Page 95 of Mine Again
I’m going to be married.
Sebastian’s sleek black Audi pulls up and glides to a stop outside the gate. There’s no turning back now. This is what I want. I might as well embrace it fully.
I put the smile back on my face, and with one last look at the place I’ve called home all my life, I hurry toward my future. Before the driver’s side window even fully lowers, I’m at the door, pulling it open.
Sebastian grins at me, his eyes warm and full of promise. It settles something inside me.
I don’t hesitate. I slide into the car, my heart pounding with anticipation.
Throwing my arms around his neck, I kiss him. His mouth is familiar now, and yet every kiss still seems new.
He pulls back too soon, though the glint in his eyes tells me he has more in store. Without looking away from me, he opens the glove compartment and retrieves a small velvet box.
My breath catches. My gaze drops to it as he flips it open.
Inside, nestled in dark satin, is a sparkling, breathtaking engagement ring. The diamond catches the faint light, dazzling, as if it’s as full of promise as the man beside me.
“Because we’re doing this properly,” he says with a grin. His voice is soft, almost reverent. “Isabella Accardi, will you marry me?”
My grin matches his, wide and certain. “Yes.”
He slides the ring onto my finger, his touch gentle but sure, his eyes never leaving mine. I hold out my hand, watching how the stone gleams, marking the start of something entirely new.
“It’s gorgeous,” I murmur, trying hard not to compare this ring to the first one I wore.
The dizzying joy I felt that first time, when Luca slid his ring onto my finger, is missing.
But that’s okay. I know what this is. Sebastian and I are a strategic move. We fit together beautifully, and from this strong foundation, we will build a happy life.
“Not as gorgeous as you,” he says, his gaze heated now.
We seal it with a kiss, this one deeper, slower, more charged. It promises everything our wedding night will bring. My stomach twists, nerves bursting through. I’m not sure if it’s excitement or dread. Maybe both.
Sebastian draws back just enough to nuzzle my neck, his breath warm against my skin. He lingers there for a heartbeat, then his mouth finds mine again, his words brushing my lips.
“Ready, baby?”
No, I’m really not.
“Yes. Let’s do this.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Isabella
“Another?” Dario asks, lifting the champagne bottle with dramatic flair, like it’s a magic wand sent to rescue me.
No, wait.
Is it Dario? Or Derek? Donald?
I’m pretty sure his name starts with a D.
Whatever. At this point, he could be called Donatello, and I wouldn’t care.
The important thing is that he’s holding out that bottle like he knows it’s the solution to the gnawing, hollow ache in my chest. And maybe it is.
I really shouldn’t drink any more. I already had two glasses with dinner and another when I arrived here in the back room of the plush chapel Sebastian picked for us to get married in.
