Chapter 87 Best Thing

• “Best thing would be to give that inheritance away. Have Rafael administer it for charities. Alicia won’t need any of it with Jared as her dad.”
“And Christabel doesn’t want a bar of it. I’d guess her influence will soak in over the years.”
“Sure to. She’s one very strong lady.”
Tommy shook his head over the traumatic train of events that had eventually landed Christabel in Broome. “Hell of a thing—what she went through.”
Nathan looked over the milling crowd of guests to where his youngest brother stood with his bride—the woman he’d fought for and won. “She’s got Jared now,” he said quietly. “I think for Christabel, he more than makes up for everything she suffered in the past.” His vivid blue eyes twinkled at Tommy. “I’d have to say our kid brother wins the white knight award.”
“Oh, I don’t know. We did pretty good for Miranda, don’t forget. Saved her from a king rat.”
“True. And I’m glad Rafael Santiso didn’t turn out to be another king rat. I suspect he’s going to sweep our mother off with him.”
They both turned to assess what was happening on that front.
“You know, Nathan, for an older guy, he’s certainly got a pouncing panther air about him.”
“Mmm…not unlike Dad in many ways.”
Rafael Santiso felt he had been very patient. It was time for Elizabeth to decide.
“So,” he said, eyeing her with mocking challenge. “We had Tommy’s wedding four months ago. Nathan’s son has been safely born. Miranda is handling motherhood without any panic whatsoever. The planning for Jared’s wedding has reached its culmination and is currently being perfectly executed. Your youngest son is now married. Samantha’s baby is not due for another five months and I shall point out that unlike Miranda, Samantha has a mother of her own to see her through to the birth.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Is there any reason you cannot leave the Kimberly and fly to Greece with me?”
She affected surprise. “I thought you were returning to Europe.”
He shrugged. “Athens is on the way. I hold a small Greek island in trust. Very private. Very beautiful. It is the perfect place for relaxation after such a busy six months.”
“It has been busy.”
“And frustrating,” he said darkly.
Her magnificent eyes twinkled seductively. “I’ve never been to a Greek island.”
His heart swelled with hope. “You have only to say yes.”
I can, with a free conscience, put myself first now, Elizabeth decided. How it would be with Rafael, she didn’t really know—such a different kind of life—but she wanted to try it, wanted to explore the feelings he stirred in her. It wasn’t too late to take a new path, she thought. It was never too late. She had been static for too long. Life was to be lived.
She smiled at Rafael, thinking how exhilarating it was for a woman to feel desired by such a fascinating and desirable man. “I can’t think of any family need to keep me here, so yes, I will go with you.”
“You will?” His handsome Latin face broke into a triumphant grin.
Nothing to lose and everything to gain, Elizabeth told herself, and made the decision firm. “I will.”
Jared curved his arm around Christabel’s waist as they stood at the fence edging the grounds of the hotel, facing out to where the full moon was rising, a glowing red ball pushing slowly up from the horizon beyond Roebuck Bay.
“Happy?” he murmured.
She smiled. “You know I am. Though I do wonder how your mother feels about us living in Picard house. It’s been hers for so long.”
“Now that I have you, she’s passing it to us, Christabel. She’ll be gone by the time we come back from our honeymoon.”
It surprised her. “Where is she going?”
“With Rafael.”
“She’ll really leave all her family to be with him?” A flash of concern in her eyes. “It’s such a high-intensity life he lives, Jared.”
He smiled, his confidence in his mother’s ability to rise to any challenge stronger than ever. “Invigorating, Vikki says. And she predicts he’ll treat her like a queen.”
Christabel released a long contented sigh. “I have to admit he’s been good to me. Amazing in taking care of the problems with Alicia.”
“You don’t mind giving up your family in Rio?” he asked quietly.
She shook her head. “They want the money. When I went to them for help, they thought I was mad to leave. It was Rafael’s hand behind the scenes that made them give the help I needed. It was the same when Laurens proposed marriage. They thought only of the money.”
The eyes she lifted to his held no regrets. “My life is here with you. So is Alicia’s. She loves your family, Jared. And so do I.”
The last little niggle about all the decisions they’d made in the past few months was erased. He nodded towards the bay. “It’s starting.”
Christabel swiftly turned her attention to the unique phenomenon that was special to Broome. It was most spectacular during the equinoctial tides of March and September when the sea could rise and fall ten metres. At such an extreme low tide, and if the sky was clear as it was this evening, the pools of water stretching across the exposed mudflats reflected the light of the moon, providing the illusion of a staircase—a magical staircase opening up from the huge glowing sphere as it rose above the horizon.
The first red bars were appearing now.
A night to remember, Christabel thought, for so many wonderful reasons, and this…what she was watching now…seemed like a reflection of what Jared had done, hauling her out of darkness and setting her feet on a path with him, a path where every step was a magical experience, glowing with his love for her.
The moon turned to gold as it lifted higher, creating a flight of golden steps coming closer and closer to them. They’re for us, Christabel thought—the staircase to a golden future together. And she rested her head on Jared’s shoulder, and knew she didn’t need anything else. She had everything she wanted in the man who held her.
“I love you so much, Jared,” she whispered. “Thank you for rescuing me and making this happen. All of it. You, me, Alicia…”
“Oh, I was only thinking of my pleasure,” he teased. “After all, it is my pleasure to love you.”
She smiled, her heart singing at the thought of going to bed with her husband tonight. Her true husband in every sense. The staircase to the moon was wonderful, but nothing—her mind flitted through the exquisite memories Jared had already given her, her body instantly zinging with anticipation of so much more to come—absolutely nothing, she thought blissfully, could be more wonderful than being the pleasure King’s bride!