CORAL - Forever (A Romance Trilogy, Book 3) (54 page)

“This is what I want Debs,” I shrug. “I have no need to be
nervous.”

“Right!” Debs rolls her eyes at me, then leans forward and
carefully hugs me. “Don't want to ruin the hair and make-up,” she adds
sarcastically, making me chuckle – Carlos nearly had a fit when Gladys tried to
hug me. “Good luck, I’ll see you down there,” she says to me, then turns to
Lily. “Now be a good girl Lily’ – “Debs, she’ll be fine. Go!” I tell her. She
leans down gives Lily a kiss on the cheek then disappears.

James Lasts Cavalleria Rusticana starts drifting up the
stairs. When I told Tristan last week that it was the first piece of music I
imagined dancing to with him, he insisted we have it as the music I walk down the
aisle to. And now it’s playing it seems so fitting, so right.

“Guess it’s just us Lily,” I say grinning widely at her.
“Shall we hold hands so neither one of us falls down the stairs?” I add making
a funny face.

Lily giggles. “Your funny Aunty Coral.” I laugh along with
her and take her tiny hand in mine. We walk out of the bedroom and I see Bob
waiting for me – he looks very handsome in his black tuxedo and bow-tie. Lily
and I manage to make it down the first flight of stairs without any
catastrophes. Reaching Bob he holds him arm out for me, I wrap my hand around
his arm, lean forward and kiss his cheek.

“Thank you for doing this Bob,” I smile widely at him.

“You look...beautiful,” Bob says, choking back the tears.

“Thanks Bob,” I say smiling widely. “Ok Lily, you’re up.
Hold onto the banister as you go down the stairs ok?” Lily nods, then she places
her hand on the banister and carefully makes her way down the stairs, Bob and I
slowly follow.

As we get further down I start to see what Rob’s done with
the place. It looks magical, like something out of a fairytale! And the smell –
its overpowering! As we reach the bottom of the stairs I’m completely blown
away. Rob has completely transformed this part of the house into a magical
garden. I have never seen so many wild flowers in my entire life! And they are
everywhere. Hanging from the ceilings, on the walls, scattered across the
floors – Just everywhere –
Oh wow!

All of the furniture has been removed to make way for our
guests, who are sitting in neat rows of chairs, that are wrapped in some kind
of floaty lemon material. Rob has erected some sort of ivory canopy out on the
balcony, protecting us from the blazing sun, and over on the far side of the
room, where our guests are seated, I can see the doors out to the balcony are
open wide and there’s an archway of flowers. Everyone oohs and ahhs as Lily
walks towards them, throwing petals into the air. Almost everyone has their
cameras or mobile phones out, taking pictures of Lily and then Bob and I. As we
continue to walk forward, I can't help searching for Tristan, feels like I
haven’t seen him in forever. But no sign of him, not yet anyway, however I do
see Rob & Malcolm, they are also in black tuxedos with bow-ties, they both
look very handsome. I see all the faces of the people that I love and care
about smiling back at me. Gladys bursts into tears as I glance at her, it makes
me smile. I catch Robs eye and wink at him, he’s done an amazing job!

As we walk further into the room, I finally see Tristan
waiting for me, under an altar of wild flowers, and green ivory. My breath
instantly catches in my throat – how handsome, how debonair he looks in his
matching Tuxedo, and the look on his face says it all. At first he looks
shocked and kind of awestruck. Then he places his hand on his heart, and
swallows hard, then his features change into his most dazzling smile, his
dimples deep – And he’s shaved his beard off! I smile back at him feeling shy
for the first time today and continue to walk towards him.

Finally reaching Tristan, I pass my flowers to Lily then Bob
places my hand in his. I turn and face Tristan, he takes my other hand too and
gives them both a gentle squeeze.

“Hi,” he whispers.

“Hi,” I whisper back.

“You look breathtaking,” he says, making me feel shy.

“So do you,” I whisper back, he smiles shyly.

The registrar begins. “Ladies and Gentleman...and I drift
off....

As I stand before Tristan, gazing up at his eyes that are
glowing with love, sincerity and awe, I feel my heart slowly and steadily thump
against my chest – I thought I would be nervous once I got here, right at this
moment, standing right before him, about to make my vows. But all I feel is a
calm, contented blissful feeling, the same feeling I had when I first dreamt of
Tristan and being on that boat with him. I never thought I would hear myself
say the words – but I can't wait to marry him, to become his wife and for him
to be my husband – It’s hard to describe how proud I feel to be with him, he really
is a wonderful man – “Tristan Freeman, do you take this woman, Coral Stevens to
be your wife?” The registrar says –
Oh shit where have I been? Concentrate
Coral!

“I do.” Tristan’s voice rings loud and clear.

“Do you promise to love, honour, cherish and protect her,
forsaking all others and holding only unto her?”

“I do.” He looks so earnest as he says this, so proud, his
tone soft and full of love – I swoon up at him.

“Coral Stevens, do you take this man, Tristan Freeman to be
your husband?” I swallow hard – my turn!

“I do.” I almost laugh at myself that was a little loud.

“Do you promise to love, honour, cherish and protect him,
forsaking all others and holding only unto him?”

“I do.” I say.

“Tristan, please take this ring, place it on your bride’s
finger and state your pledge to her.”

I don't know about Tristan but I have recited my vows so
many times so I don't screw it up that I could say them backwards. Taking my
ring and placing it at the tip of my finger Tristan gazes down at me and
begins.

“I, Tristan Freeman, take you Coral Stevens to be my lawfully
wedded wife. I give you this ring as a sign of my eternal love for you. Before
these witnesses, I solemnly vow to love, honour and protect you, to bring you
comfort in times of need, to share your joy, and uphold your dreams. I will
cherish and respect you, always, in good times and bad, for the rest of our
lives, and I promise to love you faithfully, forsaking all others. To have and
to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer,
in sickness and in health, until death do us part. This is my solemn vow to
you.”
Whoa!

Tristan is so intense as he recites his vows to me, then he
smiles crookedly and slowly slides the ring down my finger. I gaze up into his
warm eyes, I can only see love. It literally feels like my heart is melting
like chocolate, all my old barriers crumbling to the ground.

The registrar has to nudge me to snap me out of it –
Oops,
my turn.

I almost giggle aloud, but manage to hold it in.

“Coral, please take this ring, place it on your grooms
finger and state your pledge to him.”

I take the ring, and place it at the tip of Tristan’s finger
and look up at him.

“I, Coral Stevens, take you Tristan Freeman to be my
lawfully wedded husband. I promise to love and adore you for as long as we both
shall live. I vow to bring you comfort in times of need, to share your joy and
to support you in all of your dreams and goals. I promise to love you
faithfully, forsaking all others, and to trust and respect you. I give you my,
hand, my heart and my undying love forever. To have and to hold from this day
forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in
health, until death do us part.”

It takes a monumental effort on my part to pull my eyes away
from his so I can slide the ring down his finger. When I’m done I look up
Tristan, his breathtaking smile is making me swoon again, I titter to myself
and smile shyly at him.

“Coral and Tristan, in so much as the two of you have agreed
to live together in Matrimony, have promised your love for each other by these vows.
I now pronounce you Husband and Wife. Congratulations you may kiss your bride.”
Whoa! I’m married!

How strange, I feel like my world that has felt so
disjointed for so long, has settled solidly where it should be – I am home. Tristan
reaches up, places his hands either side of my face, then leans down so he’s
inches from my lips.

“I love you wife,” he whispers.

“I love you too husband,” I softly say. I pull on his lapels
so his lips meet mine. He kisses me tenderly, with absolute adoration. The
explosion of love that erupts within me, takes me by complete surprise, and I
think Tristan’s feeling it too. It’s like we’re alone, in an empty room.

I pull him closer to me so I can feel the length of his warm
body pressed tightly against mine and I really go to town, kissing him with
every fibre of my being. I wrap my arms around his neck, he reciprocates by
wrapping his arms around my waist and crushing me to him.

I hear someone clear their throat, and someone else giggle,
but I keep on going, I don't ever want to stop kissing him. Then I hear Rob
whoop loudly, and then the room erupts in thunderous applause. I pull back from
Tristan’s lips, he keeps me pressed tight against his body as I gaze up at him,
we both laugh, then Tristan turns us around to face our guests.

I’m immediately blinded by several flashes going off at the
same time.
Whoa!

The next thing I know I am pulled out of his embrace and
passed from person to person for hugs and congratulations. Gladys is crying and
so is Debs
and
Carlos!

Rob pulls me into a bear hug, swinging me round as he does.
“Oh Rob, this place looks amazing!” I squeal as he continues to spin me around.
“It’s magical, thank you so much.” I hug him fiercely, he finally lets me go,
and I can tell he is fighting back the tears.

He clears his throat and blows out a deep breath. “I’m glad
you like it. Oh Coral, I’m so happy for you,” he says, hugging me tightly once
more, then makes a funny squeaky noise and dashes off. A few moments later I am
back in Tristan’s arms. The caterers Rob hired have handed Tristan and I some
kind of bubbly drink, I would say it’s champagne but it’s pink.

Rob comes bounding over to us and shakes Tristan’s hand.
“Congrats you guys, you both look great!” He says, he seems to have regained
his composure.

“Rob, what is this?” I ask, holding my glass up.

“Champagne cocktail!” I frown at him, he rolls his eyes at
me. “I know you don't like champagne, but just try it. I guarantee you’ll like
it,” he adds.

I take a tentative sip. “Wow, that’s delicious! What’s in it?”

“Raspberry liquor,” he says, smiling smugly at me.

“Awesome!” I grin from ear to ear and click glasses with
him. Tristan chuckles at me, then nods to Stuart. I turn and watch him walk out
the front door. “Where’s Stuart going?” I ask.

“You’ll see. Come on drink up,” he says, and glugs back the
rest of his glass.

“Why do I need to that?” I question playfully.

He grins from ear to ear. “Surprise!”

“Oh.” I take the last swig and Rob takes my glass from me,
and I can tell, he knows! “You know what this is about?” I gasp. He nods,
grinning from ear to ear. Then I notice everyone else is doing the same. “Everyone
knows!” I gasp, looking up at Tristan. Ok, he’s smiling so broadly now that if
he continues like this his face may actually split in two.

“Come on gorgeous.” He tugs on my hand and leads me down the
hallway. I turn to see all our guests are watching us, cocktails raised in
their hands, all smiling.

“Tristan, we can't just leave our guests!” I balk.

Tristan stops right at the front door and reaches up to
tenderly stroke my cheek. “Of course we can, they all know this was planned
Coral. We won’t be long baby,” he softly says.

“We’re coming back?” I question, trying not to frown.

His wide grin is back again, it’s infectious, he looks like
a bashful school boy. I grin back at him, then Tristan turns and gives a small
wave to everyone. I do the same, even though I have no clue what’s going on. They
all cheer and wave back at us....

TRISTAN
CLASPS MY HAND IN HIS AND WE WALK OVER TO THE BIG JAG
. Stuart is
waiting for us with the back door held open. “Congratulations to you both,” he
says.

“Thank you Stuart.” We both reply at the same time, I climb
into the car and pull on Tristan’s hand. As I slide across the seat, he climbs
in beside me, still grinning broadly and shuts the door.

Seconds later we are on the move.

“Were are we going?” I ask, unable to contain myself. My leg
is nervously jigging up and down.

“Patience,” he says, clasping his hand on my knee. “But
while I have you here, I would like to take this opportunity to tell you how
devastatingly beautiful you look, and how very proud I am to be able to call
you my wife.” A single tear pricks my right eye, which kind of annoys me, I
haven’t cried today. “Ah baby, no need for tears,” Tristan coos.

I swallow hard against the lump that’s formed and smile back
at him.

“I promised myself I would not blubber today! Now look what
you’ve done!” I tease, laughing slightly. Tristan chuckles along with me. “And
just so
you
know, I’m proud of you too Tristan, and may
I
just
say how handsome and debonair you look today – my very own James Bond!” I wink
then giggle at him.

“James Bond eh?” He says in a very impressive Sean Connery
accent. It makes me laugh aloud, a carefree laugh. I can't believe how light I
feel, I’m still floating, but higher now, I’m so happy!

Stuart pulls into the gym car-park and parks in a bay.

“Are we going swimming?” I tease dryly.

“Throw you in the sea if you carry on with that sarcasm!”
Tristan retorts, grinning widely.

“You wouldn’t dare!” I tease back.

“Oh Coral, don't you know me at all?” He laughs.
Shit!
Would he?
He laughs even harder at my shocked expression. “Come on
beautiful, we can't be too long. We don't want to miss our own wedding party.” Tristan
hops out the car and runs round my side to open my door for me. I can’t believe
I’m about to step onto this car-park, that I have walked across so many times,
in my wedding dress –
How odd!

Tristan takes hold of both of my hands and pulls me into his
solid, manly chest. “Twenty,” he says to Stuart, then clasps my hand in his and
we start walking towards my studio?

“Are you really not going to tell me what’s going on?” I
squeak, feeling so excited.

“Nope.” Tristan remains tight lipped as he lifts my dress
and helps me down the steps to the concourse. We head straight past my studio,
which is weird, take a right and start walking down one of the jetty’s. I keep
looking around me as we continue walking, looking for some sort of clue as to
what’s about to happen. We take another right, and I realise we are headed
deeper into the marina. Tristan holds his hand up in the air. I look down the
jetty and see a man, dressed in shorts and t-shirt with a clipboard in his
hand, he raises his hand back to Tristan.

“Who’s he?” I ask.

“Oh Coral, I’m not going to tell you what the surprise is so
stop asking!” He says grinning widely, then leans down and gently pecks my
cheek.

“Mr Freeman, good to see you again.” The man says as we
reach him. He shakes Tristan’s hand, he seems very jovial, and I notice that his
face is very brown and weather worn, like leather. “Congratulations to you
both,” he adds smiling warmly at us both.

“Thank you Sam,” Tristan says, slapping him on the shoulder.
“May I introduce my wife, Mrs Coral Freeman.”
Whoa!
I feel my heart
crash against my chest, then beat wildly out of control. I have to take several
deep breaths to try and calm it down –
What was that?

“Mrs Freeman.” Sam nods to me but doesn’t reach out to shake
my hand – I wonder if Tristan has said something to him?

“Hello Sam,” I say, my voice shaking slightly –
Mrs
Freeman! How weird is that?

“Everything ready?” Tristan asks.

“Yes. Just need you to sign here and here, and you can be on
your way.” Sam cheerfully says.

“Excellent!” Tristan takes the clipboard, quickly scribbles
his signature and hands the clipboard back. “Thanks for getting everything
organised so quickly Sam.” Tristan says, shaking his hand again.

“It was my pleasure,” Sam says, he seems like a nice guy.

I am still baffled.

“Well, nice to meet you Mrs Freeman, “ he says, nodding his
head to me.

“You too.” I smile back at him.

“Good luck to you both,” Sam adds.

“Thank you Sam, see you soon,” Tristan says. Sam smiles,
nods at Tristan then walks away. I am still baffled. “Any idea?” Tristan asks,
his one eyebrow cocked up as he grins widely at me, waiting for my answer.

“None whatsoever,” I choke out dryly.

“Good, I’m glad.” Then he takes a step back from me, then
turns, with both arms out wide and gestures to the massive boat behind him.
“Ta-da!”

I swallow hard. Then begin blinking so rapidly I think I may
lose some eyelashes. I finally find my voice. “Why are you pointing at this
boat Tristan?” I say breathlessly.

“It’s not a boat,” he scoffs in horror. “It’s a luxury motor
yacht!”
Of course it is!

“Well, why are you pointing at it?” I slowly repeat.

He drops his arms, smiles so sexily at me it actually takes
my attention away from the
‘luxury motor yacht’
then he pulls me into
his embrace. His left arm is tightly wrapped around my waist, holding me close
to him, then he reaches up with his right hand and gently moves a stray hair
away from my cheek.

“It’s my wedding present to you.” He softly says, then
continues. “I didn’t buy you a house on the beach, so I thought I’d bring the
sea to you, by buying you this.”

My mouth gapes open, I am speechless.

“Do you like it?” He asks, looking a little worried.

I slowly shake my head as I stare up at the sparkling white
yacht – she looks brand new! This is far too much, I burst into tears.

“Ah baby, don't cry.” Tristan wraps his right arm around my
shoulders, pulling me tight against him and gently rocks me. He’s bought me a
yacht as a wedding gift, and what have I got him? Sweet F.A, that’s what! I am
going to have to make up for this big-time! But how? What do you get for a man
that already has everything? I will have to think really hard about this!

“Oh Tristan,” I mewl, trying to stop myself from crying so I
don't ruin my wedding make-up. “This is too much,” I croak, staring up into his
wide chocolate eyes.

Tristan hands me his handkerchief, I carefully dab my tears
away.

“No Coral, it’s not,” he softly says, reaching down to
gently kiss my lips. “Want to see inside?” He adds excitedly.

It makes me giggle.”You know a nice bottle of perfume would
have sufficed,” I softly chide.

Tristan scoffs at me. “I don't think so! – Shall we?” He
adds, he’s grinning like a school boy again. I look up the magnificent yacht
before me, still completely stunned. “Coral, do you want to have a quick tour
because we need to get back?”

I feel befuddled. “Ok,” I squeak. I just...
Wow!

Tristan clasps my hand, and we take the couple of steps to
the rear of the Yacht, then lifting my up into his arms, he steps aboard her.
“First threshold to carry you over,” he says, grinning widely as he puts me
down. I am still speechless!

“Matt!” Tristan shouts. A man in his late fifties pops his
head over the higher deck and looks down at us.

“Tristan!” He says, holding his hand up and smiling down at us.
I think they know each other?

“That’s Matt, the captain,” Tristan explains – My mouth pops
open – again!

“We have a captain?” I squeak, my eyes wide.

“And cabin crew.” Tristan is really smiling again. I shake
my head at him –
So over the top!

I gaze round at my surroundings. The decking is a very light
beech colour, there’s sumptuous light grey, and beige leather seating, a dining
table with four chairs, and set back behind the table are double, full height
glass doors, but the windows are tinted so I can't see inside. Right in front
of me are a set of white curved stairs leading to the upper deck. Matt comes
bouncing down those stairs, followed by two young blonde boys who are smartly
dressed in white uniforms.

“Hello Tristan,” Matt says, warmly shaking his hand. “Have
the plans changed?” He asks, glancing across at me.

“No, not at all. Everything ready?” Tristan asks.

Matt nods once. “These are our crew, Harry and Peter,” he
says, gesturing to the two boys. They both nod at Tristan and I in a very
professional manner.

Tristan nods to them both. “May I introduce my wife, Mrs
Coral Freeman.” Here we go again! My heart slams against my chest, beating
wildly, making me catch my breath.

“Hello,” I say, a little breathlessly.

“Nice to meet you Mrs Freeman,” Matt says, nodding once.

“We’re just going to take a quick tour,” Tristan explains.

“Then we shall leave you to it,” Matt says. The two boys
follow him off the yacht.

“Right then my darling wife, this is the Princes 35M, she’s
a 115ft Diesel engine and she can reach speeds of up to 27 knots,” he says. I
cock an eyebrow up at him, he chuckles at me, then continues. “She has
air-conditioning, a fantastic generator, and as you can see we have ample space.”
He adds, gesturing to all of her, then he clasps my hand in his and we take the
steps up to the next deck, where there are several built in sun loungers on the
foredeck – and a Jacuzzi?

“We have full height windows to port and starboard, and it
has a vast saloon. It also has hydraulic folding balconies with sliding doors
either side, which really creates a sense of space and light – I thought you’d
like that,” he adds.

I blink up at him
. Still in shock Tristan!

“Like it so far?” Tristan asks, trying not to smile at my
bemused expression.

“Yes,” I squeak, I don't really know what else to say – What’s
not to like?

Tristan tugs my hand and leads me through a door to my left.
Inside, I am blown away. Right in front of me is a long desk with several
computer screens and lots of other electrical bits and pieces. In the middle of
this sits a large leather captain’s chair, in front of that, a large steering
wheel. And the panoramic windows offer the most spectacular view across the
Marina.

Behind all of this is the most luxurious seating area, all
plush leather single seats, and two large sofa’s with a large table neatly nestled
in the centre.

“Shall we move on?” Tristan asks.

“Ok,” I choke.

We head through another door, down a set of curved stairs
where we enter the galley. Dark woods, black shiny work surfaces, top of the
range oven and hob. I shake my head in wonder. We head through another door,
and walk down a small corridor. “W.C to your left,” Tristan says as we go
steaming past it, Tristan opens a set of double doors and we walk into the most
luxurious living area.

On my right, there’s a large plasma screen T.V up on the
wall, in the centre of the room there are several sofas in the same grey and
beige colours, there’s a mini-bar to my left, and directly in front of me are
the full height doors that I first saw when we came aboard. I can see the
dining table and chairs outside.
Whoa!

Tristan tugs my hand again, and taking me off to the left we
head down another set of stairs and walk along a narrow hallway.

“Guest bedrooms,” he says pointing to the doors as we pass
them. “Guest bathroom,” he points again, then stops when we reach the end of
the hallway. “Our room,” he says, his eyes twinkly wickedly.

He opens the double doors and gestures for me to go first. I
walk into the most luxurious bedroom. There’s so much room, the bed is huge yet
it looks dwarfed by all the space. Again, everything is luxurious, and has the
same colour scheme, dark woods, grey and beige bedding, there are panoramic
windows making the space feel so light and breezy. I notice in the corner of
the room are two glasses of pink bubbly waiting for us.

Tristan lets go of my hand and as he walks over to the far
end of the room, he points to another door. “Master bath,” he says. “Take a
look.”

I walk over to the door, open it up and gasp aloud. It has a
friggin’ bath! I mean, I expected a decent bathroom with a nice shower and all
the other bits and bobs, but not a bath too! I shake my head in awe. I hear
music and I instantly know the song – Etta James’s At Last –
Oh no! Don't
cry, don't cry!

“Coral,” Tristan calls.

I swallow hard, and fighting back the tears I walk out of
the bathroom. Tristan is standing on the far side of the room, looking handsome
as ever.

He holds his hand out to me. “Dance with me?”

I nod, because I have lost the power of speech again, and
walk across the room to my beautiful husband. He pulls me close to him, takes
my hand in his and we slowly dance around the bedroom to Etta’s song. And I
melt, again!

“How did I get this lucky?” I ask.

“It’s just a yacht,” he softly says.

“I wasn’t talking about the yacht Tristan, I meant you.”

“Oh!” He smiles shyly at me and spins me around. “Shouldn’t
it be I who is saying that to you?” He questions.

“Do you feel lucky?” I question, feeling brave.

“Oh, more than you will ever now,” he says, the depth of his
words and the sincerity in his eyes is making my heart expand again. I’m not
sure how much more love I can fill it up with.

The song unfortunately comes to an end. “Thank you for the
dance, my beautiful, captivating wife.” Tristan spins me around once more,
making me giggle. “Shall we have a quick drink before we go back?” He asks.

“Yes,” I say, blinking up at him.