Page 111 of Midnight Sanctuary

“We’re not lighting any candles and it’s going to be a small ceremony, so he should be fine. Don’t worry about any of that, okay? This isyourday. Let us take care of the rest.”

50

URI

“Well, I’ll be damned!” Dimiv exclaims when he walks into the transformed church chapel.

The place has undergone one hell of a facelift. What was once a bland, featureless room is now decked out in white roses and fairy lights strung across the ceiling like stars. It smells fresh, fragrant, and the air ripples with warmth. The cake that Nikolai ordered arrived a few minutes ago and is standing proudly on a stool in the corner. Two tiny figurines, a groom in a tuxedo and a blushing bride in a white gown, decorate the top.

It’s the cheesiest thing I’ve ever seen.

It’s fucking perfect.

“I can’t believe it,” Dimiv muses. “My eternal bachelor of a cousin, getting married.”

I laugh, eyeing the bottle of vodka in his hand. “You were supposed to get the rings, you drunk bastard.”

He pulls out a tiny black pouch from his jacket pocket and hands it over. “I’ve always been good at multitasking. Two solid gold wedding bandsandthe perfect vodka to toast to.”

“I doubt we have time for a toast.”

He scoffs. “There’s always time for a toast. Especially to mark an auspicious occasion like this one. Where’s Nikolai? We can’t do this without him.”

“He’s bringing the officiant. They should be here soon.”

“Well, then fuck him,” he says with a devilish grin. “Let’s crack this baby open ourselves.”

He opens the bottle and pours out two shot glasses full of vodka. “Y’know, I always thought Nikolai would be the first to get hitched.”

“Yeah. That makes two of us.”

Dimiv lifts his glass into the air. “Well, to marriage in all its many forms. And all the twists and turns it brings. May your roller coaster be everything you want it to be.”

“What fortune cookie did you steal that from?” I taunt.

My cousin throws back his drink and immediately refills it. “Marriage made a poet of me,” he says with a wink. “Do you really think I’d have moved to goddamn Moscow for anyone else? Dagmara changed my whole world, my whole perspective on life. Our fathers liked to take the credit, but she made a man out of me.”

I roll my untouched drink between my fingers thoughtfully. “I used to think you were insane. Leaving the States, moving to Russia, all for a woman.”

Dimiv smirks. “And now?”

I pretend to consider it. “And now… I still think the exact same thing.”

He snorts with laughter. “Take it from a man who’s got nearly a decade of marriage under his belt: keep her happy. She’s always right and you’re always wrong. Happy wife; happy life. You remember that and you’ll stay married a long, long time.”

It’s not bad advice per se; it’s just not for me. Fighting is the slippery slope that led me to this day, to this woman.

“Thanks, cousin. I’m glad you could be here for this.”

“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.” He beams and rips back the second shot. “Now, I believe it is time for the groom to get ready.” He points toward the back pew. “Suit’s in the bag there. Private room is just a little ways down the hall. Go get pretty—but take it easy on the lipstick this time.”

Chuckling, I pat Dimiv on the shoulder, grab my suit, and duck into the private room that overlooks the hospital’s manicured gardens. I stare out the window as I get dressed, trying to wrap my head around the surrealness of this moment. I’m getting dressed for my wedding. I’m going to get married. An hour from now, I’m going to have awife.

It’s not something I ever thought I wanted before Alyssa.

When I step back into the chapel, I see Dimiv at the pulpit chatting animatedly with the officiant who’s going to marry us. I swear my cousin could talk the ear off a statue. I leave him to the schmoozing and turn to Nikolai, who’s just appeared in the doorway of the chapel.

“Took you long enough,” I say when I walk up to him. “Where were you?”

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