Page 94 of Consummation

I take a deep breath and successfully force it down.

Sarah glides down the aisle slowly, her eyes fixed on Jonas, her smile as wide as I’ve ever seen it. Wow, she’s beautiful. Simply stunning. Glowing from the inside-out. And not only that, she’s a sexy little thing, isn’t she? Hot damn. I knew my brand new sister was a hot tamale and all, but Jesus Fucking Christ—she’s scorching hot. Are brides supposed to be thissexy? Good lord. Sarah’s strapless, white gown hugs every curve of her body leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination, and then fans out mid-thigh, accentuating her hips to full effect. Holy hot damn, that’s quite a dress. I’m guessing Sarah picked it especially for Jonas—my brother always has been an ass-man.

For a fleeting moment, my deranged brain actually forms the thought:I wonder what kind of wedding dress Kat would wear for me?

My heart squeezes. What the fuck am I thinking? Have I gone insane?

A loud sob lurches from the front of the audience, grabbing myattention. It’s Sarah’s mother, crying her eyes out at the sight of her beautiful daughter. I can’t help but smile. I only met Gloria last night and I already love her—it seems Jonas definitely lucked out there.

I steal another look at Kat, thinking I’ll catch her giggling about Gloria’s meltdown, but, nope—Kat’s crying her eyes out every bit as much as Gloria, completely lost in her own Cinderella-fied world. Wow. Is Kat crying like that because she’s so happy for Sarah—or because she’s despairing she’ll never get to be the one wearing the white dress?

I peel my eyes off Kat and gaze at Sarah Fucking Cruz walking toward us. She’s almost at the end of the aisle—and now that she’s closer, I can plainly see why Jonas shot me that look of astonishment about Uncle William’s gift. Holy shit, the necklace encircling Sarah’s elegant neck is fit for a queen. I mean, I’m no expert on diamonds, but that’s got to be half a million bucks worth of them, if not more.

It makes no sense, and I know I should be ashamed of myself for thinking it, but for a fleeting moment, jealousy rises up inside me that Uncle William gave that thing to Sarah, and not to Kat. Kat deserves to have the crown jewels around her neck, too.

Wait. What the fuck am I thinking? If it wouldn’t be a totally weird thing to do in front of all these people, I’d slap the shit out of myself right now for my rambling and bizarre thoughts.

Sarah glides up to the officiant and Jonas lurches over to her. He grabs both her hands and leans in to whisper something into her ear. Sarah nods and smiles and Jonas kisses Sarah full on the mouth like they’ve just been pronounced husband and wife.

“Not quite yet, Jonas,” the officiant says, and everyone laughs.

Jonas laughs and pulls away, but then quickly leans in and pecks Sarah’s lips one more time, like he’s literally stealing a kiss.

Everyone laughs again.

“Oh, Jonas,” Sarah says, beaming at him.

“You look beautiful,” Jonas says softly.

“So do you, love. You’ve gothappyeyes.”

“Very happy eyes,” Jonas whispers. “I love you, Sarah.”

“I love you, too,mi amor.Te amo.”

“I can’t wait to call you my wife.”

The officiant clears his throat comically. “Excuse me,” he says. “Would you two lovebirds mind if I cut in?”

Everyone in the audience laughs, yet again.

“Would you two like to get married, or . . ?”

“Yes, please,” Sarah says.

“As quickly as humanly possible,” Jonas adds.

Again, the entire place collectively chuckles.

I steal a look at Kat and she beams at me through her tears.

“I’m thrilled to welcome everyone to this happy occasion—the marriage of Jonas Faraday and Sarah Cruz,” the officiant begins. “Both Jonas and Sarah have told me, separately, that they believe finding the other was their life’s sacred destiny, their soul’s mission—that the other is the missing piece to their soul’s sacred puzzle.”

Normally, this kind of you-complete-me marriage-speak at weddings doesn’t affect me any more than a speech about global warming, but this time, for the first time ever, the officiant’s words are making my heart palpitate and the hair on my neck stand up.

After a few opening remarks and a prayer, the officiant reads from Corinthians about the nature of love. “Love is kind and not jealous,” he says—and when he says the word “jealous,” I can’t help but shoot a pointed look at Kat. She flares her nostrils and narrows her eyes in reply, making me smile. I love it when Kat gives me her dragon-lady look.

“Love doesn’t brag and is not arrogant,” the officiant continues solemnly—and at the word “arrogant,” Kat shoots me a snarky look that tells me in no uncertain terms the guy’s talking aboutme.

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