“Yes,” she said emotionally.
“Abby? Hold out your left hand. Raoul? Repeat after me. Abby Grant, I take thee to be my wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, and I promise my love to you. With this ring I thee wed.”
After saying the words, Raoul pulled the diamond ring from his pocket and slid it on to her ring finger. Her eyes took in the three-carat diamond solitaire before she lifted moist eyes to him. They burned with love.
“Abby? Do you have a ring for him?”
“Yes.”
Her answer came as a complete surprise.
“Raoul? Extend your left hand.”
He did his bidding.
“Abby? Repeat after me. I take Raoul Decorvet to be my husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, and I promise my love to you. With this ring I thee wed.”
He looked down as she put it on his ring finger. A gasp escaped his lips. The design of the purple gem stones resembling a cluster of pinot noir grapes set in gold shook him to the very core of his body. Was this what she’d been doing when he’d found out she’d left the estate yesterday in a taxi?
“Just as two very different threads woven in opposite directions can form a beautiful tapestry, so can your two lives merge together to form a very beautiful marriage. To make it work will take love.
“Love should be the core. Love is the reason you are here. But it also will take trust—to know in your hearts you want the best for each other. It will take dedication—to stay open to one another; to learn and to grow together even when this is not always so easy to do.
“It will take faith to be willing to go forward to tomorrow, never really knowing what tomorrow will bring. In addition, it will take commitment to hold true to the journey you both now pledge to share together.
“In so much as the two of you have agreed to live together in matrimony and have promised your love for each other by these vows, I now declare you to be husband and wife. Congratulations. You may kiss your bride.”
“Darling,” she cried as he covered her mouth with his own. All the love he could ever hope for or imagine was surrendered to him in a kiss that went on forever.
He rocked her body in his arms, never wanting to let her go. But when he opened his eyes, he realized that the deputy mayor, who had a broad smile on his face, was waiting for them to join the world once more.
Raoul looked down at her. “Madame Decorvet. Do you have any idea what it means to call you Madame Decorvet? I think we need to get a room of our own.”
“Just as soon as you both sign the marriage certificate.”
His bride blushed again before they wrote their signatures. Raoul asked Tibault to take some pictures of them with his phone. With that done, they shook the older man’s hand, then Raoul swept his bride out of the room and the building to their same taxi. The driver knew ahead of time where to take them.
Once in the backseat, Raoul pulled her onto his lap, ignoring the flowers and kissed her passionately until they arrived at the hotel. When they got out and reached their room, he carried her over the threshold and followed her down onto the bed.
“I can’t begin to express all the feelings exploding inside me, Abby. All I know is, I adore you, mon épouse. It’s killing me that we have to drive back to the château right now. Once we make our announcement to the family, then we’ll drive to the cottage and forget the world.”
She caressed the side of his jaw with her hand. “I know how important this is, especially for your grandparents’ sake. They love you so much and are waiting. And I haven’t forgotten we were seen by officials who will tell the press. The news of our marriage will be all over French TV by tonight. We have to tell your family immediately.
“I did some research about you. You’re one of the most important men in France.” Her eyes misted over again. “It’s an honor to be your wife. I’m still having a hard time believing that this is really happening.”
“You’re going to know it all right, once I get you home and in my arms. I may never let you go. This ring I’m wearing... No man was ever given a greater treasure.”
“There’s an inscription.”
Excited, he removed it and read it aloud.
After giving her another deep kiss, he rolled away and got to his feet. “The sooner we leave, the sooner our new life will begin.”
Still wearing their wedding clothes, they gathered up their few things and took everything to the car. As they left the city and headed for home, he reached for her hand. “For the first time in my life, I’m seeing my world in Technicolor. It’s all because of you.”
CHAPTER TEN
“THAT’S EXACTLY HOW it feels,” Abby exclaimed. “While you’re driving, I’m going to phone my parents. Can I use yours? I’ll send the photos at the same time.”
Raoul handed it to her.
“First I’m going to take a picture of this gorgeous diamond ring you gave me. I love a solitaire more than anything. How did you know?”
“It has a pureness and reminds me of you.”
Everything he said touched her heart.
By the time she got off the phone, they’d reached the estate and Raoul drove them to the south entrance of the château. Suddenly the gravity of their announcement and what it would mean to his family took hold of her. When he turned off the engine and helped her out of the car, she hugged him hard.
“Don’t be afraid. We’ll just have to give them time. Remember part of our vows? It will take faith to be willing to go forward to tomorrow, never
