Page 3 of In the Light of Day

“What are you talking about? Who's your wife,” she chuckles.

“Well, darlin'. It seems I'm holding her now ain't I,” I say, a huge smile on my face as she rears back and looks at me. Scrambling from me she rushes to the fridge and rips the invitation from where it was placed, the magnet flying to the floor as she looks it over.

“I didn't read it when I opened it,” she whispers. “I just put it on the fridge.”

Her big eyes stare up at me and I close the distance between us, picking her up with one arm as her legs wrap around my waist. This is not something we do very often as it borders the line of what are we a bit too closely, but right now I don't care. She yelps and grabs onto me as I move around the kitchen, waving the invitation in the air.

“Ace?” she questions, a worried look in her eyes. “I can explain.”

“Mr and Mrs James Wilson are invited to the wedding of Philip Montague and Elizabeth Davis. And then I happened to turn it over and see Lizzy wrote us a note as well. Imagine my surprise when she said to Nova and Ace, I'm so excited to see you both at the wedding. I can not believe you eloped without me!”

“It's not what it looks like.”

“Oh no, you don't, there's no getting out of this one so easy. I need at least a day to call you my wife,” I say, softly looking at her.Damn,she's beautiful. Her body relaxes a little then and I let her down from my hold, sitting her on the bench top. “You want to start from the beginning for me, wifey?”

The Beginning

Several years earlier

Chapter 1 - Nova

Possibility - Lykky Li?

Several years earlier

“Can you tell me where we’re going yet? We’ve been driving for ages, it's getting dark out.”

The restless energy I feel is overwhelming. My first surprise partyeverand my whole class is going to be there. Talk about thebestbirthday ever. I'm so excited I’m almost bouncing in my seat, but my mother's words flash through my head,you’re a lady, act like one. So I take a deep breath, trying to control my outward emotions. I would not want to embarrass anyone, especially my uncle. Secretly, I wish he was my dad and not my real father. He makes me feel special.

“We’re almost there, sweetie-pie. Remember you promised to act surprised when we arrive. I've been working hard on arranging everything for tonight,” he says as he grips the steering wheel. The faint sound of the leather creaking under the pressure. “It's going to be your most memorable birthday yet.”

His words trickle down to a whisper, as though a thought he wasn't meant to share escaped him. His focus unmatched, while he stares blindly at the road in front of us.

“Uncle Tommy?” I ask, suddenly nervous about everything this night could bring me. I assume my friends and family will be there but there's only one person I'm hoping to see tonight.

Johnny Mathers.

He's so handsome, I struggle to look him in the eye when he talks to me, instead choosing to stare at his worn shoes. He talked to me four different times last week, even walking me to my class despite his being in the opposite direction.

One of the popular girls thinks he's going to ask me out. Like, properly ask me out. She let me know he likes cherry lip gloss so I've made sure to always have a tube nearby, just in case. I showed her three of them in my school bag the next day and she laughed with her friends. It was fun to laugh along with them, even if I didn't really understand the joke. It feels like I'm finally going to be included. That all the things they talk about in the movies are going to happen to me. Starting with a real life date with Johnny Mathers. If he can see me, truly see me, then maybe my mother will see me too.Maybe, she could even love me.

I might actually vomit if he does though.

Making a mental note, I need to check if I have some gum in my bag when we stop. The last thing I need is for him to be grossed out when he tries to kiss me tonight, because hewillkiss me tonight, and then everything will be perfect.

Johnny Mathers will be my first kiss, my first everything, and it takes my breath away that he picked me.

“Yeah, pumpkin?” He grunts, bringing my whimsical thoughts to a grinding halt.

His warm hand reaches over and pats my thigh, resting it there, reassuring.

“Do you think Johnny Mathers will be at the party?”

I whisper the words so softly I'm not even sure I heard them, worried that I will jinx everything that could happen between us by attempting to say the words out loud.

“Who’s Johnny?” He grits out, the hand on my thigh getting tighter until it hurts and I pull at it, trying to stop it bruising.Bruises are unladylike.

Releasing me, his nails drag across my skin and I look over at my favourite uncle in confusion. We’ve always been close, my Uncle Tommy and I. He loves to cuddle on the couch when we have a movie night, keeps me company when I go swimming in the poolandhe gives me secret gifts.

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