbowed me, and I got the warning.
“Wait a minute.” Storm stood up. “Tristan brought Shelly to the drone race and you mistook her for a sex-bot.” He exchanged a look with Hunter and Tristan. “Does that mean…”
Shelly interrupted him. “It’s a long story. No need to talk about that now.”
“I would like to hear it,” Khan said but received a sharp look from Pearl that made him clear his throat. “But then again, who has time for long stories when we have a wedding to perform?”
“You can’t do it right now,” Mila objected. “At least let us find a white dress for Shelly and some flowers. A wedding should be magical. Maybe we could postpone it until tomorrow and have some flower girls and a cake.”
I shifted my balance, not wanting to wait another second out of fear that tomorrow Shelly might have gotten cold feet.
“Do you want to wait?” I asked, my inner voice screaming,Please say no.
“Flower girls and a cake sounds wonderful, Mila,” Shelly said and my heart sank. “But it’s not necessary and I think we’d prefer to do it as informally as possible.”
Mila lifted her hands. “But a wedding should be special. It’s a memory for life.”
“Itisspecial. We are surrounded by all of you, and what is more magical than marrying here at the school where we first met? This is where I fell in love with Marco so many years ago.”
I gave Shelly a thankful smile and wrapped my arm around her waist. “I agree. It’s perfect this way.”
Laura and Mila made sure everyone stood up and formed a half circle around Khan and us.
Standing shoulder to shoulder, they were all smiling as Khan began the ceremony.
“When Pearl first suggested a school of inclusion, I made sure we handpicked the brightest, and fiercest Nboys in the country. My hope was that one day it would lead to couples formed of you Nmen and Motlander women. For some reason, that hasn’t happened,yet.” Khan smiled.
“Maybe they should have handpicked the girls better,” one of the Nmen mumbled and it caused dampened laughter that were quickly shushed by the others.
“What I didn’t expect was for the mentors to fall in love, but Kya and Archer did and so far, it has resulted in three beautiful children.” We all looked over to Kya and Archer, who stood glued together with soft smiles on their faces. “Tonight, I’m honored to have the two assistant mentors follow suit and form a strong bond of marriage. You have both done outstanding work since you left the school and I’m speaking from experience when I say that with the support of a loving spouse, there’s nothing you can’t do.”
I was lost in Shelly’s eyes when Khan asked her the question, “Shelly Summers, will you marry Marco Polo?”
Shelly’s eyes shone bright when she answered, “Yes.”
“And you Marco, will you take Shelly to be your wife?”
“There’s nothing I want more.” My voice was loud and bubbly from happiness and pride.
“Then I declare you husband and wife.”
Applause and cheers surrounded us as I picked up Shelly and kissed my new wife for the first time.
“I love you.”
“I love you too, Marco.”
We were hugged and congratulated from every angle, and Rochelle laughed at me when I stiffened as she flung her arms around me.
“Marco, we’re family now. You can hug me.”
