Sasha Ramirez
I do I do I do
“Are you ready, my darling?” Mama asked as she smoothed my hair from my forehead and fussed with the strap of my dress. I nodded, though nerves fluttered in my belly. Not because I had any doubts whatsoever. The man waiting at the end of the aisle for me was my destiny.
I couldn’t shake the memories of what had happened the last time we’d walked this path. The horrors that followed would haunt me for the rest of my days.
“You are afraid, Sasha,” Mama said. It wasn’t a question. She could see it in the anxious movements of my hands, the sharpness of my breath.
I gave a small nod.
“You have love for this man,” she continued. I nodded again. “This is not the reason for your fear.” She understood me perfectly. I was often amazed at how well she read me. So many of my formative years had been spent out of her care. I knew she regretted that. She’d done the best she could. I would never burden her with the pain that had been inflicted upon me in that time. Only Alec – my Prince – and I would ever discuss that again. He knew how to ease the hurt better than anyone. It made me smile now.
“This is a good man you have chosen,mija,” she said with a gentle smile. “I have seen how he looks at you. Even before the troubles.” My mom still couldn’t seem to bring herself to discuss the kidnapping in detail. She’d almost seemed more traumatized than I was in those first few days after her return. But then again, I’d been more concerned about Alec’s recovery than my own shattered nerves. I’d been safe and healthy. He’d been the one hanging grimly to that frail thread of life.
“He will keep you safe, Sasha,” my mother went on. “What you have been through…it is more than most will ever endure.” I nodded. She was right. And now, I didn’t feel unsettled anymore. It had only confirmed what I already knew about this relationship. It was what I needed. The balm to my soul. The thing that would heal me. Heal my family. We’d been closer than ever since it all happened. As I thought of my brother, a light tap on the door drew my attention, and Emilio opened it cautiously.
“Are you ready,princesa?” he asked. He’d dressed in the white shirt and trousers we’d chosen for the day, his hair carefully slicked into place. He looked like a conscientious schoolboy on his first day at school. It made my heart warm. The little boy I remembered lurked in those dark eyes.
“So ready, Emi,” I replied, turning to reach for my bridal arrangement of hibiscus blooms. Mama had it waiting and pressed it into my hands. Her eyes were dark and moist with emotion. She looked away self-consciously and smoothed a hand over the line of my dress. Not white this time. The roundness of my belly made white seem inappropriate. And I’d had a hard time thinking of another pristine wedding gown after the bloody mess my kidnappers had made of the white satin of my previous dress.
Today I was in cerise silk. The form-fitting lines clung to my curves and made a statement of my pregnancy. I was still months away, but the soft swell was beautiful to me, and I wanted everyone to see it. Spaghetti straps left my shoulders and arms bare, and as we left the room, a warm breeze fluttered over my skin. It was heavenly.
A pair of dark-suited men were posted on either side of the door, staring impassively forward. When Prince had told me I’d have constant guards, I hadn’t fought him. I’d already learned the hard way what could happen when I grew complacent about security. And I knew it set his mind at ease. Who could blame him? I worried about letting him out of my sight, too.
The men fell silently into step behind us as we made our way out of the resort toward the private beach below our island retreat. This would be a very different wedding than what we’d previously planned. Just our families and a few close friends. The people who mattered. Bella, Alec’s estranged sister, had joined us for the day. She’d been received with open arms, even by Drew, who’d softened in the past few months. The fear of loss will humble a man – loss of livelihood, loss of a child. We’d all been shaken by how close it had been.
Renée was waiting at the top of the path that led to the sand. Soft music was playing from somewhere and blended with the sound of waves and ocean breezes. I raised the skirt of my dress and stepped barefoot onto the beach.
Along the shoreline, a cluster of guests turned to look up at me, but I didn’t take in their faces. Only one had my attention.
Alec Walker…my Prince.
The man I was going to spend the rest of my life with. When his eyes met mine, it was as if we were alone on that beach together. A flood of emotion washed over me, and I swallowed down a tiny sob. All my plans to walk gracefully along the little path toward him evaporated, and suddenly I was flying down to him. I was dimly aware of a murmur of warm chuckles on either side of me as I threw myself into his arms.
“Well, I think that answers any questions we may have had around the ‘I do’ part of the ceremony,” our minister said lightly. There was more laughter as I pulled away slightly, my cheeks tinted pink. I stared up into those glittering green eyes that had woven themselves into my dreams. His skin was still too pale for my liking. A slight pallor lingered beneath the tan he’d picked up during our previous days in Maui. It made me swallow hard as I thought of all that I’d nearly lost in the past few months.
“Hey,” he said softly.
“Hey,” I said back, my voice husky.
“I’m so glad to see you,” he said. I nodded. I knew that he, too, had fears that still lurked. The last time we’d tried this, he’d waited for me to appear. He’d thought I’d had a change of heart. The reality had been worse. So much worse.
“Wouldn’t be anywhere else,” I answered gently. We sank into each other’s eyes for a moment until a quiet sound pulled us back to reality. The minister cleared his throat.
“Are you ready to begin?” the man asked.
As one, we turned and faced him, our fingers intertwined. I pressed against his warm body, loving the strength of him, the life that surged through him. The ceremony unfolded in a haze; words we’d planned in advance swirling around me, almost inconceivably. We were doing this. At last!
“Do you, Alec Walker…” the minister was saying.
I heard Prince say, “I do,” his voice clear and unfaltering. My own words were torn from me on a sob.
“Mr. Walker, you may kiss your bride,” I heard dimly. All I could think of was the face swimming within my tear-blurred vision. When Alec’s mouth covered mine, I was lost. The world could have evaporated around us then, and it wouldn’t have mattered.
When we finally pulled apart, the guests behind us gave a little round of applause, and it made me smile. His eyes were still on mine, still locking me to him almost too intensely.
“I am nothing without you,” he murmured.
“And yet you are everything to me,” I murmured back.
“I love you,” he said, cupping my face in both his hands. “Both of you. Always and forever. I’m not going anywhere.”
I swallowed hard. “I love you too,” I said brokenly. “Always and forever. I’ll be right by your side.”
