Kellie frowned at me. “Do Roman Gods bless places?”
I shrugged, not sure.
“Signor Giordano built the home for his true love and they lived here for seventy years, dying in each other’s arms. Since then everyone married there has stayed married until death did they part,” Paolo said, driving with one hand, and doing all sorts of exaggerated gestures with his other hand.
I wondered how many of those deaths were in old age and of natural causes, or if the deaths were ever helped out as an alternative to divorce. Inwardly I kicked myself for such a cynical thought.
Kellie leaned closer to me and whispered, “Is it disingenuous to get fake married in a place blessed by Cupid?”
Here I was thinking about until death do us part, and she was thinking of the romantic aspect, and being disrespectful of the home’s history. Afterall, we weren’t going to stay married until death. “If you’re having second thoughts—”
“No.” She shook her head. “I just…”
“We are here,” Paolo announced as he turned off
the main road.
Looking out the window, I couldn’t see anything except the cypress trees lining the drive and the vast landscape. But then we came around a curve and a majestic home sat perched at the top of a hill.
Kellie gasped. “It’s so beautiful.”
I had to agree. The yellow-cream home sat like a crown overlooking the entire region. As we approached the large villa, we passed gardens filled with gorgeous blasts of color.
“Like a fairy tale,” she said, finishing her thought.
I realized for all her practicality and efficiency, deep down she was a romantic. I didn’t feel bad for disrespecting the history of the house, but I was beginning to feel bad for making her a part of a fake fairy tale. It felt cruel and too much to ask of her.
8
Kellie
I would totally trade in my dream beach wedding for one here at Villa Amorino. The house, the gardens, the Tuscan landscape, all of it was breathtaking. I’d seen pictures of Italy in books and on the Internet, but the photos in them didn’t do the reality of the area justice.
There had been a few awkward moments with Ryan on the plane, but once we agreed to think of our relationship as a friendship, he seemed to relax, which made me relax as well. It allowed me to turn my attention to the once in a lifetime trip I was on, and I made a vow to make the most of it. I’d take pictures, even though I knew they wouldn’t be as good as the real thing. I wanted to share this with Natalie as much as possible. I pulled out my phone and snapped a picture of the home to text to her.
Paolo parked the car and got out, opening the door for me. I slid out taking in the clean Tuscan air and sighing. It smelled like Italy should smell.
Ryan stepped out next to me, putting his hand on my lower back. Oh yeah, we might be friends, but we had to pretend to be lovers. I leaned in a little closer to him.
The door opened and Christian LaMont strode down the stairs with a wide grin and a stunning, model-like woman at his side.
“Bienvenue…or as they say in Italy, Benvenuto.” He took my hand in both of his, and then kissed each cheek. He did the same to Ryan. “This is my wife, Martina.” She did the same in greeting both me and Ryan.
“Welcome. Please come in. You must be exhausted from your trip,” she said, her French accent matching her husbands.
“It was long.” I wasn’t sure how I was standing. I did get some sleep on the plane, but it was weird for it to be mid-day when it felt like it should be the middle of the night.
“Let me show you the wedding set up—”
“They might want to get cleaned up first, my love,” Christian said to his wife.
“Surely they want to see where they will be joined as husband and wife,” she said with a look to me.
“Yes of course,” I said, trying to have the enthusiasm of a blushing bride.
“This way.” She guided us into the house. It took all my effort not to gawk at the home. The beautiful art that Natalie would have swooned over. The lovely furnishings that pulled me back in time. We reached the back of the home where there was a large terrace overlooking the lush green Tuscan landscape. Several rows of chairs were already set up.
“We weren’t sure how many guests would be coming, but we have more chairs if needed,” Martina said.