Public Marriage, Private Secrets - By Helen Bianchin Page 0,55

silently, and set about achieving all four before slipping her feet into the elegant ivory stilettos.

The gown was perfection, in ivory silk and lace crafted to enhance her slender curves, with three-quarter sleeves, a delicately scooped neckline.

With care she attached the ear-studs, fastened the pendant…then she did a final close check of her make-up and added the lightest touch of blusher.

Time to go She took a deep breath, soothed the faint onset of nerves, then collected the bouquet of tightly bunched white roses and walked to the head of the curved staircase to join Raúl at its base.

He stood tall and magnificently male, his muscular frame attired in a formal dark suit, crisp white shirt and silk tie.

The look on his face was something she’d hold fast in her heart for as long as she lived. Love, naked in all its facets. For her. Only her.

For a moment it seemed as if he rendered her boneless, then she offered a shaky smile, placed a hand on the balustrade and began to descend.

Teresa waited to one side, her features alive with happiness as Raúl took the stairs and met Gianna halfway, then caught hold of her hand and brought it to his lips.

Eyes as dark as sin captured and held her own. ‘Beautiful,’ he complimented huskily.

Everything faded into the periphery of her vision…the magnificent foyer, Teresa, everything.

There was only Raúl…the heart and essence of the man who would remain a constant throughout their life together…the electrifying knowledge that he was the other half of her soul…and that nothing, no one, would have the power to destroy what they shared.

‘Thank you.’ Quiet words that conveyed more, so much more than polite acknowledgement.

His mouth curved into a smile that transformed his features, and held her transfixed for several heart-stopping seconds as he sought her mouth with his own in a gentle evocative kiss that lingered a little too long…and left her with a delicious breathlessness she fought to control.

He trailed his lips over her cheek to hover at her ear. ‘Ready to do this?’

Gianna had never been more sure of anything in her life. ‘Yes.’

Raúl reached for her hand and threaded his fingers through her own as they descended the remaining stairs to the foyer, where Teresa came forward to embrace them both.

‘Bless you,’ Teresa said quietly, and blinked rapidly to dispel the threat of tears.

Raúl curved an arm around his mother’s waist, and together the three of them crossed the foyer to the lounge, where a few close friends had gathered in the presence of a priest.

The formal reaffirmation took place—solemn words delivered with meaningful intent—after which Raúl spoke his personal vows, his eyes never leaving Gianna’s own.

Heartfelt words which brought the shimmer of tears as she struggled to contain her composure.

Time stood still and it seemed as if they were the only two people in the room, with everything coalescing into this single moment.

There were words she’d rehearsed in her mind, except they weren’t the ones she uttered. Instead, she said what was in her heart…imprinted on her soul.

‘I gift you my love,’ she vowed quietly. ‘Everything, for as long as I live…and beyond.’

Her eyes dilated as Raúl cradled her face between both hands and kissed her with such incredible gentleness every that nerve-end deep within burst into vibrant life.

It seemed an age before he released her, and she stood feeling faintly bemused as a few of the guests clapped their approval and broke into delighted laughter.

The priest’s eyes twinkled as he blessed the rings, and Gianna’s lips parted as Raúl slid a ring studded with diamonds onto her finger, followed it with a magnificent solitaire. Then he removed a ring from his suit pocket and slid it onto a finger on her right hand.

Her original wedding ring—the one she’d removed and handed to him this morning…the one he’d chosen for her to keep. The new rings on her left hand signified a new beginning.

Her heart lurched a little as his eyes seared her own, dark, slumbrous with emotion.

Its significance didn’t escape her, and her eyes dilated as he took hold of her hands and brought both to his lips in a silent touching salutation, merging the past with the present, together with the promise of their future.

Then it was her turn to remove the circlet with its twin row of diamonds she’d bought as her gift for him, and she followed his lead by placing the new ring on his left hand, before slipping his original wedding ring onto his