Page 111 of Fair Trade

“No, I want this moment just for us. It can be our little secret, like the start to our marriage was.”

“You sure?” he asks, already smiling.

I step out of his grasp and hold out my arms. “Yes, I’m sure. So open your eyes already and compliment me, please.”

He laughs as he slowly blinks his eyes open. He goes silent as soon as his eyes land on me. “My God, Luisa. You truly are an angel,” he says reverently, running his hand across his scruff.

“Yeah, I guess you clean up pretty well too.” I’m taken aback by the sudden wobble in my voice.

My heart threatens to beat out of my chest as Nick takes me in. The sight we must make. A bride twirling around in her billowing dress for her husband, who’s donning a cream linen suit, his pants cuffed at the ankles.

He’s on me before I even notice him move. Our lips meet in that familiar dance that is uniquely ours.

I speak into his lips. “You ready to get married and start the rest of our lives together?”

He sighs as his watery gaze meets mine. “Forever and a day. This lifetime and the next, remember?”

He intertwines our fingers and tugs me out the door, but not before throwing a wink and a salacious smile my way.

“C’mon, now. It’s showtime, wife.”

Epilogue II

Daisy's Wedding Day

“I can’t believe she’s actually going through with it.”

Luisa settles into my side as we watch the hundreds of guests enter the ornate church.

“I really thought we could talk her out of it, but it seems like there’s no changing her mind,” Isabella says solemnly.

“You doing okay? Looks like you’re planning on committing a felony or two today.” Mateo nods my way.

“Trust me, you don’t know the half of it. I have my jet on standby in case I lose my mind and decide kidnapping isn’t such a bad idea.”

“And to think that she wasn’t even allowed to have bridesmaids. What kind of fucked-up family is she marrying into? I hate the thought of her getting ready by herself. No girlfriends around her as she prepares for the biggest day of her life.” My wife sulks.

Mateo checks his phone. “Still no response from Coach. Do we think he’ll actually come to this?”

Luisa and Isabella share a look.

“Doubt it,” they say in unison.

I’m not an idiot. Luke’s reaction to my sister’s upcoming nuptials has raised more than a few eyebrows among the group.

The only person who may be truly clueless is my sister.

But I haven’t exactly had a moment to fester in the frustration those thoughts bring, because my mind’s been elsewhere, like how illegal it would be to pull the fire alarm in an eighteenth-century church.

The answer: very.

“I called her earlier, but I couldn’t hear much over the hairdryer and someone shouting orders. No doubt her future monster-in-law,” Isa complains.

As if it weren’t bad enough that my dear old dad was pulling the strings on this relationship, it seems like my sister has managed to find the only person who could give my father’s scheming a run for his money. Damien’s mother.

My gut churns.

This can’t be Daisy’s life.