One month ago

Vlad woke with a start, just as the vehicle in his dreams drove over the cliff. Glancing down at Rachel, he was glad he hadn’t woken her this time. The dreams had been more and more frequent and he didn’t know what the hell to do about it. They’d never been this bad or this often and he wasn’t sure what was going on. Common sense said he was nervous about his upcoming wedding, but that wasn’t rational. He loved Rachel, and she loved him back. She was beautiful, sweet, and had her own money. She worked hard, their sex life was better than any porn he’d ever watched, and she liked his friends. They had fun together and shared everything, so the idea she was the problem bothered him.

Quietly slipping out of bed, he padded into the living room and sank onto the couch. He didn’t dare go back to sleep yet, lest he go back to the dream, but it was still early. He turned on the TV with the sound muted and stared at an infomercial for a special kitchen knife that supposedly cut everything. He changed the channel until he found an old episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and leaned back with a sigh.

He’d almost dozed off again when a warm soft body slid in next to him. “What are you doing out here?” Rachel whispered, her voice husky from sleep.

“Couldn’t sleep,” he whispered back. “Go back to bed.”

“Don’t lie,” she murmured, nestling into his shoulder. “You had another nightmare.”

“I’m fine.” He slid his arm around her and stroked her hair. “I’m not good with being the center of attention, that’s all. Hockey is one thing, but we have almost five hundred people coming to the wedding, and many of them are celebrities. It’s not something I’m used to.”

“Do you want to cut back on the guest list?” She met his gaze worriedly.

“Of course not. Besides, we’ve already sent the invitations. Like I said, I’m fine, it’s just a little… nerve-whack?” He paused, unsure what word to use. He’d come a long way with his English, but some words didn’t come to him as easily as others.

“Nerve-wracking?” she supplied.

He grinned. “That’s it.”

“Oh, honey, I’m sorry. What can I do to make you more comfortable?”

“Nothing. I’ll be okay.”

“I know you better than you know yourself, you know.”

“You’re right about that.”

“I have a surprise I was saving to give you at our wedding, but maybe I’ll tell you about it now, so you have something to look forward to.”

“Oh yeah?” He cocked his head.

“I cancelled our honeymoon.”

“You what?”

“I don’t want to go back to Europe. I’ve been to Paris four times, and even though you’ve never been, I thought of somewhere better.”

“Where do you want to go?”

“Oahu.”

His eyes found hers in the semi-darkness. “We’ve both been there. That was our first vacation.”

“We both loved it so much we never wanted to leave.”

“If I’d had the ring, I would have proposed then.”

“Since it’s such a special place for us, I thought that’s where we should go.”

“I love that idea. Thank you.” He pressed his lips to hers. “I feel like I should be the one planning the honeymoon. Is that a guy thing?”

“It’s a love thing, and I love you so much it doesn’t matter who plans what. Does it?”

“No.” He found her lips with his and kissed her until she nuzzled into his chest.

When she was in his arms like this, Vlad didn’t understand why he had nightmares or what was going on with him. He didn’t have a single doubt about his feelings for her, but strange little doubts about getting married were creeping into his subconscious and making him uncomfortable. There was no reason for it, because she filled the emptiness inside of him with so much love and light, it still blew him away sometimes. Even the thought of being without her made his chest tighten painfully. So if he really loved her, why was he having these nightmares as the wedding got closer?

“Can we go back to bed?” she murmured. “I have to get up for work soon and I’m still sleepy.”

“Of course.” Her voice brought him back to reality and he scooped her up to carry her to bed. He refused to let a handful of bad dreams change the course of his life. He’d worked too hard to get where he was and these random nightmares weren’t going to derail his life. Whatever it was had to be related to his past, which had nothing to do with marrying Rachel.

Determined not to let his childhood fears creep into his life as an adult, he closed his eyes and wrapped himself around the woman he loved.