“Absolutely!” they said in unison.
“I can’t wait to spend more time getting to know you all,” Eva said truthfully.
“Be careful what you wish for,” Jan replied, laughing.
A few minutes later, it was time for Pieter’s speech. He gave Eva a lingering kiss before standing up and addressing the guests. “I’ve never told anyone this before, but my wife is the most powerful woman I know.”
Eva looked around at their smiling guests, anxious about what was coming next.
“She actually engineered a landslide to get me alone. Yes, you heard that right — alandslide!”
He paused as their guests laughed and cheered, and Eva put her head in her hands.
“Now, you might be wondering how she managed it, and I have to be honest with you — I have no idea. All I know is that it must have been part of her cunning plan to get me alone with her.”
Cheers and whistles erupted, and Eva shot Pieter awhat are you doinglook, which was greeted by more laughter.
“I know that there is a tradition in wedding speeches to say things about the bride and groom that they’d rather keep secret. So I’m going to tell you what my wife does not want you to hear.”
As the guests erupted in laughter again, Eva said under her breath, “Pieter, what are you doing? Think of the children!”
Pieter winked at Eva and smiled. “So here it is — my wife’s secret. She can move mountains for the people she cares about. As you’ve already guessed, I mean this literally as well as metaphorically. She has a heart of gold, but her core is made of molten steel.”
He paused and gave Eva a huge smile. She felt her shoulders relax as she realized that Pieter wasn’t going to tell their guests about what happened between them that night.
“When we got caught in the landslide that day, we were carried to a very dangerous spot. The only way we could get to safety was by throwing ourselves in the river, which I realize might sound more dangerous to you than just waiting, exposed on the rocks, to be rescued.”
“How exposed were you, Pieter?” a voice Eva couldn’t identify called out.
Pieter smiled and shook his head. “I didn’t want to do it, let me tell you, but when Eva told me it was the only way, I believed her. Itrustedher because she’s smart and experienced.”
He picked up his champagne glass and held it in the air. “And I was right to trust her, because Eva rescued me from the river that day. I jumped in too soon, and she barely had time to get to safety herself before she hauled me out of the water. She saved my life.”
Eva reached up and grabbed Pieter’s free hand, smiling back at him through her tears.
“She saved my life, and then she gave methislife. This most wonderful life. I get to spend every day of the rest of my life with her. I can’t believe how fortunate we are to have these two wonderful, smart and funny little rascals right here.”
As if on cue, Mila and Max popped their heads up from their hiding place under the table, grinning at the laughter and applause their sudden appearance generated.
“Let’s raise a toast to my wife, Eva, the most amazing woman in the world!”
“To Eva!”
Eva cried tears of pure happiness as her husband’s words sunk in. She’d never felt more loved in her entire life. She stood up and hugged Pieter tightly, and then he kissed her, his kiss conveying all of the feelings — tender and strong — that he’d just communicated in his speech.
“You are my best gift,” Eva whispered through her tears.
“Your best wedding gift?” Pieter asked playfully.
“My bestevergift,” she said, hoping that, with those few words, she was able to make him feel as thoroughly loved as she knew she was. “Along with those wonderful, smart and funny little rascals.”
After dinner, there was plenty more dancing, and then Pieter and Eva — hand in hand with the twins — led the guests downto the shore of the lake, where they watched as an extended fireworks display lit up the night sky, reflected in the crystal-clear, still water.
As the twins squealed with delight, Eva kissed her husband and said, “Thank you for choosing us, Pieter. Thank you for all of the sacrifices you’ve made and are still making, each and every day, to be with us.”
“Eva, my sweetheart, look at all of this,” he said gently, gesturing at the lake with the mountains stretching out in the background, at the stars that twinkled in the indigo-blue sky. “I’m not exactly being a martyr here. This is pretty spectacular.You’respectacular,” he said, kissing her again.
“I love you, whether you’re Pete Billings or Pieter de Winter,” Eva said, leaning in for another kiss.
“And I love you, Sergeant Major Eva Bailey de Winter. Even if I’ll never know just how you caused the landslide that day.”
Eva smiled and kissed him again as the cascade of fireworks framed their perfect joy.
The End
