‘My darling... My beautiful, unique, special darling.’ He kissed her gently on the lips and had the wonderful feeling of being exactly where he was meant to be.
‘Then I found out that I was pregnant, and after the shock had worn off a bit, I felt sick at the thought of telling you—sick at the thought of knowing that you would be horrified, your worst nightmare turned into reality.’
‘And here we are. So I’m asking you again, my dearest—will you marry me?’
* * *
They were married in Ireland a month before their baby was born, with all her family in attendance. Her father, her brothers and her brothers’ partners all filled the small local church. And, when they retired to the hotel which they had booked into, the party was still carrying on, as he was told, in typical Irish style. And just as soon as the baby was born, he was informed, they would throw a proper bash—the alcohol wouldn’t stop flowing for at least two days. Alessio had grinned and told them that he couldn’t wait but that, before the baby discovered the wonders of an Irish bash, she or he would first have to discover the wonders of going on honeymoon, because they had both agreed that wherever they went their baby would come as well.
And their baby, Rose Alexandra, a little girl with his dark hair and big, dark eyes, was born without fuss, a healthy eight pounds four ounces. Rachel, who was over the moon at the prospect of having a sibling she could thoroughly spoil, could barely contain her excitement when she paid her first visit to the hospital and peered into the little tilted cot at the side of Lesley’s bed.
The perfect family unit, was the thought that ran through Alessio’s mind as he looked at the snapshot picture in front of him. His beautiful wife, radiant but tired after giving birth, smiling down at the baby in her arms while Rachel, the daughter he had once thought lost to him but now found, stood over them both, her dark hair falling in a curtain as she gently touched her sister’s small, plump, pink cheek.
If he could have bottled this moment in time, he would have. Instead, still on cloud nine, he leaned into the little group and knew that this, finally, was what life should be all about.