Summary:
This story, from the get-go, was supposed to be a short story for a 500-word contest. It was slightly too long to make the cut, but none-the-less, I couldn't shorten it without taking out something crucial to the plot. So it remained just another draft in my box of tidbits. I never really considered making it a full fledge story. It had everything it needed, and it was short and sweet. See how you like. I want feedback.
Raine stood admiring her beautiful Victorian wedding gown in the full length, oak-framed mirror. It was a strapless, white, floor-length gown, sewn with French lace and precious white pearls. In the back, a cape fastened to it by gold clips spotted with diamond chips. Her lower arms were clothed in silk, white gloves, her feet encased in dainty, white sandals. Finally, her hair was pulled up in a spiral do, the tiara, to which her veil attached, sat delicately on her head, glimmering in the light from the open window.
She let out a ragged breath as she looked at the clock. Only thirty minutes separated her from her marriage to Jake Wells. She had butterflies in her stomach. Than sadness enveloped her, feeling the pain from the last years flooding back, a memory from only 2 months before coming into perspective.
�Raine, how can you marry him when I love you?�
Her heart broke at the look of longing in his eyes. She needed to run away, out of Payton�s strong embrace, and hide. Wasn�t this what she�d wanted, what she�d longed for? To hear him finally declare that he loved her?
But if she gave up now, he�d have won. He knew she didn�t want a comfortable, predictable life with a man like Jake.
�I�m marrying Jake, Payton,� was all she could manage to say through the knot in her throat as she pushed out of his reach. She could see the tears in his eyes and feel her own running down her cheek. She�d hurt him deep down, and she had all she could do not to confess the truth to him right then. So, slowly she closed her eyes and turned on her heel, walking away without looking back.
A knock at the door severed her thoughts.
�Come in.� she called.
Payton came in, closing the door behind him.
�You�re beautiful.� he said, walking toward her, taking in her delicate beauty.
�Thank you,� she said, her cheeks flushing.
For several moments, a strained silence settled over the two.
�Do you love him, Raine?�
She looked up to meet his eyes, then looked away. �I�m marrying him, aren�t I?�
�That doesn�t mean that you love him.� Payton said, matter-a-factly. When she said nothing, he found it hopeless to argue. �Nevermind.�
She watched as he walked to the door. �Payton,� He paused and left without a backward glance.
The room she stood in seemed to grow smaller and smaller. She sat down on the chaise, her hand clutching her chest. It was becoming hard to draw a breath. What was she to do? Could she go through with the wedding?
As Raine joined Jake at the alter, he softly kissed her cheek. No sparks flew, no fireworks exploded, only silence loomed. She knew that it should thrill her when he was near, but it didn�t affect her at all.
�You look beautiful, Raine.� He said.
The words cut her. Hadn�t Payton said the same thing only minutes before?
�Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today�� was all Raine heard. The rest circled around her in a blur. A nauseated feeling was beginning to overtake her.
�And, do you, Lauraine Amanda Sawyer, take this man to be your husband?�
She said nothing.
�Miss Sawyer?� the reverend asked.
She looked to him and back to Jake. She couldn�t. No. �No!�
Jake looked at her wide-eyed.
�I�m sorry Jake, I can�t marry you.�
�I can�t believe I did that.� She chided herself, sobs violently racking her body. �I just humiliated Jake in front of seven hundred guests.�
�But marriage is supposed to be because you love someone, not because you�re afraid you�ll embarrass them if you break it off.� Came an all too familiar voice from the door.
She looked up and beheld Payton as handsome as she�d ever seen him. He�d discarded his tuxedo coat and waist garment. His white shirt was tight across his lean chest and well-muscled arms, unbuttoned at the neck and wrists. He stood leaning against the doorjamb, his legs crossed at the ankles.
Raine couldn�t say or do anything other than cry. She felt so stupid. How could she have done that to Jake?
�Raine?� he said, kneeling down in front of her, tilting her chin upwards from her hands, so that he could gaze into her eyes. �I mean it, no matter who you marry, it should be for no reason less than true love. I know for a fact that you didn�t love Jake, because I know you. You want more than the inevitable. You want a love that will see you through the darkest nights and the brightest of days.� He took her by the arm and pulled her up with him, slipping his arm around her waist. �Like this.� And he leaned in and kissed her. For a long time, seemingly an eternity, rockets went off in her head, blinding her from everything else but the love she felt in Payton�s kiss and embrace. �I do love you, Raine, more than life itself.�
She looked up into his eyes, hoping he told the truth, knowing that answer would only come from the dark depths of those sapphire blue pools. She found nothing less than longing in its greatest intensity. Could she admit that she still loved him? Even after all the years of keeping it hidden from him and the rest of the world?
She wrapped her arms around him, drawing him closer still. �Yes, Payton Harwick, I do love you. I�ve always loved you.�
At that moment, Payton felt such a surge of longing to kiss her that he just couldn�t resist. He leaned down and covered her lips once again with his.
