Liam's Best Page 13

  The hotel inauguration party was a success and as people ate, drank and danced the night away, it was soon time to countdown to the New Year. With glasses of Champagne in hand, they started to count backwards from ten. The moment the clock struck twelve, hugs and kisses filled the room as a new day started. Serena went upstairs immediately after midnight, needing to lie down after the events of the day.

  Liam and Milania stayed a little while longer to enjoy the night but then went upstairs to have a decent night sleep before their wedding ceremony. Liam spent the night with Dalton in his suite since it was tradition for the bride and groom to sleep separately the night before the wedding. Liam accompanied Milania to the suite and then said goodnight, kissing her on the back of the hand. “Good night, my darling. Tomorrow we will be husband and wife - again.”

  She watched as he walked down the hall to Dalton’s suite for the night and as soon as he went in, she felt a sense of loneliness but she knew it would be the last time she would feel it. She went straight to bed, wanting to get as much sleep as she could.

  Liam walked into one of the bedrooms and crashed as soon as his head hit the pillow. He didn’t hear Dalton when he came in during the night but was awoken by the sound of Dalton’s phone that had been left on the living room table. He got up to answer it and noticed it was James calling.

  “James? Is everything okay?” Liam asked.

  “No, I think Serena is going into labor,” James said.

  “Now? He looked at the time on his watch and noticed it was nearly 5 a.m.. Okay, James, stay calm. I’ll get Dalton and we’ll be right there.” He put the phone down and went to wake Dalton.

  Chapter Eight

  “What do you mean Serena has gone into labor?” Dalton asked, looking at the darkness outside. “What time is it?” He asked, placing his pillow over his head.

  “It’s just about 5 a.m. and we need to go see if they need our help,” Liam said, pulling the pillow off of Dalton’s face.

  Dalton could barely focus with only an hour of sleep and all the champagne in his body but he crawled out of bed and put on some clothing to go with Liam.

  When they arrived, James’ worried face brought everything into perspective. He had called an ambulance. “It’s too early for the baby to come so if she’s having contractions, it’s not a good sign,” James said, running his fingers through his hair.

  They went to look at Serena to know if they could help in any way but when they saw they couldn’t stop the pain, they felt completely powerless. Liam’s palms started to sweat and Dalton started to pace as James sat beside Serena to try to comfort her.

  “Should we call one of the girls that can help her until the ambulance arrives? How about Tessa or Leena?” Liam asked, trying to help.

  “Maybe, Leena. Tessa wouldn’t know what to do,” James said as he took his phone to call his brother-in-law, Marco. He spoke briefly and a few minutes later, Leena showed up at the door.

  Liam and Dalton went to open the door for Leena and their pale expression made Leena worry. “How is Serena?” she asked, walking toward the bedroom.

  Serena was in pain but the contractions were too far apart for Leena to be worried about them. “Serena, these may be Braxton Hicks contractions.”

  “Which are what exactly?” Serena shouted, feeling another contraction coming on.

  “They’re fake contractions,” Leena smiled, knowing they can be really scary the first time.

  “Are you sure? They feel real to me,” she said, breathing to relieve the pain.

  “Well, you’ll need to go to the hospital to be sure but I believe that is what is happening,” Leena said just as the ambulance attendants arrived. Then she got out of the way to allow them to do their job.

  Serena was strapped to a gurney and taken out within minutes. Leena told James she was going to get her bag to follow him to the hospital and moments later, Liam and Dalton were left alone in the suite.

  “I’ll go with Leena to the hospital. You try to get some more sleep since you’re getting married in a few hours. I’ll be back in time for the wedding,” Dalton said, leaving to get his wallet and find Leena to get a ride with her.

  Liam rubbed his face, feeling tired and worried for Serena as he walked down the corridor back to Dalton’s suite. He was too worried to fall back to sleep so he sat on the sofa waiting for news. He texted Dalton a couple of times to find out what was going on and then around 9 a.m. his phone rang.

  “Hey, it was a false alarm so we’re all on our way back to the hotel. Everything is good,” Dalton said.

  “So she’s fine? Nothing to worry about?” Liam asked, not understanding how a woman could be in so much pain and not be in labor.

  “Apparently, it happens a lot,” Dalton said. “We’ll be there soon.”

  They hung up and Liam put his head back on the sofa, knowing the day will be longer than expected for everyone. Well, at least Milania slept so she will be rested for the wedding. He decided to take a shower to start the day. The wedding was in less than three hours and he needed to get some coffee into him so he called room service to have a coffee thermos brought to their suite.

  The moment Dalton walked into the room, he walked into his bedroom and fell onto the bed face down. “Call me in an hour.” A few seconds later, there was a soft snoring sound coming from the bedroom.

  Liam had a couple of cups of coffee before going to have a shower and when he came out of the shower, he heard his phone rang so he want to get it.

  “Good morning. Did you sleep well?” Milania asked.

  “We’ve been up since before 5 a.m.,” Liam replied.

  “You couldn’t sleep?” she asked, wondering if he was nervous about their wedding day.

  “No, actually we thought Serena went into labor so we were all here at 5 a.m. waiting for the ambulance,” he said, drying his hair with the towel while he talked.

  “Is she in the hospital?” Milania suddenly worried.

  “No, Baby Doll, she’s back here at the hotel. It was a false alarm,” he whispered.

  “Why didn’t you call me? I would have come to stay with her if needed.”

  “We called Leena. She and Dalton went with James to the hospital and they all came back with Serena not too long ago. Dalton crashed on the bed, asking to wake him in an hour so I’ll let him sleep as long as possible before leaving for the church,” Liam said.

  “Yes, absolutely. Wow, what a busy night you all had. Are you feeling okay?” she asked, sensing he was tired.

  “I’ll be okay. Don’t worry about me,” he said, yawning into the phone.

  “It’ll be a long day for you then,” she admitted. “Maybe you can have a nap this afternoon in between courses,” she chuckled.

  “Baby Doll, if you’ll nap with me then I’m all for it,” he agreed.

  They hung up and went to have breakfast before the day started. Liam couldn’t eat anything since his nerves were tense from the near birth experience. He’d been through much more but for some reason it was different when something happened to a family member.

  Milania had a light breakfast, knowing it would be a long time before they sat down to have a meal and when she finished eating, she went to have a shower before the hair and makeup stylist arrived. Just as she stepped out of the shower, Rachael called her to say good morning. She told her she would be there in thirty minutes.

  Rachael arrived just before the makeup and hair stylist and they were chatting about what happened during the night when Serena and Tessa arrived. “Are you sure you’ll be okay to stand this morning?” Milania asked Serena, noticing the dark circles under her eyes.

  “Why don’t you rest on Milania’s bed while we have our hair and makeup done. You can be last so all you’ll need to do is put on your dress and leave?” Rachael asked.

  “Actually, it may be better for me to do her makeup first and let her rest a while before doing her hair. When her hair is done, she can put on her dress just before you leave for the c
hurch,” the stylist, Cristina, said to them.

  “That sounds like a good idea. It would give her time to rest in between. Why don’t you do Serena’s makeup after you do Milania and then do Tessa’s and my hair and makeup before finishing up with Serena. I can help Milania into her dress while you are doing Serena’s hair,” Rachael said.

  “Excellent idea,” Milania said. “Serena go lie down on my bed and I’ll bring you a herbal tea while you rest. You may even have a short nap while Cristina works on us. We’ll call you when it’s your turn,” Milania suggested while she walked Serena to her bedroom.

  Cristina got to work on the three girls and they were well ahead of time so they took a short coffee break when they noticed Serena was sleeping.

  “So any idea where Liam is taking you on your honeymoon?” Rachael asked.

  “No. He won’t tell me because he wants it to be a surprise.” She shrugged her shoulders, knowing it will remain a surprise until they leave for their trip.

  “It has been great to see you here in Rome and I hope you’ll keep in touch when you return to the US,” Rachael said, wondering how much time will pass before they will be able to see each other.

  “I plan on coming back often so don’t worry, I’ll stay in touch with you now that I know where you are.” She smiled thinking how wonderful it was to be together.

  “I hope there will be plenty of opportunities to meet up again with you and Liam. I like his family too. They’re very nice people.”

  “Yes they are and I would say with the way Dalton was looking at you yesterday that he’ll be keeping in touch with you too,” Milania smiled, wondering if anything would come of their meeting.

  “He’s great and we had a great time sightseeing yesterday. I wish we had more time together but tomorrow you all leave to go back to your exciting lives,” she said, sadness creeping in. It has a hard emotion to keep out of her heart. Since the flood, she had lost many things and one was the lifetime of friendship she had with her community, which she missed dearly. Some people died in the flood and it was difficult to understand how one’s world could disappear in a blink of an eye.

  Milania leaned forward to hug her friend and then whispered into her ear. “I have a feeling you’ll be hearing from Dalton before you put your head on the pillow tomorrow night.”

  “Do you think so?”

  “Yes, I do,” she grinned.

  Cristina continued to work on Milania’s hair, sweeping it up as long tendrils of hair fell down the side. When Christina finished on Milania, she started Rachael’s makeup. Cristina decided to put light makeup on all four girls because their complexion was nearly flawless so she was done with Rachael in very little time. It was time to wake Serena to have her hair and makeup done.

  Nearly forty minutes later, all four ladies were dressed in their gowns, ready to leave for the church. A photographer came to take a few pictures of the bride alone and with her bridesmaids before going. They felt a giddiness rising as they left the hotel suite moments later.

  They stepped into the white Bentley, carefully putting Milania’s gown in the car without creasing or tearing it before the car drove off toward the church. “Well, this is it. I have to say that I am really happy to see you marry my brother-in-law. He’s a wonderful man and will take care of you like a princess the rest of your life,” Serena said, taking in a breath. “Believe me, the Miller men are loving and generous men.”

  “Yes, I’ve noticed and I need to thank you all for being here beside me on this special day. I feel blessed in more ways than one and it is the beginning of a new life for me,” Milania said, feeling emotional. “Oh, I don’t want to cry so let’s change the subject.”

  When they reached the church, Rachael, Serena and Tessa stepped out of the car to wait for Milania to get out. Rachael helped her with the gown and then placed it properly when they were ready to enter the church. Since Milania didn’t have anybody to walk her into the church, James stepped in to do the honor. They watched as Serena walked in with the children, Tessa next and then Rachael.

  “Are you ready?” James asked, looking over at her.

  “Yes,” Milania said, squeezing his arm. “Thank you for walking me down the altar.”

  “It’s my pleasure to walk my sister-in-law to my brother,” he whispered, leaning down to kiss her on the head.

  She took a deep breath and they started to walk into the church. As soon as they walked through the doors, she saw all the people in the church standing and at the front by the altar, Liam was smiling at her as his eyes sparkled. He was dressed in his elegantly tailored Giorgio Armani dark blue wedding suit, white shirt and grey tie. He looked handsome as he stood, smiling at her.

  Liam waited for her to enter the church and when he finally saw her, she took his breath away. She was gorgeous in her flowing white full-length gown. The plain fabric fitted around her bust and ran down hugging her waist until it opened up as it fell to the floor, trailing behind as she walked. Over the bust was a chiffon veil that fell over her shoulders toward the back where it was gathered. He couldn’t take his eyes off of his gorgeous wife and as she moved closer, he caught the gleam in her eyes that made his heart soar with happiness.

  As soon as James reached Liam, he kissed Milania’s hand before placing it in Liam’s. Then he took a seat beside his family.

  The priest started the ceremony and when they repeated the vows, Milania grinned hearing Liam say it in Italian. The priest acknowledged Liam’s effort in pronouncing the words and then they moved on to the rings. Liam placed Milania’s wedding band for the first time on her finger before she put the band on his and while they looked down at their hands, Milania looked at her wedding ring as it rested on her finger for the first time.

  There was Gregorian music throughout the wedding ceremony and a female soloist who sang Ave Maria. The moment the ceremony was finished, while they went to sign the wedding register, the guests went outside to wait for the bride and groom.

  “Are you ready, Mrs. Miller?” he asked, leaning down to kiss her tenderly on the lips.

  She nodded and kissed him back before walking out. Milania looked at Liam’s gleaming eyes when they walked down the aisle to exit the church and as soon as they walked through the doors, they were showered with cascading candy confetti and rice to wish them luck. The photographer took plenty of pictures of the bride and groom along with the numerous guests.

  Finally after they had greeted most of the guests who wanted to wish them well, they got into the Bentley and waited for everyone to reach their cars. Rachael and Dalton went with James and Serena in the car, and Liam’s parents with Tessa got into the car with driver arranged by the hotel.

  The moment they all arrived at the Miller Hotel and Resort, the photographer was already waiting to take some pictures of the happy couple in the hotel’s park.

  The guests were shown to a welcome drink while the wedding party went with the photographer. The hotel’s huge garden boasted beautiful plants and flowers, and it had a man made pond with pergolas and areas for the guests to sit. Pictures were taken in the different sections of the garden until the photographer moved the photo shoot indoors. Serena tried to sit as much as she could and as soon as they entered the lobby, she told James she needed to lie down a little because the cramps were starting again.

  “Milania, I need to lie down a little. I’ll be back later,” Serena said to Milania as the photographer tied to get the bride’s attention.

  “Yes, of course. Are you okay?” She looked into her sister-in-law’s tired eyes and hugged her when she realized they were not only friends but also sisters-in-law.

  “Yes, I’m sure I’ll be fine when I’ve had a chance to rest.”

  James accompanied his wife upstairs to make sure she was okay.

  “How are you holding up, Baby Doll?” Liam whispered in her ear.

  She turned her face up to look at him and smiled. “I’m fine. I should ask you how you feel since you hardly slept last night.�
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  “I’m holding up for the time being but I wouldn’t mind taking a short nap later,” he grinned. “Have you forgotten you promised to lie down with me in between courses?”

  She smirked. “You did mention it but I don’t remember agreeing to it.” Her eyes were sparkling with mischief.

  “Oh, you would leave your husband on his own in a moment of need?” Liam whispered while the photographer continued to take candid pictures of them.

  “Moment of need? Are you telling me that a big man like yourself needs a small woman like me to nap?” She knew what he was referring to but wanted him to grovel.

  “Please, Sweet Pea? I’d really like to lie down with you beside me later. It’s your warm body beside mine that I’m most in need right now.” He was ready to beg if he needed because he couldn’t do another minute without her by his side.

  “Well, if you put it like that. I guess I’ll find the time in my busy day to rest with you,” she agreed, knowing it would make him happy.

  He pulled her into his arms to kiss her tenderly on the lips while the photographer continued to take pictures of the two of them interacting naturally. When the photographer was satisfied with the pictures so far, he told them to enjoy their meal and he would call them later during the day to take more.

  “Thank heavens. I’m famished,” Milania said, as they walked into the ballroom to eat.

  The guests were all seated, waiting for them and the moment they walked into the room, a round of applause filled the room. Liam and Milania looked over at the wedding party table and noticed Dalton and Rachael chatting.

  “Look at those two. They haven’t left each other’s side since they met. I wonder if anything will come of it,” Milania whispered.