it. I will be faithful to you. I will see to it that I meet your every need as your husband and your life partner. I failed you last time. I never fought for you the way I should have, so I’m fighting for you now. I realize that I had tunnel vision when it came to my work, which left very little beyond the physical for you. I never saw the cracks when they appeared in our marriage. Never saw how vulnerable you had become. If I had been a better husband, you would never have jumped to the conclusion that I had been unfaithful. I won’t let that happen again if you give us another chance. What will your answer be? Will you marry me?”
She said yes.
Alice Horvath couldn’t even begin to describe the sense of relief that overtook her when Valentin came out of the office and informed her the wedding would go ahead. She hadn’t wanted to believe it wouldn’t—she did, after all, trust her instincts wholeheartedly—and persuading others she was never wrong was rarely the issue, but it seemed that when it came to her grandsons, she was two for two, so far, on having her judgment questioned.
Valentin had gone to rejoin his brother, Galen, and a handful of cousins, who had congregated at the front of the function room. Alice took a moment to find her medication in her handbag before resuming her seat. This darned pain in her chest was becoming tiresome. She certainly didn’t have time for it now. She fought the urge to rub at it. It never did anything anyway. Ah, there was her pillbox. She popped a tablet under her tongue just as Imogene came out of the office.
“Are you all right, Mrs. Horvath?” she asked.
“I’m fine, my dear. And let me say that I’m so glad you’ve decided to go ahead with the wedding.”
“Let’s just say your grandson can be very persuasive.”
Alice looked at the younger woman carefully. It was easy to see why Valentin had been attracted to her in the first place. The dark auburn hair and delightful figure aside, Imogene O’Connor had a rare exquisite beauty that was very clearly underlined with a strong personality and bright intelligence. During her background checks, Alice had discovered that over the past seven years, Imogene had grown her early-childhood centers into a business that had just been franchised nationwide. She was a strong and independent young woman with a good head on her shoulders, but it was the emotional side of Imogene that intrigued Alice most. She knew Imogene had rarely dated after her return from Africa. Whether it was because she was too busy for a new relationship or that she simply wasn’t emotionally ready, Alice was glad the other woman hadn’t rushed headlong into someone and something else.
When Alice looked at Valentin, with his aloof and slightly dark nature, together with the bright flame of light this woman epitomized, she knew Imogene was unquestionably the yin to his yang. The computer data and her specialists had backed up her instincts completely. She would never have taken a risk with either of these young people’s happiness otherwise. Life was just too precious, as she was becoming all too well aware.
The tablet continued to dissolve under her tongue, and incrementally the angina that had become such a plague in recent months began to ease. Alice inhaled carefully, relieved to feel the last of the tightness disappear, and directed a smile at the beautiful bride in front of her.
“Shall we return to the ceremony?” she asked.
“Perhaps you could ask my mom to join me again,” Imogene said in a voice that was just a little indecisive. “I’d feel better with her beside me.”
“Certainly.” Alice turned to leave, then hesitated and looked back to Imogene before reaching out to take her hand and squeeze it lightly. “You won’t regret this, you know. It may not be an easy road back to loving each other the way you did before. In fact, I hope the two of you discover a different kind of love this time. Something stronger, something that will endure. That’s my wish for you and Valentin.”
“It remains to be seen.”
“Yes, it does. And it will take hard work from both of you.”
Imogene gave her a nod and Alice turned away. These two were going to have an interesting time of it—of that she was certain.
Imogene went through the motions, repeating the words uttered by the celebrant standing before her and listening to Valentin do the same. The service was simple, without the personal touches that it might have had if they’d planned this day together. In many ways it was about as detached as their first wedding had been, although the celebrant today tried to invest the ceremony with a great deal more joy than the slightly bored local official who’d performed their ceremony back in Africa.
Africa. She had to stop thinking about that time and comparing it to now. It was another world ago.
Today was a new beginning. One she’d agreed to pursue. She still wasn’t even certain how Valentin had persuaded her to go ahead with it. All she knew was that with that one touch of his fingertip to her lips, he’d reminded her of the incendiary attraction they’d shared. Just one fingertip and she’d made a decision that would affect her for the rest of her life. Her entire body had reacted, concentrated on that mere touch. No one else had ever had the ability to set her alight with the brush of a finger the way he did. Which was a good thing, she’d always told herself as she’d pointed her attentions into her career and into establishing, then expanding, her business. Dating had been, for lack of a better word, a bland experience once she’d decided to test the waters again. But that very blandness was what had put her in search of a matchmaking service that would find her something better than bland. Had she been unconsciously searching for a relationship like what she had with Valentin all along? The idea was as terrifying as it was exhilarating.
And more important, now that she had agreed to go ahead, where would they go from here?
“You may now kiss your bride.”
The celebrant’s words penetrated her thoughts, dragging her back to the reality that was her wedding day. Her eyes flared wide as she caught Valentin’s smile and she froze in place. His eyes locked with hers, a serious expression reflecting back at her as he lifted her left hand to his lips and placed a kiss on her wedding finger.
“This is the ring you deserved all along,” he murmured before leaning closer.
She barely caught her breath before she felt the pressure of his lips against hers. Sensation bloomed through her like a starburst, radiating to the tips of her fingers and the soles of her feet, not to mention everywhere in between. She parted her lips in response, kissing him back instinctively. Her hand rested on his chest for a brief moment before sliding up to his neck. The texture of his slightly long hair against her fingers sent another jolt of awareness surging through her and she lifted slightly upward. Valentin’s arm curled around her waist, holding her to him.
It had always been like this between them. This intensity. This overwhelming need to be close. Closer still. As if the world began and ended with each other.
“Um, guys?” Valentin’s brother, Galen, interrupted them. “Care to leave something for the honeymoon?”
The gathered crowd laughed at his words and Valentin slowly drew away, leaving Imogene feeling more than a little stunned by what had just happened between them. Seven years. Actually, to be precise, seven years, three months, two weeks and five days since she’d walked out of his life. And still she was as hopelessly overcome by him.
“Are you okay?” Valentin asked gently, his arm still around her waist and his blue eyes searching her face for any signs of distress.
“Well, aside from my lipstick, which is probably demolished right now, I’m fine,” she said as coolly as she could manage given the rapid beat of her pulse and the tingling shocks that still lingered in parts of her body that hadn’t tingled in far too long.
He gave her a smile, took her hand again, and together they turned to face the assembly.
“I give you Mr. and Mrs. Horvath!” the celebrant