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“That would be tragic.” He chuckles. “They’d wait all night for us though.”
There’s a knock on the door and it’s the only thing that breaks us from our trance.
“Shit, our luggage. We need that,” Easton mutters against my lips.
I step aside, smoothing my hair down on my head as the driver sets our suitcases by the door. Easton generously tips our driver, and soon, we’re alone again.
I take a few steps toward him, wrapping my arms around his neck. “I’m happy we’re doing this.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he says after I steal another kiss.
If we get started, we really will be late.
When we walk farther into the house, I notice all the walls are windows, and the blue ocean goes on for miles. There’s a pool back there too.
I gasp.
“Surprise,” he says, grinning. “I knew you’d react like that. Totally worth it.”
“Youalwayshave the best views.”
A small smile meets his lips. “Only when you’re in the frame.”
“You’re very good at that,” I tell him, playfully poking him in the side as I walk back to my suitcase and dress. Even he, all muscle and tattoos, wiggles away from me.
“At what?” He walks toward his suitcase.
“Saying the right thing at the right time.”
“Oh,that,” he says, but that grin tells me he knew what I was referring to. “I’ll see you on the beach in forty-five minutes?”
“I’ll be there,” I tell him, wheeling my suitcase to the largest bedroom in the house.
The bathroom is connected, and I can’t take my eyes off the beach. It looks like a calendar picture, all of it. I hang my dress on the hook in the bathroom and take it from its travel bag. I’m not sure how I managed to get this dress delivered to me beforewe left, but I did. It’s white with a keyhole neck, an open back, and a slit that goes to my middle thigh. The skirt is flowy and I feel like a goddess as I walk. I slide on some strappy silver sandals. As I sit on the edge of the bed, I replay it all.
Deep in my heart, I know this is the right thing to do. Easton wants to be mine, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want him to be his. If it’s wrong, I don’t ever want to be right.
After I’m dressed, there’s a knock on my door.
“Please don’t be late.”
I can tell he’s grinning and can imagine the expression on his perfect face.
“We’ll see,” I say. After one last look, I take a selfie with the ring, and the fading sunlight leaks through the windows.
As the smile touches my lips, I grab Easton’s ring and the handwritten vows I started this morning. The butterflies go wild. I take another deep breath, then I follow the walking path that leads directly to the beach. The wind blows, and when I look up, I don’t see anything I recognize in the night sky, but the stars are still there.
Two torches are lit and shoved into the sand because the sun should fully set right after we finish our vows. When my toes are in the sand, Easton’s gaze is on mine. His hair blows in the breeze as the waves crash behind him. His khaki pants are rolled to his calves, and a white button-up shirt is rolled to his elbows. A smile fills his face as I walk toward him. It’s like a magnet pulls me directly to him.
“Hi, Lexi,” the officiant says as I stare at Easton.
“Hello,” I offer.
“Easton stated you’d be starting, so when you’re ready,” he says.
I give him a smile and nod, bringing my attention back to the man I’m about to marry. He lifts his hand to my cheek and I lean into his touch.
“Sofuckinggorgeous.”