Chapter Ten

 

* ZACH *

 

I had to hand it to Abby. I wasn’t normally the type to swoon over how romantic a wedding was, but this was definitely the most romantic wedding I’d ever seen. Things had come together beautifully. The reception was decorated similarly to the wedding hall itself, with twinkling string lights, flickering candles, seashell garlands, and rustic driftwood. The tables all had centerpieces of seashells and sand, and there were flowers everywhere. Blooms of deep red, rich purple, and pure white that had been picked wild from the island covered every table and adorned many of the driftwood decorations. It was perfect.

The cake was a masterpiece as well. Julia had made a towering white confection decorated with seashells and local flowers. And it had tasted as amazing as it looked. Each tier was filled with a different fruit filling: there had been strawberry, blackberry, and lemon. I’d tried a small bite of each, and they had all been delicious.

Best of all, Bruce and Laura both seemed to be immensely happy with their day. They were smiling and laughing, and right now they were cutting it up on the dance floor. I wasn’t an expert on weddings, but I was pretty sure this event had been a success.

I spotted Abby—the master of that success, and the most beautiful woman at the wedding—standing in a far corner of the reception, watching everything with a satisfied smile. I grabbed two flutes of champagne and made my way over to her, handing her one of the glasses with a grin and then holding up my glass to her for a toast.

“Here’s to Abby Reyes, for pulling off a damn good wedding.”

She blushed, and clinked her glass with mine, then sheepishly said, “I shouldn’t drink. I’m working.”

“Nonsense. A few sips won’t hurt. Besides, I think your work here is done.” I gestured toward the dance floor, where most of the guests were now located. They were all dancing happily as the band played a lively remix of a pop ballad that had recently been topping the charts.

“I suppose you’re right. I just don’t want to be inappropriate.”

I chuckled as I looked down at her conservative outfit. She wore a simple sheath dress in a deep purple that matched the purple flowers in the room. Her shoes were sensible black leather flats, and her hair was pulled back in a neat, tidy bun. She looked classy and quite businesslike.

“I’ve never seen you look more appropriate,” I teased. “What happened to wild child Abby? You almost look as stuffy now as I normally do.”

She punched me playfully. “Don’t worry. I haven’t forgotten how to be inappropriate. In fact, I’ll show you later if you want.”

She winked at me, and I felt a fiery heat surging through me. I felt my cock stiffening, and I had to take a deep breath and steady myself against a nearby chair. Damn, Abby could affect me like no one else. I don’t know how I had ever even considered leaving her behind on this island. I never wanted to leave her again. All I wanted to do was to make a life with her here, and to spend all day, every day, with her.

As I looked over at her now, her face glowing in the soft light of the candles and string lights, I suddenly realized that I could not wait another moment to ask her to officially be mine forever. I’d gone to buy her a ring yesterday, while she had been busy working on final details for the wedding. There was only one jewelry store in town, and I honestly hadn’t expected to find what I was looking for there. But their selection had been surprisingly good, and I’d found the perfect ring. I’d fallen in love with it and bought it on the spot, but I hadn’t intended to actually propose yet. I’d intended to plan some big romantic dinner and then propose under the moonlight.

But there was moonlight right now at this gorgeous outdoor reception. And the setting was undeniably romantic. Most of all, though. I was so proud of Abby for the way she’d pulled this all off. I wanted her to know how proud I was, and to know that I wanted her to be my wife.

It wasn’t like me to be so spontaneous and crazy. But maybe this was just one more way to show Abby that I could change. I might be a bit stiff and stubborn, but I wasn’t completely inflexible. I made the split-second decision to just go for it. I set my champagne flute down on a nearby table, reached into my pocket for the ring box, and then got down on one knee in front of Abby, right there in that far corner of the reception.

“Zach!” Abby gasped out. “What are you doing?”

“I’m telling you exactly how I feel about you,” I said. “I know this is fast, but I also know that this is exactly what I want. I got to be a billionaire by trusting my gut feeling and going with it. And I’ve never had a stronger gut feeling than the one I have right now, telling me that you and I are meant to be together forever. I’ve watched you over the last few days, and I can see that you are stronger and more resourceful than any other woman I’ve ever met. You’re also the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met. You’re kind, and you always make me smile. Basically, you are everything I’ve ever wanted in a wife. You’ve impressed me so much that I’m staying here on Driftwood Island. And trust me: that’s a big deal. A week ago if anyone had told me I’d be staying here, I would have thought they were crazy. But now I know that when you find true love, it changes everything.”

I took a deep breath and opened up the ring box so that the beautiful diamond inside sparkled in the reception lights. “You’ve changed everything for me. Abigail Reyes, would you do me the honor of being my wife?”

She clasped her hands over her mouth, and tears sprang to her eyes. “Yes!” she stammered out. “A thousand times yes.” She tried to say something more, but she was too overcome with emotion to speak. That was okay. We had our whole lives together to talk to each other. I smiled up at her as I pulled the ring out and slid it onto her ring finger. Just then a camera flash went off, and I glanced over to see the wedding photographer grinning at us.

“Couldn’t miss that moment,” he said. “And I figured you two might want a memory of it.”

Abby’s blush deepened, but she looked pleased. She glanced down at the ring in awe, then back up at the photographer. “Would you take another one of us together?”

He agreed, and I put my arm around her as the photographer captured a shot of our first moments as an engaged couple. He congratulated us and walked off, and I turned to Abby to ask her how long she would need to stay at the wedding. I was eager to get her back up to my suite, but I knew it had been a long day and that she might still have a lot of work to do. But before I could ask, we were being interrupted again—this time by a young woman who looked like she’d just stepped off the pages of one of New York’s premier fashion magazines.

“Excuse me, are you Abigail Reyes? The wedding planner?” she asked Abby.

Abby nodded. “I’m Abby. Can I help you with something?”

The woman extended a hand to her. “I’m Gianna Davis with Vogue magazine. I was sent here to cover this wedding for a feature we’re doing on destination weddings, and I was wondering if I might interview you.”

Abby’s eyes widened. “I…uh…um… yes! Of course!” she looked up at me and I smiled at her.

“Go on,” I said. “Take your time, and just come find me when you’re done.”

“Okay,” Abby squeaked out.

Gianna pointed to a nearby table that was completely deserted. “Perhaps we could talk over there?”

Abby nodded and started walking toward the table. She glanced back at me one more time, her eyes shining with excitement. Gianna stopped at the same moment and turned to squint at me.

“Are you Zach Evans, by the way?” she asked.

I nodded.

“Thanks for the call. We definitely wouldn’t have wanted to miss this wedding.”

“You’re welcome,” I said, with a shrug to Abby, whose eyes were widening even more as she realized that I’d been behind Gianna’s appearance at the wedding. Before Abby could say anything, I winked at her and turned to go. Perhaps money couldn’t solve everything, but when Vogue magazine got a call from a billionaire telling them about a wedding they didn’t want to miss, they paid attention.

Abby’s career was just getting started, and I was thrilled that I’d have a front row seat from which to watch.