Bleeding Heart (Captured Miracle Book 2)(24)
Slowly, I smiled and nodded. “I’m good.”
He released a breath I hadn’t even noticed he’d been holding. “Are you sure?”
“Calix!” Gabriella appeared beside me. “She’s fine. She’ll see you in under two hours. Get out.”
Calix didn’t remove his eyes from my face, so I said again. “I’m fine, Calix. Really.”
He nodded, moving from the room. And I instantly wished he were here with me again.
Gabriella ushered me into the bathroom, combing through my long hair. For a woman who I assumed had stylists at her beck and call, she really was very talented with hair, and I would later find out, makeup.
“How did you do this?” I marveled in the mirror at the elegant up-do she’d twisted my hair into after curling every strand to perfection. I was wearing my hair in a low bun, and although I rarely wore my hair up, I actually really liked it. Curls framed my face gently and a little pearled hairpiece had been placed above the bun where the veil would sit.
“I’ve always loved working with my hands. Beauty has always been an interest of mine.” She beamed at me in the mirror. “You’re a beautiful woman, sweetheart.”
I blushed. “Thank you.”
“You will make a beautiful bride for my grandson.”
My eyes dropped to the floor and my nervous fingers began knotting in my lap. “Um, it’s not,”
“Nova, dear,” She shook her head. “I know what Calix did to you was wrong. I know it is wrong, but I also see the way he looks at you.” Her eyes were pinned on me. I could feel them. “For him, this wedding is real.”
“I know.” I breathed. “I just, I’m so confused.”
Smiling softly, Gabriella placed a hand on my shoulder. “Sweetheart,” she sighed. “You’re falling in love with him.”
Dropping my face into my hands, I moaned. “This is so wrong.”
“No,” she pulled my hands from my face. “Love works in mysterious ways, there’s no way you don’t already know that. And don’t you mess up all my work!” She added the last part of a huff. “Let’s get you into that dress now, or we’re going to be late.” She chuckled to herself. “I can only imagine what that boy would do.”
“He’d lose his mind.” I replied quietly - more to myself than to her.
“Oh darling,” she laughed. “When it comes to you, that boy doesn’t even have a mind.”
“Um,”
She raised a brow. “You haven’t noticed?”
“I,”
“You’ll come to see soon enough that he can deny you nothing.”
“That’s not true.”
She spun around and she was no longer smiling. “Nova, Calix will give you anything you ask for. Anything you desire, within his power to provide you, he’ll see to it you possess. If you don’t believe me, test him.”
“I have.”
“Then the thing you are asking for is not within his power to provide. I can assure you that whatever it is he cannot give to you, is killing him.”
“But,”
“Come now.” She ushered me toward the dress with a hand firmly against the small of my back. “Let’s get you dressed.”
I watched as Gabriella plucked the gown from the hanger, marveling over this woman’s cheery attitude. I didn’t know how she could be so happy and supportive of a union she knew wasn’t entirely right.
I was marrying a man I barely knew. I didn’t know his age and I didn’t know his middle name. I didn’t really even know what he did for a living. I didn’t know a thing about him. But Gabriella was right about one thing - I was falling in love with Calix. And maybe it didn’t even matter how old he was, or what his middle name was, or even what he did for a living. If you loved someone, and truly loved them - then the little details didn’t matter, right?
“Gabriella?” I questioned softly.
Her brows pulled together as she snapped her head up. “I’ve told you repeatedly to call me Gabby or Grandma.”
“Gabby,” I breathed.
“What is it darling?”
“How old is Calix?”
Her eyes widened. “He’s nearing twenty-nine.”
Oh - he’s a bit older than me. Like, an entire seven years older than me. Was it normal for women to marry men who were seven years older than them? Did age really even matter.
“What is his middle name?” I asked quietly and Gabriella’s lips pursed tightly.
“His full name is Calix Keaton McKnight.”
“Keaton,” I whispered. “That’s nice.”