by Pippa Roscoe
She willed away the tears that threatened to fall. She did not want to share them with these people. She would hold them to her in the darkest of nights, but not let them fall here, beneath the streams of sunlight falling through the stained-glass windows.
As she reached the top of the aisle where the priest stood, but the groom did not, she turned. Her mother’s sad smile, encouraging and understanding, was full of love and that was all Sofia needed.
She took a breath, ready with the words she had prepared just in case...
The sound of the large wooden door being pulled open with a force that screeched across its hinges cut through the silence and there, cast in shadow amongst the brilliant rays of sunshine, was Theo Tersi.
The open promise of love shining bright in his eyes was what she’d longed to see and a sob of joy escaped her, the smile no longer forced, but came to her lips without hesitation. He took proud, deep and quick steps towards her, perhaps a little unceremoniously, closing the gap between them in moments, pulling her close and into a passionate kiss full of love and joy, much to the twittering giggles from the church’s many guests.
‘I’m sorry I’m late,’ he said in between delicate presses of his lips to hers.
‘I thought you might not come.’
‘I will always come for you.’ He whispered the vow into her ear and her heart.
* * *
Theo pulled her close to him, her heart beating against his, through the layers of clothing and skin. Only then did he allow himself to breathe. He had returned to his mother’s house only the day before, and listened to the message Sofia had left on his voicemail and left almost immediately, breaking every speed-limit law in two countries to get to his future bride.
The wild beating of his heart, caused from his desperate run to the church, showed no signs of slowing. And he knew that nothing would prevent it other than the words of love he longed to hear from Sofia in person.
For the second time that day the church’s doors were thrown open and Sebastian launched himself through the doors, to find the entire church staring at him. With a half laugh, half gasp, he bent double, his hands on his knees, dragging in giant lungful’s of air into his chest, causing even more laughter amongst the guests than the kiss Theo had shared with Sofia.
‘We would have been here sooner, but it seems there is a no-fly zone over the church and we had to leave the helicopter about a mile away.’
‘Two miles,’ groaned Sebastian as he came to join them at the top of the aisle.
As the priest called for silence and calm, drew the guests to their role of witnesses to the marriage between Sofia and Theo, neither the bride nor groom paid heed to the ceremony, lost to each other and the love that shimmered between them. But before the priest began the vows, Sofia interrupted him.
‘I have my own vows,’ she whispered to the priest. ‘If that is okay?’ He gestured for her to continue.
Sofia took Theo’s hand in hers.
‘Theo, when we first met, you didn’t know my title, you didn’t know me as a princess, you simply knew me. You loved that person and gave her a happiness, joy and love that she had never known before. I lost a little of myself when I—’ she nodded, holding back the tears ‘—when I left you that day ten years ago. A piece that I never thought I would get back. But in the last few weeks you uncovered that lost part of me, you showed me that I could be and have both parts of the life I so desperately wanted. And that piece was you. You were the first man I ever loved, and will be the last and only man I want by my side, whatever comes next. I want to share my joys, my heartaches and my future with you, every day.
‘There are promises that I could make, some that I could struggle to keep, but the only important one is that, although I might be Queen one day, and although I will wear the crown and must think of my country first...it is our love that I will put first, because that is what gives me the strength to be Queen, to be me to the best of my ability. My love for you. My heart has, and always will be, yours.’
* * *
And as she spoke the words of her heart, Theo felt a rightness settle about his shoulders. And for the first time in so many years he finally felt whole, just as she had described.
‘Sofia, you know better than most how hard the past ten years have been for me. I used to wish it had been another way. An easier way. But a very wise woman recently told me that nothing in life that is meaningful is easy. And now I wouldn’t take each and every one of those hard days back for the world. Because they led me to you.
‘I don’t have fancy words to describe my love for you. I have only the truth in my heart, that lets me know that you are, and always have been, the only woman I would give everything for. The hard days and the good. Because you have always seen me, the truth of me, and loved me in spite of my flaws, in spite of my actions and in spite of the consequences. And I promise you here today, with eight hundred witnesses—’ Theo paused, letting the gentle laughter of the congregation flow over the outpouring of love he felt for Sofia in his heart, before he continued ‘—I promise to love you, to hold you to me when things are not easy, to hold you to me when you need strength and when I do, and to hold you when we need nothing more than each other. Because you are my strength, my love and my heart.’
The truth of his words settled into the tears that pressed against his eyelids, and barely had the words left the priest’s mouth declaring that he could finally, finally, kiss his wife, he poured his heart and soul into the kiss that would seal their marriage.
* * *
That evening, Sofia and Theo danced their first dance as man and wife to ‘At Last’ in front of the guests gathered for the evening’s reception. The words of the song wound around their hearts as the cheers and joy of the entire room welled up around them. That night they made love, so heartfelt and poignant it felt like a dream, and it was the night they conceived their first child. Through the years to come, there would be tears of joy at the birth of their daughter, and later their son. There would be sleepless nights as Iondorra weathered the difficult revelation of Sofia’s father’s dementia, but there were early nights when as a family they came together to share their love. There would be tears of grief and sadness as their parents passed, but throughout it all they held each other close, whispering words of love and comfort that settled the beating of their hearts each and every single day they would share together.
* * *
If you enjoyed Virgin Princess’s Marriage Debt you’re sure to enjoy these other stories by Pippa Roscoe!
Conquering His Virgin Queen
A Ring to Take His Revenge
Claimed for the Greek’s Child
Reclaimed by the Powerful Sheikh
Available now
Keep reading for an excerpt from The Innocent’s Emergency Wedding by Natalie Anderson.
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The Innocent’s Emergency Wedding
by Natalie Anderson
CHAPTER ONE
‘YOU CAN’T MAKE me marry him. You can’t make me marry anyone...’
Katie Collins perched nervously on the plush chair in the vast reception room of Zed Enterprises, gripping her bag and reminding herself to breathe often enough to remain conscious. If she’d had more pride—or any other option—she’d have walked out over an hour ago, but the threats relentlessly circling in her head had forced her to remain. He was the one person who had the power to help.
‘If you won’t marry him you can leave right now, and you know that would kill her—’
Katie blinked the horror away and focused on her surroundings. Alessandro Zetticci’s offices showcased a sleek, minimalist style—steel and chrome screamed masculine sophistication and the wealth he’d accumulated in an astoundingly short time. It didn’t surprise her. He’d always had the knack of knowing what people wanted.
It had been a decade since she’d seen him and, while certain aspects of that particular visit were branded in her brain, she was acutely aware that he mightn’t even remember who she was. She’d have to remind him before begging for his benevolence.
‘You’ll be homeless. So will the woman who’s spent years caring for you, you ungrateful little b—’
Katie again blocked the echo of the viciousness her foster father had spat at her. Seeking distraction, she glanced at the receptionist. Dressed in a sleek navy skirt and smooth white blouse, the tall blonde looked like a chic French movie star, ageing with impossible grace. Katie was also wearing a navy skirt with a white blouse, but where the receptionist’s was silk, Katie’s was synthetic, and right now it was sticking to her. Outclassed, out of place...she was never quite good enough—
Katie stiffened, snapping out of the self-pity. She didn’t need fancy clothes, given she worked in the orchards and the kitchen most of the time.
‘You can’t refuse after all I’ve done for you—’
A trickle of sweat slithered down her back, even though the building was beautifully climate-controlled. Her body was literally leaking her nerves. She uncurled her grip on her bag for the twentieth time. Only to immediately clutch the strap again as if it were her lifeline.
She’d not made an appointment, and it was sheer luck that Alessandro was in the office at all today. Too late she realised she had no idea what she’d have done if he hadn’t been. She still had no idea what she was going to do if he said no.
‘Don’t you want to be a real member of the family?’
That attempt at manipulation had stabbed deep. So after all this time Katie was still an outsider? She’d always felt Brian hadn’t wanted her, but for him to state it so explicitly, for him to try to force her into doing something insane... She was still an outsider. Still just someone who owed...
‘Do you want to watch her devastation?’
And that was the problem. She did owe Susan, her foster mother. She more than owed her—she loved her, and she had to protect her.
‘Ms Collins?’ The elegant receptionist finally interrupted her anxious reverie. ‘Alessandro is ready to see you now.’
Katie’s heart skidded. She was seized with the urge to bolt in the other direction. Instead she followed the older woman, drawing in a deep breath as she went.
It was a good thing she did, because the second she walked into his office her lungs, like the rest of her, were rendered immobile. She’d looked at recent pictures on the train ride here, so she’d thought she’d be immune. She’d been wrong. Alessandro Zetticci in the flesh was overwhelming.
Katie couldn’t smile as the receptionist left—couldn’t even see what the room was like, because she couldn’t peel her gaze from where he stood behind his desk. Flashes of rogue memory burned. Alessandro in the orchard. His smile. His low laugh. His broad shoulders...
She blinked, desperately focusing on him here and now and clothed.
His jet-black hair was straight and long enough to flop in his eyes. His sculpted cheekbones were emphasised by the razor-sharp edge of a perfectly symmetrical, masculine jaw. Lightly stubbled rather than clean-shaven, he looked as if it wasn’t long since he’d left his bed. Long black lashes and dark eyebrows framed his arresting eyes. Powder blue, they were brightly backlit by fierce burning intensity.
If she hadn’t known better she’d have thought he wore coloured contact lenses, but Katie had seen him sullen and silent over the breakfast table and at Christmas dinners long gone by, and even then, when he’d been moody and resentful, his eyes had glowed with that brilliance.
His mouth had a natural sinful curve, a permanent wicked half-smile—as if he were thinking something slightly inappropriate. It was a mouth made to kiss. Katie remembered that.
The top button of his white shirt was undone, exposing a deeply tanned neck. That tan was an all-over one. Katie remembered that too.
The man was appallingly handsome. The kind of gorgeous rarely seen in the streets, that made ordinary people turn for a second, third, fourth look.
But it wasn’t only his smouldering looks that drew people’s attention. It was the energy that crackled from him. He had vitality—a kind of fire that drew everyone around him in. It was what had made his empire so massive, so quickly. Because of that smile and that aura of amusement, everyone wanted to lean closer, seduced by the self-assurance that glowed in his eyes.
More than self-assurance he had arrogance—a pure don’t-give-a-damn attitude that made him impossibly popular and his investments an unparalleled triumph. He looked ready for something far more enjoyable and intimate than business. He looked like a man with a wicked ability to have a good time. And he followed through on that appearance. He was irresistible—catnip to pretty much every woman in the world. And he was happy to be played with. But never caught.
Katie definitely remembered that.
Yet Alessandro Zetticci had faced hardship too. Katie was counting on that fact to make him human. Make him understand. Make him want to help.
Now she blinked again, breaking the mortifying immobility his appearance had engendered and stepped deeper into his domain. He didn’t greet her—didn’t say anything. His swift glance seemed to take her in and dismiss her all in one second.
‘I’m Katie Collins,’ she began, her embarrassment blooming in the face of his uncharacteristic frigidity. ‘I live at White Oaks Hall with Brian Fielding—’
He still didn’t smile. ‘I don’t need you to remind me who you are, Katie.’
‘I wasn’t sure you’d remember—’
‘How could I possibly forget?’ Displeasure and disapproval flashed in his eyes.
Faltering at his unfriendly demeanour, Katie licked her dry lips. She’d done nothing to him. Certainly she’d meant nothing to him.
Alessandro Zetticci had stalked into Katie’s life when he was a sullen fifteen and she a very shy ten. His father, famed Italian chef Aldo Zetticci, had just married Brian’s sister Naomi. Brian and Naomi were close, so Aldo and Alessandro had joined the extended Fielding family for holidays at White Oaks—much to Alessandro’s obvious resentment.
Only a couple of years later Aldo had died. Alessandro and Naomi had then clashed on the future of his father’s food empire. Brian had backed Naomi. Petulant and fiery, Alessandro had fought hard, flaring up at Brian’s interference.
‘If you go now, you’ll never be welcome back here.’
Brian’s banishment of Alessandro had terr
ified her at the time.
‘Don’t mention him again.’
Brian had whirled on her when she’d fearfully asked where Alessandro had gone. She’d been too young to understand everything, but had known that in no way had it all been Alessandro’s fault. In any case, Alessandro’s ideas for his father’s company couldn’t have been that bad, given he’d gone on to build his own business with such success.
He’d always been determined and strong. But from the look in his eyes now he was also unforgiving.
Katie cleared her throat and forced herself to speak anyway. ‘I have a proposition for you.’
One jet-black eyebrow arched. ‘How intriguing.’
His tone couldn’t have sounded less intrigued or any more dismissive.
Irritation stiffened her. She was too desperate to cope with casual dismissal. ‘I work at White Oaks,’ she carried on. ‘I’ve developed some sauces made from our produce. They sell very well.’
She paused, because so far he was bored-looking. Her desperation swiftly blew up to all-out pain.
‘Cut to the chase, Katie,’ he drawled. ‘What do you want from me?’
She was so thrown by the reality of Alessandro in the flesh, so intimidated by that look in his eyes, that she forgot the little speech she’d carefully prepared to try to convince him. It just tumbled out with no further preamble.
‘I want you to marry me.’
His eyes widened, the black heart of his pupils all but swallowed the fiery brilliant blue. The rest of him didn’t move. He didn’t even seem to be breathing.
‘Not for real of course,’ she hastened to add awkwardly. ‘In name only. And not for long.’
‘You want me to marry you?’ he repeated slowly. ‘That was not what I expected you to say.’
Katie tensed, unable to read his expression, but then he threw back his unfairly handsome head and laughed. It seemed he’d not heard anything as entertaining in eons. And it was utterly insulting.
