Prologue
I THINK THE DRESS ISfine.
The dress is silk, and it’s the color of champagne and Odessa picked it out for me at the boutique three days ago. It zips up the side, and it has four tiny silk-covered buttons at the shoulder that I’m wondering if my husband (aaah! Am I really married?)will take the time to slowly unbutton, or is he the type who’s going to just rip my dress off—
What in the world are you thinking, Juniper Lake?
I mean, Juniper Lake Simons!
What in the world are you thinking, Mrs. Simons?
My hands fly up to cover my face in embarrassment even though I know it’s only me, myself, and I who have witnessed the shameful direction of my thoughts.
A laugh makes me peep through the slits of space between my fingers, and I see Odessa looking at me knowingly.
Eep.
“Justgo,will you? Before you start embarrassing me, too.”
A half-wail, half-laugh escapes me. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I can’t believe...” I can’t even finish the thought. I’m blushing anew, and Odessa starts blushing, too, when she sees my reddened cheeks.
Peas in the same pod, the two of us. These days, the fact that we’re still virgins in our mid-twenties isn’t something to be proud of, but it’s just how we are.
“Seriously, June—” Odessa starts pushing me towards the door. “You shouldn’t keep your bridegroom waiting.”
“I know, I know, but—” I just have to turn around and give my best friend a tight hug. If not for her keeping me company last night, I don’t think I could’ve slept a wink. “Thank you,”I say feelingly. “Thank you for coming to my wedding.”
Odessa hugs me back. “You know I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Now, for the last time—go.” She pushes me out into the hallway, and I can only laugh when the door to the suite we shared last night slams behind me.
I guess that’s that, then.
As the hallways from both ends meet at the elevator lobby, there’s a terrace on one side that overlooks Lake Como. It’s the most beautiful scenery, but it was even more beautiful earlier, with the sun setting behind us while the mayor pronounced us husband and wife.
The elevator doors open, and I tap the scanner with the card to the penthouse suite. The light turns green, the doors close, and then it’s the most exciting countdown ever, as I watch the floor number on the screen change.
Four. Five. Six.
I feel giddy and restless, unable to believe that after just six months of dating, Nate and I are married. As in...I’m no longer Juniper Lake, but Mrs. Nate Simons.Forever.I’m sure other people will think things are moving too fast, especially since Ialso had to quit my job for this, and prepare for a life abroad because of Nate’s work. But that’s just how love is, right? Where your love goes, you go, too.
I look at my wedding ring, and a helpless smile touches my lips.Wife.I’m a wife. And not just anyone’s wife, but I’mthewife oftheonly man I’ll love in this life.
The doors finally open, and it’s when I step out, and the quiet grandness of the penthouse suite envelops me—
It’s at that moment I start feeling something’s wrong.
But I push the thought away as soon as it pops up.
Bridal jitters,I tell myself. That’s all there is to it, and bridal jitters are very, very normal.
All the lights are out, leaving only the silvery sheen of moonlight to guide my way. A part of me is wondering why there isn’t any sign of champagne and flowers, or the signature chocolates that this hotel is supposedly known for. Everywhere I look, all I see is thestandardsuite and nothing that says this...this is the room where love blooms between newlyweds.
Then again...
Maybe this is really just how it is with rich people and their expensive hotel suites? Maybe everything I’m expecting is too crass for their tastes?
Yes, I think that’s it.
I’m a middle-class kind of girl, so this is all new to me, but it doesn’t mean something’s wrong. I’m just being silly, and I’m letting my bridal jitters turn me intoLittle Mrs. Paranoid.