Starr Destined (Starr Series) (38 page)

“I don't.  Doesn’t mean to say I can't appreciate that she’s very efficient, which makes your life ea
sier.  And I think maybe now she realises I'm not just using you, that we’re serious about each other, so she’s not quite so hostile towards me.  We’ve realised we need to get along, so I guess you could say we’ve called a truce,” Sera shrugged.

Yep, every cloud definitely had several silver linings it seemed.  The upside of nearly being mu
rdered?  Scott Franklin put away for good, and not needing to find myself a new PA after all.

We managed to
arrange our wedding for Christmas Eve, which was also Liam's birthday. Despite the short time scale, everything just seemed to fall into place.

W
e found a suitable venue we were both happy with, even though it was such a busy time of year.  But it turned out that most of the formal seasonal functions were over by Christmas Eve, and so we got lucky.  The Penthouse at The Dorchester was available, which was perfect for a small intimate wedding like ours. 

The small venue meant that numbers were restricted, so only our very closest family and friends could be invited.  My family were coming over from Ireland - my cousin Aoife and her husband Sean.  Even Nana was persuaded by Liam to accept the airline ticket he arranged for everyone, d
espite her lifelong fear of flying, because no way was she going to miss out on our wedding.  Although she never actually said she was disappointed that we weren’t getting married in church, she did keep badgering me about having a blessing over in Ireland sometime afterwards, whenever we spoke on the phone about the wedding arrangements. 

“If it would make your grandmother happy, I’ve no objection to her organising something at the church in Kinsale,” Liam shrugged and smiled when I mentioned it to him.”  I’m happy to marry you as many times as you like, especially if it means we get multiple wedding nights as well,” he smirked.

Liam might have been seriously injured, but it didn't diminish his libido for very long at all.  That part of his anatomy was very soon back to full working order, and I discovered just how inventive he could be, to get round his injuries.  But I wasn’t complaining because I craved him every bit as much as he craved me, and I was just so thankful that I still had him.  The scar he would carry for the rest of his life was a permanent reminder of what a close call he’d had.

Jamie was flying back from Australia to be Liam's best man, and I knew Liam was excited to see his brother again, even if he never actually said as much. He and Jamie were not big on expressing their feelings towards each other out loud, but I knew how deeply they cared about each other. 

Toby was coming back with Jamie, and as much as Abbey tried to pretend otherwise, I knew she was really excited about seeing him again, so I couldn’t wait to see how things would pan out when they met up. 

I thought Abbey might try to talk me out of getting married, seeing as Liam was my first and only lover, whereas she’d always been an advocate of experimenting and trying out as many different e
xperiences as possible.

“Nah, I think you’ll pretty much get to experience everything you could possibly want with your Liam,” she winked at me, when I brought the subject up.  “You're not getting cold feet and having second thoughts are you?”

“No, not at all.  I just think…well, maybe it might seem a bit Disney Princess to you.  I mean, it’s all rather twee and conventional, isn’t it?  I’ve met my one true love, my Prince Charming, so now we’re getting married and will live happily ever after.”

“That’s not how it looks to me, Sera.  From where I’m standing, it’s more like sexy reformed bad boy sweeps you off your feet, because he’s fallen hook line and sinker and is madly in love with you.  I’m totally confident you're going to get your HEA, otherwise I wouldn’t have agreed to be your bridesmaid, would I?” 

“I guess not.  So, Toby’s coming back for the wedding.  Apparently, Jamie told Liam he didn't have to twist his arm at all to get him to come back from Australia with him.  Do you maybe think that has anything to do with seeing you?”  I watched her face carefully as I probed.

“I think it’s more likely to do with the fact that Liam offered them both first class airline tickets to fly back.  Toby was hardly likely to turn down an offer like that, was he?” she scoffed, but failed to hide the blush that gave away her true feelings. 

I knew how much Toby had gone up in Liam's estimation ever since his role in helping me at the nightclub, hence his generous offer for him to return with Jamie when I said I’d love him to be at our wedding.

“Don't you think Toby might turn out to be your Prince Charming?  He really is one of the good guys, isn’t he?”  I was certain Abbey was really missing him, despite the callous way she’d finished things with him so that he wouldn’t miss out on his chance to travel the world by staying in England with her.  I really wanted her to get her old sparkle back, which she seemed to have lost ever since her rebound hook-up with Finbarr.  It was probably just as well that Finny had declined his invit
ation to our wedding, using the excuse that he was away touring with his band.  I felt I had to invite him as we’d practically grown up together,  and I couldn’t leave him out if I was inviting his brother Sean, but it would’ve been pretty awkward all round, especially if he ended up as drunk as he usually did at a wedding.  I didn't want him to spoil any possible reunion between Abbey and Toby; neither did I want him mouthing off at Liam, as he probably would. 

He still didn't really seem to appreciate how much Liam had helped him and prevented the band b
eing stitched up with their recording contract.  Finny just had this kind of arrogance that he knew best about everything, and I hated the way he believed that drink and drugs were just a harmless way of enhancing his creativeness, instead of facing up to the fact that he used them as an irresponsible way of escaping from the realities of everyday life.  I just hoped he didn't end up self-destructing and burning out, because he was a very talented musician who now had every chance of making it in just the way he’d always dreamed.  But as Liam had pointed out on several occasions when he’d caught me fretting, I had to accept that it was Finny’s choice about how he lived his life, and there was nothing I could do about it.

“Yeah, Toby’s definitely one of the good guys, no question,” Abbey agreed.  “But I rather burnt my bridges with him, didn't I?  No point in re-hashing all that now, not when he and Jamie are only coming back for a short visit before heading back to Australia.”

And then Abbey changed the subject, clearly refusing to be drawn any further on the subject of Toby.

Much to Liam's surprise, despite the long flight back from Australia, Jamie said he couldn’t stay in London for more than a couple of weeks at the most, as he had a job he really needed to get back to and couldn’t be spared for too long.

“Apparently,  he’s promised the owner of this bar he’s working at that he’d help reorganise the business, as she’s just inherited it from her father and it’s in a bit of a mess,” Liam explained.

“She?  So, his boss is a female?  Hmm, my bet is she’s young and attractive and probably goes a long way to explaining why he’s in such a hurry to get back,” I smiled knowingly. 

It would be good to see Jamie - he’d wanted to fly back immediately when I'd contacted him to let him know his brother was in hospital.  But once we knew Liam was going to make a full recovery, and then we had our wedding news, it’d made more sense for him to return later for a much happier reason.

“You’re probably right.  My brother never could resist a sob story from a pretty face,” Liam grinned, referring to the fact that much to Liam's horror at the time
, even though we’d been total strangers, Jamie had offered me the spare room in his house on the very first day we met, when he’d chased after me to return the bag I'd left behind on the train. 

“Jamie has always had a very kind heart, even if he is sometimes motivated by his hormones.”  I d
efended him, but I knew full well he’d basically only made that offer because he’d fancied me. 

“Unlike his cruel older brother, who didn't even have a heart at the time, eh?” 

“Oh, he did.  He just didn't realise it,” I argued as I slid my hands around his neck and reached up to kiss him.

“Thanks to you, Sera.  You are responsible for bringing me to life, for kick starting my heart.  And I know I have Jamie to thank for bringing you into my life, and for that I shall be forever in his debt,”  he smiled as he kissed me back.

Abbey was working flat out designing and making my wedding dress, as well as her bridesmaid dress to get them ready in time, and I trusted her to come up with something as totally un-meringue like as possible.  Because she knew me so well, she instinctively shied away from traditional wedding dress designs that she understood were just not me.  When I saw her sketches for an amazing velvet and silk ivory-coloured creation, I relaxed and let her get on with it.

I’d found my grandmother’s beautiful silk wedding dress when we’d been clearing out the attic.  I felt such a strong connection with Cressida, as I sensed her sadness and regret over all those lost years, and I was sure she would approve of our plans to live in the house.  I’d studied all the old photos I’d been given, and I could see that I did indeed resemble the dark haired Cressida, although her eyes had been brown and not green like mine - those I had definitely inherited from my mother.  The other weird thing was that my grandfather, Harry, had been a big tall man, with thick blonde hair and blue eyes.  So had my father, Alexander.  And so was Liam, my future husband.  I was fo
llowing the family tradition it seemed.  We were all petite brunette women who married tall blonde men.  I’d also been given my grandmother’s jewellery, but I hadn't worn any of it yet.  It just didn't feel right, so Liam had suggested I put it away somewhere safe for now.

Sadly, the fabric of the wedding dress was mostly rotten, as the damp had got to it, but Abbey ma
naged to rescue a few pieces that she could restore and work into my wedding dress for me.

She understood that I didn't want a huge veil either, so we agreed that I’d have a simple floral hea
dpiece instead.  And for her own outfit, as Abbey’s favourite colour was red, her bridesmaid dress was in various hues of red, and I loved it.

“I’m so glad you’re getting married at Christmas, because I can really go to town with the whole red theme.  Wouldn’t work nearly so well for a summer wedding would it?” she sighed happily.

Much as I hated any kind of publicity, I was planning on using our wedding to promote her business.  She’d set up her own label called ‘AcKing
’,
which was a play on her name of Abigail Claire King.

I was determined that every wedding blogger would soon be familiar with AcKing, and I was also determined that the same would apply to Aoife and Sean’s jewellery business, now that  Liam had got one of his computer nerds to help them set up an on line store, to help them increase their a
nnual turnover by taking internet orders.  There had been a fair amount of media interest about us getting married following Liam's attack, because everyone loves a good romance story, so at least if I could use that interest to give a couple of well deserving businesses a boost, then I would.

I didn't want a big diamond engagement ring, although I knew Liam would happily have bought me one to flaunt to everyone, in exactly the way that Kimberley had been when we’d seen her.  If that’s what rocked her boat, fine, but it was
so
not me, which at least Liam had managed to work out for himself.

“I know you don't want a traditional type of engagement or wedding ring, so I want to have som
ething specially designed for you,” he cautiously suggested while he was still laid up in hospital, but clearly feeling much better.  “I want you to have something much more personal and unique, so I contacted your cousin’s husband, Sean.  I know you like his jewellery designs, because you told me he made those angel wing earrings you often wear.  I'm not artistic like either of you, but we’ve discussed some ideas, so see what you think.”  He turned his laptop to face me.

“Liam, you’re still meant to be resting,” I scolded him, worried that he was going to over-exert hi
mself and put his recovery back.

“Oh come on, I'm going stir crazy in here, and it can't do any harm for me to lie here just using my laptop for a while.  It’s hardly taxing, is it?  So, what do you think of Sean’s suggestions?  I told him I’d really like you to have something with emeralds, because it was your green eyes that totally b
ewitched me in the first place,” he smiled.

I sat on the edge of his bed and looked at his laptop, knowing he’d just keep on at me until I did.

“Bewitched you eh?  Shame I can't cast a spell to get you to obey the doctor’s orders.”

“Stop your fussing woman, and just look at these designs, as we really need to get something sorted,” he huffed.  “I thought you could maybe have some kind of entwined engagement and we
dding ring to signify how things have come together for us,” he suggested.

“You’re really getting into this aren’t you?”  I teased him
as I relented and took the laptop to check out the designs.  And what I saw really blew my mind.