‘Just don’t,’ she begged.
Raffa’s black eyes stared into hers, and then he lifted Rose’s ring hand to kiss her palm. ‘Whatever you say, Rose Kelly.’
There was nothing complicated about love, Rose concluded. When two people were meant to be together, nothing, not even fate, could intervene. She’d place her hand in Raffa’s with total confidence when they joined their lives forever.
Rose and her attendants were escorted to the beach by a Spanish guitarist. The tunes he played moved everyone to tears, or maybe the emotion was due to the mystery guest Raffa had included in the ceremony, as he’d promised Rose.
The reunion with her father, who was waiting for Rose on the beach, to walk her down an aisle composed of white rose petals, came as a complete surprise, and almost threw her. Regaining her composure as fast as she could, she was made up by the change in him. His eyes were clear and his bearing was proud, and he was obviously moved to see his only daughter. ‘How can I ever thank you?’ he began.
‘Don’t,’ she begged in a whisper as she linked her arm through his to bring him close. ‘You don’t have to thank me for anything. Your recovery is all down to you. You had to want it, and you had to find the strength to make it happen. I’m so proud of you, Dad, and so glad that you’re here. It could never be the same without you.’
‘D’you mean that, Rose?’
There were tears in her father’s eyes. ‘I do,’ she stated firmly.
Everything took on a new and brighter aspect as everyone stood to greet the bride. Rose was proud of her father, and so very thrilled to have him walk her down the aisle. In a few short words, he’d explained that Raffa had arranged for her brothers to bring him over. Leaving the retreat was a wrench, he explained, as now he was responding positively to therapy, he was able to help others, which was a much healthier focus than thinking about his next drink.
‘Just so long as I don’t have to leave the retreat, Rose. I’ve made my home there now. It’s somewhere I truly belong.’
‘According to Sofia Acosta, you have a job there for life, if you want it.’
‘I do want it,’ her father confirmed with feeling. ‘I love you, Rose. You’ve made everything possible, and I know I don’t deserve you.’
Raffa had made everything possible, Rose thought as she fixed her gaze on the man she loved, standing unshaven beneath a bridal arch lavishly decorated with flowers as delicate as he was strong.
‘Happy?’ Raffa whispered as her father placed Rose’s hand in his.
‘Always and forever when you’re around,’ she pledged with deep love and trust.
EPILOGUE
Four years later
LOOKINGBACKONthe last four years, since what had been termed in the press ‘the most romantic wedding of the year’, Rose wouldn’t have changed a single thing. Two gorgeous rosy-cheeked babies later, she had not had one moment of regret for marrying a man it seemed the entire world lusted after.
Family meant everything to him, Raffa said as he lifted three-year-old Ava Grace into her basket saddle, while baby Luke, who had already perfected the knack of making Acosta-style demands, waited impatiently for his turn.
‘And it’s great news that Máire wants to take on more responsibility for the retreat in Ireland.’
‘Now that I have more responsibility in Spain,’ Rose agreed as Raffa led the small Shetland pony while Rose walked alongside.
‘The good your father is doing, by helping others at the Irish retreat through his own experiences, is remarkable,’ Raffa commented with obvious pleasure.
‘Just my brothers to sort out now,’ Rose confirmed with feeling. The Kelly clan had gained a new notoriety in the press, thanks to their connection with the Acostas. Rose suspected her brothers weren’t altogether displeased about that. It had certainly upped their tally of conquests. They were creating havoc amongst the female population everywhere they went.
‘They’ll come to their senses eventually,’ Raffa soothed, reading her mind.
‘As you should know,’ Rose remarked wryly.
If it hadn’t been for Raffa insisting they could make it together far more successfully and enjoyably than they ever could apart, what would have happened to them? Raffa might never have transformed into the most caring husband and father, and she might have become a slave to her work, but now their happiness was infectious.Let’s hope it stretches to my next announcement, Rose thought.
‘Twins?’ Raffa exclaimed, pretending shock at the prospect.
‘Not man enough to cope?’ she teased, knowing full well that Raffa would be besotted by the new arrivals, and the very first to help out.
‘I couldn’t be happier,’ he assured her. ‘Anything and everything to do with you brings me more happiness than I could ever have imagined. As well as the best luck,’ he added, referencing a recent huge contract for the Acosta tech company, as well as the fact that Raffa had been voted polo player of the year for the third year in succession. ‘Or perhaps my luck’s due to this,’ he added, kissing Rose. ‘The more I kiss you...’
‘The more babies we make?’
‘Well, if you’re already pregnant I can’t do any more harm now, can I?’ he pointed out with a wicked smile.
Raffa stared deep and long into her eyes.
‘You’re all I’ll ever need, Rose Acosta. You’re the love of my life, the mother of my children, and I adore you, now and forever.’
