I’d decided to leave my long hair flowing down my back, and diamond embellished flat sandals completed the look.
“There you are.”
Alessio’s deep voice from behind me makes me jump, and I twist about, finding him dressed in beige chinos and a white shirt, sleeves rolled up to his forearms, displaying his full-sleeve tattoos. His shoulder-length black hair is tied back at the nape of his neck, and truthfully, he looks the most relaxed he’s been in the short time I’ve known him.
I greet him with a smile before looking around, arms raised in question. “Whereiseveryone?”
Chuckling, he tips his head toward the back of the house. “I’m reasonably sure Rafe is outside. Not sure about everyone else.” He tips his head to one side. “I’ll search with you if you like.”
I nod and fall into step alongside Alessio, keeping up with his brisk pace thanks to the flat sandals Rafe provided.
Our search of the house is fruitless, and when we step out onto the decking, I begin to walk toward the dock, only to stop short when I notice a wooden arrow jutting up out of the ground.I move closer, finding a note attached, and I read the contents aloud.
“Follow the arrows to find your real surprise.”
I lookup to a grinning Alessio with an enormous smile of my own before I scan the space for the next arrow, squealing in delight when I spot it almost immediately.
My feet fly across the distance, already searching out the third arrow, which I find easily, and it’s the fourth one that brings me to the entrance of the labyrinth. I can hear Alessio chuckling behind me as I race off into the rose-covered hedges, passing three more arrows, but paying no heed, knowing exactly what my destination is.
And when the pavilion comes into sight, my feet grind to a sudden halt as the air is knocked from my lungs. My heart slams against my breastbone as I absorb the wonder before me.
The pavilion is wreathed in sheer white voile and adorned with velvety red roses. Aurelia and Sebastiano are standing on either side of the pavilion steps, and when my eyes travel farther, they light on a grinning Skye sitting prettily in the arms of a shockingly handsome Rafe.
Our gazes meet and hold, and as though magnetized, my feet propel me closer. I vaguely register the sound of“Moonlight Sonata”streaming over a nearby speaker as I pass Sebastiano and Aurelia, only stopping when I’m toe to toe with Rafe.
He clucks Skye beneath the chin before setting her onto her feet, and I watch as she dashes off to stand beside Sebastiano, vaguely noting that Alessio finally caught up with me.
When I look back to Rafe, my heart skips a beat when I find him down on one knee, a navy velvet box held out between us.
His heart is in his chocolatey brown eyes, and I canfeelmyself fall even more hopelessly in love with this man.
“I spent two long years in the dark, dreaming of the light that only your star could provide. Holding tight to the hope thatmaybeone day…maybe my wish would come true…”
He trails off, clearing his throat as a ball of emotion lodges itself in mine, making breathing a difficulty.
“And then you did.We did, Stellina.”
He pops open the lid of the small navy box, and my eyes fill with tears when I see the exquisite emerald-cut blood-red ruby ring inside.
“The road to get here hasn’t been easy.” I shift my eyes up to Rafe’s intense gaze, and a tear splashes down my cheek, landing on the back of my trembling hand. “And I can’t promise that it will be smooth sailing from here on, but Icanpromise you that my heart will beat for you, andonly youfor as long as we both shall live. Icanpromise that I will love you and all of your beautifully broken pieces that make up the other half of my soul throughout eternity. Icanpromise that I will protect you and our family to my dying breath.”
He slips the ring out of the box and reaches between us to gently grasp my shaking left hand. His eyes are brimming with one single question as his burning gaze holds mine.
“There could never be another for me, Elodie Rivers. I begin and end with you.” I try and fail to stifle a sob of sheer joy when he holds the beautiful ring to the tip of my ring finger on my left hand. “Will you marry me,Stellina?”
My answer is a half-gasp, half-sob as I nod frantically, barely managing to whisper, “Si, si, si. Per sempre, Rafael.Sempre e per sempre.”
He slides the ring home and rises smoothly to capture my lips in a heartfelt kiss, one I feel through my entire body. I’m still dazed when he breaks away, barely registering the cheers from his siblings and Skye until she rushes forward and hugs me around my legs.
Her eyes are shining with happiness when she shifts her gaze from me to Rafe as she bounces up and down. “Can we tell her the surprise now?”
I blink owlishly. “There’smore?”
My forehead puckers when I look at a grinning Rafe as he calls out, “Vieni fuori, Padre.” And my jaw practically unhinges when a smiling priest steps out from the shadows of the pavilion.
A smile grows on my face as my heart sings. He leans closer to press a soft kiss to my smiling lips, and I sigh in absolute contentment as he whispers, “Happy wedding day, almost-wife.”
I dust my lips across his. “Happy wedding day, almost-husband.”
