Claire let out a sob followed by a chuckle and by another sob. I guessed she was still trying to decide whether she wanted to laugh or cry.
“Er . . . I don’t really want to push you, but my knee is getting sore so . . . could you put me out of my misery and just say yes or no?”
She laughed and nodded vigorously, making the loose curls bounce. “Yes, of course I’ll say yes, David. How could I possibly say no to the offer of spending my life with you?”
I pulled the white gold and diamond-studded Claddagh ring out of the box and slid it on her long, slim finger. It was a perfect fit, and I let out a sigh of relief. I kissed her hand, then stood up, put the box back in my pocket, and stared into her eyes.
“It’s so beautiful. I love it. And I love you,” she whispered, her eyes never leaving mine. I could swear I felt her love radiate from her stare and reach down to my soul. It was a weird feeling, something I’d never experienced before—something I knew I’d never experience with anyone else.
“I saw the way you always looked at Kathy’s ring, and I thought you’d like to have a Claddagh of your own. You know, being a traditional Irish girl and all.”
She nodded, looking at it then back at me. “It’s perfect.”
I dipped my head just a little—with her high heels she was almost as tall as me today—and captured her mouth in a breathtaking, hungry kiss that I hoped conveyed the strength and depth of my feelings for her. She wrapped her arms around my waist, and all her curves fit perfectly against my body. She kept complaining she was too thin and her breasts were too small, but I thought she was perfect, and my body totally shared the feeling.
I pulled back when I heard someone clear her throat, and when we opened our eyes we saw Kathy and Colin standing beside us. The huge grin on their faces told us they’d probably been out here for a while and had witnessed my proposal. I blushed.
Oookay, now I can definitely hand in my man card.
Colin would never let me live this down since I kept teasing him about being mushy and basically a sissy when he was around my sister.
“Anything you’d like to tell us?” Kathy stared at me with her fists on her hips and a raised eyebrow. “Or show us, perhaps?” Her gaze moved to Claire’s hand. My gorgeous girlfriend—actually, make that my gorgeous fiancée—gave her a brilliant smile and lifted her left hand, which Kathy immediately grabbed. The squeal that followed was probably heard all the way down in County Clare, and when my sister hugged Claire I was afraid she’d break all her bones.
Colin reached out for me and pulled me into a hug. Ungrateful as it seemed, at that moment I wished it were actually my brother hugging and congratulating me. I quickly shoved the thought away, knowing I didn’t need any gloomy feelings hovering over me right now. Colin was officially my brother-in-law now, and that was just as important.
“Dude, you’re doomed.” He grinned at me, and immediately earned a punch on his arm from Kathy.
“Excuse me? Your wife is standing right here and has perfectly functioning ears, you know?”
Colin wrapped an arm around my pixie sister’s waist and pulled her flush to him, lifting her off the ground in the process. She giggled when he kissed the tip of her nose. What once I would’ve found sickeningly mushy, now I found extremely romantic. God help me, I was really turning into a sissy—but I was willing to pay the price, if that was what loving Claire did to me.
“How long have you been planning this? Why didn’t I know anything about it?” Kathy stood in front of me once she managed to free herself from Colin’s grip, and tried to look menacing with a badass glower on her face.
“I bought the ring a couple of weeks ago, but was waiting for the perfect moment.” I shrugged. “I didn’t mean to steal the limelight, but since Claire caught the bouquet I thought maybe it was a sign.”
“I’m pretty sure Declan had something to do with that,” Kathy said, with a smile, voicing my earlier thoughts. “He knew you’d never man up enough to do it, so he gave you a little push.”
We laughed, and I couldn’t contradict her because I knew she was right.
“Oooh, this is sooo exciting! I can’t wait to help you plan your wedding.” Kathy clapped her hands, and jumped up and down like a little girl. “We’ll start as soon as we get back from our honeymoon. It’s never too early to plan a wedding, and we could—”
“Babe, slow down. Breathe,” Colin cut her off, and my sister glared at him. He gave her his dimpled smile and Kathy’s stance melted like ice cream in the sun. Damn dimples. I wish I had them, too.
“I’d love for you to help me, Kathy,” Claire said, a little timidly. “But I guess you’ll have to be ready to wrestle Ciara.”
Kathy laughed. “Not a problem. We’ll make a great team.” She took Colin’s hand and pulled him in the direction of the building. “We must go tell everyone now. Mum will be delighted to have another wedding in the family. Come on!”
I reached out for Kathy’s arm and stopped her mid-spin. “This is your wedding. I don’t want to steal the spotlight from you. We’ll tell Mum and Dad tonight when we go home and all the relatives have left.” I winked at her before adding, “I’m not sure I really want to invite all of them, so let’s keep them in the dark for a while until we make a guest list.”
Claire opened her mouth to say something, but froze with her gaze fixed beyond me. I frowned and before I could say anything, her lips curled up into a beautiful smile. “Guys, look at the sky.”
We all turned to look in the direction she pointed, and saw a beautiful rainbow painted across the turquoise sky.
“Deco,” Kathy and I said in unison.
Colin wrapped his arms around Kathy, pulling her against him with her back to his chest, and rested his head on her shoulder, smiling at the view. I looked at Claire through blurred vision, and her bright, loving smile melted the ice shards that pierced my heart every time I thought of my brother. She reached out for my hand and I pulled her into a bear hug.
“He’s giving us his blessing,” I whispered in her ear, and I felt her nod against my chest. We stared at the rainbow for another minute, and when a warm breeze engulfed us all I had the confirmation the rainbow wasn’t a mere coincidence. Declan was here, celebrating my sister’s wedding and my engagement, sharing our happiness just as he would have if he’d still been alive.
We’d gone through hell and back during the past two years but somehow we were still here, still standing, and both my sister and I had managed to get out of the black hole we’d sought refuge in after Declan had died. With his help, we’d found a way to fall in love and be happy again, even though we still missed him like crazy. I couldn’t help wondering if Declan had something up his sleeve for Maggie, too; if the fact that her stupid boyfriend, Killian or whatever his name was, cheating on her had something to do with fate having other plans for my little sister. I couldn’t wait to find out; I wanted Maggie to be just as happy and loved as Kathy and I were.
I turned to look at my sister and she reached out for my hand. I kept one arm around Claire’s waist and linked my fingers through my sister’s, smiling at her. Despite all of the pain, the tears, the heartbreak and the dark moments of despair, we were still a big, happy family, closer than we’d ever been—and bigger, too.
At some point or another in our lives we’d all experienced devastating pain because of the loss of someone we loved. We’d all been put through a giant meat grinder where our hearts, our hopes, and our whole lives had all been crushed. We’d thought all hope had been lost and that our whole existence had been nothing but a hopeless fight. But it was right when we’d thought the sun would never shine on our lives again that the skies had burst open, and we’d realized we’d all been saved by an angel.
The end
Did you enjoy Claire and David’s story? I would be forever grateful if you could take a minute to write a review on Goodreads and the online store where you bought the book, to help other readers discover it.
If this w
as the first book of mine you’ve read, please read on for the blurb and buy links of my other books, including Colin and Kathleen’s story.
Thank you!
Other books by Roberta
Hugged By An Angel (Angel, #1)
How can you ever love again when tragedy has crushed your heart?
Kathleen used to love life. She had plans, dreams, and faith in life; but that was before the accident that took it all away from her in an instant. Now that her beloved brother is dead and she's confined to a wheelchair, her future is but a dark cloud hovering above her head. How can she ever find the will to move on and keep living without him? Even the cares of the happy-go-lucky American physiotherapist who's helping her with her rehab therapies are all in vain. Life seems to have lost its meaning, until one night she receives an unexpected celestial visit…
Colin has been working as a physiotherapist in Dublin for almost five years, but he’s never bonded so much with a patient like he is bonding with Kathleen; there's something about those sad blue eyes that makes him want to help her, to take away the pain that reminds him so much of his own. Having lost both his parents in a plane crash when he was only sixteen, Colin knows how it feels to have someone you love taken so abruptly away from you, and he makes it his mission to help Kathleen find her faith in life again. But something changes along the way…
Sometimes love can work miracles. If you believe.
Buy it on Amazon US
Buy it on Amazon UK
Buy it on Amazon CA
“This book is a must read. A story that will find a way to your heart. The story that will bring you to tears. But at the same time it will make you laugh.” (Rumpled Sheets blog)
“This was a very beautifully written story that as far as I am concerned was meant to touch your soul. Kathleen and Colin are amazing characters that take your breath away and sweep you right along the path that their journey takes them. I have read tons of books but none that have embraced me like this story did. ” (Tammy’s Teatime blog)
“This book really touched my heart. The love that Kathy lost and had to learn to recover was such a touching story that I cried my way through some parts of the book. Sometimes because it was sad others because I was so happy for her. You can feel every emotion Roberta is writing which is a sign of a great writer. This book will go down as an all time top 10 for me.” (Goodreads user Katie Boettcher)
Hold On To Love
Three weeks. All Alyssa O’Riordan needs is three weeks away from her wealthy life in New York City, to clear her mind and decide what she wants from her life. A dude ranch in Wyoming seems like the perfect place for a temporary escape from the cage her life has become.
What she doesn’t expect is to come face-to-face with a handsome cowboy, who’s just as grumpy and rough as he is good-looking. All of a sudden, the promise of a relaxing, invigorating holiday seems long gone.
Three weeks. For Sean Maclaine, three weeks around the new guest feel like an eternity. After his first-hand experience with the upper class, rich daddy’s girls have become his worst nightmare, so when Alyssa O’Riordan shows up at his family’s ranch, he knows the time won’t go by fast enough. All he has to do is stay away from her, and count the hours until she finally goes back to New York.
Three weeks. Will three weeks be long enough for them to get over their prejudices and start looking beyond the surface?
Buy it on Amazon US
Buy it on Amazon UK
Buy it on Amazon CA
“Roberta Capizzi has done it again. She has written a love story that speaks straight to your heart. You come away feeling content and that everything is ok in the world. It is a feeling that stays with you long after you have finished with it.” (Goodreads user Lisa Atherton)
Hold On To Love is such a such a sweet, romantic story. Set in a small fictional town in Wyoming, the author has created a gorgeous setting on a family ranch—and I so want to move there! I think this is a lovely romance that will appeal to a lot of cowboy-loving readers.” (author Tracey Alvarez)
“I enjoyed this sweet small town romance. The setting was beautiful and played a big part in the story, as it should in all small town romances. I really like to get a feel for the place when I read a story like this. The characters were real and relatable and I was rooting for their happily ever after from chapter one.” (author Sophie Moss)
The Melody In Our Hearts (Melody, #1)
Doctor Valerie Fogarty studied hard to become a competent surgeon, but losing a patient during an operation made her throw everything out the window and now she can’t set foot into an operating room anymore. Until her best friend Ryan is brought into the ER on a stretcher, fighting for his life after a terrible car accident and she’s the only one who can save him. Meeting him as a teenager in their hometown in Ireland was the turning point in her life and she knows she will never be able to live without him. Will her determination and skills be enough to save Ryan’s life?
Jazz Star Ryan Wyler grew up in Dublin, with a dream of becoming a professional pianist and continuing the legacy of his musical hero, Frank Sinatra. When opportunity knocks and he’s offered the chance to pursue a real music career, he’s happy to accept it, unaware that what he’s actually accepting is a package deal he will have no control over. But when success keeps him away from Valerie, his best friend since adolescence, Ryan will have to question his choices.
The melody in our hearts: A story about the value of true friendship, the power of dreams, and the unpredictability of love.
Buy it on Amazon US
Buy it on Amazon UK
Buy it on Amazon CA
“Roberta Capizzi does a fabulous job with the characters and story. I could relate to the characters and I loved that. They had heart, spunk and passion. This book was well written and made me smile time and time again. It was an easy read and I read it in one sitting. It was such a beautiful story of friendship and love and dreams. I adored this book tremendously.” (Stephanie at The Boyfriend Bookmark)
“I can't express how much I enjoyed this love story written with such heart by this author. This is the perfect Valentine love story for any season,for that matter. The storyline gripped me from the first two pages. The characters were well thought out, engaging, sweet, endearing, a true spirit of pure love & friendship.” (1rad-reader Reviews)
“Heartwarming, sweet, touching and an easy read - an ideal pick-up for Valentine's.” (author Hannah Fielding)
A Christmas Melody (Melody, #2)
Valerie and Ryan have been living the American dream in Boston for more than ten years. Best friends since adolescence, their feelings changed when Ryan nearly lost his life. Now they’re engaged and can’t wait to break the news to their families and get married.
Valerie has been dreaming of getting married on Christmas eve since she was a child, and a Christmas wedding back home in Dublin seems like a very romantic way of celebrating the most important day of their lives.
Back on home soil Valerie and Ryan are surrounded by the love of their families and things start to change as homesickness creeps into their hearts. Can seven days erase a decade of hard work and life-long dreams? Or is it only a little nostalgia caused by the festive season?
Doubts fill their minds as they start questioning their choices, until an unexpected complication, only days before the wedding, makes Valerie and Ryan realize it’s time they decided where they really belong.
A sweet Christmas romance that will warm your heart this yuletide season and all year long, A Christmas Melody is a novella and a short sequel to The Melody In Our Hearts, but can also be read as a standalone.
Buy it on Amazon US
Buy it on Amazon UK
Buy it on Amazon CA
“This book is a perfect ending to Ryan and Valerie’s story, although I would love to see this couple’s journey continue on in words. Readers of romance will love this sweet story.” (Goodreads user Wendy Ward)
“A wonderful mix of emotion, s
etting and some truly lovely sentiments, this story was packed with moments to get both your heart and spirit in the season.” (Goodreads user Gaele)
“A short, sweet story of friendship, love, family, home and happy ever-after's. I loved the setting of Ireland and the Christmas Eve wedding. If you're looking for a quick read in between novels this is a perfect choice.” (Jaime Fiction Fangirls Book Reviews)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
An avid reader since her childhood years and being an only child, Roberta always enjoyed the company of her fictional friends from the children’s books she loved reading, while she dreamed of writing her own stories one day.
Saved by an Angel Page 26