Releasing Hadley’s hands, I step away long enough to take Valeria, who has let a few tears fall. I whisper to her in Russian and she rests her head on my shoulder, burying her face in my neck, satisfied that she got her way. Hadley grins at the sight of us.
I take her hand with the only free one I have and start over. “I love you, and I’ve loved you for eleven years now. I’ll love you for the rest of our lives. I don’t have to promise to do that because there’s no way to stop me from loving you. We’ve been through a lot during our time together. We already know that we can get through anything and that’s all because of you.
“You’ve always called us soulmates and I’ve always said you’re my other half. Because of that, you refuse to give up on us. You have all the patience in the world with me while you waited for me to get ready for whatever happens next with us. I promise not to take too long in the future. I promise to care for you and our daughter, to protect you both, to still get jealous when someone flirts with you. I promise to get us through whatever comes our way. We’ve made it this long together; we can make it through the rest of our lives together. It’s always been you and me forever, and it always will be.” I slip the ring onto her finger.
“Oh, Luca.” A small tear escapes her eye. “I fell in love with you the moment I saw you. I knew that there would never be anyone else to capture my heart. You are my soulmate. We’ve had rough times, but at the end of the day, we always come back to each other because this is where we belong. You’ve stood by me through a lot, as I have for you, and it’s made us both better people.
“I love that you are spontaneous and surprise me at every turn. I love your serious tone and the fact that I’m the only one who’s really seen you laugh. I love that you're a leader, but you still listen to me, sometimes.” She winks. “But above all, I love how you love me and our daughter. There’s no one else I want to walk beside me, but you. I love you, Luca.”
Hadley steps closer to slip on my ring because I’m still holding Valeria, but she manages to get it on. Valeria has fallen asleep, but doesn’t wake when I lean forward to kiss my bride.
The urge to have her is overwhelming. I turn to my father. “Take her while she’s sleeping, so we can make our escape,” I whisper. “We’ll see you both tomorrow and can have a celebratory lunch or something.”
Carefully, Papa takes her without waking her. I grab Hadley’s hand, wave to my parents, and drag her away.
“Luca,” Hadley laughs. “We shouldn’t just pawn our daughter off on your parents right after we’re married.”
“We shouldn’t, but we did. C’mon.” We enter the castle and I make a beeline up the stairs to room I reserved for tonight. We’ve got the entire place to ourselves and I’m going to make sure we make good use of our time alone.
“Where are we going?”
“To our room.” I stop at the door and face Hadley. “You can ask questions about the how and when, or,” I pull her against me, “you can walk through this door and let me undress you.”
Hadley chooses the door. She wraps her arms around me after I’ve closed the door behind us. “I love you, Luca.”
“I love you, Hadley Zotov,” I grin. My fingers find the zipper of her dress and as I slowly drag it down, I kiss her neck and whisper, “You and me forever.”
“You and me forever,” she replies.