Untangle My Heart (Tangled Hearts) (34 page)

She went downstairs and heard noise in the kitchen. She peeked in and saw her mother rolling out cinnamon buns, Kate’s favorite.

“I had a feeling you’d be up,” Carmen said.

“I couldn’t sleep,” Kate said.

“Nervous?”

Kate shook her head. “Excited.”

“You should be. You’re going to have a wonderful life, Bella.”

“You’re right, Mama,” she said, walking over to give her mom a hug and kiss. “Thanks for loving me.”

Carmen squeezed her hard. “As if I had any choice, although you did make it a challenge at times.”

Boy, had she. Kate thought back over the years. She hoped if she had another child, his or her temperament would be more controlled, like Edward’s, and not explosive like hers.

“Go for your walk and when you come back, these will be ready,” Carmen said, gesturing toward the pastries on the cookie sheet.

Kate smiled, loving that her mother knew her so well. With another kiss and a longing glance at the rolls, she headed toward the front door.

The cool air of late March ruffled her hair as she walked down the street. It had rained the past couple of days, but the hint of sun peeking above the horizon gave Kate hope it would be a sunny day.

A few blocks later she arrived at her destination—Tony’s gravesite. It was her wedding day and she needed to share it with her firstborn.

Shortly after the accident, she’d brought Lucas to the gravesite. She’d shared some of the funny things Tony had started doing right before he died. They’d talked about the death of Lucas’s family, and he’d shown her the pictures he kept in a special box he’d made. It was a special bond that would always exist between them.

She squatted down at the gravesite and brushed away some dirt on the headstone. As she always did, she made the sign of the cross and said a prayer.

“Hi, my sweet baby,” she said in a low voice. “I can’t stay long. Today is my wedding day. I’m marrying Edward. He’s come here with me several times.” She sniffed and reached for the tissues she’d shoved in her pockets.

“I promise to come to visit you, but it may not be as often. I will always love you, my Tony, but it’s time to move on with my life. I wish you were here and could meet Lucas. I know the two of you would have been friends. He’s so sweet and loving, just like you.”

She looked up to the sky. “Thank you for bringing him to me. I’m so very thankful for Lucas and Edward. I hope you understand my need to move on and be happy.”

A gentle breeze blew across her cheek, like a soft kiss, and she felt something at her shoulder. She turned but no one was there. But she felt him, she felt Tony there beside her, and knew he was telling her it was all right to move on.

She turned and her eyes met Edward’s, who stood a few feet away.

“I thought I’d find you here,” he said.

She wiped at the dampness on her face. “You think you know me pretty well, don’t you?”

“Luv, I know you exceptionally well.” He held up a cardboard carrier with two cups of coffee and a pastry bag.

She half laughed and cried before walking into his arms. He held her as she wept for the past, and for the future she’d never have with Tony but would build with Edward and Lucas.

“Are you sure you’re not pregnant? You’ve been very emotional lately—well, more than usual.”

She’d pitched her birth control pills a couple months ago to see how long it would take her to get pregnant.

“It’s possible, but I haven’t missed a period yet,” she replied.

“If you’re not now, we’ll have lots of opportunity to practice on our honeymoon,” Edward replied.

“My mother is going to have your head. It’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding,” Kate said, wiping her eyes with the napkin he handed her.

“Right, but considering we’re technically already married, I don’t think the superstition is valid,” Edward replied, leading her to one of the benches.

He was right. They were indeed husband and wife, at least according to the law. A couple weeks after the Sal incident they’d tied the knot in a small ceremony at City Hall. They wanted to be married when they adopted Lucas.

Within the first couple of months of the new year, they’d moved into the brownstone a few doors down from Meghan and Charles. The adoption came through, and Lucas was settled in a private school not far from where they lived.

Today’s wedding was to satisfy her mother, who’d insisted on a Catholic ceremony. While Kate had appeased her, it didn’t come close to the extreme of her first wedding. This one would be intimate, if you could call seventy-five guests intimate.

“You’re right, but I think I’ll keep our rendezvous to myself.” She looked down at the pastry bag. “Do I smell cider donuts in there?”

“Of course. Freshly baked from your sister’s café. The line was out the door when I arrived. Thankfully, I get preferential treatment being part of the family.”

“Yeah, it also means you serve yourself and probably a couple of customers as well.”

“I was there for thirty minutes before I could escape with these,” he said, pulling a still warm sugary donut out of the bag.

“God, do I love a sexy man who brings me donuts,” she said, biting into the soft doughy sweetness. “Mama is going to kill me, though. She’s making cinnamon buns.”

“Somehow I think you’ll have room for one of those, too,” Edward said, sipping from his coffee and taking a bite out of his own donut.

“I have a wedding dress to fit into plus a very teeny bikini for our honeymoon.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Just how teeny?”

“The we-may-not-make-it-out-of-the-room kind of teeny.”

“My favorite kind,” he said, kissing the sugar from her lips. “Something tells me we’ll be spending a lot of time working off the donut and cinnamon bun.”

She was counting on it.

“We’re not making a mistake leaving Lucas home, are we?” she asked.

“No. We haven’t had more than a couple nights alone since the beginning of the year. I want you all to myself for the next seven days.” He tugged a curl. “Besides, Lucas is excited to spend the next week with Grandma, and your mother is looking forward to the trip to New York. She can dote on Meghan during the day while Lucas is in school, which will be a good distraction for both of them.”

“I know, I know. I feel guilty leaving him, but I want you to myself, too.”

It was difficult finding alone time, but they’d managed. Thankfully, Lucas went to bed fairly early and was a sound sleeper. They’d only almost been caught once, but luckily had remembered to lock the bedroom door.

Having finished her donut, she laid her head on her husband’s shoulder. “I love you. I’m glad you found me here.”

“Even the risk of Carmen’s wrath couldn’t keep me away.” He put his arm around her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I love you.”

The words he once couldn’t say now rolled off his tongue as though he’d said them all his life.

“You know this will be the quietest moment we have today. If you think my immediate family is loud, wait until you meet the rest of them.”

“I can’t wait.”

“Ha. You say that now, but wait until Aunt Josephine pinches your cheeks for the hundredth time.”

They sat in silence and watched the sun rise together.

“Happy?” he asked.

She turned her face up to him. “I’ve never been happier. I love the life we’ve started together, and while there will be rough patches, our love will get us through anything.”

“Yes, it will, luv. Yes, it will.”

They stood and headed toward the house. Kate turned and glanced back at the grave. At that moment, the wind picked up a bunch of leaves right next to Tony’s grave, and they fluttered in the breeze.

She wrapped her arm around Edward’s waist and smiled. For the first time since Tony’s death, she felt optimistic for her future and believed in the strength of love and the power of healing. There would always be pain, but through the pain there was joy and hope, and that made all the difference.

A word about the author...

A romantic at heart, Maria K. Alexander spent hours as a young girl getting lost in and wishing to be one of the heroines in the stories she read. Books gave her the ability to go to another world where she loved meeting new characters, learning about their problems, and watching them fall in love.

Maria blogs and shares her writing journey with her critique partners at:

http://thevioletfemmes.com.

When not writing, Maria loves to read, bake, downhill ski, visit the beach, and watch romantic comedies. Maria lives in New Jersey with her husband and children, and writes in her “spare” time between juggling a full-time job and her kids’ busy schedules. You can keep in touch with her at:

http://mariakalexander.com

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