‘Oh, darling.’ Her mother’s eyes were bright with tears, and her smile was trembling as they hugged.
They linked arms and, with Alicia following, they walked along the jetty across to the house, where four men were standing in a semi-circle, waiting for them.
Philip. Robert. Basa. And Emiliano, the celebrant who was going to conduct their wedding ceremony.
Something was dislodged inside her as her gaze rested on the man who was already her husband.
They had married at the Civil Registry Office in Buenos Aires, with only Alicia and Philip for witnesses. Neither of them had wanted a fuss, but both of them had known that they wanted to repeat the ceremony out in Patagonia, on the island where their love had finally overcome the scandal of their past.
And they were no longer alone in putting the past behind them. Both Robert Caine and her mother had accepted their relationship—accepted and encouraged it. She glanced affectionately back at her friend. For Alicia, of course, the past had never been an obstacle.
Her mother gave her arm a squeeze, and as they stopped in front of Basa her heart began to pound. He looked so incredibly handsome in a dark suit and pale blue shirt and, in a gesture towards the new openness they shared, the top button of his shirt was undone.
‘Hi,’ he said softly.
Gazing into his eyes, she saw tears that mirrored her own and felt her chest swell with absolute unconditional love as he took her hand in his.
* * *
The ceremony seemed to pass in seconds. But then from the moment Mimi had stepped off the boat, her veil fluttering in the breeze, time had ceased to matter, Basa thought, his chest tightening as she looked up into his eyes.
Her pale blonde hair was caught loosely at the nape of her neck and she was wearing a simple blue ombré slip dress the same colour as the sapphire engagement ring he had given her, for the mix of gold and blue reminded him of the sky that day they had spent in the hot air balloon.
He didn’t think he had ever seen her look more beautiful.
Speaking his vows, watching Mimi speak hers, he felt his heart would burst—and not just with love, but with the knowledge of how close they had come to losing each other.
They hadn’t been apart at all since that day in Alicia’s kitchen, and last night he’d missed her unbearably. Now, despite the emotional intensity of the words they were saying to one another, he almost wished the ceremony was over, so he could pull her into his arms and hold her close.
Of course she was already his wife, but the ceremony in Buenos Aires had felt like a simple legal formality. He glanced past her at the clusters of evergreens, at the high cloud-capped peaks in the distance. For him, this was what their marriage was about. Standing here with the epic majesty of nature as their witness, with everyone they loved beside them.
But not quite everyone, he thought sadly. Although he could sense his mother in Alicia’s soft eyes and gentle smile.
After the ceremony was over they ate a late lunch—lamb, straight from the hot yellow blaze of Lionel’s willow-framed asado. Then there were speeches, and everyone toasted the marriage with a Merlot from Robert’s estate. Seeing both their families talking and smiling in the sunshine made their marriage feel doubly blessed.
Much, much later, when the fire was a dull orange core, everyone retreated inside the house. But Basa led Mimi down to where Claudia had lit the deck with hundreds of tiny night lights.
Pulling her down onto the lounger beside him, he kissed her softly. ‘I missed you yesterday.’
‘I missed you too,’ she whispered. ‘But it was worth it. For today.’
He buried his face in her hair, breathing in her scent. ‘Are you sure? I mean, I know we decided not to go for a big wedding...’
His sister’s wedding had been vast. A three-day affair, with hundreds of guests, starting with a tango-themed party at the house in Buenos Aires and ending with the ceremony here in Patagonia. It had been the perfect society event, but he’d spent the whole time feeling grateful that he wasn’t going to have to go through all that with his own wedding. Now he wanted to be certain that Mimi felt the same way too.
Her blue eyes flickered in the candlelight. ‘I’m sure. I mean, look at this...’ She waved up at the star-pierced darkening sky. ‘We have our very own cathedral, all to ourselves—and, besides, I have everything and everyone that matters right here.’
Her cheeks were flushed with happiness, her eyes alive with warmth and love.
He tilted her face up to his and said softly, ‘I do too. Now and for ever.’
And, lowering his mouth, he kissed her until their heads were filled with stars that were brighter than the ones in the sky above...
* * *
If you were swept away by Craving His Forbidden Innocent lose yourself in these other stories by Louise Fuller!
Revenge at the Altar
Demanding His Secret Son
Consequences of a Hot Havana Night
Proof of Their One-Night Passion
Available now!
Keep reading for an excerpt from Redemption of the Untamed Italian by Clare Connelly.
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Redemption of the Untamed Italian
by Clare Connelly
PROLOGUE
HE WASN’T SURE why, but Cesare paused outside the restaurant a moment, looking through the deep-glass windows at the elegant scene inside. The room was warmly lit, the crowd painfully fashionable.
He stood on the outside looking in and couldn’t fail to appreciate the irony. As a child, he’d often been like this: standing outside rooms of wealth and privilege, kept physically distinct, separate from and unwanted by that world. Even as a teenager with a scholarship placement at the best school in England he’d felt outside the norm. He’d been different and everyone had known it. Unlike the sons of ancient, wealthy families who’d formed the student ranks, he’d been only the son of a poor single mother, a woman who’d served as a nanny to that kind of family.
Now, though, as he looked into the restaurant, he knew places like this existed for the likes of him. He would walk in and people would part as a wave, making way for him, admiring him, wanting his attention. He knew because it was what always happened these days.
He scanned the trendy ‘it’ spot until his eyes landed on his table. He recognised Laurence immediately, the man who was so desperate for Cesare to invest in his hedge fund he was practically at begging point. A dark smile tinted Cesare’s lips. When he’d been a young boy thrown into the world of the British aristocracy, and seen as lesser than it in every way, he’d sworn he would make men of this ilk pay. He’d sworn he would be better, bigger, more successful always. He swore he would make his fortune and he swore he would make them pay.
His eyes slid unconsciously to Laurence’s companion. Not his companion, his cousin, Cesare remembered, his smile turning mocking now. It was an obvious ploy to win Cesare’s favour, or perhaps distract him from matters of business. His reputation as a womaniser was well-established and he was unapologetic for that. He liked women, different women and often. If Laurence thought having her at this dinner meeting would make an ounce of difference to Cesare’s investment plans, he didn’t understand the kind of fortitude and intention Cesare brought to his business life.
Jemima Woodcroft was every bit as beautiful in the flesh as all the billboards would have you believe, though. The supermodel leaned across to her cousin, speaking close to his ear, and Laurence nodded, laughing. She in turn smiled, and her eyes flashed with something that sparked a light of curiosity inside Cesare
.
Something else, too. Desire.
She was just the kind of woman Cesare usually chose to take to bed: beautiful, sophisticated and, if the media reports were to be believed, as happy to employ a revolving door with her bed as he was with his. Her hand pulled her hair over one shoulder, and manicured fingers toyed with its length distractedly, so two vivid images leaped into his mind unbidden: her nails running down his body, pale fingers against tanned flesh and her hair forming a curtain around her face as she straddled him, looking down at him, her face tortured by passion.
Suddenly, the night was looking up.
He pushed into the restaurant with a sense of anticipation. Like the steady beating of a drum, it filled his chest. The world was at Cesare’s feet—he’d worked hard to make sure of that—and he doubted he’d ever grow tired of reaping the rewards.
Copyright © 2020 by Clare Connelly
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ISBN: 9781488059209
Craving His Forbidden Innocent
Copyright © 2020 by Louise Fuller
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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Craving His Forbidden Innocent Page 17
