Addicted (The Addicted Series, #1)(63)
"That's okay, I'll be in dress shoes too." He held his arms up, taking my hand in his, and there was a moment when electricity jumped between us. I could see he felt it too, and both of us stepped back for a moment. When he stepped forward again, placing his hand on the waistband of the long pajama pants I was wearing, it rested there lightly, while I placed my hand on his shoulder and we took a hold of each other's hands again. "Okay, that's not too bad. Now, a few steps?"
"Sure," I replied. He led me around, just a simple four step circle, before stepping back. I could see in his eyes that he wanted something more, and I had to admit to myself that my body enjoyed his touch. But then the smug look of self-satisfaction that he hid behind dropped over his features again, and I remembered why I barely could tolerate him. "Is that it?"
"That's it," he said. "See you tomorrow, Krystal."
He left my room and I went back to bed, picking up my book where it had been. Still, despite my best efforts, Achilles in my mind started looking distinctly Nordic, and had what might have been a lot of tattoos on his right arm.
* * *
Krystal
The next day couldn't have been any more ideal if you had bribed the heavens themselves. There were just a few big, fluffy clouds in the sky, and the sun was warm without being overly hot. The ceremony itself was rather simple, although I knew it only looked that way because the wedding planner and Yuki busted their asses making everything come off without a hitch. Just the pure logistics of seating the various Hepburns, Castelbons, and the few Aksoys who had come was in itself a feat of social engineering.
I was grateful that Mom hadn't gone with the standard of having her bridesmaids all wearing stupid looking dresses. My Aunt Gina was the maid of honor, which was kind of an in-family joke, while I got to be in second position. The wedding designer had set us up with some very pretty cocktail dresses, and there wasn't a scrap of poofy sleeves or teal in sight. Instead, I got to wear a Vera Wang cocktail dress in deep red, which worked perfectly for me. Mom of course wore white, although she ditched the veil. With her long blond hair very little of it dyed that way, she was angelic in every sense. To be honest, I was so happy for Mom the whole thing went by like a flash. The only thing that did cross my mind was when I came in, Julian was sitting in the front row on the Castelbon side, wearing a tuxedo that made him look actually normal, and incredibly handsome. He kind of looked like James Bond, but a bit bigger and more muscular. Wow, he cleans up pretty good, I thought to myself.
With the ceremony completed, the reception got underway just as the afternoon turned cool. The English manicured garden had been set up with a huge pavilion, and the food was good. I'll say that Alinea can turn out better food, but I also know that I've never had to cook for two hundred people at once, with all the courses to be delivered within a seven-minute window from Mom and Johnathan getting their plate to the last table. I personally had the cedar plank salmon with roasted vegetables and a beurre blanc sauce, and the dessert was even better, a blackberry gelato that married perfectly with the slices of chocolate wedding cake.
As the sun finished going down, the entertainment itself kicked off. Despite my concerns that having a couple of international stars as the wedding band wouldn't work, I had to say, Meat Loaf rocked the house. He was a consummate showman, but at the same time I thought he did a great job of knowing when to fade into the background and let either his partners (Patti Russo is totally underrated, and should have had her own level of fame that matched Loaf's) or the happy couple take precedence. My Uncle Keith gave a pretty moving and at times funny speech for the couple, using a lot of anecdotes about John and Mom from their younger days that had everyone laughing.
It was time for the dancing to really kick off when I sprung my surprise. Mom and Johnathan had already had their first official dance as man and wife, when Meat Loaf, who was in on the whole surprise, suddenly started coughing. "Excuse me guys," he said, turning. I was standing by the side of the stage, supposedly getting ready to make my speech for them, and he winked at me in between coughs. "Well, I was going to do another song, but I think I might need to turn the microphone over to someone else. Thankfully, before the reception, we were approached by a young lady who wanted to give her mother a special gift. So Krystal, I guess your time is now."
He stepped back and let me into the spotlight, and I have to say it felt strange standing up in front of so many people. I could feel a tremble come to my legs. "Remember, the other hundred and ninety-seven people here don't matter. Just sing for your mom and John. Besides," he said with a wink, "we've got your back."
I nodded and smiled. He faded back into the background, and I looked out at Mom and John. "You know, when Mom told me she was dating again, there was a part of me that wanted to say, 'what took you so long?'" That comment earned a few chuckles. "I'll always miss my father. Dan Aksoy was the greatest Dad I could ever hope for. And he was a great husband, too, which is why I think Mom waited so long. But the first time I met John Castelbon, I knew she'd found the right man. John, my father left some very big shoes to fill, and I have to say you've done that. You've been kind, you've been funny, but most of all, you've loved Mom with all your heart. You've even accepted her strange daughter that insists on going into cooking like her father."