to them for inspection. “I don’t have any jewelry,” I said.
“You don’t need any,” Beatrice said with a smile.
I followed them out of the room, my curiosity growing as we headed not to the salon, but to the back door that led to the vineyard.
My breath caught when I saw Hadrian under the moonlight, dressed in a tuxedo. He was using a cane to stand upright, but his smile was boyish and devoid of pain as he looked at me. Hadrian stood on a wooden pavilion graced with fairy twinkle lights and long tapered candles.
My cousins and uncles were with him, and I couldn’t stop the sense of pride I felt when I saw him towering over them all.
Beatrice went to join her husband and Gisella clasped her hand with mine and together we walked toward my groom.
As I strolled down the aisle, my gaze drifted over Nico and his sons.
When I arrived at the altar, we halted. Gisella embraced me and whispered in my ear, “Be happy, cousin.”
Tears glistened in my eyes when I nodded at her, a smile pulling across my cheeks.
Hadrian took my hand. “Surprise.”
And there, under the full moon, on the hills of my ancestral home, I married Hadrian Rhys.
The family dined outdoors underneath the canopy of stars. Hadrian’s smile was bright and easy when he leaned toward me and brushed his lips across mine.
“Why didn’t you let me in on the secret of our midnight wedding?” I asked, breathless.
“I had this planned long before I knew about your family,” he said softly. “Only I wanted to marry you on the beach of my island. And for the record, I never planned on asking you to marry me.”
I arched a brow. “No?”
“No.” He grinned, shattering the solemnity of the moment. “I always planned on telling you that you were going to marry me.”
Letting out a chuckle, I looked down at the ring. Hadrian had slid a cushion cut amethyst flanked by diamonds and set in yellow gold onto my finger.
“Before all of this,” I said, waving to the hills and my family dining and conversing at a table not far away, “when were you planning on telling me to marry you?”
“As soon as The White Company left,” he said. “They sort of…spoiled my plans.”
“That soon?” I asked breathlessly.
“I didn’t want to wait.” His gaze softened. “As soon as you told me the truth about who you were, I knew I wanted you. Forever.”
We shared a tender look.
“My best friend missed my wedding,” I groaned. “She’s going to kill me.”
“She can get in line,” Hadrian said with a chuckle. “Ingrid is not going to be happy either. We’ll make it up to them. Though Ingrid’s idea of a wedding is a wee bit different than you might expect…”
“Different how?”
“Let’s just say it’s less wedding and more Viking fertility ritual.”
“Wow, okay…but I’m already pregnant,” I pointed out.
“We could still have the celebration. It involves bonfires, a psychotropic drink, and animal pelts. Though I think you should forgo the psychotropic drink.”
“Sign. Me. Up.”
Hadrian’s crack of laughter echoed into the night. “Tiffany should come to the island. I’d like to meet your friend.”
“She’d like to meet you, too.”
His expression sobered. “Everything that I have is yours.”
I couldn’t stop the hammering of my heart as his words penetrated. “Some people would call you foolish for saying that.”
“Some would,” he agreed. “But I knew from the beginning it was never about the money for you. I was never going to let you leave me. I’ll fight for you every day if I have to. I’ll protect you. I’ll love you. I’ll make you happy, Sterling.”
“My mother was wrong,” I said quietly.
“Oh? What about?”
“She told me all I had to do was survive. But that wasn’t enough, Hadrian. I had to fall in love—I had to have a reason for living.”
With stars in my eyes and a dreamy smile on my lips, I leaned over to kiss my husband, the love of my life, the man who had fought for me, and who would fight for me always.
No woman could wish for anything more.
Epilogue
Three months later
* * *
I stood on the balcony that overlooked the ocean. Winter air cooled my heated cheeks but did nothing to douse the flame of desire that burned brighter now than ever before.
The sound of tumultuous waves hit my ears, making me smile.
I heard his soft footsteps, slow, labored. Hadrian was still healing.
His arms enveloped me from behind, tucking me into his protective embrace as his flaming red