CHAPTER 23

It was dark when the family finally took their leave after the lively party; the living room decorated with flowers, balloons and a large banner with the words WELCOME HOME CARLY in bold red letters. The same words were written in icing on the square cake Caroline had baked for the occasion and Carly had blown out the candles.

Then Caroline had led the toast.

'Having you and Olivia back with us, where you belong,' she said, 'once again proves there is a God. May His circle of protection surround you always and never let evil- in any form- ever take you away again.'

The people who'd been absent was Kimmie, having only stayed a few days and Justin and Phillip who had a meeting, but Justin had told Bo he would drop by later.

'You look a lot better now,' Olivia said as she and Bo wrapped up the leftovers in the kitchen.

'What?'

'I watched you the whole time; you were wearing a look of frustration on your face and I think I was the only one who noticed it.'

Bo smiled ruefully. 'Can you blame me? I tried to get your Mum alone and then someone would just swoop down...'

'You're not the only one who's missed her, Daddy. To be honest, I was really touched at the way everyone helped me with the house, being so happy to see Ma...'

'Kitten, Carly's a special woman- of course they still love her as much as I do.'

Olivia took the packages from him and put them in the fridge. 'Do they know you plan on getting back with Ma?'

'No, but I reckon they've pretty much guessed it... scram Phoebe, you've had enough!' Bo scolded Olivia's Welsh Springer Spaniel Naveen had brought back along with her and Carly's personal things. The dog put her tail down and stalked out.

'So what's the situation now with Hope? I've been so busy getting the house ready, I never asked.' She'd been affronted to hear on getting back, that Hope had changed her mind and moved back to the house. She'd stayed with Caroline despite Victor's continuous invitations.

'She has no other choice now.' Bo replied. 'Especially since no one in the family's on her side this time; even they agreed it's the last straw. She signed the new papers a week ago; we just have to wait for the divorce to be final.'

'And then?'

Bo grinned. 'What do you think- I'm going to ask your mother to marry me.'

Olivia grinned back, shaking her head. 'You haven't even told her your feelings yet- she's going to be knocked all of a heap!'

'I'm going to, first chance I get.' Bo promised. 'I'm not going to lose her again; I told you that.' He frowned suddenly. 'Did you guys talk about me after I left?'

'Not much; we mostly talked about her therapy and choosing a house. I didn't tell her about our conversation 'cause I reckoned you would want to do that yourself.' she shrugged.

Bo smiled, reaching out to toy with the St. Barbara medallion hanging from the chain round her neck. It always amazed him how well his daughter knew him, considering she hadn't even known he existed until Carly's memory had returned. Besides being forced to grow up so quickly, she obviously had Carly's maturity, her knack of knowing what made him tick.

'You're an unexpected blessing, have I told you that, kitten?'

Olivia regarded him solemnly before slipping her arms round his neck. 'You showing me a true father's affection and giving Ma hope for the future after all this time... I would say that you are the unexpected blessing, Dad. While I'm sorry for what you went through; I'm glad, very glad we have you to come home to. I love you, very much.'

Fighting back tears, Bo held her in a vice- grip; unable to remember the last time anyone had made him feel he wasn't a failure as a father or as a person. Hope had called him a lousy father after Zach's death; yelling over and over that if he hadn't left their son by himself to answer his damned cell, he would never have been run over by a drunk, who went unpunished; as he too had died. And then Ciara, Hope had accused him of gambling with her life and taken her away. But Olivia-who'd gone through so much without him to protect her- loved him unconditionally, understood him so well. Just like Carly.

'Love you too, baby girl.' he choked, pressing his cheek against hers. 'Love you very much.'

Olivia pulled back, dabbing her eyes with one hand. 'And I believe Mum still loves you and things will work out between you two.'

'I know it will, kitten. You just wait and see what I've got in store for her.' Kissing the top of her head, they went arm in arm to the living room.

Carly was already asleep on the Barcalounger Bo had got her as a Welcome Home present, Phoebe curled in a ball at her feet.

'We should get her to bed.' Olivia whispered.

'Yeah.' Gently and with ease, Bo lifted Carly in his arms and Olivia led the way to her room upstairs. He set her down, drawing the blankets over her. How beautiful she looked, her face serene and sweet like he remembered. Brushing back strands of hair from her forehead, he kissed her cheeks and the tip of her nose. 'Sweet dreams, princess.'

He seriously doubted he would get any sleep tonight.

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That night, Carly had a dream. The special, special night in Mexico eighteen years ago, when they'd made love for the very first time. When their bodies merged together in an ecstatic, white-hot fusion; Bo thrusting relentlessly within her and her legs gripping his hips, nails raking his back until finally reaching the summit...

Bo kissed Carly's neck, raising his head to look down at her. Her face wore the look of blissful afterglow. It was the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen. What they'd just done... amazing, earth shattering.

'What?' Carly murmured, her fingers running through his hair, still trying to catch her breath.

'You.' was the soft reply.

'What about you me?' she smiled.

'Everything... everything about you.' Bo shook his head, dazed. 'I just don't know how else to put it.'

Carly chuckled. 'You put it just fine.'

'Think so?'

'I know so.' Bo lowered his head again and she responded fiercely to the wild hunger of his mouth. Coming up for air at last, he gazed at her again, a look of reverence on his face.

'What, honey?'

'You're so beautiful...' he shook his head in wonder. 'Heart and mind and body and soul, you're just so beautiful...' another deep, passionate kiss followed his words before he rolled onto his back, pulling her with him to cradle her head against his shoulder, savouring the feel of her warm, soft body spooned against his.

'What?' he asked slightly worried at her silence.

Carly was feeling more than exhilarated. If Bo wasn't holding her so close right now, she would float. 'I'm okay,' she replied softly, playing with his chest hair. 'I don't want to talk anymore. I just want to lie here and listen to your heart beat.'

Stroking her hair, they lay together, not speaking.

'You're so soft,' Bo said at last, his hands caressing her skin. 'Your skin... I never had the opportunity before to notice how soft you are.'

Carly sighed. 'I thought we weren't going to talk anymore.' She felt his lips on her forehead and lifted her head to kiss him, long and hard for several seconds. In turn, she looked down at him.

'What's wrong?' Bo asked, touching her face.

'I don't know... I don't know how to describe it.' She sat up, drawing the sheet up to her chest and he sat up as well, looking at her anxiously.

Looking deep into his eyes she admitted, 'I've NEVER felt this way in my entire life. I mean...I knew I loved you but I didn't know just now... when you touched me for the very first time, REALLY touched me.' Just reliving it made her shiver with pleasure. 'I'm been waiting for this moment my entire life.'

'It's only the beginning, princess,' Bo replied, meeting the glowing eyes in front of him. 'Only the beginning.'

'I feel like a whole new person... in a whole new life.'

'That's because you are, so am I.' Bo smiled, stroking her hair. He'd never felt so happy, so complete. After a turbulent year of fighting her off and then fighting for her, she was finally his; body and soul- his missing other half.

'I had the most beautiful wedding today.' They both chuckled, thinking of their vows at the top of the El Castillo. They'd been beautiful, meaningful and sincere.

'And this...' Carly kissed him again, 'magic. And it's perfect. It's... heaven.'

Bo traced her lower lip with his thumb. 'There's that word again.'

'I used it this afternoon, and it was in Marlena's gift. How did it go again?'

Bo smiled, remembering the Spanish words on the scroll. 'Corzon Del Cielo' he replied, capturing her mouth again, loving the taste of the soft sweet mouth, his tongue tracing the lower lip.

'"The Heart of Heaven"' she said as his lips moved to the side of her neck. 'And that's exactly where we are, aren't we?'

'Yeah, it's where we are, Princess. And I promise you... that's where we're going to stay.'

Pulling her down, he moved onto her body again and they kissed wildly; Bo moved to her neck, her shoulders and breasts and they made love again. And again.

The sound of the waves woke Carly up in the morning. Blinking against the light streaming through the French windows, she sat up, yawning. She didn't remember going to bed last night. Bo must have carried her up. Just thinking about him made her remember the dream and she blushed. Looking round, she saw that her room was peach coloured and well decorated, complete with a dressing table, thick pile carpeting and her bed was queen sized, with a brass head board. Olivia had really done a good job.

Getting out of bed and wrapping herself with the duvet, she opened the French windows and hobbled out on to the balcony, taking in the view of the sea and the blue sky above it. Peace and tranquillity on waking up, just liked she'd experienced when she'd lived on the boat with Bo and Shawn Douglas. Chiding herself for thinking over the past again; she went back into the warmth inside, moving to the en-suite colour coordinated bathroom.

When she got out after a long hot shower she found Olivia with a tray, Phoebe at her heels.

'Breakfast in bed. Good morning, Ma.'

'Good morning, kitten.' Carly smiled, kissing her and bending down to pat Phoebe. She got back into bed and Olivia placed the tray on her lap. Coffee, toast and an omelette. Too well trained to jump on the bed, Phoebe sniffed round the room.

'This looks good,' Carly dug in. 'Thank you, baby. And you really did a wonderful job with the house, from what I've seen.'

'Ah, everyone helped. And with it been a few weeks to Christmas, I didn't want us spend the whole time moving things up and down... what's wrong, Ma?' there was an odd look on Carly's face.

'What's today?' she asked slowly.

Olivia frowned. 'The 7th. Why?'

Oh, My God... Carly breathed. It was the anniversary of her Mayan wedding with Bo- eighteen years today. And last night I dreamed of our wedding night... does it hold some sort of weird significance?

Because she was still technically married to Victor at the time; it had been a symbolic wedding and it had been all Bo's idea- to pledge their love for each other at the top of the El Castillo; an improvised version of a man and woman searching for a union and part of the cosmic universe and become spiritual partners. When they'd exchanged their vows, Carly had felt that even an official church blessing couldn't have possibly brought them closer than they'd been felt that day. Bo had given her the gold North Star chain and in return she'd given him a jade ring. She wondered if he still had it; she had no idea what had happened to that treasured chain.

The sound of a cell ringing broke her thoughts. Olivia pulled it out of her pocket and pressed 'answer'.

'Hello? Oh, good morning Daddy. Yes, she's here.' She handed the phone to Carly.

'Hi, Bo.'

'Hey, Carly. Sleep well?'

Carly thought about the dream again and blushed red, to Olivia's astonishment. 'Like a baby.'

'Glad to hear that. I thought I'd stop by first chance I get... if that's okay.'

For once, Carly ignored Jennifer's warning words; how could it hurt to spend the day with him? She wasn't stealing him from Hope and he clearly wanted to see her. They were old friends catching up, that's all. 'You know you're welcome here any time, Bo.'

'Okay then. By the way... Happy anniversary.'

Carly gasped, surprised and touched. 'You remembered.'

'Like I would forget our very special day,' his voice was husky. 'We both knew what it meant, didn't we, Carly?'

'I suppose we did. It was really beautiful.'

'So, first chance... I'll drive over. Take care.'

'You too.'

'Daddy remembered what?' Olivia asked curiously as she put the phone down.

'Our Anniversary.'

'Anni... oh, the Mayan wedding! You sounded surprised he remembered.'

Carly shrugged. 'It was a long time ago and he's moved on with his life since I've been gone; I didn't think it was still important to him, that's all.'

Olivia opened her mouth but changed her mind at the last minute. It was really best she heard it from the horse's mouth.

Carly ate her breakfast, feeling more cheerful and suddenly optimistic. Despite Jennifer's words and her own vow, she could help but dare to hope- was it possible that Bo was trying to tell her something?

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As he got ready for work, Bo thought of the hot dream he'd had, causing him to wake up dazed and panting and in need of a long cold shower. He hadn't had that dream in years... it obviously held a special significance and in the morning he'd realised what day it was. More than ever, he needed to tell Carly about his feelings for her but he also wanted it to be perfect. After his confession, he wanted to follow it up with a proposal. And if that was going to happen, he'll just have to wait for his damned divorce to be final. Also, he didn't want Carly to think she had anything to do with his problems with Hope; she'd expressed a genuine concern about his marriage which had moved him deeply. If she heard about the divorce, she might feel responsible and not want to be with him; he wouldn't be able to bear that. He would have to tell the family to keep their mouths shut.

'A matter of time, Princess,' Bo said softly as he let himself out. 'We'll be together again.'