Greater Than Rubies, a Novella inspired by the Jewel Trilogy (29 page)

OBIN
stood in the middle of the living room and held her hands out, whirling in a circle. She laughed, and the sound filled and satisfied Tony’s soul. He smiled, delighting in her.

“We are married,” she said with a grin, kicking her shoes off.

“Till death,” Tony smiled walking toward her until he could hook her waist with his arm. “Or until I get tired of you,” he said.

With a snort, Robin grabbed his tie. “You won’t get rid of me that easy.”

“God, I hope not,” he said, putting a hand on her cheek. “You are amazing and beautiful. I think what we did tonight was a great idea. Now you can enjoy tomorrow without the added stress of getting married.”

Robin slipped her arms around his neck. “I love you, Antonio Viscolli. I am eternally grateful for the day God placed you in my life.”

“And I you,
mia moglie
.” He smiled and looked into her sapphire blue eyes. “I like that, calling you ‘my wife’. I look forward to doing that for many years.” He brought his lips down to hers, feeling his breath sweep away at the mere brush of her skin on his. The blood roared in his ears as he deepened the kiss, and he fought for control even as he pulled her tighter to him.

He kissed her and kissed her, drinking her in. Ripping his mouth away, he ran his lips along her jaw to the nape of her neck, inhaling the scent of her perfume, feeling all cognitive thinking sweep away. He felt Robin’s hands slide up his head and grip his hair as he kissed the sensitive skin under her ear. Her gasp, the clutch of her hands, the way her body moved against his almost made him lose control, but he clawed for it and grasped it back.

He ripped his head up and tried to take a breath that wasn’t consumed with her taste or smell. She placed her lips on his neck, almost mimicking his kiss. “Wait,” he panted. His skin burned under her touch.

“Wait for what?” Robin purred, kissing his jaw, placing her lips at the corner of his mouth.

“You need – “

Robin silenced him with her kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck and standing on tiptoe as if she wanted to devour him. When she finally broke her mouth away, she said, “I need you.” Framing his face with her hands, she stared into his eyes and he started to drown. “I need you,
mio marito
.”

Hearing her call him her husband in his native tongue broke the last thread of control he clumsily held. Sweeping her into his arms he cradled her to him as he kissed her and carried her into his – into their – bedroom.

OBIN
opened her eyes, momentarily panicked by the unfamiliar surroundings. Then memories of the night before came flooding back and she slowly sat up, pulling the sheet up with her. She surveyed the room around her with interest, recognizing her bath robe hanging on the back of the open closet door next to his. Boxes lay stacked in a corner labeled “bedroom,” obviously waiting for her to fully move in.

She sat up against a mahogany headboard. A heavy cream-colored cover trimmed in brown lay folded at the foot of the bed. A huge Oriental rug covered the floor. Against one wall, a fireplace had wood stacked next to it ready to be lit. In front of it two leather chairs flanked a large chess set. On the walls hung paintings of Boston, various locations at various times of the year.

Tony came into the room wearing khaki pants and a white shirt open at the neck. He carried a steaming mug of coffee. Her heart immediately started racing at the sight of him. She wondered if seeing him in the morning would do that for the rest of her life.

“Good morning,
cara
,” he said. He set the mug on the night stand next to the bed and sat on the edge of the bed by her hip. Putting a hand on either side of her, he leaned forward and brushed her lips with his own. She sighed and tried to deepen the kiss, but he chuckled and pulled back. “As much as spending the day with you in bed really appeals to me, we’re running late as it is. Much to do today,” he said. “We have to get married, after all.”

He presented her with the coffee and she took the first heavenly sip. As the caffeine worked its way through her body, she pulled her knees up and wrapped her free arm around her legs. “We’re already married. Can’t we just skip to the cake?”

Tony laughed. “Cake will come soon enough.” He kissed her again and stood. “And then the honeymoon.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “Which means all day in bed if we want.”

Robin grinned and put her arms over her head, stretching. When the sheet fell, she watched Tony’s eyes darken. “Oh, I want,” she said giggling. She pulled the sheet back up. “Where are my clothes?”

Tony cleared his throat and sweat popped out on his forehead. He took a step backward and gestured at the closet. “There’s new and old in there. The clothes you purchased with Jacqui are all put away. If I were you, I’d wear something from there. Our friends in the press are going to be everywhere today.”

“Press?”

He shrugged. “You’ll be fine.” He smiled and bent to kiss her one more time. “Get dressed before I make us late to our own wedding.” He started from the room, but paused and snapped is fingers. “I have a car arriving in thirty minutes to take you to the hotel. Your sisters and Caroline are already there. I have to run.”

“Where will you be?” Robin asked.

“The groom isn’t supposed to see the bride before the wedding, remember? The next time I see you, you’ll be walking down the aisle toward me.”

ARAH
stepped into the massive Grand Ballroom of the Viscolli hotel. The sight that greeted her nearly took her breath away. Hundreds of tables covered in ivory and gold, formally set with gold-rimmed china and crystal filled the room. Each table had a beautiful centerpiece of a round ball of ivory roses sitting on a tall pillar. The chairs at the tables were covered with ivory brocade and tied at the top of the chair with a large red ribbon that formed a bow on the back of the chair.

At the far end of the room, massive doors opened to the tent area, but the carpet and ceiling matched so well that Sarah could barely tell where the ballroom ended and the tent began. Waiters and bus boys worked inside the tent, covering chairs, setting tables, and placing centerpieces.

The long head table spanned the front of the room with a gorgeous red and ivory rose centerpiece that ran along its entire length. The chairs for Tony and Robin, at the middle of the table, looked like thrones fit for a king and queen. And, honestly, as far as Sarah could tell, Tony seemed like royalty. This wedding certainly felt like the royal wedding, Sarah thought, especially with the mob of reporters camped outside the hotel and roving the hotel lobby. She imagined the church would be just as chaotic.

Sarah really liked Tony. Having been raised in the church and taught to work and give to God, she loved that he dedicated his entire life and fortune to ministry. She knew he would do anything for anyone if he could. He had certainly proven it by opening his home to Derrick.

Thinking of that boy set her teeth on edge. Tony met him outside of a seedy bar in the very worst neighborhood possible, and a month later the boy was living with him? She wouldn’t care, it would be just fine, except that Robin and Sarah were going to be living there, too.

Not wanting thoughts of him to ruin this day, because certainly his presence during the ceremony would be enough, Sarah shook her head and walked over to the far end of the ballroom, away from the open doors and the tent area, to where the cake table was set up.

The massive, amazing structure was simply stunning. Eight tiers rose up in ivory colored buttercream. Beautifully hand crafted sugar flowers of roses, lilies, hydrangea, ranunculus, and orchids created an amazing waterfall of flowers spilling from the top on down the tiers, widening as it reached the huge bottom tier.

Sarah shifted her overnight bag on her shoulder and turned, looking at the room from this angle. Robin had absolutely outdone herself. Well, Robin with the help and guidance of Stephanie and Maxine. Without them, Robin had joked that they’d have had a backyard wedding in blue jeans with chocolate cake.

Sarah thought back to the first time she met Robin. She had no memory of her life before waking up in her then foster parents’ home. In an effort to protect and shield her, they’d made no mention of sisters or a murdered mother or the life from which she’d come to them. They just told her that God gave her to them, and shushed any possible questions until she just learned not to ask them.