He loved the woman she was, both now and then and he couldn’t believe they’d wasted so much time and he’d purposely tried to hurt her. He felt at an all-time low and vowed to make it up to her the rest of their lives.
He said nothing as he continued to gaze down into her beautiful, sad eyes. He slowly lowered his head and captured her lips with his. The kiss was gentle and filled with the love that was overflowing from him. He kissed her for several minutes, before trailing his lips across her cheeks, to kiss away the tears and then he lowered his head to gently nip the smooth silk of her throat.
She was no longer crying, as he continued to gently kiss her all over her mouth, face and neck. He didn’t pull her close against him, as he didn’t want to hurt her beautiful gown but his gentle touch showed her so much love it was indescribable.
He reluctantly pulled away from her and once again looked into her eyes. “Jasmine, I have so much to apologize for, so very much,” he started. “I was there at the church that morning. I was there early because I couldn’t wait to run away with you,” he said and her eyes were rounding in confusion.
“Your father showed up. He told me you didn’t want to be with me any longer and he offered me a lot of money to start my new life. I actually believed the man. I was so angry with him and extremely angry with you. I thought you’d flung me aside, like a piece of trash and I vowed to have my revenge from that point on,” he said, with regret in his voice. He didn’t give her a chance to speak as he continued.
“I was hurting so bad and that thought of revenge was what motivated me but when I saw you again, I realized I still loved you. I lied to even myself and said I just wanted to take you to bed and then leave you, like you’d left me but that wasn’t true either. That first time we were together again, after so many years, knocked me off my feet. Every time I touch you, it’s never enough. It’s so much more than sex. It’s because I love you even more today than I did ten years ago. Please tell me you’ll forgive me and this wedding can be a real marriage,” he pled with her.
Jasmine listened to him, with hope starting to fill her heart. By the time he was finished speaking, her chest was so full she didn’t understand how her heart wasn’t beating right through. She was saddened to realize all the years they’d wasted but she realized none of that mattered anymore because he loved her and she truly loved him and they could be a real family.
“I’m so sorry Derek. I really thought you had just walked away from me all those years ago. I never once suspected my father but I should’ve. He’s not a good man and over the last few months I have really come to realize that. I’m sorry he cost you half of our child’s life. I should have tried harder to find you,” she said.
He brought his lips back down to hers and kissed her with so much hunger and love, that she was tempted to skip out on the wedding and tell the driver to take them back home. As if he could read her thoughts he quickly pulled back and still not trusting himself jumped out of the carriage.
“You’re far too tempting, woman. We have a wedding to get to,” he said, with a brilliant smile. He spoke to the driver and then jogged back towards the church. This time when the carriage pulled up in front of the carpet, she was more than ready to step from its doors. The doorman looked more than relieved when she took his hand and stepped down on the carpet.
The driver must not have been taking any chances, because as soon as she was clear of the carriage, he drove away to go park. She giggled a bit at the speed in which he left.
She stood on the wide carpet and could feel her nerves overtaking her. She didn’t have any bridesmaids, nor someone to walk her down the aisle and she suddenly felt so lonely. She could now understand why the bride always walked down on her father’s arm. It was so she wouldn’t fall over, or run the other way. The thought of that long walk was intimidating when you were all on your own.
She saw the doors open, just as the attendants got her dress all situated. Daniel was once again walking down the steps and coming towards her. “I’m coming this time, I promise,” she told him, with her first real smile of the day. He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. She was filled with warmth from the easy acceptance of this wonderful man.
“I don’t have any fears of you running away, Beautiful,” he started. “I wanted to offer my services to you. I know your own father couldn’t be here today so I thought you might like an arm to lean on,” he said to her.
Jasmine was so filled with love for this amazing man. He knew her father wasn’t there because he didn’t want to be there, not because he couldn’t be but he made sure to word his sentence in a way that wouldn’t hurt her. He was also standing in to be the kind of dad her own should have been. Her eyes once again filled up, causing the attendants around her to groan.
“Now don’t start crying again young lady, or we’ll never get you to that alter,” he said, with a gentle laugh and suspiciously bright eyes himself.
“It would be my honor to have you walk me down the aisle,” she finally managed to get past the lump in her throat.
Their arms intertwined and slowly they made their way to the front of the church. The double doors were opened and Jasmine was left speechless by what she saw inside. There were thousands of twinkling lights strung throughout and the scent of roses wafted in the air from the hundreds of arrangements placed everywhere.
The small church was packed from front to back, with guests who were all standing and turned towards her. She had to fight the tears to not fall once again. She looked down the aisle, strewn with rose petals, to Derek who looked so handsome standing at the front and Jacob by his side. Drew and Ryan were standing in the spot where bridesmaids would normally be so that her side didn’t look so empty.
The men were a stunning sight, all dressed in old fashioned tuxedo’s with tails and white shirts. They were all truly breathtaking. Jacob was smiling at her as she slowly made her way down the aisle and he looked like it was taking everything in him not to run up and hug her. She felt the same way.
When her eyes connected once again with Derek, the rest of the world seemed to fade away and she could look nowhere else. The man was beautiful and she couldn’t believe he was all hers. She picked up her pace, without even realizing what she was doing, until she heard a chuckle from Daniel.
They reached the pulpit and then Daniel reached down and gently kissed her on the cheek, before taking his place next to her son. The wedding party was complete, with all these stunning men surrounding her. She really did feel like a princess, in her fluffy white dress, in the middle of the masculine men but especially with Derek at her side.