Chapter 10 - The Amber Horizon
The wedding was small, held on the grassy ridge overlooking the Gray Hollow valley where the pine forests met the blue sky.
There were no crystal chandeliers, no string quartets, and no politicians holding champagne glasses. There was just Mr. Pike in his best Sunday suit, Elena Vance—who had traveled from Geneva to stand as my maid of honor—and forty local townspeople who had become our true family.
I wore a simple, sleeveless white lace dress, my brown curls falling loosely over my shoulders, pinned back with a single sprig of mountain jasmine.
Luca stood at the wooden altar, wearing a clean, dark gray suit that Caleb Sterling’s tailor had sent him from Chicago as a gift. He looked magnificent—tall, broad, and entirely at peace. His amber eyes never left my face as I walked down the grass aisle, my hands held tightly by Ash and Lena on either side.
The twins wore matching miniature outfits, their little faces serious as they performed their duties as ring bearer and flower girl.
When the preacher asked for the vows, Luca didn't read from a paper. He took my hands in his, his large, scarred fingers warm and steady against mine.
"Sarah," he said, his voice echoing clearly over the mountain ridge. "I spent twenty-seven years believing that power was something you took from the world with your fists. I thought the only way to protect what I loved was to build a wall of fire around it. But three years ago, you showed me that real strength is the courage to walk away from the dark to raise two beautiful children in the light. I was broken when I found you on that porch, Sarah. Today, I am whole. I promise to love you, to protect this family, and to spend the rest of my days earning the look in your eyes."
Tears blurred my vision as I squeezed his hands. "I love you, Luca. The rain is over."
As the preacher pronounced us husband and wife, Luca didn't just kiss me; he lifted me entirely off my feet, the crowd erupting into cheers and whistles that echoed through the hills of West Virginia.
During the reception, as the sun began to dip below the mountain peaks, painting the sky in brilliant shades of amber and gold, Luca and I stood near the edge of the ridge, watching the twins chase fireflies through the long grass.
May you like
"They have your eyes, you know," I murmured, leaning my head against his shoulder.
Luca smiled, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me closer into the fading warmth of the day. "No, Sarah. They have our eyes. And for the first time in my life, the horizon looks exactly like home."
