Read Online Home for a Soldier by Tatiana March - Free Book Online Page B

Rory replied, catching up to
Grace.
    “You’re late. The chapel is ready.
This way. You need your marriage license. Do you have two witnesses?”
    “Yes,” Grace blurted. Her breath
rushed in and out of a tightened chest. She wanted to go to the bathroom, but
there was no time. Joe and Karim and Rory jostled around her, blocking all
escape routes.
    “Oh my God,” she muttered as a hazy
cloud of disbelief enveloped her. “I’m getting married.”
    “It’s not too late,” the woman
advised her as they reached the chapel entrance. “You don’t have to go ahead
with it if you don’t want to, but you won’t get back your deposit.” She stood
aside and waved them through.
    “It’s all right.” Rory curled his
hand around Grace’s elbow and steered her down the narrow aisle between the
white pews barely wide enough for two. The flowers and the crimson seat
cushions, and the pair of marble statues flanking the altar blurred in her
vision. She stole a glance at the man beside her, and the smile in his eyes
banished her fears.
    “Don’t worry, Grace,” he told her,
and caught her shoulders, to keep her from crashing into the altar as she failed
to come to a stop.
    A tiny squeal of alarm rose on her
lips, but the gentle pressure of his fingers on her bare skin flooded her with
warmth. All at once, Grace knew how a bride felt on her wedding day.
    Full of hope. Floating on dreams.
    With a sigh of longing, Grace
banished the romantic thoughts, focusing her mind on the practical nature of her
marriage.
    In front of her, the preacher cleared
his throat. He was a tall man, dressed in a dark suit, and his pale face and
graying hair gave Grace the impression that he spent his entire life in the
chapel, marrying couples, never being allowed outside. She watched Rory unfold
the marriage license and hand it over.
    “Do you have your vows?” asked the
preacher.
    “Vows?” Grace echoed.
    “What you’ll say to each other. Some
couples prefer to compose their own vows, but we also provide printed cards for
a selection of the most popular vows.”
    “I’d like to have the basic one,”
Grace said. “The one that starts I take thee .”
    The preacher bent to extract a pair
of cards from behind the altar and handed one to each of them.
    “Could I just take a moment to read
this?” Grace asked. “I mean, you should never sign anything without reading it
first, so I can’t just read this out, without knowing what it says.” She flicked
a panicked glance at Rory, who stood at ease beside her.
    “Of course,” the preacher said. “But
please hurry. The next couple will be here soon.”
    Grace lowered her eyes to the printed
card and scanned the text. She jerked her attention to Rory. “I can’t say this,”
she told him in a frantic whisper. “I can’t promise to marry you until death
do us part .”
    “Don’t say it then.” Rory turned to
the preacher. “Do you have another card with a vow which is a little… less
permanent ?”
    “Perhaps you might like to
reschedule,” the preacher suggested. “Think it over before you go any further.
Marriage is meant to be a lifetime commitment.”
    Grace lifted up the card and
indicated the last line. “Could we just say ‘until further notice’ here, instead
of ‘until death do us part’?”
    The preacher looked baffled, but
agreed to her suggestion. Grace glanced behind her, where Joe and Karim heaved
with suppressed laughter in the front pews. The building appeared to shrink
around her, making her worry that she had suddenly developed claustrophobia.
    “Let’s get started,” the preacher
said.
    Grace gave him an expectant look, but
the preacher said nothing more.
    “You must read the card,” he prompted
her after a moment of silence. “Say your vows, and then I’ll pronounce you man
and wife, and this handsome fellow standing beside you will kiss you.”
    “Oh.” Grace stole another glance at
Rory, and