Carl glares at us with contempt, as if his shorter frame won’t put him at a serious disadvantage. Part of me would enjoy him challenging Simon or Luis. They’d destroy him.
Then again, the guy never did know when to quit.
He can seethe all he likes. Even he knows they’ve lost. With one final huff, he grabs Jade’s arm and drags her away. “Come on, we’re leaving.”
Jade stumbles but recovers quickly, whipping her head around to hurl eye-daggers at me.
“This isn’t over,” she screeches, her voice carrying across the lawn as security escorts them off the property. While it won’t likely be the last time they try to ruin our fun, it’s a huge freaking win.
It’s over.
We won.
Simon and I are getting married at the Rose Hotel, no takesies-backsies.
I exhale a long breath, my blood pressure gradually returning to normal. No matter what I tried, so many times I was the one left humiliated at my interactions with Linda, Jade, and Carl.
Not this time, though.
For once, I wasn’t the one being outshined, dismissed, or pushed aside. I was the one standing victorious.
It felt damn good, too.
Simon grins down at me, and I revise that to a we. We were the ones standing victorious. Us and our pal with his hand in all the cookie jars, Luis.
“I can’t believe you did this,” I murmur, gratitude and giddiness bubbling up. “I don’t know how on earth you pulled it off, either. But thank you.” I snug my hand in the crook of his elbow and lift onto my toes to kiss his cheek. “I think I’ve needed to watch them get their asses handed to them for a while.”
His lips quirk in a delighted smile. “I told you. I’ll always take care of you.”
Luis, watching our exchange with barely concealed amusement, dips his head. Bidding us ado, I guess.
But as he spins toward the waiting helicopter to go, I regain my composure and rush forward.
“Luis, wait,” I say, gently snagging hold of the sleeve of his black suit coat. “I really appreciate this. You have no idea how much it means to me.” An unexpected lump rises in my throat. “To my family.”
Luis remains frozen in place, his jaw working as if stunned and searching for the proper response.
Do people not usually thank him? I can’t imagine that with how generous he’s been. Perhaps I’ve broken some social guideline I’m not aware of? Or do people not grab hold of his arm because they’re too busy fleeing in the other direction?
No matter. Like it or not, he deserves my gratitude, so he’s going to get it. “You’ve been a great help. I don’t know how to even begin to repay you. If you hadn’t bought the hotel, we wouldn’t be able to throw our wedding.”
That sends Luis into motion. He shakes his head vehemently, at last spinning fully around to face me. “Oh, that wasn’t m?-“
As soon as he glances at Simon, he simply snaps his mouth shut. Not even bothering to finish his sentence.
I glance between the two men, who exchange guilty glances that suggest they’re definitely up to something.
Honestly, I don’t even care right now. I’m too happy to not take the win.
Since this isn’t going as smoothly as I would’ve hoped, I dig into my purse. I pull out a white envelope that glitters in the sunlight like freshly fallen snow. Then I extend it to the man in sunglasses, who regards it like I’m suggesting he walk into a bear trap.
“Thank you for taking such good care of us,” I try again. “We would love to see you at our wedding.”
Right as my shoulder begins to burn from holding out the envelope, Luis slowly takes the invitation. He seems a little flabbergasted by our entire exchange, though.
Simon strides forward and gives his friend a pat on the back. “We’d be honored to have you there, Luis.”
“That’s very kind of you. I’ll be there.” Luis tucks the envelope in the inside pocket of his suit coat. “Please be sure to come to tomorrow’s holiday charity auction. There will be surprises-” he lifts his gaze to Simon, standing over my shoulder, “-for both of you.”
Simon wishes him farewell and guides me back toward Edward. “We’d better sign the contract and finalize plans before any more vultures swoop in and try to ruin our wedding.”
I give Luis a big wave as he heads for his helicopter and lean into Simon’s embrace, wrapping my arm around his waist. “This charity event gets curiouser and curiouser. What do you think the surprise will be?”
Simon
The moment Luis takes off in his helicopter, leaving nothing but a windblown audience and a powerful gust in his wake, I finally exhale.
Victoria follows the lift of the helicopter and its flight path through the cloudless blue sky. She turns to me, brows lifting nearly as high as the chopper. “Hey, Simon. Your ‘Ferrari friend’ just bought this hotel for us and flew off in a helicopter? Does any of that strike you as strange?”
Only if I counted the past six months. Before that, choppers, hotel acquisitions, and buying whatever my heart desired was the norm. It’d never been so fun until I was buying up places and ordering up designer dresses for her.
It wasn’t time for that reveal quite yet. Tomorrow night at the charity event would be half-party and half-explanation. What better way to show her exactly what being the CEO of Jones Corp meant than at one of our big events?
Given she’s also waved off my confession twice now, I figured show-and-tell with employees who’ll confirm who I am.
I’m so wrapped up in tomorrow night’s plans, it takes a moment to realize why Victoria’s blinking at me expectantly.
“You’ve met Luis,” I mutter with a nonchalant shrug. ” He’s not your typical friend.”
“You can say that again. How does he even?-“
“Victoria, sweetheart,” I interrupt smoothly, curling her to me and pressing a kiss to her luscious mouth. “I think we have more important matters to deal with right now. There won’t be any surprises if we find out what they are now, yeah?”
Her nose crinkles, her curiosity threatening to get the better of her-as well as me and Luis. If I didn’t love swooping in to save the day in the grandest of fashions, it’d be easier to remain lowkey.
But lowkey has never described me.
I catch Edward’s eye as we approach the podium, and he nods, reading my mind.
With a slight readjustment to his bowtie, he lifts the clipboard that caused so much trouble earlier in the air. “Shall we sign the contract, then?”
At a snail’s pace Victoria wrests her focus from the helicopter’s flight path. Her blond curls stop swirling in the generated breeze, and the whomp of the blades gradually gets quieter.
At long last, she melts against my side, every ounce of her attention all mine.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.