Once she was alone again, Georgia went to the mirror and touched up her make-up some more, before reaching into her bag for the familiar little box that she’d kept with her ever since she’d rediscovered the sapphire. She opened it and reached inside, taking out the diamond necklace that had been left for her grandmother and putting it around her neck. Then she picked up the photo and looked at the happy, smiling couple. They never had the chance to marry, never had the chance to be open about how they felt for each other. She lifted the photo andpressed a kiss to it, before folding it in half and nestling it back into the box and closing the lid.
I’ll never forget you, Delphine. I only wish I could have had the chance to meet you.
Then Georgia checked her appearance one last time, before leaving the room and walking down the stairs. Sam was waiting and stepped forward to give her the simple bouquet of white flowers she would carry.
‘You’re ready?’ Sam asked.
‘I’m ready,’ Georgia replied.
The music started then, a quartet playing as Georgia took her first steps outside, and with that, Sam’s mother and father both stepped forward. She slid one hand through each of their arms, nodding to first her mum, and then her dad. It felt right to have them both walk her down the aisle in the absence of her own father. They’d both raised her, both chosen to have her join their family; both made her feel as if they were the second daughter they’d always wanted.
‘Thank you,’ she whispered. ‘For everything.’
‘Georgia, you have nothing to thank us for. You’re our daughter, and daughters don’t need to thank their parents.’
She knew there wasn’t a dry eye between them as they both walked her outside and towards her waiting groom, but any sadness or melancholy she felt disappeared as soon as she set eyes upon Luca. He was standing there in a tuxedo, as handsome as the night they’d met at the museum, and the way he looked at her, the way his entire face lit up as she walked towards him, made her heart sing.
Georgia forced herself to look away from him as she walked, glancing at the intimate group of people gathered on each side of her. The rest of Sam’s family, Luca’s sister and her family, some friends, Anna and Mara, Hope Berenson’s niece, Mia, Ella and her darling little baby, and most important Luca’s mother, whowas sitting at the front and beaming back at her as if she couldn’t have been happier.
‘Belle fille,’ Marj said, standing as she passed.
Georgia stopped to hug her, kissing her on each cheek and seeing just how much it meant to her mother-in-law-to-be. She was positively radiant, smiling from ear to ear, her happiness clear for all to see.
‘I promise to love your son with all my heart,’ Georgia whispered before she pulled away.
‘Merci,’ his mother said, her hand to her heart. ‘Merci, Georgia.’
Georgia gathered herself and began to walk again, letting go of Sam’s parents only when she reached her fiancé. They both kissed her before taking their seats, and suddenly it was just her and Luca. It was as if no one else was there once they faced each other. Luca took both her hands in his and stared into her eyes, as the celebrant stepped forward and began to speak, their ceremony underway.
Georgia barely heard a word, reciting what was told to her as she smiled at Luca, as she studied the face of the man who would become her husband. It was hard to believe that such a short time ago, she’d been googling him to understand what she was up against, convinced that the story about the sapphire was part of some elaborate hoax. And now, she was about to marry him.
Before she knew it, the ceremony was over and Luca was grinning as he stepped forward, as one hand touched her waist and the other her cheek, gently cupping it as he smiled down at her.
‘Hello, wife,’ he murmured, dipping his head slightly.
‘Hello, husband,’ she whispered back, just before his mouth met hers and the small crowd gathered erupted into a chorus of claps and calls of congratulations.
Georgia slipped her arms around his neck as they kissed again, as Luca swept her into his arms and carried her back down the aisle despite her protests. Eventually she tucked her head to his collarbone and let him, unable to stop laughing as he twirled her in front of all their loved ones.
When he eventually set her down again, Luca kissed her.
‘We should have just eloped, and then I could have carried you straight to the bedroom.’
Georgia swatted him away as his mother and Sam’s family began to circle them and wish them well, everyone swept up in the love they shared. But it was Mia who caught her eye, standing slightly away from the others, one of the only people gathered who wasn’t family.
Georgia excused herself and went over to her, enveloping her in a hug. ‘Thank you so much for coming,’ she said. ‘Without you, I wouldn’t be here. I would never have crossed paths with Luca.’
Mia’s smile was kind. ‘Well, I don’t know about that. You may well have crossed paths without me.’
‘We wouldn’t have, and you know it,’ Georgia said. ‘And see those two over there? The mother and daughter?’ She waited for Mia to see who she was pointing to. ‘They are the only biological family I have, and I’ve met them because of you, too. What you did, finding the descendants of those boxes?’ Georgia said. ‘It was the most selfless thing a person could do, Mia. The contents of that box changed my life, and I will be forever indebted to you.’
Mia’s smile was worth a thousand words; no matter what she tried to say otherwise, Georgia could tell that she understood what she’d done, how important her decision had been to reunite those boxes with their rightful owners.
‘You mentioned you had a box of your own,’ Georgia said. ‘That you were trying to find out more about Hope? Or what might have once been in the box left for her?’
‘Georgia!’ Luca called. ‘Come back over here!’
Mia took her hand and squeezed it. ‘I’ll tell you all about it another time, it will wait. Besides, I think your husband wants you.’
