Chef Charming (16 page)

“Marcus! Time’s up!” Jake
called from the doorway.

“Go away!” Marcus growled
good-naturedly. He called over his shoulder, begging
for more time, “I really just finished my explanation and haven’t gotten to the
demonstration yet.”

“You have one minute,” Jake
retorted mischievously. “Use it wisely, my son!
”

Marcus did.

As her father led her into
the sanctuary, Rori caught her first glimpse of Marcus. She gasped.

“He’s gorgeous!”

The guests had chosen that
precise moment to fall quiet, so her spontaneous reaction
was heard
by most of the
guests. Her father laughed as she blushed. Marcus simply grinned and shook his
head in amusement.

“You, my friend are in for a
wild ride,” Jake laughed. Marcus nodded and smiled even broader.

Rori hesitated, embarrassed
at her silly outburst. She saw Marcus raise an eyebrow. He really was
unbelievably attractive, she thought. And the kilt was just plain unfair.

“Rori?”
Her father’s voice woke her from her trance. “I think
we need to get going or Marcus may come get you.”

“Okay,” she whispered. “But
he really is gorgeous, you know.”

“I know,” her father’s voice
conveyed the humor he saw in the situation. “From the look on his face, I’d say
Marcus is thinking the same thing.”

An hour later, Marcus found
a quiet moment and confirmed her father’s observation.

“You, wife, are
spectacularly beautiful,” Marcus said as he fed her a bite of quiche. “I am
flattered that you find my looks tolerable, as you chose so eloquently to point
out to all our guests.”

“Don’t laugh at me!” she
said. “I didn’t mean to say that out loud.
Or at least not loud enough for everyone to hear.”

“You are adorable,” M
arcus said, kissing her gently.

“Thank you for changing out
of the kilt,” Rori said. “It was quite distracting.” Marcus had changed out of
the formal Scottish garb into regular trousers. She wasn’t about to tell him
that she was only slightly less distracted.

“Speaking
of distracting, thank you for the warning about your hair.”
Marcus
resisted tugging at the long strands spilling from the clip she now had securely
in place.

Rori blushed as she recalled
the pre-wedding hair fiasco. Marcus had hinted on several occasions leading up
to the wedding that h
e preferred her hair
pinned up. Of course, he failed to tell Rori the reason behind his request. He
knew having her long hair unbound for the wedding would be far too tempting for
his fragile self-control.

Carla and Jessica tried
desperately to get her hair to cooperate. Almost in tears, Rori had told them
that Marcus didn’t like her hair down and someone needed to warn him that they
couldn’t get it to work. Carla dissolved into laughter when she realized Rori’s
misinterpretation and laughed harder as Rori’s mom pulled her aside to explain
what was really going on. Rori was blushing profusely after the explanation.

“Oh,” Rori said quietly. “I
guess that could be it. Still, someone needs to warn him.” The ladies were able
to pull the sides back in long thin braids, but the mass of lovely blond curls
still flowed down her back. There was no other choice given the tiara she was
using as a headpiece.

Carla called Jake and tried
to explain.
She was
still laughing but was able to relay the warning.
Jake turned to Marcus
and donned a solemn look.

“What
?” Marcus’s imagination ran wild. “She didn’t change
her mind, did she? She knows I will hunt her down if she does, right?”

“Slow down!” Jake laughed.
“No, but I do have some bad news.” He loved toying with his friend, so he let
his words hang in the air.

“C’mon, Jake,” Marcus said.
“This isn’t funny.”

“Carla says they’ve tried
and tried,” he paused, “but there’s no way to get Rori’s hair up for the
wedding.” Jake laughed as the news sank in and relief washed over Marcus.

“I’m glad you were able to
get it pulled up for the reception.” Marcus brought her back to the present as he
whispered in her ear. ”I’m not sure I could have been responsible for my
actions otherwise.”

After another quick kiss, he
stood and bowed, his hand outstretched.

“It’s time for the rest of
the festivities, my dear,” Marcus said. He had seen the gestures coming from
his mom and hers. “May I have this dance, Princess?”

“Why yes, Charming.” Rori
sighed as Marcus took her in his arms for their wedding waltz. He had surprised
her by insisting that he choose the song for their first dance. It was a
popular love song and she remembered that it had been playing on the radio the
rainy night that she had driven him home.

“This song will always
remind me of the night I finally admitted that I was falling in lovely with a
magical enchantress,” he had told her.

“Aurora,” Marcus said
quietly, halfway through the dance, wanting her full attention.

“Yes, Marcus?” Rori answered
wistfully.

“I have a question for you,”
he said.

“Yes?” She forced herself
out of the dreamy state that being in his arms had induced.

“What happened during the
ceremony?” His question surprised her, but
she
knew exactly what he meant.

“What do you mean?” Rori
asked, but Marcus could tell by her tone she was feigning ignorance, she wasn’t
quite ready to explain.

“You know exactly what I
mean. I can tell. Since or ‘conversation’ last night on the porch, I feel like
I can almost read your mind, and I definitely can read your expressions. So,
spill it! What were you thinking during Sam’s explanation of the vows? I saw a
burden fall away from your shoulders. It was obvious that something he said had
a profound impact on you. Tell me, Aurora.”

“Oh,
Marcus.”
Tears were threatening,
but they were happy ones. “I finally got it.”

“Got it?” Marcus asked.

“Sam’s talk about the church
as a bride and God’s love and sacrifice,” Rori explained. “I thought I believed
it before, but at that moment I
knew.
”

“Knew what?” Marcus was so
intent on his wife’s revelation that he didn’t realize they had stopped
dancing. The wedding guests fell silent as they witnessed what was obviously an
important moment.

“You love me,” Rori stated
simply. “You really do love me. Amazing and unbelievable as it seems, I know
now with a deep, faith-filled certainty that it’s true.”

Marcus laughed deeply as he
twirled his new bride back into the movement of the dance. As the music ended,
he dipped her romantically over his arm.

“Kiss me, Princess Aurora,”
he commanded.

“Gladly, Chef
Charming
,” Rori said as she
eagerly complied.