The wedding planner broke into their intimate moment and said, “Are you both ready to say your toasts?”
Lil smiled at Jake and nodded. “I guess I’ll check Colby after we do that.” She winked at her man. “We’ll go together.”
He groaned, “Are you trying to make me forget my speech?”
She laughed wickedly and whispered a hot suggestion into his ear.
Game on.
From a large stone patio, tucked beneath one of Jake’s arms, Lil waved again at the private jet that was now only lights disappearing into the night sky. “She’s going to love Spain.”
Jake said, “Even more than you know.”
Lil looked up at him suspiciously, “What does that mean?”
He smiled. “I’ll let her tell you.”
“Oh, no, we don’t do any more secrets.”
His smile turned wicked. “You might be able to persuade me to tell you.”
“You are insatiable, do you know that?”
He looked rather proud of himself. “Is that a complaint?”
Lil thought about how much she’d enjoyed the reason they had missed the dinner portion of the wedding and reluctantly returned just in time to see the cutting of the cake. “No, but now I won’t be able to use that elevator without blushing.”
“Especially if the security system has a camera in there.”
“Oh, my God! I’m never going to be able to look the security people in the eye again.”
Jake laughed. “I’ll talk to them and if there is a camera I’ll have the video erased. Well, maybe copied and then erased.”
“Just erased!” Lil elbowed him lightly.
Jake merely smiled.
Security cameras. She should have thought about that when she told Zhang to wander on the wild side.
Stretching his neck a bit to see more of the runway, Jake said, “I don’t see Rachid’s plane anymore. It’s not like him to leave without saying goodbye. When I talked to him earlier he said he had something he wanted to ask me. That’s interesting.”
Lil shrugged. “The last time I saw him he was dancing, if you could call that dancing, with Zhang. They looked like they were really hitting it off.”
Jake scratched his cheek thoughtfully. “Have you seen Zhang since then?”
Lil checked the contents of the clutch she’d carried with her through the entire evening. “No, but I still have her phone. You don’t think…”
Jack cocked his head to the side as if considering the idea, then shook his head. “No, that’s not Zhang. If her phone and her plane are here, she’s here somewhere. She’d never leave without them.” He shook his head again. “No. Not Zhang.”
Lil turned Zhang’s phone in her hand and considered the possibilities. With a grin, she turned it off and placed it back within her purse. Good for you, Zhang. I did pick the right dress.
Jake returned his attention to a much more intimate topic. He wiggled his eyebrows, likely remembering her earlier promise of how they would end their evening as he asked, “Ready?”
His sexy question implied tonight, but she pondered past that.
Am I ready for all of this? This man? This life change? Everything this means for me and for my child?
Jake entwined his fingers with hers and the answer came to her-strong and absolute.
I am.
I’m finally ready.
“Yes,” she said and meant it with every fiber of her being.
Hand in hand, they walked into the rest of their lives together.
Ruth Cardello
