Where the Snow Falls (Seasons of Betrayal #2)(62)

A blissful one, surely.

An uncertain one, maybe.

But it was there.

And maybe she wanted to pull the doors open before it was time.

“You good?” Vera asked. “I’m going to go grab my seat with Ma.”

Violet nodded. “Wonderful. I’m great.”

“Okay.”

“Thank you.”

Vera stilled, her fluttering fingers fixing the rose pinned at the shoulder of her dress. For a long second, the two women simply stared at one another.

Violet broke the silence. “For everything, Vera. I know you have reservations about—”

“You make him happy,” Vera interrupted softly. “The rest will work itself out. That is all that matters to me, Violet.”

She respected that more than Vera knew.

“Go grab your seat so we can get this started,” Violet said, grinning a little wider.

Almost time …

Vera fussed over Dina and Nika’s matching silk and chiffon gowns, making sure to tell them to behave. She then disappeared behind the double doors, taking special care not to let anyone see who was waiting behind them.

Still, Violet had managed a tiny peek.

Her heart stuttered in its beats, and her hands tightened around the bouquet of cream-colored roses she held.

While the nerves were heavy in her stomach, she knew it was more about the people who would be watching the wedding and ceremony than the day itself. She didn’t know them—barely any of them—and she had a slight clue that those who knew her had already formed opinions about her and Kaz and their day.

But … Kaz’s voice was louder than her nerves.

Enjoy your day.

You’re only getting married once.

Just thinking about Kaz was soothing to Violet—calming, even.

So all those worries she’d had leading up to their day and all the concerns eating at her and making her look over her shoulder suddenly drifted away.

She suspected they’d be back, but for that moment, they were gone.

This day wasn’t about those things—it was about them.

And they were far too good to be wrong.

Lifting her gaze back to the doors again, Violet waited. Shortly after, Canon in D began to play, the melody of the tune keyed by a pianist behind the double doors.

“Go,” Nika said.

Dina shot a wink over her shoulder and headed for the double doors. Like her older sister, Dina slipped through the doors without opening them too much and exposing Violet and Nika. Violet counted in her head—fifteen seconds exactly—and the tempo of the music changed at a specific point. Nika gave a fleeting smile over her shoulder and followed behind her sister.

Violet waited.

Even the sound of the music seemed to bleed away for those twenty or so seconds that she stood there waiting.

She’d always thought her father would be waiting with her at this point in her life, but strangely, she was happy that he wasn't.

He would never have given her those seconds in peace—those quiet moments just before those doors were pulled wide open.

She would have focused on whatever her father would have said, caught up in some strange mixture of happiness and sadness at being given away.

Instead, her attention was on the doors.

So when they opened, all she saw was Kaz.

She’d barely even heard the change in the piano, the melody changing from the previous song to another she’d chosen for her walk. She didn't really hear the sounds of guests standing from their chairs as she moved in full view, standing in the doorway.

The unfamiliar faces were simply blurs in her vision as she began to walk toward the one person whose attention was entirely on her.

She knew more people were watching than just Kaz.

More people were looking.

But while they were looking at her, she was only staring back at him.

His suit was a black-on-black ensemble tailored perfectly to his form, not that Violet expected anything less. He’d been fiddling with the gold cufflink on his right sleeve when the doors had opened, and he’d froze like that, slightly turned, hand at his wrist, and his gray gaze on her.

The sexiest of smiles curved his lips at the edges, and Violet couldn’t help but grin back beneath the birdcage veil.

She still didn’t see the people.

The music didn’t really register, either.

It was just Kaz, the satin lined aisle, and her walking forward.

Violet figured that visual was more appropriate than anyone could ever possibly know.

She’d always choose to walk toward him—she’d already done that several times over.

There was no walking away.

There would never be any walking away.

It seemed like a blink and Violet was at the end of the satin lined aisle.

Kaz stretched his hand out, reaching for her.

She didn’t hesitate to take it.

He’d always been hers.





Weddings were f*cking exhausting.

That wasn’t to say Kaz wasn’t enjoying this time with Violet—he was—but he was ready to get out of his f*cking suit and get on with his night. From the moment he’d said ‘I do’ and pressed a lingering kiss to Violet’s mouth, they were bombarded by people.

He hadn’t minded at first, sharing their moment with everyone else. He was even glad that she seemed to be having a good time in the midst of his family and associates.