by Sabrina Sol
Her breath stuttered.
He was dressed in the suit he’d worn when he took her to that Italian restaurant. Not only did it fit him perfectly, but it enhanced his dark eyes and dark hair in a way that triggered all kinds of lust-filled urges. But this was neither the time nor the place to think about that. So she shook a little to wake herself up and waited for him to approach her.
“It was a beautiful wedding,” he said when he did.
His words threw her off. Why hadn’t she seen him before now? “I didn’t even know you were here.”
“I know. I kind of hid in the back. I figured you had a lot to do and I didn’t want to distract you.”
“Distract me? Wow. Aren’t you the confident one?” The remark came out without her even thinking about it. He laughed and she allowed herself to join him. It felt nice, actually. When was the last time they had done such a simple thing together?
“I miss your laugh,” he said, reading her mind.
That quieted her. Just like that, they were back to being wary of each other. Her throat tightened and she silently pleaded with herself to keep her crazy emotions in check.
“Do Christian and Mira know you’re here? I’m sure they were wondering if you’d show up.”
“Why wouldn’t I show up? They’re my friends and…and I knew you’d be here.”
“Brandon.” She choked on his name thanks to the painful lump in her throat.
“What?”
“I know we have to talk, but I need to make sure everything is ready inside.”
She started to walk away but he stepped in front of her. “Wait. I need to give you something.” He held out a blue Tiffany’s bag that she hadn’t noticed before.
Her heart pounded and she took a step backward. If this was a joke, it was a dumb one. “I hope that’s a gift for the bride and groom.”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he set the bag on the ground and pulled out a small, white box. Daisy held her breath as he lifted the lid. She expected to see the Tiffany engagement ring she’d left behind. But she didn’t.
Brandon took the ring out of the box and showed it to her. It was a silver filigree band with one small diamond in the center and even smaller turquoise pieces set on each side. It was simple, yet elegant. It was perfect.
“I flew to Puerto Rico last night because I wanted to ask my mamá for this. It was my abuelita’s. She never had a real wedding ring, but supposedly my grandfather bought this for her when she became pregnant with my mother.”
She shook her head wildly. “I can’t accept it, Brandon. It should go to Alexa. I don’t need a ring. I thought I made myself clear about that.”
“First of all, Alexa also wants you to have it. Second of all, I’m not giving this to you just because you’re pregnant. I’m giving it to you because, dammit, I love you, Daisy.”
Her body betrayed her yet again, and tears fell from the corners of her eyes. “Since when?”
“Since I realized that being with you is more satisfying than opening ten restaurants. That talking to you and laughing with you is more fun than going to a hundred movie premieres or club openings. And that making love to you is more thrilling and breathtaking than anything else I’ve ever done in my life. I’m hoping you feel the same way. Please tell me you feel the same way.”
The pounding of her heart hit epic proportions. “Stay here. I have something to show you.” She could see his disappointment in the way his face fell, so she ran to the corner of the tent and retrieved her purse from underneath one of the covered tables. She ran back to him, grabbed the manila envelope from her purse, and handed it to him.
He arched his eyebrow and pulled out the white paper that was inside, still holding tight to the ring. “What is this? I don’t understand,” he said as he scanned the paper.
“It’s a one-way ticket to Miami. I was going to take a red-eye flight after the reception and surprise you at your hotel.”
Brandon looked up at her. His eyes shone with emotion and it filled her heart. “But you said you’d never fly.”
“I know. And I’m pregnant so I wouldn’t be able to take anything either—I’d have to fly stone cold sober. But I was going to do it because the only thing scarier to me than getting on that plane was trying to make it through one more day without you. I love you, Brandon, and I want to be with you.”
He dropped the paper and the envelope and went to her. When his lips crushed hers, she whimpered. It was such an exquisite relief to be able to taste him again. Now she understood what he had meant when he said Puerto Rico would always be his mother’s asopao. For her, love would always be the taste of him.
When they finally broke for air, she sighed in pleasure.
“I love you,” he said looking into her eyes. “I need you. Usted puede ser mi salvación.”
“And what would I be saving you from?”
“A life without you,” he said and got down on one knee. “Marry me, Daisy. For real.”
Tears blurred the sight before her, but it still took her breath away. “Yes,” she cried and nodded. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
He slid the ring on her finger and then stood up and cupped her face with his hands. “Are you sure?”
She nodded and he kissed her again, then he pressed his forehead against hers. “I can’t believe this is really happening.”
“Me either. Who would’ve ever thought that we’d end up together?”
He moved his hands from her face down to her waist and pulled her against him. “And only we would get engaged, get pregnant, break up, and then get married,” he said chuckling.
“Hey, it’s not my fault you couldn’t see what was right in front you,” she said, trying to sound offended.
Brandon pulled back to look at her. “Me? What about you? If I remember correctly, you were the one pretending you didn’t want to sleep with me that night after Amara’s wedding. Which brings me to the second thing I brought for you.”
Daisy couldn’t imagine what it could be. So when he reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out a familiar looking hotel key card, she laughed.
“Don’t tell me…”
“I booked the honeymoon suite at the Esperanza for the rest of the weekend. I figured since we were doing things out of order anyway…”
She laughed again until a thought occurred to her. “What if I had said no,” she asked.
“I also booked it for next weekend and the weekend after that and the weekend after that. Let’s just say I was prepared in case it took me a while to convince you that we belong together.”
Her heart filled with pure joy. “Now, how could I argue with that?”
He shrugged. “You can’t. But don’t worry. We’ve got the rest of our lives to argue about silly things like who loves who more.”
“Well, I already know the answer to that one. It’s—”
Brandon kissed her before she could finish her sentence, and she didn’t protest one bit. If this was the way they ended all disagreements from here on out, she couldn’t wait for the next one.
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Acknowledgments
To my editor Heather Howland for your lessons in conflict and motivation and for always challenging me to dig deeper.
To Kim at Read Your Writes Book Reviews for hating the idea of Brandon and Daisy as a couple so much that it motivated me to work harder to make their story more believable. I hope I’ve convinced you that they belong together. :)
To my friends in OCC RWA and Facebook Night Writers for your continuing support.
To my best beta reader Valentine Greiner for your genuine excitement and love of my sto-ries.
To Louisa Bacio, Nikki Prince and Elizabe
th Scott for our late night write-ins that actually get some writing and editing accomplished in between the laughing and many glasses of wine.
To my family for their unwavering support and unconditional love.
To my auntie Elva for being willing to answer my questions about your diagnosis and treatment and, especially, for being a one-year cervical cancer survivor.
To my husband Patrick and our kids, thank you for it all. I love you.
About the Author
Sabrina Sol is the chica who loves love. She writes steamy romance stories featuring smart and sexy Latinas in search of their Happily Ever Afters. She lives in Southern California with her husband, three kids, two Beagles, and one Bulldog, and is part of a larger, extended Mexican family whose members are NOT the source of inspiration for her characters. Or so she tells them.
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