Pink Ice

by Carolina Soto

  But every now and then I would try to see Dylan in the front. I couldn’t for a long time, until finally the distance was short enough for me to recognize his features. He looked perfect in a pristine tux, his posture as strong as always. Even from my place, I could see that his hands were shaking and I just smiled to myself, he was nervous too. Finally I saw his face. He was smiling with all his heart, and the blue pools were clouded. Discreetly he cleaned one tear before it fell, and I was hypnotized by the vulnerability of his eyes.

  We get to the front and he offered his hand to me. Carefully Daddy took the lace veil out of my face and kissed my right cheek while Mommy was kissing the left. Both of them took my hands and put them in Dylan’s.

  “I, Katherine Elizabeth Bianchi…”

  “I, Dylan Alexander Berkeley…”

  “…take you Dylan, to be my husband…”

  “…take you Katherine, to be my wife…”

  “…to have and to hold, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part.”

  Neither of us could take our eyes from each other during the ceremony. I can’t really remember anything besides the vows. There was no one around, just Blue Eyes and me. “I pronounce you, husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.”

  Dylan didn’t think twice, his arms surrounded my waist and he kissed me. Not the “picture perfect” kiss. But the “I-don’t-give-a-damn-who-is-looking” kiss. As always, making my knees weak and taking my breath away. As if his life depended on that kiss. The claps from our family and friends broke the spell, and we walked hand in hand.

  The door was not even closed when he was kissing me again. A driver that I had never seen before was taking us to the Met for our pictures, Joe and Max were guests, so they were not on duty.

  The night in New York was perfect, but I couldn’t care less when Blue Eyes was kissing me. “Can we just skip the reception?” His fingers were all over my lace head-to-toe ivory dress. I went for a long sleeved dress, under the lace was a solid fabric corset with a fluffy skirt, with a big ribbon Bow over my waist and a back covered in pearl buttons. Of course, Berkeley hadn’t seen the dress, not once, he was lost in my face, and his fingers were either touching the lace or messing with my curly hair.

  “The hell we can! I made them bring the best meat from Argentina and you want me to skip that?”

  He just rolled his eyes. “I will take you to fucking Argentina, but I want to get you out of that dress now. That bow is killing me!” He had seen the dress…after all. “I will fucking need to tear out all those damn buttons.” He whispered in my ear just as the car stopped outside the Met.

  The pictures were simple, it was night so the photographer had big lamps trying to get the perfect picture of us. Against the walls, sitting on the stairs, dancing like crazy people in the middle of the street, we just did what made us happy.

  “Mrs. Berkeley.” Fuck! When did this happen? He whispered to me when we got into the car.

  “May I just use a hyphen? Bianchi-Berkeley? Or something like that?”

  “The hell you can! We have been fighting over this for months. It was you who suggested a bet, and doll, you lost. So suck it up and change your name!”

  Stupid Rangers, they had lost by the end of our bet game and I have lost my individuality with their championship. “I really thought they had a chance to get the Stanley Cup.” My little girl’s voice was on.

  He smiled at me with that melting knickers smile. “I know, doll, but that’s just dumb hope. And you lost.”

  Trying to cover my rolling eyes, you are not supposed to roll your eyes at your new husband on the day of the wedding, I turned to him. “I know we promised to avoid all the ‘wedding corniness’ like the plague.” He air quoted as I had been doing for the entire five months it took me to prepare the wedding. “And that I was the first against writing our own cheesy vows.”

  He took something out from his chest pocket, a white piece of paper was hidden in his father’s handkerchief. “But I wrote you this, you can burn it after reading. I don’t care. I just want you to know.”

  I nodded and put it under my dress during our journey to the Bethesda Fountain. When we arrived, Dylan had to leave the car before me, to be sure that everything was in place before our entrance. Yes, he was a control freak even in his own damn wedding. But I couldn’t care less. I used the opportunity to fix my face, my hair, and finally, to read my letter.

  “My beloved doll,

  I love you. I’ll devote every breath I have left to show you how much my heart loves you. Today you’ve made me a better man, you’ve made me entirely human, you’ve made me live. You came to change my life, to change me. But the best part is that I got you. Now, I can really say you’re mine.

  I know you don’t need anything, and even though you are not aware of this, you took away the only thing I thought I didn’t have left, my heart. It’s yours, it’s been since the first time we met, and I know it will be even after my soul leaves my body.

  I love you, Princess,

  Yours entirely,

  D.A.B”

  THE END

  EPILOGUE

  Finally, one year, 365 days after that terrible day. And God, my life was so different from what it was like on that last year’s Fourth of July. Now I woke up next to my husband, the man who I thought that had come into my life to make it a living hell. Now I knew that if that’s how the devil looks, I wanted to go straight to hell.

  “Ms. Bianchi, Dr. Matthews wants to see you before your tests.”

  “She’s Mrs. Berkeley now.” I rolled my eyes in that fancy, glamorous, mature way of mine, Dylan took my hand and walked to Dr. Matthews’ door.

  But it was opened before we could reach the doorknob. “So you finally made an honest man out of this guy, Katherine?”

  “Apparently Harvard was wrong and I’m dumber than they thought. That’s my sweet way of telling you, yes, I married this bossy jerk. Probably the crash may have affected my brain, after all.” The small chuckle of Dr. Matthews was not appreciated by Berkeley. “I thought I was going to be tested before seeing you.”

  He pointed the two chairs in front of his desk. “I just wanted to talk to you a little before, is that ok?”

  “Sure.” I smiled, but Dylan was not that happy with this. Definitely not usual procedure, there was no need to talk with the doctor when there were no tests’ results to analyze.

  “So you’ve remembered more about the accident.” He had my file opened in front of him, and was taking notes.

  I passed my hand over my bangs in a guilty signature habit. “Yes, I lost control of the car because I was trying to avoid a song on my iPod. My eyes were not on the road and my speed didn’t help me. ”

  He didn’t raise his face, and kept writing aggressively in his journal. “All right, have you had more memories about it?”

  “Just the same, I was driving in the middle of the highway, a little too fast.” Dylan shot me a menacing glare. “And I suppose that when I got distracted with my iPod, I lost control of the car and hit my head against the window.”

  “Ok Katherine, how’s your wrist?”

  “Perfect.” The hand job I gave Dylan the night before was proof enough of its perfect condition. My eyes met Dylan’s who just smirked, probably with the same image in mind. He was silent, not on his own will, but he promised not to interfere if I let him come with me to my appointment.

  “Any dizziness?”

  “Yes, and terrible nausea. I didn’t have it before, but it had come to haunt me. That’s why I asked the nurse to specifically check my head.”

  “I’ve read the note on your file. Could you describe those episodes?”

  Berkeley was still smirking and looking at me curiously. Probably making fun in his head of how I had been puking every morning. “I guess I just get dizzy and my stomach gets crazy. That, or Berkeley is exorcising me or poisoning me. Those last opti
ons should be in your report.”

  Still smiling he took his calendar. “Katherine, when was your last period?”

  And what the hell does that have to do with this? I opened my cellphone to check my own calendar.

  “Two months ago, April 29th.” What the fuck? It was the first time Blue Eyes had answered for me. And it was definitely not the question I wanted him to know the answer to. Way too personal.

  I raised my brow to him, with lovely daggers in my eyes, and checked my calendar. He was right. Damn. Both Dylan and Dr. Matthews were staring at me. “What?” It dawned on me and I laughed at their concern. “Oh no, guys, this is nothing. I’ve missed many periods before. One of the marvels of my awesome eating habits. I’m one of those charming cases of fat and malnourished.”

  “Ok, one, no, you’re not fat, and I’ll ask the nurse to check your levels to see if you have any level of malnourishment. And two, even if this has happened before to you, I can’t risk the chance to expose you to radiation. So you’ll have to take a test before the nurse can take you to the CT scan.” You’ve got to be kidding me!

  My hands started sweating, and Dylan instantly noticed how my body was reacting. I knew there was not a chance in hell of this being possible. But the idea of it made me nervous as hell. “Don’t worry, Katherine, if this is what you say, there won’t be any problem. But it is my responsibility to protect you, in case.” He didn’t finish the sentence, a little scared of the look in my eyes. “Here’s a normal test,” he took a box out of his drawer, “you can use my bathroom, and I’ll be outside to give you two some privacy.”

  “What are you laughing at, Berkeley?” The moment the door closed I turned to the jerk that was sitting right next to me.

  “At how you panicked the moment the doctor suggested the test.” He was shamelessly laughing at me.

  “How the hell do you know when I had my last period? You don’t know a shit about privacy, Berkeley!”

  “Katherine, I sleep right next to you! I know your body with my eyes closed, you can’t be that surprised. And I truly can’t believe you didn’t notice you skipped two months.” His arms were crossed over his chest, making those muscles appearing even under his suit jacket.

  “Fuck you Berkeley, I have better things to do than to pay attention to those trivialities!”

  “Stop whining and get going, Katherine.” He made me stand, taking the test box, and kissed the top of my head. “Why are you so angry?”

  I whined like a little girl. “Because I’m the one who has to pee on a fucking stick!” I turned around and took a deep breath before going into the bathroom. The whole time inside I shook, and got nervous doing what I was instructed.

  When I came back, I couldn’t believe I was holding something that contained my pee, and even worse, that Dylan took it out of my hand. I didn’t want to meet his eyes. We hadn’t discussed it, we had just gotten married, and even when a family was in our plans this had to be intimidating. I knew I was not pregnant, but the mere idea of a possibility was a little too much, and I was not sure what he would think about it.

  Out of nowhere, interrupting my train of thought, Blue Eyes started kissing my neck. “What the fuck are you doing Berkeley?” I pushed him back, all flustered from being kissed when the doctor was waiting for us.

  “Killing some time, we have to fight the suspense.” He said against my skin, keeping his trail of kisses.

  The sound of the door made me jump, and I pushed Dylan, who was already laughing at my mortification. “Are we ready?”

  Doctor Matthews’ question had much more meaning than what he intended. Were we? Dylan never lost his cool, but I just nodded as if my dad had caught me messing around in my parents’ living room.

  Instead of letting me sit in my own chair, Dylan pulled me over his lap. Both of my hands were shaking and his arms embracing me were stabilizing my nervous soul.

  Doctor Matthews’ grabbed the stick. Great! A third person touching my pee. And adjusted his glasses to read the results. “Congratulations, you’re expecting a baby.”

  What! Both of my hands went straight to my mouth, and Dylan’s arms pressed me against him with more strength than I had ever felt. “I’ll give you two a minute. Then I’ll come to discuss the details with you, and probably a brief ultrasound.”

  I didn’t turn until we heard the click of the door after Dr. Matthews’ departure. Dylan made me stand up and took my face between his hands kissing me crazily. He didn’t hold anything, back he gave everything in that kiss, as he does every time he kisses me. “We’re having a baby.” Those were the only words my happy tears allowed me to say.

  Still in shock, I saw how he kneeled in front of me, both of his hands still around my hips. Softly, he kissed my belly, and rested his face against it. That’s when it hit me, he had been touching me weirdly for weeks. And I had noticed he was holding my stomach while sleeping, but never gave it a lot of thought. “You knew.”

  Without moving an inch, he spoke against my blouse. “Of course, doll.” He moved his head to look me straight in the eye. “I love you so much, Katherine. I don’t think you’ll ever know how much I thank God every day for you. And today you’ve just given me the world.” He kissed my belly again. “I love you, both.”

  Coming Soon

  His Target

  “If you touch the target, you become a part of it.”

  FBI Agent, Mackenzie Johnson, knows the rules better than anyone. Obedience, Respect, Compassion, Fairness, Leadership and Accountability. To protect the target, and never become a part of it. Those are the words Mackenzie lives by, but everything is about to change when her first undercover mission is assigned.

  William F. Lexington was raised to rule the country, but he had other plans. Against his family’s wishes, Will has always done what he wants. He has always fought against his destiny. But when his integrity is in danger, his father, Senator Lexington, decides that the FBI is required to protect him.

  Will Mackenzie and William survive the mission? Can Mackenzie avoid becoming the target?

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  I still can’t believe I’ve done this! After Blue Ice and its cliffhanger I was forced to write Katherine and Dylan’s HEA. I’ve fallen in love with those too and there was not a chance in hell I would leave them apart. I was raised in the Disney Princesses era, I need happy endings.

  Of course, before everyone else I have to thank the most important people in my life. Mommy and Daddy (yes, I still called them that), my brother, his wife and my adorable princess Lilly. My whole family and all my friends. Specially my girls Qk, Nini, Ale, and my bro’s (they still don’t know about this side of my life). Also, Bibi who guided me in the copyright world.

  My fantastic group of Betas! Sabrina, Christie and Leta, that have been with me since the beginning. And Chelsea and Robin, who came on board when Blue Ice was released, and now are essential for my writing. Girls be ready! This journey is just beginning. Robin was kind enough to recommend me a new editor, Heather, and I also have to thank her for making my words better.

  A special big, fat, thank you to Ms. Bookie Nookie. Cherra, you are awesome! I can’t thank you enough. Adopting this story since the very beginning, she has become my guide in a new world to me.

  The Twitter girls, I don’t want to forget anyone but to name some of you, Cheryl, Susie, Tina, the Bousquet sisters, Anne, Elii (minion), and many more! I can’t believe how much fun I have with you!

  All the reviewers that took the time to read about Katherine and Dylan. And all of you that read my books and take some the time to review them. I love to know what you think about my stories!

  Un beso,

  C.

  PS: Yes, I’m going to do this again…To MY Blue Eyes, Mr. David Gandy.

  PS2: After reading all your comments, I’m thinking about writing Kevin’s story…what do you think about it?

  MORE INFO

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