Amy looked at the sparkling ring on her finger again. She loved it! Loved the way the beautiful single diamond caught the light. Daniel had chosen the most perfect ring for her, one that fitted her finger exactly. He knew her so well, he knew just what she liked. She still couldn’t believe that they were engaged, and were going to get married and live together happily ever after. It was like a dream come true. She smiled, thinking of Dan getting down on one knee on the bridge overlooking the canal and asking her to marry him!
From the minute they had met Amy had realized that Dan was ‘the one’, the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. He wasn’t just her best friend and soulmate but the love of her life. She loved Daniel Quinn with all her heart, and now he was going to be her husband. Husband! She liked the sound of it . . . the very word . . . husband.
Her parents had been delighted, and she was sure that secretly it was a huge relief to them that at thirty years and five months she had found a husband. And not just a husband, but Daniel, who she knew they both totally approved of and liked.
‘They are over the moon. I knew they’d be!’ She laughed as Daniel began to phone his parents and friends. Just imagine! In less than a year she would be Mrs Amy Quinn!
The proposal had been so romantic. They’d been walking through the streets of Venice as night fell. During the day Venice bustled with tourists and their cameras; groups of Japanese visitors following guides around St Mark’s Square as they tried to see all the sights; and queues for vaporetti and expensive gondola rides. But as the sun went down on the lagoon and the island emptied, the tour bus crowds left and it became a different place. La Serenissima: a place of lovers and trysts and secret history, filled with centuries of romance and intrigue. Where lovers walked hand in hand through narrow streets, and disappeared behind the shuttered doors and hidden balconies of palazzos and villas and old houses, and pledged to love each other for eternity.
No wonder Dan had insisted that they go for a pre-dinner walk far from the Grand Canal, and crossed one of the smaller bridges to a place that was quiet and beautiful, where they could watch the red sun slip from the sky and disappear into the water.
‘I wanted to be sure that we were alone.’ He had grinned, touching her shoulder.
They certainly had been alone: most people had already crammed into the bacari for drinks and to sample the tapas-like cicchetti; or were dining in the busy restaurants.
‘It’s just so beautiful here!’ she had said, leaning against him as she’d taken in the breathtaking views all around them. Amy could not believe this City of Bridges on the Adriatic, with its myriad canals, huge lagoon, and waterbuses that ferried people from place to place.
‘You know, legend has it that Italian lords and nobles of old would bring their lady loves here, to this Santo Cristo bridge, to look at the city and the water at twilight, so they could pledge their love,’ Daniel had said slowly.
Amy had held her breath, barely daring to speak, as he’d got down on one knee and taken her hand in his.
‘I love you, Amy,’ he had said, his eyes fixed on hers. ‘Will you marry me? Marry me!’
She hadn’t even had to think or hesitate for a second: marrying Daniel was all she’d ever wanted. ‘YES . . . YES . . . YES! A hundred times “yes”!’ Amy had shouted, like some crazy mad Irish woman, as Daniel had stood up and taken a small jewel box from the pocket of his trousers. Dumbfounded and delirious with happiness, Amy had looked at the perfect diamond on its slim band of gold which he’d slipped on to her finger. Dan’s long face had been intense and serious as he’d held her hand in his.
Lightheaded and giddy for a second, Amy’s heart had flipped over! She had felt it pounding crazily against her ribs as she’d looked at Daniel, overwhelmed, while he’d enveloped her in his arms, kissing her and holding her like he never wanted to let her go.
‘I’m so happy,’ she’d told him, trying not to cry.
‘I wanted it to be somewhere special. Somewhere we’d always remember and think about. Italian legend says that the couples who pledge their love to each other here will love each other till the end of time.’
‘I love you now and for ever,’ she said aloud, overcome with emotion.
Dan was the best boyfriend in the world, and she was the luckiest girl to have found him. They had been going out for two and half years, but both of them had known almost immediately that they were meant for each other. Now she couldn’t believe it: they were engaged and going to get married!
‘Come here, you!’ she’d said, pulling him closer and kissing him.
A long time afterward, as they’d watched the last rays of the sun disappear and lights flicker, lighting up the city and sparkling on the dark water, they’d begun to walk back slowly towards the restaurant he had booked for dinner. Hand in hand, they’d laughed and chatted.
‘I booked us a table at La Rondine.’
‘Oh, Dan, you’ve everything planned.’ Amy had laughed. La Rondine was one of the best restaurants in Venice, and there was a waiting list for a table.
He’d told her that they were going somewhere fairly fancy for dinner, so luckily she’d decided to dress up a bit and put on her cream linen shoestring dress, instead of her normal jeans and T-shirt and flip-flops. She had flicked her light brown hair softly around her face and pinned a piece of it back with an antique comb he’d bought her in a little shop near the Rialto.
The restaurant was on a small side street and overlooked the water. It had candles on the tables, and fairy lights decorating the beautiful wrought ironwork on the balconies and windows and doors. The former summer residence of an Italian prince, it still had most of its original stonework and carvings, and there was a fresco on one wall.
They had the best table in the house; and Dan, wanting to celebrate, had ordered a bottle of champagne before they’d even had time to study the menu.
‘You look so beautiful,’ he’d said, kissing her hand.
‘And you look so handsome,’ she’d said, returning the compliment as she’d gazed at his blue eyes fringed with dark lashes, and his unruly dark hair – which he hadn’t combed when he’d got out of the shower earlier. He’d been wearing a light blue shirt and beige chinos which emphasized his lean body.
Knowing this night was going to be unforgettable, Amy had ordered gnocchi to start and the house special of butter fish for her main course. The setting was so perfect, and Dan had squeezed her hand as they listened to the band singing ‘L’amore’ over in the corner.
Amy hadn’t been able to resist every now and then watching her ring sparkle in the flickering candlelight as they shared the most romantic night ever.
‘Wait till the family and everyone hears!’ She’d laughed. ‘They won’t believe it.’
‘The lads will be surprised!’ Dan had said.
Talk about understatement: most of Dan’s friends had been going out with girls for years – some since college and two or three since school – and yet none of them had gotten around to making the relationships permanent. Dan’s best friend Liam was an utter player, and went from girlfriend to girlfriend, all of them beautiful and blonde – and none good enough for him to commit to!
‘Will we phone them?’
‘Let’s enjoy the rest of the night here,’ Dan had teased. ‘You know if you start calling people you’ll be doing it for hours.’
She’d laughed. He was so right. ‘We’ll phone them when we get back to the hotel.’
A long time after midnight they had taken a water taxi back to the hotel. Wrapped in each other’s arms, both deliriously happy and a little drunk, they’d been ready to tell everyone the good news about their engagement.