Regina ran her fingers over the lace on the wedding dress and pursed her lips in thought. In just a few months, she would be wed to her fiancé, Robin Locksley. To her surprise, her mother had left her in charge of most of the wedding decisions, perhaps as a way to assuage the damage that had been done to their already rocky relationship when she had forced her to break up with Daniel. Regina had been planning her dream wedding ever since. She might not be marrying the right man but she could have her picture perfect wedding.
"Are you okay, Regina?" Mary Margaret asked, breaking her from her thoughts.
"I'm alright, just thinking," she said and bit her lip.
Mary Margaret, her cousin, and best friend, the woman who had been through it all with her, and treated her more like a sister than Zelena ever did, came to pat her on the shoulder. "I know it's a lot to deal with right now," she said. "You know, you could still do a small and quiet ceremony."
Regina shook her head. "No. Planning keeps my mind off of it," she said. "Besides, I've wanted a wedding like this since I was a little girl."
Despite herself, she grinned dreamily. Her wedding was going to be extravagant and Cora and Robin seemed to have no problem with the cost. She had selected a beautiful venue, a rose garden, to have the ceremony. It had a small chapel they'd be married in to appease the Catholic relatives on her father's side, and a large, beautiful pavilion where the reception would be held. The bridesmaids would wear stunning red silk dresses, and the groomsmen would have red ties. It was going to be beautiful—white and red and gold everywhere.
"Then all we need is for you to pick out the perfect dress," Mary Margaret said. "I think I found one over here you might like."
She pulled Regina from the dress she had been observing to a dress that completely stole her breath away. It had a long, ballgown style skirt with a sheer material over it imprinted with white roses. It had a plunging sweetheart neckline and the sleeves were made out of the same sheer material with the roses. Regina gasped. "It's perfect. Mary Margaret, you must see if they have it in my size."
Her cousin grinned, pleased with her findings, and scurried off to find an assistant.
A few minutes later, Regina was stepping out of the dressing room so she could model the dress for the bridesmaids and her mother, who had all gathered to see her in it. Mary Margaret, Emma, and Tink all took a collective gasp. Zelena didn't have much of a reaction at all, but Cora's eyes seemed to glitter with pride.
"That is a very flattering dress on you," Cora said, a rare compliment.
"You look amazing," said Emma.
"You look like you just stepped out of a fairytale," Mary Margaret said dreamily.
"Robin is going to be so smitten when he sees you wearing that," Tink said.
Zelena didn't make a comment. Regina had gathered that her sister was rather jealous of her marriage to Robin. She had been giving him bedroom eyes throughout dinner a few weeks ago, which had made him rather uncomfortable. In fact, right now, she looked like she would turn green with envy. Regina didn't know why. Her wedding dress had been very beautiful and she had looked stunning on her wedding day as well.
"I think this is the one then," she said, turning to look at herself in the mirror.
Mary Margaret was right, she did look like she had stepped out of a fairytale. She looked and felt like a princess. A queen.
They left the shop shortly after. The dress needed a few adjustments, such as being taken in a little at the waist and loosened around the shoulders, so Regina would have to kiss it goodbye until closer to the wedding. She had truly felt special in that dress.
The rest of the day was a girl's day. They had lunch at Granny's Diner and got their nails and hair done. As the women parted ways and Regina went back to her place, a pit began settling in her stomach. She was supposed to have dinner with Robin tonight, just the two of them. During supper, they had agreed that they should get to know one another before the big day and Robin told her he would be taking her out on dates in order to accomplish this. Tonight would be their first one.
Regina got ready for her date when she got home, taking her time and being meticulous about her appearance. She didn't know why, but she wanted to look her best and impress her future husband. She showered, shaved, and spent over two hours on her hair and makeup before sliding into an emerald green dress accentuated with gold jewelry. She had learned that green was his favorite color, and had the perfect dress to wear to impress him. It dipped low in the back, had a sweetheart neckline, and draped lazily over her legs, stopping above her knees. It was classy and modest, while still showing enough skin to keep him interested.
Regina heard the doorbell ring, announcing his arrival and checked herself over once more in the mirror. It wasn't a thought that often crossed her mind, but today she had been particularly confident in herself after finding the perfect wedding dress, and thought she looked beautiful.
Regina hurried downstairs, moving much quicker in the flats she had chosen as opposed to heels, figuring she would be more comfortable. She opened the door and found Robin standing there in a white dress shirt and black dress pants. He had on a green tie that matched the shade of her dress. Great minds think alike. They looked like they had coordinated their attire. Beyond that, it looked like he had trimmed his hair and beard up a bit and was looking rather handsome. She might not be entirely thrilled about throwing her life away and marrying this man, but he was very attractive.
"Good evening," Robin said in that sultry English accent that made her heart flutter and her womanhood throb.
She swallowed thickly, trying to push aside the desire she suddenly felt for him. She was supposed to be grieving the end of the relationship with Daniel and felt guilty for thinking that she would like to feel this man's beard scraping against her thighs as his tongue buried itself against—
"Um, hi. Good evening," she stuttered, forcing the thought aside. She shifted her weight as she looked up at him.
Robin smiled down at her and gestured inside. "Do you mind if I come in? I have something for you."
Regina nodded and stepped aside so he could enter the house. As he walked past her, she got a whiff of pine and rosemary. He smelled as delicious as he looked. She shut the door behind him and paused when he stopped and turned.
"Come here," he told her. Something about the way he said that, told her to do something, made liquid pool between her legs.
She approached him, fiddling nervously with her hands. If her mother were here, she would be instructed to stop.
Robin reached into his pocket and produced a small velvet box. "It's not official until there's a ring," he told her.
He opened the box to reveal a diamond ring with a gold band. It was a fairly simple ring, the diamond piece not too flashy, but still was elegant and beautiful.
"It's pretty," Regina hummed appreciatively.
"You like it?" Robin asked. "Your mother gave me your ring size and told me you prefer simple to intricate."
Regina nodded. "For all her faults, she does know me well," she said. "It's perfect."
Robin smiled and took the ring from the box. He held his hand out to her. "May I?"
Regina gave him her hand, placing her palm against his. His hands were rough and calloused, but his touch was gentle. Robin stepped closer until she could feel the warmth from his body and wrapped his hand around her wrist to hold her steady. He placed his hand on her ring finger. It fit wonderfully. Robin traced her slender fingers with his now that the ring was on. Regina looked up at him and he smiled at her.
"Now it's official," he said.
"Thank you," Regina said. She knew she should pull away from his touch but his hands were so gentle and he smelled so good too.
"You're welcome," Robin said. "Now, are you ready to go?" He asked, pulling away from her all too soon.
Regina nodded and let him lead the way out of her house. She locked the door behind them and turned to get in the car. He had the door held open for her like a gentleman. She climbed into her seat, he got in, and they were off.
Robin drove them to Regina's favorite restaurant, Gepetto's. It was a five star Italian restaurant situated right on a vineyard. They had the most delicious wine and amazing cuisine.
"You remembered my favorite place to eat," Regina said and smiled.
The two of them had been texting back and forth ever since their first meeting, trying to familiarize themselves with one another as much as possible.
"I wanted to make sure our first date was memorable," Robin said and smiled as he helped her out of the car and held her hand as they walked inside. "Reservation for Locksley, please."
The hostess smiled at them. "Of course. Right this way, Mr. and Mrs. Locksley."
Regina felt her cheeks flush red when she was called Mrs. Locksley. It wasn't official yet, but the name made her stomach flutter. She once again cursed herself for feeling excited over that small fact, and instead allowed the guilt to seep in. Had circumstances been different, this might've been the place Daniel would have taken her to propose.
They were led back to their table and were sat down with a nice view of the vineyard. It looked rather romantic with the evening sky painted pink and orange. Golden light shone into the large window, bathing Robin in its warmth. He looked like a model with his perfectly chiseled features and his vibrant blue eyes. He was a gorgeous man, there was no denying that. A woman would have to be crazy to not feel some attraction to him.
"You look absolutely gorgeous tonight, Regina," Robin said. Her blush came back full force. Had he been thinking the same thing about her?
"Thank you," Regina said and looked down at her hands. The diamond ring shimmered in the sunlight. "You are very handsome."
He smiled appreciatively at her comment and reached for her hand. She let him take it. "I hear you went dress shopping today," he said, his thumb brushing over her knuckles.
"I did," she confirmed.
"And?"
"I found the one," Regina answered.
Robin seemed to glow with excitement. "I'm sure you'll be stunning," he said.
"It's a very pretty dress. My cousin, Mary Margaret, was actually the one to point it out," she said, a smile creeping onto her face when she thought about her fairytale wedding dress and how nice she had looked in it.
"Just a few more months… part of me wonders how it will all come together in time," he said.
"Don't worry, I've been planning my dream wedding since I was twelve years old," Regina said.
Robin smiled a little. "Have you had the time to read over the emails yet?" He asked.
A few weeks ago, Robin had been setting terms for the marriage via email with who he thought was Regina. Instead, it was her mother who had orchestrated this entire thing behind her back as a way to prevent her from being with Daniel. Robin had emailed her the conversation so she could read it over and let him know if there was anything she wanted him to change. Surprisingly, her mother had not made any outrageous demands and Robin was very clear in what he wanted from the marriage.
"Yes, and honestly, I don't really see a need to change anything," Regina answered. "I agree to the terms, they are very fair. I agree this should not be an open relationship and that we should try to focus on getting to know one another, as we've been doing."
"Good. And what do you think of the house I was looking at?" Robin asked.
He had picked out a large house in a nice neighborhood where they had lots of room to start a family. It had all of the necessities, plus a nice primary bedroom for the both of them (one of the terms of the marriage was that they should share a sleeping space but that Regina could take a few weeks to get adjusted before that happened), a pool, and a big, empty space Robin planned to convert into a library since they'd both discovered they enjoyed reading so much and each had a large collection of books.
"It's perfect," Regina said.
"Then I'll place an offer in the morning," Robin said. "As far as intimacy goes… did that look okay to you?"
Regina bit her lip and nodded. "I believe so. I like the idea of letting things develop naturally in our relationship," she said.
"Good. And children?"
"Fine. We'll have them when we are comfortable and ready," she said. "I'm already on birth control so I'll continue taking that, even though we won't be sleeping together yet."
Robin nodded. "Perfect. Just let me know if you want anything changed in the future. I want you to feel comfortable in our marriage," he said.
"I am," Regina answered truthfully. Her future husband was very in tune to the things she wanted and needed, very attentive. If he was like this all the time, she saw no reason why they wouldn't get along and be friends. Maybe with time, once her heart healed, they might even be able to love one another.
Dinner was a pleasant experience. They chatted over their food and wine. Robin was charming and charismatic. He knew how to carry a conversation well, but he also knew how to listen and was invested in what Regina had to say. She actually ended up enjoying their date and found herself a little sad when it came to an end. Robin dropped her off at her house and walked her up to the porch.
"I had a good time tonight, Regina," Robin said as she unlocked the door to her home. "We should do this again. I think it will help us feel closer before the big day."
Regina nodded in agreement. "Sure. You can just text me," she told him.
"I will," he said. "Goodnight, Regina."
"Goodnight, Robin."
As she said those words, he leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek. His lips were soft against her skin but his beard tickled her a little. Regina closed her eyes as the smell of his cologne washed over her. Suddenly, she found herself wishing he'd kissed her lips instead.
The kiss was all too fleeting as he pulled away, smiled at her, and went to get in his car. Regina let herself inside, feeling a little better about marrying this man, even though the guilt of breaking Daniel's heart still ate away at her.