Listed: Volume I by Noelle Adams Read Free Book Online Page A

the aisle of a chapel when no one was sitting in the pews.
    That
was when he’d suggested a destination wedding, where the scenery and the exotic
locale might offset the lack of family and friends. Plus, the trip would make
her feel more like she was getting a honeymoon. She’d initially objected, since
she felt bad about his spending so much time and money on something unnecessary,
but he didn’t consider those to be valid objections.
    He’d
asked her where she wanted to go, and she’d said he could choose. He’d chosen
Provence because his mother used to take him here on vacation.
    Emily
had appeared enthusiastic about all of his suggestions, so he assumed he’d made
a decent choice. It was a lot of pressure to plan the fantasy wedding of a
woman who would die in three months, but, if Paul was going to do it, then he
was going to do it right.
    He
stopped short when he entered the garden, startled by how beautiful it was. The
garden itself was lovely—surrounded by a two-hundred-year-old stone wall and
filled with big shade trees, two ornate fountains, and trellises covered with
grapevines and climbing roses. Near the largest fountain, they’d set up an
arbor, spilling over with greenery, orchids, and pink and white roses.
    They’d
scattered the path Emily would walk with rose petals.
    He
went a roundabout way to reach the wedding planner, so he wouldn’t walk all
over the rose petals. She smiled, looking a little hassled, when he approached.
    “This
looks great,” he said.
    “I
think so too,” she replied in heavily accented English. “It’s like a fairy
tale. If I didn’t have a hundred guests at my wedding, I might have married
here too.” She gestured toward a far corner, where Paul saw a string quartet
had set up with their stands and instruments. “Can you listen?”
    At
the woman's direction, the quartet began to play, and Paul listened in silence.
It was a polished arrangement that was obviously intended for weddings. While
most of it was comprised of a piece from Handel, the arranger had added a few
clever interludes that teased with a bar or two of music that sounded like
Wagner’s "Bridal Chorus."
    After
a few minutes, the wedding planner said, “It’s lovely, no?”
    “Yes,
it is, but I don't think we can use it."
    He
could see from the woman’s face that she was dying to know why they had to
avoid music that sounded in any way like the most traditional wedding music. She
was too professional to ask, though, and Paul didn’t volunteer the information.
    Emily
wasn’t going to walk down the aisle with her father, and she wasn’t going to
recess on the arm of a man she loved. So Paul’s challenge was to create a
wedding that would satisfy her daydreams without bringing aching attention to
everything she didn’t have.
    This
was the best he could do.
    “I
need to finish getting ready,” he said, glancing at his wrist instinctively
although he hadn’t put on his watch. “Can you take care of this? I’m sure they
have more in their repertoire. Bach or Vivaldi or something else. “
    “Of
course, Mr. Marino.”
    “Oh,
and when you go up to check on Emily, can you give her this?” Paul handed the
woman the velvet box he’d brought out with him.
    “Yes,
yes,” she said, smiling down at the necklace box rather fatuously. “I’ll make
sure she gets it.”
    Paul
left before he could get annoyed by the woman’s expression. He wasn’t some
love-struck groom who couldn’t resist giving his bride another present, and it
made him slightly uncomfortable that the wedding planner obviously thought he
was.
    The
necklace in the box was an antique diamond and emerald pendant that matched the
engagement ring, hung on a platinum chain, and the seller had been offering
them as a set. Paul had just wanted the ring, but—according to the jewelry
store manager—the seller refused. So he’d ended up buying both of them by
necessity. Since he’d had to buy it, there was no reason Emily