Now it was Tuesday afternoon, and I was waiting on the roof of the skyscraper for my fiancé.

I peered down from the roof, out across the canyons of glass and stone surrounding our building, and looked at the green expanse of Central Park. It was amazing to me how much my life had changed. A year ago I had been a temp working for a terrible boss, when a tall, dark, impossibly handsome stranger had come into my life and totally shaken everything up. Whisked me away to Vegas… got me embroiled in a national sex scandal… broken my heart… and then made it whole with a surprise wedding proposal.

Add to that a shooting, a bunch of intrigue with his horrible, rotten, no-good, very bad family, and a psychopathic ex… and you have the last year of my life.

I wouldn’t have traded it for anything.

Off in the distance, I saw the helicopter. I retreated to the edge of the building and gave it plenty of room to set down on the landing pad. Even then, the wind whipped around me like a hurricane, and threatened to blow my skirt up past my waist.   

I’m sure Connor was enjoying my attempts to keep my clothes on.

As the blades died down, the door opened and a group stepped out. First two bodyguards, then Connor, followed by Sebastian and two more bodyguards. Armin, Juan, Stan, and Leo. I don’t know them very well. They weren’t personable like Johnny, and I didn’t see them very often. When I did, they always looked pretty much the same: serious in their dark suits and sunglasses, scanning their surroundings for threats.

Since my husband-to-be got shot a year ago and could have died, I’m glad that these guys take their jobs seriously. They’re just not a lot of fun to be around.

Connor walked towards me, a big grin on his face. Sebastian was right behind him, yelling over the noise of the helicopter blades.

“We need to prep for the SEC meeting tomorrow – ”

“Give me a second,” Connor said as he walked up to me and put his arms around my waist.

“Hello, Mr. Templeton,” I cooed.

“Hello, Future Mrs. Templeton,” he said, and leaned over and kissed me – long, slow, and sweet.

After about ten seconds, I could hear Sebastian clearing his throat.

Connor stopped kissing me and looked over at his right-hand man like Seriously, dude?

Sebastian rolled his eyes. “You have all night to do unspeakable things to each other. Speaking of which, Lily, have you changed your mind about the tuberoses?” He was talking about the flower arrangements for the wedding.

Connor groaned, grabbed my waist, and started walking with me towards the stairwell on top of the roof. After he proposed, Connor had grown tired of Sebastian’s and my little battles over wedding details after about, oh, five seconds.

“I like the tuberoses, Sebastian,” I protested.

“Yes, they’re very nice, but Kim Kardashian used them in her wedding. I would rather you be a trendsetter, not following in the footsteps of a reality TV star,” Sebastian said, pronouncing the words ‘reality TV star’ with utter contempt.

“If that’s the only thing I have in common with Kim Kardashian’s wedding, I think we’ll be okay.”

Sebastian raised his eyebrows. “Well, you both starred in sex tapes, so that’s something else you have in common.”

“Watch it,” Connor warned him.

“Lily knows I’m kidding,” Sebastian sniffed. Then followed it up with, “…mostly.”

“Mine were sex pictures,” I corrected him humorously.

“Yes, well, she used her sex tape to build an empire, you’re marrying into one, so I suppose it all equates to the same thing.”

“Hey!” I yelled – mostly amused, and only slightly offended.

“Lily built her own empire,” Connor added.

“With a little help from moi,” Sebastian said haughtily. “If I had only asked for a share of her consulting business upfront…”

It was something Sebastian loved repeating. Every time he got the chance, he talked about how he could have retired if only he had been ‘fairly compensated’ for all the work he did setting up my consulting company.

“I paid you to do all that!” Connor snapped as we entered the bulletproof glass stairwell to the penthouse.

“Not enough,” Sebastian said. “Now, back to business. The SEC meeting prep – ”

“Will have to wait,” Connor said. “I want some time with my woman.”

He said ‘woman’ in a playful, naughty voice – and at the same time reached down and squeezed my ass.

“Good Lord, the PDA is getting excessive,” Sebastian muttered.

“Anh and Johnny are getting it on, by the way,” I said mischievously, knowing that Anh would have a conniption fit if she knew I was spreading around her ‘bizness.’ But it was too juicy not to reveal. Besides, it was going to come out sooner or later.

“Really,” Connor grinned. “It’s about time.”

“Amen,” I agreed.

“Oh God, more PDA to look forward to,” Sebastian sighed as he followed us inside.