Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 103819 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 519(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103819 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 519(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
"Your guy sure knows how to impress," Paulie said, looking all around the room. "Did you plan this?"
"No, I had no idea," Kane said, the reserve of a few minutes ago faded away as a smile bigger than Texas spread across his face. He couldn't take it all in fast enough.
"Come on, Romeo, the photographer's waitin'," Paulie said, grabbing Kane's arm and guiding him down the aisle.
* * * *
Details were being slung at Avery even as he prepared to walk down the aisle. He stood outside the designated chapel door, trying to contain himself. It wasn't often he denied himself, especially where Kane was concerned, but he'd reluctantly stuck with their plan, even when each minute that ticked by made the plan seem dumber by the second.
This whole not seeing each other the day of the wedding was Kane's big idea, not Avery's as everyone assumed. Kane had used that damn ruffled shirt to get him to agree they would sleep in separate places last night and not see each other until the ceremony. So, besides the fact Kane had them on a no sex regime for the past two weeks, he hadn't seen his mister for almost twenty-four hours, and that hadn't happened since their first kiss. The time apart wasn't good for his soul or his naturally sunny disposition.
"Avery, your backyard's ready," Janice said, coming to stand beside him as he impatiently bounced his leg, ready to get this show on the road.
"The ice sculptures arrived?" Avery asked, his eyes trained on the door.
"Yes, they just arrived. They're going to wait about thirty minutes to place them out," Janice said.
"And the quartet's there? They have the playlist of what Kane likes?" Avery asked.
"Yes, sir, double checked myself. You look nice, Avery. I'm glad you chose the bowtie. Reminds me of your grandfather," Janice said, and that drew his eyes down to Janice standing beside him.
"You look nice, too. Thank you for keeping this together today. Take care of anything else that comes up for me, okay?" The organ started, alerting him of the time, and he cocked his head back to the door, forgetting Janice. He resisted the urge to run his fingers through his hair, his hair dresser would kill him for messing up his so called masterpiece, but Avery was tense. He knew he wore that look on his face, the one that always made Kane anxious, and he physically schooled his features. He didn't want the first glimpse Kane got of him to fill him with even more worry than he already had. This was their day, their moment, and this event meant everything to Kane, so in return it meant everything to Avery, too.
He had worked hard to make today special for his Kane, and Avery understood the significance and devotion with which Kane would take his vows. It wasn't every day you committed yourself to one person for the rest of your life. To Kane, that was exactly what he was doing today, pledging himself to Avery forever. For Avery, he had tied himself to Kane the first night they'd made love. From that moment, he never wanted be without Kane and now he was finally having that same promise returned in front of their friends and family.
"Avery, are you ready?" the wedding planner asked as the organist began the processional.
"Yes." The word came out as he exhaled the deep breath he'd been holding.
"Remember, take slow steps forward. Don't rush it. Your mom is in the first pew and you will stand directly in front of her. In just a minute, I'll open this door and you'll begin," she said, timing her part perfectly.
Months ago, they'd found this Episcopal Church that openly welcomed homosexuals. Every decision made since then centered on supporting and belonging to this church. He and Kane attended Sunday mass here regularly. For Kane, this congregation was a dream come true. He had no idea churches like these existed.
Over the last several months, Avery found that Kane was as much at home in this church as he was in his restaurant. After getting past his initial hesitation, Avery found Kane truly enjoyed being here, and the members of this church loved having Kane around. When they weren't attending Sunday morning worship, Kane volunteered, spending countless hours just being helpful to the church and all of its members.
Another big step was building a house here in Stillwater. Avery's ancestry had claimed some prime property looking down along the St. Croix River. He chose to custom build their home, working endlessly with architects and builders, trying to make a perfect home for his Kane to live in. Kane insisted Avery spent too much money, and every time he gave input, it was designed to save them money. Avery nixed most of those ideas, stating very clearly this was their dream home, the perfect place for his prince to live his life in style.
Their house sat on a cascading hilltop looking down over the river. Kane loved the view, but no matter how Avery argued, Kane refused to move into the house until they were officially married. It made no sense and became the one thing they always argued over. They had lived together virtually from the beginning and still stayed together in the apartment close to the restaurant. Avery spent every single night at La Bella Luna just to be near Kane. He had his designated perch reserved at the bar. It was nothing for the members of this community to come in and see Avery serving food, clearing a table, or helping out behind the bar, but to Kane, all that time spent together was different. In his mind, he'd maintained the rent at his old apartment, therefore they weren't truly living together, and Kane wanted to start them off right in their new home.
Even thinking about the hours they had spent arguing over their move caused Avery to grit his teeth and narrow his eyes, but tonight everything would be different. Tonight, his prince was coming home. And he would be wearing that ruffled dress shirt. Damn, he was a lucky guy.