Page 63 of Prince Un-Charming

The minister goes through the ceremony, and I begin to say my vows.

“Today is not just a joining of two people, but of two families. In my family, this has been a matter of great importance for centuries.”

“Caesar.” Vivi’s whisper is barely audible to me. I smile at her and try to tell her with my eyes to trust me. She nods, affirming once again we are always on the same wavelength.

“I’m marrying the love of my life to start our new life, fresh, with a new beginning. No matter what came before, all that matters now is our love. I love you now and forever, Vivienne. I will always take care of you. Your family is mine, and mine is yours.”

I turn back to Vivienne, and her eyes are shining with tears.

“I mean it.”

Our life starts now. What matters is what happens from this moment on.

“Vivienne, would you like to do your vows?” the minister asks.

“Caesar, I love you. Every day, you surprise me. Every day, you find a new way to show me just how much you love me. And every day, I love you more. I promise to love you forever, to take care of you when you need it, and to let you take care of me when I do. I love you.”

The minister shoves his hand between us, holding up the simple matching gold bands we picked out together. They are engraved with today’s date and the letter A with the squared symbol beside it. For ‘aeternum amor’ in Latin. Eternal love.

We promise to love, honor, and cherish each other, and we slide the rings on each other’s fingers. Then at last the minister says the words I’ve been longing to hear since I saw her coming down the aisle to me.

“You may kiss the bride.”

I take her in my arms and dip her gracefully to the side. Our guests go crazy, whooping and cheering. She smiles at me and reaches up to stroke my cheek. I breathe deeply, smelling the soft gardenias in her perfume which blends perfectly with her own scent.

I kiss her, and she kisses me. My wife. Our lips touch, and I tighten my hold on her. The world seems to disappear. There is just her and me, with all the love flowing between us and the endless possibilities our life together holds.

We go back up the aisle, and the next twenty minutes are a whirlwind of hugs and introductions and reintroductions. I’m usually amazing with names, but today I don’t want to look at people and memorize their faces. I just want to look at my wife.

We exit the church under a flurry of bubbles and climb into the Rolls-Royce. The ride to the country club takes less than ten minutes. We spend it trying to finish the kiss we started in church. Thankfully, it will never be finished.

Vivienne has one surprise left. After our first dance, she removes the skirt from her dress, revealing a tutu that goes down to her knees.

“Do you like it? I thought it would be better for dancing.”

I hold her hand up over her head, and she spins. The fabric flares out, revealing a flash of her gorgeous legs.

“I love it.”

Then we need to cut the cake. I feed Vivienne her piece. She closes her eyes and sighs with delight.

“Is it good?”

“Chocolate tastes even better when you are pregnant.”

“Well, then, maybe you should be pregnant a lot.”

“I don’t know about that, but I’ll let you try as much as you want.”

I wrap my arm around her and kiss her on the cheek.

“You kill me, you know that?” I lean down and lower my voice. “Do you think your family would see it as a huge transgression if I took you right now on top of the cake?”

“Unfortunately, yes. But I’ll make it up to you later.”

No matter what I say, she’s always got the perfect comeback. I’m going to spend the rest of my life constantly desiring her. And I can’t wait.

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