Page 40 of Dancing with a Ghost

I followed him out of our apartment and down to his car. He still hadn’t upgraded, driving his crappy little Fiat, but he loved it. “Buckle up, buttercup,” he said as he started the engine. “Just a short journey until we’re there.”

I watched with interest as we made our way to a nearby spa, one that I’d mentioned a while ago.

“We’re going here?”

“Yep. I booked us in for a few treatments, then we’ll make our way back to get ready for the wedding. What more could you want?”

The answer to that was nothing. I had everything I wanted.

Toby had gone a little overboard though, buying a full body massage with a facial. Not that type of facial, although I wouldn’t have minded one of those from Toby.

By the time the two hours were up, we were in a state of nirvana, chilled to the max and ready for the day ahead, and if we didn’t have to attend our wedding, I’d be going back to bed for a nap.

We made it back to the apartment with an hour and a half to spare. Toby’s phone was blowing up with messages from his mother, asking where we were.

“Do you want to dress here or at the manor? We’ve a room there if you want to use it,” he asked, packing our suits into carriers, his decision already made. I agreed with him. The manor was the best place to be.

“I think we should go there. Your mother’s already panicking.”

"You're right, as usual. Come here, you." He pulled me closer, using my shirt, and I went willingly. I'd go anywhere with him. He didn't even have to ask.

"I won't get much chance to do this to you later. It'll be busy." He pressed a hard kiss to my lips and immediately, I opened up for him, throwing my arms around his neck. His phone rang, and he pulled back to answer it. I snatched it from his hand, throwing it onto the bed.

No interruptions.

He ran his hands down my back and grabbed my arse, pressing his erection against mine. I knew we didn't have time, knew we should leave, but I couldn't. I ran my hands through his newly trimmed hair, feeling the silky soft strands run through my fingers.

Our kisses were frantic, leaving us both breathless, but all too soon, we needed to go.

We broke apart, aware that time was ticking on.

"We should go," I said breathlessly.

"Yeah, we should."

Ninety minutes later and we were in the ballroom, standing in front of an ornate wooden table, Moonlight Serenade playing in the background. We had on our navy blue suits and white shirts, open at the neck, a white rose in our lapels. We didn't want the formality of ties, opting for a more casual approach.

We promised to love each other until death do us part. A little ironic, thinking about how we met.

Toby's immediate family; mother, father, and sister congregated on one side, alongside some close friends. His nieces looked gorgeous in their pink dresses, our little bridesmaids.

The other side of the aisle was my family. After much soul searching, deliberating if it was right, I agreed to look for my extended family.

Rose and Alice had given birth to a couple of children each, four sons between them, and they, in turn, had had their own children. While my brother and sisters were no longer with us, my nephews had joined me with their spouses. It was hard to explain who I was, so we fabricated a story that I was some long-lost relative. It was easier to say that than explain I'd died and come back to life all these years later.

It'd been more than I'd hoped for. Finding family after all this time but most importantly, finding Toby. If his family hadn't bought the manor, we might never have met.

Or perhaps we were always meant to be.

Perhaps fate had dealt us the best hand ever, bringing us together.

We'd found each other and loved each other and always would.

As I gazed with complete adoration into the eyes of my husband, I knew that it had all been worth it.

Every moment of every day for seventy-nine years, I'd waited, knowing my time would come.

From that first dance, he'd been mine and I'd been his.

There was something to be said for dancing with a ghost.

---