Terasa looked at Caroline and felt her heart swell up with pride. "You are positively glowing from head to toe," she said, stepping through the doorway.
"And I have you to thank for it," Caroline said, spreading her arms out. She turned in a complete circle. "So ... What do you think?" she asked, although she could tell by the smile on Terasa"s face that she did indeed look every bit the bride that she was. She glanced at herself in the full-length mirror and smiled. Rheyna had chosen her gown, and seeing how the white strapless gown hung seductively over her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, she could see why. She turned to face Terasa.
"Oh, Mom," she said, walking over and wiping the tears from Terasa"s cheek. "You"re going to ruin your makeup."
"I"m sorry, sweetheart. I can"t help it," Terasa said, bending to smooth out the small train hanging from the back of Caroline"s gown. "I"m so proud of you, and I just want you to be happy," she said between sniffles.
"I am happy. I have never been happier in my life, and I owe it all to you."
Terasa reached over and took Caroline"s hand.
Caroline smiled. "I love you, Mom."
"And I love you, too. Are you ready?"
"I"m as ready as I"ll ever be," Caroline said with a nervous laugh.
Terasa kissed her on the cheek. "Do you know that I"ve dreamt about this moment since the day you were born?"
"How did you know I would one day marry a woman?" Caroline teased.
"I knew you would marry the person of your dreams and obviously, I was right," Terasa said smugly and pulled the veil down over Caroline"s face before she could respond. Caroline laughed and laced her arm through Terasa"s and together, they stepped on the white carpet leading out toward the gazebo in the backyard.
Caroline"s heart skipped a beat as Carrie Underwood"s melodic voice began singing the song she had chosen, the one she heard at the beach house. All eyes were now on her as the guests turned in their seats to watch Terasa walk Caroline down the aisle.
Caroline looked at her side of the aisle and then over to where Rheyna"s family and friends were sitting. This has to be a first, she thought. Agent Edwards had to be salivating all over himself, and she wouldn"t have been the least bit surprised to see foam coming from the corners of his mouth. On her side of the aisle, sitting in the front row, and dressed in a black tuxedo, was Don Carlos Ma.s.sino. Next to him, sat Vincent and Joey, and the seats directly behind the three men contained the high-profile members of Ma.s.sino"s crime family.
On Rheyna"s side was the FBI. Agent Laura Forrest and her lover Stacie, along with Annie, were sitting in the front row next to Rheyna"s parents. Directly behind them were Agent Edwards, his wife Tess, Ron, Phil, Jesse, and several other friends of the family.
She looked at Rheyna, standing next to the minister, and felt her pulse quicken. Rheyna had decided she wanted to wear a white pantsuit, but insisted it be from the exact material as her own gown. Caroline had to admit that the result was stunning.
Terasa placed Caroline"s hand in Rheyna"s hand and then leaned forward, kissing Rheyna on the cheek before taking her seat next to Carlos.
The minister looked out at the guests and cleared her throat. "I would like to thank all of you for coming here today. We are gathered together to witness the union between Rheyna Sorento and Caroline Castrucci as they celebrate their love for and commitment to each other."
She looked at Rheyna and smiled. "Rheyna, you may now recite your vows."
Rheyna"s hand trembled as she raised Caroline"s veil. She took both of Caroline"s hands in hers. "Caroline, I can"t begin to describe how you"ve touched my heart. You have brought so much joy and happiness to my life. I never thought I would ever be able to love anyone as much as I do you. You have consumed my very being, completing my soul. I feel so much love when I look at you, when I hear your voice."
She paused to wipe tears from Caroline"s cheek. "I promise you that from this day forward, I will spend my lifetime loving you, protecting you, and cherishing every single moment that we are together. But most of all, I want to tell you how grateful I am for your love and to thank you for choosing me as the one to spend the rest of your life with."
The minister turned to Caroline. "Caroline, you may recite your vows."
Caroline took a moment to wipe the tears from her eyes. She turned to Rheyna. She laid her hand against Rheyna"s cheek, lightly caressing the small bruise still visible beneath her eye.
"Rheyna, there are so many things that I want to say to you." She looked at the guests and laughed nervously. "But I don"t think they can hang around that long, so instead I want to tell you how you have changed my life for the better in so many ways. You have shown me that dreams do come true and that there is such a thing as true love, complete with a happy ending. I found that love when you walked into my life. You opened up a part of me I never knew existed. I love you so much at times, it makes my heart hurt. The idea of loving someone to the depths I love you is amazing. I promise you I will never take you or your love for granted and I will spend my lifetime making you happy. I promise to love only you until the day I die."
They turned to face the minister.
"May we have the rings?" she asked.
Rheyna turned to her father and took the gold band from his hand. She lifted Caroline"s hand. "I give you this ring as an expression of my love and commitment to you," she said, sliding the band onto Caroline"s ring finger.
Caroline turned and took the matching band from Terasa. "And I give you this ring as an expression of my love and commitment to you," she said as she slid the ring onto Rheyna"s finger.
The minister looked at Caroline and then at Rheyna and smiled. "You may kiss your bride."
Rheyna leaned over and kissed Caroline softly on the lips. "You ready?" she asked, taking Caroline"s hand in hers as the guests stood, cheering them on.
"You better believe it," Caroline answered.
Together, the two of them walked down the steps and then ran up the aisle. They came to a stop at the end of the carpet and tossed their bouquets back over their heads. They turned to see Terasa and Vincent each catch one.
Vincent"s lips curled into a shy smile as a handsome young man on Rheyna"s side of the aisle winked at him.
Chapter 27.
Rheyna watched Caroline as she sipped on a margarita. It had been almost a month since their union ceremony and every once in awhile, she still had to pinch herself to believe it was true.
Terasa had made all the arrangements for their honeymoon and had booked them aboard Olivia"s Silver Wind Ship for a South American cruise. After sailing for several days, they flew to Rio de Janeiro and spent the better part of the week shopping, drinking, dancing, eating, and then more shopping, and several sleepless nights making love. They left their hotel and boarded the cruise ship to finish their journey, which brought them to Argentina, where they now lay on the beach, drinking margaritas, and working on their tans.
Rheyna glanced toward her left, where Laura and Stacie were lounging. They had arrived the previous day, after much prodding by Caroline. After everything they had been through, Caroline had insisted that Laura and Stacie needed a vacation as much as she and Rheyna.
Terasa had been adamant about keeping Annie for the first two weeks and then reluctantly agreed to let Vincent keep her for the last two since she had made travel arrangements of her own.
Rheyna turned to Caroline. "Did you ever find out where Terasa was going on her mini-trip?"
"Nope," she said, and continued flipping through her magazine. "She was very secretive about it, but she promised to drop us a postcard when she got there."
Rheyna leaned back in her chair. She let her thoughts drift to Terasa. She was a remarkable woman, courageous, brave, loving, and just like her daughter. Edwards and Laura had filled Rheyna in on all the events that had taken place while she was recuperating from her injuries. She knew what Terasa had done out of love for Caroline. Not only did she love Terasa for what she had done, she gained a newfound respect for Terasa because of it.
Rheyna hated keeping things from Caroline after everything that had happened, but the truth regarding the circ.u.mstances of her father"s death was something she would never learn from Rheyna. His death had been hard enough on Caroline as it was, and although Rheyna hated the man with every ounce of her being, she truly loved his daughter. There was absolutely nothing to be gained then or ever by telling Caroline that her mother was the person responsible for his death.
She thought about Edwards" the last minute decision to fake her death at the hospital. He told her afterward that he had a strong suspicion that Stevens was the mole inside the bureau and was the one responsible for blowing her cover.
They had to convince everyone that she had died, even if it meant hurting Caroline. Edwards knew that if word got back to Castrucci through Stevens that she was still alive, it would only be a matter of time before he sent someone else to finish the job. The fact that she was a federal agent hadn"t fazed him a bit-that was an obvious conclusion, seeing that he didn"t hesitate to send Farino after her.
She understood Edwards" reasoning from being involved in similar situations before, which had ended with good results. He had taken the time to meet with her parents to let them know that she was alive and well because he knew they would hear the news reports eventually.
Throughout all the craziness, the one thing Edwards hadn"t counted on was Terasa figuring out the truth. He had asked her later, how she knew. She shrugged and laughed. She had been a little suspicious from the beginning when she and Caroline were not allowed to go in the room after the doctor had p.r.o.nounced Rheyna dead. She never saw Rheyna"s body. She had heard about cases where the FBI or CIA faked a person"s death in order to protect them, and she had prayed that this had been the case with Rheyna.
She also knew she had information Edwards needed and figured that if her hunch was right, he might be willing to make a trade. The fact that she loved her daughter more than anything had made all her decisions very easy and she had called in a couple of favors from Carlos in order to pull off her plan.
Out of grat.i.tude for her friendship and loyalty, Carlos agreed to forget and forgive. As for tying up the loose ends concerning Jay Farino, Carlos had done that strictly for his own personal reasons. She had learned through Terasa about Ma.s.sino"s granddaughter, and although it didn"t change anything, it had offered him a small piece of revenge. He also had Terasa"s father as motivation. The two of them had grown up as friends together in a crime-infested Sicilian neighborhood. Her father had been the one responsible for saving Carlos" life when he took a bullet to the chest after being caught in the crossfire between two rival street gangs.
They all knew that Carlos was behind the killing, but had chalked it up to hard knocks. If he could forget, so could they, the FBI. Unfortunately, it was going to take years of therapy in order for her to forget and forgive.
As for Stevens, he currently sits in a Leavenworth jail cell awaiting trial on a slew of charges, including several counts of accessory to murder for the deaths of the informants. She was told that his chances of ever seeing daylight again are zilch.
She felt the most sympathy for Artie. He had been given the choice of resigning in order to avoid jail time on his own charges. Not only did he lose his job and pension, his wife Alice had sought help for her drinking and gambling addiction and had immediately filed for divorce upon being released from the treatment center.
Ron was doing as well as anyone, considering his circ.u.mstances, and he had actually been on a date with a friend of Stacie"s. She smiled as she thought about Stacie never missing or pa.s.sing up the chance to play matchmaker.
Caroline got to her feet and stretched. "I think I"m ready to head back to the hotel for lunch, if that"s okay with the three of you," she said, jostling Rheyna from her thoughts.
"I could use a bite to eat myself," Stacie said as she stood up and slipped on a terrycloth robe. She picked up Laura"s robe and tossed it to her.
Rheyna got up from her lounger, grabbed Caroline, and wrapped her arms around her waist. "I"m a little hungry, too," she whispered in Caroline"s ear.
Caroline playfully pushed her away. "I need real food, real nourishment. Besides, I want to see if we got anything from Mom," she said, slapping Rheyna with the magazine.
"Don"t you two ever stop?" Laura asked with a mischievous grin.
"Like you have any room to talk," Stacie said as she gathered up their things.
Laura took Stacie"s hand in hers. "Are you complaining?" she asked.
"Never," Stacie said, leaning in to kiss Laura on the cheek.
Caroline laced her fingers with Rheyna"s, and the four of them strolled slowly along the beach toward the hotel.
"Have you thought about where you"d like to live?" Rheyna asked.
Caroline smiled. "I don"t care, as long as I"m with you. I would live on the moon if I had to."
"I don"t think I"m ready for anything that drastic, honey, at least not right now. I was thinking more along the lines of a house in the hills, or maybe on the beach. How about Provincetown?" Rheyna laughed at the expression on Caroline"s face, and then added, "But if you really want to go to the moon, I"ll see what I can do."
Caroline squeezed Rheyna"s hand. "Do you have any idea, any idea at all just how madly and hopelessly in love with you I am?" she asked.
"Maybe just a little," Rheyna answered.
When they reached the hotel, Rheyna held the door open. "How would you like to spend the next fifty years showing me?" she asked.
"I think I can handle that," Caroline said as she went through the door.
Laura and Stacie headed for the elevators. "We"ll see you two in a couple of hours," Laura said over her shoulder.
Rheyna glanced at her watch. "How about we meet down here for dinner around six?"
"Sounds good to me," Laura answered just before the elevator door closed.
Caroline and Rheyna walked over to the receptionist"s desk. A young dark-haired woman with big brown eyes looked up from her notepad. "May I help you?" she asked with a thick Argentine accent.
"Can you please check to see if you have anything for Caroline Castrucci-Sorento?" Caroline asked.
They waited as the receptionist searched through the stacks of mail. "I don"t see anything here. I"ll check to see if there is something in back."
After a few minutes, she returned with a postcard and handed it to Caroline. Caroline turned the card over and read the back. She smiled as she handed the postcard to Rheyna.
"Sicily? What"s she doing in Sicily?" Rheyna asked, not understanding the meaning.
"Boy, do I have a story for you. You"re simply not going to believe it," Caroline said, pulling Rheyna toward the elevators.
The taxicab wound its way slowly up the cobblestone street and through a cl.u.s.ter of citrus trees. Terasa had forgotten just how beautiful Palermo was until the two-story villa overlooking the blue waters of Mondello Beach came into view. The house itself was breathtaking, nestled between several groups of olive and fig trees and thick, rolling green hills that shot off to the right, and stretched as far as the eye could see.
She waited for the driver to come to a stop and leaned across the seat to pay him. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heartbeat and opened the cab door. She must have been crazy for coming here. When Caroline made the comment that no one was standing in her way now, she had allowed herself to think about the future and the endless possibilities it might hold, but now that she was here, she couldn"t help thinking she had completely lost her mind.
She had been second-guessing herself since her plane landed. She had a million awhat if"s". What if she"s not home, or what if she doesn"t want to see me? Or worse- what if she"s with someone else? Surely, after all these years, she has to have someone in her life. The private detective had told her repeatedly that there was not. He also rea.s.sured her that his investigators had determined that no one had been in her life for years. Terasa still found it hard to believe.
She walked up to the door, took another deep breath, and pressed the buzzer. She glanced down at her trembling hands and waited for the door to be answered. She heard the lock click. She slowly raised her head and felt her breath catch in her throat-she was every bit as beautiful as she remembered.
Serena let out a gasp, recognition setting in. Without uttering a word, Serena pulled Terasa into her arms and gently kissed her on the mouth.
The End Author Bio Trin Denise lives with a house full of rescue pets, which all happen to be physically challenged. She is a huge advocate against bullying, especially when it comes to physically challenged children. Her writing career began eight years ago when her love of movies led her to write her first screenplay. Since that time, she has become an award winning and produced screenwriter as well as a multiply published author. Worth Dying For was her debut Lesbian novel and will always hold a special place in her heart.
Find out more about the author at: www.trindenise.com If you have the time, friend her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter. She is always happy to meet new people.
Web site: www.trindenise.com Facebook: #!/trindenise Twitter: @trindenise Blog: Sneak peak a She Left Me Breathless Sydney Welsh is a self-made millionaire. She is successful, confident, and seems to have the world at her feet but something is missing. Her personal life is a catastrophic mess and the reality of her situation sets in when she arrives home from a business trip, and finds her lover, Meredith, in bed with a female executive from her own company.
She realizes that the only woman she has ever loved was Rachel Ashburn and that ended ten years ago when Rachel made a choice, a life-changing choice that did not include, Sydney. Sydney knew she could compete with another woman, or even a man for Rachel"s love, but how can anyone compete with G.o.d. Now with more money than she knows what to do with, she puts an elaborate plan in motion to bring Rachel back into her life. She tells herself that she is doing it for revenge, and hiring business wiz-kid, Caitlin-Rachel"s nineteen-year-old daughter for an internship with her company is a key part of that plan.
As with all best laid plans, things can go wrong and once again, Sydney finds herself falling head over heels in love with Rachel, the only woman who had the power to leave her breathless.
Chapter 1.
Sydney was happy to be home although she hated Ohio winters. They could be downright brutal and today was no exception. All throughout the week, she had kept a close eye on the weather channel. The forecasters stopped short of calling the snowstorm blanketing Ohio a blizzard. Sydney begged to differ. Four-feet of snow falling in less than thirty-six hours, a thirteen-degree temperature, and winds of 37 mph were definitely a blizzard in her book.
When her a.s.sistant had first suggested December would be an ideal time for her to wrap up a long overdue business engagement in Florida, she had protested rather strongly. However, once the sweltering heat of Miami hit her in the face, she was glad she was there.
After six days of non-stop negotiations, lasting from sunrise to sunset, she had finally accomplished what she set out to do, and she was one day ahead of schedule.
She glanced at the briefcase lying on the seat beside her. In it were signed doc.u.ments, declaring her the new owner of seventy-five acres of prime real estate, which included a fifty-thousand square-foot warehouse.
Driving from the Greater Dayton Airport in Vandalia would be a long, time-consuming adventure. For the first time all year, she used the 4-wheel drive option on her Ford 350 crew cab truck. She expertly maneuvered around a snowplow to keep from having her truck sprayed with a mixture of salt and sand. It was amazing that the roads were as clear as they were considering the amount of snow on the ground.