The moment of the wedding finally arrived and Austin stood by the preacher in front of the altar. He knew that this day was

the bride‟s day and everyone would be interested in her which was why he spent so much time preparing Claire for this day. The

wedding colors were light blue and white. He picked light blue since it went with his tie. He had ordered blue ribbons and bows

throughout the church, and the bridal bouquet featured white roses with a blue ribbon tying the flowers together. He supposed that women would prefer pink but he couldn‟t stomach that color at his wedding, so he didn‟t bother to ask her opinion. He didn‟t want her opinion on any of the wedding plans for that specific

reason. He was associated with this wedding, even though he wasn"t the main attraction. People would want to remember thisday and he didn‟t want pink to be associated with that memory.

He considered the irony that she didn‟t complain about the colors.

She was bothered by the lace on her dress. The lace wasn‟t his idea but the seamstress liked it so he allowed it. He thought it was

odd that Claire would be offended by something so uniquely feminine.

He glanced at Jasper who was chuckling beside him.

"I can‟t believe you‟re actually getting married," jasper whispered. "I never thought I‟d see the day."

"Try not to act so obvious about it," he grumbled.

"Sorry. I got the ring in my pocket. Something tells me Claire won‟t want a ring this big."

"A big diamond is a status symbol. It‟ll impress people."

"Perhaps but she‟s the one who has to wear it."

"Maybe you‟d like to trade places with me since you seem to know her so well."

"I love my wife, thank you very much. I wouldn‟t leave her for anyone."

He sighed and glanced around the room. On Claire‟s side sat a great company of people. Her family sat in proper attire up front and looked relieved that she was finally getting married. He liked her family. She had her mother and three brothers sitting up

front. But her friends were a mixture of people from the low to the high end of the economic ladder. Mr. Peterson hesitated on

knowing where to sit but he finally followed his wife to her side of the aisle. He was surprised and delighted that so many wealthy women had indeed led their husbands to her side. He never imagined a woman could be so resourceful, even if she was hard to get along with. Apparently, she was a good friend to someone out there. On his side of the aisle were all wealthy members of the city. He tried to ignore miss petty who insisted on sobbing loudly into her handkerchief. She was upset that she didn‟t get the chance to snag his money. At least he had the consolation that Claire wasn‟t in this for her benefit. In fact, she made it clear that this was a great sacrifice on her part.

"The bride is in love with me, but I told her to stay true to Mr. Hansworth," he overheard old man Sussex tell the person next to

him. "She better not try to run off with me today."

He closed his eyes and counted to ten so he wouldn‟t burst out laughing. As if Sussex ever had a chance compared to him.

"Straighten up. Claire‟s ready," Jasper whispered.

He cleared his throat and stood at attention as the music began to play. He tried to hide his pleasure at the sight of her.

Her hair fell in soft curls around her shoulders. The sides of her hair were neatly pulled back by two light blue ribbons to match the ribbon on her bouquet. Her veil did little to hide her natural beauty. He noted that she managed to get rid of the lace on the dress. The upset seamstress standing to the side of the room

made him realize how she accomplished that feat. He couldn‟t help but grin. He liked the dress better without the lace anyway.

The dress was simple yet elegant in appearance. It had long sleeves and a square neckline. The diamond necklace accentuated

her slender neck and her dangling diamond earrings enhanced her fine cheekbones. The dress was modestly cut but with her

amazing figure, it couldn‟t hide her curves. The dress reached down to her ankles and her white shoes with blue flowers etched

on them completed the look. She is breathtaking.

Jasper let out a low whistle. "Maybe I should trade places with you."

Austin wanted to respond but couldn‟t find his voice.

Everyone stood in honor of the bride. As she walked down the aisle with her proud father who favored his left leg, Austin was aware that people were commenting on how beautiful she looked. He was too busy staring at her to enjoy the fact that he

had succeeded in impressing them. He was aware that he wasslightly shaking like a nervous schoolboy ready to ask his favorite

girl if he could court her.

"Close your mouth. You‟re starting to drool," Jasper quietly said.

He immediately straightened up and closed his mouth. He tried to take his eyes off of her but he couldn‟t. Even Jenny petty

didn‟t come close to matching her beauty.

As soon as she stood in front of him, the spell was broken for she was glaring at him.

He sighed. So much for a romantic

wedding.

"Who gives this woman to be married?" The Preacher asked.

"I do," her father proudly replied.

Though she was supposed to hold Jake‟s hand, she intentionally ignored it when he extended his hand to her. Not to be dissuaded in front of an audience, he held her by the elbow instead and smiled as if nothing was bothering him. Did it really

pain her to marry him? Wasn‟t it better than being with Mr. Sussex ?

He turned to the Preacher as the group of people sat back down. She refused to look at him. Instead, she stared straight at

the preacher as he proceeded with the ceremony. Austin was ready to pull away from her in response but decided it would be more fun to mess with her a bit, so he took a step closer to her. Since her sister-in-law and sister stood to the other side of her, she

couldn‟t get away from him.

He progressed smoothly through his vows but when it was her turn, she hesitated.

"Uh..." she stammered.

"Oh go ahead and marry him, sweetie pie," Mr. Sussex yelled out. "Don‟t go holding a flame for me. Move on with your life."

Several people chuckled. "Ewe," she muttered under her breath. "I do," she told

the preacher.

Finally it was time to give her the ring, and she didn‟t hide her disappointment when she saw it.

"Told you," Jasper whispered.

Austin simply smiled and slipped it on her finger.

"I now pronounce you man and wife," the preacher said.

"You may kiss the bride."

He lifted the veil and was struck that she would wear so little make-up and still look stunning. She really does have simple but

excellent taste. She‟s going to throw a fit when she sees her new wardrobe.

He already knew he would be assigning Mrs. Brown and her team of seamstresses with a new wardrobe. This time he would have to

let Claire talk to her about what she wanted.

He didn‟t know whether to be relieved or annoyed. He was glad she wasn‟t into

all the flashy and flowery material women seemed to crave but all his efforts to please her were in vain.

As he bent to kiss her on the lips, she gave a slight turn of her head so he kissed the side of her mouth instead. "Well honey,

aren‟t you full of surprises today," he teased. Having managed to catch her off guard, he wrapped her in his arms and gave her a

long kiss on the mouth. She was too stunned to react in time to stop him. Several men chuckled and the single women sighed as if

imagining he was kissing them. When Austin let go of her, he shot her a triumphant look. She looked flustered and then furious.

They turned to the people as the preacher announced, "I present to you Mr. and Mrs Austin hansworth."

She was reluctant to walk down the aisle with him so he gently led her by the arm. "We don‟t want to disappoint the

people. Remember, it‟s only for six months."

She sighed and started walking with him.

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Merry Christmas y'all🎄🎊

An early update for Christmas hope you enjoyed it.

Much love

V.A 💙