by K. M. Scott
Just then I realized I’d been crying and probably ruined my makeup. Turning to face him, I said, “Oh, no. Tristan, do I have mascara all over my face? I must look like a nightmare.”
For a moment, he studied my face and then smiled. “Nothing but beautiful there.” Then he kissed me on the forehead and whispered, “Ready to get married, Mrs. Stone?”
I looked up into those gorgeous brown eyes of his and let myself get lost in them for the briefest moment before answering, “I’m ready, Mr. Stone.”
Tristan stood up with his glass of faux champagne and lifted it into the air. “Attention! Attention, everyone! It’s time for the second portion of the evening.”
I looked down the table and saw everyone’s confused expressions as they lifted their champagne glasses into the air. None of them had noticed Reverend Masters when he arrived since we’d all been laughing while Jordan told the kids stories about our time living in Brooklyn, so Tristan’s announcement surprised them.
“Second portion?” Tressa asked from a few seats away from me.
“Yes, and this is a surprise for everyone your father and I arranged,” I said as I stood up to take my spot next to Tristan.
Reverend Masters walked to the head of the table where we waited for him and smiled. “Good evening, you two. Are you ready?”
“We’re ready,” Tristan answered before turning to face our guests. “Tonight, Nina and I are renewing our vows, and we couldn’t think of a better way to do that than to gather all the people we love to join us.”
I heard a collective gasp as it dawned on everyone what we’d done. Looking over the table, I smiled at all of them, so happy to have them there with us to celebrate. Jordan and Gage had been with us at our first wedding, but now we got to have our children and the people they loved here with us too.
“Oh, this is so romantic,” Diana cooed as she began to cry. “I love this idea! I’m sorry. I’m so emotional lately.”
Ethan laughed and looked over at Cole as he hugged Diana to him. “Lately? You’ve always been a crier, Diana. You don’t have to make excuses for that. We love you for it.”
Sniffling, she threw Ethan a nasty look. “Don’t make fun of me. This is so romantic. It’s just like how Mommy always told us their first wedding happened, and now we get to see it for ourselves.”
Beside me, Tristan said, “Oh, I forgot. Hang on, everyone. I have one last thing to do.”
He hurried across the lawn to the house and then all around us, strings of twinkling lights made the backyard look like something out of a fairytale. We’d had something like that for our first wedding, and that he’d remembered brought tears to my eyes.
When he came back out, he returned to the head of the table and whispered in my ear, “The first time we got married, you wanted those lights, so I figured we should have them this time too. Do you like them?”
“I love them, Tristan. Now everything’s perfect.”
“Do you feel okay?” he asked with a hint of real worry in his voice.
I looked up at him and beamed a smile. “I feel wonderful. Let’s get married.”
Just as we had the first time, we said our vows and promised to love, honor, and cherish one another, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part. My health scare a month before made the in sickness and in health part all the more important, and when Tristan said those words, I knew he meant them with all his heart.
When he finished his vows, he took a deep breath and smiled at me in that way that never failed to make me feel like I was the most beautiful thing he’d ever laid eyes on. Over the years, there had been times when I doubted we’d make it to this night, but now as I looked up at him, he was the man I’d fallen in love with all those years ago.
“Nina, I can’t imagine what my life would have been if I hadn’t been so fortunate to have you in it. You gave me three wonderful children and a lifetime of happiness, but now as we take advantage of the second chance we’ve been given, I can’t think of any other words to tell you how much it means to me that you’re still by my side than those three words I’ve said thousands, if not millions of times before. I love you, and of all the things I’ve been given in my life, none mean more to me than the love you’ve given me.”
By the time he finished speaking, I couldn’t stop myself from crying. Tears of joy and utter happiness rolled down my cheeks and blurred my vision as I gazed up at him pouring his heart out in front of our family and friends. So often, I knew the world saw Tristan as cold and aloof, but at moments like this, I knew who he really was.
My hero. My knight in shining armor. The man who’d swept me off my feet all those years ago, and even now, made me feel like the luckiest woman in the world.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. Again. Tristan, you may kiss your bride,” the minister said with a chuckle.
Tristan dragged the pads of his thumbs across the top of my cheeks to dry my tears and sighed. “I think we know where Diana gets it, don’t we? I love you, Nina. Tears and all.”
Standing on my tiptoes, I tilted my head back and whispered against his lips, “I love you, Tristan.”
And then he kissed me, and just like that first time his lips met mine all those years ago, my stomach did a flip and it felt like butterflies had been let loose inside me. Even now, he still had that effect on me.
Behind us, our children and everyone else clapped for us. We’d sealed the deal on our second chance. Now all we had to do was live it.
Chapter Twenty-One
Tristan
Raising my glass, I offered a toast to my bride. “To Nina, who has been with me through good and bad and who’s stuck with me forever now.”
Everyone drank their champagne and then Ethan stood up. “Mom and Dad, here’s to many more years of the two of you being the best role models for what real life happiness looks like.”
“Here, here!” Tressa said with a smile, lifting her glass into the air. “To Mom and Dad, the two people who showed us what love between two people could be. May we follow in your footsteps in that way.”
Killian leaned over and kissed her cheek. I’d watched them over time mellow one another until their sharper edges gave way to a softer love Tressa had always deserved. Looking across the table, I saw Ethan with Summer as they joked and laughed together. The two of them had a way of bringing out the sweetness in each other. And then I looked at the other side of the table where Diana and Cole sat together, the two of them far quieter than her brother and sister but steadfast in how they cared for one another.
We’d been fortunate to see all three of our children find the love we’d always wished for them. I hoped they’d be as happy as Nina and I had been.
And as happy as we were at that moment.
“You Stones sure do know how to keep a secret,” Jordan said with a chuckle as she leaned over the table to talk to us from the other end. “I had a feeling you were up to something the last time I talked to you, Nina, but you guys are two cool customers.”
“We wanted to surprise everyone,” Nina said, smiling at how successful we’d been in that. “We didn’t want any gifts or anything other than all of you here to share this with us. Tomorrow, we leave for our second honeymoon, so tonight’s for celebrating with all of you.”
“Honeymoon? That’s why you mentioned that the other day,” Ethan said to me. “I thought it was weird since Summer and I haven’t been married that long to have a second honeymoon already. I had a feeling you slipped by saying that.”
Laughing, I admitted the truth. “I was dying to tell someone about it since I’m surprising your mother tomorrow.”
Nina elbowed me in the arm. “I have no idea where we’re going. I made the mistake of agreeing to let your father choose the place, and he’s insisting on it being a surprise. I have no idea what to pack for.”
“I told her not to worry. I’ve taken care of all of that,” I said as I wrapped my arm around her. “But you all know how she is w
hen she decides she wants to know something.”
All three kids rolled their eyes as if on cue, and then each one began telling their own story of how their mother had never failed to find a way to get information from them, despite the fact that they’d sworn to never tell a soul. We all laughed as the tales of Nina’s insistent questioning took us back to when all three kids were still in school and lived at the house.
Those stories made me think of all the times I’d missed as they grew up. I knew the basic details because Nina had told me about them at the time, but then I’d been so busy with work all too often to understand how much Nina had done on her own when it came to the kids.
Now as I listened to how she’d asked all the right questions to make sure our children weren’t getting into something they couldn’t handle, I found myself prouder of the job she’d done with them than ever before. Our kids grew into good adults because of her.
“See? I’m not just like that with you, Tristan,” she said before nudging me again. “It’s who I am. So why not put me out of my misery and tell me where we’re going tomorrow? I’m sure everyone would like to know.”
Suddenly, the entire table of people, except the minister, agreed with her and wanted to know where we were going on our second honeymoon. But I stood firm. I liked the idea of surprising Nina, even if it did mean I had to endure her endless questions until then.
I shook my head and smiled. “Nope. It remains a surprise. She can call you all from the plane and tell you tomorrow morning.”
As everyone tried to guess where we’d be going to, I slid my hand under the table and held Nina’s. She turned to look at me and smiled.
“I don’t really care where we go, you know. As long as it’s the two of us together, it doesn’t really matter,” she said quietly.
“I agree. I do love surprising you, though, so let me have my fun until we get on the plane.”
“Well, since I love you so much…” she said, teasing me.
“Since you love me so much, I’ll give you another hint. You have to keep it between us, though. Promise?” I whispered in her ear.
Nina turned to face me, her eyes opened wide in anticipation. “Okay, I promise. Tell me.”
“I’ve arranged for a meal to be ready when we arrive. It will start with fruit, but I’ll make sure not to include strawberries.”
I couldn’t help but smile as her eyebrows drew in toward her nose while she struggled for figure out my little riddle. It referred to something that happened a long time ago, so maybe she wouldn’t remember.
But I’d never forget how I felt at that moment when I thought I’d lose her because of those stupid strawberries.
“I have no idea what you mean, but I’ll figure it out. You watch.”
Not being able to surprise her didn’t mean much, but I did love teasing her with these hints. She probably would figure out where we were going before we took off tomorrow. If she didn’t, then that was okay too.
Just knowing we’d be spending a week in one of the most beautiful cities on earth and celebrating our second chance and our second honeymoon was enough for me.
* * *
Nina sat down in the seat next to me and yawned. To get to our destination just in time to enjoy the beautiful night sky from our balcony, we had to leave early in the morning. The party had gone well into the night, with the last of our guests leaving after two, so a seven am flight seemed to be a struggle for her at the moment.
“I haven’t figured out that riddle of yours you gave me last night, but I will,” she said defiantly.
“You have over eight hours to figure it out,” I said before opening the book I’d brought to read on the flight.
Never very good with flying, even after all these years, I required something to distract me. A five hundred page book chronicling the rise and fall of the Axis powers in the Second World War would do the job perfectly.
“I forgot to bring something for myself to read,” Nina said in a voice full of disappointment.
Looking up, I pointed at the screen at the front of the cabin. “You can watch a movie.”
“That won’t bother you?”
Always so sweet, she knew that I had to stay distracted while I flew. It was why all the shades remained drawn on the windows of the plane.
I shook my head. “No. I’ll be reading. You can use the headphones, if you want, or not. I can tune the movie out.”
Returning my attention to the book, I began reading but noticed she didn’t say anything for a few moments. That wasn’t like Nina, so I waited for her to speak again, knowing what she would ask.
Finally, she grabbed my arm to get my attention and said, “I can’t stand it! You have to tell me where we’re going. I won’t be able to focus on the movie if you don’t, and you know that will mean I’ll talk the whole way there.”
She said that like her talking was something I didn’t want to happen. I looked up from my book and shrugged. “I don’t mind talking for the whole eight hours, although that might mean I won’t say another word the entire time we’re in Venice. It’s up to you.”
As my answer filtered through her brain, her eyes opened wide and her mouth dropped open. Nina jumped from her seat and wrapped her arms around my neck. “Venice? We’re going on our second honeymoon to Venice, Italy? Oh, Tristan! We haven’t been to Venice in ages, just the two of us. This is so wonderful!”
“I know, so I thought it would be the perfect place. Now that you know, you just have to decide on whether you want to have me talk the whole way there or to save up some words for our week in Venice together.”
She smiled and kissed me. “I know you well enough to know there are a lot of words inside you when it’s just the two of us, but you read your book. I’m going to spend the flight thinking about how much I can’t wait to get to Venice. Oh, and I have to call the kids and Jordan because they made me promise last night.”
In truth, I did have more than enough to say to her for the flight and our entire vacation, but I liked to tease her sometimes about how chatty she could be. After a few minutes, she turned in her seat to face me and touched my arm.
“Tristan?” she said softly.
I looked up from my book and saw sweetness in her blue eyes. “Nina?”
“I love you.”
She looked so beautiful at that moment, and I couldn’t help but smile as I repeated those words to her.
“I love you.”
Whatever happened throughout our lives, that had remained the single truth which blocked out everything else. Love.
Hours later, we walked into the hotel room at the Richmont Venice, the same room we’d stayed in the first time we travelled here. I wondered if Nina remembered that. She didn’t say anything about it before collapsing onto the bed.
“That flight felt like it took forever this time. Did you tell the pilot to go slower or something today?” she asked with a giggle.
I sat down on my side of the bed and looked over at her. I loved when she was silly. Most of the time it happened when she was overtired, but I loved it all the same.
Shaking my head, I said, “I didn’t tell him to slow down. I think planes have to fly at a particular speed or they fall out of the sky.”
A frown chased away her silliness instantly. She rolled over and bent down to kiss my hand before looking up at me with sad eyes. “I’m sorry. That was thoughtless of me, considering what happened to you. I didn’t mean it that way, though.”
“I didn’t take it that way, so you don’t have to worry. And don’t let that ruin our time tonight. You were just being silly, and I love that.”
Slowly, a smile lit up her expression. “Okay. I just wasn’t thinking. I never think about that, to be honest, and I should. I can’t imagine living through something like what you went through and ever flying again.”
“I can’t imagine how long the drive to Venice would be,” I joked, making her laugh.
Nina jumped up and hurried over toward the wi
ndow. “I want to see the view. Come look!”
For a moment, I leaned back on the bed and let her check out the view from our balcony while I waited to see if the memory of our first visit here came back to her. She didn’t say anything, making me think she’d forgotten, but then she threw open the doors to the balcony and rushed back into the room before stopping at the foot of the bed.
“Oh my God! It’s the same room as the first time we came to Venice together. I could never forget that view of the Grand Canal. You arranged this, didn’t you?” she asked excitedly.
“Maybe.”
“Don’t act so coy. I think it’s incredible that you did this, Tristan. That trip meant the world to me, and you made sure we’d have the same room.”
I couldn’t help but smile at how cute she was acting. I put my hands behind my head and said, “I do own the company, honey. They weren’t exactly going to say no to me, now were they?”
She crawled onto the bed and up on top of me, straddling my legs. Staring down at me with a fake frown, she put her hands on her hips. “Stop acting like this wasn’t the sweetest, most thoughtful thing a husband could do for his wife on their second honeymoon, Tristan.”
“Okay. I admit. This was an incredibly thoughtful thing for me to do. You shouldn’t be surprised, though. You have been married to me for a while now, so you know I do tend to do things like this.”
Finally, she smiled and nodded her head. “Yes, I know that, Mr. Stone. It’s one of the things I love most about you—your way of doing special little things to make me happy.”
“This one wasn’t as little as you think. Someone else had already booked this room, so I had to get the concierge to throw him out this morning so the room could be ready for us when we arrived.”
Nina’s eyes opened wide in shock. “Did you really do that? Where did the man go?”
I shrugged like it meant nothing. “Who knows? We should go check the canal. They may have tossed his luggage and all his belongings off the balcony. I told them I absolutely needed this room and that they needed to do whatever they had to in order to make that happen.”