Page 24

Chapter Twenty-Three

After making sure I was secured to the chair, Andrew left the room, closing the door behind him. I didn't know if he was going to finish off Bennett, or if he was going to wait downstairs for Victor to arrive.

As the minutes ticked by, my anxiety increased…as well as my anger. I couldn't believe I'd been so blinded by love I hadn't seen who Andrew really was. People had tried to warn me, but I'd been stubbornly defensive of our love story, which had turned out to be a bad fairy tale.

I yanked at the wooden arm of the chair where he'd cuffed me. The lighthouse's dampness had rotted the wood over the decades, and I could feel it giving slightly each time I pulled. I twisted my wrist, ignoring the bite of the metal cuff, using it to help splinter the wood. There was no one coming to rescue me. I had to find a way to save myself.

When the door opened, I halted my movement.

Andrew gave me a sharp glance, then said, "Your father will be here soon."

My gut clenched. "Victor is really my dad?"

"I see Bennett filled you in." His gaze moved to the open file on the desk, and a new gleam of anger appeared in his eyes. "Allison stole that from me and stabbed me in the back. I couldn't believe she would betray me like that."

"You had the file first?" I asked, wondering how many more surprises were coming my way.

"I found it in Victor's office. It looked interesting, so I swiped it along with the paintings on his walls before I started the fire."

I stared at him in bemusement, still unable to correlate this man with the one I'd fallen in love with. "You started the fire? I defended you so many times to Ethan. I told him he was wrong. You weren't a thief. You weren't an arsonist. You were a hero. You saved me."

"And I didn't have to."

"Did you rescue me because you realized I was Victor's daughter?"

"I didn't know who you were when I heard you scream for help. I hadn't read the file that closely, so your name meant nothing to me." He shrugged. "I saved your life because you were pretty, desperate, and because I could. The next day, when I realized you were the woman named in the will, I knew you could be very useful to me."

"That's why you came to my hospital room, why you started this whole charade." I was amazed by how carefully orchestrated everything had been. "What if I hadn't been caught in the fire? Would you have sought me out?"

"Yes. I would have found a way to use you, because you were Victor's dirty little secret. That gave me power over a powerful man."

"For six months, you spent every day with me convincing me we were in love," I said. "You texted me, called me, took me out on dates, had sex with me, told me you loved me." I gave him a long questioning look. "That took time and effort. Why go through all that?"

"Because you were my way in." His voice was patient, like a teacher explaining something obvious to a slow student. "I could use you to get to Victor, and there were so many ways I could exploit the information I had acquired. I could blackmail him for money, connections, art. I could force him to use his power to get me whatever I wanted. But I wanted to go slow and find the right angle. I needed to see how close I could get to him without revealing what I knew."

"And that angle was the marketing campaign."

"Exactly. Having our wedding thrown by the Carrington group gave me the perfect opportunity to get on this island, to network with Victor, and to gain access to his gallery."

"How did you know Victor would go for it?"

"Once he saw your name, how could he refuse? You are his daughter. He could justify throwing you a wedding under the guise of business. It was the perfect plan."

I hated how good of a plan it was. "I still can’t believe how well you faked loving me."

Andrew shrugged. "I’m a patient man. The reward was worth the effort."

It was clear now that I was nothing to him. Just a job. A con. The means to an end." I clenched my fists. "You’re a terrible person, Andrew. I can't believe I was so blind."

"You wanted to believe in the love story, and I was damn good to you, Lauren. You really don't have that much to complain about."

My eyebrows shot up in amazement. "I'm cuffed to a chair. You're waving a gun in my face after lying to me for six months, and you don't think I have much to complain about?"

"You'll be fine if your father pays up. You can go back to living your sad, lonely, depressing life, and I will be a very rich man."

"Aren't you already rich? Didn't you rob Victor last night? I know there was a robbery, and I'm pretty sure you and your friends were the thieves. So, why are you still here? Why continue with the pretense today? What more is there to get?"

"The Heart of Eternity," he said flatly.

"I thought you took it last night."

"The stone in that case turned out to be a fake." Andrew's lips tightened. Victor thought he outsmarted me, but now I'll play my ultimate card—you. I'm going to trade you for the diamond. Then I'll disappear."

"What if Victor won't give you the diamond? What then?"

"He'll turn it over in exchange for your life. He has a soft spot for you."

I almost laughed at the absurdity of that statement. "Are you kidding? He doesn't care about me at all. He has never done anything for me."

"Except throw you the most luxurious wedding a woman could want."

"That was for the business, not for me."

"It was for you, too. Victor wanted to ease his guilt for not being there for you. Why do you think we were invited to all his private parties? And that last party gave me much-needed access to his house. I wasn't sure how I would plant the smoke bombs until I realized we were going to be there. All I had to do was turn off the lights."

Andrew was so sly, so conniving, and so evil…

How had I ever thought I'd loved this man? How had I ever believed he'd loved me?

His mask was completely gone now. This wasn't the man I fell for. But this was who Andrew really was—a greedy, ruthless thief who would do anything to get what he wanted.

"Did you know Allison took the file and went to Bennett? That she was trying to make her own deal?" I asked.

"I knew she was pissed I was marrying you and suspicious I had another plan that didn't include her."

"Which you did."

"I couldn't have her involved. She was too volatile, too reckless."

"She trashed our suite, didn't she?"

"Yes," he admitted. "I told her to back off after that. I agreed to introduce her to Victor if she stopped trying to mess things up between you and me."

"But that wasn't enough for her."

"No, it wasn't. I didn't realize how far she would go until you ended up in the water. She refused to admit culpability, but I knew it was her doing. I told her that if she tried to hurt you again, she would regret it. She promised to leave you alone. When she turned up dead, and I realized the file was also missing, I knew she'd betrayed me, and that person had killed her."

"She sold the information to Bennett."

"I figured it was him."

"When I survived, Bennett killed her because she'd failed, and she knew too much."

"If he hadn't taken her out, I would have," he said coldly. "She almost ruined everything. I needed you alive. You were no use to me if you were dead."

"That's cold."

He gave an uncaring shrug. "It's the truth."

"I'm surprised you know what the truth is. You won't get away with any of this, Andrew."

"Oh, I think I will," he said with a laugh.

"Ethan Stark knows you're the thief and that Colin and Jay helped you. He'll spend the rest of his life hunting you down."

"Stark won't find me. I'm very good at reinventing myself."

I thought about that. "Is anything about you real? Was anything about us real?"

"No."

A pain ripped through me at that single, devastating word and the callous look in his eyes. "I thought you were so charming, kind, and attentive. You were always reassuring and caring. You tried to give me whatever I wanted."

"I was playing a part, and, frankly, it was exhausting. I've never had to reassure a woman so much in my life. You need to grow a spine, Lauren, get some guts."

My pain was replaced with anger. "I have a spine."

He rolled his eyes. "No, you don't. You get nervous standing up in front of a crowd. I practically had to hold you up at our rehearsal dinner. When we met, I quickly saw that you were a lonely, weak, insecure, and needy woman. That made you the perfect mark."

My hands clenched into fists. If I hadn't been cuffed to the chair, I would have punched him in the face. Although, I'd never hit anyone. Did I have it in me? Of course, I did. I wasn't as weak as he thought I was. I'd taken care of my mother when she was dying. I'd faced a lot of hard things in my life, and I'd survived. "Maybe you don't know me as well as you think you do."

"Maybe you don't know yourself. You like to hide behind other people, behind work. You hate the spotlight. You're like a little mouse that scurries away when the lights go on."

"You're a terrible person, Andrew."

"I'll be terribly rich very shortly," he replied, my harsh words not making a bit of difference to him.

"Victor won't trade the diamond for me."

"You better hope he does, Lauren. Because I've played my card, and if I don't get what I want, then I'm going to burn everything down. And you will not be saved from that fire."

A shiver ran down my spine because I believed every word he'd said. He was a man with nothing to lose, and I was a woman with everything to lose.

He straightened as his phone buzzed. He gave me a pleased smile. "Your father has arrived."

Heavy footsteps approached, followed by Victor's voice demanding to know where I was.

Then Colin shoved Victor into the room, positioning himself against the door, gun raised. The facade of friendly college buddies had vanished. Andrew and Colin now looked every inch the criminals they were. I wondered if Harper had known anything about this, or if Colin had just been using her to monitor what I might know.

"Lauren," Victor said, his eyes pleading for understanding. "I don't know what he's told you?—"

"He told me you're my father. Is that true?"

"Yes. But I didn't know about you for a long time. I thought your mother got an abortion. I didn't find out you existed until you were twelve."

"Twelve was a long time ago," I said sharply.

"It was a complicated situation."

"You two can catch up later," Andrew interrupted. "Where's the diamond, Victor?"

"You stole it last night, didn't you?" Victor replied.

Andrew gave Victor a hard look. "You know I stole the fake. Where is the real diamond? And don't tell me you didn't bring it, because if you didn't, Lauren will take a bullet for you. That one won't kill her, but it will hurt like hell. She'll feel like she's dying. And you'll get to watch her suffer before I put her out of her misery."

I shuddered at his words. I didn't want to believe that this man who had once been so tender and loving to me could talk so ruthlessly about hurting me.

Victor seemed to be weighing Andrew's intent. Finally, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a velvet pouch.

"Toss it to me," Andrew ordered.

Victor hesitated, then tossed the pouch. Andrew caught it with one hand. He tucked his gun into his waistband while Colin kept his weapon trained on Victor.

I caught my breath as Andrew opened the pouch and pulled out a gleaming blue stone. Even in the dim light, it still took my breath away. Andrew pulled out a jeweler's loupe from his pocket. Before he could examine the stone, there was a thud from above us. We all looked toward the ceiling.

Bennett must have woken up, I thought, wondering if by any chance that could be good for me, but it seemed doubtful since he'd wanted to kill me only minutes earlier.

I wondered why Andrew hadn't killed Bennett when he'd had the chance. He'd gone back up there after he'd cuffed me to the chair. But while Andrew was ruthless, he also seemed deliberate. When he came up with a plan, he stuck to it. If he hadn't had a reason to kill Bennett or thought he might be useful later, he might have left him alive.

"He should be secure, but check it out," Andrew told Colin, confirming my thoughts that Bennett was still alive.

As Colin left, Andrew retrieved his weapon, holding it in his left hand while raising the loupe to his eye. While Victor's gaze darted between us, I focused on working the metal cuff against the splintering wood of the chair arm, each movement as silent as I could manage.

Andrew was so absorbed in the diamond he didn't notice. A splinter jabbed into my wrist, but desperation drove me on.

Suddenly, Andrew swore and hurled the stone against the wall. I jumped as it shattered into a thousand glittering pieces.

"You thought you could fool me again?" Andrew's voice was deadly quiet. Then he lunged forward, driving his fist into Victor's face, slamming him backward into the wall.

Andrew struck again, splitting Victor's lip, sending blood dripping down his face.

I redoubled my efforts on the chair arm, ignoring the splinters piercing my skin. A deep crack appeared in the wood.

Victor was trying to defend himself, but Andrew was beyond reason, each blow fueled by his rage at being deceived. He'd promised to burn everything down, and I knew with terrible certainty that he'd kill Victor—and then me—if I didn't stop him.

With one final wrench, I felt the wood give way. I was free.

Andrew spun around at the sound. I leaped to my feet, swinging the broken chair arm like a club.It connected with his wrist, sending the gun in his hand flying.

The weapon skidded across the floor, disappearing under a heavy cabinet.

Andrew swore and instinctively reached for the second gun—the onehe’d taken from Bennett.

I jumped on him. We collided, slamming into the desk, both of us grappling for control of the weapon. His fingers closed around the grip, but so did mine. I twisted, using every ounce of strength I had. His grip was stronger, but I had one advantage—desperation.

I found the trigger and squeezed.

The blast knocked me backward, and the gun flew from my grip as I hit the floor.

Andrew sprawled nearby on the ground, blood spreading across his chest as he gasped, pressing his hand against the wound.

Victor stirred against the wall. I could hear his pained breath, but his eyes were still closed.

I needed to move, to get Victor and myself out of here before Colin returned.

Before I could get to my feet, heavy footsteps pounded down the stairs. I scrambled to pick up the gun I'd just used to shoot Andrew. I pointed it to the door as it flew open.

Thankfully, I didn't pull the trigger, because it was Ethan.

Relief flooded through me as I lowered my weapon and let out a breath, feeling safe for the first time since I'd arrived at the lighthouse. "I shot Andrew."

"I can see that."

"Do you think he's going to die?"

"It looks like you hit him in the shoulder." Ethan put his weapon away.

"You might need that, Ethan. Colin is around here somewhere."

"I already took care of him. He's tied up on the deck with Bennett. Bennett begged me to release him, but I wasn't sure what was going on, so I left him where he was."

"Good. Because Bennett tried to kill me."

"I want to hear everything, but first…" He squatted down beside me, giving me a concerned look. "Are you all right, Lauren?"

I nodded, fighting back tears that seemed ready to fall now that the fight was over. "I am now."

"The sheriff's deputies are on the way. Demora will also be here shortly."

"What about Jay?"

"He was arrested on a boat in the harbor with Victor's treasures. No one else is coming to hurt you, Lauren."

I blew out a breath. "Thank God."

Ethan stood up, then held out his hand to me. I appreciated the warmth of his fingers as they wrapped around mine, and he pulled me to my feet.

Once I was standing, Ethan grabbed Andrew's gun and checked on Victor, who was slowly returning to consciousness. Then he returned to me, his gaze moving to my arm, to the one cuff still on my wrist, the other dangling. There were long scratches on my arm that had puffed up and some were bleeding, but my injuries were minor, and I was grateful for that.

"Now tell me what happened," he said.

"Bennett lured me here so he could kill me."

Ethan's eyes widened. "Why would Bennett want to hurt you?"

"He found out I'm Victor's secret daughter. The evidence is there on the desk." I tipped my head toward the file. "Andrew stole those papers from Victor's office the night of the hotel fire. He didn't know I was the woman mentioned in the addendum to Victor's will until later. He just happened to rescue me because I was there, and I was trapped. That part of our relationship wasn't planned. Everything else was."

Ethan shook his head in amazement. "That is not what I expected you to say."

"I know, right? It's unbelievable. Anyway, at some point, Allison found the file. She thought Andrew was cutting her out, so she tried to make her own deal with Bennett. Once Bennett knew about me, he wanted me dead and told Allison to get rid of me. She got her opportunity on the yacht, but she failed."

"And then Bennett killed Allison," Ethan murmured.

"Yes. And like Allison, I was going to have a tragic fall that would look like an accident." I paused, thinking about everything I had learned. "Bennett didn't want to share his inheritance with me. There's a document in that file that shows Victor wants to give me half his estate upon his death."

"That's wild. And you said Andrew saved you from Bennett?"

"Yes. When he came to my aid, I thought I was wrong about Andrew, that he was saving my life again. But then, Andrew brought me in here and cuffed me to the chair. He told me he'd discovered the diamond he'd stolen from Victor last night was a fake, but he had one last card to play."

"You," Ethan said, meeting my gaze.

I nodded. "Andrew told Victor he would trade me for the diamond. Otherwise, I would die. But…" My voice trailed away as I realized the truth. "But Victor didn't bring the real Heart of Eternity; he brought another fake. Andrew threw it against the wall when he realized it wasn't the real thing." I tipped my head to the blue glass on the floor. "The fake diamond shattered, and Andrew flipped out. He went after Victor. I thought he was going to kill him. I knew had to stop it, but I was cuffed to the chair. Fortunately, I could see the old wood was giving way, so I did everything I could to break free, and I was just in time. I used the arm of the chair to hit the gun out of Andrew's hands, but I still had to fight him for Bennett's weapon, which he also had. I don’t know how I got the best of him, but I was filled with a strength I didn't know I had. I found the trigger, and I pulled it."

Ethan's gaze filled with admiration. "I always knew you were strong. You wouldn't have survived this week if you weren't."

Andrew yelled louder as the pain gripped him. "Need help," he begged, giving me an imploring look. "Don't let me die, Lauren."

I walked over and looked down at him, at the man I'd vowed to stand by and love forever. "Why shouldn't I let you die? You were going to kill me."

"Because you're not a murderer, Lauren. You're a soft, sweet, kind person."

"Oh, please." I stared down at his handsome face and realized how ugly he really was. "You told me to grow a spine. Well, guess what? I already have one. I also have a heart, and I want you to know something, Andrew. You did not break it. You did not break my heart or me. I am not like the fake diamond you threw against the wall. I'm the real thing, and you never deserved me."

As I finished speaking, I heard the sirens, and a moment later, help arrived from the sheriff's office, the fire department, and hotel security. As one of the deputies unlocked the cuff on my wrist, Ethan related what I'd told him about the situation. Then we made our way downstairs and out of the lighthouse to give the others room to work.

It was after five when we got outside, and the sun was sinking lower in the sky. It was a beautiful view and one I appreciated even more because a short time ago I wasn't sure I would see another sunset.

"It really is over now," I said as I let out another relieved breath.

Ethan met my gaze and nodded. "It is. I'm sorry for everything you went through, Lauren. I wish I'd found evidence against Andrew six months ago so I could have saved you from all this pain."

"I don't blame you for anything. I blame myself for being so easily taken in. Andrew caught me at a low moment in my life. I was an easy mark. I was lonely after my mom died. I'd spent so much time taking care of her, I'd lost friends, I'd been away from the workplace. I had to start over, and burying myself in work kept me busy, but I wasn't really living. When Andrew saved my life, he changed me. And even though I know it was all fake now, he did bring me out of my shell. I guess that's something."

"Don't let him off the hook. I liked what you told him up there. Because the woman I see standing in front of me now doesn't look broken at all."

"I don't feel broken anymore, but the truth is I did feel that way after my mom died. Andrew saw my weakness, and he exploited it."

"You're not weak anymore."

"I know. I proved that to myself when I survived being stranded in the ocean, and I proved it again tonight." Taking a breath, I added, "I really don't want to have to prove it again."

"You won't have to. Andrew and his crew are going to prison. Bennett will be charged with murder and attempted murder. And Victor…well, I guess he didn't break any laws. But his future with you is probably up in the air."

"He won't care about that. It's not like he's losing anything. He never had me in his life." I shrugged. "And since you've recovered his collection from Jay, and he still has a diamond worth millions of dollars, I think he'll be fine."

"What about the secret you two share?"

"I'm not sure what to do about that. He said he didn't know of my existence until I was twelve, but even then, he didn't acknowledge me. Bennett told me Victor could never leave Paula because he'd lose too much financially. I guess she'd invested her own money in the company." I paused. "Bennett said Victor spent a ton of money on my wedding because it was for me, for his daughter."

"Maybe he did spend more because you were the bride. He wanted to throw you the perfect wedding."

"That doesn't make up for not being my father. And he didn't even bring the real diamond to trade for me. What does that say?"

"I have no idea," he said, giving me a sympathetic shrug. "I guess your mother never told you about your father."

"She made up a fake story, too. I wish I knew why." I paused as the paramedics brought Andrew out of the lighthouse and put him in the back of an ambulance. He seemed to be unconscious now, and I was fine with that. I didn't want to look at him again. I'd seen enough.

Two sheriff's deputies then escorted Bennett and Colin to a waiting vehicle. Bennett's shoulders were slumped in defeat. Colin appeared more defiant, but it didn't matter how either of them felt. They'd lost, and I'd won. That felt good.

Victor was the last to leave the lighthouse. He was able to walk on his own, albeit with the help of Martin Demora.

Victor's steps slowed as he reached us, and his gaze met mine.

"Lauren," he said, sending me an imploring look. "I know you may never want to talk to me again, but I want to thank you for saving my life. You are a remarkable woman." He gave me a regretful smile. "Very much like your mother, in fact."

I didn't know what to say to that.

Then he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a velvet-covered box. "This is for you."

"What is it?"

"Just take it. Please."

I hesitated, then took the box from his hand and opened the lid. I was expecting to see the necklace from his mother that he'd had me wear at the wedding, but it wasn't that at all. It was the large and spectacular blue diamond heart—the Heart of Eternity. I gasped as it glittered in the light.

"That's the real one," Victor said. "I didn't want to give it to Andrew unless I absolutely had to."

"You could have gotten us both killed by holding back."

"It was a calculated risk. I'm usually good at those, but I must admit Andrew was a formidable competitor. Ethan had his doubts all along about Andrew, but you seemed to love him, and I didn't want to believe you'd fallen for a criminal. But I started to worry after you fell off the yacht."

"I was pushed off the yacht by Allison." I paused. "She was working with Bennett. He told her to get rid of me because he found out I was your daughter. Your son didn't want to give up half his inheritance. When Allison failed, he killed her. And tonight, he tried to kill me."

Victor shook his head in bewilderment as he stared at me through troubled eyes. "It's hard to believe such terrible things about my son."

"You can believe me or not; it's the truth."

"I had no idea Bennett knew about you," Victor murmured. "But now it makes sense why he's been in such a rage the last few days."

"If Bennett had gotten rid of me, you would have been next, Victor. He wasn't going to wait for you to die a natural death, he would have taken you out before you could do anything else to lessen the value of the company. He just had to make sure I died first so that addendum wouldn't come into play." I paused. "The ironic thing is that Andrew stopped Bennett from killing me because he needed me to be alive when you showed up. I don't know how I survived both of them, but somehow I did."

"We should get you to the medical center, Mr. Carrington," Martin said, interrupting our conversation. "You can talk about all this later."

I tried to hand Victor back the diamond, but he waved it away.

"The diamond is yours, Lauren. Use it to do something important, something meaningful to you. You deserve it."

"I don't want anything from you."

"I know," he said, meeting my gaze. "And that's exactly why I want you to have it."

I stood there speechless as Martin helped Victor into the waiting vehicle. Then I turned to Ethan. "Will you take this, please? I don't know what to do with it."

"You'll figure it out, but I can put it in the hotel safe for now. No one will know it's there, so it should be safe, especially since we've rounded up all the thieves."

I handed him the velvet box and felt a heavy weight fall from my shoulders, leaving me with a feeling of freedom and lightness I hadn't experienced in a very long time.

The role-playing was over and so was my marriage, maybe even my job. I had no idea where I was going from here, but for the first time in forever, the uncertainty didn't scare me. Shockingly enough, Andrew had given me back something I'd lost, and that was faith in myself.

"What do you want to do now?" Ethan asked. "Can I walk you back to your suite? Do you want me to call one of your friends so you can talk all this out?"

"No. I'm already talking to one of my friends, maybe my most honest friend." I gave him a bemused smile. "Who would have thought you would turn into that? When you showed up at the rehearsal dinner, I believed you were my worst enemy. You didn't trust me at all."

"I didn't. But the more I got to know you, the more I realized you didn't have it in you to lie, at least not well. I could see that you were blinded by love, and while I didn't know what the game was, I knew you were an unwitting player."

"I was blinded," I admitted. "And I feel like a fool, Ethan. How could I have blown by every single red flag? I got so angry with Harper for continuing to tell me I was moving too fast. And I was pissed at you for the same reason. But you were both right. I was the one who was wrong."

"Don't be so hard on yourself. You opened yourself up to an emotion you wanted to feel again. Love is powerful. It can cloud your judgment."

"I'm done with love."

"You say that now but give yourself some time. Don't let Andrew steal your capacity to love and to laugh, to feel joy and connection. You deserve all that and more."

"Thanks. I might deserve it, but I'm not in a rush to go down that road again."

"You can take your time. You're not on anyone's schedule anymore."

"Thank God!" I paused. "You don't think Harper knew what Colin was up to, do you?"

"I don't. I believe he was using her as a reason to stay on the island and also to keep a separate connection to you, in case you said something to her you wouldn't say to Andrew."

"That makes sense."

"We'll find out for sure. So, what next?"

I thought for a moment. Then said, "I don't want to go back to my suite and look at Andrew's things in my bedroom closet. And I don't want to walk around the resort where there will probably be a lot of curious stares, because I'm sure the news of what happened here is already spreading. Megan will have her work cut out for her if she wants to spin all this. And no matter how hard she tries, it will all come out eventually. The Carrington dream wedding couple wasn't real at all. The groom was a con man, and the bride was an idiot. Kind of hard to sell that." I let out a breath. "I'd like to walk into town and be a nobody. I want to order a cheeseburger and fries and walk barefoot on the beach and listen to music and feel normal again."

"That sounds like a plan."

"Would you care to join me, Ethan?"

He smiled. "I would, but only if you're paying, because you now own a diamond worth about twenty million dollars, which is way above my pay grade."

"What?" I asked in astonishment. "Seriously? It's worth that much?"

"It could be even more." Ethan paused. "You could do a lot of good with that money, Lauren. I wouldn't give the diamond back to Victor. Does he really need something else to impress his friends when you could change a lot of lives? Wouldn't that be more fun?"

"That would be fun. Okay. I'll think about it. We'll put the diamond in the vault, and then I will buy you dinner. You can even order a beer if you want," I added with a smile.

"Oh, I am definitely ordering a beer. Maybe two."

"Or three," I said, meeting his warm gaze. "Because this beer-drinking girl has had more than enough champagne."