I disclaim. A rather different story but one with what may seem like a familiar storyline.
Mr. Steel Guitar
Chapter One
I can’t believe this is really us, after all this time, that Isabella Black is in my arms and we’re kissing madly, passionately, as we will today, tomorrow and every day until we die.
Life doesn’t get much better than this.
She’s beautiful, my Isabella, Belle means beauty of course. Perfect name for her. There isn’t anything else you could call a girl who looks like that. Except the little loving nicknames I give her. None of this ‘honey-bun’ rubbish. The real deal, loving you forever, hold me tighter, syllables to make you shiver words.
"Angel," I whisper in her ear as she breaks our kiss and I find her staring into my eyes, her beautiful blue orbs half full of tears, tears of joy because we’ve waited so long, and at last, we’ve overcome the odds and are together. "You know that you’re my angel, don’t you Belle?"
She smiles at me, and my heart launches from my chest to my mouth. This is the woman I’m going to marry. Parents be damned.
"I know," she whispers into my ear, her hot breath tickling the little hairs on the back of my neck. "You’ve been so good to me."
"I love you, Belle," I tell her, running my fingers through her soft blonde hair and loving the feel of it. It’s soft, and silken, and it flows over my hands and down her tanned bare back. Her skin is a little cool, probably because the street outside the Brady Pub isn’t the warmest place to be standing, but I know she doesn’t care, and I offer her my jacket.
"Thank you," she lets me glide it gently over her arms and up onto her shoulders. She looks so small in it. Like a Christmas angel, only much prettier. She kisses me gently, not on the mouth, but the cheek, as if we were children, and I put my hand gently under her chin, and kiss her back, more firmly.
Breathless, we pull apart and smile as Mimi comes rushing up.
"Oh, God," she gasps, "I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt."
She’s smiling broadly, obviously pleased that Belle is over the past, and moving on with me. You gotta love Meems. There’s no one quite like her.
"It’s OK," my Isabella says, leaning back into my chest and presenting her left hand, the hand that displays my diamond engagement ring so beautifully. Mimi squeals in ecstasies of delight. I never knew a human being could make that noise until I heard Mimi.
"So it’s true? You two are really tying the knot?" She’s hugging Belle now, and kissing me on the cheek, bouncing up and down so happily that I have to smile at her.
"Yes," Belle answers her, barely containing her happiness. She turns around again, and I’m greeted by those fantastic eyes. "It’s OK that she knows, isn’t it baby?"
"Of course, Belle," I smile down at her, and my heart is warmed by the vision before me. "That’s what we’re here for. We’ve waited for so long, let’s not wait any longer."
Mimi hugs her again, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes, and Belle kisses me, passionately this time, with her heart and soul behind it.
"Let’s go inside," she murmurs, and, hand in hand with Mimi just in front of us so she can take the photo of our families’ delight, we go into the Brady Pub to announce our engagement. I’ve never been happier in my life. After everything that’s happened, the Island and its aftermath, Chloe and Brady’s relationship hitting the skids just as everything seemed to be going perfectly for them, all the troubles my parents have been through, everything that happened with my brother, I finally see light at the end of the tunnel. This is it. Happiness, here I come, and I have my Belle at my side. So this is what joy feels like.
"Everyone," she’s still holding my hand, but Belle’s a foot or so in front of me, standing by the bar, and looking around at all the expectant faces. One is noticeably missing, but no one expected Chloe to come here after all her trouble with Brady, and the way she cheated on him. I don’t think she would be welcome if she did come. Belle has always been so protective of her older brother. "We have an announcement to make."
We wait while things settle down, and we have their full attention. Everyone we care about is here. Everyone we love. Everyone we need. Belle’s father leans forwards, staring hard at us, and I have to work hard not to blush. He’ll be giving his daughter to me, and I have to make sure he never regrets it. John Black after me is not an enticing prospect. Not that I would ever hurt my Belle. Not again.
She leans back to me, "Say it with me, please."
How can I refuse?
Together, as the one person we are going to become, we say, "We’re getting married," just as the Pub door swings open and the one person Belle and I’d hoped never to see again comes striding in.
The collective congratulations and cheers are interrupted as they turn to see the newcomer. He always did have a taste for the dramatic, and he couldn’t have timed his entrance more perfectly if it had been rehearsed.
Belle is standing very, very still, and I can tell she’s restraining her anger, stopping herself from hurting him as he once hurt her.
"Belle." He nods to her, realising now is not the moment for a smile. His eyes are cold and wary. There’s been a lot of water flowing under this bridge since he was last here, and he is, understandably, nervous. "Philip. So, what did I miss?"
And with that, Shawn Douglas Brady is back in our lives.