Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 147415 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 737(@200wpm)___ 590(@250wpm)___ 491(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147415 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 737(@200wpm)___ 590(@250wpm)___ 491(@300wpm)
“What? Rude!” She bursts out laughing again and pushes her hands against my chest. “You really asked Dad?”
“Not exactly.” I grimace. “I told him I was planning on asking you either way, but I wanted his advice. Just between you and me, I think he liked that.”
“He knows how much I love dolphins,” she muses.
A dolphin surfaces on our right side then and looks at us with wickedly intelligent eyes. I wonder if they can feel the love, too.
“Nothing would make you happier, he said. After today, I’m inclined to agree.” I raise my eyebrows. “So, how’d I do?”
“You want a rating? ‘Wonderful proposal technique, excellent setting, ten out of ten, would say yes again?’”
“As long as that yes is forever, sweetheart.”
“Well, yeah. That’s what marriage is for, right?” She smiles and then her face drops. “Oh, no, I didn’t mean—”
“Forget it. That’s what marriage is supposed to be. This time, I get to do it with the right person.”
She beams like the sun.
“That’s what Dad and Eliza taught me. I was old enough to really know when they got together, you know? I saw what their love was like—what it still is. That’s how I knew what I wanted more than anything when I finally found it?”
“Yeah? What’s that?” I nudge my nose against her neck.
“You,” she says simply.
26
A Little Vow (Destiny)
So, here’s the thing about my wedding.
Unlike some girls, I never really planned for much in my head before I wound up engaged.
I know.
I know it’s meant to be this big pinnacle of life and love and blah, blah, blah. Something every girl dreams about from the day she’s old enough to play with Barbies, but I’m not like other girls.
I always figured that once I met the man of my dreams, our wedding would just be this day to pledge my undying love to him, accept the ring, and that would be that.
Happy finito.
The end.
But it turns out that once you’re engaged and planning a wedding, your brain chemically changes.
Once Shepherd asked me to marry him, it was like flicking on a switch.
Suddenly, I had opinions on flowers and dresses and freaking champagne. I had to pick bridesmaids and decide what I was walking down the aisle to—I went for “Sunshine on my Shoulders” by John Denver, because who doesn’t love a classic?
And there were all the tiny details, too.
Dad basically demanded we put the entire wedding on his tab, traditionalist that he is, but the decisions are all on Shepherd and me.
Well, Shepherd agreed, after I backed him into a corner and forced him into accepting my father’s generosity.
Billionaires and their egos. Woof.
But the biggest surprise is Hannah, the real MVP.
When Shepherd gets bogged down in meetings about new tests for the underwater sensors, she takes my calls and gives her well-researched opinion on caterers, water-wedding venues, rings and flowers and cakes and music.
She’s the one who sends the invitations after I help design them, and she suggests a custom website to help with RSVPs and logistics like a custom web domain for our guests.
I don’t know why she’s being so nice until she drops the bomb.
“Because he’s finally happy,” she says simply. “Frankly, I didn’t think I’d ever see the day. It’s none of my business, his life, but when I’ve spent as much time this close, I’ve seen him suffer. He’s been hurting so much. You broke the cycle, Destiny.”
I try to protest.
I try not to get choked up.
I try to explain that she doesn’t have to be our auxiliary planner.
But she’s insistent, telling me she’s doing it as a friend and not just his executive assistant.
It’s her job to handle his company’s affairs.
And making sure we’re happy?
That’s human.
Honestly, with all the wedding planning stress, having her help is invaluable. Also, I like to think we’re actually becoming friends.
We’ve even gone out for coffee a few times without Shepherd anywhere in sight.
It’s been good getting to know her off the clock. Even if she and Shepherd aren’t close in the traditional sense, she’s important to him. She’s someone he could depend on during his personal storm, and even though it’s passed, she’s not someone he’ll ever forget.
Plus, it’s important to make an effort with the very few people who mean so much to him.
Shepherd being Shepherd, there aren’t many of those.
I’ve also been pretty selective with what I share online. Shepherd certainly doesn’t mind our relationship being public—and if he was trying to hide it, coming on live TV and confessing we’re dating with a big dramatic display isn’t the way to go about it.
But, out of respect for his privacy, I’ve been picking and choosing my cute moments to broadcast to the world very carefully.
Fame, like infamy, always comes with a cost.
We both know that. It’s just the sad reality of what I do, but if there’s any way I can protect him from any future unintended crapfests, I will.