My father and a woman who sang opposite him announced our arrival by duet, lyrics in Italian and English.
“The Prayer.”
In the dim glow of a candlelit church on a secluded island in the Mediterranean, while the sea outside rushed to shore, healing all wounds with its salt water, I married the woman who walked out of my heart, leaving behind a lioness who would nurture her king for the rest of his life, while he sheltered and protected his queen for the rest of hers.
Chapter 28
The Romantic Moon over the Mediterranean leads to Dancing and...Much More
We had decided the reception would be held in a secluded spot on the island.
Right.A secluded spot on a secluded island. But…
It was a place visitors visited to get a feel for a world long gone. To reach the abandoned shell of the 15thcenturycastello, a dramatic drawbridge from the island had to be taken, and once over the inlet, the remains of what had once been royal stood, complete with stone towers and defensive battlements. Thecastellowas perched on the top of its own hill overlooking the whispering sea.
The interior had been touched by the hand of time and the rough elements of the sea, so the frescoes depicted on the walls reminded me of art that had been pulled from the depths of the water, somehow faded but preserved at the same time.
The first time we explored thecastello, Rocco had kissed my hand and told me a story. The man who had built thecastellohad built it for his mistress. He had brought her to the island to get her alone by promising her a world filled with riches and…him. The frescoes played out their love story, even down to courtly interactions between the lovers in adrammaticofashion.
Over a thousand candles must have been lit to give the insideof thecastelloan unearthly glow, and they spread along the floors, on tables set out for seating, in a variety of heights and widths. In the oscillating light, the frescoes seemed to come alive like I hadn’t noticed before. The swaying of the burning wicks gave them movement, instead of the garish light of day bringing to light the harsh reality of time. The thousands of flowers in contrast to the ancient stone…so romantic. It married the primeval and the modern in a union that would, no doubt, live on in our memories forever.
Rocco kept my hand firmly in his, leading me through thecastelloto the “yard,” where all our guests waited around a dance floor that had been built.
My hand squeezed his. I didn’t want to move yet. Didn’t want to rush through this night. The “yard” was the entire reason I fell in love with thecastellofor our reception. It had been overrun and reminded me of a magical forest created by land and sea. And for us, it had not been tamed, but… I wasn’t sure how many twinkling—fairy?—lights had been strung up in the trees, or how the decorator had managed to bring the magical forest to life by adding flowers that seamlessly tied together nature and the decorative touch of a person, but she had.
It seemed like the stars had been brought down, and the forest had exploded with flowers. The colors didn’t detract from the natural scenery but added to it—cream, white, gold, and green.
When my attention broke and I looked at my husband—my husband!—he was staring at me, all that shining light in his sea-green eyes, but it wasn’t from the light at all.
It was from me.
I smiled at him.
He grinned at me, taking my hand, breathing me in, then placed a soft kiss on my pulse.
“This pleases you, my Amora,” he whispered, his voice gruff and so masculine.
“Yes,” I whispered back, having a hard time catching my breath. He was the real reason behind this. The reason for it all.
All that was needed was him.
All.
That.
Was.
Needed.
Consider the power in that statement—all that was needed, and none of it had to do with what money could buy.
Not an actual place, but a soul that could sustain me for the rest of my life.
Shelter me.
Nourish me.
Love me.
