"Nothing will stop me from making you my wife today," he declares.
"Well, you better find our celebrant then."
Chapter Nineteen
Aiden
The bright blue sky is slowly fading into a pretty shade of lilac and pink.
I'm sitting on this private beach we somehow own in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, watching it all unfold, and marveling at how I got here.
Lex quietly walks over and sits down next to me, staring out toward the horizon. He's barefoot like me, his suit pants rolled up to stop them from getting wet.
"You okay?" he asks. "You've got a faraway look on your face."
"Couldn't be better," I reply. "Just grateful to be here today."
Lex nods. "You're remembering today one year ago." It's a statement, not a question, and an accurate one.
"Yeah," I sigh. "My world looked very different then."
Lex claps me on the back as the memories flood back. He understands. He was there holding Rhia's hand through the ordeal of waiting for her best friend to make it through heart transplant surgery.
"I hope I never have to go through anything like that again. It was the worst day of my life.
"Ella was devastated over Tiero's death. She had been there for his last breath, and was a sobbing mess. And I had to carry her away to get ready to face her own mortality."
I swallow hard, the fear and uncertainty of those hours still so alive even after all these months.
"There were moments when I was convinced I couldn't do it. That I couldn't let her be wheeled out of that room, so afraid I'd never see her again.
"I needed to be strong for her, but by God, I would have rather faced enemy fire and roadside bombs. It felt like my own life was hanging by a thread. I've never been more scared in my life. Those hours in that sterile waiting room were unbearable.
"And now, here I am, one year later, on my own golden stretch of sand, watching the sun set in a blaze of colors, waiting for Ella to walk down this makeshift aisle to marry her.
"The contrast couldn't be more striking. From the shadow of death and despair to the radiant promise of our future together."
"And your love has emerged stronger and more beautiful than ever," Lex says, his entire body relaxed and at peace.
I chuckle. "That's quite poetic. I wouldn't have picked you as the sentimental one."
Lex laughs too. "Rhia's made me one."
Then he looks over to the simple wooden arch draped in white fabric and adorned with delicate blossoms that marks the spot where Ella and I will soon exchange our vows.
"I think one day soon, I'm going to make Rhia my wife too. You guys kind of inspired me. I just have to convince my Trouble of the brilliance of that idea."
My eyes widen. So far, he's insisted that they didn't need a piece of paper to legitimize their relationship.
I nudge his shoulder. "I'm happy for you. Rhia will make a beautiful bride."
Lex's smile is genuine. I bet he expected me to give him shit about it. But today is definitely not the day for that.
"Are you ready to get married, then?" Lex asks, standing up and brushing the sand off his pants.
"I sure am." I follow, and together we walk over to where Father Josef is waiting, a small, kind smile on his face, holding the leather-bound book that will seal Ella's and my commitment.
The girls tended to him after we found him bound and gagged, sitting under a tree by the heliport. He was a little shaken, but after a cup of tea and some cake, his spirits seemed to recover. Maybe that was Tiero's reason when he requested that Father Josef be the one to marry Ella and me.
