Glass Towers: Surrendered (27 page)

The Towers welcome us into their amazing home with open arms. It is the largest mansion I have ever stepped foot into. Not that I have been in many. It is old world charm at its best, situated on a family estate on a body of water with its own private beach. It has a whopping thirty-seven rooms, nine of which are bedrooms and twelve bathrooms. The grand ballroom is where we will hold our wedding reception. After dinner and gifts, we are going get the tour of the ballroom, and then I will try on my dress in one of the guest rooms. One of my favorite features that I have seen so far in this house is the iron scrollwork railing on the double staircases in the foyer.

We are shown into the large formal dining room and are seated around a large table with Mr. and Mrs. Towers at each end. The table seats eighteen, just like the old table in the manor house. The Christmas dinner is delicious and very French with a Succulent Goose, Ham,
Gratin Jurassien,
which are basically scalloped potatoes, Brussels sprouts in a lemon dill butter sauce,
Green Beans Provencale
with rosemary and shallots. For dessert, we have a variety of sweet cakes, candies and pies. I feel right at home at Harrison’s side enjoying a family Christmas. He has been playing footsy with me most of the evening, and I find it to be so sweet and endearing. Mr. and Mrs. Towers suggest that we all move to the living room to sit around the tree and open presents. We all find new places to sit in the massive living room. I would have expected the room to be draft, but instead, it is warm from the fireplace and rather cozy. After we finish opening gifts from the Towers and our gifts to them, some of the family gathers by the grand piano to sing Christmas Carols. The children are excitedly dancing around the room, as Mr. Towers is playing the piano. I notice Harrison watching his family, and I see a look of contentment across his face.

Mrs. Towers motions for me to join her at the entrance to the living room. I walk over to her, she takes me by the arm, “Let’s go look at the ballroom while everyone’s attention is occupied. Let’s get your mother and Miss Clarke to join us.” She smiles warmly at me, and I return the gesture. I wander back in to fetch Clarke and my mom. I look over to where Harrison is standing and we lock eyes. He mouths, “I love you.” Dear God, when he does that I feel weak each and every time. I am so blessed that this man, who makes me feel this way, is my husband. The man with whom I will be exchanging vows in front of our families in a less than a week. The man who will someday be father to my children. I mouth, “I love you too.” He gives me his
sexy smile, to which I doubt that I will ever be immune. I think to myself that I can’t wait to get him back home, so I can screw his brains out. In the meantime, I need to collect the ladies so we can view the ballroom and look over my dress.

It’s Monday morning, and Harrison is heading in to town to meet with his attorney about obtaining a restraining order against Marion. I am trying very hard to not give her much thought. I have resolved that she is just a lunatic, and that Harrison and his family will take care of my safety. At times when I think about it, I no longer feel scared, but sorry for her. She was left at the altar, not once but twice. At least that is how her convoluted mind processes it. I think she needs mental help, a huge slap some on the face, and some time locked up. She needs to be held responsible for the pain and suffering that she has caused me.

Harrison called the security company, and they are coming to the mansion tomorrow to update the system. A locksmith is coming tomorrow to re-key all of the locks. Harrison hired two more guards who will patrol the premises throughout the night. He feels that since we are ignoring her threats, she will likely combust any day now, and he doesn’t want to leave any holes in our armor. What is frustrating is that we still do not know if she really has hired someone to do something drastic to me. Thus, I am staying inside as much as possible. Once again, I feel like a prisoner. At least this is an exquisite place to be held up!

When I tried my wedding dress on, I was relieved that it fit fantastic and I couldn’t have been happier. I just know that Harrison is going to love it on me! Mrs. Towers suggested that I get a second, less formal, dress to change into during the reception. Since the reception is also a New Years Eve gala, I should change into another dress once the cake has been cut. People will be ready to party. Clarke called around and is having a local dress designer that is jumping at the chance, bring a collection of dresses for me to try on here at the mansion. Harrison and I also haven’t met with the minister who is officiating yet, so he is coming by later this afternoon to meet with us.

Mrs. Towers is using her event planner to handle all of the details of the wedding, including the rehearsal dinner. She has run a lot of ideas by me, and has allowed me to be involved in the decision making. I figure since Harrison is her only child, I will let her take the reins. I also suspect it has enabled her to keep her mind off recent events involving the revelation that Garrin is her husband’s son. I am sure that it still stings a bit, even though it was not a big surprise.

It’s the morning of the rehearsal and my nerves are beginning to set in. I didn’t feel like this when we got married in paradise, but I suspect it was because it was low key and just between us. This wedding has all the usual trappings, which include the rehearsal dinner tonight.

I hear a soft knock at my door and open it to find Clarke standing in front of me with a somber look on her face. I am alarmed, as she is usually so perky.

“What is it Clarke?”

“Is the mogul here?” She peers into the room looking for Harrison.

“No, he said he had some groom things he needs to take care of.” I roll my eyes and shrug my shoulders. “He should be back pretty soon, though. What do you need him for?”

She is shaking her head. “Oh, no I don’t need him. I want to talk to you without him around. I finally shook your mom, but I don’t know how much time we have before she tracks me down again. Seriously, I love her but she has been clinging to me the last couple days. I think it’s her nerves or something.”

I giggle, “Sorry honey! I don’t know what’s gotten into her. She is making me a little crazy too! Every time a wedding present delivery shows up, she whips out her notepad to make notes of when it arrived and the description. I am not sure what she is doing that for, but it keeps her busy, I guess.”

“So, I heard from Bradley this morning.” She says with her back to me, as she heads over to a seat by the fireplace. I walk over and sit on the sofa next to her.

“Ok…and?” My stomach does a flip-flop.

“Well, he wanted me to relay a message to you.”

“Is it something that is going to upset me? Why did you agree to speak with him anyway?”

She sighs, “It’s just pathetic actually. He texted me and asked me to wish you luck tomorrow. He said that he is sorry for everything and that he is moving back to Spokane, so you don’t have to worry about seeing him.”

I grunt, “Pfft. You are right! He is pathetic. At least he is smart enough to get the hell out of town. I hope I never see him again. You can relay a message back to him; tell him I said for him to go to hell!”

“Are you sure you want me to do that because I would so love to tell him that myself. I deleted him out of my phone, but he still has my number. I will figure out a way to block him before I send that last message.”

“You know, on second thought, Don’t send that message. Despite the low-life shit he has pulled, he did come forward at the risk of receiving Harrison’s wrath to warn us about Marion and her plans. I guess that counts for something.”

“What? One minute you are sending the guy to play poker with the devil and now you are playing harps and forgiving him. What the fuck, Dani?”

“Just tell him you relayed the message and that, while I appreciate it, he needs to move on with his life. I am gone from his life for good.”

“That sounds too soft, not enough oomph.”

“Ok well, you word it with some impact, but just make sure he understands there is to be zero contact from that point forward.”

With a sly smile, “I know just what to say,” She types on her phone. “Dani accepts your apology, doesn’t ever want to see you again. Now go get a life and leave us all alone.” Then she hits send.

“Well, I guess that takes care of him.” She says smugly. “What time are the ladies showing up from the spa for our pampering?”

“Oh! I completely forgot that we have them coming! I believe they will be here around 2 PM. They are giving us massages, seaweed wraps, and then doing our hair and makeup. We have to be at the church by 5:30 PM for the rehearsal.”

“Oh good, enough time for a nap, as long as your mom leaves me alone. Garrin is the ever ready bunny, he just keeps going all night long!” With that, she leaves the room.

I stand there in her wake. That was probably more information that I needed. Shaking my head, I look at the time. Hmm. maybe a nap is in order for me too. I lay down on my bed, hugging Harrison’s pillow to my chest. The smell of his spice market sent wafts into my nose, making me feel high on love. I drift into a delicious afternoon snooze.

The rehearsal at the old church goes off without any glitches. Now I am just hoping that tomorrow goes as well. We ran through where everyone will stand, what the minister will say to us and the exchange of vows and rings, then the minister will say his prayer and final blessings. It seems a little odd to be doing this all over again, but I know that I will forever be thankful that we did this to include our loved ones.

We all pile into the two black Hummer limos Harrison seems to prefer and head downtown to a swanky hotel that Mrs. Towers selected for this evening. I figure after a few rounds of the free flowing Towers Vineyard Private Reserve at dinner, the wedding party will most likely give slurred toasts revving up for tomorrow’s festivities.

Pulling up to the austere hotel, with international flags from Europe flapping in the chilly wind, I am both excited and nervous for the evening. My nerves are simply on edge, I just don’t feel right. I forget about my uneasiness the instant the door opens to the limo and I am hit with an arctic breeze. The wedding party and the ample bodyguards pile out of the limos, We are greeted by a man who introduces himself as the Hotel General Manager. He is welcoming us, while showing us into the warm, ornate lobby.

A staff of waiters are waiting with trays of champagne. I gratefully take several sips of the tasty bubbles, as we are ushered through the lobby. We escape the stares of other guests into a beautiful private dining room off to the side of the steak house. Our coats are taken and we are seated at three round tables, each seating eight people. I look around the room and notice that the bodyguards are nowhere to be seen. I lean to Harrison, “Where are the guards?”

“They are stationed outside this room. We should be secure in here.” He leans over and kisses my forehead.

I look around the opulent room lit up by flickering candles on each table and chandeliers dripping with crystals. Everyone looks amazing in this lighting. I love how the stylists did my hair and makeup. We used this as a trial run for my hair and makeup tomorrow; though, I will wear my hair a little differently for the wedding and reception than tonight. I have my hair pulled back into a loose clip at the back of my head with soft waves throughout. They used a soft brown palette on my eyes, making the green pop, and a nude lined lip with a glossy center. They lined my eyes more than I am used to, but the results are very sultry. I chose to wear a long black, silky jersey knit dress that has a plunging v-neckline and a gold clustered necklace. It is a three quarter sleeve, so I wore a chunky gold cuff bracelet, and I topped it off with a set of large twisted gold hoop earrings. I feel very sexy tonight, and Harrison can hardly keep his eyes off me. But, of course, I can hardly keep my eyes off him either. He is wearing his slate blue, modern fitted suit that has the black piping around the lapel. He has a white button up shirt underneath with a black slim tie and Italian loafers. He smells like a freshly showered man, and I could just devour him now! I look down at his neatly manicured hands and love how the simple platinum ring looks on his finger. I reach down and trace my finger over the metal, feeling how warm it is against his skin. He looks at me intently, leans over, and kisses my neck, sending chills down my spine.

“I wonder if anyone would miss us if we snuck into the coat room?” I whisper in his ear.

“Don’t tempt me. By the way, you look ravishing tonight. Too bad we are in separate quarters; otherwise, I would take you in any way I could. I want to rip that dress right off of you and do unspeakable things.” I can hardly hear what he is saying, as he is speaking in a hushed tone. But, I heard enough to feel my sex get wet as hell and my face and chest feel like they are on fire.

“Honey, are you okay? You look flushed?” Oh mom, now is not the time.

“Oh Donna, can’t you see the lovebirds need to get a room?” My dad blurts out. Whoa, maybe he should lay off the wine. I think it has already gone to his head.

I look over at Clarke, who clearly has her own intimate conversation in progress with Garrin. Just as the salads are being delivered, she looks up and catches me looking at her. She fans herself with her hand and then gives her attention back to Garrin.

The room is buzzing with conversation as smooth jazz music plays softly in the background. At one point, Harrison grabs my hand and kisses it. When I look up, I see Mrs. Towers watching us. I give her a tentative smile, and she gives me the same megawatt smile that Harrison hooked me with. She lifts her glass to me, I do the same to her, and we both take a drink, together, from across the room.