When she and Angelo were pronounced husband and wife, Angelo turned to her and slowly lifted the sheer veil over her head, letting it fall back to drape behind her from the comb nestled in her hair.
“Our love defies gravity and logic.
Amidst the celestial backdrop, we find solace.
Embracing in a realm of infinite possibility
Stunning hues mirror the intensity of our hearts
As we float, forever more
On the sweetest rising tide of us.”
It was a quote from Harrison Maslow’s poem “And We Float,” one of her favorites. When Angelo leaned down, his lips meeting hers as the sun’s rays boldly came into the stained glass windows of the nave, pouring colored light over everyone. The sweetly burning fire of Angelo’s kiss would be forever imprinted upon her lips. The sunlight warmed her skin, and she moved closer to her husband. And in that moment she felt the strangest sense of being infinite… as though this single kiss had forever cast her and Angelo’s souls into the stars.
Memories played across her mind as she closed her eyes and chased those stars.
In that moment she found herself flying backward through time…
She stood in the soup kitchen, her body cold from the snowy night. The door opened, letting in a tall, dark stranger, snowflakes whirling around him as though he were a night star with a thousand glimmering worlds in his orbit. His face turned her way and the moment froze them time. Their eyes locked, their destinies colliding in a flash of light.
Somehow… somehow, Kara had known then in that moment that she’d found her charming prince… her hero… her bestfriend… the man who would show her how to stop running and recognize that she had a life to live in this bright, beautiful world.
When their lips parted, the church filled with cheers, but Kara could only hear the wild, joyous beating of her heart as she stared into Angelo’s eyes.
Later that night, Angelo carried Kara over the threshold into the villa they had rented for the next two weeks for their honeymoon.
“Put me down!” She laughed but clutched his shoulders tighter.
“Only when I found our bed.” Angelo chuckled as he walked them back toward the biggest bedroom at the back of the villa.
He placed Kara down on the soft mattress, and she lay back for a moment, staring up at the ceiling with a little giggle.
“What?” he asked as he bent to remove his shoes and socks. Then he knelt in front of her voluminous skirts as she sat up on the edge of the bed.
“It just feels too wonderful.” She admitted this as she let him part the slit of her skirts further to expose her legs. He curled his hands around one of her calves and trailed his fingertips gently down her ankle which made her giggle again. Then he carefully slipped the ivory high heels she wore off one foot, then the other. He placed her shoes beside his own on the floor and then straightened.
“I think you are long overdue for a little wonderful,” he said as he shrugged out of his suit coat and tossed it over nearby chair.
He unbuttoned his shirt, setting aside the cufflinks she had given him as gift on the nearby table along with his tie beforehe took his shirt off. He felt Kara’s eyes on him, the hungry gaze of a woman ready to be well-loved. Kara got to her feet and reached out a hand, tracing the now slowly fading pink scar on his abdomen. Her lashes fluttered as she looked up at him.
Angelo knew she was thinking about the night they met. It played so often in his own mind, but it was no longer a nightmare or a moment of fear. It was a glowing moment in time where fate had called his name, and he had answered. When he had chosen to trust the universe, it had given him the most precious treasure he’d ever have… the greatest love of his life.
“I would do it all over again,” he whispered to his wife. “I would stand between you and dangereverytime.” It wasn’t just a promise but a vow.
She pressed a kiss to his bare chest before she lifted her face up to his.
Her Irish blue eyes were a deep, calm sea.
“I wish I had the words powerful enough to tell you how much you mean to me, Angelo.”
He cupped her face in his palms, brushing away a stray tear with one thumb.
“Just say ‘I love you.’ That will be fine,” he teased.
She sniffled and smiled. “I love you. I love you. ...I...love you.” The words rang like a bell in his heart.
He kissed her, claiming Kara’s perfect mouth while his hands found the laces at the back of her gown and gently pulled at the ties until they loosened and she was able to step free of the dress. She was naked except for her panties and garter, and she sat back on the bed, a vision of pure loveliness with curves for him to explore the rest of their wedding night.
