The Dark Side of the Rainbow (34 page)

T
hree weeks later, Landon and Olivia were to be married on board
The Absolution
, anchored a mile off the shore of Villa La Angostura. The guest list consisted of an intimate group of close associates, friends, and family, including Shannon Able, whom Olivia had re-connected with after her return to Portland. The photographer had learned firsthand from her friend the beginnings of their relationship. Shannon had been at the causeway the day of the accident. At Olivia’s urging, Shannon gave her friend a detailed account from the time they had left Tad’s, completing the picture of that tragic moment.

The day Landon and Olivia had left Portland, she had called Shannon while on the way to the airport, asking her to be her bridesmaid. Landon had smiled at the shriek of approval he heard on the other end of the phone. Tomas had agreed to be a groomsman. The bridal party was complete with Natasha as Olivia’s maid of honor, Gaston the best man, and Isabella and Nicholas as the flower girl and ring bearer.

Olivia’s Aunt Sarah, her Uncle Jimmy who would give her away, and her two cousins Paul and Michael and their families were to sit next to Landon’s parents, whom she had meet for the first time a week ago.

William and Shannon Gray couldn’t be happier for their son.

After the rehearsal dinner, and desperate to be alone, Landon had found them a quiet spot on board the ship for a “make-out” session. In between nibbling on his fiancé’s earlobes and neck, she asked him if he knew what his parents thought about her.

He lifted his head to look at her, his eyes glossy with passion. “The last thing I want to talk about right now is my parents, but if I don’t focus on something else, I’m liable to do something I’ll regret.”

“What if I want you . . .”

Placing a finger to her lips to stop her mid-sentence, Landon said, “You have a habit of doing that. I can’t help but wonder if you do it on purpose.” He didn’t care if it was true, she was absolutely adorable. Taking her lips, he kissed her soundly before forcing himself to pull away. “I may be a man of great self-control, but in the last two weeks my perseverance has been pushed to the brink more times than I care to count.”

“And whose idea was it to have a make-out session?” she asked with a smile.

“One more kiss, then we talk about my parents,” he ground out, before taking her mouth again.

Breathless and aching, a few moments later he told her that his parents thought she was wonderful. To her chagrin, Landon had told them everything. Shannon Gray had found it to be utterly romantic that the two of them had been brought together after all these years. She had no idea of her son’s heartbreak over Olivia. With tears in her eyes, his mother had asked him to forgive her for not knowing.

His father had the opposite reaction. William Gray patted Landon on the back. “That’s my son.” He’d been especially proud of how well Landon had handled the whole situation from the start and congratulated him on being an astute person with fine character.

The following afternoon, the day of their union, there was no controlling the emotions that filled Landon to overflowing when he saw Olivia walking down the aisle on her uncle’s arm. Her simple white silk gown was a reminder of her modest nature, the perfect design to showcase her beauty.

There wasn’t a person left untouched by the vows they exchanged. Words of their history and the forgiveness they were both desperate to have moved the hearts of everyone who heard them. When they were done making their promises, Landon added, “Somehow, I must have known that we would someday be together.” He placed her hand to his heart. “For we are two halves of the same soul, you and I.” Not caring that the minister hadn’t yet pronounced them man and wife, Landon kissed Olivia. The crowd erupted in applause.

After the meal was over, tango performers took to the dance floor to begin the night’s celebration.

“I can’t watch,” Landon said as he nuzzled his wife’s neck.

She looked at him. “Watch, sweetheart, and imagine the two of us dancing as they are. Soon,” she whispered.

Hours later when Landon and Olivia made their way to the waiting limo, the crowd cheered from the deck of
The Absolution
, wishing them well. Wanting to be completely alone, Landon had found a cabin in Villa La Angostura for them to spend their first week as husband and wife.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered when he opened the door to the small, cozy, one-room log cabin. A fire was burning in the stone hearth, filling the space with warmth and taking the chill off the cool Patagonia summer night. Lit candles and flowers lined the mantle. There was a four-poster bed angled in the far corner of the room.

Landon’s hand shook as he led her to the bed. Reaching for her waist, he lifted her onto the soft down comforter and began to remove the pins from her hair. When her red curls were free from their bonds, only then did he speak.

“I can’t believe I’m here with you. Like the ghosts in your mind, I must have had my own, telling me over the years to not give up on us. I couldn’t bring myself to love anyone else. I’m happy that I can stand before you and tell you that you are the only woman who has ever had my heart.”

Olivia reached for his tuxedo jacket and slid it off of his shoulders, allowing it to fall to the floor. Next, she removed the bow tie from around his neck, then the vest he wore over his white shirt. Carefully, she removed the emerald cufflinks, her wedding gift to him. Landon placed them on the nightstand, then turned back to her. She unbuttoned the cuffs at his wrist. The scars that she fingered still brought her sorrow, but she accepted them. Lifting one hand at a time she kissed the fine white lines, feeling the strong rapid pulse beating below the surface of his skin.

As she unbuttoned his shirt, Olivia said, “My aunt told me I never had a boyfriend. After Jacob died, I didn’t let anyone but my family close to me. I suspect my grander plans,” her brows still furrowed in shame every time she thought of her plans for revenge, “kept me from making too many connections.” She looked at her husband. “She affirmed what the ghosts in my mind had already spoken to me. I’ve never loved anyone but you.”

Softly, she kissed the base of his neck, her hands sifting through the soft curls of hair on his chest. Slowly, she rained a trail of kisses to his lips. When she opened her eyes to look at Landon, she said, “Dance with me.”

* * *

T
hey chose to spend their honeymoon in Villa La Angostura because it was the place where everything first began to change. Landon took her to the Arrayanes National Park and gave Olivia her wish. She didn’t remember her desire to return to the falls and to see the spectacular wonder of nature from the cave below the tumbling water. But she was able to recall the Robert Frost Poem,
The Road Not Taken
and recited it to him in the shelter of the large rock where Landon later made love to her.

The following day when he took her to the church they had visited, she told him about the dream she had of him in the cemetery. He could see she was visibly shaken by the recollection. Landon would never tell his wife how glad he was she had dreamt it, for it had been the nudge she needed to come back to him. Later, that afternoon he drove away the remnants of her dark thoughts with his desire for her.

Most of their time that week had been spent within the four walls of their cozy cabin, touching, tasting, talking. She was telling him about her life before him, using the wealth of information she had gained while in Portland.

Lying in bed with only the sheets wrapped around their warm satiated bodies, Olivia thought of her friend Shannon. “Did you see the way Tomas was looking at her?” she asked while caressing her husband’s chest.

“I did.”

“They danced together quite a lot.” Olivia paused for a moment in thought. “If Tomas has been cautious, why has he been so unlucky in love?”

“Like myself, Tomas’ family is very wealthy—old Argentinian money. Unlike me, he had no desire to work the family’s export business. After graduating from Harvard with his business degree, Natasha hired him on as director of operations. He worked hard and proved himself.

“Almost a year after I took over, the current vice president, Eduardo, became ill. While he was recovering Tomas stepped up and pretty much worked two full-time jobs for three months. After his recovery, Eduardo decided to retire. I gave Tomas the job and haven’t regretted a day since making that decision. The other unfortunate thing is that women seem to only want his money.”

“That’s why he’s so cautious,” Olivia surmised. “I know he wouldn’t have to worry about that with Shannon. If there is a spark there, perhaps he will trust enough to give her a chance.”

“Oh, there is definitely a spark. I’ve been around Tomas enough to know the difference between polite aloof cordiality and ‘come dance with me for the sixth time this evening because I can’t keep my hands off of you’, genuine interest.”

Olivia lifted her head from Landon’s chest to look at him. “By the way, I haven’t thanked you for what you did for my father: the house, my education, and the trust you set up for me. Do you want to know what the only good thing was about my plot to ruin your life?”

Landon turned, placing her on her pillow, in order see her more fully. “What’s that?”

“At least you know I wasn’t interested in your money.”

He smiled at her but didn’t say anything.

“I am such a fickle creature,” she sighed, while holding his gaze. “When I first awoke and assumed from the lack of contacts in my phone that I had no one, I knew my life must have been full of pain and tragedy; I didn’t want to remember. Then when I discovered my plans to ruin you, I was desperate to recall everything. Now I want to forget how close I had come to hurting you.”

Landon kissed the bridge of her nose. “I’ve forgotten, sweetheart.”

Her eyes were full of doubt. “How is that possible?”

“Because of this—us, lying here in your arms—none of it matters. It’s all gone. Let it go, Olivia.”

She closed her eyes, trying to obey. “I wish we could stay here forever.”

“I don’t.” His words caused her eyes to open. “I’ve dreamt too long of building a life with you. I want to see you pregnant with our children, your feet so swollen you can’t fit into any of your shoes. Nothing would make me happier than being by your side the first time you receive an award for your stunning photography. I’ve even pictured you angry and hurling plates past my head.”

“Hey,” she interrupted, “I’m not a plate throwing kind of person.”

“I’m sure at some point I will make you mad enough you’ll toss something at me. I’ve dreamt of you with grey hair and no teeth . . .”

“So far this life you have built for us isn’t sounding very Norman Rockwellesque. Why is it that I have to have the swollen feet and no teeth? How about dreaming of you with grey hair and no longer being able to uhh, you know, get . . .”

Landon silenced her with a kiss. When he looked at her, gone was his mirth; in its place was sincerity. “I will remember fondly this week we’ve had together; it will be one of the highlights of my life, but it’s too perfect. I don’t want a Norman Rockwell life. I want a real life with you, bumps in the road and all.”

Eyes glistening from her husband’s words, Olivia replied, “That’s what I want too.”

“I’m glad, and besides if we stay here forever, I won’t be able to give you your surprise.”

Her eyes brightened in pleasure at the idea. “You would have to do that to me now, wouldn’t you? Do I at least get a clue?”

Landon shook his head. “No clues, but at least I waited until the last day of our honeymoon to tell you. Let’s have one more night of perfection and tomorrow we’ll begin our real life, surprises and all. How does that sound?”

“It sounds very Norman Rockwellesque.”

L
andon had arranged for a driver to pick them up from the airport. To distract her from the surprise, he engaged his wife in a make-out session.

“What if the driver can see us?” she asked

“He can’t; I promise. Kiss me.”

Olivia obeyed.

A short while later when Landon felt the car slowing down, he pulled away from his wife. “Close your eyes,” he said kissing her one last time, trying to catch his breath. “We’re almost here. No peeking.”

As soon as the car stopped, Landon could barely contain his excitement as he carefully helped Olivia out of the Town Car.

Positioning her in front of the house, he said, “Open them, sweetheart.”

When she saw the off-white stucco, dark slated roof home, she gasped.

It was the most wonderful thing she had ever seen. The front porch was complete with a colonnade; the dark polished wood of the six-panel double doors contrasted brilliantly against the off-white stucco. Olivia was glad to see the size of the home was comfortable, but not excessively large.

“It’s beautiful,” she said turning to Landon. “When did you buy it?”

“The week you left.” Smiling at her softly, he added, “I had faith that you would return. Are you ready to see the inside of our new home?”

Olivia nodded her head.

The entrance was stunning with vaulted ceilings and a mahogany staircase. There was an arched entrance way that led to the rest of the house.

“Oh my!” Olivia exclaimed when she saw the southwest wall with floor-to-ceiling windows. “Words can’t begin to describe this view.” Turning to take in every detail, she paused when she spotted the picture above the mantle. She walked toward the large stone hearth, looking up at the photo she had taken of Beaverhead Rock. “It’s perfect there.”

“They day I left for Portland, I received it in the mail. It made me doubt that you were ever coming back. I thought it was a ‘goodbye forever, always remember me’ gift.”

Reaching for his hand, she continued to gaze at the picture. “You didn’t see the note. I was worried it might be missed. I taped it on the back of the canvas.”

“What did it say?”

“
I’ll be home soon
. I’m glad you didn’t find it. I’ll never forget standing on the causeway and hearing your voice. The dream had terrified me. I had been desperate to get back to you.”