‘There’s your mum,’ Alicia said quietly.
Mimi felt her eyes start to burn. Her mum had been so fantastic these last six months. She could see that over time her mother had been slowly emerging from the hibernation of despair and regret, and seeing her daughter so happy seemed to have given her the final nudge she needed to take back control of her life.
Now, not only did she have a new hobby—wild swimming—but a new haircut and a new man.
‘Hi, Mum,’ she said warmly as they disembarked.
‘Oh, darling.’ Her mother’s eyes were bright with tears, and her smile was trembling as they hugged.
They linked arms and, with Alicia following, they walked along the jetty across to the house, where four men were standing in a semi-circle, waiting for them.
Philip. Robert. Basa. And Emiliano, the celebrant who was going to conduct their wedding ceremony.
Something was dislodged inside her as her gaze rested on the man who was already her husband.
They had married at the Civil Registry Office in Buenos Aires, with only Alicia and Philip for witnesses. Neither of them had wanted a fuss, but both of them had known that they wanted to repeat the ceremony out in Patagonia, on the island where their love had finally overcome the scandal of their past.
And they were no longer alone in putting the past behind them. Both Robert Caine and her mother had accepted their relationship—accepted and encouraged it. She glanced affectionately back at her friend. For Alicia, of course, the past had never been an obstacle.
Her mother gave her arm a squeeze, and as they stopped in front of Basa her heart began to pound. He looked so incredibly handsome in a dark suit and pale blue shirt and, in a gesture towards the new openness they shared, the top button of his shirt was undone.
‘Hi,’ he said softly.
Gazing into his eyes, she saw tears that mirrored her own and felt her chest swell with absolute unconditional love as he took her hand in his.
* * *
The ceremony seemed to pass in seconds. But then from the moment Mimi had stepped off the boat, her veil fluttering in the breeze, time had ceased to matter, Basa thought, his chest tightening as she looked up into his eyes.
Her pale blonde hair was caught loosely at the nape of her neck and she was wearing a simple blue ombré slip dress the same colour as the sapphire engagement ring he had given her, for the mix of gold and blue reminded him of the sky that day they had spent in the hot air balloon.
He didn’t think he had ever seen her look more beautiful.
Speaking his vows, watching Mimi speak hers, he felt his heart would burst—and not just with love, but with the knowledge of how close they had come to losing each other.
They hadn’t been apart at all since that day in Alicia’s kitchen, and last night he’d missed her unbearably. Now, despite the emotional intensity of the words they were saying to one another, he almost wished the ceremony was over, so he could pull her into his arms and hold her close.
Of course she was already his wife, but the ceremony in Buenos Aires had felt like a simple legal formality. He glanced past her at the clusters of evergreens, at the high cloud-capped peaks in the distance. For him, this was what their marriage was about. Standing here with the epic majesty of nature as their witness, with everyone they loved beside them.
But not quite everyone, he thought sadly. Although he could sense his mother in Alicia’s soft eyes and gentle smile.
After the ceremony was over they ate a late lunch—lamb, straight from the hot yellow blaze of Lionel’s willow-framed asado. Then there were speeches, and everyone toasted the marriage with a Merlot from Robert’s estate. Seeing both their families talking and smiling in the sunshine made their marriage feel doubly blessed.
Much, much later, when the fire was a dull orange core, everyone retreated inside the house. But Basa led Mimi down to where Claudia had lit the deck with hundreds of tiny night lights.
Pulling her down onto the lounger beside him, he kissed her softly. ‘I missed you yesterday.’
‘I missed you too,’ she whispered. ‘But it was worth it. For today.’
He buried his face in her hair, breathing in her scent. ‘Are you sure? I mean, I know we decided not to go for a big wedding...’
His sister’s wedding had been vast. A three-day affair, with hundreds of guests, starting with a tango-themed party at the house in Buenos Aires and ending with the ceremony here in Patagonia. It had been the perfect society event, but he’d spent the whole time feeling grateful that he wasn’t going to have to go through all that with his own wedding. Now he wanted to be certain that Mimi felt the same way too.
Her blue eyes flickered in the candlelight. ‘I’m sure. I mean, look at this...’ She waved up at the star-pierced darkening sky. ‘We have our very own cathedral, all to ourselves—and, besides, I have everything and everyone that matters right here.’
Her cheeks were flushed with happiness, her eyes alive with warmth and love.
He tilted her face up to his and said softly, ‘I do too. Now and for ever.’