“I love you.”
“And I love you. Forever and always. In this life and the next.” He kisses me fiercely, causing me to blush since all eyes in the room have been on us this entire time. “And the one after that,” he vows.
I don’t know if I believe in reincarnation; but if anyone could hold up a promise about following me into the afterlife, it would be my husband.
My husband.Those words sound so foreign but sorightat the same time.
“You’re practically glowing,” Dimitri remarks as he stares at me for several long moments.
“That’s because I’m ridiculously happy right now,”I confess.
“Good. Because I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy before in my entire existence,” he says before pulling me close.
I glance around the room, watching everyone as they engage with each other. Old enemies becoming friends. Friends becoming lovers. It’s truly a sight. Weddings tend to bring out feelings and emotions that you maybe wouldn’t otherwise feel.
“Do you think Pavel is okay?” I ask Dimitri after the song ends and we return to our seats at the head table.
“If I know my brother half as much as I think I do, I would say he’s happier than he’s been in his entire existence as well,” he remarks with a smirk.
I nod in agreement. Pavel running away with his bodyguard was no doubt a difficult decision, but the only one he could have made in this situation. Our marriage would have been a sham. And instead of allowing his father to dictate his life, Pavel chose to be with the man he loves.
“I hope they have a wonderful life together,” I say honestly.
“I hope for the same,” Dimitri agrees.
While dinner is being served, I see Dimitri call over a kid who can’t be more than eight years old. He whispers something into the kid’s ear and then slips a twenty into his small hand. The little boy looks so excited by the money, which he promptly shoves into the pocket of his dress pants. And then he turns and grabs a full glass of red wine from our table before taking off with it.
“Uh, Dimitri?” I say, alarmed, but he promptly shushes me.
“Just wait and watch,” he assures me.
I watch in restrained dismay as the boy walks over to the table where all the parents are seated. He walks right up to Cosette, who is clearly his target, before he promptly dumps the glass of red wine down the front of her white dress.
Cosette jumps up, screaming and cursing as the little boy runs away, giggling. And then my stepmother is storming out of the room, completely appalled and embarrassed by what just occurred.
I gasp and then cover my mouth to stifle the laugh threatening to escape.
“It’s your day. Onlyyoushould be wearing white,” Dimitri leans over and whispers in my ear.
I turn and look at him. “I didn’t think it was possible to love you any more than I already did, but it just happened,” I confess in a whisper.
Dimitri smiles. An actual, genuine smile. And it’s so good to see him so damn happy on a day that was supposed to be lifechanging and horrible for both of us.
“Now, what did you say earlier about wanting to rip my dress off and taking me rough and hard like you’ve always dreamt about?” I ask before standing up and grabbing his hand.
“We’re leaving?” he questions.
“Well, maybe just a quicky before it’s time to cut the cake,” I tell him with a devilish grin.
As we sneak off to one of the changing rooms, it occurs to me that I really don’t know who is happier today — me or him. But then I decide that it doesn’t matter. We can both be equally happy and love each other for the rest of our lives. And that sounds like the perfect happy ending to me.
EPILOGUE
Dimitri
SAVINAAND I walk hand in hand on the beach. We’ve been on our honeymoon in Maldives for a few days. I look out over the water, which is so teal blue it looks unreal; like someone turned the saturation all the way up just for us.
We’ve been staying in an overwater bungalow, and it’s been the ultimate escape from reality. All the bad things that happened in our past just washed away the moment we arrived, and I think this trip was just the thing both of us needed.
