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Sebastian, Rachel and the children joined them, as did Phillippa and Vincent.
Eden was awed by how beautifully the small island church had been decorated for the holiday and thought they should make coming to the island for Christmas a tradition. Red, white and pink poinsettias were everywhere, along with yards and yards of green garland and holly. Gold silk draped the pews with green-and-red velvet ribbon accents.
She could not wait for the candlelight service on Christmas Eve.
Music outside her window woke Eden on Christmas Eve morning. It didn't sound like Christmas carols, but she wasn't familiar with all the Greek forms of the festive music. She reached for Aristide's warmth without opening her eyes and frowned when her questing hand found only an empty bed.
Her eyes slid open and she saw that their room was empty. The en suite door was open and the light off. So, he wasn't in there. She threw the covers back to get up and go looking for her errant husband when the door burst open.
Phillippa and Rachel came in, both of their arms overflowing with garment bags and shoeboxes. There was lots and lots of white and Rachel carried a bouquet of white poinsettias, Christmas greenery and gold ribbon in one of her hands.
A strange sensation came over Eden. She remembered her sister-in-law telling her about Sebastian's attempt at a surprise wedding and her throat constricted. Was the pile of white silk in Phillippa's arms what she thought it was?
"Kalimera, Eden." Phillippa grinned. "And happy Christmas."
"Good morning to you—what's going on?" she asked in a breathless voice she barely recognized.
"Aristide has arranged a small surprise for you."
"The small surprise comes with a wedding dress?"
Rachel nodded, her own lovely face creased in a happy smile.
Tears filled Eden's eyes. "Oh…I…"
"I trust you are going to take this news better than my other daughter by marriage took the news of her own upcoming wedding."
Rachel blushed, looking chagrined. "I screamed."
Eden shook her head, her throat tight, but she forced out words. "I won't scream. I'm overwhelmed."
"Good." Phillippa took over then.
Within two hours Eden had eaten a small, but wonderful breakfast and was dressed as beautifully as any bride in history. Her gown fit her to perfection, not only in size but in design.
She stood before the mirror. "I look like a fairy princess."
And she did. The dress shimmered with gems and the kerchief-style skirt floated around her legs and ankles in several layers of iridescent silk. The bodice emphasized her small breasts without making them look meager and the jewel encrusted ribbons woven through her hair gave her a definitely ethereal appearance.
There was a knock at the door and butterflies filled her insides.
Phillippa grinned and Rachel opened the door.
Aristide stood on the other side, Sebastian beside him carrying Theo, his own two small children standing beside them.
She had eyes only for her husband. He was dressed in a white tuxedo with long tails and looked so happy she thought her own heart would burst.
He dropped to one knee and took her trembling hand in his own. "Eden Kouros, I have loved you from the first moment and I will love you into eternity. Will you do me the honor of promising yourself to me before my family?"
Before she could reply, his voice gruff, he said, "I really have loved you since the first."
"But…" Her voice trailed off as she noticed something different about his eyes.
It had been there for the past week, but she had thought it was just his newfound love for her.
"You remember," she choked out.
"Yes."
He had a lot of explaining to do…later.
"I would be honored to promise myself to you, Aristide. I love you so much."
His face shone with relief and it was only then that she realized he had been unsure of her answer, and he had asked her in such a public manner anyway.
He stood and put his hand out. She took it and he led her on the traditional walk to the church. Dozens of people joined along the way and she realized from the familiar faces that many of the Kouros and Demakis clans had come to the island for the festivities.
They stopped outside the church to observe the ritual of drinking from the same cup and then proceeded inside.
The tiara he placed on her head glittered with diamonds and her favorite mystic topaz, his simpler crown looked old and she remembered seeing it in his parents' wedding pictures. It was the one his father had worn to marry his mother. For some reason that struck her as even more wonderful than everything else and she smiled lovingly at him through a mist of tears she didn't even try to blink away.
The ceremony was beautiful and, as he had once told her, there was no vow of fidelity, but the promise was in his eyes and her heart reacted to it with joyous acceptance.
The reception was big and boisterous with dancing and a lot of celebrating, ending with the candlelight Christmas Eve service.
It was much later when the other guests had left that she and Aristide were allowed to go to their room in privacy. Theo had long since gone to bed.
"When did you remember?" she asked after he carried her inside and lowered himself into a chair, seating her in his lap.
"The morning I fired Kassandra."
The day he had sent her all the roses, saying he had always loved her. "Why didn't you say something then?"
"I wanted to be sure you knew I loved you first."
"But why?"
"You told me you wanted a divorce. How could I be sure you wouldn't ask for one again once you figured out I remembered?"
"That's stupid! Why would I want a divorce now?"
"I did not know why you wanted a divorce then," he reminded her in a voice that reflected the pain of the conversation in the car on that fateful day.
"Do you understand now?" she asked.
"Yes, but, damn it, how could you be so mistaken about me not loving you?"
She couldn't believe he had to ask. "You never told me any differently."
"That was an unquestionably imprudent oversight, but I loved you with my body every time we joined as you loved me with yours. I was besotted and I find it difficult to believe you could not see that. I lost sleep, skipped meetings and turned my schedule upside down to visit you in upstate New York as often as I could when we were lovers."
"I didn't know our time together was such a tremendous hardship on your schedule."
"I am the President of Oversees Operations for a huge company…do you really think I routinely had weekends free during those months?"
"I didn't take that into account…" But that wasn't true.
She had considered it at first and taken it as evidence she was someone special to him, but even knowing what she did about her father's schedule, she hadn't begun to realize what the time with her had cost Aristide.
And later, when she had begun to truly doubt his feelings for her, she had dismissed the importance of that time entirely. She had seen only that none of that time included the other people closest to him in his life.
"I married you, Eden…did you think that meant nothing?"
"You married me for Theo's sake."
"When did I ever say that?"
"You didn't ask me until I told you I was pregnant."
"But if I had not loved you, I would not have asked you then. Perhaps I did not call the emotion by its proper name at the time…even to myself, but it was there. Be assured of it. After the example of my uncle's marriage, I would never have risked marriage for anything less." He smiled, the expression going straight to her heart. "And before you start creating any more wild scenarios, I did not organize this wedding because of the new baby either."
"You know…?"
"I remembered everything. I had some pretty terrifying moments waiting for word from the hospital in New York however." He put his hand protectively over her womb. "I am very happy you are pregnant again."
"No concerns about a lack of proper spacing between our children?" she teased.
He looked blank for a second and then his gaze sharpened with understanding and his hand pressed possessively against her. "None whatsoever."
She was glad he knew about the baby and relieved he had thought to contact the hospital instead of worrying they had lost their child. She was even happier he was thrilled about the news, but had she really ever doubted that response?
"I concede you did not marry me this time for the child," she said with a smile.
"And that I loved you all along?"
"If you loved me, why did you leave me in Greece while you traveled so much?"
Dull color scored his cheeks. "I would like to say I had no choice and, in some instances, that was true. I really did worry about you traveling during your pregnancy…you were so sick at first. Then, later, I did not know how easily a baby would travel. Sebastian has been content to allow me to do most of the traveling for Kouros Industries since before his marriage to Rachel."
