Hey all, thank you to everyone for reading chapter 21 and to bee-327 for taking the time to leave a review for it. I appreciate it as always and honestly can't thank you enough!
Here's the next chapter for you…
"So, what did you think of the sunset from up here?" Joseph asked as he and Clarisse walked together slowly over to the seating area on the patio.
"It was very beautiful, and so is this now," Clarisse smiled as she smoothed her hands down the back of the skirt of her dress before taking a seat in the double seat that they were sat on earlier and turned her body towards him as he sat down beside her. "Isabella was right. It's incredible." She smiled while looking out at the lights of the city before lifting her gaze up to the sky.
"I knew you would like it," Joseph smiled and rested his arm along the back of the chair behind Clarisse's back as she put her hand down on his thigh and crossed her legs, her knee now resting against his.
"I did. It was very romantic," Clarisse smiled and briefly bit her bottom lip as she turned her head to look back at her husband as they each studied each others face.
"Here we go, one small glass of wine," Juana smiled as she made her way towards them sitting together on the double garden seat and watched as they both turned their heads to look at her.
"Oh thank you, Juana," Clarisse smiled and reached a hand out for her glass. Her other hand remaining on her husbands thigh.
"You're welcome," Juana smiled and looked at her brother, "are you sure you don't need anything? A top-up, maybe?" She asked, pointing to his glass.
"No, I'm good with the drink I have, thank you," Joseph smiled up at her while bending his arm up behind Clarisse and resting his hand against his head.
"Okay," Juana smiled, "well me and Vee are just going now to get the children ready for bed, so we'll be back out to join you soon."
"Okay," Joseph nodded as Clarisse took a sip of her wine before resting her glass down on her thigh, "where's everyone else disappeared too?"
"Well Isabella is getting ready to go out with us, Ana is up with the children, Lucia is having a little lie down before we leave, and Diego, Pedro and Carlos are all cleaning up," Juana smiled.
"Ahh okay," Joseph chuckled and nodded. "Do you need us to do anything? We don't mind helping in any way we can?"
"Absolutely not, no," Juana smiled and turned to head back inside with a shake of her head. "You both stay right there. It's all under control."
"Okay, we will," Joseph chuckled and watched as she smirked back at them before disappearing back inside. "Are you okay?" He asked, turning his attention back to Clarisse.
"I am," Clarisse nodded, "I'm feeling very welcome."
"Good, I'm glad to hear that," Joseph smiled and took a sip of his scotch as Clarisse looked down at her glass of wine resting on her thigh. "Didn't I tell you that you'll be okay?"
"You did," Clarisse smiled and looked back up at her husband. "I was watching you with the children earlier. How happy you all were playing that game."
"That's because they love me," Joseph laughed. "They always have."
"It certainly shows," Clarisse smiled and studied his face a moment.
"They love you too, you know," Joseph smiled while resting his arm back down along the back of the seat behind her and placed his hand on the back of her shoulder before smoothing it along to rest against the side of her neck as she looked back down at her glass.
"They certainly are special," Clarisse nodded, "and really, really lovely."
"I know what you're thinking, you know," Joseph smirked as she looked back up at him.
"Oh really? What am I thinking?" Clarisse asked, and they both laughed as Joseph leant closer to whisper in her ear.
"I had one of the best jobs in the world, and through it I got to spend my life being devoted to you, the woman that I have loved since I was twenty years old," he whispered and kissed her jaw before continuing. "You are my life. My everything. And I wouldn't change that for the world."
"I know," she nodded and glanced down to her glass before looking back up at him. "It's just you were so good with them. It reminded me how brilliant you were with Pierre and Philippe when they were young. You would have made a wonderful father, and I feel just awful that you didn't want that because of me."
"Hey come on, we spoke about this the other night," Joseph said as he turned to her on the seat a bit more. "I am honestly okay that I'm not a father, it was my decision and one that I made peace with long ago," he whispered, "I'm happy with the life I have had and continue to have now with you. It's all I have ever wanted."
"Me too," Clarisse nodded as she turned to him a little more.
"Okay, so no more feeling sad, okay?" He said as he raised a hand up to gently grip hold of her chin. "We are meant to be on honeymoon, having the time of our lives. Not feeling sad over something that was never meant to be."
"You're right," Clarisse nodded as she studied his face and watched as he leant closer to her while moving his hand to rest against the side of her neck.
"Besides, by being my wife, you have given me my family, and you are all I need," he whispered against her lips before kissing her. A soft, slow kiss.
"Right, once the kids are settled and Isabella's ready, we will head out to the bar," Diego said a moment later as he made his way over to join them out on the patio and sat down in one of the chairs opposite them as Clarisse looked down at her glass resting on her thigh, while Joseph looked up at him.
"Okay," Joseph nodded. "I wanted to ask though, before we do go, that when we get there, can we not make a big deal about us being there? We just want a nice, low-key evening without drawing attention to the fact that Clarisse is there."
"Oh of course," Diego nodded, "I completely understand."
"Thank you," Joseph nodded as Pedro and Carlos came out to join them.
"Anyway, I hope that you've had a great evening so far, Clarisse?" Diego smiled over at her. "And I hope that we haven't scared you too much."
"Oh no not at all, I've had a wonderful evening and have really enjoyed myself spending time here and getting to know you all," Clarisse smiled as she sat up, so she was now sitting on the edge of the seat, slightly turned to her husband, and set her glass down on the table in front of her before resting her hands together in her lap. "Thank you for having me."
"You're welcome," Diego smiled. "It's certainly been a pleasure hosting for you, and I hope that we get to do it again sometime in the future."
"Oh, absolutely," Clarisse smiled.
"Sorry to interrupt," Vee said, stepping out onto the back patio as everyone looked over at her, "but the children were wondering if their tía Clarisse would read them their bedtime story," she smiled as everyone's attention turned to Clarisse.
"Oh absolutely I would love to," Clarisse smiled as she looked at her husband sitting beside her and put her hand on his thigh before getting to her feet. "Just lead the way."
"Thank you," Vee smiled as Clarisse made her way towards her, and they both stepped back into the kitchen. "I hope you don't mind."
"Of course not, I'd love to read them their story," Clarisse smiled as they walked through the kitchen, into the foyer and over to the staircase, where once they were at the bottom of the steps, Clarisse reached her hand out onto the banister and slipped of her shoes. Before nudging them to one side with her foot.
"Oh you don't need to do that," Vee laughed when she saw what she was doing. "You can keep them on."
"Oh I don't, I hate walking up and down the stairs in heels," Clarisse said with a small laugh as she looked back up at her.
"Me too," Vee chuckled and gestured up the stairs before they started making their way up them and to Luna's bedroom. "Here we are," she said, walking through the bedroom door moments later.
"Yay," the children all squealed when they saw Clarisse following Valentina into the room.
"Well, what is all this," Clarisse smiled at the scene in front of her as she stood with her hands on her hips.
"The mattresses are on the floor because we are having a sleepover," Luna giggled as she jumped her way over to stand in front of Clarisse.
"Oh how lovely," Clarisse smiled as she lifted her hands from her hips to cup the young girls face in them, "and oh so very exciting."
"It is," Luna smiled up at her before taking hold of one of her hands and turning to lead her over to the others waiting for them on the mattresses on the floor. "Come and sit down on my bed with us tía Clarisse."
"Will you be okay?" Vee asked, watching her daughter lead Clarisse across her bedroom.
"Oh absolutely," Clarisse smiled back at her and nodded. "I'll be just fine."
"Okay, well, I'll leave you to it then," Vee smiled and stepped outside the door before looking back at them as Marie-Rose passed the book they wanted Clarisse to read to them to her.
"All these mattresses on the floor reminds me of all the fun we had when my two sons were your age," Clarisse smiled as she carefully knelt down in the middle of Luna's bed before tucking the book under her arm and smoothing her hands down the back of her legs, holding the skirt of her dress to her as she manoeuvred herself into a sitting position and leant back against the wall.
"Did you do this too?" Marie-Rose asked curiously while hugging her teddybear, the same teddybear that Joseph and Clarisse had given her just hours earlier as Clarisse stretched her legs out in front of her.
"We did, and we used to do mattress surfing too," Clarisse smiled as she crossed her legs at her ankles.
"Mattress surfing? What's that?" Luna asked as she settled down on the mattress beside Clarisse.
"Well back home in Genovia, we have a special ramp that attaches to one of the many staircases in the Palace and we go down it on mattresses," Clarisse smiled as all four children stared at her in amazement. "We don't do it so much now, not since my sons grew up. But it does come out occasionally."
"That sounds scary," Marie-Rose said and moved to snuggle close to Clarisse as she wrapped her arm around her.
"That sounds cool," Andre smiled as Clarisse looked up at him.
"Can we go on it sometime?" Luna asked as Clarisse looked to her with a chuckle, "because it sounds so much fun."
"Oh absolutely, yes," Clarisse smiled at her, "I'll talk to your tío José about it and make arrangements for you all to come to Genovia sometime."
"I won't go on it. It still sounds scary," Marie-Rose said as Clarisse looked down at her and gently rubbed her arm with her hand.
"You don't have to go on it if you don't want to," Clarisse said and watched as she looked up at her, "but if you do decide that you do want to have a go, I'm sure that your tío José will go on it with you."
"Will you go on it with me?" Marie-Rose asked.
"Of course I will," Clarisse smiled as she pulled her closer a moment, giving her a hug before loosening her arm around her.
"Do you go on it?" Luis asked.
"Yes I do, it's really a lot of fun," Clarisse nodded and smiled up at him. "But I do it differently to everyone else."
"What do you mean?" Andre asked.
"Well everyone else goes down the ramp on their bottoms, but I go down standing up," Clarisse smiled, and they all gasped. "That's where we got the name mattress surfing from."
"Wow," Luis and Marie-Rose exclaimed in unsion.
"Have you ever hurt yourself doing that?" Luna asked.
"Oh yes, I have, lots of times. I used to fall all the time until I got used to it, of course," Clarisse said with a small laugh, "but I'm super good now, I don't fall anymore."
Watching them from the doorway, Vee smiled at the conversation a moment before leaving them to it and making her way down to the kitchen where everyone had now gathered. "José," she said, walking over to him sitting at the dining table as he looked up at her, "your wife is so wonderfully amazing."
"Oh I know that, you don't need to tell me," Joseph chuckled, "but what has she done for you to say that?"
"Well not only has she been so wonderful with all the children this evening, so much so that they all adore her and begged for her to read them their story, but she's up there now telling them all about mattress surfing," Vee smiled. "They are all completely awestruck."
"What on earth is mattress surfing?" Juana explained from where she stood leaning over the countertop as Joseph laughed.
"Apparently they have a ramp or something back in Genovia, and they go down it on mattresses. She said they do it alot, well at least they used to when her sons were young," Vee said as she walked around to stand next to her sister, "but get this, Clarisse doesn't go down on the mattresses on her bottom like everyone else, oh no, she goes down on the mattress standing up."
"What?" Diego exclaimed as Joseph started laughing. "She doesn't!"
"No way," Juana exclaimed as she stood up straight and put her hands up to frame her face with them. Trying to imagine her doing just that. Going down on the mattress standing up. "Is this real José?" She asked while looking over at their brother, who sat at the table laughing.
"Yes, it's very much real," Joseph laughed and sat back smugly in his chair. "She's been known to have done a lot of flying in her years as Queen."
"Oh my god, no way," Juana exclaimed. "Is there anything that she can't do?"
"Please tell us there is, because right now she's putting us men to shame here," Diego exclaimed and started laughing.
"No, I'm sorry there isn't," Joseph smirked and folded his arms.
"I don't believe it," Vee exclaimed and shook her head in disbelief.
"Well you'll have to come visit us one day, and we will set it up for you," Joseph laughed and put a hand up, rubbing the side of his face. "So you can see for yourself."
"Yes, we definitely will," Vee laughed.
"I'm in, I wanna have a go at this mattress surfing," Diego smiled.
"Oo I'm coming too, I'm not gonna miss out on that," Juana giggled and watched her brother lean forward, placing his arms folded together onto the table in front of him. "So, José, while Clarisse is upstairs, are you going to tell us what happened?"
"What do you mean?" Joseph asked as he lifted his gaze up to her. Watched as she and Vee moved over to the table to be closer to him.
"You know exactly what we mean," Vee smirked as she sat at the table opposite her brother, "on the Thursday you called us to tell us that you were going to be retiring and leaving Genovia, because you said, and I quote, 'there was nothing left there for you' and that it was time for you to move on, and then the very next day we find out that you and the Queen had gotten married."
"So, what happened?" Juana asked as she sat down in the seat next to her brother.
"Can I just say that we are very, very happy for you, I mean it's about time you found someone and settled down," Diego chuckled as they all looked over at him. "But what happened? Had you been seeing each other, or was it literally just a spur of the moment type thing."
"It was spur of the moment, and I can't say to much, or go into to much detail, not without Clarisse being here, but yes, we had been seeing each other and had been secretly for the last four or so years," Joseph said and watched as Vee slumped back in her seat while putting her hands up together in front of her face. "But we had both loved each other for years. We just obviously couldn't act on our feelings because she was married and because of who she is. Was."
"I knew it," Vee exclaimed as she looked at Juana, "didn't I tell you on his last visit and how he was being that I bet there's something going on between them. Hence why he was so grumpy because he couldn't wait to get back to Genovia to be with her."
"Aww you missed your love," Juana smiled, "that's so freaking cute."
"But how," Joseph said, shaking his head in disbelief as he watched Vee tip her head back while laughing. "How did you know?"
"We told you earlier, whenever you spoke about her, your eyes lit up," Vee shrugged as she looked back up at her brother. "They always did, of course, but on your last visit, it was different. You had that twinkle in your eye, that spark. And we just knew."
"Well I think it's great," Diego said as everyone looked over at him. "He's found love at last, and it's very clear just how much they love and care for one another."
"I couldn't agree more," Juana smiled as she leant closer and rested her head on her brothers shoulder. "We are so happy for you."
"Thank you," Joseph nodded as he bent his arm up in front of his sister and put his hand up to briefly cup her face. "It nearly didn't happen, though."
"What do you mean?" Vee asked while sitting back up and resting her arms on the table in front of her.
"Well, the reason why I was retiring and leaving Genovia was because we had called time on our relationship just days before the wedding. She couldn't commit to me because of the duty she had to her country, to her granddaughter, so we ended things between us," Joseph said as he gazed down at his glass of scotch sitting on the table in front of him a moment.
"Would you have left, though?" Juana asked. "Knowing how you felt about her."
"I felt I had no choice, I wouldn't have been able to stay there after that. It would have been too painful being there, seeing her every day and not being able to be with her," Joseph said thoughtfully and nodded slightly. "Everyone thought I was going to stay a few months until everything had settled, but we had both agreed that I would slip away quietly after the coronation without saying goodbye."
"Oh, José," Juana said sadly as she looked back up at him.
"I honestly thought I had lost her," Joseph said sadly.
"But you didn't, and she obviously loved you enough to change her mind and not let you go," Juana said. "Which we are glad about, of course."
"Juana is right," Vee nodded. "That woman is crazy about you because let's face it, there isn't many women that would agree to come and meet your new husbands family while on honeymoon."
"Oh Vee is right," Juana nodded in agreement. "There isn't."
"I know," Joseph nodded and half smiled. His tummy fluttered at the mere thought of his wife. His love. "I'm crazy about her too, you know? She makes me very happy."
"Oh we know, and we are really pleased for you," Juana smiled as she wrapped her arms around his arm and rested her head back on his shoulder. "You deserve it."
"Yes, you do," Vee agreed and smiled across the table at her brother. "You both do."