I brush her hair and spend another hour with her then I head home to Isabella.
I find her in the living room going through her stuff. We arranged for her things to be transported here from yesterday. Looks like everything is here.
She didn’t take much. It was a few boxes of her books, films and her clothes.
“Hey, you were supposed to wait for me to do that,” I tease.
“I thought I’d get a head start.”
“I don’t want you lifting anything,” I walk over to her, passing the boxes and give her one kiss on the lips for her and a kiss on her tiny stomach for the baby.
She laughs when I do that.
“You are so cute, I don’t have a bump yet.”
“Cute, Bellezza don’t let anybody hear you say that,” I chuckle. “I’ll be kissing my girl and kid every chance I get so you better get used to it.”
“I love you,” she says, words I want to hear over and over again.
It will mean even more with the plans I have up my sleeve. I can’t do anything about things I can’t control. I too hope that wherever Dominic is, he’s safe and he’ll be back soon.
Until then my focus is on making this woman mine.
“I love you too.”
Epilogue
Isabella
Four months later…
Massimo steps forward with our wedding rings. Father De Lucca blesses mine first and hands it to Tristan.
I’m doing my best to hold back the tears of joy but I find I can’t when Tristan takes my hand and stares back at me with so much love. His eyes are brimming with it.
He keeps hold of my hand and says, "I take this ring as a sign of our union and faithfulness in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit."
Tristan slips the ring on my finger and I feel the overflowing sense of happiness I always dreamed about.
Father De Lucca gives me Tristan’s ring and when I take his hand love rises and flows within me. I just want to savor the moment and remember today, our wedding as a day that was one of the best in my life.
I smile up at my dark knight and I remember the day I first met him. I remember so clearly that day in the park. I was upset. I wished my life would change and then he happened.
“I take this ring as a sign of our union and faithfulness,” I say. “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit."
“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” Father De Lucca declares and I become Isabella D’Agostino. What a great name change. “You may now kiss the bride.”
Tristan kisses me and our guest applaud.
It was a beautiful wedding.
As we pull apart I Iook at the people in the church who came to support us. Candace has the biggest smile on her face. She’s so happy for us and she’s become such a great friend to me over the last few months.
Next to her is Sacha. He walked me down the aisle and gave me away. I couldn’t have had a better person give me such an honor. If not for him there would have been many times in my life when I would have slipped into the dark, never to return.
He’s smiling at us but he also has the pride a father would have. He truly was the father I always wanted.
“Come on Bellezza, time to start this adventure of ours,” Tristan beckons and we take our stride down the aisle as husband and wife.
As we do I think of everything that’s happened in theses few months. I got everything I ever wanted, and get my life back on track to how I imagined it to be.
When Tristan and I got engaged I wanted to get married before I got bigger so the last few months have been busy with wedding arrangements, but also with arrangements for my career.
I got a job at the medical Centre here in LA and I’ll be able to work until I can’t. When the baby comes I’ll take enough leave and head back to the classroom to continue my studies and get my final qualifications to be a therapist.
It all worked out exactly how I wanted it to be.
And now Tristan and I are heading back to the island.
I can’t wait to get lost in him all over again, and again forever.