Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) (207 page)

Mibs says:
And how you protect me, even from my children and from myself.

Mibs says:
I love your delight in your sisters, your nieces, and your nephews. I love how you cherish your mother and how that spills over into cherishing me. I’ve never doubted how you’d treat me. It shows every day in how you treat them.

Mibs says:
And I love how you call me “Mibs.” I love the way you say it, the tone of your voice, the little smirk around your lips…

Mibs says:
Whew. This is killing me. I love that you find me attractive. You don’t say much, but I see it in how you respond to me. It amazes how much I see that you desire only me.

Mibs says:
But most of all, I think I love the way you love the Lord even more than you love me. I couldn’t ask for anything more.

Mibs says:
I love that I get to be the one you call wife.

Mibs says:
Goodnight.

Here We Come

Saturday,
March
7
^th

Never
had
Aggie
been
more
covered
while
wearing
only
her
underwear.
The
photographer
snapped
a
dozen
pictures,
promising
that
she
would
not
upload
them
to
the
website
,
and
hurried
downstairs
after
Tina.
Left
alone,
Aggie
stared
at
her
fingers,
trying
to
remember
when
they’d
been
painted
the
delicate
pink
that
now
sparkled
at
her
in
the
light.
The
room
smelled
strange—like
a
florist
’s
shop
and
beauty
parlor
combined
into
one
unique
business.

Her
eyes
rose
and
gazed
into
the
mirror.
Was
it
really
her
in
the
reflection?
It
wasn’t
just
the
cosmetics
that
she
rarely
wore
or
the
hairstyle
that
she
loved
but
had
taken
much
too
long
to
repeat
on
any
kind
of
regular
basis.
No,
something
else
was
different.
She
was
different.
Maybe
that’s
what
becoming
a
wife
meant.

Fingers
slid
across
the
vanity
for
her
phone.
She
hesitated
and
then
typed
a
quick
message.
ARE
YOU
GETTING
EXCITED?
             

The
reply
came
much
swifter
than
she
expected.
GETTING?
I’M
ALREADY
THERE.
Another
followed
seconds
later—Luke
was
much
swifter
as a
texter
than
as
a
conversationalist
or
messenger.
I
LOVED
YOUR
MESSAGES
LAST
NIGHT.
I
WROTE
A
SET
FOR
YOU
TOO.

Happiness
welled
in
her
heart.
It
had
been
the
right
decision.
As
difficult
as
it
was,
telling
him
was
probably
the
best
gift
she
could
give
someone
like
Luke.
Her
fingers
flew
over
the
keys.
JUST
A
FEW
MORE
MINUTES—LESS
THAN
FIFTEEN!

He replied with
just
three
simple
letters.
CYE

Aggie
flew
to
her
laptop,
flipping
it
open
as
the
photographer
stepped
back
in
the
room.
“Tina
is
on
her
way
back
up,
but
you’ve
got
to
see
what
I
caught.”

Frustrated
at
the
delay
in
reading
the
note,
Aggie
tried
to
give
real
attention
to
the
picture
the
photographer,
Vickie,
tried
to
show
her
and
was
rewarded.
“Oh,
it’s
perfect!
I
can’t
wait
for
her
to
see
that.”

“You’d
think
she
was
the
bride,
wouldn’t
you?”

“He
loves
her.
He
just
doesn’t
know
it
yet.”

Vickie
disagreed.
“I
think
he
does
now.”

Tina
burst
into
the
room,
“Ok,
I
think
everything
is
nearly
ready.
Ian
is
settled
in
with
Libby
,
the
little
girls
have
their
baskets
full
of
petals,
and
Vannie
is
coming
up
right
away.
I
promised
her
some
pale
lipstick
and
a
slight
gloss,
so
don’t
panic.”