Three Thousand Miles - Forever, (book #3 of Three Thousand Miles, Series) (11 page)

“Miss, are you okay?” She asks as she stops in front of me. She is small, dark
haired and she is carrying a massive vase of white roses.

“Yes I’m fine,” I say as I smile at her politely and then I quickly excuse myself
and make my along the hallway towards my room. I push open the door and I
immediately rush over to my night stand. I grab my phone from its charge and
then I franticly begin to look through my messages. I frown when I see that I
don’t have any from Adrian. I know that its bad luck to see the bride before the
wedding, but surly he could have sent me a text? Icompose a text and then I
pause before I hit send. Perhaps I shouldn’t I texthim, if he wanted to speak
with me then he would have called. I don’t want toseem desperate and I really
shouldn’t worry about why he hasn’t contacted me. I am sure that he’s fine
and that he is getting ready for our wedding as we speak. I need to hold back
my urge to text him as perhaps he needs some space, before we get married. I
throw my phone down onto the bed and I rush into the bathroom. I run the
shower and I slowly climb in. As the water ripples down my body, my mind
begins to rush with images of him. His eyes, his smile, his strong hands and his
full, soft lips float around in my head. I smile- wickedly as I conclude that after
today he is mine- forever.

(Adrian)

I open the curtains of the room as I try to wake Michael. He barely flinches at
the sunlight that beams through the room. I walk over to him and I gently slap
him on his jaw. He doesn’t wake so I hit him harder. With my stronger force he
jumps awake and he doesn’t look happy.

“What the fuck are you doing?” He shouts. I laugh at his reaction.

“Calm down mate, it was only a slap.” Michael frowns at me as he lunges from
the bed. His dark hair is messy and his eyes are red. To be honest he still looks
drunk from the night before. I did warn him to not drink so much alcohol, but
he did it anyway. Now his head is pounding and he is shattered- such a great
look for a wedding. Michael looks furious as he shakes his head at me.

“You expect me to calm down when my head is busting?” I laugh at him again
as I open the bathroom door.

“I did warn you, mate.” I say sarcastically. Michael frowns at me and I laugh
again. I walk into the bathroom and I close the door behind me. I switch on the
light as I take out my razor from my wash bag. I apply my shaving foam and
then I begin to shave off my stubble. I break into a smile as I remember that
time in London when Alanna watched me shave. She stood in the doorway
mesmerised by my every movement. I thought that shewas acting strange, but
I did feel flattered that she wanted to watch. I rinse off the excess foam from
my jaws as I enter the shower. The water pelts downfrom the shower and
onto my skin. My stomach is in knots and my heart is racing, I want to speak to
her and I want to make sure that she is alright, but I know that I can’t. I don’t
want to disturb her in anyway and I don’t want to seem needy. For all I know,
Alanna could be having second thoughts and if I were to call her it could mess
with her head and alter her feelings. I must resist with all my energy and I need
to think positive. I would say that I am 80% sure that Alanna is happy with me.
The other 20% eats away at me. I know that she is a strong minded girl and I
fear that she may realise that I am not good for her. I boss her around and she
is a saint for putting up with my anger. But I never stop thinking, what if she
becomes tired of me and what if she realises that the hurt and worry that I put
her through, isn’t worth the love that I give her. I rest my hand against the cool
tiles of the shower as my mind rushes. Her beautiful smile is flashing in my
head and I wish that she were here with me. I wish that she could be by my
side to reassure me that she loves me.

I switch off the water as I climb out into the large bathroom. I gently wrap a
towel around my waist and then I walk back into the room. Michael is on his
phone as he lies back on the bed. I begin to wonder who he is talking to, could
it be Alanna. I make eye contact with Michael as he speaks fluidly on his
phone. He stares at me but he doesn’t say a word in my direction. I can’t look
at his expressions as he listens to whatever he is being told. So I head over to
my bed where my suit is resting -waiting for me to put it on. I grab it and then I
head back into the bathroom. I don’t close the door fully as I want to hear
what Michael is saying. His voice isn’t clear at first but I quickly realise who he
is talking to, Emma. I wrinkle my nose when he begins to tell her how beautiful
she is and how much he loves her. I don’t want to hear Michael, dirty talk with
my sister so I bang the door shut. I dry the water from my body and then I
unzip my suit. I pull the threads onto my body and then I can’t resist taking a
look in the mirror. I sigh as I take in my reflection. I wear suits almost every
day, so one would think that I would be comfortable in them, but if am honest,
the trousers are a little snug and the shirt is slightly choking me. I start to
sweat under the harsh light of the bathroom and mybreath begins to cut
away. I run the water tap and I take a large glug of water. My body
temperature decreases and instantly my clothes begin to slacken. I stare at
myself again and I realise that my uncomfortable body heat was down to my
nerves. My hands are shaking and my stomach remains in a knot. Why am I
feeling this way? I soon conclude that I am nervous and shocked because I
haven’t seen or spoken to my Alanna.

(Alanna)

“Now, have you decided what you want to do with your hair?” Stacey, my
hairdresser says as she loosens the towel from my head. My wet hair collides
with the back of my neck and I see that as a sign.

“I want to wear my hair loose.” Stacey frowns at me.

 

“Are you sure? I have a book here on up-dos, don’t you want to take a look?” I
stare at myself in the mirror and I shake my head at her suggestion.

“Thanks, but I need to wear my hair loose. Adrian likes it better that way.” She
frowns again but then she smiles quietly to herself. I take another deep breath
as his name passes from my lips. I am brought back to the conversation as
Katharine interrupts my thought bubble.

“What do you think?” She says as she twirls around in her dress. A gentle smile
comes to my face as I look at her. She is stunning and her hair and make-up is
immaculate, Jeff is a lucky a man.

“You look amazing,” I gush. Katharine agrees with me and then she excuses
herself from the room. I look after her as she leaves and then I turn to Sophie,
who is just about to slip on her dress.

“Are you okay?” I ask as I watch her struggle to pull up her dress.

“I can’t believe this, but I think that the dress is too small.” As soon as those
words leave Sophie’s mouth the small lady from earlier is by her side. She
begins to measure the dress and then she gestures for Sophie to remove the
dress. The lady snaps the dress from Sophie, I laugh at her forwardness and
then in a matter of seconds she is back at Sophie’s side.
“Try the dress now,” she urges in a Chinese accent. Sophie looks worried as she
begins to slip the dress up her legs once again. A big smile comes to Sophie’s
face as she pulls the dress onto her body. The small woman spins Sophie
around and in a flash the dress is zipped fully onto Sophie’s body. Sophie looks
delighted and I can’t hold back my giggles.

Stacey finishes styling my hair by spraying a light mist of hairspray over my
roots. Then, she gently teases my curls with her fingers until she positions my
hair – just right. She steps back and looks at me, frowning slightly. I stare at her
as she considers her options. Stacey sighs as she glides over to the large display
of red roses that my mom has just brought in. Stacey leans in and picks off one
of the large rose heads. She makes her way back over to me and she spins my
seat around, so now that I am facing her. I smile at her, as I have a feeling I
know what she will do next. Stacey pushes my hair behind my ear and then she
fashions the rose head into my hair with a bobbing pin. She turns me back
around to face the mirror as she awaits my reaction. I lightly touch the petals
as I smile at Stacey.

“Sweetie your hair looks amazing, Sam you may start on her make-up now.”
My mom urges. Stacey moves swiftly along the line of girls waiting to have
their hair done - she starts with Sophie. Sam, the make-up artist is now
standing behind me and she is eager to get started.

“So what are we doing, make-up wise?” She asks as she chews on her gum. I
politely smile at her, but I can’t help but notice her thick eye-liner.
“I want light, subtle make-up.” She rolls her eyes at me and then she begins to
apply my foundation.

Sam takes around a half-hour to apply my make-up and when she is done, I
smile as I like what I see. My eyes are lightly lined, with just a few strokes of
mascara. My cheeks are rosy and my eyelids are a light shade of gold. My lips
however are bold in solid red lip-stick and Sam finished by lightly spraying me
with Chanel No5.

“What do you think?” Sam asks smugly. I smile at her as I complement her
work.

“You did an amazing job, thanks.”
My hair is done, my make-up is done and all I have to do now is change into my
dress. I rise from the seat and I make my way over to the wardrobe and I reach
up and grab the Vera Wang dress - bag. I carry my dress into the bathroom and
then I begin to slide the dress onto my body. Once my dress is fitted I quickly
position my hair again – in the same way that Stacey did it the last time. I stare
at myself in the mirror and I can’t believe that’s me staring back. I switch off
the light and I take a deep breath as I make my way back into the room. When
I step out of the bathroom, everyone in the room stops what they are doing
and stares at me. I begin to blush as my mom wipes away her tears.

“Oh Alanna you are … breath-taking.” Sophie gushes as I glide over to her. She
is still sitting at the dressing table and when I stand behind her I catch another
glimpse of myself in the mirror. My dress is long, tight and has a mermaid tail.
The fabric of the dress is made mostly from lace and the straps of my gown are
jewel incrusted. My hair is flowing and the pop of colour from my lips and the
red rose is absolutely stunning. Hanging from my neck is my AB necklace which
Adrian gave me. I have paired it with square diamond studs and a simple
diamond bracelet. My shoes are from the Jimmy Choo wedding collection and
they are super gorgeous and comfortable. The more I stare at myself, the more
I want it to be time for the wedding. This morning when I woke up, I was
nervous and I dreaded this moment. But now that I am dressed, I feel as if I am
now ready to get married. I can’t wait until I see Adrian and I can’t wait until he
sees me. I hope that I don’t disappoint him.

(Adrian)

I am sitting on the sofa of my large room. I am dressed in my suit and Michael
is currently changing into his. My foot is beginning to tap against the bottom of
the sofa, as I count down the hours until I see her. My blackberry is lodged into
my hand and I have to restrain myself or else I will cave in and call her. I
desperately want to hear her voice so that I can besure that she is okay. I try
to convince myself that everything is fine and if there was anything wrong I
would have found out by now. I run my finger through my hair as I throw my
phone down onto the floor. I can’t look at it any longer and I know that if I held
it in my hand for another second, I would call Alanna. I stare down at the
phone and I am glad when Michael rushes out of the bathroom – I need a
distraction. He has changed into his suit for the wedding and I laugh as Michael
has chosen the opposite from me. His suit is Armani, dark grey, white shirt and
a grey bow tie. Mine on the other hand is, Tom Ford, black with silk lapels,
white shirt with black buttons and black bow tie. I have chosen to have a white
rose fitted to my lapel and Michael has opted for a red one. I stare at him and I
wonder just how different things could have been if Michael hadn’t of backed
off from Alanna when he did. I realise that I haven’t thanked him for that one
yet and now seems like a good time.

“Listen mate, I need to talk to you about… something.” Michael looks serious
as he glides over and sits on the bed across from me. His eyes are wide as he
awaits my next words. “I haven’t thanked you for what you did for Alanna.”
Michael looks confused.

“Adrian you have thanked me a million times over. Are you becoming, loopy?”
I run my fingers through my hair again – as I always do when I am
uncomfortable.

“No mate, I need to thank you for letting Alanna… go.” Michael looks down at
the ground as my words ring in the air.

 

“She told you that one, then?”

 

“That night on her birthday when I caught you two… kissing, Alanna explained
everything to me.”

 

“I see and why do you want to thank me?”

“I want to thank you for letting her go and for letting her be happy with me. I
know how hard it must have been for you. I have lost Alanna before and that
feeling is paralyzing. I can relate to how you must be feeling.”

“Listen Adrian, I am going to be honest with you, Icare deeply about Alanna
and she will always be special to me. You and I both know that she came into
our lives at time when things were collapsing. Alanna was literally our savour
and you know that. Both of us needed her and neither one of us wanted to let
her go. The reason I did, was because I knew that she felt guilty about coming
in between us. She hated that you and I quarrelled over her and it tore her
apart when she felt that she needed to choose between us. Brother, what I am
trying to say is that Alanna loves you, she always has and she always will. I am
just her friend and because I loved her, I let her go.” Michael’s honesty stings
in the back of my throat.

“Alanna was the savour of my life and you are right she did need to be set free.
But from the moment that you saved her life, I drummed the thought of losing
her to you in my mind. I almost came to terms with it, so it wouldn’t hurt so
much when it happened. She may love me but she also loves you.”