Page 9 of Happily Ever After
So I make my way down the wide stairs, my path lit by the ample moonlight and the millions of stars so bright above me.
Is Tiero one of those?
Is he watching?
Here on his island, I feel his presence everywhere. Sometimes I'm not sure if that's comforting or oppressive.
As I reach the beach, the sand beneath my feet is still warm from the heat of the day. I sit down and dig my toes in, letting that warmth seep into my body.
I stare out at sea. The waves glisten like liquid silver as they roll and move toward the shore. It's so beautiful... so serene.
Then I notice exactly where I chose to sit down and let out a long sigh. It's the spot Tiero and I dragged the mattress from the daybed that one night we slept under the stars.
We made love, unhurried, exploring each other's bodies and coming together in a slow, sensual dance.
We savored each moment.
We savored each other.
The world seemed full of possibilities then, even though my departure date from Sicily was looming over us.
It also was here where he asked me to stay for the first time.
What would have happened if I had?
Would Tiero still be alive?
Would my heart condition have gotten as bad as it did?
The stress of my escape certainly didn't help, nor did living in fear of being discovered by such a powerful Mafia Don, or, even worse, his enemies.
Would I have gotten involved with him had I known who he was? The pull to him was so strong. Could I have resisted it?
If Claudette's letter is to be believed, we never stood a chance of walking away from each other. And had I stayed and somehow accepted Tiero for who he was, how would Aiden have fitted into that picture? Our paths would still have crossed—of that I'm sure.
So many questions. And all pointless, now.
The past is the past. There's no point lingering on it and playing the what-if game.
No matter what, Tiero is with me now, his heart beating in my chest until I take my last breath.
It's a gift. And I shall never take it for granted.
Yet, right now, right here, I sense he's with me in another way too. And I know he can hear me.
"Thank you, Tiero," I whisper into the night. "I'm alive. I owe it to you to be the happiest I can be. And I will be."
I'm so damn lucky.
Lucky to have Aiden in my life. To experience a love every day that can't be put into words. It exceeds anything I could ever have imagined.
Tomorrow, my best friend will arrive, and two days after that, Father Joseph will be flown in by helicopter to marry Aiden and me.
I can't wait.
I lay back in the sand and stare at the stars. It's always been a way for Tiero and me to connect. And even though he's beengone for nearly a year now, that connection through the stars has not waned.
And I know beyond any doubt that it never will.
