Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
“Gina.” I turn to face her as the photographer loads up her gear, and Sophia Wolf talks to her staff in the corner. “I need to tell you something.”
“That you love me again?” She smiles. “I’ll never get tired of hearing that.”
“I love you,” I say as I stare into her eyes. “I’ll always love you.”
“I’ll always love you,” she repeats with tenderness in her voice. “That’s not what you wanted to tell me, though, is it? Is there a surprise party tomorrow night? Is that what’s happening? I’ve been wondering if Bella is up to something.”
“It’s tonight,” I correct her. “At eight.”
“Bella is sneaky.” She laughs. “Let me guess. You’re the one who is supposed to get me there, right? I can change and be ready to go in no time flat.”
“We have time,” I say evenly, not wanting to alarm her. “But there’s something else, Gina.”
“Can we tell everyone tonight?” Her gaze falls to her hand. “I want my family to know we’re married. I want all of them to know how much I love you, Daniel.”
“We’ll tell them.” I bring her hands to my lips to kiss her engagement ring. “I want to ask your dad for permission to marry you again.”
That lures soft laughter from her. “He’ll say yes.”
“I know he will.”
Her gaze searches my face. “There’s something else. What is it?”
I tug on her hand to lead her to the edge of the terrace. “I got a call earlier.”
“From who?”
I glance to where the Ella Kara crew is gathered. “A woman who works for the chapel in Vegas. Destiny’s chapel. She said she got my name and number from the paperwork we filled out before the ceremony.”
“Rochelle?” she asks in a calm tone. “Was it Rochelle?”
Shocked that she knows the name of a woman we were never introduced to, I nod. “Yes. How do you know her name, Gina?”
Her fingers trace a soft path over my chin. “She’s popped up in my direct messages on Instagram a few times since our wedding.”
I take a step back. “She has?”
Glancing over her shoulder to where Sophia is now talking to the photographer, she nods. “At first, it was to tell me that she didn’t realize who I was until we’d left the chapel.”
I nod.
“Earlier this week, she reached out again to say that she was surprised to find out it was your generosity that funded the trip that Destiny and Angel took to Maui. One of them must have spilled the beans on that.”
I chuckle. “So much for buying their silence.”
Gina smiles. “When I read that message, I knew she was testing the waters of what I might be willing to give her in exchange for her silence, but I just wanted to bide time.”
“Bide time?” I question. “In what sense?”
“I knew the day of our honeymoon that I was yours,” she confesses. “I felt it in my heart. In my soul. I just knew, Daniel.”
“I knew, too.”
“I planned on telling you tomorrow.” She laughs. “That was my birthday gift to myself. I was going to tell you how much I loved you and ask you to stay married to me.”
“Seriously, Gina?”
“I’m dead serious.” She cradles my face in her hands. “I was bursting at the seams wanting to tell you, but tomorrow felt like the perfect day. I had no idea that you had a ring and…”
“I bought the ring the day after our honeymoon trip,” I tell her. “I wanted to ask you to be mine forever every day since then.”
“I would have said yes.” She smiles. “Yes, forever and always.”
I kiss her softly. “I was planning on doing it at midnight. I wanted to start your birthday off with a bang, but then I saw you in this dress, and I couldn’t wait another second.”
“Do you mean a proper marriage proposal and then a literal bang?” She grins. “As in…you know.”
“I know.” I perk a brow. “A fuck to celebrate that proper proposal.”
She lowers her voice. “I’ll still want that first part when we get home tonight.”
I nod. “Oh, that’s happening.”
“Good.” Her hand skims the front of her neck. “You should know that I got a message from Rochelle late last night telling me she knew she could get a lot of money if she sold a picture she took of us in the chapel to RumorMel.”
“Fucking RumorMel.” I laugh at her mention of one of the most popular gossip websites in the world.
I hadn’t heard of it before today when Rochelle brought it up during our conversation.
“You could have come to me with this, Gina.”
She shrugs a shoulder. “Our wedding wasn’t perfect, Daniel, but it belonged to us. Knowing someone was trying to profit off of it felt wrong. Besides, if she did snap a picture of us in the chapel, she’s had it for weeks and hasn’t sold it yet. I think she was hoping we’d offer her whatever you gave Destiny and Angel.”