A Map for Bella Books 1-4

by Paula Kay

  Arianna had caused dreams to come true and lives to be changed by the legacy she’d left to each of them. But more than the financial inheritance, had been the legacy of friendship, family, and love.

  And standing in front of them, looking every bit like a princess—looking every bit like her mother, Arianna—was their lovely Isabella.

  Gigi quieted her swirling thoughts as Douglas’s arm came around her and the pastor’s words rang out.

  “Isabella and Thomas, you have expressed your commitment and love to one another through the promises you have made in front of your family and friends here today. It is with great pleasure that I now pronounce you husband and wife.” He smiled at them and then directed his next words to Thomas. “Thomas, you may now kiss your bride.”

  Gigi could hardly breathe. The moment was so precious.

  Unlike Thomas’s quick instinctual kisses earlier in the ceremony, this one was deliberate, slow, and lovely.

  The bride and groom turned around, hand-in-hand, wide smiles on their faces.

  The pastor nodded and smiled. “I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Thomas and Isabella Jordan.”

  Gigi rose from her seat, crying tears of joy as Isabella and Thomas walked back down the aisle as husband and wife.

  Chapter 30

  Jemma watched Isabella and Thomas as they shared their first dance together as husband and wife. The two were made for one another. Jemma had believed that since the first day Isabella had told her about a best friend named Thomas—a best friend who was only a friend, as she’d stressed when Jemma had pressed her during those early days of their friendship.

  She giggled as Rafael came up behind her, nuzzling her neck with a kiss, his hands landing on her ever-growing stomach, which he seemed increasingly mesmerized with. “Hi, honey.”

  “Hi, handsome.”

  “Do you have any idea how beautiful you look in that dress?” He grinned. “I mean, I thought it was your duty as best friend to the bride not to upstage her but…”

  “Oh, stop. Bella looks absolutely breathtaking.”

  “Yes, she does. And so do you. Shall we join them on the dance floor?” Rafael held his hand out to her.

  Jemma took his hand and smiled. “We shall.”

  ~~~

  Blu watched the couples on the dance floor. Isabella and Thomas looked like something out of a fairy tale. and Jemma and Rafael looked pretty stunning in their own right. She smiled as she admired the way the dresses moved as they danced.

  “May I have this dance, my love?”

  She turned to give Chase a kiss. They’d been so busy with everything that they’d hardly had a moment to themselves the past few days.

  “I’d be honored.” She took his hand and he led her out on the dance floor where Blu now noticed Gigi and Douglas. They seemed to be caught up in conversation, Gigi’s head back as Douglas swung her around before dipping her rather dramatically.

  Blu put her arms around Chase’s neck and pulled him close for a kiss. “It was such a beautiful wedding, wasn’t it?”

  “One of the finest I’ve seen. I’m so happy for them both. They deserve it.”

  Blu nodded. “Chase, look.”

  He followed her eyes to where Jemma and Rafael were dancing. Rafael had placed his hand on Jemma’s stomach and she was laughing as she removed it.

  “They’re going to make great parents.”

  “And you are going to be a terrific grandmother.”

  “Oh wow! That sounds so weird—to hear you say that.” Blu laughed. “Am I actually ready to be a grandmother?”

  “Well, you’re going be a really cool grandma anyway. That’s for sure,” Chase said and kissed her on the lips.

  “And yes, I can’t wait,” Blu said.

  Blu’s eyes swept across the dance floor, taking in all the couples that were dancing now. “Lia and Antonio look so happy.”

  “There’s a lot to be happy about, I think,” Chase said. “They’ve made it through a rough patch this last year.” He nodded in the direction of Isabella and Thomas dancing. “But I have the feeling that this wedding is just the beginning of what’s going to be an incredible year ahead.”

  Blu laughed and kissed him as she thought about all the wonderful changes happening in all their lives. “I think it’s going to be an incredible year here for all of us.”

  Chapter 31

  Isabella turned around and waved to all their cheering family and friends before she slid into the waiting limo with Thomas right behind her. Thomas moved toward the front of the passenger compartment to speak with the driver in a quiet voice—giving him their departure information, Isabella suspected.

  She still had no idea where they were going on their honeymoon, but the sun hadn’t set yet, and it would make the most sense that they’d be going to the airport in Florence.

  While Isabella waited for Thomas to finish speaking to the driver, she took some clothes out of the bag she’d brought with her. They’d decided to leave in their wedding clothes and change in the limo en route to the airport.

  Isabella felt her face flush thinking about it. Finally, she could change in front of Thomas with no reservations. The unexpected thought thrilled her, and she smiled as the privacy window went up between the driver and them. They hadn’t started down the driveway yet, but with the door shut and the windows so darkly tinted, they’d finally be alone as husband and wife—something she’d been looking forward to all day.

  Thomas came back to sit beside her, taking the clothes from her hands to put them aside.

  “Not yet. I want to kiss you while you’re still in that dress—really kiss you, I mean.”

  He grinned at her and as he took her face in his hands and kissed her so sweetly, Isabella’s heart pounded fast, wanting more now than just his sweet kisses. She wanted to be his wife, fully and completely.

  “I love you so much, Thomas.” She tried to deepen the kiss, but now he gently pulled away.

  “Not yet. I want to talk to you. I want to hold my wife’s hand and drink in your beauty now that we’re finally alone together.”

  Isabella laughed lightly. “Do you also want to tell me where we’re going? Or is that surprise going to last until we get to the airport?”

  The car started down the long driveway and Thomas leaned in to kiss her quickly on the lips. “Oh, so you think you know that we’re going to the airport, huh?”

  “Well, you know me. I am a pretty logical girl.” She grinned.

  “But”—he interrupted himself to kiss her deeply on the mouth—“the question is, does this undeniably intelligent and logical girl—who happens to be dressed like a princess—also believe in fairy tales coming true?”

  Before she could answer him, he placed a small wrapped box in her lap.

  She smiled as she sat up from where she’d been leaning against the seat. “Surprise wedding gift number two, I take it?”

  Thomas nodded, and Isabella thought he looked as if he might not be able to contain his excitement for her to open the gift.

  She lifted the lid and then the tissue paper that was inside to reveal a key. She grinned. “So, I take it that I finally have the key to your heart?”

  Thomas kissed her. “I think it’s fair to say that you’ve had my heart for quite a while now, my darling.”

  Isabella laughed and kissed him back, enjoying their teasing and the way Thomas was looking at her. “Is that so?”

  “Most definitely.”

  “Okay, so the key…” Isabella pulled back just a bit to look at him. “Thomas? Is it—” Her heart was suddenly beating faster, her mind swirling with so many thoughts at once. “The house? We got the house in Connecticut after all?”

  Thomas seemed to be enjoying her confusion.

  She punched him playfully on the arm. “Thomas, say something. Tell me what this key is for.”

  He kissed her again and she pushed him away gently.

  “No, we didn’t get the house in Connecticut, Iz.”

&n
bsp; “Okay, then what? Thomas, is this a key to a house or are you playing some kind of joke on me?” She wasn’t exactly irritated, but she was at the point of really wanting some answers.

  “Yes, Iz. It is the key to a house—to our house.”

  She smiled, letting the words sink in. “You found us a house? Is it in Connecticut? Thomas! Are you going to show me pictures or something? This is an incredible surprise—you have no idea—but I just want to know what I’m thanking you for.” Isabella laughed and felt the one annoying weight of the past weeks lift from her shoulders. They didn’t have to go back to live in the city. The thought brought her such a sense of relief, that before she knew it, tears were rolling down her cheeks.

  “Oh, honey, don’t cry.” Thomas reached for a tissue and then dried her eyes. “You haven’t even seen a picture yet.” He laughed lightly.

  Isabella sniffled. “I’m just really happy that we’re not going to be living in the city.” She looked up at him. “Does it have a big yard?”

  Thomas nodded his head and leaned back with his phone in his hand. “It does have a yard, a very big yard, in fact. Would you like to see a picture?” He grinned.

  “Yes, please.”

  Isabella looked at the picture Thomas brought up, squinting her eyes a bit as she tried to make out what it was she was looking at. “I don’t get it. That kind of looks like the vineyard—like Lia and Antonio’s place.”

  Thomas kissed her and Isabella felt the fresh air and saw the light of dusk coming through the door that had been opened by their driver. It was only in that moment that she’d even realized the car had stopped.

  Thomas moved around her to step outside the door of the limo, his body blocking her view to the outside.

  “I don’t get it. Thomas, where are we?” Isabella felt genuine confusion as she looked at him grinning at her from the doorway.

  Thomas reached out his hand toward her. “Come here, my love. Let me show you our new home.”

  Chapter 32

  Isabella stood outside the front door of the large villa with Thomas, their backs to the house as Thomas pointed out the perimeters of the land, his voice rising with the excitement of a man with a passionate plan—a plan for this beautiful vineyard that Isabella could now see went on for miles.

  She listened in stunned silence, knowing that when the time came for her to speak, words would betray her. She was so absolutely overcome with emotion for what he’d done. He’d taken the best day of her life—and incredibly—just made it better than anything she could have ever imagined. It was her fairy tale come true.

  She took a slow breath in of the cool evening air and tried to focus on what Thomas was saying to her. She followed his finger where he pointed, out across the land, now colored with the Tuscan sunset that Isabella had come to love.

  “Look. Right over there, you can just see the top of the roof of your grandparents’ place.” His arms came around her then, his hands finding their way around her waist, his lips nuzzled up against her neck as tears coursed down her cheeks.

  “Iz? Honey, do you like your surprise?”

  She knew without looking that he was smiling from ear to ear. She knew without speaking that he could sense what it all meant to her—how overcome with emotion she was. She nodded her head against his chest, her senses overwhelmed by everything she was seeing, by the words he was speaking to her about their future—a future that would be lived out here in Tuscany.

  She turned around in his arms, her eyes finding his, the tears freely falling down her face as he worked just as quickly to kiss them away.

  “Iz? Honey? I sure do hope those are happy tears…”

  Isabella laughed and then kissed him on the lips, shocking herself with the intensity of what she was feeling for this man who had just made her every dream come true.

  He kissed her back, his fingers touching her cheek and then entangled in her hair.

  “Thomas, I love you so much. Do you have any idea how happy you’ve made me? I really can’t believe that you did this—how did you manage—”

  He stopped her questions with another kiss and then pulled away slightly to look into her eyes again. “I meant it when I said that your happiness means everything to me. I will spend the rest of our lives together keeping that promise. You do know that, don’t you?”

  “Yes, but—but what about you? Thomas, I want you to be happy too. Nothing matters to me, if what you want is being sacrificed. I could never live with myself, if I thought that you were giving up—”

  “Iz, look at this place.” His arms stretched out in front of them and he laughed. “If you only knew…but then again, how could you know?” He winked at her.

  She took both of his hands in hers and kissed him sweetly. She couldn’t get enough of his kisses. “So what are you saying? Who knew about this little scheme of yours?” She laughed at the silly face he made. “So, basically everyone was in on it?”

  “We’ve got great friends, Iz.” Thomas laughed. “But on a serious note, your grandfather has been such a mentor to me. He spoke to me about the vineyard as soon as it came up for sale. You know Antonio…he’s promised to help me get it all going and—I don’t know—he seems to have a lot of confidence that I can make it work. And I love it, Iz. I really do.”

  Isabella loved the way Thomas’s eyes sparkled brighter when he talked about the vineyard. She was already learning a thing or two about trusting this husband of hers.

  Her husband. She grinned as she had the thought.

  “Thomas?”

  “Yes?”

  “Does this mean that we’re not going to the airport tonight?”

  “Correct. Our official honeymoon will start tomorrow after Lia and the others bring over a fantastic brunch that I know they’re very excited about.” He kissed her neck and whispered in her ear. “Does that sound okay to you?”

  “Mm-hm—well, except for one part of that plan.” She kissed him deeply on the mouth, and this time neither of them held back the longing that had been growing between them all day.

  “What’s that, my love?”

  She tilted her head back a little, so that he could see the love in her eyes. “I’d say that our official honeymoon definitely begins tonight.”

  She laughed as Thomas wasted no time opening the door and scooping her up in his arms to carry her over the threshold.

  Chapter 33

  Isabella yawned and turned over under the cozy down comforter. The morning view from the bedroom balcony that had gone unnoticed the night before was now displayed in front of her, and the magnificence of it nearly took her breath away.

  “Good morning, my beautiful wife.”

  Not yet ready to get out of the very comfortable bed, she smiled and turned at the sound of Thomas’s voice. He placed a cup of delicious-smelling coffee on the bedside table beside her before he leaned down to kiss her on the nose.

  “Good morning, my handsome husband.” She smiled and reached up to pull him down next to her on the bed. “And thank you for the coffee.” She kissed him on the lips, which seemed persuasion enough for him to settle in beside her, pulling her close against him.

  “How’d you sleep?” His fingers stroked her cheek and then pushed her hair gently back behind her ear.

  Her body shivered at his touch. She grinned. “Maybe the best night’s sleep I’ve ever had—and you?”

  “It was fantastic. I thought I was dreaming for a moment this morning when I woke up to you lying beside me.”

  Isabella snuggled next to him under the covers. “It is a dream, I think. But I don’t want to wake up.”

  “Iz, was everything alright—last night, I mean?”

  Isabella felt her face go slightly warm, but it was only by habit. She didn’t feel embarrassed talking to Thomas. She needed for him to know that he’d made her first experience beautiful and memorable—that it had been more special than she ever could have hoped for.

  She told him as much, and then she did feel a bit shy
all of a sudden. “What about you? Was it okay for you? I know that—”

  Thomas kissed her, the look in his eyes undeniable—the look in his eyes telling her exactly how he felt about last night.

  They lay in bed together for another hour after making love, talking about the villa and their plans for the vineyard. Remarkably, Rebecca had found someone who’d done a beautiful job furnishing the house. Thomas had hired her under the condition that everything would have to have a final okay from Isabella—and Isabella couldn’t find one single thing she’d change as they walked through the house together in the light of day.

  Thomas had slipped and told Isabella that they’d be on the late afternoon flight to Paris, to which she’d laughed and teased him that he was losing his touch. He’d laughed and said that apparently he had reached his quota for keeping secrets for a while.

  Brunch wasn’t until eleven, and it was still early as they sat at the breakfast table drinking coffee and talking.

  “Shall we go for a walk? I’d love to show you the property,” Thomas said.

  “Yes, I’m dying to see it. Oh, and there’s something I’d like to do—something I’d like us to do together.” She grinned, as Thomas was on his feet before she’d even finished speaking.

  “I know exactly where it is. I’ll be right back.” He kissed her on the lips before he left the room.

  Somehow Thomas had already managed to have all their things shipped. Everything had already been put away.

  Remarkably, the villa already felt like home to Isabella.

  Chapter 34