Chapter 9
The next morning, Nikolas awoke to the ringing of his cell phone. "Hello," he mumbled, still half asleep.
"Good morning, Nikolas."
"Mmm…morning, baby." He rolled over and squinted at his clock. "Someone's up early this morning."
Emily laughed. "Did I wake the Prince up too early?" she teased.
Nikolas shook his head even though she couldn't see him. "It's never too early to hear your beautiful voice."
"You're such a charmer."
"I try." Nikolas replied. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"
"Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to meet me at Kelly's for breakfast."
"Sure," Nikolas replied. "Give me twenty minutes."
"Okay. I'll see you in a bit. I love you, Nikolas."
"Love you too, baby." With that they both hung up.
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Nikolas walked into Kelly's to find Emily already seated and waiting for him. He leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Hi."
"Hey," Emily said with a smile. "How are you?"
"I'm just fine," Nikolas replied. "What about you? How'd you sleep last night?"
"Eh…okay, I guess. The nightmares only woke me up once."
A look of concern crossed Nikolas's face. "You still having nightmares?" he asked, reaching out and covering her hand with his on the table.
"Yeah," Emily answered with a sigh, turning her hand over and tucking her fingers into his. "They haven't been happening as often, though."
"I'm sorry they're happening at all," Nikolas told her softly.
Emily shook her head. "No Nikolas, don't. I'm all right, really."
At that moment, Georgie walked over to their table. "Hey Emily," she said with a smile. She looked at Nikolas. "It's great to hear you've been exonerated, Nikolas. I'm happy for you."
"Thank you," Nikolas responded politely.
"So, what can I get you?" Georgie asked.
"Scrambled eggs, toast, and a cup of coffee please," Emily ordered without hesitation.
Nikolas chuckled. "I'll have what she's having."
After Georgie had left to place their orders, Nikolas turned back to Emily.
"You know, I've always like Georgie," Emily said. "She's a really nice person, and she and Dillon are so happy together."
"Reminds me of someone else I know," Nikolas commented, gazing at his wife. Emily smiled, a light blush tingeing her cheeks. "So, what did you want to talk to me about when you called this morning?" he asked.
"Well," Emily began, "Jax and Courtney are getting married today, and we're invited. But I told Courtney I wasn't sure if we'd be able to attend because you were still in prison at the time." She smiled. "And since you're not anymore, I was wondering if you wanted to go."
Georgie returned with their food. After taking a bite of eggs Nikolas replied, "Of course I'll go if you want to. I didn't realize you and Courtney were still close."
Emily shrugged and took a sip of her coffee. "I mean, we're not best friends or anything, but we still talk. After all, we did sort of used to be related."
Nikolas nodded. "What time is the wedding?"
"It's at 4 o'clock at the gazebo in the park."
"All right, but all of my suits are still at Wyndemere." He looked at her. "Feel like taking a trip with me?"
Emily looked down. "I'm sorry Nikolas, but I just don't think I'm ready yet. I stayed there without you after the rape, and I just can't go back there yet." She looked at him. "I'm sorry."
Nikolas shook his head and squeezed her hand. "Don't be."
They finished their meals and paid and were about to leave when Lucky and Liz walked into Kelly's.
"Hey guys!" Liz squealed excitedly, giving both Emily and Nikolas huge hugs. "How are you?"
"We're great," Emily said with a happy smile, leaning into Nikolas, who slipped an arm around her waist.
"Hey, are you guys busy tonight?" Lucky asked.
"Kind of…why?" Emily responded.
"Lucky and I wanted to have a closed dinner…a kind of Four Musketeers reunion," Liz said with a smile.
Nikolas and Emily looked at each other. "I'm sure Courtney and Jax won't mind if we skip out on the reception," Nikolas replied.
"No, I'm sure they wouldn't," Emily agreed. "What time?"
"Sixish?" Liz said with a shrug. "I'm making brownies and mashed potatoes!"
Lucky, Emily, and Nikolas all exchanged glances and hid their grins. Liz's lack of cooking skill was legendary. The potatoes would be interesting.
"Sounds good," Emily responded with a laugh. "Listen, I've got some things to do before the wedding, but we'll see you tonight." The Four Musketeers said their goodbyes and the couples went their separate ways.
Nikolas and Emily walked to the docks. At the launch, Nikolas turned to Emily. "I'll pick you up at 3:30 and then we'll go, okay?"
Emily nodded in agreement. "Sounds perfect."
Nikolas cupped her face in his hands and kissed her gently. He started to pull away, but Emily's hands wrapped around his neck, pulling him back in for another kiss.
"I'll see you later?" he whispered, caressing her face.
Emily nodded, grinning. "Definitely."
"I love you." Nikolas kissed her forehead and then walked to the launch. Emily watched him go for a moment before turning heading back to her parent's.
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
"What just happened?" Nikolas asked several hours later.
Emily simply shrugged. "I guess Courtney just didn't want to marry Jax," she said. She and Nikolas were standing in front of the gazebo where the almost wedding had taken place.
"I think it's plain karma, if you ask me," Nikolas said. "I mean, Jax left Brenda at the altar all those years ago, and now Courtney's done the same thing to him." Looking at his wife, he grinned. "Did you ever think of doing that to me?" he teased.
Emily looked at her husband. She stepped closer to him and slid her arms around his neck. "Never," she replied with a shake of her head, looking up at him. "Nothing was going to keep me from walking down that aisle and becoming your wife."
Nikolas wrapped his arms around her waist and have her a small smile. "I'm sorry the circumstances weren't better."
"I'm not," she said, smiling. "Our wedding was perfect. I wouldn't change anything about it." She ran a hand over his newly cut hair. "I love your hair cut, by the way," she said with a smirk.
Nikolas smiled. "Thanks." He held her closer and kissed her forehead. "I love you so much," he murmured. Taking her by the hand, he gently pulled her towards the gazebo. "Come here," he softly commanded.
Emily followed him curiously. "Why?"
Nikolas smiled as he continued to lead her. "Because Courtney and Jax didn't get married today, and I would hate to see such a beautiful gazebo go to waste."
She tilted her head to the side, smiling. "What do you have in mind?"
He took her other hand so that he now held both of hers in his and looked at her. "Renewing our vows…just between us. Like we did in the church."
Emily felt her eyes welling up with tears. "That sounds perfect," she whispered.
Nikolas squeezed her hands. "Do you want to go first or should I?"
"Mmm…you go."
"Okay." He took a breath. "Uh…we're gathered here in your presence, God, to renew our wedding vows." He paused and looked at Emily. "Emily…thank you. Thank you for teaching me how to love. For loving me. For being the best thing to ever happen to me and making me the man that I am. I honestly don't know what I would do without you. And I'm so…so sorry for not being there for you these past few months-" Emily opened her mouth to object, but he continued before she had a chance "-but I promise you that from now on I'll be there for you forever. You've been incredibly strong through all of this, opening up to me, letting me in. And I just want you to know how much that means to me and how much I love you. We're going to make it through this and spend the rest of our lives together making each other happy. I promise."
Emily looked at him, tears glistening in her eyes. "Nikolas, you truly are the Prince of my dreams. You are my soul mate, and I love you so much. Thank you for being patient with me, for fighting for us even when I wouldn't, for never giving up on me. I am so blessed to have your love, and I hope you know how much I treasure that. I promise to never keep anything from you again. We've survived so much, and the peace and love I feel with you right now is a testament to our love and us. And I just want to thank you for being my anchor, my safe place, and the one constant in my life. I vow to spend the rest of my life giving you the same unconditional love you give me every day." Tears spilled out from under her lashes.
Nikolas reached out and brushed the tears away. "Don't cry, baby," he whispered. "It's okay."
"I know it is," Emily sniffled. "I just can't believe how lucky I am."
"I'm the lucky one." He tilted her chin towards him. "Come here."
He touched his mouth to hers. She immediately wrapped her arms around his neck, driving her fingers through his hair, pulling him closer. She deepened the kiss, slowly opening her mouth to his. Emily moaned softly as his tongue tentatively touched hers. She pulled away slowly.
"Thank you for doing this," she said, their mouths inches apart.
Nikolas leaned in and kissed the tip of her nose. "Anything for you," he murmured. He took her hand. "We better get to Kelly's before Lucky and Liz eat all of the ribs."
Emily smiled widely. "Last one there has to eat Liz's mashed potatoes!" she yelled, running off towards Kelly's, laughing the entire time.
Nikolas just smiled to himself and took off in pursuit. To see her smile and laugh like that, he'd eat anything Liz cooked.
