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She beamed as she looked at her reflection in the tall mirror. The white dress she wore had small flowery designs, and it hugged her waist tightly before opening up into a bulbous skirt underneath.
Her shoes barely showed beneath the skirt, and she had to hold it to the side to walk without tripping on the hem. Her shoulders were exposed, and the dress had a deep cut that exposed some of her ample cleavage.
She did a slight turn, taking in the full outfit, and let out a contented sigh. The dress was beautiful. It had belonged to Rowan’s mother and he’d thought it would look splendid on her. He’d thought right.
All it had needed were a few adjustments and voila. She looked stunning. She squealed with delight and picked up the wildflowers from the dresser.
She was getting married. For the longest time after she’d left Moonwood, the idea of getting married was nothing short of alien to her. She had kept mostly to herself in the city, and avoided forming any intimate relationships.
It didn’t help that she had unconsciously compared everyone she met to Rowan. Sadly, they all paled in comparison. It seemed unfair to them, and it wasn’t for a lack of trying. He had always just seemed larger than life to her, and with good reason.
She’d had no reason to think that Rowan would want her again when she’d returned, given how soundly he had rejected her in the past. And yet...
He’s somewhere out there, in front of an altar, waiting for me.
The thought caused such a reaction in Juniper’s belly that she doubled over painfully. She was getting married to Rowan, and her emotions were all over the place, like dry leaves in a strong wind.
It still felt all too surreal to her. She kept waiting to wake up, to be yanked cruelly out of her fantastic dream. She waited for someone to dip her into a cold pool, bringing her out of her daydreams. She kept waiting for it to all to disappear.
There was a knock on the dressing room door. A red-haired woman poked her head through the crack. “Sorry to disturb. They are ready for you now.” The door shut almost immediately, before Juniper could think of a reply.
Her heart fluttered wildly in her chest. She had prevented an extinction-level event. She had faced and killed one of the strongest supernatural beings the world had seen in a long time. She had stared death in the face, and had escaped unscathed.
And yet, the thought of getting married made her heart hammer furiously against her ribcage. She felt dread, anticipation, fear, joy, excitement, and doubt—all at the same time.
She took a deep, steadying breath. And exhaled loudly. There was nothing she wanted more in this life than to spend the rest of her existence with Rowan. She knew it without a shadow of a doubt.
She held on to that knowledge fiercely. Yes, she was scared. But she wanted this. She reassured herself that she wanted this. She thought about her children, who bore his image, and imagined a life with all of them. A family. Her own family.
That thought made her want to run out of the dressing room and get it all over with. She took one last look at the mirror, smiled at her reflection, and headed out to become a married woman.
The guests seated at the garden in the backyard got up as they saw her approaching. She could see multiple people she recognized in the crowd. They all looked happy and smiled at her.
She smiled back, picking her way carefully toward the end of the aisle, where Rowan stood waiting, a gigantic smile on his beautiful face. He looked stupendously handsome in his suit. She rarely saw him in such formal clothing, and she felt her heart jump as she watched him.
The walk down the aisle seemed to stretch out for eternity, but finally she got to the front, where Rowan and the priest waited. Rowan took her hand and squeezed it gently, his eyes full of love and admiration.
“You look so beautiful,” he whispered to her, kissing her cheek as he did so. Juniper blushed a deep red and croaked out an inaudible response.
The priest cleared his throat, glancing from Rowan to Juniper. “Well, shall we get started?”
The wedding ceremony didn’t last long, fortunately. The priest kept it short and avoided dawdling, to Juniper’s delight. She didn’t hear a word the priest said, although she watched his mouth moving the whole time.
A loud ringing sounded in her ears, and she felt a rush of blood to her head as the ceremony approached the point of vows.
Rowan took off her veil and took her hands. She heard him speaking solemnly, but she couldn’t make out his words. Her ears felt like she was submerged under water.
She must have said some words back to Rowan, because he took her hand and slipped the ring on. Juniper did the same, although she didn’t remember even making a move.
And then, Rowan pulled her face close and kissed her gently on the lips. All the sounds returned with a rush as their lips locked. She heard the guests whooping and applauding jubilantly.
Her heart swelled with pride and joy, and she wrapped her arms around Rowan, throwing herself into the kiss.I’m married, she realized.I’m freaking married!
The reception that followed was a simple affair, but Juniper could not have asked for anything more. She reached for Rowan’s hand under the table and found it. He turned to her and smiled, interlacing his fingers with hers.
“I love you,” he said. “I love you so much.”
Juniper had heard him say it a thousand times in the last few months, but those words still turned her into a pile of jelly whenever Rowan said them. He grinned and kissed her when he saw how furiously she blushed.
