Page 89 of Slightly Reckless

When Tia appeared, she was dressed in the white fur-trimmed snowsuit, with matching boots and gloves I’d left in her suite. Against the night sky and whirling snow, she looked like a winter goddess.

“A helicopter? Seriously, Chrys?” she called over the noise of the engine.

I helped her into the passenger seat, buckling her in before settling beside her. “Would you expect anything less?”

As we lifted off, the castle shrank beneath us. Tia gasped as we banked over the mountains, the moonlight illuminating miles of pristine slopes.

“Where are we going?” she asked, her gloved hand finding mine.

“To watch the sunrise from the Matterhorn,” I told her. “I arranged for us to be the only people at the observation point when Christmas Day begins.”

Her expression softened. “You planned our wedding for Christmas Eve just for this, didn’t you?”

“Maybe,” I admitted with a grin. “Or maybe I just wanted to make sure you’d never forget our anniversary.”

Tia laughed, the sound filling the small cabin. “As if I could ever forget anything about you, Chrysanthos Christakis.”

As we soared over the stunning Alpine landscape, I thought about the path that had brought us here. From a car crash to this moment. I’d nearly lost everything through my own arrogance and deception. Yet somehow, against all odds, she had forgiven me.

Below us, the lights of small villages twinkled. I’d moved through life at top speed, always chasing the next victory, the nextthrill. Tia had taught me how to slow down enough to appreciate the journey.

“What are you thinking about?” Tia asked.

I turned to her, this woman who had seen the worst in me and loved me, anyway. “I’m thinking this is just the beginning, aggelé mou.”

She smiled, leaning in to kiss me as the helicopter banked again, carrying us toward the waiting dawn. “Promise?”

“Promise.”

Behind us, the castle continued to glow, filled with people celebrating our union. Let them dance, drink, and gossip. Let them wonder where the bride and groom had disappeared to.

The only thing that mattered was the woman beside me. I’d been reckless with many things in my life, but never again with Tia’s heart.

As we approached the majestic Matterhorn, I squeezed her hand. This was exactly where I was meant to be. Slightly reckless, completely in love, and finally home.

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