Her heart raced as she walked through the lobby. No changes downstairs, yet. Her brothers had been concentrating their efforts on the balcony. She started up the stairs, finding herself reluctant to make the journey. All her joy for the project had disappeared. Taking hold of the brass railing, she began her climb to the top when something caught her attention. She turned and caught sight of a figure standing in the shadows.
Her breathing stopped when she recognized John. He was dressed as he had been the first day she’d come to see him, in jeans, a denim shirt and work boots.
“So you finally decided to come by,” he said as he walked toward her.
A deep yearning centered in her chest and all she could do was stare at the handsome man. Had it been less than twenty-four hours since she’d seen him? “I thought your note said at my convenience.” A little shaky, she started down the steps.
“No, stay where you are. I have something to say, and when you’re close, I can’t think straight.”
She felt the same way. She nodded as his dark gaze caught hers with a mesmerizing look.
John tried to slow his breathing as he made his way to the bottom of the steps. “Angelina, I know you are angry with me, and you have every right to be. I should have told you who I was from the beginning. But as I’ve explained to your family—”
“You talked with my family?” she interrupted.
He nodded. “Yes, when I got into town I called the house. Your brothers wouldn’t let me talk to you, so I asked them to meet me here this morning. My grandfather came back with me.”
“Oh, no. Nonna Vittoria...”
He raised a calming hand. “No, it’s okay. They’ve spent some time together, too. Talking about the past.”
She blinked her eyes, looking hurt. “It seems that everyone is talking but me.”
He took another step. “Believe me, cara. You were the only one I came to see, but I knew that your brothers would never let me near you without knowing my intentions.”
“Intentions?”
He found his legs were shaky, but he couldn’t back down now. She was everything he’d ever wanted, and somehow he had to make her believe that. “I never meant to hurt you. I said in New York, at first I was curious about the Covellis. And later, I was jealous, because you had so much. So much family, so much love.” He looked away. “God, this is hard.”
“Please, don’t stop,” she begged.
Her clear blue eyes drew him back, giving him courage.
“I was attracted to you from the first time I saw you standing right here on these steps. When I discovered who you were, I knew I was in trouble. I tried to fight the attraction, but you managed to get into my head, you interrupted my work, you even appeared in my dreams. Finally the night of the party, when I kissed you, I knew I had to have you in my life.” His gaze stayed locked with hers. “Then you told me that you didn’t want a relationship with me, you only wanted a job at Rossi International.”
She tried to speak, but he held up his hand to stop her.
“I was hurt. I had a serious relationship once. I gave my heart only to discover later that she only wanted me for what I could give her monetarily. I wasn’t going to let that happen again. I only took you to Vermont to seduce you. I was going to use you, like you were trying to use me.”
Angelina saw the pain and loneliness on his face. “Why didn’t you?”
“I found I didn’t want to be a substitute for another man. And I was jealous of what I couldn’t have. You.” He managed a nervous smile. “It’s kind of ironic. I finally found someone who I was willing to risk my heart for, but you cared for another man. And when you discovered who I was, you’d end up hating me.”
“So why risk it?” She knew how hard this was for him.
“I couldn’t give you up. I wanted you more than any woman I’d known.” He rubbed his forehead. “And when we arrived in New York, my hopes were raised, I saw that you were starting to care for me, too. You wanted me last night, cara. I saw it in your eyes.”
“Yes, I wanted you.” She was trembling. “And you could have made love to me. Why didn’t you?”
John drew a long breath. “Because I want more than your body. I want all of you.... I want your love.”
Angelina was afraid to move, to speak. Finally she forced out the words, “You love me?” Fresh tears formed in her eyes as he nodded.
He climbed the steps until he reached her. “Please, don’t cry,” he said. “I didn’t say it to make you unhappy.”
She shook her head. “I’m not unhappy. Oh, John.”
“Don’t tell me Justin is the only man in your life. I’m going to make you change your mind.” He took her hand. “You’ve got to give me a chance. There is magic between us.”
She nodded. “There is, isn’t there.”
“Then surely there can be room in your life...”
“But you live in New York. I can’t fit in.”
He smiled. “Then I can come work from here. I like Haven Springs—a lot.” His expression turned serious. “Tell me, Angelina, is there a chance for us? Could you love me?”
“Oh, John....” She went into his arms. “I tried so hard to fight my feelings for you.”
“Don’t...” His mouth closed over hers smothering any more of her words. She groaned as his arms slipped around her back, pulling her against him so he could feel the warmth of her luscious body. He gathered his control and released her.
Seeing the desire flashing in her blue eyes, and her mouth swollen from his kisses, John wanted desperately to carry her off somewhere to finish what they’d started in Vermont, convince her they were meant to be together. “Oh, cara, I love you so much. I want to marry you.”
She gasped.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to blurt it out like that.”
“It’s fine,” she said as a pretty blush colored her cheeks. “But would you mind repeating it?”
He took her hands in his and he felt her trembling. “I said I love you, Angelina Covelli, with all my heart.” He glanced around at the dim lobby, then down at her. “I wish the renovations were finished. It seems a little dingy now. But I wanted us to return to the first place I laid eyes on you.”
Angelina felt like she was walking through a dream, but if she were, she didn’t want to wake up. “John, I love you, too.”
“Dio, cara. You have no idea how badly I’ve wanted to hear those words from you,” he breathed. He searched her face. “From the moment I met you, I was hooked. Am I forgiven for keeping my background a secret?”
“For every sin you ever committed,” she whispered, pressing her body against his, aching for him. “Just kiss me.”
John smiled again just before his mouth slanted over hers, showing her how much he wanted her, and needed her in his life. He wrapped his arms around her and drew her closer. With a deep groan he finally broke away. “There is one more thing.” He reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a ring. Not just any ring, but the ruby bride’s ring.
“Oh John, that’s ... my grandmother’s ring. It looks like the groom’s ring my grandfather wore.”
He nodded his head. “Yes, it is. I tried to give it to her this morning but she refused to take it. She said it belongs to the first-born daughter. You. What do you say we put an end to this curse?”
Then, as if John couldn’t shock her anymore, he went down on one knee and looked up at her with an expression of love that Angelina would remember all her life.
“Angelina, will you do me the honor of marrying me?”
She could see the love in his eyes, just as she could feel it in her own heart. “Oh, yes, I’ll marry you.”
He took her trembling hand and managed to slip the ring on her finger. Then he stood, and took her mouth in a kiss that told her of his love, and promised that he was the man who would love her forever.
“Hey, are you two about finished down there?”
John grinned when they heard Rafe’s voice. “I think the fa
mily wants to know the outcome of our talk.”
Angelina gasped. “They’ve been up there the whole time?”
“Just as I said, your brothers are very protective.”
She laughed. “Think you can handle this family?”
He pulled her against him. “As long as you come along in the package.” He kissed her again, then finally released her. “I think we better call everyone down before they think I stole you away. Besides, we’ve got to plan a wedding.”
“You can come out now,” he called up to the balcony.
He held her next to him and they looked up to see her family lined up against the railing.
“She said yes.” John yelled, triumphant.
Cheers broke out, and they yelled back congratulations. Surprisingly, Vittoria and Giovanni were standing side by side.
“When’s the wedding?” Shelby called to her as she patted her rounded stomach. “If you wait too long Jill and I will be huge.”
“Soon,” John said.
Angelina looked up at John and they exchanged a glance that she’d seen shared a hundred times between her brothers and their wives. Love. “Soon,” she agreed.
He leaned down and whispered in her ear. “I’d like ours to be the first wedding reception at the new Grand Haven,” he suggested. “What do you think?”
“Is this another thing you discussed with my family?”
He gave her a sexy smile that had her melting. “I told you I had to tell them my intentions. So what is your answer, cara? Shall we have our reception here?”
“I think the hotel won’t be finished soon enough. I want to be your wife as soon as possible.”
He squeezed her close. “I like your eagerness.”
Angelina gasped. “I think you better many me soon. Until you do, my brothers will be watching your every move.”
“Good point,” he said. “Guess I’ll just have to pay the crew to work overtime to get things done sooner...for my impatient bride.”
Angelina looked up at the balcony again and saw Vittoria and Giovanni smiling. This was a new beginning for everyone.
Holding Jill’s hand, Rick started down the stairs. “Hey, does this mean that the curse will finally be broken?”
Angelina looked up at her grandmother, then back to her future husband. “Oh, Rick, there was never a curse, really. Look around. The Covellis have always been blessed.”
John leaned down and placed a tender kiss on Angelina’s lips and said, “We are all blessed now, cara. The Covellis and the Valentes. And I never believed that more than I do right now.”
Epilogue
February 14th, John and Angelina’s wedding day, was perfect.
By noon, Saint Anthony’s Catholic Church was filled to capacity with friends and family gathered to wish the bride and groom well and to see that the Covelli curse lifted after so many years.
The rings that had been separated for the past fifty years were carried down the aisle by the ring bearer, two-year-old Lucas Covelli. The priest blessed them and the groom gave the bride’s ring to his wife, then the bride gave the groom’s ring to her husband.
The fifty-year-old curse ended as the two families were finally united in marriage—in everlasting love.
An hour later, a white limousine pulled up in front of the Grand Haven Hotel and John climbed out in his black tux. He reached back inside and assisted his wife out of the car, careful not to damage the antique-white wedding dress, the same dress that Vittoria had worn on her wedding day.
The beaded bodice was fitted to Angelina’s tiny waist. The neckline and sleeves were off the shoulder, revealing her graceful neck, which showed off the gift John had given his new wife, a heart-shaped diamond necklace. The full skirt draped to the floor with a long train trimmed in lace. She wore a beaded headpiece with an elbow-length veil. Her shiny black hair was tucked underneath, pulled up in curls. She took his breath away.
John reached for his wife’s hand and they walked up the carpeted entry and into the restored hotel lobby. Angelina paused taking in all the colorful flowers. Roses. Hundreds of roses everywhere. A fountain in the middle of the room spouted champagne for the guests. The new scarlet carpeting was plush beneath their feet as they headed up the wide staircase. They posed for a few pictures, then continued upstairs to the ballroom.
They walked into the grand room with its elegant wine-and-blue wallpaper. The rich new woodworking and refinished floor looked as they had a hundred years ago. The Covellis knew their business well. Rafaele Covelli would have been proud of his family. John wished he could have met the man.
They posed for more pictures, then made their way to the head table and sat down.
Angelina leaned toward John with a big smile. “You seem to be holding up okay. I thought for sure you would have run for the hills.”
He took her hand. “As long as you’re beside me, I’m fine. Just don’t forget we leave for the plane in three hours. I’m looking forward to having you all to myself.”
She kissed him. “I’m looking forward to that, too.”
He searched her lovely face. “Have I told you how beautiful you look?”
“Several times. But don’t stop.”
“Never,” he promised. “I love you, Mrs. Rossi. You’ve made me whole.”
She touched his face. “And you gave me the love I never thought I could have. I can’t wait until we’re alone and I can show you how much I want you.”
He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed her fingertips. “You sure you want to fly to Vermont tonight?” he asked.
She nodded. “You promised we were going to finish what we started. I hope you’re a man of your word.”
He groaned. “I don’t know if I can wait that long to make you mine.”
“We’ve waited this long. I want our special night to be at the inn.”
“I love you. I was blessed from the first moment I laid eyes on you.”
Her blue eyes were shimmering. “I feel the same way about you. And I’m a little anxious to get out of here, but these family gatherings could last forever.”
John squeezed his wife’s hand. “As long as we last forever.”
Then before she answered, his mouth captured hers in a heated kiss. Desire spread through him as he pulled her close. The wineglasses chimed as the kiss continued, but he barely heard. He held all his dreams in his arms—the family he’d always wanted and the love he never thought possible until Angelina came into his life and showed him how to take the first step.
Three years later, Nonna Vittoria sat in the rocking chair with her great-granddaughter asleep in her arms.
Five-year-old Lucas and his two-and-a-half-year-old sister, Tessa, came into the room. “Tell us a story, Nonna.”
She hushed them so they wouldn’t wake two-year-old Rafaele III asleep on the floor. “If you sit down and be quiet.”
The children did as she asked. Lucas, Tessa, Rafaele III, and six-week-old Lia. Vittoria smiled as she thought back to her younger years. Her childhood in Italy. Her first and only love, Enrico. She had been truly blessed with love and family. And now there was another generation of Covellis. And it all had started with love. An undying love that had kept the family together through good and bad times over the last fifty years. She wouldn’t change a thing.
“Tell us about Nonno Enrico,” Lucas asked. “About his medals that he got when he flew in the airplane in Italy. And how you saved his life.”
Vittoria had told this story a hundred times, but neither she, nor the children ever got tired of hearing it. “His plane crashed near my village. He was hurt, so I hid him in our barn until I could get him to safety.”
“Then we all got cursed,” the five-year-old blurted out.
“Oh, no.” Vittoria shook her head as she eyed every one of her beautiful great-grandchildren. Emotions clogged her throat. “The Covellis have always been blessed.”
ISBN: 9781472070470
THE MAN, THE RING, THE WEDDING
&nbs
p; © Patricia Wright 2013
First Published in Great Britain in 2013
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The Man, The Ring, The Wedding Page 15