Fuel To The Fire (November 1995)

Isabella slowly began to realize what was happening as she looked around. Since she couldn't go out to plan the wedding, he had arranged to have all of the wedding planning come to her. Tears came to her eyes as she realized just how much she loved him. She then realized how she looked.

"I should go get changed," she said and excused herself. She went back to her room and changed into something nice, but casual. She fixed her hair and put on a minimal amount of makeup and some perfume. She then reappeared and everything seemed set up and ready to go.

"Where should I start?" she asked her mom and Renee.

"Probably the cakes," her mother suggested. More dress designers were there, and every one of them were among the most famous in the world. And they were all there, just for her. The bakers were men and women from New York and also France and Italy. Every cake was delicious and the photos of the finished products were absolutely amazing. There were all sorts of flowers. Bouquets in all sizes and in all types from common to rare and obscure. All of the flowers were beautiful and it depended on what colors she wanted.

There wad a changing screen set up, several of them and the designers waited patiently for her to be ready for them. Once she was they began to have the models model the dresses for her. Once she liked one the dress was set aside. Before long she had several dresses set aside and now it was time for her to go and actually try them on. Alonzo and Renee sipped on mimosas and her mother had a bloody mary as they waited impatiently for her to come out in the first dress. Once she did she was met with oo's and ahhh's and claps from Alonzo. "Damn you're gorgeous!" He hollered.

Isabella was rather overwhelmed, but having her mother and Renee and Alonzo there helped. All of the cakes she tried were delicious and the photos of possible designs were incredible. She then looked at the flowers. There were so many beautiful choices that she wasn't certain how she was going to make a decision. She then ventured over to the caterers who talked to her about various menu options for the reception. However, the part she was most anxious to get to were the dresses. All of options were beautiful, but she chose a few that were timeless in their overall design. She didn't want her dress to appear dated in pictures.

As she came out in the first dress she was met with sounds of approval and clapping from Alonzo. His comment made her smile and blush and laugh a little. She spent the rest of the morning trying on the other dresses and having a good time. She hadn't smiled that much in a long time.

Once she had gotten all the information she needed everything was packed up and she sat down with her mother and Renee and Alonzo to talk about it all. Isabella had a difficult time deciding on the cake since they were all delicious, but they finally made a decision. She then picked a caterer and menu and then flowers. Finally, they got to the dresses.

"The first one is my favorite. It reminded me of Grace Kelly's wedding dress."

There were no prices on anything and Isabella knew that was by design from Tony. For her money was no object and he wanted her to make her selections unfettered by how much things cost. Tony wanted the best and he wanted that mentality to rub off on Isabella. He loved her dearly and if he was going to marry her, he wanted her to be the happiest bride on the planet.

As she sipped on an orange juice her phone rang. It was Tony. "Hey Isabella, were you surprised? Pleasantly I hope. I shouldn't be too much longer but there is no rush for you to decide on anything. You can sleep on everything if you need to. The designers can be called for you to go to their studios...with security ofcourse so dont feel pressure to decide on anything today," he told her.

Isabella heard her phone go off and smiled when she realized it was Tony. She excused herself and got up and walked to her room to answer the call. "Tony...what you did was...incredible," Isabella said as tears came to her eyes. "I don't know how you planned this all out so quickly, but I love you so much for it."

"So, you're happy? Really? Oh thats great! I hope you're having fun. I want this wedding to be everything you wanted it to be. Don't forget to pick out something sexy for..you know, after," He reminded her. "You'll also need some swimwear," He said. There were several voices in the background. He was in a restaurant at a meeting with some of his board members right then.

Isabella smiled when she she heard Tony reminder her to pick out some lingerie. She could tell he was in a meeting right then, but she was feeling rather flirtatious. "Well, don't be late for dinner. If you're good I'll let you eat right off of my body...and I won't be needing any clothes for that."

"Whoa!" Tony exclaimed as he heard Isabella hang up. Renee was looking at her as she came back. "So, do you always blush when you talk to your husband to be?" she asked under her breath. Alonzo had had one to many Mimosas and he was feeling pretty good. He was talking to Isabella's mother and he was making her laugh. The designers, bakers and florists were clearing out. Happy and other security guards were watching them all carefully.

The catered leftover food was packaged up and left on the counter. The dress she selected was designed by Alfred Angelo. A timeless dress that was elegant but not too flashy or modern or riskae. Eventually though Renee and Alonzo had to leave and her mother and her decided to sit and have tea together with some of the cake that was left for Tony to try though she knew he'd never eat it.

"So Isabella, how are you doing? I see that you are filling out again...but I see something, behind your eyes. Are you alright?" She asked softly as she laid her hand on Isabella's arm tenderly.

Isabella was extremely excited about the wedding and all the choices she had made. The dress would need to be altered for her body, but the designer had her measurements and would make the necessary adjustments. The dress would then be hand delivered back to her to be tried on one last time.

Isabella was sad to see Renee and Alonzo leave, but they had been invited to the wedding. Her mother stayed with her and they made some tea and sat together at the table. She glanced at her when she asked her if she was alright. "I'm still having some nightmares," she told her. That was only partially the truth, but she couldn't tell her mother the whole truth.

Elena looked at Isabella and shifted her gaze down to her black, leather purse. She produced a bottle of pills and handed them to her. "A mild sleeping aid. Not addictive but they should help you sleep more soundly," she said then she looked into her eyes as if that subject was over and done with.

"So, when can your father and I expect a babe? We'd like to have a grandchild before we get too old you know," She said. "If your brother would marry that doctor friend of his maybe we could have a little hope for him but seeing how you appear closer to tying the knot, well, you're our best bet right now," She said unabashedly.

Isabella hesitated a moment before accepting the bottle of sleeping pills. She put them down and then took another sip of her tea. She heard what her mother said about a grandchild and she was quiet for a few moments before finally responding.

“Mama, neither Tony or I want children. We’ve already discussed it and we were both in agreement. We want to focus on each other and the company. I’m sorry, but it looks like you’ll need to bug Luca into marrying.”

Elena smiled. "You say that now Isabella but you are a Corsetti. You will change your mind when its time. And your father and I will continue to pray that 'that time' is not so far away. You changed Tony Stark Isabella. And you will continue to change him. I always had faith you two would find one another again. I could have wished that that would have been under different circumstances but after today? I think the only one that can screw this up now is you," she said honestly. "Your going to the CIA forced fate to take a break but it has come back around to you," she said.

Elena was furious with Isabella when she told her what had happened. Elena never understood how she could walk away from love like that but she had. "This is your moment, your time. be the woman he needs you to be. I know she's inside you. I raised you so I should know," she said confidently and took a sip of her tea.