Authors: Terri Dulong

Tags: #Romance

Sunrise on Cedar Key (30 page)

BOOK: Sunrise on Cedar Key

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A
t 4:55, I swirled in front of my full-length mirror and couldn't believe my eyes. Aunt Maude, Chloe, and Suellen stood waiting for my reaction, which was a loud gasp.

“This is how I always envisioned I'd look on my wedding day,” I said, staring at the ivory satin gown that fit my body perfectly. My hair was a soft cloud of auburn enhanced by the silk flowers.

“Your mother would be so proud,” Aunt Maude said, coming to place a kiss on my cheek.

“You're absolutely stunning,” my sister told me.

“You certainly are, and here's the finishing touch.” Suellen handed me six white calla lilies tied with an ivory ribbon.

I turned around to look at the three most important women in my life. Aunt Maude looked elegant wearing a beautiful, ankle-length, ice blue dress. Suellen and Chloe wore similar-styled vintage dresses that each had a hem hanging in points midcalf, one in celery green and one in pale yellow. Sprigs of baby's breath had been placed in their hair, and each one carried a long-stemmed yellow rose encircled with a cream-colored ribbon.

“You all look gorgeous,” I said.

Suellen and Chloe each kissed my cheek.

“Okay,” my sister said. “This is it.”

As we walked down the stairs to my aunt's apartment I could hear the music of Pachelbel's Canon coming from the garden. Since I had wanted specific music, we had hired a DJ for both the ceremony and dancing at the reception.

I stood on my aunt's deck and watched as Jean-Paul escorted her down the aisle to her seat. Next I saw Suellen link her arm with Mitchell's as they made their way down the aisle. Chloe had stood waiting at the back until Jean-Paul walked her down before returning to get me.

He gave me a huge smile and a nod of approval. “Ready?”

“I am,” I told him, as the music changed to the haunting melody of Enya's voice singing “Only Time.”

As I stood at the back of the crowd with Jean-Paul, I was only dimly aware of the guests rising to turn and face me. My eyes, along with my heart, were focused on the love of my life. Standing at the end of the aisle waiting, Lucas looked more handsome than I could ever remember. He wore a charcoal gray suit, white shirt, and pale gray tie. Sun glinted off his dark curls, and the smile, that killer smile, lighting up his face caused my heart to skip a beat. I walked slowly alongside Jean-Paul, my arm linked with his, wanting this moment to last forever, never taking my eyes from Lucas.

When we reached the archway, he took my hand and placed it in Lucas's before kissing both of my cheeks and taking his place beside Chloe.

“You are beyond beautiful,” Lucas whispered.

My eyes continued to be locked on his handsome face, and I only vaguely heard the minister welcoming the guests before he explained that we had chosen to write our own vows.

Lucas and I faced each other, and he took my hands in his.

“I have loved you from the first moment I saw you, and I will love you all the days of my life. You have given me joy, compassion, kindness, and above all, love. I chose a quote from Napoleon to complete my vows: âAs for me, to love you alone, to make you happy, to do nothing which would contradict your wishes, this is my destiny and the meaning of my life.'
Je t'aime de tout mon coeur
. I love you with all my heart, Grace.”

I struggled to hold back my tears and took a deep breath. “And I have loved you from the first moment I saw you. You are my friend, my soul mate, and the man who has taught me the true meaning of love. My quote to complete my vows is from Elizabeth Barrett Browning: I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you. I love you not only for what you have made of yourself, but for what you are making of me. I love you for the part of me that you bring out.' And I will love you into eternity, Lucas.”

“Do we have the rings?” I heard the minister say.

Lucas turned to accept my ring from Jean-Paul as he placed it on the third finger of my left hand. “With this ring, we are now one. I love you, Grace.”

I turned to Chloe as she passed me the gold band.

Sliding it onto Lucas's finger, I looked up into his dark eyes, which were filled with emotion. “I give you this ring because it is a symbol of my unending love for you, and I will always love you, Lucas.”

He leaned forward to kiss me as I heard the sensuous voice of Ãdith Piaf fill the garden singing “La Vie en Rose.”

“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the minister said, followed by the loud applause of the crowd.

As Lucas and I began to walk down the aisle, Aunt Maude reached out and squeezed my hand.
I love you,
I heard her whisper, and I nodded.

Lucas and I stood side by side accepting all of the well-wishes and hugs. It was only then that I saw Jean-Paul clicking away with his camera and realized he'd been busy throughout the ceremony in addition to acting as best man.

“Absolutely beautiful ceremony. One of the nicest I've ever attended. What a striking couple they make. Oh, to be loved like that,” were some of the comments I heard as Lucas and I greeted our guests.

When the receiving line finished, my aunt announced that waiters were circulating with champagne so we could have a toast before Lucas and I briefly departed for a picture session near the water.

With crystal flutes held high, Jean-Paul gave the wedding toast. “May all the days of your life be filled with love. And may this day always be a remembrance of the love you share.”

Glasses clinked, and I turned to touch mine with Lucas's. “To us,” he said. “To all our tomorrows.”

“To all our tomorrows,” I repeated.

I heard Aunt Maude instructing the guests to help themselves to hors d'oeuvres as Lucas and I walked to the curb, followed by Jean-Paul.

I saw the golf cart and burst out laughing. “Only on Cedar Key,” I said. White ribbons and bows decorated the cart, and Lucas assisted me into the backseat. “Great idea,” I told him.

“I thought you'd like it.”

Jean-Paul headed down G Street over to First, where we parked and got out. When I realized what they had in mind, I started laughing again.

“Pictures in front of the Honeymoon Cottage?” I said.

“But of course,” Lucas said, joining my laughter.

The Honeymoon Cottage was a structure that sat just off shore, balanced precariously on stilts. Once upon a time there had been a walkway across the water leading out to it, and it had been used as a guest house. But that was many years ago. In the years since then, it had stood there, tilting to one side, most of the wood rotted, home to pelicans and other birds. But stood it had. Throughout storms and hurricanes, the cottage managed to hold on, without toppling over into the Gulf.

I nodded my head and smiled. As I stood there near the rocks, with Lucas's arms around me, looking out to the water and cottage, I felt that perhaps it represented love. Love can be battered, sometimes attacked, but if it's true love, it will hold on. It will weather any storm. No matter what. And I knew that what I'd found with Lucas was exactly that. My path to find him hadn't always been easy, and neither was his to me. But we had found each other, and that's what counted.

I felt him pull me into his arms as his lips found mine, and I heard the clicking of Jean-Paul's camera. After a minute, Lucas stepped back, reached for my hand, and brought it to his lips.

“And now, Mrs. Trudeau, we can begin the rest of our life. Together.”

I loved the sound of my new name, and I knew I'd be able to preserve this moment foreverâbecause the camera was still clicking away.

A
CKNOWLEDGMENTS

As always, a huge thank-you to the community of Cedar Key for your support and encouragement with my Cedar Key series. You continue to inspire me with your love for family and friends and allowing me to see the really important things in life.

Thank you to Cedar Key Fire Chief Robert Robinson for answering all of my questions about the fire in my novel.

To Judy Duvall, I appreciate the history you shared with me about the Hale Building, which enabled me to take your place of residence and make it the fictional home for Chloe and Berkley.

Thank you to Arlene Myer, the winner of my Facebook Fan Page contest to name Aunt Maude's cat. Lafitte is perfect for the feisty Maine Coon cat.

For Bonnie Wenberg Thomas, you were a huge help with my crash course in understanding tarot cards, and I appreciate your time and information.

Thank you to all of my fans and readers on Facebook, Writerspace, and Fresh Fiction who have sent such wonderful feedback via e-mails and who have taken the time to come to my events and meet me. I fulfill my passion by writing the stories, but it's you, my loyal readers, who fulfill my sense of accomplishment.

I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to four very special women in Quincy, Washington. What began as meeting a fan for coffee at Kona Joe's on Cedar Key evolved into some incredible promotion events at Big Bend Community College, Quincy High School, We-natchee Public Library, Write On The River Conference, yarn shops, The Grainery, bookshops, and other venuesâall of it due to the dynamic work of Candace Newkirk, Mary Bates, Corallee Morgan, and Pat Moore. You gals are the best, and I hope you know how much I appreciate all that you've done in the Spokane area in my behalf! And a huge thank-you to everyone who hosted and attended these events. I deeply appreciate your support and very much enjoyed meeting such a great group of people!

I'm also very grateful to my editor, Audrey LaFehr, for her professionalism and for giving a home to all of my Cedar Key characters. Thank you to Martin Biro for all of your assistance, to the Kensington Art Department for my beautiful covers, and to the entire Kensington team that I'm very proud to be a part of!

My personal assistant, Alice Jordan, is literally my right hand. While she's tending to booking my events, doing follow-ups, updating my fan page, keeping me straight, listening to me moan, giving me support and encouragement, and doing a multitude of other tasks, I'm able to take a deep breath and focus on my characters and plot. I hope you know how much I value all that you do for me!

Thank you to my husband, Ray, who continues to provide the support, the freedom, the space, and all the other necessary elements for me to create my stories.

And to all of my fans of the Cedar Key series ... thank you for granting me space on your bookshelf or inclusion on your eBook reader.

A
UTHOR'S NOTE

I receive a fair amount of mail asking if Cedar Key is a real town or a figment of my imagination. It is indeed a real placeâan island off the west coast of Florida, one hour west of Gainesville. It's a laid-back, funky, delightful little fishing village that many refer to as “Old Florida.” And it happens to be where my husband and I chose to relocate six years ago.

Most of the places, structures, shops, or areas that I refer to in my Cedar Key series are also real. However, using one's imagination is part of the fun of being an author. Therefore, I don't always “see” a house or structure the way it actually is. I allow my creativity to take over, and in my mind I may see something a bit different.

For instance, in this novel there really is a Coachman House, and most of the history and information about it is correct. Bess Coachman and the ghost are of my own making. I described it fairly accurately, but I also allowed my imagination to embellish both the outside of the structure and the garden. There is no garden and there is no carriage house, where Aunt Maude has her knitting retreats. These were my creation, what I saw in my mind.

Although there is no coffee shop where I chose to put Coffee, Tea and Thee, there is a coffee shop at SR 24 and Sixth Street, which is Kona Joe's Island CafÃ©. The feeling of camaraderie and community that I tried to evoke with Grace's place was based on Kona Joe's.

We also do not have a combined coffee cafÃ© / bookshop on the island. Lucas's attached coffee shop was entirely in my imagination.

The Hale Building, on the corner of Second Street and SR 24, is actually there. Downstairs it houses Tony's Restaurant, and upstairs there are two apartments and Accord Insurance. However, again I allowed my imagination to take over when I added another shop downstairs, which will be Berkley's chocolate shop in the fourth book.

And unfortunately, we do not have a yarn shop here on Cedar Key, but from the beginning with
Spinning Forward,
my imagination easily allowed me to see oneâand who knows, someday it just might become a reality.

For more information on the real and the fictional, along with photos, please stop by the Cedar Key series website:

www.cedarkeyseries.net

BOOK: Sunrise on Cedar Key

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