Twenty-Three

Ethan

The last time I’d taken two weeks off work was back when I was modeling and had plenty of down time. In the past decade though, I’d worked myself into the ground with eighty-hour weeks, dinner meetings, galas and weekend retreats. Never any downtime.

Until now.

This was the best vacation I’d ever had and it had everything to do with the woman beside me. After finally letting it sink in that I loved her and wanted a future with her, I moved into the tiny camper with her and we set about seeing the rest of New Zealand. Making love under the stars all night—I bought a tent so no one but me could see my woman—and exploring all day was an experience that I’d never forget. I had never felt so relaxed, so happy. So free.

“That’s a lot of thinking for so early in the morning,” Misha said and rolled so half her body sprawled on top of mine.

I smiled and turned, holding her tight because it was my favorite position in the whole world. “I was thinking how happy I’ve been for the past week.”

“Ten days,” she corrected with a cheeky grin as she pressed a kiss just over my heart. “Not that I’m counting or anything.”

“Of course not.” I loved that she was so playful, so unconscious of her own sex appeal as that mass of blond hair nearly consumed us. “I love this. Me and you, the beach and the stars.”

“What more could I ask for?”

She looked so happy she radiated sunshine. Happiness. Love. “I can’t think of a thing,” I told her but the truth was I had more planned. We landed in Invercargill last night but I’d picked up a little something in Dunedin to celebrate our last night together on the island.

We both laughed when her stomach rumbled and her skin turned pink with embarrassment. “Okay so maybe there is one thing I could ask for.”

We showered and dressed before leaving the campsite in search of breakfast, finding a small beachside café to satisfy our hunger. “Fish for breakfast, who ever heard of such a thing?”

Her amused laughter pulled a smile from me and fuck, I could listen to that sound for the rest of my life. “Are you kidding? It’s an excellent source of protein and omegas. It’s total brain food.” She took a bite and I held back a groan at the shiny lips that met my stare. “In fact, I’m surprised you don’t eat it every day for breakfast.”

My gaze narrowed and she laughed again. “You know Misha, I missed you so much I ate a cheeseburger.” At her disbelieving stare I clarified. “Okay so it was organic beef and cheese on a whole grain bun, but still.”

She tilted her head to the side in that sweet move that said she was touched but also fighting a laugh. “You missed me.”

“So damn much.” It was like a memory now, in the distant past. I could hardly remember what it was like to miss her and I never wanted to find out again. “Now you’re here.”

“I am.”

“I’m glad.”

“Me too,” I told her and stole the final sliver of fish off her plate. “Come on.” I grabbed her hand and we walked along the water.

“Is it bad that I don’t want to leave?”

Only if she didn’t want me to stay with her. “No, not bad.”

“But irresponsible,” she finished with a resigned slump of her shoulders.

“No. We both have lives and families on the other side of the world.”

“We do, don’t we? And they’re too great to abandon. Damn them.”

I barked out a laugh and twirled her around in the sand until we fell into a heap on the ground. “We can’t damn them, if not for Jax, you and I wouldn’t have ended up together.”

Those words were met with a fiery kiss that would have burned out of control if not for an errant soccer ball to the back of my head. “Your brother is pretty great.”

“Wallace too.”

“Fine,” she conceded. “I’m ready to go.”

That was music to my ears because everything I needed to make her mine was waiting for us on a nearby airstrip. “Let’s go!” I pulled her up and we practically ran back to the camper, where it took us another hour to even start packing. My girl couldn’t get enough of me and damnit, I loved it.

“Okay,” she said with a sigh, two hours later as we turned the camper in after a thorough cleaning. “I guess now we say goodbye to our island adventure.”

Anxiety shot through my body as the taxi came to a stop at the airstrip. My legs felt stiff as I got out and helped Misha out. The steps between us and the jet seemed endless. But when we got to the staircase, I let her go ahead of me, suddenly feeling lighter. Like it would all go off as planned. “Hopefully,” I muttered to myself.

“Oh, Ethan!” She gasped as she walked onto the jet where I’d had the attendants along with several caterers set things up. Big green eyes filled with tears as they looked at me in shock before turning back to, well, everything. There were wildflowers everywhere, a rainbow of colors because that’s what she was to me. “Look at all this, you did this for me?”

I nodded. “Who else would I have done this for, other than the woman I love?”

She came to a stop at the large table in the center, filled with all the junk she loved. “Ethan, I don’t need you to change who you are for me, I love you just the way you are. Annoyingly healthy.”

I laughed and pulled her into my arms, dropping a kiss on her forehead. “I’m not changing because I love you, unhealthy food choices and all. But this food and these flowers, are us. I know you hate to kill flowers for your own personal enjoyment, but I needed to do this to show you how much you mean to me. These flowers, to me, represent your wild and free spirit. And this food is what we will have for the rest of our lives.”

Her grin lit up her face and I felt my heart swell to three times its normal size. “Junk food?”

“Healthy, organic, chemical free junk food that was prepared by a professional chef.”

She flung her arms around my neck and laughed. “The best of both worlds. I already love it.” Her lips pressed against mine, slow and sweet and loving. “But not as much as I love you.”

I would never get tired of hearing her say those words. “Good because I love you more than anything, sweetheart. Being with you is the best possible thing I could imagine in this world.”

“Ethan,” she gasped and hugged me tight, burying her face in my chest. “This is a much better way to say goodbye to our island adventure.”

“Only goodbye to the island. Our adventures are only just beginning.” I pulled the ring from my pocket, the ring that I knew was perfect for her. A white gold band with sapphires and teal blue diamonds in to asymmetrical lines that wrapped nearly all the way around the band. “Misha Trent, my fixer, my hippie chic, love of my life, will you do me the great honor of being my wife?”

“Oh my God! Ethan!” She wrapped her arms around me and smacked a kiss against my lips. “Yes! Of course, I’ll marry you.”

Music to my ears. “The sooner the better.” I needed to make her mine, as soon as possible.

She pressed in close until every inch of our bodies lined up perfectly and we kissed until the pilot’s voice interrupted us. “How soon do you think we could plan a wedding?”

“Not soon enough for me, babe.”

She laughed and kissed me again. “Well, we do have forever together. What’s the hurry?”

What’s the hurry? “I’m ready to get our forever on!”