Caroline looked out the window and noticed they were heading up the coast. She turned to Terasa. “Mom, what are you up to?”
Terasa feigned ignorance. “I’m not up to anything, dear. What would ever give you that idea?”
“Yes, you are and somehow, you’ve talked Vincent into helping you.”
“Nonsense, you just sit there like a good girl,” Terasa said, trying to hide the smile playing at the corners of her mouth. Caroline was too much like her, and she knew she was not about to give up that easily.
Vincent turned onto Topanga Canyon Boulevard and headed south. Caroline looked out the window and turned back to Terasa. She held her thumb and index finger an inch apart. “Can’t you at least give me a tiny hint?”
Terasa was not about to give in. She patted Caroline on the knee. “I’m not telling you. I promise we’ll be there shortly.”
Caroline leaned back in the seat and tried to relax as Vincent maneuvered the car along the winding road. After fifteen minutes of driving, he turned onto a side road and then into the driveway of a small beach house.
Terasa didn’t wait for him to come around and open the door. She pulled Caroline out of the car by the hand.
Caroline looked at her with a confused expression on her face. “I don’t understand,” she said as Terasa led her around to the back of the house.
“Whose house is this?” Caroline asked, continuing to follow her mom onto the back deck. She heard a radio playing
Inside Your Heaven
by Carrie Underwood and then she heard a dog barking somewhere in the distance.
She turned and looked toward the beach and then stopped dead in her tracks. She looked at the two figures walking near the water. She felt her heart catch in her throat. “Oh my God—How ... Mom—I don’t understand.” She turned to Terasa and saw tears streaming down her face, and felt her own eyes fill up with tears.
“Go, go to her,” Terasa said, waving her hand toward the beach.
Caroline took the deck stairs two at a time. By the time she hit the sand, she was sobbing. She flung off her shoes and ran down the beach where Rheyna stood playing with Annie.
Terasa felt Vincent put his arm around her waist. The two of them watched Caroline run through the sand.
Rheyna turned to look at the figure running toward her. It took less than two seconds for her to realize who it was. The cane in her hand fell to the ground.
“Caroline!” she yelled, and quickly closed the remaining distance between them. She caught Caroline in her arms and lifted her up off the ground, spinning in circles.
Caroline cried as she took Rheyna’s face in her hands. She kissed her with so much tenderness and love. “Please, please, don’t ever leave me again,” she said between kisses.
“I promise I’ll never leave you again,” Rheyna said, pulling Caroline close and kissing her deeply.
Caroline pulled back to look at her. “I think you have some serious explaining to do.”
“I know I do, but can I do it later?” Rheyna asked sheepishly.
“I guess so,” Caroline said as she cupped Rheyna’s face and kissed her softly.
Vincent laughed as Annie playfully jumped around the two women and then proceeded to knock them to the ground. She happily licked Caroline’s face and then Rheyna’s and then Caroline’s again.
Teresa turned to Vincent and smiled. He turned his head to keep her from seeing the tears running down his cheeks.
“Are you getting soft on me, Vincent?” she asked, hugging the big man close.
He puffed out his chest and shook his head, trying to compose himself. “Me, soft? Never!”
Terasa knew better. Deep down, Vincent was one big lovable teddy bear. She saw the little smile form at the edge of his mouth as he turned and looked at Caroline and Rheyna laying on the beach, and Annie who had now turned her attention to biting at the waves.
Chapter 26
Terasa looked at Caroline and felt her heart swell up with pride. “You are positively glowing from head to toe,” she said, stepping through the doorway.
“And I have you to thank for it,” Caroline said, spreading her arms out. She turned in a complete circle. “So … What do you think?” she asked, although she could tell by the smile on Terasa’s face that she did indeed look every bit the bride that she was. She glanced at herself in the full-length mirror and smiled. Rheyna had chosen her gown, and seeing how the white strapless gown hung seductively over her breasts, she could see why. She turned to face Terasa.
“Oh, Mom,” she said, walking over and wiping the tears from Terasa’s cheek. “You’re going to ruin your makeup.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I can’t help it,” Terasa said, bending to smooth out the small train hanging from the back of Caroline’s gown. “I’m so proud of you, and I just want you to be happy,” she said between sniffles.
“I am happy. I have never been happier in my life, and I owe it all to you.”
Terasa reached over and took Caroline’s hand.
Caroline smiled. “I love you, Mom.”
“And I love you, too. Are you ready?”
“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” Caroline said with a nervous laugh.
Terasa kissed her on the cheek. “Do you know that I’ve dreamt about this moment since the day you were born?”
“How did you know I would one day marry a woman?” Caroline teased.
“I knew you would marry the person of your dreams and obviously, I was right,” Terasa said smugly and pulled the veil down over Caroline’s face before she could respond. Caroline laughed and laced her arm through Terasa’s and together, they stepped on the white carpet leading out toward the gazebo in the backyard.
Caroline’s heart skipped a beat as Carrie Underwood’s melodic voice began singing the song she had chosen, the one she heard at the beach house. All eyes were now on her as the guests turned in their seats to watch Terasa walk Caroline down the aisle.
Caroline looked at her side of the aisle and then over to where Rheyna’s family and friends were sitting.
This has to be a first,
she thought. Agent Edwards had to be salivating all over himself, and she wouldn’t have been the least bit surprised to see foam coming from the corners of his mouth. On her side of the aisle, sitting in the front row, and dressed in a black tuxedo, was Don Carlos Massino. Next to him, sat Vincent and Joey, and the seats directly behind the three men contained the high-profile members of Massino’s crime family.
On Rheyna’s side was the FBI. Agent Laura Forrest and her lover Stacie, along with Annie, were sitting in the front row next to Rheyna’s parents. Directly behind them were Agent Edwards, his wife Tess, Ron, Phil, Jesse, and several other friends of the family.
She looked at Rheyna, standing next to the minister, and felt her pulse quicken. Rheyna had decided she wanted to wear a white pantsuit, but insisted it be from the exact material as her own gown. Caroline had to admit that the result was stunning.
Terasa placed Caroline’s hand in Rheyna’s hand and then leaned forward, kissing Rheyna on the cheek before taking her seat next to Carlos.
The minister looked out at the guests and cleared her throat. “I would like to thank all of you for coming here today. We are gathered together to witness the union between Rheyna Sorento and Caroline Castrucci as they celebrate their love for and commitment to each other.”
She looked at Rheyna and smiled. “Rheyna, you may now recite your vows.”
Rheyna’s hand trembled as she raised Caroline’s veil. She took both of Caroline’s hands in hers. “Caroline, I can’t begin to describe how you’ve touched my heart. You have brought so much joy and happiness to my life. I never thought I would ever be able to love anyone as much as I do you. You have consumed my very being, completing my soul. I feel so much love when I look at you, when I hear your voice.”
She paused to wipe tears from Caroline’s cheek. “I promise you that from this day forward, I will spend my lifetime loving you, protecting you, and cherishing every single moment that we are together. But most of all, I want to tell you how grateful I am for your love and to thank you for choosing me as the one to spend the rest of your life with.”
The minister turned to Caroline. “Caroline, you may recite your vows.”
Caroline took a moment to wipe the tears from her eyes. She turned to Rheyna. She laid her hand against Rheyna’s cheek, lightly caressing the small bruise still visible beneath her eye.
“Rheyna, there are so many things that I want to say to you.” She looked at the guests and laughed nervously. “But I don’t think they can hang around that long, so instead I want to tell you how you have changed my life for the better in so many ways. You have shown me that dreams do come true and that there is such a thing as true love, complete with a happy ending. I found that love when you walked into my life. You opened up a part of me I never knew existed. I love you so much at times, it makes my heart hurt. The idea of loving someone to the depths I love you is amazing. I promise you I will never take you or your love for granted and I will spend my lifetime making you happy. I promise to love only you until the day I die.”
They turned to face the minister.
“May we have the rings?” she asked.
Rheyna turned to her father and took the gold band from his hand. She lifted Caroline’s hand. “I give you this ring as an expression of my love and commitment to you,” she said, sliding the band onto Caroline’s ring finger.
Caroline turned and took the matching band from Terasa. “And I give you this ring as an expression of my love and commitment to you,” she said as she slid the ring onto Rheyna’s finger.
The minister looked at Caroline and then at Rheyna and smiled. “You may kiss your bride.”
Rheyna leaned over and kissed Caroline softly on the lips. “You ready?” she asked, taking Caroline’s hand in hers as the guests stood, cheering them on.
“You better believe it,” Caroline answered.
Together, the two of them walked down the steps and then ran up the aisle. They came to a stop at the end of the carpet and tossed their bouquets back over their heads. They turned to see Terasa and Vincent each catch one.
Vincent’s lips curled into a shy smile as a handsome young man on Rheyna’s side of the aisle winked at him.
Chapter 27
Rheyna watched Caroline as she sipped on a margarita. It had been almost a month since their union ceremony and every once in awhile, she still had to pinch herself to believe it was true.
Terasa had made all the arrangements for their honeymoon and had booked them aboard Olivia’s Silver Wind Ship for a South American cruise. After sailing for several days, they flew to Rio de Janeiro and spent the better part of the week shopping, drinking, dancing, eating, and then more shopping, and several sleepless nights making love. They left their hotel and boarded the cruise ship to finish their journey, which brought them to Argentina, where they now lay on the beach, drinking margaritas, and working on their tans.
Rheyna glanced toward her left, where Laura and Stacie were lounging. They had arrived the previous day, after much prodding by Caroline. After everything they had been through, Caroline had insisted that Laura and Stacie needed a vacation as much as she and Rheyna.
Terasa had been adamant about keeping Annie for the first two weeks and then reluctantly agreed to let Vincent keep her for the last two since she had made travel arrangements of her own.
Rheyna turned to Caroline. “Did you ever find out where Terasa was going on her mini-trip?”
“Nope,” she said, and continued flipping through her magazine. “She was very secretive about it, but she promised to drop us a postcard when she got there.”
Rheyna leaned back in her chair. She let her thoughts drift to Terasa. She was a remarkable woman, courageous, brave, loving, and just like her daughter. Edwards and Laura had filled Rheyna in on all the events that had taken place while she was recuperating from her injuries. She knew what Terasa had done out of love for Caroline. Not only did she love Terasa for what she had done, she gained a newfound respect for Terasa because of it.