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Maria adjusted Samantha’s veil, fussing over her as if she were her own mother instead of her soon-to-be-mother-in-law. “I still don't see why you couldn't have been married in the church. It's a very pretty church.”
Samantha just smiled into the mirror. There was no point in answering, as they'd already had this discussion every day since Maria had returned from her winter in Malta. Maria meant, of course, the big church where she had been married. If anything, Samantha would've chosen the little church in town—but she'd had her heart set on a different spot for months now.
Maria adjusted, then adjusted again, then finally stepped back and looked at the clock. “The priest will be here by now.”
Samantha stood, gathering the tiny train of her dress with one hand. “Shall we go?”
Maria smiled. “Are you ready?”
Samantha touched her grandmother's pearl necklace at her throat—the necklace her grandmother had worn for her own wedding. “Yes.” Samantha laughed. “I've been ready for months, we just had to wait for you.”
Maria scooped her arm through Samantha's and planted a kiss on her cheek. “I'm so glad things worked out.”
Samantha was too full of feeling to put into words how she felt, so she just kissed Maria's cheek in return.
They walked together, arm in arm, through the halls of the Castello and up through the tower suite where she’d stayed on her first visit. Maria had wrapped white tulle around the banister leading up to the top of the tower.
As they came out into the sunlight, Samantha blinked, and then her eyes focused immediately on Edo. He wore a dark suit that looked made for him—it probably had been—and he was freshly shaved and had his hair combed back neatly. She'd have to muss that up later. His green eyes fixed on her instantly, and the smile that lifted his lips was pure joy. Samantha’s grandmother had taught her how to feel loved, but Edo had taught her how to feel adored.
Edo's father and the priest were also there, all the audience Samantha needed for her special day. She touched her grandmother's pearl necklace once more, and the ever-present birdsong floated up from the trees below. Her grandmother would've approved.
The ceremony was quick and simple, not a full Catholic ceremony, as Samantha was not Catholic, but sincere, and the priest smiled as warmly as Edo's parents as Edo kissed his bride.
Samantha had teased Edo that they could honeymoon at a fancy bed-and-breakfast in the countryside outside of Florence, but he'd insisted they fly to America to visit the residents of Apple Grove.
Samantha had sold Grandma Lucy’s house to fund her return to Italy and enroll in school. It had been the scariest thing she’d ever done; it had felt like cutting out a part of herself. But when Edo had taken her into his arms that first day back, she’d known she had found her true home.
They drove toward Florence in the little red convertible they’d borrowed once before. Samantha reviewed the new brochure for the Castello as they went. She and Edo had done a rebranding of the website and brochures, targeting first-time travelers using the line Edo had said to her the first day he’d taken her into the city: “You only have one first experience in Florence. Make it count.” They were also adding art history tours of the areas surrounding Florence—the types of places Edo had taken Samantha her last day of her trip, the ones most people never saw because they were off the main path and confusing to reach by bus.
Edo broke through her thoughts. “We have one more stop to make.”
Samantha was not surprised this time when they pulled up to the parking area with the little lean-to roof at the back end of the Boboli Gardens. She scooped up the train of her wedding dress and happily ignored all the excited tourists as they went straight for the door in the wall at the far end of the gardens.
When they reached it, they both stood and looked silently at all the little tiny signatures and initials covering the door. Finally, Samantha turned to Edo. “Are we becoming vandals?”
Edo turned to face her, drawing the length of her up against him. “I don't need letters on a door to make sure I'll never forget you.”
Samantha slid her hands up along Edo's chest and around his neck. “Do I get to say sorry for the time you asked me to stay and I didn't?”
Edo lowered his head to hers. The last time he’d kissed her here, it had been a kiss of desperation and hope, and she’d kissed him back with pain and aching and denial. This kiss spoke of promise, of a future as rich as this garden’s past. And Samantha knew, without a doubt, that she belonged.
***
IF YOU ENJOYED THIS book, click here to join my newsletter and get a free short read! It’s a story called “Love in Terminal B,” and I had a ton of fun writing it. You’ll also get to be the first to hear about new releases. The next in this series will take you to Venice...
LOVE VICTORIOUS IN VENICE
She knows what she wants from her life, her music, and herself. Until Venice... and him.
Megan knows better than to make decisions based on passion, but even she can’t resist a summer performance internship nestled in the romantic waterways of Venice. The handsome but aggravating tenor she accidentally knocked into the canal should be easier to resist.
Should be easier.
And yet, both this city and this man spark something deep inside her, tempting her to open her heart... to dream.
Lorenzo is a singer who lives for his dreams, even if sometimes that means doing odd jobs to pay the bills. He has no patience for anyone who doesn’t live with the same level of devotion to their art. So why can’t he ignore Megan, who keeps her desires so carefully under guard that he can’t help trying to drag them out? And how can her stifled heart feel the soul of Venice the way his own does—the way he thought only a native Venetian ever could?
She swore she’d never date a musician.
He has no desire to date an American.
When the person you’re stuck with is attractive, talented, and infuriating, something has to give... and in this case, it might be both their hearts.
Get “Love Victorious in Venice” here!