Haunted(22)

Roman and I couldn’t help but look around. Eve laughed under her breath.

“I, Roman, take you, Beth, to be my wife, my friend, my faithful partner and my love from this day forward. In the presence of our family and friends, I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, and in joy as well as in sorrow. I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals, to honor and respect you, to laugh with you and cry with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live.”

I slid the two-carat ring onto Beth’s finger with pride.

Beth repeated the vows I said to her and then she slid a ring onto my finger. I looked at it and smiled. I had never been so proud to wear a piece of jewelry.

"By the power vested in me by the State of Tennessee, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

I put my hands up to each side of Beth’s face and kissed her. In that kiss, I gave her a promise, a promise of forever.

“Now, I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Roman Reed.”

The crowd cheered and we walked down the aisle, hand in hand, leading into the reception hall.



Beth

The wedding photographer led us off the beaten path and brought us back to the place where we said our vows. It was a lovely backdrop. Phoebe went to get Eve, Berg, and Joey. We had a ton of poses that I loved. I loved taking pictures, and the more that were taken the better chances we would have a perfect photo. The photographer snapped shots with me, Phoebe, and Eve. There were some of Roman and Berg. There were a few with just Joey and me. Also there were several with Joey, Roman, and me. I was really excited because I knew there would be great pictures of all of us.

“What picture would you two like released for the paper?”

I turned to Roman to let him take the lead. “I like this one, what about you, baby?” He had picked one of my favorites.

“Are we really going to put this in the paper?” I asked.

“Well, baby, they are going to find out some way or another. Would you rather them have a great picture of the wedding or a candid picture of us walking down the street with ball caps on and you without any makeup?”

“Yes, this picture would be perfect. You can put that in the paper or release that photo with any newspapers that might inquire about the wedding. Just don’t share any of the others, especially the one with my son in them. Do you understand?”

“Of course. Your privacy is my biggest concern.”

“And if any get released with the little boy, I will sue you. Do you understand?” Roman asked him.

“Yes sir, and we would never.”

“We need to be careful. I hope you understand,” I said in a sweeter voice. Poor guy was scared enough.

“Yes, ma’am.”

We were led to the reception area where our closest family and friends waited. I sat down to eat dinner with Roman on my right side and Joey on my left. I looked at all of our friends. Phoebe and Dennis were there. Eve’s boyfriend had to work tonight, but she seemed to be enjoying Berg’s company nonetheless. Roman’s bandmates were there, and, honestly, I was surprised they all were able to show for such a last-minute event. Some of them brought their girlfriends. Eric and Tara were there and Stephanie and her husband, Phoebe’s brother, were there. We had a few more couples who were friends of mine.

Phoebe tapped a spoon on her champagne glass. “It’s time for the couple’s first dance,” she announced.

Roman and I headed for the small dance floor and the song “Leather and Lace” came on. I didn’t know why I was shocked but I was. I looked into Roman’s eyes and he looked into mine.

“I love you, Roman Reed, with everything that I have.”

“That is a good thing, Mrs. Beth Reed, since I love you just as fiercely.”

We embraced and danced our first dance as man and wife holding on to each other. I couldn’t forget about the first time we danced to this song. Funny, that some of the basement memories were some of the best I had ever had. Others I would not think about tonight.

“I have a wedding present for you,” I told him.

“What? I didn’t get you anything. I didn’t know we were going to do this.” Roman looked crestfallen.

“You forced a two-carat diamond ring on me. Let’s not even discuss the clarity of the ring. I think you got me enough.”

“I still wish you would have let me get the three-carat one.”

“Stop being silly.” I led him to our table and put the two boxes out in front of us. “There is one for each of us. Open.”

Roman opened his. There was a nice leather cuff bracelet and at the center was a heart. The heart was made of leather with lace stretched over it. It was manly and very rock ’n roll.

“Oh God, it is…wow, Beth, it means everything. This is our leather and lace, right?” He tried to put it on his wrist.

“Of course.” I winked at him and helped him as he leaned over and kissed me. “Please note how totally bad ass it looks. You can wear it and not look like a douche.” I smiled and he kissed me again.

“Let me see yours.” He opened the remaining box and saw that my gift was a necklace. It was gold, with a beautiful but simple chain, and had a gold heart similar to Roman’s. The leather was stretched over the gold heart with the lace overlapping it and the gold in the outside lining kept it all in place.