A Blaze of Sun (A Shade of Vampire #5)(68)

My father, on the other hand, was about to make it clear that he wasn’t as thrilled. “So you’re really going to go through with this, huh?”

I stared lovingly at the dress. “Did you ever really think that I wouldn’t?”

“Part of me hoped.” He nodded as he sat beside me on the edge of the bed. “I still can’t believe that my daughter is about to marry Derek Novak.”

“I love him.”

“I know… I know that he loves you too. I just didn’t think that this would be the kind of life that you would lead, Sofia…” His voice broke and he gave me a bittersweet smile.

I knew that his upbringing and the way he’d lived his life over the past years still made it difficult for him to just accept what was to come.

“I don’t understand how this is going to work…”

I didn’t know how to respond to him. I just felt my heart breaking over the whole matter. I realized then how much I wanted my father’s approval. The idea of not getting it was painful to me.

“I don’t want to disappoint you, Aiden, but I know that this is what I want. And it feels right. I’m at peace with this.”

He smiled as he forced back the tears threatening to spill from his eyes. He nodded reassuringly. “You can never truly disappoint me, Sofia. You’ve become far more beautiful, more wonderful than I could’ve ever hoped… and…” he heaved a deep sigh, “trust me when I say that I know you’ve thought about this and that this isn’t just some crazy teenage whim. I think I’ve seen enough of who you are to know that you wouldn’t be doing this if you didn’t think it was the right thing. I was just hoping that you would wait until the cure is discovered. What if you marry him and he tries out the cure and…” He paused.

I knew what he was thinking. I’d be a young widow. He’s afraid of what that would do to me. I grabbed his arm and squeezed tight. “Thank you.”

He gave me a quizzical glance. “For what?”

“For being a father to me. For not trying to stop this. For making me feel like I have your blessing.”

Aiden laid his arm over my shoulder and pulled me closer. “I want you to be happy, Sofia, and I know that no man in this world can make you happy the way Derek does. For that, I am grateful to him.” He kissed my temple and then my cheek. “No matter what you decide, I’ll be right here to support you. We’re family, and if you want Derek to be your husband, then vampire or not, he’s my family too.”

I couldn’t keep the tears from streaming down my face. I had no idea if he realized how much that meant to me. I twisted toward him and kissed his cheek. “Thank you… Dad. It means the world to me to hear you say that.”

We pulled away from our embrace and he then chuckled wryly as he looked me over. “You’re about to marry a five-hundred-year-old vampire, Sofia – one of the most powerful ones. I would think you’d be a little more nervous.”

It was my turn to chuckle. Marrying Derek was a decision I knew I would never regret. “I don’t have a reason to be nervous,” I told him. “He is who he is and I am who I am and even if we were born centuries apart, I know that we belong together.”

My father’s face softened and he kissed me on the forehead. “Derek Novak is a lucky man to have you, Sofia.”

I smiled, amazed at the sense of worth I was able to build throughout the time I spent in The Shade, because I actually believed it when I responded to my father saying, “Yes. He is. He’s just as lucky to have me as I am to have him.”

Chapter 42: Derek

The Sanctuary’s lush garden was a sight to behold. The bright moon shone down on the gazebo, its white façade shimmering with an almost ethereal glow. The stone pathway was lined with white roses from Vivienne’s greenhouse. Wooden seats cushioned with red pillows were positioned on either side of the pathway.

Everything about The Sanctuary was breathtaking that night. Everyone had been working hard the past three days to make this wedding happen and now, it was here.

Sofia Claremont was about to become my wife.

As I stood at the end of the pathway, wearing a crisp black tuxedo, images of Sofia walking down the aisle filled my mind. She was about to become mine. My lovely, vibrant, stunning Sofia… The idea that I was about to marry her caused a whirlwind of ecstasy to surface within me.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Ashley stepped next to me, a smug smile on her face.

“Breathtaking,” I admitted before checking her over from head to foot. She was wearing a loose pink top and jeans. “You’re wearing that for my wedding?”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course not. Rosa and I were busy getting Sofia prepared when Aiden showed up for a father-daughter talk. I thought I’d take the time to check if everything is as it should be in here. There’s so much to do, I didn’t have time to get ready myself.” She then looked me over. “I gotta say… you clean up well, Novak.”

The compliment fell on deaf ears. I swallowed hard at the idea of Aiden possibly talking Sofia out of the wedding. I cleared my throat.

Apparently, after everything we’d been through, Ashley knew me well enough to tell when I was anxious about something. “Eh, don’t worry your pretty little head about that, Derek. I doubt anything can be said or done to convince that crazy girl not to marry you.”