It had been less than a day since I'd seen her last. And as I caught my first glance of her on Dad's arm, I knew it had been entirely too long.

The music played, the guests turned to watch her, Ben shifted at my side. But the whole world seemed to narrow until there was nothing left but her, and her brilliant green eyes. I couldn't look away. I held her gaze as she came closer and closer. When Dad put her hand in mine, I turned to look down at her… to take her all in.

Her hair was longer than the first day we'd met. It curled in dark, soft swirls that licked at her shoulders. Woven in were tiny white flowers as small as pearls. Mom's diamond earrings sparkled from her ears. I took both her hands in mine and held them tight. She smiled up at me, but I could see her nervousness… her concerns…

Without waiting for the reverend's cue, I leaned down and kissed her. Laughter and murmurs of approval filled the air around us, breaking the tension and making her beautiful face glow with pleasure.

I would kiss her again, minutes later, long and hard until we both broke apart, flushed and excited. But that was only after we'd promised to love, honor and cherish one another… And after I'd slipped the ring onto her finger.

I had had it custom made, just for her. Surrounded by tiny pearls, all set into gold, it was a huge oval emerald that perfectly matched the color of her lovely eyes.

* * *

"More sparkling cider?" I asked, as she settled into a big cream leather seat. She rolled her eyes and I laughed.

"Nobody told me the hardest part of being pregnant was not being able to drink."

India had been terrific, always at Libby's side with a glass of cider instead of champagne during the reception dinner. It was still going on now, and likely wouldn't end until close to morning. My folks throw a hell of a party.

But I'd stolen away my bride early with the excuse that our plane was waiting. The truth was, I was more than ready to have Libby all to myself. The flight had been perfectly smooth and we'd made excellent time. The yacht had been waiting on the only nearby island with a landing strip and the crew had transferred us and our luggage in record time. We'd be on the island before nightfall.

"You shouldn't have done this, you know…" She used her thumb to roll her ring from side to side. The facets caught the soft evening light and flashed. But the color within the stone seemed to glow with a life of its own. "A plain band would have done, like we agreed."

I took her hand, admiring it. "That's what I went into the store for, Libby." I smiled at her. "But I knew this one was yours when I saw it. It wasn't terribly expensive." There was no point in telling her the truth. I was afraid, if I did, she'd refuse to keep it after we went our separate ways… I looked out the window. "Look, that's it… there."

We watched, sitting close together as the outline of the island grew nearer. Some colors were starting to fade with the light. The blue water was darkening and pinpoints of light were starting to show near the main house. But the colors in the sky had just begun. Pinks and oranges. A flame of brilliant crimson…

We watched the sunset bloom, then fade from the boat deck, as the crew unloaded. Staff from the house took care of the rest. They were efficient, discreet. Exactly what I was paying them for. By the time Libby and I disembarked and the yacht disappeared, we might as well have been the only two people left on earth.

I'd arranged for dinner to be ready on the beach when we arrived. And it was. After all the formality of the wedding and the reception after, I'd known exactly what Libby would want. We'd changed out of our wedding clothes on the plane, into comfortable cotton beachwear. And our wedding supper on the sand was a picnic basket waiting on a big plaid blanket. I lit a few candles and watched my wife relax for the first time all day.

"How did you know?" she asked, digging into chicken sandwiches and a tropical fruit salad. I shrugged, pleased. "This is just so perfect, Jack. All of it. The island, this dinner… being alone with no one to keep pretending for…"

"I want you to be happy, sweetheart. As happy and relaxed as you can possibly be. It's good for you… good for the baby." I put my hand on her little belly and she looked up at me.

I'd been doing my damnedest all day to stay focused on the business at hand. A wedding for appearances, the welfare of the surrogate I'd hired to carry my baby. But seeing Libby in her white gown, coming down the aisle had been real. Very fucking real. And she was right here beside me in the sand, warm and soft and beautiful. My ring was on her finger and my son was in her belly. I'd already had more than a taste of her… enough to know I wanted so much more. And this was our wedding night, after all…

I used my fingers to wipe the breadcrumbs from her mouth. At first, it was nothing more than a reflex. It was so natural to do… But when I saw her tongue peek out… just to moisten her full bottom lip…

My body was already so fucking ready. And the hell of it was, it wasn't the only part of me that wanted her. I'd been working so hard to ignore it, but the fucking truth was that she'd gotten under my skin. I wanted to respect her feelings, that this was just business, albeit between partners with an obvious sexual attraction. As much as I wanted her, I couldn't risk everything blowing up in my face by taking advantage...

"Jack…," she started hesitantly. "I'm not a child… I know the baby is the only reason we're here right now…" She caught her bottom lip in her teeth, like she was unsure about going on.

"I signed the contract. And nothing's changed. I'm going through with our agreement… no matter what… just as we planned. I never go back on my promises, Jack. I want you to know that…"

She stood up, her bare feet on the white sand. I looked up the length of her body. The soft curve of her hips… the fullness of her breasts. I ached to reach out and touch her…

"It's just the baby, I'm sure. The hormones and all… But we started something we never finished, Jack. And what could it hurt, after all?" she said softly, reaching up to the buttons of her shirt.

"This is our wedding night…"