"Alright, people, we have a timeline we're working with," I yelled toward the kitchen of the beach house where Jace, Simon and Isabelle were sitting around the island drinking beer. We were all spending the weekend at the beach house so I could take Simon and Isabelle's engagement pictures and Jace and Simon both needed to take a break from the intense training they had been doing the last couple of weeks. Isabelle wanted some pictures at sunset so I needed to get their asses in gear. "If you two want beautiful, romantic pictures with a gorgeous sunset as your backdrop, move your asses out to the beach, now."
Jace laughed as Simon and Isabelle walked quickly out of the kitchen and toward the back door. He came up to me and wrapped his arms around my waist, but I pushed him away.
"Hey, don't distract me," I said before following Simon and Izzy to the beach lugging my equipment with me. Jace quickly took my equipment from me and helped me set up on the beach.
With Isabelle being a photographer herself, taking her picture was more like her bossing me around and telling me when to press the shutter button. I took pictures of them running in the water and splashing each other. There were a few where Simon had Isabelle in a cradle position while he dipped her low to the ground and kissed her. Simon drew a heart in the sand and wrote their names inside it with their wedding date. I laughed at the cheesiness as I took the picture just as the tide rushed toward it. What I knew was going to be my favorite shot was one of the last shots I took just before the sun dipped below the horizon. Simon and Isabelle were standing in the ocean with the water up to their calves and were facing the sun. Isabelle was tucked into Simon's side and leaning her head on his shoulder while he kissed the top of the head. I couldn't see their faces, but I could see how much they loved each other in their body language.
When I was satisfied that I had all the shots I wanted, I called for Simon and Isabelle to come inside for dinner. I set my camera down on the blanket I had laid out on the sand and turned to see Jace standing on the steps leading from the back patio to the sand watching me. Running up to him, I jumped and he caught me so I could wrap my legs around his waist while I laughed.
"I love watching you work," he said before kissing me. "You get this look on your face when you get the perfect shot and it's amazing to watch."
"Thanks, babe," I said through my smile. "I love watching you work, too."
I waggled my eyebrows up and down as Jace laughed and pulled me in to kiss him again. I lowered my legs back down to the ground, knowing Simon and Isabelle would be walking up any minute, but didn't remove my lips from his. Instead, I grasped the back of his neck and held him to me a second longer before our friends ruined the moment. When I heard a throat clearing, I tore myself from Jace and lowered my head to rest on his chest. His arms wrapped around me as he rubbed my back in long strokes. When I finally pulled myself together, I turned to see Isabelle and Simon staring at us like we had three heads.
"What," I snapped when no one moved or said anything.
"Nothing," Isabelle said shaking her head to clear her mind. "You guys just really love each other, don't you?"
"I would say that's a fair assumption," Jace said looking down into my eyes instead of looking at Isabelle.
"Okay, well, let's get these pictures on the computer so we can look at them."
"Actually, Jace and I are going to go get some food for dinner," Simon said turning to kiss Isabelle. "We'll be back in a little while."
"Fine, just be careful."
"Oh, stop your worrying, woman. We're just going to get some takeout." He kissed her once more before turning to leave. "I love you, Iz."
"Love you, too, baby."
Jace turned me in his arms and his eyes were glowing. It always amazed me how they did that. He leaned down and captured my lips once more and I melted into him. We didn't need any words at that moment. The look in Jace's eyes told me everything I needed to know. I finally let go of him and he and Simon left to get dinner.
I stood there, staring in the direction Jace had walked for a few seconds before Isabelle came to my side.
"Wow," she said after letting out a long breath. "Should Simon and I leave you two alone this weekend? I've never seen you guys so lost in each other when other people are around."
"You're very funny," I said as we walked in the house and toward the small office where my computer was set up, ready for the photos I had just taken. "I just love him, so much." I tried to hide the blush on my cheeks, but she caught it when I sat down in front of my computer. "Let's just look at these pictures."
I inserted the memory card into the card reader and uploaded the photos to a folder on my computer. After a few minutes, the photos were ready to be sorted through. Isabelle sat next to me as we sifted through them and told me which ones to keep and which ones to toss. We were left with fifty or so shots that would be edited and printed for the tables at the wedding and their wedding invitations. When I got to the last pictures on the roll, I noticed Isabelle had tears running down her face.
I turned to her and asked, "Happy tears?" She nodded before laughing and swiping at her cheeks. When I turned back to the screen, I saw a picture that I didn't take. The photo was taken from a lower angle and it was of Jace and I kissing. It was a beautiful picture and as I studied Jace's face, I saw how deep we both were. There was no going back. We were it for each other.
"Did you take my camera," I asked Isabelle with an accusatory glance. She shrugged and brushed me off.
"I was inspired." Just then, I heard the door leading from the garage close and seconds later, Jace and Simon were standing behind us, examining the picture on the screen. My face flushed as they leaned toward the screen.
"Wait, I thought this was our engagement shoot," Simon said crossing his arms over his chest as Isabelle smacked his chest.
"Can I get this framed for my office," Jace asked with a huge smile on his face.
"Um, no," I said standing to face him. He simply shrugged me off taking my hand and leading me to the kitchen where an abundance of Chinese food awaited us.
After we finished eating, Jace pulled something out of the freezer that I immediately recognized as strawberry cheesecake ice cream. I may or may not have squealed when he came toward me with the pint of ice cream and two spoons. I noticed Simon had also gotten Isabelle her favorite ice cream. How lucky were we?
We sat on the couch and watched the fights Jace had ordered on pay per view. I was tucked safely into Jace's side and we alternated taking bites of ice cream.
"I'm bored," Isabelle huffed from the other side of the room. Jace and I laughed at the exasperation on her face.
"This is a good fight," Simon said, not taking his eyes away from the TV and she smacked him to get his attention. "Ouch, sorry. What do you suggest we do?"
"Let's have a bonfire!" We all exchanged glances and agreed silently to start a fire on the beach.
Jace and Simon went outside to gather firewood and start the fire, while Isabelle and I prepared a cooler of beer and the fixings for s'mores. Twenty minutes later, we were all sitting on blankets around a fire, drinking beer and laughing. Jace pulled his marshmallow out of the fire and blew on it to extinguish the flame. I took a graham cracker and chocolate and sandwiched the marshmallow between them before giving Jace a bite. When I pulled it away, a glob of melted marshmallow stuck to Jace's bottom lip, so, feeling bold, I leaned up to kiss him and lick it away. He was smiling brightly when I opened my eyes and settled back into him. I was sitting in between his legs with my back against his chest.
"Hey guys," Isabelle said sitting up straighter on her blanket. "I know I've been kind of crazy lately and I really appreciate everything you're doing for us."
"Yeah, you should be grateful," Jace said behind me and I turned around to hit his shoulder.
"Don't listen to him," I said waving him off. "It's the job of the maid of honor and best man to be there for the bride and groom. We're only six weeks out and things are only going to get crazier." I noticed Jace and Simon exchange a glance across the fire. When I tried to look into Jace's eyes, he turned his gaze away so I couldn't. "What's going on?"
"Don't ask me," Jace said pointing to Simon. "Ask Luke Skywalker over there."
"What's going on, Simon," Isabelle tried turning to Simon. He raked his hands over his face shaking his head. "Just tell me."
"Fine," he huffed. "Valentine called the other day to give me a fight."
"Okay, that's great, but why do you look so worried?"
"It's in a month."
I let out a gasp and turned to Jace who gave me a small smile and pulled me closer to him.
"In a month," Isabelle asked. "So two weeks before the wedding?"
"Yeah," Simon said trying to reach out for her, but she pulled away. "Iz, I promise if I could change it, I would, but I'm one fight away from getting a title shot and I'm not in a position to turn anything down right now."
"So, what do you propose we do?" Isabelle scrambled to get up from the sand.
"What do you mean, Iz?" Simon hopped to his feet and placed his hands on her shoulders. Jace and I sat back and watched the scene unfold in front of us, holding our breaths. "It's not that big of a deal. It's two weeks before the wedding, not the day of it. Everything is going to be fine."
He pulled her into his arms and ran his hands along her back, trying to calm her down. "So help me, Simon, if you have a black eye on our wedding day…" She trailed of as he chuckled and Jace and I let out the breaths we had been holding.
"Alright," I said raising my beer bottle in their direction as they lowered themselves back to the sand. "Let's try and forget about MMA for a few hours and have a good time tonight."
"I second that," Jace said as he kissed the side of my head.
As if it was planned, we all threw back our heads and gulped down the rest of our beers. A few hours later, it was as if we had completely forgotten about our lives back home. I had lost track of how many beers I had drank, but I was definitely feeling their effects. I turned to face Jace and sit up on my knees taking his face in my hands and kissing him deeply.
"Whoa," he said when we pulled apart. "What was that for?"
"I love you," I slurred and he laughed.
"Yeah, I think it's time to go to bed, Red." Jace stood pulling me up with him and told Simon and Isabelle we were going to bed. He held my hand as I stumbled across the sand toward the house. I lost my footing and almost fell to the ground before Jace scooped me up and carried me the rest of the way.
Jace carried me up the stairs as I rested my head on his shoulder and observed his strong profile. He laid me down on the bed and pulled the covers up over me as I was already drifting off to sleep. I was mumbling unintelligible phrases as he knelt down beside the bed and brushed my hair away from my eyes. He told me to drink some water as he kissed my forehead and I thought that if I had to suffer through a hangover the next morning, it wouldn't be so terrible if Jace was there.
In my cloudy mind, I realized that nothing could ever be that bad if I was with Jace and we had each other.
Just before I fell asleep, I whispered, "Max wants us to get married." It was so soft, I wasn't sure he heard me until he leaned over me and kissed my lips.
"I know," he whispered against my lips. "Get some sleep, Red."
I dreamed of a beach wedding and a golden angel waiting for me at the end of the aisle.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Sorry it's been a while since I last updated, but I hope this chapter makes up for it. A lot of people have been asking when Jace and Clary are going to get married, but don't fret, I have a plan. It's just going to take a little while to get there. So, I hope you are enjoying the story and please, feel free to let me now what you think. :)