16. Chapter 16
“You have a freakish thing for needing to be at the highest ground possible.” I walk over to where Leo stands on the rooftop of the wedding venue.
The blue domed buildings of Santorini add to the beautiful scenery of the small village we’re in.
The sun shines warmly on my skin as the wind whips through my hair and the folds of my dress.
“It helps me think.” Leo takes his hands out of his pockets as I stand beside him overlooking the view. “You look stunning.”
“So do you.” I smile. “What are you thinking about?”
He shrugs. “Well, Tee’s apology for one. Thank you for taking care of that, by the way.”
“Mhmm, I’m glad he apologized. That was crazy.”
“Yeah, but I can’t say I’d react any differently if I were in his shoes. I should have been honest with him. The same way I should have been honest with you from the jump.”
“We can’t change the past.” I remind him. “But we can shape the future if we try.”
“Gina the Wise,” Leo teases as his hand snakes around my waist. “How did I get so lucky?”
“I’m still wondering that myself.”
Laughter coast between us before he pulls me in for a kiss that I hesitantly return, so as not to mess up my lipstick.
“Damn, it’s like that?”
Rolling my eyes, I scoff. “The makeup artists already left. There is no fixing it if you fuck it up.”
“Fair point.” Leo tosses up his hands before reaching one out for mine. “Dance with me?”
“There’s no music.”
“So? Dance with me anyway. Let the sound of the sea move through you like a song.”
“You’re corny as hell.” I reluctantly place my hand in his, allowing him to pull me in as my arms come around his neck. We sway together, our bodies moving as one, while gazing into each other’s eyes.
In them, I see myself. I see the fire that’s ignited in me, the love that’s made a home in my heart, the joy that is our future as we work to secure it.
Leo’s light shines through me, breaking down my darkness as it threatens to swallow me whole again.
There is no turning back, and it’s all there in his eyes.
“What?” he asks curiously.
I shake my head. “Nothing.”
“You can tell me.”
Looking down at the ground, my heels lightly scraping the concrete of the roof, I try to remember this feeling.
“Drifting into you has been one of the best things to happen to me in years. I’ve never had a romantic partner that I saw a clear future with.
It was always hazy or so far out of reach that I knew it was a facade.
But you… You changed that in a matter of days.
As messy as it unfolded, I see a life with you. Through thick and thin, I see it all.”
Leo looks off, a sheen coating over his eyes. His head bobs as he licks his lips. “Thank you, Gina. I’ve imagined those words coming from you for so long now, and I promise to give you all that you deserve. Thank you for trusting me. This is just the start.”
A tear falls from Leo’s eye as he touches his forehead to mine. Our lips graze each other before colliding into a beautiful beginning.