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We kiss a while longer on the beach, and it doesn’t feel like it’s for show, which is both perplexing and terrifying.

It feels like I just asked the woman I love to marry me.

I did, but I didn’t exactly ask her to spend forever with me, and the paperwork my lawyer sent over this afternoon will only prove that.

I don’t want to cheapen this moment by mentioning that, but it does bear mentioning at some point.

As we turn to head back up the beach, we find the place where Owen stood before empty. I have to believe he saw me pop the question, and she voices the next question in my head before I have a chance to.

“Do you think he ran off to announce it before we get the chance to?” she asks. “I don’t want to steal Vanessa’s thunder. This is her wedding weekend. She’s been waiting for this since she was in high school.”

She sounds nervous, and as much as I want to alleviate her fears, we both know Owen’s track record.

“I hate to say this, but given who he is, I’d bet he’d want to break the news before we get the chance to,” I admit. “It’s the only way he gets to make it about him .”

She draws in a breath and lets it out slowly. “Damage control. What do we do?”

I laugh. “You sound like my publicist now.”

She raises her brows pointedly. “Then think like a publicist. How would she handle an engagement during her sister’s wedding weekend?”

“I think that’s out of her realm,” I say dryly. “But I did it privately on a beautiful beach for a moment that was just supposed to be for the two of us, so if he runs to tell everyone, that’s him stealing Vanessa’s thunder. Not you.”

“Fair point. Vanessa won’t see it that way, though. She’ll just see her older sister trying to one-up her on the most important weekend of her life.”

“Then you should really deliver the punch and we should get married before they do.” I say it nonchalantly—as a total joke—but she freezes as she turns toward me.

Her eyes are wide, and I think she’s actually considering it. But then she shakes her head. “No. I can’t do that to her. But if the whole reason you want to do this is for stability for Harper, then I’m not totally opposed to the idea of doing this while we’re here. We can get a Bahamian marriage license…”

Now my eyes go wide. “Are you serious?”

She lifts a shoulder. “We’re going to do this sometime, right? Why not take care of it while we’re here in paradise and my whole family is already gathered?”

“I need Harper there.”

“Even if it’s just pretend?” she asks.

I consider that for a beat. Is it pretend? Sort of. Is it too fast? Yes. Should we be doing this? Likely not. But my answer is the same where Harper is concerned regardless of the answers to those questions. “Yes. She’d be devastated if we did this without her here.”

She nods. “Then we call Evan, and we get her here. All of them. Evan, Trudy, Bella, and Harper.”

I narrow my eyes at her a little. “You really want to do this?”

“Why not? Like I said, we’re going to do this at some point, so let’s just do it. Then when you get home and Owen presses charges, we’ll already be married and you won’t have to worry about Harper because she’ll be with me.”

“Well when you sell it that way…” Fuck. Are we really doing this?

“Sunday,” she blurts.

“Sunday?” I repeat.

“There’s a dinner cruise. It’s after the wedding, and it would give us time tomorrow to get our license and get Harper here. And whatever else we need to do.”

I voice the only thought that seems to be swirling around my brain in this muddled cloud of confusion. “Are we really doing this?”

She lifts onto her tiptoes and presses a kiss to my cheek. “We’re really doing this, hubby.”

The word sends a shot of something through me, and it’s unfamiliar. I can’t quite tell if it’s fear or excitement or something else entirely. “All right, then, wife.”

Jesus.

The word makes my entire mouth go dry.

It was one thing to pick out a ring at the hotel gift shop. It was another to put it on her finger.

To actually go through with this, though?

Something else entirely.

I push it away for now. “I, uh…I already have paperwork from my lawyer for this whole thing if you’d like to read through it before we go ahead with any licenses or whatever, and I need to call Evan and get Harper here.”

She nods. “I’ll read over whatever your lawyer came up with, but I do want to insist it says something in there that I will not be financially dependent on you.”

“It outlines your specific role as nanny for Harper even in the event of our divorce. There is a payment plan included with that.”

“Travis, the room and board is enough. You don’t have to pay me to care for her. I want to do it.”

“You also want to be a reading teacher, and you would never insist the district didn’t pay you for that service, right?” I point out.

She lifts a shoulder, conceding. “Let’s head up.”

But we don’t get a chance.

Vanessa is standing at the doorway we need to enter in order to head up to our room, and she looks mad. Actually, she looks something beyond mad. Furious. Raging. Her face is all red and veins I’ve never seen before are protruding from her forehead.

She raises her chin, her eyes flashing with rage as she points a finger at Victoria. “You always have to stand in the spotlight, don’t you?”

Victoria sighs. “What are you talking about, Ness?”

Vanessa reaches out and grabs Victoria’s hand in hers to inspect the sparkling ring I just slid onto it. “This!” she screams at her sister. “This is what I’m talking about!”

“How did you even find out? I wasn’t going to say anything until after your wedding,” Victoria says.

I have no idea whether or not that’s true, but Vanessa’s really going to shit a brick when she finds out we’re getting married the day after she is.

“Owen just told Jake he saw you two on the beach. You just couldn’t let this be my week, could you?” Vanessa is yelling, and she’s starting to attract a bit of attention. “And how is this even real? You two barely know each other!”

“It was my fault,” I say softly. “I love your sister very much, and I wanted to make a special memory for the two of us. It wasn’t Owen’s news to tell.”

She turns her glare on me while Victoria leans a little closer into me.

“How exactly is this stealing your spotlight, anyway?” Victoria asks calmly. “Your wedding is tomorrow. Let’s focus on that, okay? We need to get upstairs so Travis can call his daughter before it gets much later.”

Vanessa is still trembling with rage, but that seems to quiet her down. “Whatever,” she mutters. She spins and stalks off toward the casino, where presumably everyone else is hanging out, and I glance over at Victoria.

“Do they know about Harper?” I ask.

She shrugs. “I don’t know if we’ve mentioned her, now that I think about it.”

“Come with me,” I say, and I grab her hand. I lead her over to the concierge desk, and I inquire about getting a marriage license. The concierge arranges a car for us down to the registrar’s office early tomorrow morning, and then we head upstairs so Victoria can read through the paperwork and I can call Evan and see if he’s willing to bring Harper to the Bahamas.

Before I make the call, though, and before she reads the paperwork, I have an important question to ask.

I clear my throat and shuffle between my feet as she settles onto the couch in our room ready for me to bring her the paperwork.

“Question,” I begin, and she looks up at me with curiosity. “Uh…I guess I just want to know…are you telling anybody the real reason we’re rushing this?”

Her eyes dart around the room seemingly everywhere but at me, and when they finally land on me, they’re sincere. “No. As far as anyone outside of you, me, and the lawyer who drew up these papers is concerned, we’re doing this out of love.”

“Including Harper?” I press.

“That’s your call, but I’ve worked with preteens for a number of years, and I’ll be honest when I tell you that generally speaking, keeping secrets is not their strong suit.”

I nod as I consider that, and then I collapse onto the chair across from her. I settle my elbows onto my knees and lean forward, taking my head into my palms. “What are we doing, Vic?”

“I don’t know,” she whispers.

I glance up at her, dropping my hands in front of me, and she tosses the papers beside her.

“Look, I know getting married to someone like you means paperwork and prenups, especially given our circumstances, but…”

“But?” I echo.

She averts her eyes for a beat, but then they land on me again. “But I just have this strange feeling this is right. Sure, we’re rushing into it, but…this is real. For me, it’s real. There’s a child involved, a child I’ve grown to love very much, a child I want to be a mother to. And then there’s you, this huge surprise I wasn’t expecting—the total package. An incredible father, a kind heart, a great sense of humor, and most of all, you’re willing to stand up for me instead of making me the butt of your jokes, and that’s everything I’ve ever wanted, Travis. This is crazy, yes. And it’s scary. So freaking scary.” She holds a hand to her chest. “But in here…it also just feels right.”

I stand instead of saying anything, and I hold out my hands to her. She sets hers in mine, and I say, “Come here,” as I lift her to a stand.

I pull her close against me, and I nip a soft kiss to her lips. “It feels right to me, too. I never thought I’d get married. I never thought I’d feel like this. And maybe there are some things in life that we just can’t explain, but I want this. I want you. I want this life.”

“So do I,” she says, and her eyes fill with tears as I drop my mouth to hers for one of those slow, intense, passionate… hot types of kisses.

She pulls back after a few beats in a total haze. “You better call Evan and make all the arrangements because then I’m going to take my time with you.”

I raise a brow, and then my mouth lifts into a sly smile as I grab my phone out of my pocket to make the call so we can get to the rest of the night.