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Now it was my turn to hug him. “I’m so glad you’re here, Ty.”
“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. Come on. Let’s go find some chocolate.”
We ate, drank, laughed, and enjoyed all the pampering treats that had been arranged. The paraffin dip was lovely. Our hands were scrubbed with sugar and then dipped into warm wax and wrapped in giant mittens to make our skin extra soft. Everything was going great until they plugged an IV in my arm for some vitamin therapy.
“What is this again?” I had no idea that when I signed up to be a bride I would be drugged, and I was helpless to stop it as my hands had been swaddled in big oven mitts.
“This is micronutrient therapy. You’re getting a high dose of vitamins and minerals directly into your bloodstream, which your body will absorb rapidly.”
“You’ll love it, Rayne,” Seraphina commented. “Plus, it should boost your immune system and get rid of that head cold.”
“I’m not sick.”
“Of course not.” She looked completely at ease on the settee in her paraffin mittens as vitamins streamed directly into her vein, somehow managing to make even an IV look like a fashionable accessory.
I, on the other hand, looked like a patient at a psych ward doing some Mickey Mouse cosplay.
When I got back to our personal suite I crawled into bed with a groan. The penthouse was empty and silent, and I prayed it would stay that way for at least a?—
The door opened and voices carried. Hale and his mother laughed and chatted softly. It was only day two and I was ready to quit.
“Let me see if she’s upstairs,” Hale said and I made no effort to move out of my face-plant pose as his steps carried closer. “Rayne?”
“No more,” I groaned into the pillows. I smelled like lemongrass and self-doubt.
Hale quietly went downstairs and said something to his mom. Then the penthouse was silent again. I thought they both left, until the mattress dipped and his hand dragged softly down my back.
“How did your afternoon go?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I groaned, face still plastered to the pillows.
“Keep in mind, this is supposed to be fun.”
I dragged my pillow away from my face to look at him. “They stuck a needle in my arm and wanted me to submerge my face in a bucket of ice.”
He frowned. “Who did?”
“The army of helpers.”
“That’s your army. They work for you. Tell them to fuck off.”
It didn’t feel like they worked for me. It felt like I lost all autonomy and had absolutely no control over my life. “Why didn’t we elope?”
The creases in his brows disappeared as his face went slack. Real concern reflected in his eyes. Then his jaw hardened and he stood, pulling out his phone. “Rest. I’ll handle this.”
He left the room and spoke softly. I wasn’t sure what he said or who he called, but I could tell immediately that he’d intervened.
The next day, no one directed me. They asked. No one ordered. They requested. While we continued to respect the itinerary, I was now permitted to experience the little moments organically. The photographer was told to only gather candids and the chronic staging and posing stopped.
While it didn’t correct the fact that our wedding would be a three hundred guest circus, Hale’s interception did ensure that I got to be one of those guests and actually experience my wedding first hand. I got to be present and that mattered to me.
“Thank you,” I told him as we sat in a back room of Gotham Hall waiting for our guests to arrive at yet another welcome dinner.
He took my hand. “For what?”
“Toning down the performance stuff.”
“You let me know if it happens again. This is our wedding. It’s for us. I plan to make damn sure you enjoy it.”
