“I guess so. Mine too.”
She looked up at me. “Yours too? You were looking for a job?”
I nodded. “Yup. I’m selling my company so I can move to Driftwood Island, but I’m gonna need something to do to keep me busy. It’s not good for a man to be idle. But I think I found the perfect solution.”
She was sitting on the edge of her seat now. “Tell me!”
“Well, I bought an empty little storefront downtown today. I’m going to fix it up and turn it into a studio to display my photographs. There are so many beautiful places to photograph on Driftwood Island. I figure I’ll have plenty of material to build up my portfolio.”
Ruby beamed. “That’s awesome! You’re so good at photos, so I know it’s going to be a complete success.”
“Just like your singing career is going to be a complete success.”
“I guess we’re both following our dreams, huh?”
“I would say so,” I said. “But not because of the photography studio. I started finally following my dreams the day I decided to skip out on my company in New York and come here to find you. You are everything I’ve ever dreamed about, Ruby. If I’d had time to shop for a ring yet, I would be proposing right now. But since I haven’t, just know this: that proposal is coming. I’m planning on forever with you.”
Tears of happiness filled her eyes as I leaned in to kiss her. We both knew that the best days of our lives were just getting started.
Chapter Twelve
* * * EPILOGUE – ONE YEAR LATER * * *
* IAN *
The late afternoon July sun shone brightly down on the crowd gathered for what was probably this year’s most talked about event in Driftwood Island: the joint weddings of Logan Evans and Julia Price, alongside Trent Miller and Megan Reed. All of the Driftwood Island locals had been invited, and nearly everyone was in attendance.
The wedding party was all beautiful. Kelsey, Abby and Ruby served as bridesmaids. I served as a groomsman alongside Zach and Luke, and we looked pretty handsome if I did say so myself. But the real showstoppers in the wedding party were the kids. Our little circle of friends had quite a few young ones now. The youngest was Kelsey and Luke’s baby boy, who at nine months already had the happiest personality of any baby I’d ever seen. Luke held the baby in his arms, and the little guy’s tux matched the adult tuxes perfectly. I wasn’t the type to gush about a baby being adorable, but I had to admit that the little mini groomsman was the cutest thing I’d ever seen.
Then there was Abby and Zach’s year-and-a-half old boy. He was also wearing a tux, but was a little more impatient with the ceremony as he stood by his father’s side. I saw Zach sneaking him M&M bribes every minute or so, and I had to chuckle. Whatever it took. Zach was also watching over Trent and Megan’s two year old son. The two year old was also much more interested in the M&Ms than in watching his parents officially tie the knot.
On the girls’ side, things were much calmer. My own little Chloe, now five, looked radiant in her flower girl dress. She stood silently by Logan and Julia’s three year old daughter Maisie, and the two of them together in their dresses looked like they’d stepped straight out of the pages of a storybook.
And then there was Ruby. Ruby whose belly was now swollen with six months of pregnancy. This baby would be a boy, and I could hardly wait to have a son. I could also hardly believe how beautiful Ruby was with my child growing inside of her. I could never get enough of her, but when she was pregnant she was even more beautiful than normal. She truly did glow.
She wasn’t the only pregnant one, either. Abby was pregnant again, just a few months behind Ruby. She was just barely beginning to show, but she’d already told all of us, and we were all, of course, ecstatic for her.
I’d never looked back once I’d left New York. My life here was too full of love and laughter for me to ever look at what I’d left behind. I’d even made a good friend in Joe the bartender. He was officiating this ceremony, and what a beautiful ceremony it was. The flower-covered arch he stood under with the happy couples added an extra layer of beauty to the already beautiful beach. I’d have to make sure I took some good pictures of it later. I was sure I could sell some copies in my photo gallery, which had become wildly successful.
I glanced at Joe’s wife, who was sitting on the front row in the audience. She was six months pregnant as well, and it was sweet to see the way she beamed up at her husband. All of us who’d thought that Joe the bachelor bartender would never settle down had been wrong. He’d fallen hard and fast for the girl he was now married to.
But today wasn’t about Joe’s love story. It was about Logan and Julia’s, and Megan and Trent’s. I brought my attention back to the present moment just in time to hear Joe pronounce the couples man and wife, and urge them to kiss. Cheers went up as the happy couples did just that. I’d never been to a joint wedding before, but I loved how this wedding had twice the love and joy of any normal wedding.
And then, it was the part of the program where Ruby would sing. I watched as she stepped to the front of the crowd and took the microphone Joe offered her. She closed her eyes as the first notes of music began to play, and then opened her mouth to let out what was still the most beautiful voice I’d ever heard. Her singing career was wildly successful, but that was no surprise. Still, my favorite songs of all were the ones she sang to herself at home when she thought no one was listening. I would never get tired of hearing her voice.
A hush fell over the audience as Ruby sang. When the last note ended, wild cheers erupted. Little Chloe finally couldn’t stand still anymore, and ran up to hug her mother. Ruby looked over at me and smiled, and I beamed back at her. There was no more beautiful sight in the world than my two girls together. Ruby placed her hand on her rounded stomach, and her engagement ring sparkled in the sunshine. Our wedding would come next, after the baby was born and we had settled into life as a family of four. I knew it would be just as wonderful as this day, and I was looking forward to seeing Ruby in a wedding dress.
But in the meantime, I was also savoring every moment of this beautiful life we’d built. Taking an impromptu vacation a year ago had been the best decision of my life. I blew Ruby a kiss, already anticipating the intimate after party we’d have tonight in our own bedroom, once the reception and festivities had ended.
There was no love in the world quite like the love you find on an island beach, with the warm sand beneath you, the bright sun above you, and the blue waves lapping at the shore beyond. I was happy to call Driftwood Island my home, and I was proud to call Ruby Jennings my girl.
Sun, sand, and true love. I was the luckiest billionaire alive.
* * *
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Bestselling romance author Sloane Meyers specializes in happily ever afters with so much sizzle your Kindle might just overheat. Don't say she didn't warn you. ;)
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Trusting Him: A Billionaire Beach Island Romance (Billionaires of Driftwood Island Book 5) Page 9