He gave her a smile that told her all she needed to know. “I can’t live without you, Celine. Won’t you come back home, but this time as my wife?”
Celine had been waiting with bated breath for that question, all her life she’d been waiting and now the man of her dreams was waiting for her answer. Was this all a dream?
“Are you sure?” Celine whispered. “You’re not still angry with me?’
“I was never angry with you. I love you. You’ve been my miracle angel since the day we met.”
“Yaay,” Kylie chortled. “Mommy and Daddy are getting married.”
“Hold on, Kylie,” Pierce said, laughing. “Celine still hasn’t said yes.”
“Yes, yes, yes,” Celine said through her tears and walked into the arms Pierce held open wide.
And so they hugged - Pierce, Celine and Kylie, all three - happy in knowing they were now a family.
EPILOGUE
Kylie was the prettiest flower girl in the world. Slowly and carefully, her face beaming with pride, she left the church vestibule and walked up the aisle with her basket of red rose petals, sprinkling the flowers along the path ahead of her.
She followed a very nervous ring bearer, a little friend she’d made on her first day in junior kindergarten. In his black suit the little gentleman walked ahead of Kylie, stopping every few minutes to check that she was still there.
The church was full of friends and family including Claire, Sylvan and Marc. Pierce’s family was there, too - Elizabeth and Carlos from Hawaii and Sharon, her husband and two children from San Diego.
Mrs. Simpson beamed as she looked toward the back of the church and saw Celine standing there, waiting on the organist to start the bridal march.
Sophia was in the congregation, too, looking more stylish and elegant than anyone in the church. She’d been Celine’s greatest surprise. At the news that Pierce had proposed to her the woman seemed to have changed her whole demeanor as if she accepted that it no longer made sense to pretend. She did not become warm and inviting but she became a great source of advice to Celine as she prepared for her big day.
To Celine’s even greater surprise and relief she solved the mystery of the pool gate. It was Sophia who had left the gate open and not Celine. She’d come by early that morning to borrow the long net to give to her pool cleaner. It had been too early in the morning to wake anyone. It was only when she heard Mrs. Simpson speaking about the mystery of the gate that she realized her role in Kylie’s near death experience. She apologized in tears and since then had become Kylie’s greatest ally, even at times when she deserved to go to the naughty corner.
Now it was time for Celine to walk up the aisle. As the bridal march began she lifted her head. Her heart soared as she smiled at the man who waited for her at the other end. Tall, dark and deliciously handsome in his suit and bowtie, Pierce was smiling at her and in his eyes was a light that told her never to doubt his love again.
And so, as the strains of the march filled the church she stepped forward proudly, ready to start her new life as mommy to an angel and wife to her beloved, Pierce D’Amato.
THE END