by Aubrey Parr
Gael looked a bit confused, but picked up the first folder. Each one held information on options for Derek’s next land purchase. The information included showed what Derek would use to make his decision. Although his gut instinct came into play quite often, the facts were important. He was interested to see if Gael would make the same decision. Gael rapidly reviewed data for Isla Mujeres, Todos Santos, and Riviera Nayarit, each of them an area in Mexico that could turn into a highly sought after vacation spot.
Quickly, Gael answered, “With only a few minutes to review, I’d choose Todos Santos.” He smiled at Derek.
“Great job, my friend, very well done,” Derek laughed, “We will move on that next.”
Derek began to explain his ideas for the company. He asked Gael if he was interested in taking on a partnership role. He would begin taking on more responsibility in the selection of land options, first in cities that he and Derek chose together and then, ultimately, without Derek’s assistance. When Gael agreed to the idea, they took another shot in celebration.
Derek enjoyed watching Nicole read by the pool while he discussed business. He could definitely get used to this set up. He felt great knowing that he could take a bit of a step back from business and enjoy life with Nicole. He knew she wanted to write, which would give him plenty of time to work. He wanted her to pursue her passion.
He discussed their plan of her writing about destination weddings on their properties with Gael, who thought it was an interesting suggestion as well. With Derek’s own wedding coming up, he offered to contact a few locations and see if they were receptive to the idea.
When they concluded their conversation and had enjoyed their food, Gael said his goodbyes. He congratulated them both again and, though the wedding would be small, Derek knew that Nicole would want Kate as a maid of honor and he would ask Gael to be the best man. He still worked closely with Roger, but their relationship stayed far more on the business side of things. After working so closely with him, he had become a true friend. They didn’t always agree, but in those times, he even felt like a brother. Derek was excited for this next step in their relationship, as well as his and Nicole’s.
Derek and Nicole went back down to the apartment. Nicole hadn’t called Kate yet and was dying to tell her the news.
“When should we have the wedding?” she asked.
“I would make you my wife right now. But we can have it as quickly as you like. Would you like to get married in Chicago?”
“No, I think we should have it on the beach at Playa Vallarta,” she smiled, “Could we send that plane of yours for a few friends? How many does it hold?”
“Maximum capacity is ten passengers and we can always send it back for more. Maybe you’d like a few friends to come out early?”
Derek laughed as she started jumping up and down. He loved making her happy. He could tell that everything he had was such a surprise that it really never figured into how she loved him. That had been his biggest fear and why he had been so secretive in his past. Deep down, Derek hungered for true love. He hadn’t gotten it from his mother; he wanted it from a wife.
Nicole was already on the phone with Kate and he sat on the couch, listening to her tell the story. He closed his eyes and relived it right along with her. She sounded genuinely happy and that gave him a sense of peace he had never experienced before. He could tell she was fighting back tears of joy again as she told Kate about finding the picture of him with her father. Then she must have reached the part about his plane, because he heard her start laughing loudly, “A plane, Kate. He has a plane. You can come whenever you want. You can stay at the resorts for free as well. We can still see each other all the time.” Her excitement made him laugh again.
He began to wonder when they would get married. He meant it when he said he’d do it tonight. Weddings could get put together at the hotel in no time at all. Since Playa Vallarta was a smaller hotel, it didn’t usually bring in weddings and they shouldn’t have to worry about it being booked. They could have the ceremony on the beach and the reception in the open air lobby and bar. It would be perfect. Very important things in his life happened at that bar and now it would be the venue for his wedding reception. And, even with everything that had happened over the past few days with Silvia and Andrew, it was still her father’s favorite place and he knew how much that meant to her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
The next morning, Nicole had just gotten off the phone with her boss Nathan. He was very happy for her and even told her that she could write her final column on her very own wedding. With all of the weddings that she had written about, writing about hers hadn’t crossed her mind. Now that Nathan had put the idea in her head, she was extremely excited to write about it.
The preparation would take no time at all. She didn’t need to interview anyone this time. She didn’t need to learn the dynamics of the relationship. She was living it. Still, she was going to ask to borrow Derek’s laptop for a little bit today and get down some ideas that were already flowing in her head. There had to be a store in Puerto Vallarta that sold computers. Nicole had some money saved and, though Derek would want to buy it, she really wanted to get set up herself. She’d need a light-weight computer and bag with all of the traveling they’d be doing.
Nathan also said he’d pitch her idea for travel destination spots. He asked her to write up a mock article after the wedding, to show in his meeting. He thought that even if it didn’t get a regular column, they could buy her stories from time to time, especially going into the colder months of the year. Since she did want to write a book and would maybe write for Derek’s properties, she wasn’t sure she’d want a regular deadline anyway. Once a quarter might be nice.
Everything was falling into place. Nicole wasn’t naïve enough to think that everything should come easy in life. If you want something, you needed to work and fight for it. But she didn’t think it should be like that with love. Of course, relationships took work and you couldn’t get too complacent, but at the same time, it should be easy to live and love together. All the stars were aligning and it seemed like a good sign.
Derek was sitting outside on the balcony when she came out of the bedroom. He was enjoying the view, his legs up on the table in front of him with one crossed casually over the other and a cup of coffee in hand. Nicole looked down at her ring for the millionth time that day. Her life felt surreal. She loved that man out there more than she ever thought possible. She wanted the wedding to be soon, too. She wanted to be Mrs. Derek Stone.
She grabbed her sunglasses and sat down at the table next to him.
“How did it go?” he asked.
“Great! He’d like me to write my final column on our wedding,” she smiled at him, “He also said I could send him a mock story about Puerto Vallarta as an idea to still contract with them occasionally. I pitched him the idea of writing for travel ideas to escape the Chicago cold.”
“That’s great! I’m very proud of you and I can’t wait to read about our wedding.” He leaned over and kissed her lips quickly.
He listened while she filled him in on the phone conversation. When she finished and leaned back to soak up the sunlight, she felt him hold her hand. “How about going to Venice for our honeymoon?”
At the word “Venice”, she jumped up in her seat. He was really going to take her to Venice? It had always been her dream to go there. Again, she felt like she couldn’t breathe. “Really?”
“Yes, I’m thinking we spend a few weeks there. We could visit all over Italy after that if you’d like.”
She dove out of her chair and landed on Derek’s lap, laughing and kissing him all over. He took her face in his hands and she reached up to put her hands over his. She saw him notice her ring; he leaned in and kissed it. Then he took her mouth with his and her body seemed to melt into his. Luckily, she was already sitting on him because this kiss would have made her knees buckle from her own weight.
He reached back with one hand and grabbed aho
ld of her hair at the top of her neck. He tugged her head back hard, but seductively, and kissed all along her neck. She held on tight to his strong shoulders. She moved her hands over his chest, loving the feel of his muscles. She turned her body toward him, positioning herself so that her legs were now on each side of him. She could feel him getting hard below her and she used her body to urge him on. She was wearing a short sundress from her limited supply of clothing and he moved his hands to her thighs and slid them under the material to her hips.
He pushed her body deeper into him. Then, with one easy tug of the lace, he ripped the side of her panties and pulled them away from her. She laughed at the thrill it gave her. Nicole immediately began tugging his board shorts down low enough to free his hard erection. She climbed on top of him. There in the morning sun, on the balcony of her apartment that she shared with her fiancé, she rode him until he made her body lose control.
When she could see that he was about to cum himself, she leaned in close to him and whispered without thinking, “Stay inside me.” She was surprised at herself. Maybe it was because she knew they would be married, but she didn’t want to fear pregnancy anymore. When it happened, it would be the right time. He pulled her face in for another deep kiss and she felt all of his tension release underneath her. She smiled sweetly at him. “Let’s go take a shower.”
…
The next few weeks were a whirlwind until finally, Kate was to arrive. Nicole had spent the entire time shopping and working with a wedding coordinator and the Playa Vallarta to plan her small, intimate wedding ceremony and reception. Now she was pacing the airport arrivals area, waiting for Kate to walk through the doors. Crowds of people passed as commercial airlines landed and unloaded. Kate was the only passenger on her flight, so she would most likely arrive alone. Nicole thought it was funny that Kate saw the inside of Derek’s plane before she herself did. She really wanted to fly to Chicago and do the round trip to pick Kate up, but she had so much to finalize for the wedding.
It felt like a wet sauna in the waiting area, just still air with no circulation. Nicole was hot and sticky. Her hair was sticking to her neck and she was beginning to get anxious. What if something had happened to the plane? Finally, she saw Kate come through the door and she raced to her as fast as she could. She had her best friend now; all was right with the world. Kate immediately grabbed her hand to see the ring and they laughed and screamed and hugged again. Nicole had never seen Kate like this and she loved it.
Derek had been staying in the background to give them their time. After they finished their hellos, Nicole called for him to come over. Kate squeezed her hand as he walked up and communicated silently to her that she thought he was as gorgeous as Nicole had said.
“Kate, it is wonderful to finally meet you,” he said, “Nicole has been beside herself with excitement.” Without asking, he went in for a hug.
“Thank you for flying me here. I could get used to traveling like that. Nicole, you’ve gotta try it sometime,” she teased.
The three of them made their way to the car waiting for them outside. Derek had rented a larger SUV for Hector to drive until after the wedding, telling Nicole that he wanted there to be enough room for the extra passenger. He had also set up a car service to help with the added guests that the plane would bring in the day before the wedding. They would be too busy with the event itself for trips to the airport. She loved that he was taking care of all the little details so that she wouldn’t be stressed.
Kate was in awe of their apartment. She had the same reaction that Nicole did the first time she saw it. As they sat out on the balcony the first night, she agreed with Nicole that her life was surreal. She never came across as jealous. That wasn’t Kate’s style. She was truly happy for her.
Nicole did worry that she was a bit jaded about relationships from her career. Dealing with unhappy and broken couples as a divorce lawyer had turned her into a bit of a cynic. Nicole didn’t blame her; it could happen to anyone. But Nicole did worry that she wouldn’t find happiness with a man until she could see past all that. It would take the right man for that to happen. She hoped Kate found him soon. She wanted happiness for everyone in the world now, especially her best friend.
They talked and drank bottles of wine all night. Derek had arranged for Kate to stay in the hotel room next to their apartment. That way, she could stumble next door to fall asleep. Once they said their goodbyes and Nicole and Derek both watched Kate enter her hotel room, he scooped up Nicole and carried her tired body into the bedroom, laying her down for bed. She curled into his body and was asleep in moments.
The next morning, Hector drove Nicole and Kate into the Malecon so that they could shop for her wedding dress. She was determined to wait for Kate to find it. She wouldn’t have her mom there, so she wanted memories with Kate. There were a few shops off the main drag that most tourists would wander past. Nicole was no longer a tourist now. She was a local, at least for the time they’d live there.
The first shop was tiny and hot. It was so dark that the two women could barely see the dresses. The little old shopkeeper seemed like she was ready to put a curse on them when they’d giggle about something. They couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
The second place she heard about was just what they were looking for. It was still a tiny shop, but it was bright and cheery and the woman that ran it was young and gorgeous, inviting and earnest. Kate joked that if she modeled the dresses, she would sell out of inventory. She introduced herself as Lupe and handed them each a glass of wine. She told them to enjoy themselves and have fun. Nicole tried on loads of dresses and Lupe convinced Kate to try on a few for fun. This was exactly what Nicole had hoped for.
Ultimately, Nicole decided on two dresses. The first, for the ceremony, was strapless and long. The material was light and airy and it cinched around her mid-drift to show off her figure. Then she fell in love with a shorter dress and Kate was determined that Nicole needed it for the reception. It was sleeveless and extremely short, with an added sheer layer of material that fell at an angle that ended almost at her knees. Her favorite part was a ruffle of material that dropped at an angle in the back to represent a train. It only dropped to her knee, rather than behind her on the floor.
She and Kate spent the rest of the afternoon picking out the perfect dress for Kate and shoes and jewelry for both of them. They also decided to stop for a lunch and cocktail on Derek.
Derek had given Nicole a credit card with Nicole Stone embossed on the front of it as an early wedding present and told her to go have fun. Usually, such a thing would make her uncomfortable to go on a spending spree, but given it was for her wedding, she made an exception. She was going to have to get used to the fact that she didn’t need to live on any kind of budget anymore. She didn’t want to go crazy and turn into a shopping monster, but she liked the idea that if she wanted something, she could have it.
The night before the wedding, Nicole stayed in Kate’s room. Derek offered to go to another room but Nicole wanted him to be comfortable in his own home. Besides, she would have fun with Kate in her room. It was like old times. Kate and Nicole promised to visit each other monthly. And Kate was thrilled to find out the likely possibility that Nicole and Derek would be living on a new property in downtown Chicago for part of the year. They agreed that the summer would be the most fun and joked that they should make sure Derek agreed with that decision. They stayed up later than they had planned, which was a bit of a concern. Nicole didn’t want to have bags under her eyes for her wedding. But it was worth it. She would remember that night for the rest of her life.
And then the moment of truth arrived. She was standing at the edge of the beach, watching her friends from Chicago and Derek’s friends and business acquaintances from Puerto Vallarta and Nuevo Vallarta mill around the chairs set up along the beach. Derek was standing by the altar with Gael and he looked incredibly handsome.
She looked down at her dress, hoping he’d feel the same way about her
. How did she get so lucky? She was about to marry the man of her dreams. It was like a scene out of a movie. She wondered if her parents really could have had a role in orchestrating all of this. If so, they had pulled it off perfectly. She wanted her mother there, though she had become used to big moments in life without her. She hoped that didn’t seem cold. It was probably a coping mechanism in life.
But her dad…she missed him so much in that moment. She wished he was there to walk her down the aisle to meet the man waiting for her. Then she felt his presence more than she ever had since he passed. She smiled and knew he was there. He would be walking with her, now and forever. Finally, it was time and she began walking towards the man she loved so deeply and she thanked her father again for sending her Derek.
THE END
Thank you for reading Love on the Malecon! If you enjoyed it, please consider taking a moment to leave me a review at your favorite retailer. And don’t forget to check out a sneak peek of my next novel, love on Ocean Drive, at the end of this book!
Thanks!
Aubrey Parr
Acknowledgments
Thank you to my beta readers that gave me the reader’s perspective while I wrote. I would like to give a special thank you to Kelly from For the Love of Books and Alcohol for your endless hours of help and support. You are an amazing mentor in this process and made Love on the Malecon what it is today.
Thank you to Allison for editing the book. My mind may be a little dirty at times, but so is my grammar.
Thank you to my mom for naming Love on the Malecon. Thank you for being the perfect combination of a supportive mother and a critical eye to help make the book its possible best. You are invaluable.
Thank you to my husband for inspiration in certain scenes. Wink, wink.
About the Author