And at the opposite end, Luca saw Noah and Kizzy and her sister, Ruth, holding her baby girl, and Ruth’s new beau, José, plus Dr. Samuels and a woman he didn’t recognize.
Then realization struck. Oh my God…dess! It was Mother Nature herself!
She held hands with Aaron Samuels, Ruth and Kizzy’s father. How on earth did they get her to come? Luca glanced at Dawn and wondered if he should tell her. Would that make her more nervous?
“Go ahead, Padre,” Antonio called out from the attendees. “Nobody’s getting any younger up here.” A few chuckles followed Antonio’s inside joke.
The minister nodded. “Dearly beloved…” He started in the usual manner and spoke the familiar words of a traditional wedding, but what Luca and Dawn had planned right after the ceremony was anything but traditional.
They faced each other, holding hands, and he couldn’t help grinning at her from time to time. She always returned his grin with one of her own plus a giggle or two.
The minister had a message long before theI dos, and Luca liked what he heard.
“Love is endless forgiveness,” the reverend said. “This I say because you’re human andwillmake mistakes.”
Luca raised one eyebrow at Dawn, who bit her lower lip and looked like she was trying to stifle a laugh. They were not exactly human, but yes, they would still make mistakes.
“When you make those mistakes, be it forgetting to do something or doing something you hadn’t intended to do, don’t let it divide you. Face all situations together. Work it out together. Compromise when you should. And always, always forgive and love each other.” He droned on with a few more bits of advice for couples in love, and Luca couldn’t help glancing over at Gaia. She was staring at the officiant with rapt attention.
She and Aaron holding hands wasn’t news but still struck him as amazing. A lot of the other couples were holding hands too, of course. His parents, his brothers and their wives, even Dawn’s grandmother held hands on both sides. Her left hand curled around Lissie’s, and her right was enveloped in Diego’s. He was glad the older woman had found happiness. She deserved it after doing such a wonderful job raising Dawn when her mother couldn’t.
The reverend eventually got to the vows.
Finally!Luca didn’t think he and Dawn could wait much longer for their surprise. The vows were simple but personal, promising to love and respect each other, to help each other grow, and to support each other as they reached for their dreams.
The reverend turned to Luca and asked if he had the rings. Luca took the rings out of his pocket, handed his larger one to Dawn, and held onto her smaller one. “Ready when you are, Padre.”
The officiant said, “Do you, Dawn, take Luca to be your lawfully wedded husband, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?”
“I do,” Dawn said. She placed Luca’s ring on his finger without waiting to be told to do so.
The reverend smiled.
“Do you, Luca, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
“I sure do—unconditionally,” Luca said, not even waiting to hear the “for richer or poorer” part. Everyone chuckled. Luca didn’t think it was necessary when talking about unconditional love. Happily, the reverend just went with it and didn’t back up or correct him.
“Place the ring on her finger.”
He slid the simple gold band on Dawn’s ring finger. It looked perfect, even with the diamond ring that was already there—just like how the two of them suited each other despite their wildly different backgrounds.
The reverend pronounced them husband and wife, and after a long kiss and enthusiastic applause from their guests, they were ready for their surprise.
As soon as their lips parted, Dawn whirled around, letting Luca unzip her wedding dress, which fell to the ground while everyone gasped. The crowd giggled or groaned when they saw she was wearing a white strapless bathing suit beneath.
Then Luca threw off his tie, and rather than unbuttoning his shirt, which would take too long, he just ripped it open, then unzipped his white pants and stepped out of them. He too was wearing a white bathing suit beneath. The two of them held hands and ran into the ocean.
Laughter and applause followed them as they swam out to deeper water. As they bobbed in the waves, Luca looked up, as did Dawn, and saw the entire guest list standing along the wall laughing and waving. They grinned and waved back.
Antonio called down, “Did you two feel like you needed to be baptized on the same day?”
Then a speedboat appeared from the other side of the rocky shore, slowing the engine and maneuvering to pick up the couple. Luca helped Dawn onto the boat’s ladder, then jumped up and followed her.
“No, Dad,” he called, finally answering the elder’s question. “We just couldn’t wait to get started on our honeymoon.”
Dawn pointed to two carry-on bags. “We’re all packed and ready to go!”
He sat next to Dawn and kissed her with all the passion he could safely unleash. Then he put his arm around her, and they sped off into the sunset.
